Chapter 63 Chapter 63 Flower Wine
Du Lingjing wanted to get on the carriage, not get off, so why was he holding her hand tightly?
There was no such thing as helping someone into a car. Du Lingjing glanced back at him, but he raised his eyebrows and smiled, then simply abandoned the horse and got into the car with her.
When they got in the car, he didn't let go of her hand. Du Lingjing already regretted picking him up. If she had known earlier, she would have chosen Chongping...
As the carriage left the alley of Jing'an Marquis' Mansion, he suddenly ordered to turn around and go to the East City.
Du Lingjing raised her eyebrows slightly, and he turned around and spoke to her softly.
"Recently, there is a song and dance in the Pillow Moon Tower to worship the goddess of flowers. The choreography seems to be something like this. Let's go and take a look."
He had mentioned before that he would take her to the Zhenyue Tower, but she didn't get along with him and didn't want to go out with him. She didn't want to find an opportunity to accomplish what he wanted, even if he had to go through eighteen circles.
The carriage bypassed the imperial city and headed towards the East City, stopping in front of the Zhenyue Tower from time to time.
The timing of their arrival was so "just right" that as soon as they sat down in the private room on the third floor, the sound of drums and music in the lobby began to sound.
Du Lingjing glanced at someone. He was obviously in a very good mood. He no longer had a cold face and a muffled expression. He took the plate of snacks handed to him by Chong'an and placed it next to Du Lingjing.
"Try Quanquan, it's the way it's done in Yunnan."
He said that the shopkeeper of Zhenyue Tower had invited two tea and pastry chefs from Yunnan, "who are from Prince Mu's Palace. The taste is quite different from that in Beijing."
Du Lingjing had seen it in travel notes, but had never tasted it herself. Since she had come to Zhenyue Tower with him, she couldn't afford to be mean with dim sum, so she reached out and pinched one, put it to her nose to smell it, and took a small bite.
His eyes became more amiable, and he asked softly.
"Is it delicious?"
The fragrance is not overpowering, and the sweetness is not cloying. Du Lingjing nodded, "It would be even better if it were paired with flower wine."
She just said this casually, and he smiled and said, "That's the truth."
As soon as he finished speaking, the head shopkeeper of the Zhenyue Tower outside personally brought in a pot of warmed flower wine.
The chief shopkeeper bowed to the marquis and his wife repeatedly, and Du Lingjing nodded in response. The man was used to it, so he said a few words casually and sent the shopkeeper away.
He only spoke to her, "If you think this flower wine is good, I'll have someone bring some back home."
He asked her, and Du Lingjing didn't say yes or no, but suddenly remembered the palace banquet and drinking before the New Year.
At that time, beside the Taiye Lake, she drank an extra pot of Bamboo Leaf Green Tea, which was brought up by the palace servants. She did intend to drink more wine.
But when he was about to leave, he asked her to wait for him in Merlin.
The starlight sprinkled on the lake. He walked quickly over the arch bridge. As soon as he asked about the scent of bamboo wine on her body, he frowned.
Ask her why she drinks so much bamboo wine?
At that time, he was just a little unhappy and didn't allow her to drink bamboo wine anymore.
But later, she left and was caught by him again. There was a bamboo forest outside the window. She just looked at it for a few more seconds, and he said in a deep voice that someone should change the route immediately.
Until now, he had had everything related to bamboo moved out of the house, even the bamboo forest in the backyard was almost removed.
When Du Lingjing thought of this, she didn't want to pay any attention to him anymore.
After sipping two glasses of flower wine and standing at the railing to watch the singing and dancing downstairs for a while, he came over and embraced her.
"If you like them, you can invite them to sing at your home."
Du Lingjing didn't like to make a fuss, so she ignored his words. The man saw that she was silent again, but he didn't seem unhappy. He asked someone to bring flower tea, took the small cup of flower wine in her hand, and poured her tea.
Flower tea is more suitable for dessert than flower wine. When his father was alive, some students gave him a few packets of flower tea they grew themselves. Du Lingjing doesn’t even remember what flower it was, but he remembers that after taking a sip, the flower fragrance lingered between his teeth and tongue for a long time.
Du Lingjing didn't eat much at the banquet, so she ate two more snacks and drank a whole bowl of scented tea. This time, someone didn't ask any more questions and just told people to take it all home.
In terms of generosity, no one can compare to him, Du Lingjing thought to herself.
After a while, when the singing and dancing stopped, he called her, "Let's go."
It was not yet dark, and the sun was shining through the gaps between the city walls. Du Lingjing had thought that he was going to have dinner with her at the Zhenyue Tower today, but she didn't expect that he would lock her up and send her back home so soon.
She pursed her lips and said nothing. The man guessed her thoughts and explained in a low voice.
