Chapter 13. Mr. He, this is the piece you composed last time…
Shanhe opened her mouth; she had originally intended to say the words of divorce today. But now, she simply couldn't bring herself to speak. Shanhe slowly closed her mouth, gazing into Liang Shao's tear-filled eyes, and as if possessed, she lowered her head and kissed him.
Aside from their first time, when Shanhe took the initiative to say "let's have a child" and kissed him, this was the second time Shanhe took the initiative.
Liang Shao's eyelashes trembled, then he closed his eyes and immediately hooked his arm around Shan He's neck, forcing her to get closer to him.
Shanhe felt him slowly biting her lip, one bite at a time, and felt his hand on her neck gradually slide down, one hand holding her waist, the other unbuttoning her plain-colored shirt.
Her outer robe lay disheveled on the ground, leaving only her undergarments barely covering her body. Liang Shao lifted Shanhe up with one hand, holding her firmly in his arms. He stood up as well, wrapping his arms around Shanhe's legs. He carried Shanhe forward, kissing her as they walked, until they reached the carved lattice window. Shanhe was startled and quickly pushed him away, her voice panicked, "What are you doing! There are people outside!" She remembered the time she and Liang Shao had run into Liang Ye in the study, and now it was daytime.
Liang Shao tilted his head back slightly, looked at Shanhe with drowsy eyes, and smiled, his voice both seductive and soft: "Don't be afraid." After saying that, he placed Shanhe on the tall round table in front of the window.
Shanhe struggled to jump, but Liang Shao held her wrists tightly. He chuckled, and with a thud, the wooden latch on the window slammed to the ground, and the window behind him suddenly closed shut. Liang Shao pinched Shanhe's cheek, his fingertips resting on her bitten, blood-red lips: "It's just closing a window, what's the rush?"
Shanhe finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Seeing Shanhe's flustered appearance, Liang Shao smiled. He wiped the tears from his face with the back of his hand, and with a smile, removed her two silver-threaded plain shoes and threw them far away.
"Throw your shoes far away, and don't run away."
Upon hearing this, both Liang Shao and Shan He were taken aback. The words seemed to carry a deeper meaning, taking root in their hearts without warning.
Liang Shao quickly concealed his emotions and tilted his head to kiss Shan He.
Shanhe didn't want to think about the future and forced herself to focus only on the present.
One deliberately forgot the taste of sorrow, the other treated it as the last time in this life; both put their hearts into it, their love even more tender than before. A moment later, her robes were half-undone, and Liang Shao, while kissing Shan He's lips, removed her undergarments. As he moved, Shan He trembled slightly; Liang Shao held her soft body tightly and lowered his head to kiss her.
Shanhe had long been rendered speechless by his manipulations, only managing incoherent "uh-huhs." Suddenly, everything went black, and Shanhe tightly closed her eyes, tilting her head back against the window. In that instant, boundless bliss washed over her. Shanhe felt as if her entire body was taut like a string, followed by an overwhelming sense of comfort that surged from deep within, reaching every strand of her hair and toe. When this wave subsided, she groggily opened her eyes from Liang Shao's embrace.
Liang Shao stared intently at her, a cryptic smile playing on his lips. Seeing Shanhe open her eyes, Liang Shao lowered his head again and slowly kissed Shanhe's lips.
“Shanshan,” Liang Shao’s words escaped his lips, “you’ve dirtied the carpet again…” He looked down and saw a dark, damp patch on the carpet.
Shanhe understood his meaning and turned her head to look, but Liang Shao pulled her back: "What are you doing?"
"Let me see if I can clean it up..." Shanhe thought to herself how embarrassed she would be if she had to ask the maids to clean it up.
Liang Shao chuckled and rubbed Shanhe's cheek: "Second Madam, focus on your work, you don't need to worry about these things." With that, he picked up Shanhe and walked towards the bed.
Shanhe wrapped her arms tightly around Liang Shao's neck, her legs also clinging tightly to his waist. His waist and abdomen were lean and strong, and Shanhe could still find room even with her legs wrapped around him. Furthermore, Liang Shao had practiced martial arts for many years, his abdominal muscles were clearly defined and as solid as iron. This close contact had long since made Shanhe's voice tremble. With each rise and fall of her steps, Shanhe felt weak all over, and her breathing became erratic.
When they reached the edge of the bed, Liang Shao's brows were already furrowed, his thin lips were pressed tightly together, and his starry eyes were fixed on her. His voice was very hoarse: "Shanshan..."
The curtains of the canopy bed were pulled down from the inside, and soon the bed curtains fluttered. Occasionally, a spring breeze would blow by, lifting a corner and revealing the lush, rainy atmosphere inside.
