Chapter 40 - ARTTEDSBGT Chapter 40
Prince’s Mansion.
In the twilight, the courtyard resounded with the cries of willows and crows, and the slanting rays of the setting sun illuminated the garden under the vermilion railings. Several cl.u.s.ters of roses were in full bloom, attracting a few b.u.t.terflies to frolic and linger, reluctant to leave.
Not far away, footsteps echoed, accompanied by the sound of a carriage pa.s.sing by. Xutong Feng pushed Xiao Yan into a small courtyard. Under the veranda, two maids were whispering to each other. Upon seeing the arrival of the prince, they immediately rushed to greet him.
Xiao Yan gazed at the tightly closed door and said, “Still refusing to come out?”
One of the maids respectfully replied, “According to Your Highness, Seventh Princess has not left her room. However, she did have her noon meal, although she didn’t eat much.”
Xiao Yan, upon hearing this, smiled and said, “If she has such determination, she shouldn’t eat. How can she accept food that is given to her unwillingly?”
He deliberately raised his voice, so that the people inside the room could hear. Indeed, after a short while, a soft pillow flew and struck the door, and Xiao Rulei’s angry voice rang out, “I won’t eat anymore!”
“Good,” Xiao Yan nodded in approval, “You won’t eat today, and you won’t eat tomorrow. Let you faint from hunger inside; there’s no need to go to North Screen Mountain to have fun, which suits me just fine.”
For a moment, the room fell silent, and Xiao Rulei seemed to have just realized something. She was both surprised and delighted as she asked, “You’re agreeing to let me go?”
Xiao Yan tapped his finger lightly on the armrest of the carriage and said, “I’ve agreed now. If you still refuse to come out shortly, I can’t guarantee what I’ll say.”
Xiao Rulei hesitated and said cautiously, “Then you should write a written agreement.”
Xiao Yan almost burst into laughter and said, “You know about written agreements? Xiao Rulei, do you even know how to read?”
Xiao Rulei confidently replied, “I’m still young now, but I’ll learn to read in the future.”
“Alright, alright,” Xiao Yan instructed a maid, “Bring paper and a pen.”
The maid followed the order and returned shortly with paper and ink. Xiao Yan indeed took the pen and wrote a few lines on the paper. Finally, he urged, “There, the written agreement is ready, now come out.”
The door opened just a crack, and the black cat couldn’t wait to squeeze out, meowing loudly. Clearly, it had been cooped up inside for a day and could barely stand it. Xiao Rulei cautiously peeked outside and, upon seeing Xiao Yan holding the paper, immediately dropped her guard and happily rushed out. She held the paper and looked at it repeatedly, then pounced into Xiao Yan’s arms and acted affectionate, saying, “Big brother is so nice!”
Xiao Yan’s eyes showed a hint of a smile, but his face appeared impatient. He said, very displeased, “You’re such a little troublemaker.”
Early the next day, at the entrance of the Li family’s residence.
A carriage with horses already harnessed was waiting, and the Li family’s coachman stood nearby. Li Xingzhi frowned and said to his sister Li Zhizhi, “Are you sure it’s safe for you to go alone? The journey to Beiping Mountain is quite far, and it’s a remote area. Why don’t I accompany you?”
Beiping Mountain was said to be in the outskirts of the capital but was actually further to the north. It was a place with many mountains and forests, few visitors, yet with beautiful scenery. There were hot springs and waterfalls on the mountain, and in recent years, some people had built estates there. They used them as summer retreats and for winter hot spring baths, which had caused many wealthy families in the capital to follow suit and build their own estates on the mountain.
Li Xingzhi had never been there but had heard about it from his cla.s.smate Lin Xuchun. The place was fun, but it was also quite remote, with wild animals in the deep forests. He was genuinely concerned about his sister Li Zhizhi traveling there alone.
Li Zhizhi, however, politely declined, saying, “Brother Xingzhi, you’re worrying too much. I’m going with Tangyu, so there’s no need for you to be concerned. Besides, we didn’t inform Tangyu that you were planning to come along, so it would be a bit abrupt.”