"The East Road of Chengqingfang has been repaired. Let Zhenyuelou send the food over there. We will have dinner in the East Road today."
Upon hearing this, Du Lingjing couldn't help but turn her head and look at him.
He got Chengqingfang back from her uncle. After that, he asked the chief steward of the clan to supervise the work personally and renovate the entire expanded east road and merge it with the original central and western roads.
Du Lingjing had asked about this matter several times at first, but later she was busy with Guilin Tower and stopped asking about it. Unexpectedly, he had repaired all of them for her.
It seemed that he always did much more for her than she saw.
Thinking of this, Du Lingjing stopped being angry with him and nodded slightly.
The man's eyes softened completely, and his gaze seemed to gently fall on her. He couldn't help but reach out to hold her hand.
But Du Lingjing had already expected this, and before he reached out his hand, she put her hands behind her back.
The man grasped her sleeves and found nothing in sight. He was slightly startled, then lowered his head and chuckled softly.
Du Lingjing had already predicted what he was going to say, and before he opened his mouth, she left the private room and went downstairs.
There was his helpless sigh behind him.
Du Lingjing thought about how he usually controlled everything, even the queen's words, and she couldn't help feeling happy at this moment.
The sound of drums and music was heard again in the lobby of Zhenyue Tower. The drum beats were brisk and the head shopkeeper saw the Marquis and his wife leaving and hurried over to see them off.
Du Lingjing praised the flower-brewed tea and flower cakes of Zhenyue Tower today. The head shopkeeper thanked her with a big smile on his face, and Marquis Lu gave her an additional large sum of money.
The implication is that there will be huge rewards!
Du Lingjing couldn't help but glance at him from the corner of her eye. He immediately caught her gaze, and even caught the barely perceptible smile in her eyes.
The red-billed green parrot that could only say "a big reward" never came to the main courtyard again after the argument between the two...
The man noticed her mockery and snorted.
Du Lingjing turned around quickly, while the head shopkeeper was completely confused, not knowing what the marquis and his wife were talking about.
But it’s not a bad thing after all, so I laughed along.
For a moment, Du Lingjing was almost about to laugh.
She walked quickly down the stairs.
Who would have thought that she walked too fast and stepped on the hem of her skirt.
Du Lingjing's body suddenly tilted.
But in the next breath, someone held his waist with his hand and he stabilized.
He immediately lowered his head to look at her feet, "Sprained your ankle?!"
The words were strangely familiar.
Du Lingjing just stepped on her skirt and shook her head at him.
He breathed a sigh of relief, "Are you scared?"
Lu Shenru asked again and saw that she shook her head again, and the tassel of the hairpin on her bun swayed left and right.
She didn't wear the red coral headdress he gave her today, but this set of pearl headdress was shining brightly in the dim corridor.
The fluctuations were just like the watery eyes beneath her long eyebrows, and there seemed to be a lingering smile in her eyes from when she had just laughed at him.
How long had it been since he saw her smile at him like this?
"Quanquan."
He held her in his arms and called her name softly.
Everyone in the corridor disappeared.
The sound of drums and music outside floated in the distance like a veil.
The man came close to her face.
"Let's make peace."
Du Lingjing paused.
His breath enveloped her, and his hands were clasped around her waist. This action at this moment, and the question just now, made Du Lingjing think of the first time she returned to the capital and stepped into the Zhenyue Tower for the first time.
She came to see Shao Boju that day, but met him in this corridor.
At that time and moment, just like this moment.
He asked her if she had sprained her ankle, then said there were no good people here and advised her not to go see Shao Boju.
She was very confused at that time, but now she thought about it, he knew in advance that the imperial decree would only give her to him, so it didn't matter whether she met Shao Boju or not.
And Shao Boju is indeed not a good person, but what about him?
When they met for the so-called first time, he held her waist and spoke so many words to her.
He, Lord Lu, doesn't look like a good person.
That day, when the Shaw brothers left the Zhenyue Tower, she sat in the lobby for a while, while he was on the third floor of the west building of the Zhenyue Tower.
At that time, she looked up at him from afar and never thought that she and he would become husband and wife as decreed by the emperor.
But no matter whether it was then or now, no matter how hard Du Lingjing tried, she could not remember his face and voice, or where she had met them before.
He said it was three years ago, but he just did it to coax her sometimes.
So when is it?
The sound of drums in the lobby intensified, pounding in people's ears and shaking in the narrow stairwell.
"Quanquan, let's make peace with each other." He gently held her shoulders.
But Du Lingjing retracted the unnecessary expression on her face, turned sideways, pulled herself out of his arms, and went downstairs.
... ...
After that, the carriage became silent again.
The man sighed.