When the rain stopped and the clouds dispersed, the bed curtains returned to their usual stillness. Shanhe and Liang Shao lay side by side, one prone and one supine, their soft breathing mingling with each other.
The blissful moments of lovemaking had barely faded when the nagging mundane affairs, like demons and monsters, quickly crept into their hearts. Shanhe contemplated leaving, while Liangshao grappled with a hopeless future. On that small bed, two different hearts bred, each burdened by their own troubles.
"What are you thinking about?" Liang Shao turned his head to look at her.
Shanhe concealed the emotions in her eyes: "It's nothing."
"..."
After a moment, she suddenly spoke: "Ah Shao."
"Um?"
Shanhe pursed her lips and said, "If, and I mean if, I were still the young lady of the Xue family in Jinling, and my father were still alive and well, what would you be like now?"
Liang Shao paused for a moment, then smiled and pinched Shanhe's cheek: "The same as now." He deliberately laughed heartily, but there was an unyielding sourness in his eyes.
Both hearts were furrowed.
*
The next day, the Liang and Shao brothers went to their respective banquets, while Shanhe stayed at Shuyu Pavilion to review the account books from the past few days. The old master's funeral was a complex affair, with over a hundred items incurring countless expenses. Shanhe and the accountant spent the entire morning reviewing the books, and they had only managed to get about half done. Around noon, just as Shanhe finished her lunch, Qingyue approached cautiously, saying that Wu Tianqi had sent a maid to request an audience.
Shanhe was now somewhat afraid to hear news of Wu Tianqi. News from Danxia Painting Studio constantly reminded her that she should leave; she knew she should leave. But when it came to actually doing it, she felt reluctant. Reluctant to leave the two years she had spent at the Liang family mansion, reluctant to leave the old master, and also reluctant to leave Liang Shao. Then Shanhe thought again, precisely for the sake of the Liang family mansion, for the old master, and for Liang Shao, she should leave even more.
Shanhe nodded and said, "Don't go here. Go to the room behind the west corridor of the second gate, the one with the Three Friends of Winter paper-cut window decorations on the window. Ask her to go there." After saying that, Shanhe went into the room first, and Qingyue agreed and led the person over.
Before long, a young maid dressed in green followed Qingyue in, carrying a carved lacquered wooden tray in both hands. The maid's face was full of smiles. When she saw Shanhe, she first curtsied, and then smiled with her eyes crinkling, "The shopkeeper sent me to deliver a message to Mr. He."
The word "Mr. He" startled Shanhe for a moment before she realized that he was calling her—He Shanxue.
Shanhe also smiled and asked, "What's the matter? Why are you rushing us so much for the last project?"
"No, no," the maid hurriedly said. "This is the portrait that Mr. He commissioned last time. This is the first edition to be published. The shop owner specially kept a copy and sent me to deliver it to Mr. He." With that, the maid lifted the red silk cloth covering the lacquer tray. On top of it were several Buddhist scriptures, and at the bottom was the new edition of "The Palace of Eternal Life".
The maid explained, "The shopkeeper said that knowing the master's family was large, he was afraid of being investigated, so he covered it with several Buddhist scriptures to avoid suspicion." She paused, then imitated Wu Tianqi's expression, "The shopkeeper also said, 'Thank you, Amitabha! Forgive me, forgive me!'"
For a moment, both Shanhe and Qingyue smiled.
Shanhe hurriedly got up and walked quickly to the maid's side. She placed the Buddhist scripture on the table with both hands, then solemnly grasped the *Palace of Eternal Life* in her hands. The cover was made of deep blue satin, with several large characters in Zhao Mengfu's calligraphy titled *Newly Compiled Illustrated Palace of Eternal Life*. Upon opening it, the first page depicted Yang Guifei's ascension to Penglai. Shanhe was overjoyed and quickly continued flipping through the pages. All twenty-four embroidered portraits were present, the paper was of the finest bamboo quality, and the ink was exceptionally fine. Shanhe's throat tightened, and she felt an urge to cry. She sniffed and quickly asked, "Is anyone buying it?"
"Of course we have!" the little maid giggled. "Yesterday alone, we sold over a hundred copies, all praising the exquisite and elegant painting. We originally intended to give them to the shop owner's girlfriends, but after seeing the paintings, they said they were beautiful and tasteful, and ended up paying for them. The shop owner is really worried sick, afraid people will say she's dishonestly doing business with her friends!"
Upon hearing this, the two smiled even more. Shanhe, seeing that the little maid was articulate and witty, couldn't help but take a deep look at her. She looked to be only thirteen or fourteen years old. She asked gently, "What's your name? Are you the maidservant of the ward master?"
"My name is Miao'er. I'm a maid and an apprentice. I learn to paint from the shop owner," Miao'er replied.
