42 Stunning
◎I've never seen her like this◎
As soon as Shu Yao came back, she saw Ji Shijing sitting in the yard reading a book. He was sitting under the sycamore tree, his profile as white as jade, his long eyelashes drooping with a faint shadow. He looked at her only after hearing the noise.
Shu Yao sat across from him, looking at the yellowed and broken pages in his hands, which he had obviously read countless times: "Do you like reading?" When he was in the North Courtyard, his cabinet was filled with books besides clothes, but she had never seen him read them, so she thought he was just using them to pad the corners of the table.
Ji Shijing put the book down: "I'm bored, just entertaining myself."
Shu Yao told him what she had just seen and heard: "I passed by Shoukang Pavilion and heard the maid say that the old lady was bitten by a poisonous snake."
Ji Shijing raised an eyebrow and turned the page calmly: "Oh?"
Shu Yao thought for a moment. The old lady, bitten by a venomous snake, would surely be suspicious, and who knew what new tricks she would come up with. She pulled him into the house, fished out a small box of powder from a box, and explained earnestly, "I think the old lady will definitely send someone to check on our courtyard. We should pretend to be bitten by a venomous snake, otherwise she won't let us go."
Ji Shijing had no expression on his face, just nodded silently. She opened the box and began to apply powder on his face, trying to make him look more haggard, but his face was already pale, and this made him look like he was terminally ill.
Her soft and warm fingertips rubbed his face, and Ji Shijing's Adam's apple rolled, and he felt something strange in his heart.
…
The people sent by the old lady arrived at Chunhua Pavilion. After knocking on the door for a long time but no one answered, they pushed it open and entered. They first saw Shu Yao lying on the bed, barely breathing. Her eyes were half-closed, and her face was extremely pale. When she saw them, she stretched out her hand as if she had found a savior, asking for help: "The Second Young Master and I were bitten by a poisonous snake. Help...help us."
Upon hearing this, the maids exchanged glances with each other and walked towards Ji Shijing's room again.
After a while, they left Chunhua Pavilion.
Only after hearing the silence outside did Shu Yao throw back the quilt and get out of bed. She rubbed her chest, not knowing if she could get away with it.
On the other side, the old lady felt a little relieved after hearing that Shu Yao and Ji Shijing were also bitten by poisonous snakes. She lay on the bed and asked: "Are they still alive?"
The eldest maidservant said: "I am holding on to my last breath."
The old lady snorted coldly: "They are lucky." It was probably not a spotted snake that bit them, but it was still a poisonous snake. Without a doctor's treatment, it was unknown whether they could survive the night.
Oh, she suddenly remembered the pair of gold bracelets again. She must get to the bottom of this matter.
…
It was dark and after dinner, it was pitch dark in the yard. Shu Yao lit two candles in the house, and Ji Shijing sat in the candlelight reading.
Pale and clean fingers gently turned the pages of the book, making a slight sound.
Shu Yao sat opposite him, supporting her chin with her hand and looking at him quietly. In a trance, she remembered the dream she had at noon today. He was dressed in official uniform, and was granted a title and appointed as prime minister.
Her eyes fell on the worn-out book in his hand again, and she suddenly had an idea.
"Ajing, do you want to try to take the imperial examination?" She vaguely felt that Ji Shijing was not an ordinary person.
Ji Shijing asked her, "Why do you want to take the exam?"
Shu Yao only said two words: "Change your fate."
His hand holding the book trembled slightly.
The room was unusually silent. Shu Yao thought the topic she was talking about was too serious, so she smiled and said, "Ah Jing, don't feel pressured. I'm just making a suggestion."
He looked up at her with a clear expression, and something seemed to flash in his eyes.
Shu Yao felt a little uncomfortable when he looked at her. She picked up the book on the table and opened it to block his view. Suddenly, she found that the handwriting on the book was thin, strong and very beautiful.
She thought her handwriting was pretty good, but it was a far cry from what was in this book. She held the book in her hands and asked, "Ah Jing, is this your handwriting?"
Ji Shijing glanced at the handwriting on the book. These words must have been written when he was depressed, so they were not very beautiful. He frowned, feeling a little annoyed. How could she see such ugly words?
He really didn't want to admit it, but he still said "hmm" softly.
Shu Yao couldn't help but praise him, her eyes sparkling as she looked at him: "A Jing, your handwriting is so beautiful."
"Ah?" He was confused for a moment. Is this handwriting beautiful?
His ears began to turn red after she praised him like that, and he lowered his head and coughed twice.
Shu Yao thought he was sick again and quickly helped him with his back massage.
The tips of his ears turned even redder.
System: [After testing, the trust value is 17%.]
…
There has been intermittent heavy snow these days, and the cold wind has been blowing in gusts. Shu Yao took out a few taels of silver and bought two sets of thicker winter clothes for herself and Ji Shijing.
The number of girls who came to Zui Xiang Fang to ask her to do their makeup increased day by day. In just one month, her "piggy bank" was almost full.
She thought that when she made enough money, she would open a small shop. Then she would not have to rely on the Ji family for a living, and she and Ji Shijing would be able to live a prosperous life.
When she came back that night, she just climbed over the low wall and saw the old lady sitting in a wheelchair not far away. The old lady had a thick blanket covering her legs and looked listless, but her eyes were still full of poison, shooting straight at her.
The old lady felt a pang of anger in her heart when she saw Shu Yao so lively. She never thought that she could still be so lively after being bitten by a poisonous snake. She was really lucky.
She looked at her legs again, feeling indignant.
A group of maids and old women surrounded her, some squatted down to massage her legs, some bent over to rub her shoulders... She enjoyed it even more than the empress dowager in the palace.
When Shu Yao saw her, she knew something was wrong.
