ARTTEDSBGT Chapter 71
Su Mansion.
As soon as she returned from school, Su Tangyu handed her book bag to the servant and eagerly asked, “Where’s Second Brother?”
The maid replied, “Second Young Master is in the study right now.”
Upon hearing this, Su Tangyu immediately headed towards the study. As soon as she entered, she saw Su Qingshang behind the desk, busy with brush and ink, working on a painting. She cheerfully called out, “Second Brother!”
Su Qingshang didn’t react, as if he hadn’t heard. Su Tangyu, unfazed, walked over with hands behind her back, took a few steps, tilted her head, and observed the painting he was working on—a distant view of a cold mountain.
Without lifting his head, Su Qingshang softly asked, “What’s the matter?”
Su Tangyu chuckled and said, “Second Brother, you’re always stuck in the mansion, it must be boring. How about going out for a few days? Zhizhi invited us to go to the Qianshan hunting ground!”
“Miss Li?” Su Qingshang was slightly surprised, then asked, “When?”
“In two days,” Su Tangyu grinned, glancing at him with narrowed eyes. She teased, “Second Brother looks so calm. Are you secretly happy in your heart?”
Su Qingshang’s lips curled up with a hint of a smile, and his finely groomed eyebrows raised slightly, saying, “Did you figure it out?”
Su Tangyu chuckled triumphantly and said, “This is the opportunity I specially arranged for you, Second Brother. You must seize it well and not let that Pei Yanchuan outshine you!”
Su Qingshang was taken aback, “Pei Yanchuan?”
Su Tangyu nodded, “Yes, he’s going too.”
At this point, she suddenly exclaimed, recalling something crucial, “Second Brother, it seems that Pei Yanchuan is quite skilled. His accuracy in archery is excellent. His brother is also General Zhongwu. If it comes to hunting, you surely won’t be able to outshine him. What should we do?”
Su Tangyu looked troubled, “How about we bring along a couple more guards?”
Su Qingshang chuckled, “Why should I outshine him?”
Su Tangyu stared at him as if he were foolish and said, “Of course, you have to be better than him to catch the eye of the lady.”
“Oh?” Su Qingshang’s tone lifted slightly, a smile playing on his handsome face. He said, “If that’s the case, didn’t I already outshine him last time at Beiping Mountain?”
“Well…” Su Tangyu rubbed her chin, “That does make sense.”
Su Qingshang continued calmly, “Even if he performs exceptionally well this time, it’s just on par with me. It’s not considered a threat.”
After he said this, Su Tangyu indeed became much calmer. She nodded solemnly and then heard Su Qingshang ask, “So, besides Pei Yanchuan, who else is going?”
Su Tangyu was still a bit stunned, not reacting yet, when her elder brother spoke again, “For example, would the Crown Prince also go?”
Su Tangyu hesitated, “The Crown Prince is still sitting in the carriage, his legs are not convenient, why would he go to the hunting ground? Just to watch the excitement?”
She shook her head and said, “I don’t think he will go.”
“But that’s not necessarily true,” Su Qingshang recalled the scene on Beiping Mountain last time, smiled slightly, and said, “The mountain road is not easy to walk, but didn’t he go up the mountain?”
Su Tangyu felt that her elder brother’s words had some deeper meaning. Just as she was pondering, she accidentally dropped the pen in her hand. It made a crisp sound as it fell onto the paper, and the freshly completed painting was stained with a thick ink mark, looking very abrupt. This painting of a distant view of a cold mountain was completely ruined.
Su Tangyu was startled, hastily picked up the pen, and regretfully said, “Elder brother, I’m sorry! It’s my fault!”
“No matter,” Su Qingshang was not too concerned compared to her regret and self-blame. He just said, “It’s just a painting.”
“But it took me two days to finish this.”
Su Tangyu felt even more upset, almost wanting to give herself a couple of slaps. However, Su Qingshang said, “It doesn’t matter. It seems this is the destiny of this painting. In just a moment, it cannot be presented to the world.”
As he spoke, he took the inkstone from the side, and to Su Tangyu’s shocked gaze, he poured ink onto it. The thick ink spread rapidly, quickly rendering the entire painting unrecognizable.
“Second Brother!”
After a moment of contemplation, Su Qingshang looked at her sincerely and said, “If you truly feel guilty, then apologize to my elder brother on my behalf.”
Su Tang looked confused and asked, “?”
Su Qingshang slowly explained, “This is the white deer paper I took from the storage room. Elder brother has been secretly hiding it for a long time, and this is the last piece.”
He shook the dark paper and exclaimed, “As the rumors say, it repels ink without getting wet, doesn’t bleed through the paper, but unfortunately, there is no second piece in the world.”
Su Tang:…
Thinking about her elder brother’s temper, Su Tang started to regret and wanted to back out. Just then, a servant came to report, “Young Master Song from the Song family has arrived.”
Su Qingshang frowned, Su Tang didn’t notice, her bright eyes lit up, and she happily said, “I’ll go right away!”
She was about to leave when Su Qingshang stopped her and reminded her gently, “It’s quite late, and he came to visit. Is it appropriate to meet him alone, Tangyu, don’t meet him alone.”
After hearing this, Su Tang nodded and said, “I understand, Second Brother.”
With that, she lifted her skirt and quickly ran off, her figure full of joy, apparently because of meeting Song Lingyun. The smile on Su Qingshang’s face faded, and his expression turned indifferent.
