Chapter 17 Chapter 17 Very Good
With the great celebration approaching, all the Du family members in Chengqingfang were beaming with joy.
First, on August 29th, there was the second girl’s coming-of-age ceremony.
Madam Wan personally served as the main guest, and invited the eldest daughter of the Zhang family, the deputy chief censor of the Metropolitan Censorate, to be the sponsor. Madam Wan had asked for an imperial decree to grant marriage between the Liu family of Lingnan and the Zhang family, the deputy censor of the Metropolitan Censorate. The Zhang family was very willing to give her this face, and not only did the eldest daughter come, but also brought several other noble ladies who were on good terms with her.
The Du family's coming-of-age ceremony was comparable to that of any other palace. Even though the second wife of the Du family was ill and the young master of the Du family had not yet arrived from the academy in Baoding, the excitement of the ceremony was not dampened at all.
Although Du Lingjing rarely showed up, she gave her sister a South Sea jade hairpin inlaid with oriental pearls.
This item is extremely rare and was given to Du Lingjing by a bookseller from southern Fujian during his rare trip north.
Qiu Lin felt so distressed, "Young lady, this gift is too expensive."
Du Lingjing just smiled and said, "After all, she is marrying on my behalf."
Qiu Lin had nothing to say.
After the coming-of-age ceremony, it was September. The sixth day of September was the wedding day. Du Zhiqi was originally marrying off his niece, but now it suddenly became a daughter's wedding. He requested for more exquisite cups, plates, bowls and bowls, and spent a lot of money to buy them all. He even bought 28 pots of the famous Suzhou and Hangzhou chrysanthemums that were in full bloom in autumn.
He looked at the flowers in the pots competing for beauty, waved his hand and called the servants, "Send eight pots to the eldest girl as well."
The servants were surprised, thinking to themselves, didn't the second master dislike the eldest girl? Yet he was in a hurry to send flowers to her.
Not to mention that they were surprised, Ruan Gong and Changpu who also received the flowers also looked at it curiously, "Second Master still remembers us?"
Qiu Lin, on the other hand, snorted, "The young lady just gave the second young lady a Nanyang jade hairpin, what are a few pots of flowers?"
She was still angry, and Du Lingjing looked at her with amusement. However, she saw that the pots of Suzhou and Hangzhou chrysanthemums sent by her uncle were all blooming brightly and in clusters, and there was indeed a sense of joy flowing among them.
She couldn't help but walk over and take a few more glances, but when she turned around, she saw her second sister Du Runqing.
The little girl was wearing a cherry red jacket embroidered with peach blossoms and a row of pink hairpins in her hair. She was standing outside the west courtyard gate. She no longer looked sickly as she had in the past few days and her face had become rosy.
She also knew that even her grandmother had never given her such a rare gift.
But the more important thing is not this, but that the eldest sister agreed to marry in his place, so she can marry the Marquis.
In the past, even though she had promised the Marquis, she never dared to think about it. She only dared to silently pray when she was pushing the river lanterns by the river and making those vague wishes.
But in just five days, she will be the Marquis's bride!
She called Ruixue to bring the new Jiangnan tea sent to her by the Zhang family. She did not say why, but bowed slightly to Du Lingjing.
"Thank you, sister."
Qiulin stopped grumbling a little when he saw the tea leaves.
Du Lingjing didn't care about these trivial matters and helped her sister.
"No need to be so polite."
She smiled gently at her second sister. The two families had already separated. In the future, her younger sister would marry into the marquis's mansion and she would return to Qingzhou. They might not have the chance to meet each other much in the future.
The sisters are of different ages, their bond is not strong to begin with, and with so many things in between, it's good enough that they could still say a few polite words to each other.
Du Lingjing's brows were relaxed and happy. The autumn wind could not stir up any waves in her eyes, but could only make her hair flutter and her sleeves flutter.
Du Runqing looked at his sister for a moment.
She suddenly thought of the day when the substitute marriage was finalized. She was still a little dazed and asked Ruixue, "Will the Marquis dislike me marrying in place of my sister?"
