Chapter 6 Chapter 6 Vinegar
Shuyun returned to Chanxueju in a daze, sat down and poured water from the kettle. She didn't know if it was her illusion, but her brother seemed angry.
Now she thought that asking her brother to pass on a message for her was inappropriate. She and her cousin were not yet engaged, and passing on the news in private was frivolous and impolite. If others knew about it, it would inevitably give people a chance to talk nonsense.
Shu Yun's cheeks puffed up, she held her breath, and hummed softly, "You should choose your words carefully in the future, and don't let your happiness get to your head."
Xiao Qi said he came to find her, and indeed he showed up at Chanxueju.
Shu Yun was puzzled by his appearance today and asked, "Aren't you in the palace serving as the fourth prince's study companion? Why did you suddenly come back?"
Xiao Qi was somewhat helpless. "My dear sister, you have forgotten the date again. There is no class tomorrow. I am going back to the mansion with my elder brother today."
Shu Yun was stunned for a moment, then clasped her hands together and said, "I'm sorry, I was sick a few days ago and was so confused that I forgot the date."
Xiao Qi's mood suddenly fell. "After the incident, I have always wanted to see my elder sister, but mother wouldn't let me. If it weren't for my elder brother returning from patrolling the border, my elder sister would still be locked up in that little room."
Xiao Qi was furious and said, "Mother is biased. Her attitude towards my sister has suddenly changed drastically. She must have been drugged by that person. Anyway, I don't like that person."
"Mother feels that she owes Zhen'er." Shuyun said this to her brother, but she was also trying to persuade herself.
Shu Yun gently pinched his cheek and said, "Zhen'er is my mother's flesh and blood. She is your real sister. You should respect her and not call her that person all the time."
Xiao Qi didn't listen to her, brushed her hand off, took out a big purse and stuffed it into her hand. The purse was heavy with silver.
Shu Yun was puzzled, "What are you doing for me?"
"I used to always snatch things from you, so I consider it...I consider it as buying it for you. I'll give it to you as silver," Xiao Qi said awkwardly, forcing the purse into her sleeve like a little adult. "Hey, keep it. Save some money for yourself and use it to manage the people in the mansion."
Shuyun felt warm in her heart, "Thank you."
She had never cared about money before, but now that she was penniless, she realized how difficult everything was. She had to wait more than ten days for her monthly salary to be paid.
Xiao Qi scratched his head a little embarrassedly and waved his hand, "It's just a small matter."
The brother and sister hadn't seen each other for a long time, so Xiao Qi had dinner at Chanxueju before leaving.
*
The next day, Shou'an Hall was bustling with activity, and Zheng Shaojiu came to the Marquis' Mansion to visit Old Madam Cui.
Zheng Shaojiu asked about his well-being. Mrs. Cui had seen this grandson during the New Year and she loved him very much. Now that she saw him, her kind face was full of smiles. She waved for him to come over and take a closer look.
Zheng Shaojiu said, "It's my day off today, so I came to visit you."
"Good boy." Old Madam Cui took his hand and smiled.
When the grandparents and grandchildren chatted, they always had endless things to talk about. Most of the day had passed by. Old Madam Cui felt a little tired, so Zheng Shaojiu helped her into the inner room to take a rest.
The Anlu Marquis Mansion was quite familiar to him. Zheng Shaojiu left Shou'an Hall and planned to go to Jingfang Garden to visit his aunt. He passed through several moon-shaped gates and saw several graceful figures in the garden where flowers were blooming, but the only thing in his eyes was the girl in the goose yellow dress.
Because the two sisters had some unpleasantness yesterday, Xiao Shuan organized a party and invited Shuyun and Shuzhen to come out and pick flowers to ease the relationship.
Amidst the flowers, Xiao Shuan was the first to spot Zheng Shaojiu. She walked towards Shuyun, nudged her with her elbow, and said with her eyes, "Look, sister, where are you looking?"
Shuyun was holding a bouquet of flowers, and when she looked sideways, she was stunned.
The man wore a jade crown and tied his hair up, a moon-white brocade robe, and a tasseled jade belt around his waist. He had clear eyebrows and eyes, and an elegant appearance, like a solitary orchid in a valley, and he had the air of a modest gentleman.
Zheng Shaojiu walked along the bluestone road, his eyes always on Shuyun.
"Cousin." Shuyun bowed and greeted.
Xiao Shuzhen didn't recognize him. After hearing Xiao Shuan and Shuyun bow and greet him, she realized that he was her aunt's son, her cousin from the Zheng family. They also bowed and said, "Cousin."
However, Zheng Shaojiu only heard Shuyun's sweet voice and saw the beauty in his eyes.
Zheng Shaojiu greeted them and made contact with Xiao Shuzhen out of courtesy. "I've heard of her before. This must be the cousin I just found."
Xiao Shuzhen nodded and looked at Zheng Shaojiu a few more times. She had never seen such a handsome man. His voice was as gentle as jade and he was polite to others. He was a rare talent.
"Why are all my cousins here?" Zheng Shaojiu asked, and his eyes naturally looked back at Shuyun.
Shuyun raised the flowers in her arms, smiling, "Come and pick some flowers."
Zheng Shaojiu said softly, "It looks good."
Xiao Shuan chuckled. Who is prettier, the person or the flower?
She had already noticed the affection between their faces, so she pounded her shoulders and said, "I've been in the garden for quite a while and I'm a little tired. Please forgive my rudeness, cousin, but I'll go back first."
