Chapter 14 Waste Paper She May Have Pity on Herself
By the time Zhou Linjin and Shen Lianxiu arrived at Si Ning Garden, the doctor had already examined Yang, and Zhou Yishao had been accompanying her for a long time.
After vomiting blood, Yang fell into a coma and has not woken up yet. The doctor said that Yang was angry and her heart was attacked by anger. She had a history of illness and was prone to relapses in spring. She had been sick in bed for some time, so how could she withstand further stimulation?
Needless to say, the people and things that irritated Yang were of great importance.
Naturally, the servants in Sining Garden would not provoke Yang. It was Wu who sent a maidservant over, pretending to bring Yang some medicinal food tonic. By the way, she told Yang about Zhou Yishao and asked Yang to educate and discipline her two children well.
How could Yang, with her sick body, endure this? She waited until the maid left, then she vomited blood.
Zhou Yishao cried softly beside him, "It's all my fault. I've hurt Mother. Brother, send someone to stop the letter from being sent to Father. I'll go back with Cheng Lanjiang tomorrow."
After hearing her words, Zhou Linjin did not move, but did not speak either.
Seeing this, Chen Lianxiu went over to comfort Zhou Yishao and said, "Sister, why don't you wait until Madam wakes up before you talk to her? Madam will be worried if you leave like this!"
Soon the maidservant prepared the medicine and brought it over. Chen Lianxiu and Zhou Yishao helped Yang drink it together.
After taking the medicine, Yang's complexion gradually improved. After about half an incense stick of time, Yang woke up.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
When Yang saw Zhou Yishao right in front of her, she immediately grabbed her hand. However, because she had just woken up from vomiting blood, her throat could not make much sound. She just held her daughter's hand tightly, and tears soon covered her well-maintained face.
The mother and daughter cried for a while, and Yang finally calmed down and said, "I know everything. Your father and I carefully selected a husband for you, even those families in the capital looked down on us. We were determined to find you an outstanding husband. I didn't expect...the Cheng family would be such a beast in human form. Cheng Lanjiang actually dared to treat you like this...Now that your father is still alive, Cheng Lanjiang dares to do this. My poor daughter, what kind of life have you been leading!"
Zhou Yishao was the first child of Zhou Chang and Yang. She was loved and cared for by her parents since childhood. This was also the reason why Yang was so angry that she vomited blood when she learned that her daughter's marriage was unhappy.
Zhou Yishao had originally been talking about going back, but after hearing his mother's words, he felt aggrieved and threw himself on Yang, crying and saying, "Mother, I won't go back. I absolutely won't go back!"
"No, we won't go back. Mother won't let you go back. Don't be afraid," Yang immediately hugged her daughter tightly, as if someone was trying to pull Zhou Yishao away from her. "Your father won't agree to let you go back either. Just stay home."
After saying that, Yang turned her gaze to Zhou Linjin, who had been standing silently beside her since she woke up.
Yang said to Zhou Linjin, "I know your grandmother wants to settle the matter peacefully and ask you to send your sister back, but I absolutely won't agree. Don't even think about it. It would be best if you could find a way to rescue your sister from that den of wolves and tigers. If you can't, I won't force you. I will take your sister to find your father myself."
At this moment, Yang was worried about her daughter and had been somewhat offended by Wu, so she spoke without thinking and her attitude towards Zhou Linjin was not very good. It could be said that she was almost forcing Zhou Linjin to come up with a solution.
Chen Lianxiu looked at Zhou Linjin, only to see that he had a cold face but did not understand anything for her, and she had no idea what he was thinking.
"Madam, please don't be anxious. Don't let yourself get sick from worrying any more," Shen Lianxiu finally couldn't help herself and stepped forward to talk to Yang. "Just now in Zhuxinzhai, the old lady insisted on sending my sister back to the Cheng family, and my husband didn't give in at all. My sister is his biological sister, how could he possibly listen to the old lady's words?"
After hearing what Chen Lianxiu said, Yang's face looked a little better. Although Zhou Yishao was still worried, he quickly held back his tears and whispered words to comfort Yang.
Seeing that Zhou Linjin was still standing, Shen Lianxiu sighed inwardly, walked over silently, and pulled him forward a few steps to Yang's bedside.
Yang turned her gaze to Zhou Linjin and saw his lifeless eyes. She finally sighed and said, "Erlang, I'm not trying to force you to do anything. I'm just really worried about your sister. Your father is thousands of miles away, and I'm useless. What if you give in to your grandmother? What will your sister and I do?"
As Yang finished speaking, Zhou Linjin's tightly furrowed brows relaxed a little.