Her reasoning made sense, and Li Xingzhi had to relent. He watched as she got into the carriage and couldn’t help but worry about the trip. When he arrived at the Imperial Academy, a few cla.s.smates gathered to chat, and one of them asked, “Xingzhi, why do you look so preoccupied today?”
Another one chimed in, “I know why! Didn’t he ask Xuchun about the Beiping Mountain estate a few days ago? I heard his sister is going to visit the mountain, so he must be concerned about it.”
Lin Xuchun also remembered this matter and asked in confusion, “Since you are worried, why didn’t you go with your younger sister?”
“She didn’t want to,” Li Xingzhi furrowed his brows and sighed, saying, “Besides, she went with her good friend, and they didn’t invite me. It wouldn’t be appropriate to intrude without an invitation.”
Suddenly, someone suggested, “Then why don’t you go as well, just don’t let your sister know. Xuchun has a villa there, right? We can go and have fun too.”
Several cla.s.smates agreed with the idea and urged Li Xingzhi to go. Lin Xuchun looked around and said knowingly, “I suppose you all just want to have fun, don’t you?”
“Today is the summer solstice, Dianbo and Xuezheng are both not around. What’s there to fear? Even if we get punished, we still have Pei Yanchuan to cover for us. I haven’t seen him all morning, so he’s probably slipped away again. A true gentleman is courageous and righteous; if one gets punished, we all get punished.”
The crowd cheered, “We’ll get punished together!”
After much persuasion, Li Xingzhi was indeed very tempted and asked Lin Xuchun, “I wonder if Brother Lin is available?”
Lin Xuchun replied generously, “It’s a small matter; I haven’t been to the villa many times throughout the year. It’s a good idea for you all to go and have some fun.”
So, taking advantage of Xuezheng’s absence, they climbed over a low wall, hired a carriage, and left the city, heading straight for Beiping Mountain.
Li Zhizhi was naturally unaware of these events. When she and Su Tangyu arrived at the villa, it was already close to noon. The summer sun wasn’t too harsh, and there was a cool breeze in the mountains with plenty of shade. Everywhere was a lush green, occasionally adorned with the bright white blossoms of the tung tree, gently swaying in the breeze. From a distance, they looked like layers of salt and snow, quite beautiful.
As they entered the garden, they heard the sound of laughter. A woman’s clear voice said, “It’s this late already, why hasn’t our third sister arrived yet? Send someone down the mountain to check.”
One of the maids noticed Su Tangyu entering and quickly smiled, “Third Miss has already arrived.”
Li Zhizhi followed Su Tangyu into the garden, where three girls were sitting. One of them was a bit older, with a hairstyle that resembled that of a married woman. Another appeared slightly older than Su Tangyu and had a charming appearance. Apart from them, there was also a girl named Jiang Zilu sitting on the side. Su Tangyu smiled and introduced her to Li Zhizhi, saying, “This is my elder sister and my aunt’s little cousin, Zilu. You should know her.”
It seemed that Su Tangyu had informed her family members in advance, and they warmly welcomed Li Zhizhi, inviting her to sit down, have tea, and enjoy some snacks. After chatting for a while, Su Tangyu suddenly asked, “Has Brother Song from the Song family not come?”
Su Tangyu’s elder sister teased her, saying, “Are you feeling shy? You’re only concerned about your Brother Song. Why haven’t you asked about your second brother?”
Su Tangyu blushed and said, “My second brother must be resting in the house. Sister, don’t make fun of me.”
The little cousin from the Su family waved her delicate fan and said, “Once your engagement is settled next year, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to care about your Brother Song. Why are you in such a hurry now?”
While they were talking about Brother Song, Li Zhizhi suddenly felt her eyelid twitch, sensing an uneasy premonition. She unintentionally noticed Jiang Zilu sitting next to her. From the moment they mentioned Brother Song, Jiang Zilu’s expression became somewhat guarded. Her gaze briefly met Su Tangyu’s, then shifted to Li Zhizhi.
Li Zhizhi raised an eyebrow and, after observing Jiang Zilu for a while, smiled and asked, “What’s wrong, Sister Jiang? Your complexion doesn’t look too good.”
