Chapter 7 Chapter 7 It's Him
"Excuse me, do I know you?"
After these words came out, the man paused.
A group of people filed past in the corridor, further blocking the light in the hallway. The light in the stairwell dimmed along with the music.
She looked at him with confusion and scrutiny.
The man pursed his lips slightly, his eyes narrowing under her scrutiny.
"I'm sorry, I recognized the wrong person."
Only after he admitted his mistake did Du Lingjing feel relieved.
Judging from his words and actions just now, if he wasn't admitting his mistake, then she would be uneasy.
But the man gave off an aura that made her not want to get close to him. Du Lingjing inexplicably didn't want to make close friends with him, so she bowed briefly and turned to leave.
But just as she turned around, his voice sounded again from behind her.
"But the Pillow Moon Tower has been a bit messy these days. Miss, you can go to the small teahouse next to the Lantern Market to sit and drink, it will be more pleasant."
He also advised.
Du Lingjing couldn't help but raise her eyebrows, and her expression was slightly tense when she looked back at him.
The lights grew dimmer, the warm atmosphere in the bustling lobby settled down, and a cool breeze blew through the stairwell.
The man paused, "Of course...Zhenyue Tower has its own scenery, but don't stay too long."
He said this and said no more.
Du Lingjing didn't know why this person was so dissatisfied with Zhenyue Tower, but she really didn't want to get entangled with him.
"Thank you for letting me know."
Just as Ruan Gong ran back from upstairs to pick her up, she turned around and left quickly.
When she left, she took away the faint scent of books wafting in the corridor.
The rotating lamp cast light of varying depths, flowing across the man's face.
The man closed his eyes gently.
In a hidden corner.
The guard Chong'an looked at his master from behind and couldn't help but ask his elder brother Chongping in a low voice.
"Brother, does Zhenyue Tower owe the Marquis money?"
Chongping: "...No."
"So, is Zhenyuelou jealous of the Marquis? Why is the Marquis so sour in his words?"
Chongping tried hard not to choke, but he saw the Marquis's body pause slightly.
“Shut up!”
Before he finished speaking, the man turned around and asked.
"But have you booked a private room in the building? Where is it?"
Chongping lowered his head and stepped forward to reply, "On the third floor of the west building."
Shaw reserved the most spacious private room in the east building of Zhenyue Tower, while Chongping could only reserve the room with the best street view in the west building.
When he saw the Marquis at this time, he raised his foot and continued to walk up.
"Come over and sit down."
*
In the east building of Zhenyue Tower, Du Lingjing was led into a private room.
This place was elegant and spacious, taking up almost half of the teahouse, with painted screens and carved windows, famous porcelain and fragrant tea, all of which were exquisite. The person she wanted to see was already standing in front of the window with his hands behind his back, wearing a crimson purple brocade robe and a golden jade crown on his head. For a moment, Du Lingjing couldn't reconcile him with the person in her memory.
About eleven or twelve years ago, when she first met Shao Boju through the Hu brothers and sisters, the Shao family lived in poverty and he always wore cloth clothes that did not fit him well.
Every season when Hu Tingjun made clothes for his elder brother, he also made one for Shao Boju, so that he wouldn't have to wear old clothes that didn't fit him and be looked down upon by others...
What happened more than ten years ago is as vague as the morning mist. When I turn around to recall it, it has already dissipated in the rising sunlight.
But at this moment, Shao Boju's demeanor was no longer the same as before, and Du Lingjing was distracted for a moment. He turned around from the window.
He has heroic eyebrows and deep eyes, and his gaze is full of spirit.
Du Lingjing stepped forward to greet him, and he raised his hand to support her, "Mother Jing is here, no need to be polite."
Du Lingjing then stood up and saw a man standing beside him who looked about the same as him. Shao Boju said that this man was his cousin, the fifth child, and was called Shao Wuxing.
Du Lingjing vaguely remembered that Shao Boju had only four brothers and sisters, and she didn't know when the fifth brother was born. He looked to be around 20 years old, with a hooked nose and slightly sharp eyes.
"Miss Du, great peace."
Shao Wuxing greeted her and Du Lingjing also greeted him in return.
The three of them then sat down. The shopkeeper of Zhenyue Tower came over personally to serve tea, said a few polite words to Shao Boju, and then left.
Shao Boju responded to everything as usual, without any trace of embarrassment as he had before.