"Sister Zhen'er, go sit in Second Sister's yard. The peonies in Second Sister's yard are in bloom."
Xiao Shuan said this and pulled Xiao Shuzhen away. Xiao Shuzhen didn't want to go back with her, but was still dragged away from the garden.
"Sister Zhen'er, you don't know, but Cousin Zheng and Sister Yun..." Xiao Shu'an explained, extending her left and right index fingers and putting them together, saying happily, "The man is in love, and the woman is interested. They should be engaged when our father comes back. Who knows, Sister Yun might even get married before me."
Xiao Shuzhen pursed her lips and her expression changed slightly. No wonder Zheng Shaojiu's attention was all on Shuyun just now.
Without that exchange, the two people who were so different from each other would never have met. Xiao Shuzhen was so angry that her nails dug deep into the flesh, leaving marks.
The wind brings the fragrance of flowers, which is refreshing, but the person is more beautiful than the flower. Zheng Shaojiu picked a crabapple flower and gave it to Shuyun.
Shuyun took it, raised the flower branch in her arms, her almond eyes sparkling, "Look, I can hardly hold it any longer."
She was wearing a goose yellow silk dress today, which made her look bright and pretty, with eyebrows like a crescent moon, a face like a lotus, and skin like cream. However, she was much thinner and more slender than she had imagined.
Zheng Shaojiu couldn't help but feel distressed and said, "I accompanied His Majesty on a border patrol a while ago. I only heard about the incident after returning to the capital. I'm sorry that I couldn't show up in time and made my cousin suffer in the Marquis' Mansion."
Shu Yun was stunned. She didn't expect him to bring it up. Her heart warmed, and her nose felt slightly sour. "What does this have to do with my cousin? Don't blame yourself."
She felt her eyes moisten, and she lifted her chin slightly to prevent the tears from flowing, and smiled, "I haven't suffered at all. Although life isn't as good as before, I can adapt. And when I received the letter from my cousin that day, I was really happy."
"I'm so happy to see my cousin today." Shuyun lowered her head and her cheeks became hot. Her slender fingers fiddled with the crabapple flowers in her arms helplessly.
Zheng Shaojiu looked at her and said solemnly, "Cousin Yun'er, please wait a little longer. Once everything is settled, I will welcome you home."
Shuyun blushed, her heart pounding, and she nodded shyly. The bleak future suddenly became brighter because of this sentence.
She will marry her cousin.
A gentle breeze blew by, and Shuyun gathered her hair. She raised her eyes and met his. The man was handsome, elegant, and full of bookish air.
Zheng Shaojiu took out a long brocade box from his wide sleeves. "During this trip away from Beijing, I saw some small things and thought my cousin might like them, so I bought them."
Zheng Shaojiu took the flowers from her arms and handed her the brocade box, "Cousin, open it and take a look."
In the past, Zheng Shaojiu would also give her strange little gadgets. Shuyun was still wondering what it would be this time. She opened the brocade box expectantly, and found a hollow silver sachet with a twined branch pattern.
The whole body is hollowed out and the workmanship is exquisite. A small ball of incense is placed in the sachet ball, with a light and elegant gardenia scent, and the aftertaste is citrus scent if you smell it carefully.
Zheng Shaojiu said, "They are spices from Yunshuang Pavilion."
Yunshuang Pavilion is the capital's leading rouge and powder shop. Although it was opened three years ago, its signature lipsticks and incense have attracted countless ladies to buy them. Unfortunately, there are only a few boxes available each month. Even if you go to the shop with money and wait for a whole day, you may not be able to get one.
"I know, there's no mistaking the scent of this incense."
Shu Yun smiled and said that no one was more familiar with Yunshuang Pavilion than she was. She had no shortage of rouge and powder from Yunshuang Pavilion, and they were all the best.
The girl's slender fingers lifted the silver chain, and the sachet ball hung in front of her eyes. The bright light reflected her fair skin and bones, and there was a gentle smile in her almond-shaped eyes.
"Thank you, cousin." Shuyun looked at the sachet again and again, lowered her eyes, tied it around her waist, and fiddled with the sachet with her slender fingers.
She can never wait for the things she loves.
Zheng Shaojiu gave the picked flowers to his maid Qiongzhi, who took the flowers and went back to Chanxueju first.
"And this pendant." Zheng Shaojiu hid something in his palm, raised his hand in front of the girl, and when he let go, a pink jade peach blossom-shaped pendant fell and dangled in the air.
Zheng Shaojiu: "You can tie it to the fan handle."
"This jade pendant is transparent and really beautiful."
Shu Yun's almond eyes lit up, and she took it and placed it in her palm. However, her round fan was soiled and damaged by Xiao Shu Zhen, so she had to wait until she received her monthly allowance to buy a new one.
At that time, choose a round fan that matches this peach blossom pendant.
Seeing her happy, Zheng Shaojiu felt happy too and said softly, "As long as my cousin likes it, that's good."
Amidst the intertwined flowers and leaves, the elegant man and the pretty girl looked at each other affectionately and talked happily, like a newlywed couple. Just standing together, the two of them were a pleasing pair to the eye.
The love between the man and the woman is so sweet that it makes countless others envious.
The man in black was far away outside the main road. He had just returned from doing some business outside. Looking at this scene, his face was tense, the corners of his lips were lowered, and the atmosphere around him suddenly became heavy, like a cold wind blowing.
Xiao Ye looked at the goose-yellow figure and walked into the garden.
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