Chapter 12 Rain falls continuously; a cool breeze blows in the morning, and a chilly rain falls in the evening. ...
Ying Bumei stepped down from the carriage carrying a brocade tray inlaid with gold and jewels, the fifty taels of gold weighing heavily on his palm.
The coachman was already bowing and waiting. As soon as he landed, he immediately opened a blue silk umbrella and steadily sheltered him from the rain.
He stood under the umbrella, his gaze sweeping over the two people not far away, standing hand in hand in the rain. Their clothes were mostly soaked, but they were still close together, which seemed to bring more warmth than the luxury car.
People envy those with wealth and luxury, but he felt that having someone to share the beauty of cherry blossoms and banana trees, and to talk about the night rain in Bashan, was far better than spending a long night alone with gold and silver, letting loneliness gnaw at his heart.
One should not sleep but feign leisure, as if appreciating the rain in the courtyard, strolling leisurely to the scene.
The coachman hurriedly grabbed another bamboo-ribbed oiled paper umbrella and quickly handed it to Su Jinxiu.
After thanking her, Su Jinxiu took the umbrella and hurriedly opened it. With a quick turn of the umbrella, she sheltered herself and Wen Shiqin in this small, rain-sheltered space. She even subconsciously pushed the edge of the umbrella towards Wen Shiqin, afraid that he would get wet again.
However, Shi Qin's gaze was entirely fixed on the tray in Ying Bumei's hands.
Ying Bumei took in his expression, and with a gentle flick of her finger, slowly pulled away the dark-patterned cloud silk. In an instant, the cold light of gold appeared in the rain and mist, making the surrounding raindrops seem to be plated with a layer of light gold.
An ordinary woman gets out of a car with a man in fine clothes late at night, and the man even hands her a large sum of money. Anyone who sees this would have some speculations.
Seeing Wen Shiqin's face grow increasingly gloomy, Su Jinxiu panicked and quickly grabbed his sleeve, urgently explaining, "This is a new job my sister took on, it can support you..."
Whose is it?
Three words abruptly interrupted her. Wen Shiqin's voice was devoid of any warmth, and his gaze was fixed solely on Ying Bumei.
Su Jinxiu was taken aback by his question, and then suddenly realized that she hadn't even asked the person's name. She quickly looked at Ying Bumei, her tone somewhat flustered: "Ying Bumei, I forgot to ask just now, who is the person who made this appointment?"
Ying Bumei said in a flat tone: "Zhang Mingxu, a second-rank official and vice minister, is the cousin of Consort Zhang."
Upon hearing the name "Zhang Mingxu," Wen Shiqin felt as if struck by lightning. All color drained from his face, turning him deathly pale. He lunged forward, grabbed Ying Bumei by the collar, and stared intently at Ying Bumei's smiling face, wishing he could tear him to pieces.
Su Jinxiu quickly threw down her umbrella, rushed forward and hugged Wen Shiqin's arm tightly, calling out to him, "Aqin, calm down!"
Raindrops pattered on Su Jinxiu's hair and slid down her cheeks, but she didn't bother to wipe them away, only clinging tightly to Wen Shiqin's arm.
Wen Shiqin's forehead veins bulged. Feeling Su Jinxiu's warm touch, his rationality returned slightly. He lowered his hand, but still glared angrily at Ying Bumei.
What are your intentions?
Ying Bumei, her smile still lingering, handed the gold tray to the coachman before speaking, "Young master, you have quite the fiery temper. I was merely doing you a favor. Lord Zhang is willing to offer a hundred taels of gold for Miss Su to embroider her wedding dress, but this is..."
"Shut up!"
Wen Shiqin suddenly grabbed Ying Bumei by the neck and slammed him against the blue brick wall. Water from the eaves dripped down with the raindrops, soaking Ying Bumei's brocade robe and making him look rather disheveled.
"Helping others achieve their goals?" Wen Shiqin leaned closer, a chilling smile playing on his lips, his eyes brimming with barely concealed malice. "You dare to push her into the fire, and then pretend to be a benevolent saint?"
Before Su Jinxiu could react, Wen Shiqin's fist had already slammed solidly into Ying Bumei's left cheek. The punch was extremely powerful, and Ying Bumei turned her head to the side, blood instantly seeping from the corner of her lips, dripping down her chin, and spreading with the rain.
"Aqin!" Su Jinxiu was terrified and rushed forward, "Stop it!"
Wen Shiqin was panting heavily, his chest heaving violently, his fist, which was about to swing again, was suspended in mid-air, his knuckles white from the force.
Ying Bumei slowly turned around, bloodstains on his lips, yet he managed a cold laugh and mocked, "Guess who she took this job for?"
That smile, when it fell into Wen Shiqin's eyes, was more chilling than any blatant provocation. He abruptly shoved Ying Bumei away: "Take your gold and your filthy thoughts and get out of here. Don't even think about her again."
Su Jinxiu was terrified. She rushed forward and grabbed Ying Bumei's sleeve, half-pulling and half-supporting him as she pushed him toward the carriage, hoping he would leave as soon as possible to prevent Wen Shiqin from getting angry and hurting people again. Only after watching Ying Bumei stagger into the carriage and the curtain fall did she turn back.
