What kind of scene is this
Zhou Shaojin was a little confused.
First, because of Cheng Xu, she was stared at by everyone. Then, she was called by Cheng Xu to Changchun Pavilion to take out the ghost seal. Then, she was told that Cheng Lu had been saying in the academy that he and she were childhood sweethearts. Now, she heard Pan Qing say with her own ears, "Is the second daughter of the Zhou family more beneficial to my father, or is the future wife of the Cheng family more beneficial to my father?"... She felt that the whole world was turned upside down. She seemed to be living in a fantasy. She had never figured out what was true and what was false...
Someone came out from the woods nearby.
She was wearing a rouge-red gold-woven jacket, with pearl flowers neatly adorning her double spiral buns, a red mole the size of a rice grain between her eyebrows, and a vague smile at the corner of her mouth.
Zhou Shaojin narrowed his eyes slightly.
Wu Baozhang!
What is she doing here
When did she arrive? What did she hear? Did she discover herself
Zhou Shaojin pondered.
Wu Baozhang nimbly returned to the woods and hid behind a big tree.
Zhou Shaojin was stunned, but out of the corner of his eye he saw Cheng Xu and Pan Zhuo walking side by side.
How did Pan Zhuo and Cheng Xu get together!
She frowned slightly and heard Cheng Xu approaching and asking Pan Zhuo, "Didn't you see Zhou's second cousin?"
"I really didn't see it!" Pan Zhuo frowned, looking a little serious, and said, "I just broke up with my sister here. If Zhou's second cousin came over, I would definitely see it!"
This is a straight corridor, and people will see it when they pass by.
"Am I lost?" Cheng Xu murmured, slowed down his pace and looked around.
It turns out that Wu Baozhang was hiding from them!
Pan Zhuo and Pan Qing’s words kept swirling in Zhou Shaojin’s mind. Without giving it much thought, she instinctively hid behind a big tree that was as thick as a man’s embrace.
A loud shout came from the air: "Who is hiding there?"
Zhou Shaojin had always been timid, and he was immediately frightened out of his wits. His legs went weak and he couldn't move for a long time.
I heard the sound of brisk footsteps.
Zhou Shaojin's heart was pounding.
What should I say if I get caught
She glanced over quietly, only to see Cheng Xu walking towards the woods with a stern face. Pan Zhuo was standing in the corridor, asking Cheng Xu with a puzzled look on his face, "What happened?"
"Someone is hiding in the woods." Cheng Xu said in a deep voice, with a coldness between his brows that Zhou Shaojin had never seen before.
Zhou Shaojin was stunned.
Wu Baozhang walked out of the woods trembling with fear.
"Master Cheng, it's me!" She looked at Cheng Xu with a flushed face and said shyly, "It was so noisy in Siyi Tower, and I had a headache. I was afraid of spoiling the fun of my elders, so I wanted to be alone here and be quiet. I didn't expect to meet you and Master Pan... I originally wanted to avoid you..."
What a great excuse!
Zhou Shaojin almost high-fived Wu Baozhang.
If it were me, I might not be able to come up with such an excuse.
She thought Cheng Xu would let Wu Baozhang go out of sympathy, but Cheng Xu frowned slightly, glanced at the Siyi Building in the distance, and smiled, "Miss, who is it?"
"Oh!" Wu Baozhang's eyes flashed with panic, and he said hurriedly, "My father is Shangwu Xiaxiu, the prefect of Jinling. A few days ago, when I visited Madam Yuan's house, I passed by you. You don't remember me, but I remember you!"
Upon hearing this, Cheng Xu looked at Wu Baozhang deeply and said, "I didn't expect Miss Wu to have such a good memory. I won't go to pay my respects to my mother until 3:40 pm after school, and Miss Wu still passed by me. It's really fate!"
Usually, guests who have not left after 3:15 p.m. will stay for dinner.
There was something behind Cheng Xu's words. It was obvious that Yuan had not intended to keep any guests that day.
