Snow has fallen in Xiliang in late autumn.
In the early morning, Wen Zhiqi hugged her fur coat and walked cautiously along the shore of the lake in the garden alone.
This time he deliberately left his servants behind to find a jade pendant - the very same Qilin jade pendant that Wei Changying had given him when he first met Wei Changying.
Originally, the jade pendant was kept away by Qiu after he brought it back. He couldn't even touch it, saying that he would give it to him after he got married.
But later, when he was poisoned, Qiu was devastated and thought Qilin was an auspicious beast. Before sending him and Wen Yulan to Xiliang, she specially found it and put it in his arms.
Although Shen Zangfeng had previously agreed to let him stay in the Shen family for the time being, after studying with Shen Shuxie, Wei Changying equipped his brothers and sisters from head to toe with outfits similar to those of Shen Shuxie and others. Just a small box of jade pendants to match clothes. But what Wen Zhiqi valued most was this unicorn jade pendant.
As a result, Shen Shuxie couldn't pester her yesterday. She came to play in the garden for a while, but couldn't find her when she returned.
Because except for two servant women, all of the people who accompanied their brother and sister to Xiliang for medical treatment were men, and they were not allowed to enter the backyard. The maids serving him now were all sent by the Guard Chief Ying. Wen Zhiqi was worried that the Guard Chief Ying would find out that she would be unhappy if he lost the meeting gift, so he did not dare to ask the maid to come, but he found a place where he wanted to rest for a while. For some reason, he drove all the servants out of the inner room.
Then he climbed out of the window and ran out of the yard, avoiding the eyes of others and running into the garden.
At this time, he was recalling where he had been yesterday and paying attention to his steps to avoid accidentally falling into the lake. He knew that the cold poison in him was very serious. Although men are yang, it would not have much effect if he took good care of himself, but after all, he had great vitality. hurt. If you fall into the lake again in this cold weather, you can imagine the consequences.
When he thought of the poisonous worry that had been brought to him, he thought of Mrs. Fan... Mrs. Fan was Wen Yaozi's concubine who was pregnant with a boy. She was only eight years older than Wen Zhiqi. She was extremely beautiful and could sing and dance well. , it is said that she was the concubine of a wealthy family in the past.
Before Wen Yaozi met her, in addition to his wife Qiu Shi, he had already taken three or five concubines. He did not favor anyone specifically and often accompanied Qiu Shi. But after taking in the Fan family, he stayed at Fan's place almost every night.
Wen Zhiqi had also seen his mother, Mrs. Qiu, crying in a deserted place, but at that time he had not thought of Mrs. Fan at all.
In fact, he always thought that Mrs. Fan was a good person - Mrs. Fan would not force him to study and practice calligraphy like Mrs. Qiu did, nor would she often scold him for being playful. She would smile every time she saw him and would often give him something good. Snacks to eat.
... The cake that poisoned the three siblings and caused the death of his second brother was given to him by Fan and asked him to share it with his brother and sister.
He actually believed it and gave it to his second brother and younger sister without any doubt.
And the brother and sister, who had no doubts about him, just ate it...
Thinking about it these days, Wen Zhiqi has wanted to stab himself several times.
But he still held back—Fan was not dead yet.
The lieutenant general who sent him to Xiliang explained this: "That is your brother after all, and what Fan did cannot be blamed on him. You have to be considerate of King Yong!"
But I understand that my father has few children, but who will understand the innocent second brother and younger sister? Who can understand the grief of mother Qiu who lost three sons in a row and whose only daughter will be unable to have children
Wen Zhiqi picked up a handful of snow, and the boy's still childish face showed a trace of desolation that did not match his age...
Suddenly, his eyes narrowed. Through the snow curtain, he saw a lonely figure sitting on the lake rocks not far away. His eyes were closed and his cheek was pressed against the lap of his arms. He seemed to be asleep.
But who would come to sleep by the snowy lake so early in the morning
Especially the fourth lady of the Shen family
Wen Zhiqi hurriedly gathered his thoughts and stopped looking for the jade pendant. He quickly walked to the bottom of the lake stone. He wanted to push it but didn't dare to push it, so he had to ask first: "Miss Shen Si? Miss Shen Si!"
"What to do?" What made him relieved was that Shen Shuyan only looked like she was asleep, but was not asleep. Hearing this, he immediately opened his eyes and looked at him indifferently.
Regarding Shen Shuyan's indifference, Wen Zhiqi did not feel slighted. He had stayed in Mingpei Hall for a few days, and he could see that Miss Shen Si was temperamental, and she was also dissatisfied with her direct cousins. Not hot or cold. For outsiders like him and Wen Yulan, it would be considered polite if they were willing to answer.
At this moment, he hurriedly reminded: "It's cold, don't stay too long by the lake." Looking around, he asked in surprise, "Where is your maid?" He remembered that Miss Shen Si always had an inseparable maid named Jiang He. Yue's daughter is said to be the daughter of Wei Changying's wet nurse, and her status is aloof. Generally speaking, if you see Shen Shuyan, Jiang Heyue will definitely be nearby; if you see Jiang Heyue, Shen Shuyan will not be far away.
But now his surroundings were completely white, and there was no sign of the third person at all.
Shen Shuyan turned her head and glanced at him. She was wearing a white fox fur coat today. She was so inconspicuous in the snow that Wen Zhiqi didn't notice her until he almost walked up to her.
However, her face at the moment was no more rosy than Bai Huqiu, and even her lips were as pale as paper. She said softly: "Didn't you also throw away everyone? Otherwise, your Ganoderma lucidum would let you run out alone?"