Rui Xue said, "How could that be possible? "The Marquis has seen the girl, and he was very fond of her at that time. Even if she was a substitute bride, how could he not like her?"
That day, Ruixue's words made her cheeks hot, and the bronze mirror reflected the blush on her face.
But today, she looked at her sister standing in the wind, and her heart skipped a beat for unknown reason.
The Marquis had seen her, but he had seen the eldest sister more.
That day in the study room in the outer courtyard, the Marquis had a private chat with the eldest sister for a few words, and then he mentioned that they would get married on the sixth day of the first lunar month.
Will it be... ...She looked at her elder sister, who had a slender figure, black hair, long eyebrows, watery eyes and feathery eyelashes. At this moment, she was bathed in the autumn breeze, like a fairy who occasionally came with the wind and was about to float away... ...
Could it be that the Marquis actually likes the eldest sister in his heart?
Even if she became his bride, he would not forget that he was originally going to marry his eldest sister?
The little girl bit her lip, feeling an indescribable sour feeling in her heart.
She couldn't help but speak, not knowing what she wanted to say, but she said, "The betrothal gift sent by the Marquis is much more than the ordinary betrothal gift. I think the Marquis originally wanted it for you, so do you want it..."
Before she finished her words, the eldest sister turned around and looked into her eyes.
"What does Second Sister want to say?"
She was stunned and didn't answer, but she heard her sister say.
"Those are your betrothal gifts. The Marquis is also your husband. Others have nothing to do with these."
The voice was calm, but it touched her heart directly, "Sister, you really should think less and keep your mind right."
After Du Lingjing finished speaking, she took one last look at her sister and turned back to her room.
There was no one outside the door for a while, Ruixue couldn't help but say, "Why are you so rude to a girl? The girl is about to become the marquis' wife."
The little girl didn't respond. She bit her lip for a long while before she came back to her senses and said, "Let's go back."
... ...
The Du family was so busy preparing for the wedding that they couldn't come to Du Lingjing's west courtyard.
She specifically called Ruan Gong and asked about something else.
"The government and the Royal Guards have gone to investigate the whereabouts of the Hu brothers and sisters, but they haven't found them yet? Where are the people we sent out?"
Ever since Du Lingjing got the news that the Hu brothers and sisters were missing, she sent more people to look for them three times in a row, but at this moment Ruan Gong just shook his head at her.
"It's been two months, and there's been no news at all. It's like he just disappeared from the face of the earth."
He said this, and seeing the girl frowned, "Don't talk nonsense."
Ruan Gonglian said in a blunder, "Just because we haven't found Master Hu and Madam Hu, it doesn't necessarily mean something has happened to them. Maybe they are hiding in a secret place, carefully avoiding the hands of these people who are looking for them."
Du Lingjing's men would of course go to rescue them, but the same might not be true for others, especially the Shao family.
The emperor dismissed Shao Boju from his position as a tutor in the palace because of the murder scandal, but now there was no further news on the matter of the Hu brothers and sisters. Although Shao Boju could not be cleared of suspicion, he could not be convicted either. As time went by, he felt much more relaxed.
Recently, more and more people in the court have been speaking up for him, and he is not far from clearing himself of the matter.
Once Shao Boju regains his former favor, Du Lingjing will be fine, but the Hu brothers and sisters who have not appeared for a long time will be in trouble.
She sighed deeply, and while instructing Ruan Gong to continue sending people to search, she also listened carefully to whether there were any messages sent inexplicably, and pinched her eyebrows again and again.
".... ...what happened?"
Unfortunately, no matter what happened to the Hu brothers and sisters, she could not leave the mansion for the time being.
The best thing to do to make the replacement marriage go more smoothly is that she had a sudden illness and the Du family had no choice but to replace the bride.
If the marquis investigates the matter later, she will have something to say. But what he does then will have nothing to do with her.
*
Jiqingfang.
The festivity at the Marquis’ Mansion was no less festive.
However, while the servants in the inner courtyard were busy all the time, the atmosphere in the study in the outer courtyard was a little heavy.