The two strong maids beside the old lady walked up to Shu Yao and said, "Miss Shu, our old lady invites you over."
Her heart sank, and she was determined to fight back against the enemy with her own strength.
Seeing that Shu Yao showed no fear at all, the old lady smashed the hand warmer in her hand heavily on her. The charcoal fire in the warmer rolled out and burned the hem of her clothes.
Shu Yao looked down and saw a big hole burned in her new clothes. She clenched her fists in anger. She had only worn these clothes for half a month, so how could she wear them out in the future?
She picked up the stove and threw it back. The remaining charcoal inside fell on the old lady's blanket and sparks instantly appeared.
The old lady screamed in fear.
Shu Yao patted the charcoal ash on her hands and said, "Old Madam, not everyone is as kind as me to help you pick up things."
The old lady's expression was that of a demon that could eat people. She excitedly said to the nanny beside her: "She is disrespectful to the elderly. Smash her mouth for me."
The nanny was tall and strong, and it was obvious that she was quite powerful. She rolled up her sleeves and walked towards Shu Yao aggressively, raising her hand, and the cold north wind blew directly into Shu Yao's face.
However, Shu Yao dodged it with a quick move. The nanny was furious and wanted to go forward, but Shu Yao tripped her with a kick. Her teeth hit the stone and her two front teeth fell out. Blood flowed all over the floor and she cried out "Mom" in pain.
Seeing that she dared to resist, the old lady was so angry that her body was shaking: "You ignorant thing, come, catch her for me."
Shu Yao looked at the old lady and said, "Old lady, what have I done wrong that you have to mobilize such a large force to arrest me?"
The old lady glared at her and said, "Tell me honestly, what have you been doing these past few days?"
Shu Yao stood in the wind, looking fearless: "Making money." She guessed that the old lady must have discovered it, so there was no need to hide it anymore.
The old lady sneered: "I feel ashamed to tell others that the daughter-in-law of the Ji family goes to a brothel to make money."
Shu Yao also laughed: "If I didn't go out to earn money, I'm afraid the Second Young Master and I would have starved to death in this house long ago." After thinking for a moment, she continued, "After all, old lady, you don't give us food or clothes, aren't you just trying to kill us?"
Shu Yao revealed all the little tricks in her mind. She looked a little embarrassed, so her voice was particularly loud: "That's nonsense. You have violated the taboo by going to such places. Come, take her away and put her under house arrest."
Shu Yao straightened her back and said, "Going in and out of places with fireworks is a taboo. What about Ji Tianbao?"
The old lady snorted: "Can you compare with Tianbao?"
Shu Yao felt only irony in her heart. When two maids came forward to grab her, she coldly scolded them, "I can walk on my own."
Walking up to the old lady, she said casually, "Old lady, if you don't want the people in the capital to know that you abused your grandson and his wife, then just lock me up."
The old lady was a little confused: "Are you threatening me?"
Shu Yao smiled and said nothing more.
After that day, Chunhua Pavilion was sealed off. Shu Yao and Ji Shijing could not step out of the door. Several servants were standing outside on duty, walking back and forth around the yard.
A few days passed and Shu Yao was not in a hurry. She sat in front of the bronze mirror and put on makeup.
During the days of house arrest, she used her face to research several makeup styles that she had never tried before.
She picked a red plum blossom from the window, placed the petals on her forehead and smudged it with rouge. Then a lifelike plum blossom suddenly blossomed, and anyone who saw it could not help but stop and watch.
Maybe it was because she had taken good care of herself during this period, she was no longer as sallow and thin as she was at the beginning, and her appearance gradually became more lively.
The person in the mirror was beautiful, fresh and otherworldly, with her hair on her forehead moving in the wind, covering a pair of clear eyes like autumn water.
Shu Yao was very satisfied with her makeup today. Just as she was about to take it off, she saw Ji Shijing walk in with a bowl of steaming rice porridge in his hand.
Only then did she remember that it was already noon and she had spent the entire morning putting on this makeup. Thinking of this, she suddenly felt reluctant to take it off.
She stood up and took the bowl of porridge, smiling at him with a small dimple at the corner of her mouth: "A Jing, remember to take your medicine at noon today."
Ji Shijing looked at her today, a flash of surprise in his eyes. He pursed his lips and said nothing, but his eyes deepened a little, as if he had never seen her like this before.
He suddenly remembered the mythology book he had read as a child. The goddess in it was radiant and dazzling, just like the woman in front of him.
"Why do you look so beautiful today?" He asked, staring at her exposed white neck, with a light flickering in his eyes.
Shu Yao was a little embarrassed. "This is the new plum blossom makeup I came up with today. It took me the whole morning to put it on. When I go to Zui Xiang Fang in a few days, the girls there will definitely like this makeup."
"Hmm." He took out a candy wrapped in oil paper from his sleeve and placed it in her palm. "This porridge has no taste today."
Shu Yao took the candy and understood what he meant. Plain porridge had no taste, so he wanted to eat something with flavor.
She suddenly felt that he was quite considerate.
Just as she put the candy into her mouth, a short and fat servant rushed into the yard: "Miss Shu, the girls from Zui Xiang Fang are causing trouble. The old lady wants you to go over there."
Shu Yao raised her eyebrows. It seemed that she didn't need to do anything herself. The girls from Zui Xiang Fang came to help her. It was really God's help for her.
However, she was a little confused. She had never revealed her identity to anyone in the building. How did the girls in Zui Xiang Fang know about it?
She stepped out of the door with suspicion, and the servant said in panic: "The old lady asked you to speak properly, the prince of Changxiang is here too."
Shu Yao paused and clapped her hands. This was great! Her friend came to help her again.
Just as she was thinking, Ji Shijing suddenly grabbed the corner of her clothes and said in a cold voice, "I'm going too."
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