The rain was still falling, and Wen Shiqin remained standing in the same spot, his clothes bulging from the wind and rain, his chest still heaving violently, like an angry beast poised to pounce.
The oil-paper umbrella lay askew at his feet, its ribs broken, soaking miserably in the puddles.
Wen Shiqin stared intently at her, his eyes blazing with unquenched anger. She had only taken two steps forward when he grabbed her wrist and dragged her home without a word.
After kicking open the door and entering the room, his voice was filled with barely suppressed anger and lingering fear: "Do you know who that person is?"
Su Jinxiu felt a surge of grievance, and tears welled up in her eyes: "I...I don't know, I just thought it was a hundred taels of gold, enough for your expenses at the academy..."
"I said I'm not going!" Wen Shiqin interrupted abruptly, stepping forward and gripping Su Jinxiu's shoulders tightly with both hands. His tone was filled with a desperate, almost pleading, irritation: "Can't you understand human language? I'm not going to Bailudong, and I won't become some damned civil official! I'll stay here in Embroidery Alley, guarding you, guarding this dilapidated courtyard, guarding these hands that can embroider gold and silver threads, but can't embroider their own secure lives!"
Su Jinxiu was taken aback by his shout. She had never seen Wen Shiqin so fierce before, and she couldn't help but choke up, "I was just thinking of you..."
"For me?" Wen Shiqin suddenly sneered. "My life is cheap; I don't need to rely on women to sell their smiles to earn money for my studies!"
A crisp slap suddenly rang out in the rainy night. Wen Shiqin was knocked to the side, a red mark appearing on his left cheek, but he seemed oblivious. He slowly turned back and stared intently at Su Jinxiu, his eyes churning with turbulent emotions.
There was anger at being misunderstood, fear of her being in danger, and even a bottomless despair, like a lone lamp drowning in the deep sea, teetering on the verge of collapse.
“Sister…” He suddenly chuckled softly, his laughter tinged with a heavy sob, tears streaming down his cheeks and landing on Su Jinxiu’s hand, burning hot.
He gently took the hand she had just used to hit him, lowered his head and kissed her palm, afraid that she had used too much force and hurt herself.
"Hit me then," he choked out, tears soaking her palms, "just kill me."
"Anyway, my life is yours to do with, you can do whatever you want with it, just please... don't gamble with that uncertain future anymore."
Su Jinxiu abruptly pushed his hand away, her sobs choking in her throat. She turned and staggered back to her room, the door slamming shut behind her, like an invisible barrier that completely separated the two of them into two different worlds.
Wen Shiqin stood frozen in place, his left cheek red and swollen, the pain spreading, but this physical pain was nothing compared to the pain in his heart.
For a moment, only the sound of rain could be heard.
Su Jinxiu returned to her room, overwhelmed by a wave of grievances and bitterness, and couldn't help but sob quietly.
Wen Shiqin walked to the door. Low sobbing could be heard from inside through the crack in the door. He raised his hand and slapped himself again. His cheek was already red and swollen, and now he looked even more disheveled.
"Sister, don't cry..." His voice was hoarse, filled with deep regret, "It was my fault, I shouldn't have yelled at you..."
"Get out of the way." Su Jinxiu's voice was as cold as ice as she interrupted his apology.
The area outside the door suddenly fell silent. After a moment, the footsteps slowly faded away and eventually disappeared.
She couldn't understand why Wen Shiqin, who had been gradually becoming more peaceful and smiling more each day, would suddenly become furious and out of control today.
He was able to control his emotions and remain calm and gentle like a normal person. Could it be that he was wrong and shouldn't have accepted this expensive embroidery job?
Su Jinxiu suddenly felt an itch on the tip of her nose and sneezed unexpectedly. Only then did she realize that she had been so caught up in her turbulent emotions that she hadn't changed her wet clothes and her long hair was still dripping wet. She quickly got out of bed, found a dry nightgown to change into, and then took a cloth to loosely wrap her long hair. Her fingertips touched the coolness left in her hair, and her gaze involuntarily drifted towards the direction of Wen Shiqin's bedroom outside the window.
I wonder if he has changed out of his wet clothes, and whether he will catch a cold.
The thought had barely formed when he shook his head violently, inwardly annoyed.
He then forced himself to suppress his distracting thoughts, curled up on the bed, and focused on thinking about the day's events.
She still remembered that the book clearly stated that Zhang Mingxu was Wen Shiqin's benefactor after he entered officialdom, but Wen Shiqin had not yet passed the imperial examination, so how could he have such a deep hatred for this Vice Minister of State Affairs?
After a long day of mental and physical exertion, Su Jinxiu was exhausted and unable to think much. In the end, she simply let go of all her distracting thoughts and drifted off to sleep.
In the hazy darkness of the night, she felt a warmth at the corner of the blanket, as if someone was gently tucking her in. Cool fingertips brushed past the tear stains at the corner of her eye before quickly withdrawing.
Then, a soft, dry cloth was placed over her hair, and her wet hair was gently wiped, the movements so light as not to disturb her dream.
A note from the author:
The young couple is about to begin a three-chapter-long cold war. [Milk tea][Milk tea]
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