"People from the Gu family frequently come in and out of the house where the girl keeps her dowry?" The man raised his voice slightly and called Chongping, "Tell me the details."
Chongping stepped forward.
He said that because of the second wife's bed, the Du family temporarily rented a small house in the adjacent alley in the same neighborhood, specifically to store the girl's dowry when she got married.
The dowry was originally prepared, about 64 loads, of course, originally prepared for the eldest daughter to marry Shao Boju. Apparently, the imperial decree granted the marriage between the daughter and the marquis, and the betrothal gifts from the marquis were expensive and numerous, so the Du family had to buy more dowry, up to 72 loads.
After all, Du Zhiqi was marrying off his niece, not his daughter, so it was reasonable to be able to gather 72 loads.
Who would have thought that two days ago Du Zhiqi suddenly added sixteen more units, making a total of eighty-eight units.
But the dowry boxes were prepared, but no other items were purchased.
Chongping felt strange after hearing this, and had someone watch the yard for three days. Unexpectedly, every time when it was late at night, no one from the Du family came, but someone from the Gu family came.
"... ...They chose the dead of night when no one was around, bribed the night patrol officers, and carried things from Madam Wan's dowry house to the dowry yard. This was done in a very secretive manner, and it seemed that they did not want outsiders to know."
Chongping said he went, and added, "The steward of Madam Wan brought people there the past two days. Yesterday, Madam Wan's only son, Master Gu, suddenly went there and brought some things in, but later he took some things out, which was quite strange."
Chongping also arranged people to keep an eye on it tonight, but he reported this to the Marquis first.
He saw that the Marquis's face had darkened a little, and suddenly turned around and called Chong'an in.
"How are you these days, girl?"
Chong'an couldn't help but get nervous when he saw that the Marquis and his brother both looked gloomy, but there was nothing unusual on the eldest girl's side.
He couldn't help but say, "I saw that Ruan Gong and Changpu have been busy with their wedding these days, and I don't see why they are worried. And I saw Ai Ye, the little maidservant beside the young lady, bought two new flower pots at the flower market in the outer city, saying that the young lady came in to water the flowers every day, and she wanted to use them more handy."
As soon as these words were spoken, Chong'an saw his brother frowning. He didn't know why his brother was frowning, but he heard the Marquis ask.
"Are you sure she waters the flowers herself every day, not someone else?"
Chong'an was sure it was the eldest daughter of the Du family, because when the maid Ai Ye bought the flower pot, she asked the owner to pick a light one, and also said, "Our daughter has the hands to write with a pen. Writing every day is tiring enough. Watering flowers cannot make her tired again."
Chong'an told the Marquis exactly what he said, "I heard that it was Master Du Er who sent eight pots of famous chrysanthemums to the young lady, and the young lady was quite interested."
Unexpectedly, the Marquis's face darkened and he suddenly gave him an order.
"Bring me my nightgown."
*
It was late at night, and the restaurants and teahouses in the capital had gradually seen off their last guests. The only people left in the city were the night watchmen and the patrolling guards.
Lu Shenru entered Chengqingfang from the north and first passed by the temporary residence where the Du family kept their dowry.
He just stood there for a moment before he saw a group of about ten people carrying things into the house.
Chongping whispered, "My Lord, they are all from the Gu family."
The people of the Gu family have nothing to do with the eldest daughter Du Lingjing, so why would they need to add things to her dowry box?
The man's lips were tense as he slightly moved forward and entered the yard.
These people from the Gu family were hiding outside the yard. They didn't make any noise inside the yard, but just put things into the dowry box.
Lu Shenru glanced at Chongping, who understood what he meant and immediately flicked his hand, hitting a pair of porcelain vases in a servant's arms.
The porcelain vase made a bang, which was extremely harsh in the quiet night.
The head steward glared at him, and the servant immediately made a bitter face, "I didn't touch it?"
Before he finished speaking, the steward glared even more. The servant was so frightened that he dared not make a sound. Unexpectedly, something hit his foot suddenly. He was already nervous and almost fell down.