Wen Zhiqi blushed in embarrassment, lowered his head, thought for a while, and then persuaded: "You should go back, or find a sheltered place to enjoy the snow? The wind here is too strong, which is not good for your health."
"I'm not admiring the snow." Shen Shuyan looked away from him, looked at the lake, and said calmly, "I'm just here to enjoy the wind."
"But your body..."
"Is your body suitable for running out in this ice and snow?" Shen Shuyan sneered, "Do you believe that your third aunt knows about your running away, and Lingzhi will definitely not be able to escape a beating?"
Hearing this, Qi was startled: "What?"
Wei Changying pointed at the ambassador's maid, Lingzhi, who was serving him. She was plain in appearance, but very gentle and considerate. From Wei Changying's point of view, this maid was passable. But Wen Zhiqi, who has never enjoyed such meticulous care with soft words and gentle words, can only imagine his favorable impression of this maid!
Now I heard that if I ran away from her, she would be beaten, I couldn't help but be shocked!
This expression made Shen Shuyan's mouth tickle, and then she returned to her indifference: "She is the one who takes care of you, but something went wrong and you ran out alone. How could the third aunt not punish her?"
Wen Zhiqi suddenly became anxious: "But I lied to her!"
"These are the rules." Shen Shuyan said mockingly, "She deserves to be punished if she doesn't think well of you! Why do you think our Shen family has no rules like yours, and a concubine who poisoned his legitimate children can be temporarily punished for being pregnant? Save your life?”
Wen Zhiqi stood there with a blushing face for a moment. He didn't care about looking for a jade pendant or persuading Shen Shuyan. He stamped his feet and turned around to leave.
Shen Shuyan glanced at his back lazily, thinking that this guy was kind-hearted. He was so worried about a maid being beaten. No wonder... he was tricked into being like this by a concubine!
After being interrupted by Wen Zhiqi, she lost interest in continuing to blow air, stood up and went back.
Halfway through, she happened to bump into Jiang Heyue who was looking for her like crazy. He grabbed the sleeve of her fur coat and started crying: "Where have you been?"
"I was upset, so I just walked away. Will I come back soon?" Shen Shuyan said calmly, "Let's go back."
She didn't like Jiang Heyue very much, not entirely because Jiang Heyue stared at her closely, or because Jiang Heyue didn't take care of her. It was Jiang Heyue's special status that made Shen Shuyan fearful of her aunt Wei Changying, and she often had to listen to her advice - in fact, she also knew that it was Wei Changying who sent Jiang Heyue to serve her. Because usually the maid would not dare to say a word when she was in front of her.
For Shen Shuyan, who has a bad temper, it is really troublesome to have someone around who needs to control her temper.
But Jiang Heyue likes her very much. Jiang Heyue, like Wen Yulan, respects knowledgeable people.
Shen Shuyan, who has a bad temper, is recognized for her talent and learning. In the eyes of people like Jiang Heyue, a talented woman like her who is sarcastic and mean is considered true nature.
At this moment, he kept talking all the way about it being a snowy day and Shen Shuyan's health was not very good, so she really shouldn't run out all the time.
Shen Shuyan frowned as she listened, feeling really annoyed...
Unfortunately, her troubles weren't over yet today. When she returned to the door of her yard, she saw Lianju waiting there.
Shen Shuyan sighed inwardly and stepped forward to spare Lianju's gift: "Did Aunt Three ask you to come?"
"The third lady was very surprised when she heard that you, the fourth lady, entered the garden early this morning. She asked the maid to invite you to come and ask." Lianju said respectfully.
"... I just went in and took a look around. Why should I alert Third Aunt for such a trivial matter?" Shen Shuyan frowned, wondering why Wen Zhiqi was so talkative.
But Lianju smiled and refused to be accommodating at all, insisting that she go to see Wei Zhangying.
Shen Shuyan had no choice but to go with her.
When they arrived in front of Wei Changying, they didn't see Wen Zhi Qi there, and they didn't know if they had left first.
After being called up, Shen Shuyan took the initiative and said: "This morning when I saw the snow outside, I suddenly felt poetic, so I quietly went for a walk in the garden, trying to find some good sentences. Who would have thought that I would worry my aunt? Actually, it was nothing."
Wei Changying stroked the lid of the tea bowl and asked her to sit down and talk with a faint smile: "Aunt Huang made the rose and red date soup herself. This is good for our women's health. Drink some while it's hot."
Shen Shuyan took a few sips casually. There was honey in the soup, which was slightly sweet. The aroma of roses lingered between her teeth. After drinking it, her whole body felt warm.
She praised it, and Wei Changying smiled and said, "I also think the soup made by my aunt is good, so I asked you to come over and try it together."
Shen Shuyan could only say: "Thank you, Auntie, for thinking about me."
"I have always wanted a daughter since I had Guang'er, but Xie'er is not only a boy, but he is also so naughty that it gives me a headache." Guard Chief Ying said leisurely, "So I have always treated you nieces and Yi Ren, I try my best to treat her as my own daughter.”
She stopped what Shen Shuyan was about to say and sighed softly, "It's a pity that no matter how much I treat you as my biological daughters, I am not the one who gave birth to you after all!"
"My aunt has always treated her niece as if she were her own child." Shen Shuyan was silent for a moment and said, "Although my niece is not sensitive, she is not ignorant."
"I don't want to remind you how good I am to you." Wei Changying put down the tea bowl, motioned for everyone to step aside, and said seriously, "But since you also think that I am good to you, then I will act as your mother today. , say a few words to you!" (To be continued)