Chapter 38: Escaping Marriage, White Moonlight 15: There is someone waiting for me...
Ali recently felt that Lu Jingming's temper seemed to have improved a lot since he was scolded by her.
She worked in Xu Ying's shop for several days in a row. She went out before dawn every day and fell asleep as soon as she came back at night. She should not have met Lu Jingming, but she could not stop him from appearing in unexpected places.
Although he still looked at her with a cold face, Ali inexplicably felt that he was much easier to talk to.
After asking Aunt Wei, Ali got the same answer. She shrank her neck and felt that the weird feeling was even stronger.
Today is a rare sunny day, and Xu Ying gave her a day off. Ali had a good sleep and stayed in the house to play mahjong with Uncle Wei and Aunt Wei.
It was Ali's first time playing, but he learned very quickly. After a short while, he won five chips in a row and was only one chip away from winning.
Uncle Wei was stunned: "Is this really Miss Ali's first time?"
Ali nodded, then shook his head: "Not really. I've seen the maids in the mansion play it before, but I don't know how it works."
Aunt Wei was also surprised and laughed: "Then this is talent."
"Not really." Ali scratched her face embarrassedly. But every time before she played a card, she would take a look at the expressions of Uncle Wei and Aunt Wei, and she would be able to guess most of it and win with one move.
Uncle Wei and Aunt Wei were also good at playing leaf cards when they were young. Now that they meet Ali, a young and inexperienced person, they are even more unwilling to be outdone.
After a few rounds, each of the three had a win or a loss.
Ali rubbed his hands, which were numb with excitement, and shouted, "Come again, come again!"
The three of them were having fun when there was a knock on the door. They all looked over and saw Lu Jingming standing in front of the door, looking at them quietly.
"Why is the young master here?" Uncle Wei was the first to react and quickly stood up to greet him.
Aunt Wei and Ali hurriedly collected the decks of cards on the table and followed.
Ali swallowed her saliva nervously, she remembered that the steward of Pan Mansion had repeatedly warned that playing cards was forbidden in the mansion. Those women who played cards did so secretly, and whenever there was any sign of trouble, they would quickly put away the cards and scatter.
Today was their first time playing, but they were caught red-handed by Lu Jingming. They were so unlucky.
Even Uncle Wei and Aunt Wei were a little nervous. The young master couldn't tolerate any injustice and they didn't know how he would deal with them.
Lu Jingming's eyes swept over the uneasy faces of several people, and he slowly said, "The weather is very good today. Move all the boxes and cages of books in my room out to dry in the sun."
Ah Li was still in a daze when Aunt Wei grabbed her arm and said, "Yes, Master, let's go right away."
Uncle Wei was responsible for moving the boxes out of Lu Jingming's room. Aunt Wei and A Li brought three wooden boards, two feet wide and ten feet long, placed them on a high stool, and took out the books, calligraphy and paintings in the boxes one by one and spread them out on the stool.
Ah Li was bending over to sort out the books in her hands. Lu Jingming had floated up behind her and suddenly asked, "Can you understand the words on it?"
Ali was so scared that she screamed and threw the book in her hand away. Lu Jingming stretched out his hand and the book did not fall to the ground.
"...Young Master? Why do you always stand behind others without saying a word?" Even though Lu Jingming appeared like this every time in the past few days, Ali was still very scared.
Lu Jingming flipped through the book in his hand and asked, "Is this how you show off your books?"
Ali snatched the book away in anger: "It's all Young Master's fault."
"How can you do business if you are so easily startled and your emotions are all visible on your face?" Lu Jingming said calmly.
Ali turned around suddenly: "How did you know, sir?"
Lu Jingming looked at her, looking distressed: "Is it hard to tell?"
Ali couldn't help but doubt himself: "Really?"
Is it true that my face cannot hide anything?
Lu Jingming casually stroked the precious fur edge of his cloak, his long eyelashes drooping. "Since you've made up your mind to do it, you can't just do it halfway. How about I teach you how to read—"
"But I don't really want it." Ali interrupted him and looked at him suspiciously. The strange feeling in his heart reached its peak at this moment.
She didn't think she was so honored that Lu Jingming could condescend to teach her, not to mention that Lu Jingming always looked down on others.
She recalled the time when she pushed Lu Jingming off the shore in a fit of impulse, and she felt certain that he must be plotting something bad behind her back and wanted to take revenge on her and catch her off guard.
Sure enough, after hearing Ali's words, Lu Jingming's face darkened.
The scholars of the entire Shangxi County were proud to receive his guidance. If he was in a good mood and was willing to say a few words, it would be a great honor. They would be so grateful that they would spread the news everywhere.
But in front of me, this young woman who couldn't even read a few words refused without a moment's hesitation. It was really unheard of.
"Why not?" Lu Jingming said with a cold face, taking a few steps towards her, vowing to get to the bottom of it.
Ali was being pressed closer and closer by him, with his lower back pressed against a tree, leaving him with nowhere to retreat.
She had no choice but to put her hand on Lu Jingming's chest, which was getting closer and closer: "Sir, just speak..."
"Why don't you want me to teach you calligraphy?" Lu Jingming did not retreat a single step, as if he would not back down until he got a satisfactory answer.