However, since he had said that he would go to Chengqingfang East Road for dinner, he would not cancel it without reason.
But she said to Chongping, "Let's go back to Jiqingfang."
Madam wants to go back to the Marquis' Mansion, and Chongping will see what the Marquis thinks.
The man didn't respond.
The carriage turned slightly and arrived at the gate of the Du Mansion in Chengqingfang.
She didn't get out of the car, and the man sighed, "Let's eat first. Who knows, there might be good news later."
The good news?
Du Lingjing paused slightly, and Chongping came to ask her to get out of the car.
Du Lingjing calculated the days and it seemed that the results of the imperial examination would be announced in three or four days.
Ordinary people would have to wait until the gang was released to know whether they had won or not, but it was hard to say for this marquis.
Upon hearing the voice, Qia Wenbo came to greet her with his old steps. Du Lingjing was reluctant to offend Wenbo, so she got out of the car.
Wen Bo stepped forward to greet her, and then he and the people beside her called him, "Uncle."
Lu Shenru responded specially.
Du Lingjing remembered that he had asked all the servants of the Du family in Chengqingfang to change their way of addressing him and call him "son-in-law". Now, as he walked inside, he was indeed called "son-in-law" all the way.
He looked at her twice quietly.
Du Lingjing had nothing to say. Wen Bo led them in front and took a look at the expanded eastern road.
There was an existing three-courtyard house next door, which had been renovated less than ten years ago. He did not ask the chief steward of the clan to make major changes to the house, but he completely changed the scenery of the flowers and plants in the courtyard.
After seeing this change, Du Lingjing walked around and thought she had returned to her hometown in Qingzhou.
Wen Bo told her directly, "My son-in-law had it rebuilt based on the old house of the Du family in Qingzhou."
Du Lingjing's initial anger could not help but worsen.
The two of them had dinner together in the east courtyard. As soon as the table was cleared, his staff came to look for him.
Lu Shenru walked to the front yard, and when he came back, Du Lingjing saw that he was smiling.
The last ray of sunset glowing on the city wall brought joy to his eyes.
"It's really good news today."
Du Lingjing didn't bother to be angry with him and stood up.
He said directly, "The Qingzhou Du family will have a new Jinshi this year!"
"It's Brother Cang!"
As soon as Du Lingjing spoke, he smiled and nodded.
As long as one is on the list of the Spring Examination and becomes a tribute student, the subsequent Palace Examination is just a matter of ranking.
The palace examination will not eliminate inferior people. The worst one can be a fellow Jinshi, just like Du Lingjing's uncle Du Zhiqi. But the best one may be able to pass the imperial examination and rank first, second, or third!
Du Jicang passed the imperial examination, and the matter was settled. After many years, the Qingzhou Du family finally had another Jinshi.
If my father knew about this, he would be so happy.
Du Lingjing couldn't help but hold her chest and smiled, "Have you sent someone to tell Brother Cang?"
Lu Shenru said that he had not yet done so. He said that he was not in a hurry. “But we will just have to wait for three or four days. We don’t want people to misunderstand that my uncle had another way to get the first place.”
In other words, he did it with the help of his brother-in-law, Lord Lu.
Du Jicang's knowledge was substantial, and Lu Shenru didn't say a word about it.
Du Lingjing thought to herself that it would be better not to mention it for the time being, saying that he had been in Guilin Tower recently and was not in the capital.
Soon Du Lingjing thought of another candidate in Guilin Building.
"Did Feng Xiang pass the exam?"
She asked, and saw the man frown immediately.
"Madam, do you think he can pass the exam if he doesn't put all his effort into the exam?"
Du Lingjing: "..."
Then Feng Xiang didn’t win.
Du Lingjing glanced at the man, the glow in his eyes gradually faded away, and his eyes became dark again.
She thought to herself that if he didn't win, then he didn't win. There was no need for him to say anything bad about Feng Xiang. He just didn't like her because he was used to it.
Fortunately, Feng Xiang was not interested in this and he would only be depressed for an afternoon and would recover with a smile the next day.
Du Lingjing no longer mentioned Feng Xiang, but suddenly thought of someone again.
"Then Mukuro...?"
After asking these three words, Du Lingjing saw the man fall silent.
Unlike when he mentioned Feng Xiang just now, he was obviously unhappy. Now when he mentioned Jiang Fengchuan, his expression was completely cold.
He looked at her in silence.
"Stop worrying about the Jiang family, okay?"
He has a low voice.
Du Lingjing was just asking.
Wasn't it that what Sanlang cared about most during his lifetime was Liulang's studies?
She pursed her lips, but listened to the person in front of her.
"He's not a good guy."
These words caused Du Lingjing to frown.
It was just because Liu Lang found out everything he had hidden from him.