Zhou Shaojin was very surprised.
She had always thought that Cheng Xu was just a playboy who was good at studying, but she didn't expect that he had such a careful side and actually found the flaw in Wu Baozhang's words!
Wu Baozhang, what on earth does she want to do
Zhou Shaojin looked at her, feeling as if he had not yet avenged an old grudge but had now reaped a new one.
Wu Baozhang was exposed, but he was not panicked. Instead, he was confident that "you can't accuse me of lying without evidence." He calmed down and said with a smile: "That's right! If we hadn't left late that day, we wouldn't have had the honor of meeting you, young master."
Pan Zhuo seemed to have remembered something, his face looked a little grim, and he whispered, "When did Miss Wu leave Siyi Tower? Why didn't I see Miss Wu just now?"
Wu Baozhang laughed and said, "I just came out and didn't have time to look around before I ran into the two gentlemen. What a coincidence!"
"Really?" Pan Zhuo looked at Wu Baozhang suspiciously, his eyes cold.
Wu Baozhang still smiled and said, "I don't know why Master Pan doubted me?" She said, regretting, "If I had known this, I shouldn't have avoided the two masters..."
Zhou Shaojin was too lazy to listen to Wu Baozhang's nonsense, so she lifted her skirt and prepared to leave quietly.
But when her feet landed, there was a crisp sound of trampling in the woods.
"Who's there?" Cheng Xu shouted.
Finished!
Discovered!
Zhou Shaojin ran away.
"Second cousin of the Zhou family!" Cheng Xu's happy and surprised voice came from behind her.
Zhou Shaojin felt panicky.
Compared to being discovered by Cheng Xu, she was more afraid of Wu Baozhang and Pan Zhuo knowing that she was eavesdropping.
There were branches in front of her blocking her way, but when she pushed aside the branches, she saw a winding bluestone path passing in front of her under the shade of green trees. Not far away, there seemed to be the sound of flowing water and people talking.
Without thinking, she ran towards the bluestone path.
Cheng Xu smiled bitterly, no longer caring about anything, hastily apologized to Pan Zhuo, and hurriedly chased after the bluestone path.
Pan Zhuo thought for a moment and followed.
Wu Baozhang stood there with a hesitant look, but saw Dasu, Feicui and Yuru chasing after him.
Dasu and Yuru didn't know Wu Baozhang, but Feicui had an impression of him and asked hurriedly, "Miss Wu, have you seen our master?"
There was a hint of obscure light in Wu Baozhang's eyes, and she smiled and said, "Are you looking for the second young lady of the Zhou family or your uncle? I saw your uncle chasing the second young lady of the Zhou family over there?" As she spoke, she pointed to the path.
Feicui's expression remained unchanged, but in her heart she wanted to curse Cheng Xu.
"Thank you for your concern, Miss Wu." She said with a smile, "We are all looking for the second Miss Zhou, and so is our uncle."
"Oh?" Wu Baozhang smiled meaningfully, "What happened? Why are you all looking for the second daughter of the Zhou family?"
However, Feicui didn't want to fight with Wu Baozhang. She smiled and thanked Wu Baozhang, ignored her, and went up the bluestone path with Dasu and Yuru.
The more Zhou Shaojin ran, the louder the sound of the flowing water became, and the greater the hope in her heart became - no matter who was there, as long as she insisted that she was lost, could Cheng Xu still force her to go back to Siyi Tower in front of outsiders
As she thought about it, everything in front of her became clear.
There were rocks stacked up, and springs splashed down. A Taoist boy of seven or eight years old in green clothes was fetching water with a bamboo tube. There was a thatched pavilion next to it, and three or four men were sitting on the ground in the pavilion. A man in his thirties with a pale face and a body like a withered bamboo stood outside the pavilion with his hands folded in his sleeves, his eyes half open and half closed, as if he had not woken up yet, but when his eyes opened, a cold light shot towards Zhou Shaojin like lightning.
