Chapter 48 The old title for the morning court session has changed hands; I hear no one calling my name. ...
This morning, before dawn, Su Jinxiu got up and carefully cleaned her home in Xiuxiang.
First, there was the hall where the two had once shared moments; the desk and table remained, and one could almost hear their laughter and playful banter. Then they entered the inner room, where she had once embroidered, and where he had once served her tea. In the east bedroom, the image of him packing his bags for his studies at Bailudong Academy was still vivid. The west bedroom was her boudoir; the dressing table was no longer adorned with rouge.
After carefully sweeping the bluestone path in the courtyard, she sprinkled water on it, making the whole courtyard bright and clean. Flowers were in full bloom on both sides, and the stone platform in the corner where they often rested was now lightly covered with moss. The woodshed was also well-maintained, with the firewood that they had burned together on winter nights neatly stacked.
Wherever I go, the silhouettes of our past companionship appear before my eyes.
With everything in order, Su Jinxiu stood at the door, and before closing it, she took one last deep look.
Finally, the bolt was bolted and the lock was closed.
She turned and left, and thereafter, this small house in the embroidered alley, along with all the memories in the courtyard, were sealed away like amber dust.
Su Jinxiu arrived at Huayun Pavilion, settled everything, and carefully arranged the schedule for embroidery lessons. She then entrusted the affairs of the pavilion to Manshu for three days.
While tidying up the ledgers, Manshu casually asked, "Jinxiu, are you going somewhere for a trip?"
“No,” Su Jinxiu shook her head, “I’m going to Bowei Lane to check out the new house.”
Upon hearing this, Hanfei immediately stepped forward and asked, "Sister Jinxiu, are you buying a new house? Then you won't be living in the old house in Xiuxiang anymore?"
Su Jinxiu smiled faintly and said in a gentle tone, "I live all alone, and it's a bit too quiet there. I'm thinking of moving to a more bustling place."
Hanfei didn't understand the reason for her quietness, but assumed it was because her life was getting better and better, so she just smiled and congratulated her.
Su Jinxiu smiled as she bid farewell to Manshu and Hanfei, then stepped into the morning light of the Imperial Street.
On her way there, a street corner food stall was steaming hot. She chose a clean one and ordered two jade cakes and a bowl of sweet bean soup. The jade cakes were made with glutinous rice flour ground into a frosty consistency, mixed with honey and jujube paste as filling, and melted in her mouth. The sweet bean soup was made by boiling soybeans with licorice root, filtering out the bean dregs, and then chilling them with ice cream, making it refreshing and thirst-quenching.
After finishing her meal, she strolled slowly to the agreed-upon location at Jixian Tower and stood by a pillar under the eaves. Before long, her thoughts turned to the important matter of the day.
She and Yi Ruxu arranged to meet a real estate agent to go to Bowei Lane to see the newly completed houses. Land prices in Bianjing are high. Although Bowei Lane is not as popular as Yujie or Maxing Street, it is still considered a moderately prosperous area. The new houses are all built with blue bricks and gray tiles. A medium-sized house costs five hundred taels of silver, and a small one costs more than three hundred taels.
In fact, let alone five hundred taels, she could easily buy even the mansion next to the Imperial Street worth several thousand taels. Nowadays, Huayun Pavilion only takes on embroidery commissioned by high-ranking officials and nobles, and the fees are far more generous than those of the embroiderers in the old embroidery alley who could barely make ends meet.
Back in the embroidery alley, before Yi Ruxu entered officialdom, his livelihood depended on her embroidery. Now that he has just embarked on his official career, his salary is meager, and five hundred taels is no small sum...
Since Yi Ruxu dared to bring up buying a house, he must have gained confidence and savings. He is exceptionally talented, and either he has earned some money by drafting policy proposals for powerful people, or he has an extra job in the Hanlin Academy. Why would he still need her support as before?
Such excessive worry makes one underestimate him.
So she gathered her thoughts, looked up in the direction of Xuande Gate, and waited for the figure to appear. Suddenly, she heard a cheerful greeting from behind her: "Hey, young lady!"
She turned around and saw a sturdy young man carrying a load of goods. His white coarse cloth shorts were washed clean, and his eyes and brows shone with the sunshine of youth.
Before she could speak, the young man flicked his wrist, and a furry object flew towards her. Su Jinxiu caught it instinctively. It was a small tiger made of mugwort, with two red beans as eyes on its forehead and thin red strings tied to its paws. It was the mugwort tiger charm that children often wore during the Dragon Boat Festival.
"Please don't be offended, young lady," the young man put down his load, scratched his head and smiled, "I just finished selling this last one at the street corner, and when I saw you standing here, I felt a connection with you, so I thought I'd give it to you."
Holding the small tiger charm, Su Jinxiu quickly thanked him, saying, "Thank you, young man."
Watching the young man carry his load away into the distance, she looked down at the mugwort tiger charm in her palm and suddenly realized that the Dragon Boat Festival was just a few days away.
Su Jinxiu's thoughts wandered, thinking about watching the dragon boat races during the Dragon Boat Festival. She didn't even notice that the morning bell deep within the palace walls had already rung, and the vermilion palace gate had slowly opened.
Officials leaving the palace came out in twos and threes, some on horseback and some on foot, all crossing the Jinshui Bridge, carved from white marble, in front of the palace gate.
This area is mostly occupied by the residences of noble families. Occasionally, one or two peddlers carrying goods might try their luck here, hoping to find a wealthy family's servants to buy some odds and ends. However, as soon as they see the procession of officials leaving court, they quickly carry their loads and hide in the side alleys, afraid of offending the dignitaries.
