Chapter 16: Dizziness seemed to be desperate and threw herself into his arms...
The Sheng Mansion in the south of the city is a well-known family of scholars.
The mansion is very old, and every brick, tile, blade of grass and tree bears the marks of time.
In the quiet ancestral hall, Sheng Qinyin sat alone on the cushion in front of the incense table, looking unhappy and full of worries.
“Ahem!”
She looked in the direction of the sound and saw the maid guarding the door waving at her vigorously. She reacted quickly, turned around, knelt on the cushion, and straightened her back.
Not long after, her grandfather and father, Mr. Sheng Mingzhang, who had many students all over the world, and Sheng Congyu, the eldest master of the Sheng family, walked into the ancestral hall together.
"Qiyin has met grandfather and father. It is inconvenient for me to kneel down and pay my respects to the ancestors. I hope grandfather and father will forgive me."
Sheng Mingzhang knew from her tone that she was unhappy, but he still asked, "Do you know your mistake?"
"Qiyin was only invited to attend the Chang Mansion's housewarming party, and when she came back, she was punished to kneel here, and no one spoke to her. I really don't know what I did wrong."
She spoke neither servilely nor arrogantly, but this only made Sheng Mingzhang even more angry. "Are you so sure that no one saw you playing such a trick in public?"
Sheng Qinyin's face suddenly turned pale.
"But because you are the granddaughter of the Sheng family, and because you wanted to save face for your grandfather, you didn't let anyone expose it!" Sheng Mingzhang said as he turned his back, obviously very angry.
"Father, calm down. Your health is more important." Sheng Congyu stepped forward to comfort him, then turned back and asked in confusion, "You little girl, why don't you admit your mistake? Why don't you apologize to your grandfather? Why are you targeting a child for no reason?"
Sheng Qinyin bit her lips tightly and said nothing.
Sheng Mingzhang snorted, "She wasn't targeting the child, she was targeting the mother!"
He shook his head, seemingly heartbroken. "To use such tactics and schemes in front of others, is this what your parents, your grandfather, and I taught you?"
"I'm just giving someone a taste of their own medicine!" Sheng Qiyin raised her head and said confidently, "I know I'm very childish, but she took advantage of my father's impending death to snatch my marriage and my husband. Isn't she even more despicable than me?"
Sheng Mingzhang's eyes widened in disbelief. "But for a man, you've lost your sense of shame and degraded yourself?"
"Not just one man!" Sheng Qiyin's eyes were red, "She took away my life!"
She began to cry, "If she hadn't interfered, I would be the one with a loving marriage and a happy family! I would also be the one Second Brother defended in public today!"
"That's enough!" Sheng Mingzhang said angrily.
Sheng Qiyin was startled by his sudden coldness. The next moment, the grievances gathered in her heart like a vast ocean. "Grandfather, don't you love Qiyin the most? When we were in love, you were the happiest. But when you found out that he wanted to marry someone else to repay his kindness in raising him, why didn't you speak up for me? He has always respected you the most and listened to you the most. If you had intervened, this wouldn't have happened!"
Sheng Mingzhang sighed, "His adoptive father nurtured him for nearly ten years, only to leave behind a helpless daughter. He married her and took care of her for the rest of his life. That's filial piety and virtue. Why should I stop him? Besides, I'm his teacher. How could I teach him to be so unfilial and unvirtuous?"
"What about me?" Sheng Qiyin's eyes welled up with tears. "Can you bear to watch me ruin my life?"
"There are more good men in the world than just Jiang Keyu, not to mention..."
Sheng Mingzhang looked at his granddaughter who was crying out of breath and stopped talking out of heartache.
In fact, when have they ever been in love with each other?
Sheng Mingzhang recalled that six years ago, for the sake of his granddaughter, he called his most proud student into the house alone and asked him if he had any plans to start a family.
Although Jiang Keyu was mature at that time, he was still much more immature than he is now. The boy was a little overwhelmed when he heard this, not understanding why the teacher suddenly asked this question, and frankly said that he had not yet thought about getting married.
Sheng Mingzhang smiled and asked, "What do you think of Qiyin?"
