Chapter 89 Liang Shao's Suspicion Arises
Outside the window, Qingyue and Miao'er stood on the porch, laughing loudly, "Wife, let's go out and buy firecrackers!" Shanhe's fingertips trembled, but she nodded hurriedly, "Okay."
Liang Shao, oblivious to Shanhe's odd behavior, watched the two figures disappear into the distance and laughed, "Perfect timing, I'll stay here for you to set off firecrackers. There's no reason for a young lady to light firecrackers."
Shanhe hadn't paid attention to his words and suddenly asked, "Ah Shao, have you ever seen... your brother's concubine?"
Liang Shao turned his face back: "When I returned to the capital, the person was already gone."
"Didn't your brother tell you about her?"
Liang Shao then carefully examined her face: "What's wrong? Do you know that woman?"
Shanhe hurriedly shook her head: "I don't know him." She paused, "I just thought that my brother's life has always been quiet, and people say that he is not interested in women. In the past six months, he has gained a confidante, and he left in such a hurry. It's really... really surprising."
“That’s right.” Liang Shao also sighed. “Speaking of which, the night that woman died was the night I returned to the capital. If I had traveled faster, I might have been able to see her, and that fire might not have started.”
Shanhe listened, her heart pounding with fear. She had almost encountered Liang Shao as Liang Ye's concubine. She pursed her lips, suppressing all her terror, and tried to keep her voice calm: "Ah Shao."
"Um?"
"Could you please not tell anyone that I'm here, and not tell anyone that you've found me? Including your brother?"
Liang Shao slowly frowned, carefully looking at her face: "What's wrong? Did your brother do something to you? Did he bully you?"
"No." Shanhe lowered her eyes. "How could someone as important as my elder brother bully me? I just don't want others to know I'm here. I want to live a quiet life on my own."
His gaze lingered on her face, and Liang Shao pursed his lips, asking, "Has no one really bullied you?"
Shanhe pondered for a moment and said, "Yes."
"Who?" he blurted out.
Shanhe raised her eyes, her gaze gently sweeping across his face.
Liang Shao paused for a moment, then burst out laughing: "That's why I've come back to make up for it." He snatched the pen from Shan He's hand, "Even if I don't tell my brother, I should at least send him a letter. I've been bedridden these past few days and haven't been in touch with him for a long time."
Shanhe sat down beside him, reading Liang Shao's letter to Liang Ye word by word. Liang Shao's handwriting wasn't particularly beautiful, but he wrote with great care, his brows furrowed and lips pursed, each word telling Liang Ye about his recent situation. Gradually, Shanhe stopped looking at the words and her gaze moved upward, lingering on his profile—a straight nose and thin lips, the hardships of the frontier having honed the once youthful man into a resolute figure.
As Liang Shao wrote, he kept talking: "I still need to write to Cheng Bao and ask him to send some silver notes."
Shanhe gave a soft "hmm".
He continued, “Chengbao is quite capable now! Before I left, I gave him several hundred taels of silver to reopen my grandfather’s free school. I didn’t expect that he would actually run it so well. The school now has almost a hundred students. Last time he wrote to me, he said that he himself has started to study and learn to write. His teacher said that if he continues to study, he will be able to try to take the imperial examination for a scholar in less than two years.”
Shanhe smiled faintly and murmured "Mmm" again.
Liang Shao's letter was nearing its end, but his words continued: "And then there are Sui Ming and Sui Wen. Shan Shan, you really shouldn't have left. They're both of marriageable age now. If you hadn't left, you could have made arrangements for them. I really don't understand these things, so I could only give each of them some money and teach them to find husbands themselves. Half a year has passed without a word. I don't know if I'll get any good news from them after the New Year."
As Shanhe laughed, she suddenly felt her eyes well up and her nose sting, and she almost cried. Liang Shao finished writing the letter, put the pen down, turned his head, and saw Shanhe smiling gently, her eyes misty with tears. He couldn't help but reach out and pinch her cheek: "You, Xue Shanshan! You have no conscience. You wanted to chase me away when you saw me, but when you heard about Chengbao and the others, you were both laughing and crying." He froze abruptly. It had been a long time since he and Shanhe had been this intimate.