Du Lingjing also perked up and exchanged a few pleasantries with him. She did not directly mention the marriage between the two families, but changed the subject slightly and turned to the brothers and sisters of the Hu family.
"I sent someone to visit Ting Jun's home earlier, and I got the news that Ting Jun and his wife, as well as Brother Hu's family, have gone to an unknown place, and they didn't leave any messages. I wonder if Brother Shao knows about this?"
She asked, and saw Shao Boju answered with understanding, "I am also wondering about this matter. I sent people to look for it but they haven't found it yet. Xiao Wu," he called Shao Wuxing, "have you found any clues?"
Shao Wuxing shook his head and said, "Brother, I sent more people two days ago, but there is no news yet. But I estimate it will be soon."
Shao Boju instructed him, "Then send more people."
"yes."
After they finished talking, Du Lingjing saw Shao Boju looking at her.
"I will pay attention to the affairs of the Hu family. Jingniang has just returned to the capital, so why don't you go out and have some fun instead of worrying too much."
Du Lingjing nodded slowly, but the next moment she raised her eyes and looked at Shao Boju.
"Brother Shao is right. But Tingjun mentioned something in the letter he wrote to me before, which may be related to the current situation of the brother and sister."
As soon as she finished speaking, she saw Shao Boju's eyes narrowed, while his cousin Shao Wuxing beside him narrowed his eyes almost imperceptibly.
"What's the matter?" Shao Boju asked.
"Tingjun wrote to me that if I came to Beijing, she asked me to find something in the forest west of Jishuitan," Du Lingjing said as she recalled something. "She said that this thing was very important and asked me to find it and preserve it."
After she finished speaking, she saw Shao Wuxing's hooked nose and eyes tremble, and Shao Boju asked her directly.
"What is that? Did Jingniang find it?"
The two brothers looked at her closely. Du Lingjing showed no expression and just shook her head slowly.
"I sent people to look for it twice, but nothing was found."
These words seemed to make Shao Wuxing feel relieved, and Shao Boju also relaxed his fixed eyes.
Du Lingjing asked him, "Brother Shao, do you know what it is? Did Tingjun get it in the wrong place?"
"I don't know what it is. But you sent people there twice and couldn't find it, so it's not here. You must have made a mistake."
Du Lingjing said "hmm".
The Hu brothers and sisters have been missing for more than a month, but Shao Boju downplayed such a major event to her.
Du Ling looked silently at this Tanhua man whom she was no longer familiar with.
But Shao Boju mentioned something else.
"As for the marriage between our two families..." He looked at Du Lingjing and smiled at her, "Jingniang knows everything, right?"
Du Lingjing nodded.
Shao Boju's eyes softened a little, "Just marry me with peace of mind. I won't treat you unfairly."
Is this a promise?
Du Lingjing had never heard of such a promise that sounded like a street transaction.
But she followed Shao Boju's words, lowered her eyes and said, "I know."
Having said that, there seems to be nothing more to talk about.
The relationship between the couple, who are about to get married, is as shallow as that between a buyer and a seller.
Shao Boju asked outside the door, and the long-servant said that someone was waiting for him somewhere, so Shao Boju stood up.
"Jingniang hasn't been to the capital for many years. Now that you are at the Pillow Moon Tower, you can have a good time. However, I have something important to attend to, so I won't accompany you."
Du Lingjing bowed politely and saw him out.
After he left, Du Lingjing had no intention of staying in this exquisite but stuffy private room any longer. She asked Ruan Gong to find a small table in the hall downstairs.
The night cannot cover the Zhenyue Tower which is as bright as day. Dancers carry lanterns and wander on the stage, with singing and dancing music filling the air.
Du Lingjing sat down at the small table under the window and said, "Just wait here."
Ruan Gong said yes, and then whispered, "I have followed the young lady's instructions and asked Chang Pu to guard the Jishuitan."
Du Lingjing nodded, then took another sip of tea from the cup.
The so-called letter from Hu Tingjun asking her to go to Jishuitan to look for something did not exist at all, and she also told Shao Boju that there was nothing there.
But if Shao Boju still went to Jishuitan...
Du Lingjing slowly sipped the fragrant tea in her hand.
The Zhenyue Tower was packed with people. Even though she was sitting in a secluded spot, she was still able to listen to the lively conversations of the tea drinkers.
There is still one day left until the Mid-Autumn Festival, and there is no other topic in the entire teahouse.