Shanhe answered "okay" three times in a row. She took out a jade pendant from her purse and said, "I don't have many good things on me. Consider this a small gift and money for running errands. Please don't mind."
Miao'er refused to accept it, but Shanhe pretended to be angry, and Miao'er finally accepted it with great gratitude.
After Qingyue saw Miao'er off, Shanhe stroked the pages of the book, gazing wistfully at the paintings on it, until dusk.
As dusk settled, neither Liang Shao nor his brother had returned home. Shanhe sat on the edge of the canopy bed, watching Qingyue carefully wrap up her old clothes one by one. Suddenly, she stood up and said, "Qingyue, send a servant to Zhang Tixing's house. Tell the Second Master to drink less and come back early."
Qingyue agreed and left, leaving Shanhe alone in the main room. Two bundles sat on the chest, one containing her clothes and jewelry, the other her everyday belongings, with *The Palace of Eternal Life* placed at the very back. Shanhe touched the plain-colored clothes, then wrapped the bundles carefully before opening the small drawer on the dressing table where her hair ornaments were kept, and taking out her savings. She tossed the small silver ingots into her purse, then rolled up the remaining silver notes and put them in as well. Nearly one hundred and eighty taels of silver—Shanhe's first money for the rest of her life. She felt a surge of excitement; this was her own money, money that belonged only to her. Although she was reluctant to leave, the future looked bright and promising. Her reluctance was matched by her anticipation and hope.
Shanhe placed the silver Liang Shao had given her that day, along with the land deed and banknotes entrusted to her by the old master, on the dressing table. This was Liang Shao's money, which she hadn't touched, and now she was returning it to its rightful owner.
As night deepened, Liang Shao still hadn't returned. Shanhe mentally rehearsed her words, repeating them three or four times. By then, all the lanterns were lit. Shanhe sat before her dressing table, clutching her purse of money, her heart pounding. The deeper the night, the more nervous she became. This seemed to be the first time she had ever made such a momentous decision about her life.
Shanhe felt the sweat on her palms, wiped them with a handkerchief, then untied the drawstring of her purse and shook out the broken silver ingots one by one.
The first silver ingot, "Let's go."
The second silver ingot: "I won't leave."
...
The sixteenth silver ingot: "I won't leave."
Did Heaven not want her to leave? Shanhe suddenly wavered. She stared blankly at the neatly stacked silver ingots, pondering the dilemma of "to leave or not to leave." Suddenly, as if remembering something, Shanhe hurried back to the bedside. Beside her pillow was a silver embroidered chrysanthemum pouch that she often wore these days. Shanhe untied the pouch, and three small silver ingots fell crisply into her palm.
The nineteenth one, "Go."
Shanhe breathed a long sigh of relief, feeling a huge weight lifted from her heart. She then mixed the three silver ingots into the mixture.
*The clouds are heavy and the rain is plentiful: This comes from Liu Ban's "Boating on the South of the City, Part Two" from the Song Dynasty.
A note from the author:
----------------------
Hmm, I have three things to say.
First, if any of my readers are following along, please take a look at the announcement, because I've now exceeded the word limit for some parts.
Secondly, because previous chapters received complaints, one reason being that Shan Shan lacked a clear career path, which was considered uncomfortable. Well, since this is a romance-focused story, the career aspect develops slowly and doesn't play a significant role. If you're reading this specifically for Shan Shan's career, you might be disappointed. I'm prioritizing the romance; the career aspect is secondary. Sorry, orz
Thirdly, this chapter, including the previous chapters, has been revised over the past two days. I sincerely apologize if there are any inconsistencies in the plot or missing scenes from previous chapters.
And I hope everyone won't dislike the contradictions in Shan Shan's character in the latter half of this chapter. When I first conceived of Shan Shan, I didn't think of her as a typical female lead. I was afraid that when I showed this chapter to a friend, she would call Shan Shan "love-struck," "weak," or a "spoiled wife." Perhaps a little. But I hope Shan Shan isn't weak, but rather gentle. Because of this gentleness, her emotions are rich. Because of this gentleness, she can still be grateful even after experiencing the hardship of her family's downfall. Shan Shan's rich emotions aren't just romantic love, but also familial love and gratitude towards the Liang family, and friendship with women like Wu Tianqi. Just like the "Shan" in her name, she will try her best to repay those who are good to her. Perhaps it's a bit like Hamlet's hesitation? To be or not to be, to stay or not to leave? But Shan He's subconscious voice tells her to leave the Liang family, so she proactively looks for the three silver ingots at the back, giving herself confidence.
I hope my writing skills can capture Shan Shan's gentleness and resilience. /Sending love
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