Shanhe laughed and slapped his hand away, deliberately teasing him: "So it was you who didn't deserve it." Only after she finished speaking did she notice Liang Shao's stiff expression, and suddenly realize that the two of them had unintentionally become so intimate.
For a moment, their eyes met, and both were embarrassed.
Liang Shao didn't pull his hand away; instead, he cupped Shanhe's cheek in his hands. His long, slender fingers held Shanhe's face tightly, leaving no gap. Liang Shao pursed his lips: "So, tonight, should I sleep in your room, or downstairs?"
Shanhe dodged his touch: "Whatever."
"If you agree with me, then I want to sleep in the same room as you."
Shanhe frowned and got up to leave. Liang Shao hurriedly chased after her and took her hand, saying, "It was just a joke, please don't be angry." Shanhe ignored him and went back to the shop. Liang Shao followed her, looking around at the shop's furnishings and trying to cheer her up. Before they knew it, the sun was setting, and the whole afternoon had passed.
In the evening, Shanhe, Qingyue, and Miao'er were having dinner when Liang Shao went out to mail a letter and never returned. Shanhe and Qingyue grew increasingly restless. Miao'er, seeing this, laughed and said, "Don't worry, he's such a big man, and he's skilled in martial arts. He's probably just wandering around somewhere."
As soon as she finished speaking, Liang Shao's voice rang out in the courtyard. He strode forward briskly, walking like the wind, with a snow-white pom-pom tucked into his arms.
Shanhe and Qingyue got up to look, and found that what he was holding wasn't a white ball, but a fluffy little dog with snow-white fur and round, bright eyes. Liang Shao put it down, and it whimpered a few times, then lay down and shrank close to Liang Shao's feet, timidly looking at everyone with its round eyes.
The puppy's gentle and pitiful appearance melted Shanhe and Qingyue's hearts. They knelt down, lifted their skirts, and gently stroked its warm little body.
Liang Shaoyi squatted down and laughed heartily, "When I came back, I found it huddled by the roadside, whimpering pitifully. Its legs were injured, it couldn't run, and nobody wanted it. I talked to it for a while, and it finally agreed to come back with me." His eyes crinkled, revealing a set of snow-white teeth. "I'll feed it some water and rice later, and then I'll build it a nest. This year, it won't be all alone for the New Year; it'll be a good dog with a home."
Miao'er had heard the commotion and came over, lifting her skirt. Seeing a small dog lying on the ground, she couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. She quickly went over, squatted down to look at the dog, and ignored everything else, blurting out to Shanhe, "My lady, do you want to keep it?"
Shanhe had never intended to drive it away, and upon hearing Miao'er's words, he couldn't help but laugh and ask, "You like it?"
Miao'er nodded, and she reached out to gently touch the puppy's nose: "It needs a bath."
Shanhe then said, "This was brought back by Commander Liang. Whether it goes or stays is up to Lord Liang to decide."
Liang Shao hurriedly said, "Please don't call me that! Liang Shao, Second Master, these things are fine."
Miao'er asked somewhat reluctantly, "Does Lord Liang want to keep it?"
Liang Shao smiled and said, "I want to keep it, but there's a problem. I've never owned a dog before, so I need someone to take care of it."
Miao'er immediately replied, "I can!"
So the dog settled down in Shanhe's yard. Miao'er washed it clean, and Liang Shao built it a small kennel. In the mornings, Shanhe and the others got up, and the dog got up too. At night, Shanhe and the others went to bed, and the dog went to bed too. In the days leading up to the Lunar New Year, everything was swept and dusted, and the dog followed behind, wagging its tail and joining in the fun.
As for the puppy's name, Liang Shao wanted to name it "Zhuifeng" (Chasing the Wind), but Miao'er thought it wasn't a horse and should be named after a dog. In the end, they named it "Liuliu" (Six Six), which means "everything goes smoothly." Shanhe and Qingyue both thought the name sounded nice.