When Su Tangyu arrived at the flower hall, she indeed saw Song Lingyun standing in the corridor. Standing next to him was Jiang Ziyu. The two of them exchanged a few words, and Jiang Ziyu smiled. The atmosphere seemed just right. Su Tangyu felt something strange in her heart, but she didn’t think much about it and called out, “Brother Song!”
Song Lingyun turned around, smiled gently at her, and said, “Ah Yu.”
Su Tangyu walked over and asked, “Why did you come over?”
Song Lingyun looked at her tenderly and said, “I haven’t seen you for a few days, so I came to see you.”
Su Tangyu blushed instantly. After chatting with Song Lingyun for a while, he asked, “I heard that the lotus flowers in Yingxiu Lake will bloom in a few days. Do you want to go and see?”
Su Tangyu was about to nod when she suddenly remembered something and said, “I can’t. Zhizhi invited me to Qianshan hunting ground.”
“Zhizhi?”
Song Lingyun was stunned and asked, “Li Zhizhi?”
“Yes,” Su Tangyu said enthusiastically, “Is Brother Song going too?”
After hesitating for a moment, Song Lingyun said, “I’m afraid I can’t make it.”
Although Su Tangyu was disappointed, she didn’t say much. Song Lingyun hesitated and said, “A’yu, I think you shouldn’t get too close to Li Zhizhi.”
Upon hearing this, Su Tangyu was particularly surprised and asked, “Why?”
Song Lingyun frowned and said, “I feel that she… has some bad intentions.”
Su Tangyu found it both unbelievable and infuriating, but since it was her beloved speaking, she suppressed her emotions and asked, “What’s wrong with her? Who told you something?”
She suddenly remembered something and turned to look at Jiang Ziyu, questioning, “What did you tell Brother Song again?”
Jiang Ziyu, eyes wide with anger, said, “Don’t falsely accuse me! I didn’t say anything at all!”
“It’s not Ziyu who said it,” Song Lingyun hurriedly explained, “I just heard that Li Zhizhi took the opportunity to replace Grand Princess in dressing up Wan’er, so…”
“Wan’er?” Su Tangyu immediately caught on and said, “Did Li Suwan tell you that? Do you believe her?”
Song Lingyun hesitated and said, “I heard what she said, and it seemed true. A’yu, I know you have a good relationship with her, but I can’t accept—”
Su Tangyu was so angry that she wanted to scold him. She took a deep breath and said, “It seems that Brother Song and Li Suwan also have a good relationship, believing what she said without hesitation, but not willing to believe me.”
Song Lingyun’s expression froze, and he quickly said, “That’s not what I meant, A’yu. I believe in you naturally. I’m sorry; I misspoke just now.”
He apologized and tried to make amends in every possible way, and Su Tangyu finally calmed down, saying, “In the future, don’t speak ill of Zhizhi in front of me. She is also your cousin. Why do you only believe Li Suwan’s nonsense?”
It was because Li Suwan was leaning in his arms at that moment, crying with pear blossoms and tears, pouring out her grievances. Faced with Su Tangyu’s questioning, Song Lingyun felt guilty but regretful. He said, “This time I trusted her too easily. I won’t dare to do it again. In this lifetime, I only trust you.”
As he spoke, he reached out to hold Su Tangyu’s hand. Due to her elder brother’s reminder, she stepped back a bit, not letting him hold her hand. Song Lingyun’s eyes flashed with impatience, but quickly disappeared. He smiled and comforted her with a few words, and the small disturbance came to an end.
…
On the third morning, Li Zhizhi had just gotten up. The maidservant was helping her freshen up when she heard footsteps outside, the only person who could run around in the Grand Princess’s residence.
As expected, the door was pushed open, and Xiao Rulei popped her head in, “Sister? Are you awake?”
Li Zhizhi turned around. Since she was going to the hunting grounds today, she didn’t wear the elaborate dresses. Instead, she wore a set of st.u.r.dy clothes, with her long hair tied up in a high ponytail, looking very refreshing and handsome.
Xiao Rulei was stunned for a moment, then insisted on wearing her sister’s clothes. No matter who tried to persuade her, she wouldn’t listen. When Grand Princess came over and saw the situation, she instructed, “I have another set that I wore when I was fourteen. It should fit A’yang.”
A light silk was brought over, and indeed, it fit well. However, it was a set of men’s clothing. Li Zhizhi curiously asked, “Mother, why do you keep such small clothes?”
The Grand Princess touched the delicate embroidery on it, smiling gently, “At that time, I loved practicing with a spear and sword. This was personally made by my mother, couldn’t bear to throw it away, so I kept it.”
Xiao Rulei put it on, and it was indeed a perfect fit. The maid also tied up her hair for her. The Grand Princess teased, “You really look like a handsome young man.”
Xiao Rulei was very happy and said, “I am Sister Zhizhi’s little husband!”
Everyone burst into laughter, and Xiao Rulei even asked for a small bow to carry, looking quite charming.
So when Xiao Yan came to the Grand Princess’s mansion’s flower hall, he saw Li Zhizhi in a strong outfit standing on the corridor. A young boy was affectionately hugging her waist, and they were chatting and laughing. Li Zhizhi even reached out to pinch the boy’s cheek.
Xiao Yan:!
For a moment, he almost stood up from the carriage.