The young Jiang Keyu was stunned for a moment, then said honestly, "When I first met Xiao Si, she was a boy, and over the years I've gotten used to treating her like a younger brother. Even if she becomes a girl again, I'll still treat her as a friend, and there's absolutely no romantic connection."
"But feelings can be cultivated. After the transformation of status, in a few years, perhaps things will be different."
Jiang Keyu was silent, probably because she had never refused a teacher before, so she didn't know how to start.
Sheng Mingzhang saw his dilemma, but for the sake of his granddaughter, he acted selfishly for the first time.
"Haven't you always wanted to go to Dali Temple?"
Jiang Keyu was stunned for a moment, then nodded firmly.
Sheng Mingzhang looked at his granddaughter's sad face and could not bear to tell her the truth. He could only persuade her earnestly, "Qiyin, so many years have passed. He has become someone else's husband and someone else's father. You should also look forward to it."
Sheng Qiyin cried and shook her head, "I won't!"
"Why are you so unwilling to listen to advice, kid?" Sheng Mingzhang was extremely helpless.
Sheng Congyu was worried that his daughter would lose her father's favor because of this, so he hurriedly said, "Father, please go back and rest first. I believe Qiyin is just stuck in a rut for the moment. I will stay and reason with her. She will definitely figure it out."
Sheng Mingzhang sighed repeatedly, "That's all."
Leave first.
As soon as he left, Sheng Qinyin cried even more wildly.
Sheng Congyu was in a panic, "My dear daughter, do you like him so much?"
"I like him, Daddy. I've liked him for years! I'm obviously the best match for him, but...how can I accept that!" Sheng Qiyin hugged her father's arm, "Daddy, please ask Grandfather for me. What Grandfather says is most helpful to my second brother! Please help me!"
Sheng Congyu frowned. "Young Master Jiang once had no one to support him. Your grandfather was his only support, so he was naturally obedient. But things are different now. Two years ago, he overturned his biological father's case, and later made many achievements at the Dali Temple, earning the favor of the emperor. The emperor favors young people like him who have no complicated backgrounds and outstanding abilities. So he no longer needs your grandfather as a stepping stone."
Sheng Qiyin was slightly stunned, and became even more sad. "Even so...it's not completely useless."
"The most important thing is that he already has a wife and children. Your grandfather can't help you destroy someone else's family!"
"No, no!" Sheng Qiyin said anxiously, "I didn't destroy it. It was originally mine! And... and there's a portrait of me in my second brother's study. He still has me in his heart!"
Sheng Congyu was slightly surprised, "Really?"
"Yes! I saw it with my own eyes!"
*
The temperature dropped sharply in the afternoon and the wind started to pick up, making it look like it was going to rain.
The servants of the Jiang Mansion were rushing to move the flowers and deliver the newly purchased pine-leaf peonies into the greenhouse to prevent them from being damaged by the sudden heavy rain.
Song Baoyuan stood quietly at the corridor, watching everyone busying around. There was a pot of peonies in full bloom beside her. Her fingertips were just inches away from the petals, but she did not move for a long time.
She looked completely dazed, as if she had lost herself in thought.
It was unknown how long it was before someone covered her with a cloak from behind, and she finally reacted.
"Why don't you rest in your room?" Jiang Keyu walked to her side.
The wind was quite strong, making her black hair slightly messy. Song Baoyuan consciously pulled her cloak closer to retain some warmth.
"It's a bit boring." She said truthfully.
Was it the stuffy air or the depressed mood? Jiang Keyu thought, maybe it was both.
He hesitated, "Did they say anything unpleasant today?"
Song Baoyuan lowered her eyes, staring at the peonies swaying in the wind, without answering.
But before Jiang Keyu could speak again, he asked, "Why did you come here suddenly?"
"It was Qiao Yue. She brought Jiang Chengyou to see me in a hurry, saying that Chengcheng had caused you trouble."
Perhaps, she brought trouble to Chengcheng, Song Baoyuan thought.
Jiang Keyu glanced sideways at the solitary peony. "It's my fault. I knew you might be wronged, but I still took a chance and let you socialize alone. If you're uncomfortable or don't like it, you don't have to go to these occasions in the future."
"No wonder Jiang Shaoqing never takes her out. She's really not presentable."
A strange and malicious voice suddenly sounded in Song Baoyuan's ears.
