Copying books sounds easy, but copying the "Admonitions for Women" three times would take at least five or six hours. The old lady was clearly punishing Wei Shuwan by not allowing her to sleep all night.
Sun Lurong wanted to argue a bit more, but Wei Shuwan tugged at her mother's sleeve and quietly opened her own cuff a little to show her. Sun Lurong then gave a bitter smile and gave up the idea of further displeasing her mother-in-law.
Today, even the old master from Xianyou was brought up by the old lady. It seems she is extremely angry. If we disobey her again, I'm afraid our reputation for being unfilial will spread.
In this dynasty, filial piety has always been paramount. If an official's family is branded with the crime of being unfilial, their official career will come to an end. She didn't want to hold her husband back, so she repeatedly told herself to be patient and watched her daughter leave.
After leaving Songhe Residence, Wei Shuwan was accompanied by the nanny from her grandmother's room to the Repentance Room in the side courtyard.
Separated by just one door, it seems like another world lies beyond, devoid of pavilions and towers, rare flowers and exotic plants, only the west wind blowing fallen leaves and the frost of late autumn.
Having lived in Shengjing for two years, Wei Shuwan had only visited this courtyard twice: once out of curiosity when she first moved in, and the other time when she interrogated Hu An. The room for reflection was even more secluded than the room where Hu An was imprisoned.
After entering the room of reflection, Wei Shuwan looked around curiously. Suddenly, she heard the sound of chains behind her. When she turned around, she found that the door was locked!
"Granny! What are you doing?" Wei Shuwan had lost her previous composure.
"Third Miss, the Old Madam said that this courtyard has neither guards nor maids to serve it, and she feels uneasy about you being alone here. Therefore, she specifically ordered this old servant to lock the door to prevent any daring thieves from breaking in at night."
"What kind of bullshit logic is this!" Wei Shuwan threw herself against the wooden door and shook it violently. She was truly enraged by her grandmother!
In her own home, she was locked up, which was completely different from her agreeing to come over and copy books out of consideration for the bigger issue.
"If there are no guards, can't you send one? If there are no maids, Fuquxuan has plenty!" As she was speaking, the old woman had already walked away.
Knowing that arguing and making a scene would be futile, Wei Shuwan took a few deep breaths and sat down on the bench behind her. It seemed she would be sitting there all night. She wondered if Ziqiao and Miaoxiang would secretly bring her food.
The moment Wei Shuwan thought of food, she realized her stomach was empty. She then remembered that she had been running around all day seeking medical help and medicine for Li Qingchen, and hadn't had lunch yet. But it was getting dark...
As the sun set in the west, the dark light slanted into the room through a crack in the door, casting a long, pointed shadow on the bench.
Wei Shuwan looked down and saw that the end of the shadow met her own figure, looking just like a long knife approaching her heart.
*
The last rays of sunlight faded on the horizon, and lanterns lit up one after another, casting a fiery red glow over the long corridor. Zi Qiao and Miao Xiang sat under the corridor, somewhat at a loss.
"Sister Ziqiao, do you think the young lady has had dinner yet?"
"Dinner is still a long way off. The girl didn't sleep a wink last night, and she's been running around all day without even having lunch. She should be thanking her lucky stars that she's not starving and exhausted right now!"
"How about we sneak some in?"
"Didn't you see there are people watching even outside Fuquxuan? They're just waiting for us to walk right into their trap!"
...
Inside the window, Li Qingchen, who had just finished enjoying the sunset, stood there as before, taking in the conversation between the two maids under the eaves. Then he turned around and glanced at the remaining food on the table.
Everything was leftovers; only that one whole steamed bun remained intact.
Better than nothing, he wrapped the steamed bun in oil paper and tucked it into his sleeve, then leaped out—he was more familiar with this south-facing window than the main entrance.
For someone skilled in scaling walls and leaping across rooftops, scouting the terrain was a piece of cake. Standing atop the highest wall, overlooking the entire Wei residence, Li Qingchen quickly located the most secluded courtyard the maid had mentioned. With a few swift movements, he landed in the courtyard.
The first room he passed was the one where Juan had been imprisoned before. After confirming that no one was inside, he quickly went to a second, more remote room, which was the so-called "reflection room".
A faint, dim light shone through the crack in the door. Li Qingchen originally intended to leave his things behind and leave, but when he got to the door, he found that it was locked.
Why should someone be punished at home by copying books, and then have to be locked up?
He peered through the crack in the door. The room wasn't big; he could see a large square table in the center and his young wife sleeping soundly on it.
A smile curved Li Qingchen's lips. This person was both cunning and heartless.
Since she was asleep, he didn't need to wake her; after all, time would pass faster when she was unconscious. However, he still wanted to leave her the steamed bun; waking up hungry in the middle of the night was unpleasant.
Thinking this, Li Qingchen used the available materials to break the lock, went inside, and placed the oil paper package next to Wei Shuwan.
Just as I was about to leave, I suddenly noticed a stack of papers under her face, the handwriting on them was lively and delicate, it was a copy of "Admonitions for Women". Judging by its thickness, it must have been copied more than three times.
She was only locked up for less than two hours, yet she managed to finish copying everything? Even a scribe would have a hard time doing that.
With this curiosity in mind, Li Qingchen leaned closer to examine the text more closely and found that the ink had already dried completely, indicating that it was not written today.
He suddenly remembered that when she left Fuquxuan earlier, she had taken a stack of papers from the desk and hidden them in her sleeve...
So this is what she accumulated when she practiced calligraphy in her spare time, and she just took it out to hand in when she needed it?
Yes, there is no other explanation.
Li Qingchen couldn't help but smile, his gaze, a mixture of intelligence and mischief, shifting slightly upwards to land on the young lady's smooth and delicate face.
The autumn night was chilly, and the room was drafty. Her usually flawless face was now slightly flushed, yet unlike that of a typical village woman. This rosy glow, brought on by the wind and frost, was like snow-covered trees in bloom, or the moon casting a rosy glow on her face.
This was the first time in Li Qingchen's life that he had stared at a young woman for so long, so intently. When he suddenly realized this, his heart skipped a beat. And the pair of peach-blossom-shaped eyes that he was gazing at trembled slightly; she was about to wake up.
Li Qingchen straightened his body, which had been bent over without him realizing it, and turned his back to Wei Shuwan before she opened her eyes.
In his haste, he didn't know why he reacted that way; it was probably because he felt guilty for staring at the other person for too long.
As soon as Wei Shuwan opened her eyes, she saw a man standing in front of her, with his back to her, seemingly plotting something.
The image of the "scoundrel" the old woman had mentioned flashed through her mind. Without thinking twice, she grabbed the lantern pole from the table and smashed it against the back of the "scoundrel's" head!
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