Liang Shao's eyes darted around: "Then why not call it Da Shun?"
On New Year's Eve, the shop closed, and the four of them sat around a table for their New Year's Eve dinner. Liu Liu lay nearby, gnawing on a bone and wagging its fluffy little tail. The food was much more lavish than usual. Although Miao'er still harbored some resentment towards Liang Shao, she was much warmer towards him than before and even smiled at him. Liang Shao took out the silver notes Cheng Bao had sent and insisted on giving Miao'er and Qingyue each a red envelope, saying it was New Year's money. Qingyue couldn't refuse and thanked him before accepting it. Miao'er held the red envelope, gave Liang Shao a complicated look, and ultimately said nothing.
After dinner, everyone lit firecrackers again. Shanhe then urged Qingyue and Miao'er to go back inside to stay up and rest for the New Year, while she went to clean up the leftover food on the table. Qingyue and Miao'er naturally refused, but Shanhe said, "I'm so grateful to have you two with me on this journey. Tonight, I'll take care of you. You two stay up here to pray for my well-being, and also to thank you for your company, okay?" Only then did they reluctantly agree.
Shanhe stacked the bowls and plates and carried them to the kitchen, with Liang Shao silently following behind. The night sky was clear, and the snow reflected the scattered flashes of firecrackers, making the courtyard appear even more peaceful and tranquil.
“Shanshan,” Liang Shao sat down in front of the stove, “thank you.”
Winters in Jinling are truly bitterly cold; one always needs to boil a pot of warm water to wash dishes to avoid freezing one's hands. Liang Shao, having lived here for some time, already knew how to add firewood to the stove. He skillfully stuffed the firewood into the firebox and lit it.
Shanhe scooped a bowl of water into the pot: "What are you thanking me for?"
"Thank you for letting me stay." Liang Shao's voice was particularly clear in the cold night air. "And thank you even more... for letting me stay where you can see me."
Shanhe's fingers tightened slightly as she held the bowl and plate. She recalled his changes these past few days, his silent labor, his careful attempts to please Qingyue and Miao'er, and the complex, unspoken look in his eyes when he occasionally glanced at her. She had never been heartless; the past affections and the considerations of reality tore at her heart.
The water in the pot had not yet boiled.
Shanhe lowered her face and said calmly, "Ah Shao, have you really thought this through? You really don't want all that wealth and glory, that bright future? Are you really willing to stay with a government slave like me?"
Inside the stove, flames suddenly shot up, illuminating Liang Shao's face.
He tilted his head, looked at Shanhe and smiled: "Shanshan, I understand now. I've never understood this much since I was born. I want to be with you. All fame and fortune are nothing compared to you. My only fear is that you will drive me away."
“Liang Shao, you are a man with a noble title.” Shan He hesitated.
Liang Shao said seriously, "I can refuse." He added another handful of firewood. "We can do what we used to do. I'll ask my brother to write a letter of recommendation, and we'll go back to Mizhou. I'll continue being the chief judge. Or, we can do nothing at all and just safeguard the Liang family's legacy. Shanshan, don't you know how to paint? We can set up a painting studio in Mizhou. You can be the studio owner, and I'll be a hands-off manager."
If Liang Shao resigns her title, Liang Ye will definitely intervene, and then her escape will be meaningless.
Shanhe said urgently, "No!" She lowered her voice, "You should just be a good Huguo County Magistrate and don't say such nonsense for my sake again."
The firewood crackled in the stove, and the rising steam blurred Liang Shao's expression. He poked at the ashes, his voice deepening, "Shanshan, why were you so agitated just now?"
Shanhe lowered her head and arranged the bowls and chopsticks, the clinking of the porcelain crisp and disorderly: "I... I just don't want you to give up your future for me."
"Is that so?" Liang Shao suddenly looked up. "But I always feel that you seem to be afraid of me contacting my brother."
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Author's note: Sorry, I went out drinking today...
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