This comment made everyone turn their attention to Jiang Zilu, and Su Tangyu asked with concern, “Is there something wrong with your health?”
Jiang Zilu forced a smile and replied, “It’s nothing. I was just momentarily blinded by the sun a while ago. I’m feeling better now.”
After hearing this, Su Tangyu quickly got up and changed her seat with Jiang Zilu. Li Zhizhi spoke softly to her, “Who is this Brother Song?”
Su Tangyu gave a brief explanation, “Brother Song is a friend of our family. He and Zilu know each other. It’s nothing important.”
Sutang blushed slightly and explained in a soft voice, “I haven’t told you yet, but I got engaged before the new year. It’s with Song’s older brother. He will be here shortly.”
Just as she finished speaking, a servant came to report, “Young Master Song has arrived.”
Before long, a young man dressed in a moon-white silk robe entered the garden. He was carrying a folding fan and had a scholarly demeanor. It was none other than Song Lingyun, whom they had met not long ago.
Li Zhizhi discreetly averted her gaze, concealing her surprise. She had only been guessing before, but she hadn’t expected that the person engaged to Sutang was indeed Song Lingyun. This meant that the childhood sweetheart he had defiled and abandoned in her past life, who had ultimately taken her own life, was none other than Sutang.
It was a shocking coincidence!
Li Zhizhi had a myriad of thoughts running through her mind, but Song Lingyun had already noticed her. He looked somewhat surprised and said, “Cousin?”
In an instant, all eyes were on her. Sutang looked at Song Lingyun, then at Li Zhizhi, and exclaimed in amazement, “Zhizhi is Cousin Song’s cousin?”
Li Zhizhi stood up, gave a slight curtsy to Song Lingyun, and within a few breaths, she had concealed all of her emotions. She smiled gracefully and said, “What a coincidence! I didn’t expect Cousin Song to be here too.”
Although encountering this scoundrel brought a lot of bad luck, this trip wasn’t entirely in vain. Su Tangyu had no idea about her thoughts, but she felt both surprised and delighted. In her eyes, her best friend and her crush were like cousins, making their relationship even closer.
Upon learning about this connection, the several sisters of the Su family became even friendlier towards Li Zhizhi. They spoke more comfortably, and the atmosphere became much more harmonious. Just at that moment, a servant came to report that a young lady was waiting at the door, specifically asking for Li Miss.
Hearing this, Li Zhizhi was greatly surprised, unable to guess who the person might be. Su Tangyu, on the other hand, quickly said, “Since she knows Zhizhi, please bring her in.”
The servant left and returned shortly with a young girl in tow. She was quite beautiful, dressed in a goose-yellow gown with a small purse hanging from her waist. She walked gracefully, and the pearls on her purse swayed with each step.
The young girl was looking around, but when she saw Li Zhizhi, her eyes lit up, and she happily called out, “Sister Zhizhi!” Without hesitation, she left her servant and ran towards Li Zhizhi, embracing her. Li Zhizhi quickly received her and asked in surprise, “A’yang, why are you here?”
Xiao Rulei happily said, “Because Big Brother has allowed me to come!”
Li Zhizhi was quite surprised that someone with Xiao Yan’s personality would actually entrust A’yang to her. Thinking about it, Li Zhizhi suddenly became vigilant and suspicious, saying, “You didn’t sneak out again, did you?”
“No!” Xiao Rulei pouted and protested, saying, “It was the Crown Prince himself who promised it. Oh, and I even made him write a letter!”
She then eagerly pulled out a piece of paper from her purse and proudly presented it to Li Zhizhi, saying, “Look, the Crown Prince wrote a note.”
Li Zhizhi took a quick look and indeed saw a line of words on the snow-white paper, written in bold ink strokes with impressive flair: “A’yang is a little pig, Brother Xiao Yan personally wrote this.”
Li Zhizhi: …
“How is it?” Xiao Rulei asked triumphantly, “Sister, isn’t A’yang clever?”
Li Zhizhi smiled faintly, patting her head, and replied, “Yes, A’yang is the smartest.” But in her heart, she silently cursed, “That Crown Prince is really something!”