Du Lingjing was destined not to get an answer from him. When it came to Jiang Fengchuan and the Jiang family, his attitude had already changed drastically.
The rosy glow dissipated under the city wall, and the uninhabited Du Mansion 3rd Road in Chengqingfang was silent.
Neither of them spoke for a while, and it was Wenbo who came to the yard to light the lamp.
The man glanced at his wife and slowed down his voice.
"Is there anything else that needs to be repaired or added to the courtyard?"
This place is very similar to the old house of the Du family in Qingzhou, except for one thing -
There is a clump of tall and straight green bamboo missing in the corner of the wall.
Du Lingjing looked towards the corner, and he also looked over there.
He knew very well that there was a lack of bamboo here.
When Du Lingjing just spoke of Liu Lang, his face darkened. Now that he was talking about the lack of bamboo, he didn't know what to do.
Did he mind that much? He minded anyone and anything related to Saburo appearing before her eyes.
Then why did he have the patience and generosity to perform a water and land ceremony for Sanlang?
Du Lingjing couldn't understand him.
He said, "It seems there is nothing to change or add, let's go home."
Du Ling left silently.
Instead, Lu Shenru glanced at the corner of the wall where the green bamboos were empty, then left with a gloomy look and pursed lips.
*
In the evening, Du Lingjing was not in the mood, so she casually flipped through a book, asked Qiulin to undress her, and prepared to rest.
The man came back from the outer courtyard after taking care of some things. He saw that only the maid was greeting him. She was sitting in front of the dressing table and only glanced at him before looking away.
It was obviously not like this during the day, but whenever the word "Jiang" was mentioned, she became cold towards him.
The maid poured tea, Lu Shenru took two sips, changed his clothes, and came out to see the two maids gathered in front of the dressing table.
"Madam, why are your hairpins tangled up? And they are tangled so tightly..."
As Qiulin and Aiye moved, he saw from the bronze mirror that she frowned in pain.
He came over and asked, "Can't you just cut it with scissors?"
Qiu Lin replied that it was okay, "but I'm afraid it might damage Madam's hair."
Our bodies and hair are given to us by our parents.
Du Lingjing, however, decided to just endure the pain and pull it out.
But as soon as she stretched out her hand, she was blocked back.
"Don't move."
Du Lingjing was stopped by him and saw him walk towards her completely, with his fingertips clasping the hairpin wrapped in her hair.
He exerted force with his hands and broke the hairpin into two pieces.
He took them all off for her and put them aside.
"Did it hurt?"
Du Lingjing shook her head.
He relaxed slightly.
"Don't wear this one. Wear the red coral one next time."
Du Lingjing did not comment.
After washing up, he went to bed.
Du Lingjing couldn't help but think of what happened in the Marquis of Jing'an's Mansion during the day.
Nian Jia was in a depressed mood at that time, and I don’t know if he has recovered now.
She said that maybe she was the one who implicated her, and there seemed to be something else in her words. She also said that she would come to the Marquis' Mansion another day. She didn't know if she wanted to mention the old things with Wei Jue to her.
Du Lingjing thought about Nian Jia for a while, then lay on the bed. The man also extinguished the candle and went into the tent.
Du Ling thought calmly that tonight would probably be no different from the previous ones and turned to go to sleep, but she didn't expect him to hold her hand under the quilt.
She pulled away for a moment but failed to pull out, and the next moment, he suddenly pulled her into his arms. He clasped her tightly with his iron arms, turned his hot chest over, and suddenly pressed her down...
He was too familiar with her body. In just a few moves, the gauze curtain dragged on the ground, rolling and bumping.
Du Lingjing had no control over herself at all. It had been a long time since she had experienced such a springtime experience, and there was no scent at all. She could not bear it for a moment, and her waist trembled.
But he insisted, holding her waist and making her take it completely.
There was no wind or moon inside the carved bed, but heat and humidity were rising between the gauze curtains.
Surrounded by their intertwined breaths, she had been touched by him at her softest point, and the rain fell all over her body under the soft quilt.
The rain also fell in her eyes, and he bent his head and kissed her under the eyes.
She was so angry that she tried her best to push him away, but she couldn't. Instead, in the tightly closed valley, the flower wine in the Zhenyue Tower overflowed.
She turned into a puddle of water.
He didn't stop yet and kept pushing her upwards. Du Lingjing hit his shoulders hard, but he pushed her higher and higher until she was completely wet and exhausted.
He then held her gently in his arms.
The gauze curtain was draped around her soft white feet. He held her shoulders and let her lean closer to his chest. He called out "Quanquan" in a low, hoarse voice, then turned his head to kiss her on the lips.
Du Lingjing pursed her lips and turned her head away.
He kissed her ear.
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