She subconsciously shook her head, trying to drive them away, but the voices were like haze, coming and going.
"Merchant girl! You have no sense of shame! The top beam is crooked and the bottom beam is crooked!"
"No wonder Jiang Shaoqing thinks she's not presentable enough. It would be the same no matter who else marries her!"
“…”
The sounds from all directions came like a tide, making Song Baoyuan feel dizzy. She raised her hand and patted her head, trying to wake herself up.
Jiang Keyu was surprised, "What's wrong?"
Song Baoyuan seemed not to hear his question and continued to pat her head with increasing force.
"lady!"
Jiang Keyu had to hold her wrist down.
Song Baoyuan suddenly woke up, as if she had escaped from a nightmare.
"What’s wrong with you?"
"I……"
Song Baoyuan was stunned. What was wrong with her? Was she drowning herself in the gossip of others? But it was clearly not like that. Why couldn't she refute it? Why couldn't she escape it?
Because she is fragile, because she is incompetent, because she may be what others say, but she just doesn't want to admit it?
It's like being caught in a whirlpool, unable to find a fulcrum, and can only sink deeper and deeper.
Song Baoyuan subconsciously tightened her palms, grabbing the only thing she could reach at the moment as if she were holding a life-saving straw.
She suddenly gripped Jiang Keyu's thumb. The unusual strength left him bewildered. The helplessness in his wife's eyes made him even more uncomfortable.
For the first time, this was the first time that Song Baoyuan threw herself into his arms, as if regardless of everything.
His chest was burning hot. Song Baoyuan had no time for anything else but to absorb his warmth. She didn't even realize that the heart that was beating wildly and out of rhythm was not her own.
Perhaps sensing her distress signal, Jiang Keyu slowly raised his hand after a moment of trance and embraced her. Trying to comfort her, he gently stroked her black hair.
The wind blowing through the corridor became stronger and stronger, blowing half of the beautiful peonies off the ground and causing the clothes of the people hugging each other to flutter.
Time passed quietly in silence, half a quarter of an hour, a quarter of an hour, two quarters of an hour...
The maids and gardeners passing by tacitly agreed not to disturb them.
"cough."
Liu'an, who found this place, felt awkward, but had to speak out, "Ahem!"
Jiang Keyu raised her eyes.
Liu'an said with a stiff upper lip, "My dear, the people from the Sheng Mansion are here to invite you to come over for a chat."
Song Baoyuan suddenly opened her eyes, but other than that, she did not make any other movements.
She heard Jiang Keyu ask, "What's the matter?"
Liu'an glanced around and lowered his voice, "It's said that Miss Sheng was humiliated for no reason...she was ashamed and angry to death."
Jiang Keyu did not answer immediately, but lowered her head and glanced at the person in her arms who had not moved.
After a long while, he said, "I have to go out for a while."
Of course Song Baoyuan could hear it and had expected it, but she still had hope in her heart, so she pretended to be isolated from the world and did not move.
Jiang Keyu was surprised to find that she was hugging him so tightly, but when he tried to pry her hands off his waist, she let go before he could use any force.
"You go back to your room and rest first, I'll be back soon, okay?"
If she says it's not good, will she not leave? Song Baoyuan knew in her heart that she would not leave.
No matter how gentle his tone was, what he said was not a negotiation, but an announcement.
It has always been like this.
Song Baoyuan said nothing, but her arms dropped down as if powerless when she realized his intention to peel them off.
"Qiaoyin." Jiang Keyu called out in a deep voice, "Take Madam back to her room, don't let her catch a cold."
Qiao Yin didn't respond, but walked over honestly.
Song Baoyuan never looked up, her eyes accidentally falling on the peony flowers that were no longer beautiful after being ravaged by the wind.
Even if she didn't use her eyes to see, she knew that when Qiao Yin walked to her side, Jiang Keyu immediately turned around and walked away hurriedly.
Are you worried about that person?
Will I be so anxious when I come back to see her?
Are her feelings not important at all?
Song Baoyuan didn't dare to ask, and didn't even dare to look at his back as he left.
Six years have passed, and she is still so timid in this relationship.
Enough, it’s been six years, it’s really enough.
Crystal tears slid across her face, and as the wind blew, they wet the remaining petals of the peony.
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