The steward couldn't bear to watch it any longer, so he stepped forward, took the porcelain bottle and put it into the nearest box, then kicked the boy to the ground. The boy didn't dare to say a word.
The steward lowered his voice and said, "These are all taken out from the old lady's storehouse. They are the dowry for the second young lady. They must be brought into the mansion. If anyone makes a mistake, don't blame me for reporting it to the old lady. You will definitely be punished!"
Everyone was trembling with fear and didn't dare to breathe.
However, in the shadow of the corner, Chong'an also covered his mouth tightly.
His incredulous gaze swept across the Gu family, to his brother, and finally to the Marquis—
Madam Wan from the Gu family actually dared to replace the Marquis' bride? !
How dare you replace the eldest girl with the second girl?!
In the dark corner of the wall, only through the gap between the tiles that were missing a corner, a ray of pale moonlight fell and landed on the corner of the Marquis' lips.
Chong'an saw the corners of the Marquis' lips slightly raised, and nodded slowly.
"The Gu family... is very good."
The moment the words fell, Chong'an's spine tightened, but when he turned around again, the Marquis had disappeared into the night.
The Du family in Chengqingfang were still busy preparing for the upcoming wedding. There were always people coming in and out of the main courtyard, but the west courtyard was much quieter.
Lu Shenru looked at the eight pots of chrysanthemums under the courtyard corridor.
She waters the chrysanthemums every day. She is so interested. Is she also involved in the sister exchange?
The man pursed his lips and turned silently from the corridor.
The light was on in her room and the window was half open. The night breeze blew into the room, and the faint scent of books drifted out along with the smoke from the lights.
He looked over and saw her sitting at the desk.
The man stood still and saw her supporting her cheek with her left hand and flipping through the yellowed pages of the book with her right hand. Suddenly, she thought of something, straightened up, picked up the pen and started writing.
I wrote this without putting down my pen for even a quarter of an hour.
Until the lamp on the desk became dimmer and dimmer, and finally trembled and almost went out in the lamp oil.
She came back to her senses. The man's eyes fell on her raised face. Seeing that her eyes seemed tired and closed tightly several times, he frowned, but heard her call Qiu Lin.
"Re-twist the wire."
Qiu Lin said, "Girl, forget it. It's so late now. My eyes can't bear to keep writing."
The man agreed with her, but she asked him to wait a while, found a wick from a box beside her, took the lamp, added oil to it, and covered the lampshade.
She said, "The lanterns made by Sanlang are different from ordinary ones. The light is scattered but not flickering. It is not too tiring to look at."
After she finished speaking, she held the lamp in her own hands, sat down at the desk and picked up her pen.
Outside the window, Lu Shenru was looking at the lamp in the dark, in a trance for a moment.
That was the third year of Yin You, and he had just returned to Xi'an from the Ningxia border to visit his grandfather.
Grandfather's condition worsened day by day, and no one could cure him, like a nearly burned-out candle, struggling to hold on with its last wick. Only on the slightly warmer spring days did his body feel a little better.
After visiting his grandfather, he went to the camp outside the city and waited until the sun was setting before returning to the city in the wind and sand.
But as soon as he entered the city, Chongping called him in a low voice.
Chongping usually doesn't talk much, but that day he couldn't help but be surprised.
"Master, it's a girl!"
He didn't quite understand what he meant, but when he turned his head slightly, his eyes were fixed on the person in front of him.
She was wearing a water green dress, and in the wind and sand of Xi'an city, she looked like a new leaf covered with dew.
She lowered her head and looked through the used books on the roadside stall.
He turned around and was about to leave, but his feet involuntarily walked over to her side.
She didn't recognize him, but she turned sideways to make some space for him in front of the bookstall.
He didn't know whether to laugh or not, so he stood beside her and flipped through the old books. Of course, he didn't read a single word.
Just looking at her slender and fair hands, she would frown when she saw an inappropriate book on the miscellaneous bookstall, but when she saw a book that looked decent, she would ask Qiulin to buy it immediately. When he looked at it carefully, her eyes would sparkle.
He was still the same as before. He wanted to laugh, but still couldn't.
There was only Qiulin by her side, no one else.