Ali carefully kept a distance between the two of them, but with little success. In a fit of rage, her stubborn temper, which she had only shown in front of her mother, came out. The more Lu Jingming asked, the more she gritted her teeth and refused to answer.
The two of them were in a stalemate. The expression in Lu Jingming's eyes faded little by little, and he suddenly raised his hand towards her.
Ah Li immediately felt as if he was facing a formidable enemy: "In broad daylight, you..."
Lu Jingming's hand went around the back of her head, and he clenched his fist and held it in front of her eyes: "Guess what's in here?"
Ali looked at him warily without saying a word.
Lu Jingming bent down and said in a coaxing tone: "Guess what? If you guess right, I will agree to one of your requests."
Ali's eyes rolled around, and he seemed to think it was a good deal, so he let down his guard.
"Leaves? Snowflakes?"
Lu Jingming shook his head.
Ali guessed a few more times, but they were still wrong, and he gradually became unhappy.
Seeing that the time was almost up, Lu Jingming pried off her protective hand with a half-smile and placed it against his own fist: "How stupid! See for yourself."
He put something in her hand and then left casually.
Ali stared at his receding figure for a while, then slowly opened his wrapped hands.
A shrunken, silver-gray silverfish worm, about the size of a thumb, lay in the palm of her hand.
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhh—”
Ali was so scared that he jumped three feet high and waved his hands desperately to get rid of the bug, but the disgusting and creepy touch still remained in the palm of his hand and could not be removed.
Ali's shrill screams echoed in the yard. Uncle Wei and Aunt Wei quickly gathered around: "What's wrong?! What happened?!"
Ali's eyes were red, and he accused them of Lu Jingming's evil deeds with grief and indignation.
The culprit has long disappeared.
As the sun set, Uncle Wei moved the boxes back and saw Lu Jingming leaning against the window, lost in thought, holding a book.
"Sir, I have collected all your calligraphy and paintings. I will move them into the inner room right away."
"No need," Lu Jingming put the book down and walked to the table, "Just leave it there. It will save you from moving it in a few days."
Uncle Wei was puzzled: "After a few days?"
Lu Jingming didn't even raise his eyes. "Yes, the Lu Mansion's carriage will arrive in a few days. We'll just load it onto the carriage and take it back to the mansion."
*
Because he was very angry during the day, Ali ate with an open appetite for dinner and drank a few glasses of fruit wine brewed by Uncle Wei, praising it highly.
As expected, she was full after the meal and walked out holding the wall. Seeing the beautiful moonlight outside, she decided to take a slow walk to digest the food.
As I was walking, I unknowingly arrived outside Lu Jingming's study.
Ali wanted to turn around and leave, but the white plum tree in front of the study was in bloom. The white petals were dotted on the branches in clusters, which looked particularly beautiful.
Ali hesitated a little and thought, she came here to appreciate the plum blossoms, not to see him, right?
Thinking of this, Ali stopped and concentrated on appreciating the flowers.
When Lu Jingming quietly appeared behind him, A-li was no longer surprised and took the initiative to talk to him: "Young Master, you are here to appreciate the plum blossoms too."
Lu Jingming walked up to her, stood side by side with her, and looked at her strangely.
In the night, the plum tree was filled with fragrance. Ali took a deep breath and felt very satisfied.
"Sparse shadows slant across the shallow water, and a faint fragrance floats in the moonlight at dusk."
Lu Jingming said softly, and looked down to see Ali squatting on the ground, picking up the falling petals one by one.
She didn't understand what Lu Jingming was saying, so she said casually, "How can it still be dusk? Your poem doesn't make sense."
Lu Jingming was silent for a moment.
After a while, he spoke again: "You can spread a piece of cloth under the tree and get twice the result with half the effort. Why use such a stupid method?"
Ali, however, never tires of this. When he gets tired of squatting, he sits down against the tree roots and says, "This is fun."
Lu Jingming remained silent.
After a few moments of silence, Ah Li looked at Lu Jingming's tall, bamboo-like figure and suddenly asked, "Why do you have to go back, back to Xingyang County?"
Here, the world outside here is so wonderful, peaceful and harmonious, free and unrestrained, the world is so big and there are no restrictions.
Lu Jingming just looked up at the starry sky above him quietly. Just when Ali thought he wouldn't answer, his voice came out like a sigh:
"Because there is someone waiting for me."
Ali was gradually being drunk, his eyelids growing heavier, and he could only answer with his willpower: "Hmm?"
"She's having a hard time. I promised her, and myself, that I would go back and make those who bullied us pay the price."
To achieve this, he must have complete control over the Lu family.
Lu Jingming's thoughts drifted far away. When he looked back, Ali had already fallen asleep with his arms around his knees.
Lu Jingming squatted down, memorized her face bit by bit carefully in his mind, then gently picked her up and carried her back to the house.
It's just an accident. When the sun rises, everything will return to its original place.
In the darkness, Lu Jingming looked a little reluctant, even he himself was not aware of it.
He took a step back, leaving Ali in the dark room. Although separated by a door, they were in two completely different worlds.
With a creak, he closed the door and no longer lingered.
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