Her heart trembled, as if she had fallen into an ice cave, and her hands and feet felt cold.
Behind him, Cheng Xu's slightly anxious voice said, "Second cousin!"
In front of me were a group of strange men who looked unusual at first glance.
Zhou Shaojin looked back in panic, in a dilemma.
Someone in the pavilion waved to her: "Little girl, come here!"
She looked over there intently.
The man who waved at her looked no more than 22 or 23 years old, wearing an indigo-colored fine cloth robe, with fair and delicate skin, a smooth and full forehead, a high and straight nose, bright and warm eyes, and an outstanding appearance. Others were sitting upright on the herb mat with a green curly grass pattern, but he was the only one who leaned his elbows on a large kudzu yellow pillow, with a lazy look, a bit of a dissolute and uninhibited look, but because of his gentle temperament, he did not make people feel disgusted or disgusted.
Zhou Shaojin was a little hesitant.
The man had already asked, "Can you boil water?"
Zhou Shaojin then discovered that there was a small red clay stove in the middle of the pavilion, with a purple clay teapot with a handle on the stove, and a small purple clay cup in front of each of the men.
They were obviously having tea here.
"I know a little bit." Zhou Shaojin was a little confused about these people's background and said modestly.
The man laughed and turned to a thirty-year-old man wearing a royal blue flowered silk gown beside him and said, "Bie Yun, usually those who say they know something are masters." After that, he said to Zhou Shaojin, "Come and help us boil a pot of water!"
The others smiled kindly.
Zhou Shaojin's eyes were slightly sore.
Even though she looked like a maid, she definitely didn't dress like one. But if the man said he had recognized the wrong person... Looking at his clear eyes, Zhou Shaojin didn't believe it.
He clearly heard Cheng Xu's voice calling out to rescue her!
Zhou Shaojin replied softly, "Yes", and hurriedly lowered his head and walked over.
The spring water splashes on the rocks like pearls big and small falling on a jade plate.
There was a faint scent of agarwood emanating from the man's clothes.
That is the treasure of the "Huo Ji" incense shop in the capital, called "As I Have Heard", which costs thirty taels of silver per tael. Only one hundred taels are sold every year, and there is no demand for it.
He wore a fine cloth robe with indigo dye, but used incense with "Thus have I heard". If he was not of extremely noble status and could do whatever he wanted without breaking the rules, then he must be a young man from a noble family who understood the true meaning of food, clothing, housing and transportation. Regardless of whether he was the former or the latter, this person should not be underestimated.
Zhou Shaojin knelt somewhat stiffly on the cushion placed by the thirty-year-old man who looked like a dead bamboo next to the man in the indigo-colored fine cloth Taoist robe. Seeing that they were drinking Iron Arhat, he carefully used a long silver chopstick carved with auspicious clouds to pick up a piece of silver frost charcoal from the smooth Xiangfei fine bamboo basket and put it into the small red clay stove.
The water made a gentle sound.
Zhou Shaojin heard the man named "Bie Yun" say: "But even if Wan Tong is demoted to Jinling City as a garrison eunuch, he is the emperor's close companion, and the relationship is different. I'm afraid he will be called back to the capital in a few days!"
Zhou Shaojin's hand trembled, and the silver chopsticks carved with auspicious clouds almost fell down.
But everyone seemed not to see it.
The man next to "Bie Yun" said, "He is involved in a factional dispute this time. It may not be easy for him to return to Beijing. Moreover, there is a Wang Gang in Beijing who is eyeing him covetously! I think it is good enough for Wan Tong to live here. I am afraid that he will not be able to escape unscathed."
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Sisters, let me reiterate that the heroine was just a floating duckweed character in her previous life. She didn’t know many things at all, or in other words, at her level, she didn’t know what happened at all, including her affairs with Cheng Lu and Cheng Xu. It’s not as simple as everyone imagines, so please don’t take sides for now, and read the article first…
※(To be continued)