He just stood beside her without moving.
This is Xi'an, his territory. She broke in on her own and appeared in front of him.
Xi'an is a bit more chaotic, not as chaotic as Qingzhou. She left the bookstall and walked forward, and he followed her.
She had never seen anything like it before. When she saw people carving patterns out of sheep bones, she couldn't help but blink her eyes, but she didn't dare to buy anything. When she saw a foreigner put a few rare birds on his shoulders and asked her if she wanted to feed them, she took two steps back...
He finally couldn't help laughing, and she heard it and looked over at him.
She was stunned, but still didn't recognize him. She could only shyly explain to this "stranger", "This is my first time in Xi'an."
Did she dare to talk to him actively?
Then why didn't he answer?
However, before he could open his mouth, Qiu Lin suddenly came running over.
"Girl, I found the Third Master!"
When Qiu Lin called her, she immediately looked up, left him as a "passerby", and walked quickly to the other side of the road.
"Sanlang, where have you been? I'm unfamiliar with Xi'an, and the wind is so cold and strong. Why didn't you come back for a whole day?"
She kept asking the person who had just returned.
It’s Jiang Zhuxiu.
Jiang Zhuxiu coughed and apologized to her, "It's my fault. I made you look for it for a whole day."
"So what did you do?"
She only cares about people who step out for the day.
Jiang Zhuxiu didn't answer immediately, but took out a small lamp from his sleeve.
"What is this?" she wondered.
Jiang Zhuxiu said that this was a lamp made by a famous lamp maker in Xi'an. Although the lamp looks ordinary, the light is not dazzling and is most suitable for reading at night.
Brought it to her.
Her anxiety abated a little, but she also asked, "Can I buy the lamp in one day?"
"Of course not. But it's hard to get the lamp if we leave Xi'an." Jiang Zhuxiu explained with a smile, "So I begged the lamp maker to teach me, but I'm clumsy and it took me a whole day to learn."
She paused, and Lu Shenru was also silent on the other side of the street.
It goes without saying who likes to read by lamplight the most, and this is what Jiang Zhuxiu originally intended.
Jiang Zhuxiu's servant said to her with a grin, "Miss, our Third Master only thinks about you!"
Jiang Zhuxiu scolded him, "Okay."
On the street, he pursed his lips, but saw her out of the corner of his eyes, his cheeks blushed, and she suddenly called Jiang Zhuxiu.
"Are you cold? You've just gotten better. Let me warm your hands."
As she spoke, she really held the man's hand.
The crowd on the street inexplicably disappeared, and perhaps the crowd should have swept them away from his sight, but it didn't.
She no longer remembered him as a passerby, but when they passed each other, Jiang Zhuxiu looked up and suddenly saw him.
Jiang Zhuxiu was startled, and his tightly held hand loosened slightly, but he withdrew his gaze and blended into the crowd.
... ...
The west courtyard of the Du family in Chengqingfang was quiet. He stood outside the window and saw her light the lamp again.
But Qiu Lin couldn't bear to watch it any longer. "Young lady, you don't want your eyes anymore? Why do you have to study so hard? Young lady, you don't want to take the imperial examination?"
She laughed, "But we have to make money. After the family split up, there is no other industry to supply, so Mianlou can only rely on the seal society."
Split up the family?
Lu Shenru raised his eyebrows.
But Qiu Lin said, "If I had known this, I should have kept some of the betrothal gifts from the Marquis."
"What do I need his betrothal gifts for? My second sister is marrying him on my behalf, so she is the owner of those betrothal gifts."
As soon as the words were spoken, the courtyard fell inexplicably quiet.
The man outside the window looked at her silently, and saw that she seemed to have thought of something.
"You should also give that key to my second sister."
Qiu Lin responded and took out a copper key carved with the shape of a building.
Lu Shenru looked at it and finally couldn't help laughing.
She carried the lamp that Jiang Zhuxiu gave her with her across a thousand miles, and she could just throw the key to the library he gave her to someone else.
The moonlight was bright as a clear sky. The man stood outside the window, smiling silently for an unknown period of time.
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