At this moment, someone is talking about the high-ranking families that are going to arrange marriages this year, "... ...They are all waiting for the Emperor to grant marriages, even the matchmaker is not as busy as the Emperor. But the Emperor has to focus on those two first this year, so he may not be able to take care of others."
Someone asked directly, "It is said that the third place winner is going to remarry this year. Which noble lady will it be? Has it been decided yet?"
Someone nearby said, "That family has already submitted their name cards to the clan office!"
"Which one is it?" This person still hasn't figured it out.
The person next to him told him directly, "It's the Du family in Chengqingfang, first the residence of Lord Du!"
The man was shocked. "Didn't Lord Du pass away many years ago? Didn't he say that he only had one daughter, who is still unmarried?"
"No, my previous fiancé died before we could get married. It's impossible to get married again after wasting so many years, so I can only marry someone else. It just so happens that the third place winner wants to marry a second wife, this Miss Du is really lucky!"
"Oh, this is a high-class marriage. If it were normal, with Miss Du's family background and age, how could she marry into a high-class family? She would only be able to marry a local gentry as a second wife."
Ruan Gong cursed those people in a low voice, but Du Lingjing, who was about to "marry up", was indifferent and continued to drink tea.
The others started talking about something else. "... I heard that the Yongding Marquis's Mansion will be welcoming the Marquis's wife this year. It's guaranteed." He said that in Qianxingfang, "someone bet five hundred taels of silver, betting that Marquis Lu will marry the Marquis' wife this year! The imperial edict will come down in two days!"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone exclaimed "Ah!", attracting half of the tea drinkers in the hall to look over.
These people did not hold back, "Who bet on it? Are you so sure? But I haven't heard of any family wanting to marry into the Yongding Marquis's Mansion?"
Everyone counted all the possible noble families, and after counting, they found that there were indeed a few noble ladies who were suitable for the marquis, but no one could tell which one they were.
Someone said, "It can't be a lost family like the Du family. It can't be an old girl who was engaged but didn't get married!"
Ruan Gong's face turned blue and he couldn't help but argue with these people. Du Lingjing called him quickly.
She chuckled, "What they said is not wrong."
The powerful Marquis Yongding must have high expectations. Of course, she had no intention of marrying someone else.
However, before she finished her words, the noisy lobby suddenly became quiet.
For some reason, everyone looked up at the third floor of the west building.
In front of the carved railing, a man stood tall. His dark blue brocade robe made him look like a black jade sword, cold and noble. His eyes slowly swept across the hall and paused in front of the tea table by the secluded window.
Du Lingjing was stunned.
It's him.
The one who gave her “kind words of advice” on the stairs.
She didn't know who this person was, but she heard someone whispering, "So Lord Lu is really here?"
Lord Lu?
Du Lingjing was stunned for a moment.
Marquis of Yongding, Lu Shenru?
She looked up and saw the man's gaze sweeping across everyone and somehow ended up falling towards her.
Du Lingjing was stunned and subconsciously turned her head away.
She didn't look again, but she vaguely saw from the corner of her eye that the man seemed to stay in front of the railing for a moment, then turned and left.
As his figure disappeared, the noisy conversation in the lobby quickly resumed, but this time the tea drinkers could not conceal their excitement in their words.
"So the Marquis is really here! The East Tower of Zhenyue Tower has received Shao Tanhua, and the West Tower has invited Marquis Lu. What day is today? Who can make these two come here?"
There is still one day to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but the Zhenyue Tower has already celebrated it with great bustle.
Du Lingjing frowned slightly.
She invited Shao Boju, but the marquis...
Somehow, the man's low and hoarse voice inexplicably echoed in her ears.
"There are no good people here, so it's better not to come."
His palms were secretly hot, and the strength of his hand around her waist did not decrease but became stronger...
Du Lingjing's mind flashed for a moment, and before he could withdraw it, Changpu suddenly ran towards him from the door. He had returned from the Jishuitan.
Acorus took a step forward and reached her ear.
After Changpu finished speaking, Du Lingjing took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
Ruan Gong looked at her thoughts carefully and saw that her expression changed for a moment, but she suddenly asked a strange question.
"Are there many people in Qianxingfang who are betting on Shao Boju and my marriage?"
Before Ruan Gong could answer, Chang Pu hurriedly said, "Yes, girl, they are all waiting for the imperial decree to grant the marriage between the Shao family and the Du family, so that they can make a fortune!"
But Ruan Gong saw the girl smiled very faintly and slowly put down the tea bowl in her hand.
"Then I'm afraid they will be disappointed."
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