ARTTEDSBGT Chapter 46
At this moment, Li Zhizhi felt something cold falling. She looked up, only to hear Xiao Rulei call out, “It’s raining!”
In early summer, the weather in the mountains was unpredictable. Although it was sunny just now, it suddenly started drizzling. Raindrops fell on the green tung leaves, making a sound as delicate as silkworms eating mulberry leaves. Tung flowers fell one by one, forming a thin layer on the ground.
The play of hiding hooks could no longer continue, and the previous standoff was broken. Many people breathed a sigh of relief, grateful for the unexpected rain.
Taking advantage of the light rain, everyone returned to the village. Xiao Rulei, that heartless guy, also walked with Li Zhizhi. Since Xiao Yan had to go down the mountain in a sedan chair, it was not very convenient. Therefore, the group of people stayed in the pavilion, waiting for the rain to stop.
Pei Yanchuan, counting on his fingers, joyfully said to Xiao Yan, “I spoke eight sentences to her today.”
Xiao Yan:…
He couldn’t be bothered to respond, and Pei Yanchuan didn’t mind. He turned to ask He Ming, “Do you think after today, she will remember me?”
He Ming, playing with crickets, nodded casually, “Yes, yes, Miss Li will definitely remember your demeanor today, not knowing poetry or painting.”
Pei Yanchuan couldn’t help but regret, “I regret not studying hard when I had the chance. From tomorrow onwards, I’ll study hard and become a new person.”
The more he said, the more fluent it became. Suddenly, he remembered that every time he was chased and beaten by his mother with a chicken feather duster, he would make such promises. Pei Yanchuan couldn’t help but feel a little discouraged and sighed heavily.
Turning his head, Xiao Yan’s expression became serious as he gazed at something, lost in thought. Following his gaze, Pei Yanchuan saw a phoenix tree outside the pavilion swaying in the wind, its blossoms falling and scattering in the dust. Other than that, there was nothing else.
Perplexed, Pei Yanchuan asked, “What’s wrong, Your Highness?”
Xiao Yan turned back, asking him thoughtfully, “Don’t you feel…”
Pei Yanchuan: ?
Xiao Yan said, “Is there something wrong with Su Qingshang?”
Pei Yanchuan thought for a moment and replied, “What’s wrong with him?”
Xiao Yan looked at him silently and suddenly gave up. Forget it, it’s not like he’s chasing after someone’s heart. Why bother with so much trouble? Let him go; if he can’t catch up, it’s his own loss.
…
Su Family’s Manor.
Due to their quick return, Li Zhizhi’s group didn’t get caught in the rain. However, Jiang Ziyu seemed to have caught a cold or got startled, falling ill. She developed a fever, and Su Tangyu immediately ordered someone to take her back.
Seeing that it was not early, Li Zhizhi thought that Xiao Yan was probably still waiting for Xiao Rulei, so she suggested taking her leave. At that moment, a servant came to report that the Crown Prince had sent someone.
Just in time, Li Zhizhi planned to let Xiao Rulei leave first. Unexpectedly, the servant respectfully said, “His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has ordered that Miss Li also leave together. He said that Princess Chang is still waiting for you.”
Upon hearing this, Li Zhizhi was taken aback. She remembered that she had to go to the princess’s mansion to try on clothes today. Without further refusal, she bid farewell to Su Tangyu.
The carriage from the Prince’s Mansion was parked at the entrance of Su’s estate. Interestingly, this was not the first time Li Zhizhi had taken it; the last time was on her first day at Ming Garden.
A guard lifted the curtain for her, and Li Zhizhi smiled and thanked him before getting on the carriage. Xiao Rulei swiftly joined her, patting her side with a smiling face, saying, “Sister, sit here.”
Xiao Yan sat in the middle, flipping through a scroll of letters in his hand. Xiao Rulei quickly leaned over, sticking her head out, and said, “Brother…”
Xiao Yan extended a finger, pressed it against her forehead, and pushed her head back, disdainfully saying, “Your forehead is too big, blocking the light.”
Xiao Rulei pouted, touching her head, and asked Li Zhizhi with grievances, “Sister Zhizhi, is it true?”
Li Zhizhi wanted to laugh but held it back, comforting her, “No, A’yang is the most beautiful.”
Xiao Rulei became happy again, hugging her affectionately and rubbing against her. At this moment, Xiao Yan suddenly spoke, asking, “I heard from Aunt that you will be reaching the age of adulthood soon?”
Li Zhizhi didn’t expect him to bring this up on his own, feeling somewhat surprised, she replied, “Yes.”
Xiao Yan’s gaze still remained on the letters, seemingly casually asking, “Which day?”