Su Jinxiu was still lost in thought, and for a moment, she was the only one left on the Imperial Street.
Suddenly, someone gently patted her shoulder, startling her so much that she cried out.
"Qiao Niang, I was abrupt and startled you." Yi Ruxu quickly reached out and patted her back apologetically.
Su Jinxiu patted her chest and saw that it was Yi Ruxu, dressed in a neat official robe and with a refined and handsome appearance. She composed herself and smiled, "It's alright, it's alright. That property broker should already be waiting for us in Bowei Lane. Let's go quickly."
“Okay.” Yi Ruxu replied, then took out an oil paper package from her bosom. “Have you had breakfast? This is Eight Treasure Cake that I brought from the palace. It’s still warm.”
"I've already eaten, Brother Ruxu," Su Jinxiu declined. "You must have gone to court on an empty stomach, so please eat."
The two of them, pushing and shoving each other, walked side by side toward Bowei Lane. Su Jinxiu was still focused on talking to him and didn't notice a stone platform about half a person's height at the corner ahead. She tripped and fell forward. Yi Ruxu reacted quickly and reached out to catch her around the waist, steadying her.
Just then, the sound of rapid hoofbeats came from behind.
Although the Imperial Street was wide, the man on horseback caught a glimpse of the embracing scene in the corner. He immediately reined in his horse, and the tall horse reared up, its front hooves clattering on the stone slabs.
The newcomer was dressed in a scarlet official robe, wearing a two-beam Jinxian hat, a jade belt with a silver fish pendant, and the attire of a sixth-rank commander.
It was Feng Chen, riding a tall horse, his thin lips slightly pursed, his whole demeanor cold and aloof.
The woman riding beside him, dressed in the same scarlet official robes, exuded a heroic air in her glances, unlike the delicate gentleness of ordinary ladies.
"Siyuan, what are you looking at?"
Shi Yunyu saw Feng Chen beside her rein in his horse and stare intently ahead, so she couldn't help but follow his gaze.
Not far away, at the foot of the jade steps, stood a man and a woman. The man, dressed in the blue robe of a Hanlin scholar, possessed a refined scholarly air. He was speaking gently to the woman beside him. The woman, dressed in a light purple, elegant dress, had a beautiful and ethereal appearance. She held a small tiger made of mugwort in her hand. She seemed to have tripped a little, and the man reached out and put his arm around her waist. The two were very close, their behavior intimate.
Shi Yunyu glanced at them twice, then looked away and smiled, “They are quite a perfect couple. The man looks like a new member of the Hanlin Academy? The woman next to him must be his wife. She even came to the palace gate to greet him after court. They must be newlyweds, their relationship is really good.”
"What, do you know Siyuan?"
Feng Chen's gaze fell on Su Jinxiu and Yi Ruxu's figures, who were holding hands and relying on each other, and his anger instantly erupted.
I avoided him for half a month, and sure enough, he was busy flirting with that jerk.
He chased after her to the palace gate early in the morning to pick her up. He was tormented by this longing and couldn't wait to see her.
Why have I never seen her come to pick me up after court?
"Sister."
Su Jinxiu was bowing her head and saying "thank you" to Yi Ruxu when she suddenly heard a clear "elder sister" from behind her. The voice was so familiar that her heart skipped a beat, and she turned around almost reflexively.
However, the surging emotions froze instantly. The "elder sister" was not addressed to her; Feng Chen was smiling as she looked at her colleague riding alongside her.
That colleague had a beautiful face, a natural air of heroism between her brows, and a slender figure; she was clearly a female official.
Su Jinxiu stared blankly at the two people who were getting closer and closer, and their conversation could be clearly heard.
“Sister,” Fengchen said to the female official, “a new batch of landscape paintings by Li Cheng and bird paintings by Cui Bai have arrived in my courtyard. I would like to invite you to come and appreciate them.”
The female official, addressed as "Sister," smiled and nudged his shoulder: "I haven't even finished appreciating those flower and bird paintings by Huang Quan that you gave me last time, why are you spending money again?"
"My sister is overjoyed; I would give her anything for that price."
Feng Chen's voice carried a gentleness that Su Jinxiu had never heard before: "You can take all of those. If it's not enough, I'll find you more."
The two rode past each other, laughing and chatting. Feng Chen's gaze didn't linger on her for even a second, as if she were just an insignificant speck of dust on the roadside.
Su Jinxiu stood frozen in place, dumbfounded for a long time.
If she only saw him laughing and chatting with other women, she could remain calm, after all, she had already told herself to let go.
But why does he call someone else "elder sister"?
That title was once unique to her. During the most difficult days in the embroidery alley, when he had nothing to eat or wear, it was she who embroidered his works stitch by stitch to earn money to buy him food and clothes. At that time, he always followed behind her and called her "elder sister".
But? There are no buts.
Now that he has entered officialdom, gained power, and has an elder sister who can help him in the officialdom, he naturally no longer needs his elder sister who only knows how to embroider.
Su Jinxiu bit her lower lip hard to keep her tears from falling. Yi Ruxu was still beside her, and she couldn't lose her composure in front of him.
Yi Ruxu noticed her odd behavior and quickly changed the subject: "The broker said yesterday that there are several houses in Bowei Lane. Have you taken a liking to any of them? How big are you looking for? Would a three-courtyard house be good? What's your budget? Let's have a general idea in mind."
Su Jinxiu snapped out of her daze, as if grasping at a lifeline, and quickly followed up on his words, asking, "Oh... okay. Is the Pillow Academy enough for us to stay in? The budget... the budget will remain at the previously agreed five hundred taels?"
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