Chapter 50 Chapter 50 The beautiful and soft jade was hugged tightly...
The night was bright and the stars were shining. Occasionally there was a sound, like a puppy's paw scratching at the door, which made people's ears itch. Lu Suizhu casually grabbed her coat and draped it over her shoulders, then put on her embroidered shoes and went to see.
Sure enough, a wild cat jumped onto the roof and kicked a tile with its snow-white hoof.
She was just about to go back to sleep when she saw the small porcelain bottle at the door. She squatted down and picked it up. It felt cool in her palm, but the bottle had a faint medicinal smell, as if it had been held in someone's hand for a long time.
It's his smell.
Lu Suizhu ran out of the yard, panting when he stopped, and looked left and right along the alley, but there was no one in sight.
She clenched her fists over her heart, and her shiny black hair fluttered down onto the small porcelain bottle, wrapping around it a few times. The gentle night breeze blew the corners of her lips upward.
*
The Hanlin Academy wanted to compile the "Records of Northern Scenery". After several heated discussions, the academy decided to select some talented newcomers to accompany them.
Coincidentally, the one chosen was Shen Wenjian.
Since they learned about this, they have been busy packing their bags for the journey north for several days.
"Fangdian, go get two more quilts and winter clothes."
The north is extremely cold, the land is vast and the population is sparse. The most unbearable thing in winter is the lack of clothes and quilts. The supply of food crops is also insufficient. Lu Suizhu and Fang Dian packed a carriage of food and daily necessities, waiting for Shen Wenjian to set off in the next few days.
"Sister, you don't have to pack." Shen Wenjian had been frowning since yesterday, his eyes dark and tired even more than when he was on duty. "Why don't I just not go? I'm really worried about leaving you here."
It turned out that he had been heartbroken for the past two days because of this matter. Fang Dian and Lu Suizhu looked at each other without saying a word. When he was not around, the two women depended on each other and lived well.
However, Lu Suizhu didn't dare to say this lightly, otherwise her fragile brother would start to blame himself and cry again. She put down the work in her hands and comforted him sincerely: "It's okay, Fangdian and I can take care of ourselves."
"Yes, yes, Master, don't worry, I can take good care of the girl." Fang Dian also followed suit perfunctorily.
A north wind blew all night yesterday, and the peach blossoms in front of the door fell. Pei Lanying stepped on the fallen petals and walked in directly when she saw that the door was not closed. She looked at the things in the yard and asked them what they were doing.
After hearing the whole story, Pei Lanying laughed twice: "Sister Suizhu can come home and live with me, so Master Shen doesn't have to worry about her safety, and she can still keep me company."
"That's quite a coincidence. I came here today to talk about this. The Crown Princess is holding a flower viewing banquet in the Eastern Palace and has sent invitations to many noble ladies in the capital. The old lady and my aunt asked me to go too. They asked me to pick out the most fashionable zither to play so that I can shine in the Eastern Palace."
"Sister Suizhu is now the most sought-after zither player in Shangjing. I can't think of a more capable and kinder zither player than you. If the Queen Mother's zither player teaches me personally, I'll gain some respect if word gets out, okay?"
As she spoke, she rested her head on Lu Suizhu's shoulder. After hearing all this, Lu Suizhu gently tapped her head.
"You, I really can't stand your sharp tongue."
After this matter was settled, Lu Suizhu looked down at her fingers. They were still red, swollen and painful when the scab fell two days ago, but they were almost healed today. That ointment... was quite useful.
Shen Wenjian got on the carriage with a lot of things, and the wheel tracks left their mark all the way to the end of the alley. Lu Suizhu then followed Pei Lanying back to the Pei Mansion.
"Don't worry, sister. My second brother went out with his friends to do some horseback riding and archery. He won't be back for a few days. You don't have to worry or feel uncomfortable."
Lu Suizhu looked at Pei Lanying and smiled faintly. This girl looked innocent and honest, but her mind was actually more sophisticated than anyone else's.
The old lady, Mrs. Pei, and Chen were all present in Chunhui Hall.
Seeing Lu Suizhu coming in, Chen grabbed the solid wooden handle as if she saw a ghost, and stood up suddenly, her face pale.
"You, aren't you dead?"
The old lady coughed heavily, her expression showing dissatisfaction. Chen also realized that she was too unsteady, so she quickly sat down and pretended to be calm, smoothing her hair to hide her momentary shock.
Lu Suizhu stood with her back straight and her demeanor calm, completely unlike the reserved and cautious demeanor she had shown when she first entered the Pei Mansion.
Now she is the zither player hired by the Pei family at a huge expense. This time she agreed to Pei Lanying's request, on the one hand she really wanted to help her, on the other hand she also wanted to see what these hypocritical people in front of her would look like when they saw her.
The old lady still had that hoarse voice, as if she had never recognized Lu Suizhu before. She said calmly: "I heard that there is a young female zither player beside the empress dowager. She attracted cranes to bring blessings at the banquet. She must be Miss Lu, right?"
Mrs. Pei sat comfortably in a chair, blowing on the edge of the teacup, waiting for the foam to dissipate, and occasionally taking a sip.
It was she who had ordered the old lady to drag Lu Suizhu's body to the mass grave and burn it together with the thieves. Now, seeing her standing alive in front of her, she remained calm.
"Thanks to the care of the old lady, Madam Pei, I was able to gain the favor of the Empress Dowager."