"Mother," Zhou Linjin finally spoke, "I've already sent a letter to Father, but I'm afraid we won't hear anything for a while. Sister's matter can't be delayed. It's not that I'm afraid the Cheng family will cause trouble in a couple of days, but the sooner we can get over it, the sooner Sister will recover."
Hearing this, Zhou Yishao lowered her eyes, her shoulders trembling slightly. Yang hugged her daughter again and asked, "What should we do?"
Zhou Linjin just said: "I will find a way."
Yang did not ask any more questions. Chen Lianxiu and Zhou Linjin stayed for a while. Yang was weak and tired, and gradually fell asleep. Zhou Yishao said that he would continue to stay with Yang to take care of her, so the two of them left.
After returning to Zhuoxinzhai, Zhou Linjin let Chen Lianxiu rest by herself, and then went to the study alone, not knowing what he was doing.
Chen Lianxiu took a short nap. When she woke up, the lights were on and the meal was ready. But just like last time, she did not call Zhou Linjin out for dinner.
Just as she sat down at the food table and before she even picked up her chopsticks, she saw the maid coming over and saying to her, "Master, please ask me to come over."
Chen Lianxiu looked at the table full of food and thought for a moment. Without packing a lunch box, he stood up and left.
The study was brightly lit. Even though Zhou Linjin could not see, the servants still lit many candlesticks according to his usual habit. There were nine candles on the candlestick closest to Zhou Linjin, illuminating everything clearly.
When Chen Lianxiu approached, he saw that the desk in front of him was stained with ink, and the new ink had not even dried yet. A wolf-hair brush was placed aside as if it had been thrown away, and there were waste papers on the desk and on the ground, either crumpled or scattered.
Chen Lianxiu was startled for no reason. She picked up a piece of rice paper at her feet that was not crumpled into a ball. The paper was covered with creases and stained with some ink, like ghostly scribbles. Chen Lianxiu looked at it carefully in the candlelight and found that she could vaguely recognize the first one or two words.
With a change of mind, Shen Lianxiu immediately realized that this was written by Zhou Linjin.
She paused slightly, holding the rice paper, not knowing whether to move forward or backward.
"You're here." Zhou Linjin had already heard the sound of her coming in. Although his tone was low, there was a hint of gentleness that was difficult for people who were not close to him to detect.
Chen Lianxiu pursed her lips, but still stepped forward, gently placed the piece of rice paper on the desk, and asked softly, "My dear, what's wrong?"
She saw Zhou Linjin's long eyelashes tremble.
Compared with his heroic father, he must be too delicate.
"Nothing," Zhou Linjin said, "It's almost time, let's go have dinner together."
As he spoke, he was about to stand up. Shen Lianxiu didn't know what she was thinking. By the time she reacted, her hand had already pressed on Zhou Linjin's shoulder.
Zhou Linjin was a little surprised and raised his head towards her, wanting to look at her.
Chen Lianxiu's heart hardened. She said, "You called me here and said it was all right. You don't want me to walk this extra distance to accompany you to dinner, do you? My dear, what on earth is going on with all this waste paper?"
Zhou Linjin was stunned.
After spending these few days together, Zhou Linjin had a rough idea of her personality. He thought she was reserved and sensible. Perhaps they were not close enough, or perhaps he was just being overly suspicious. He felt that she was always cautious, as if testing something. Unless he took a step forward, she would never move forward on her own.
He had her called over because he was feeling depressed and unable to find relief at the moment, but after she came, he suddenly felt too embarrassed to talk about his feelings.
She was the one he tossed and turned in bed for, thinking about day and night. How could he tell her about his own affairs? She might feel sorry for him, but he would only feel more ashamed of himself in the face of her pity.
It’s better not to say anything.
He thought that if he didn't say anything, she would pretend not to see it and wouldn't ask anything.
But she happened to surprise him at this moment.
Zhou Linjin didn't know how to respond for a moment, or it should be said that he had never thought about responding to her words.
There was a slight noise beside his ears, like something was gently knocking on porcelain, but Zhou Linjin couldn't tell what it was.
It was not until Chen Lianxiu stuffed the pen tube into Zhou Linjin's hand that Zhou Linjin finally guessed that she was washing the brush he had thrown aside in the pen washer.
"Would you like to write?" she asked.
Zhou Linjin slowly put down his pen and shook his head, "I can't write anymore."
She seemed to be sighing.
And in this subtle sigh, Zhou Linjin didn't know why, the impenetrable city in his heart suddenly collapsed and fell apart.
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