Everyone remained silent as the words were filled with sarcasm. The old lady instructed Nanny Yun beside her, "Since Master Lu is willing to teach the second girl how to play the zither, he is also an honored guest of the Pei Mansion. Tell the servants not to neglect him."
After Lu Suizhu left, Chen asked anxiously.
"Do we have to choose her? What if she harbors revenge for what we did to her that day?"
"Sister-in-law, please be careful with your words." Madam Pei, who was always gentle and kind, rarely spoke so harshly. "When Miss Lu was alive, we in the Pei Mansion treated her with fine clothes and delicious food, and we never treated her badly. After Huai Shen returned home, he also said that everything in the past was a misunderstanding. Don't say such things again in the future."
The reputation of the Pei family is above everything else, and any possible slander should not exist. This sister-in-law is really stupid.
"But..." Chen was worried, but it was difficult for her to refute her sister-in-law, so she could only look at the old lady sitting above her.
"Alright." The old lady was also a little impatient: "You know how picky the Crown Prince is. The second girl is so much worse than our Lan Yi. If we don't find a good zither player to teach her, how can we expect her to win the Crown Prince's favor, let alone enter the Eastern Palace as a concubine?"
The old lady closed her eyes and twirled her Buddhist beads in her hand. "Lan Yi had a miscarriage and has been unable to conceive. How can her position as Crown Princess be secure? Chen, don't let your fantasies go to waste. Keep an eye on the second girl's piano practice and don't let her hold the Pei family back."
Chen had no more words to say and tactfully left.
When Lu Suizhu went to find Pei Lanying, he passed by the small kitchen in the backyard of Pei's house.
She saw a maid standing behind the door whispering with a woman from outside the mansion. Then the woman gave her a bag of medicinal herbs. She looked around and saw that there was no one there, so she stuffed the herbs into the basket she was carrying and gave the woman a few large pieces of silver.
Lu Suizhu happened to be at the corner of the wall and could see it quite clearly. Wasn't that Chunmei beside Madam Pei?
I called her twice but she didn't respond. She just kept her head down and walked hurriedly, looking a little flustered.
Lu Suizhu was in a hurry to find Lan Ying, so she didn't pay much attention to it.
After a while, he saw another unfamiliar maid carrying a bowl of thick medicine towards Pei Zhiji's room. He couldn't help but sigh in his heart, wondering when his illness would get better and he would have to take less bitter medicine.
On second thought, it’s always better to take medicine than not.
She changed direction and was about to leave, but she saw Chunmei in front of her with half of her green body curled up, staring at the maid who brought the medicine.
The sound of footsteps behind her frightened Chunmei so much that her face turned pale. She uttered a short "Ah" and then bowed politely: "Master Lu Qin, the second young lady is looking for you everywhere. Please go quickly and don't delay."
After saying that, he hurried away.
Looking at her flustered back, Lu Suizhu felt very strange. Chunmei had never been so polite to her before.
The more he thought about it as he walked, the more he felt something was wrong. The Pei Mansion had its own medicine storehouse. If all else failed, there were imperial physicians who could see the patient and get medicine from the Imperial Hospital. There was really no need to be so sneaky.
As I was thinking about it, a sudden chill rushed through my skull.
She swallowed a mouthful of cold saliva, lifted her skirt, turned around and ran, crossing the cracks in the rocks and branches, and stepping over the stone steps with varying shades of green marks.
My heartbeat was like a taut bowstring, and all the fine hair flew backwards.
When they arrived at Pei Zhiji's yard, he was buried in his work. Seeing Lu Suizhu, who was covered in dirt and hurried over, he was a little surprised and put down the pen in his hand.
Breathing is rapid and the chest is vibrating.
She looked at the person half-bent over the desk, as if frozen, as if the wind and snow in the whole world had suddenly stopped and everything was silent.
Pei Zhiji stood there straight, and was suddenly embraced by the beautiful and soft jade.
The huge fragrance enveloped him, his nose, back, shoulders... every part.
Boom, boom, boom...my heart is beating so loudly.
He closed his eyes and let her push harder, the huge impact making him fall backwards.
One hand was propped up on the chair, gripping it until the veins popped.
Lu Suizhu caught a glimpse of the white porcelain bowl with lotus flowers painted on the corner of the table, and her eyes went haywire.
I walked closer to take another look without giving up, and there was still only a little bit of dark brown residue left at the bottom of the bowl.
Pei Zhiji followed behind her and looked at her obviously abnormal behavior, feeling a little worried.
Her eyes were red, and she turned around and climbed onto his arms, but then her hands slipped down uncontrollably: "Pei Zhi, spit out the medicine quickly, spit it out quickly."
She said it over and over again, her voice tinged with tears. She accidentally touched his frighteningly cold palm, and tears burst out like a dam. She tried hard to warm him up, fearing that even this little warmth would disappear in the next moment.
"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid." She lowered her head, looking at Pei Zhiji with her watery eyes, not knowing who she was trying to comfort: "It's okay, Chunmei put something in your medicine. Let's go out and find a doctor now. It's not too late, it must be too late. Let's go."
Lu Suizhu pulled his hand and was about to walk out, but the tall body was not under her control at all, and she could not hear what the man behind her said at all.
Pei Suiji held Lu Suizhu tightly from behind, and when he pulled back, his chest pressed against her thin shoulders, causing his heartbeat to collide with his bones, causing severe pain.
He seemed to have completely calmed down, his voice was gentle and reliable, and he kept repeating it in her ears without getting tired of it.
"Don't worry, don't worry, don't worry, I poured out the bowl of medicine."
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