“May 18th.”
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan seemed to be momentarily stunned. Xiao Rulei suddenly exclaimed, “Brother’s birthday is also on May 18th.”
Li Zhizhi was genuinely surprised this time, “Such a coincidence?”
Xiao Yan looked at Xiao Rulei, he curled his lips and said, “How do you remember?”
Xiao Rulei was rummaging for snacks in the carriage’s hidden compartment, not lifting her head, “Of course, one time you said the emperor wanted to see you, and we got up early in the morning, but waited the whole day and didn’t see the emperor. It was Aunt who—um!”
Her mouth was suddenly stuffed with a piece of walnut pastry. She widened her eyes, still puzzled, and Xiao Yan withdrew his hand, asking with a smile, “I specially instructed someone to make it for you. Is it delicious?”
Xiao Rulei immediately forgot what she was about to say and nodded repeatedly, happily eating the walnut pastry, while Li Zhizhi pondered quietly in her heart.
Just then, the carriage suddenly stopped. Xiao Yan asked, “What’s going on?”
After a moment, the voice of Xu Tingfeng came from outside, “Reporting to Your Highness, it’s people from the Su Mansion. They say they have something to deliver to Miss Li.”
“What?”
The Su Mansion sent someone to deliver a scroll, faintly emanating the fragrance of ink, looking very new. The person respectfully said, “It’s from the Second Young Master for Miss. A small token, please accept it, Miss, and don’t refuse.”
Li Zhizhi was quite surprised, then smiled and said, “Thank him for me to the Second Young Master.”
The people from the Su Mansion left, and the carriage started moving again. Li Zhizhi held the scroll in her hand but didn’t hurry to open it. Instead, she looked towards Xiao Yan and asked, “What did he give me?”
Xiao Yan glanced at her and said, “Are you very interested, Your Highness?”
“No,” Xiao Yan denied, calmly saying, “Although Su Qingshang has never entered official service, his reputation as a skilled painter is well-known. What he gave is nothing more than a painting.”
What he said was in line with what Li Zhizhi was thinking. She unfolded the scroll, and the scent of ink became stronger. As the scroll gradually opened, what appeared was not a painting but a piece of writing.
However, it wasn’t exactly writing. Li Zhizhi looked at it for a long time and couldn’t recognize what characters they were. She furrowed her brows in confusion and asked, “What is this?”
Xiao Yan looked over and paused, “Tree branches?”
On the painting, there was a pile of tree branches, with ink blotches spreading around randomly. It seemed to lack any order, resembling more of a doodle by a beginner rather than the work of a skilled painter like Su Qingshang.
After looking for a while, Xiao Yan said, “Is this a wutong tree?”
He pointed at the tree branches, “This part looks like tung flowers.”
Prompted by his suggestion, Li Zhizhi also felt that it looked like a wutong tree. However, the tree was painted in a peculiar way. It didn’t look like it was drawn stroke by stroke but rather as if it was continuously drawn in one go from beginning to end.
“So it looks like branches of a tree, because each stroke is connected, but what is this cl.u.s.ter of ink?”
Xiao Rulei was eating walnut crisp on the side, also watching attentively. Suddenly, she pointed to a spot and said, “Sister, this looks like a little bird.”
Li Zhizhi remembered something and immediately turned the scroll around. Looking at the spot Xiao Rulei pointed to, that ink cl.u.s.ter indeed resembled a bird, with wings and claws. At this moment, Xiao Yan pointed to another ink spot and said, “This is probably depicting the play of hiding hooks.”
Li Zhizhi: …
Su Qingshang was really imaginative. She painted everyone as small sparrows. Upon closer inspection, each one was very lifelike. Xiao Rulei looked guilty, Jiang Ziyu hung her head, Su Tangyu’s big sister covered her mouth with wings, and there was even a sparrow holding a paulownia flower, tilting its head slightly as if appraising the viewers of the painting.
After understanding, this painting was truly full of humor and interesting. After appreciating for a while, Xiao Yan finally said, “Su Qingshang does have some talent.”
After he finished speaking, he touched the paper hidden in his sleeve and saw Li Zhizhi showing great interest in the painting. Xiao Yan couldn’t help but furrow his brows slightly, suddenly feeling a bit tricky.
He didn’t expect a challenger to emerge halfway. With Su Qingshang’s painting in front, unless Pei Yanchuan gave away the stars and the moon, it would be impossible to surpa.s.s the other party’s limelight. In the end, he could only become a foil.
After some contemplation, Xiao Yan finally decided not to present it for now. Moreover, it was still some time away from Li Zhizhi’s adulthood ceremony. It wouldn’t be too late to decide later.
Perhaps because his gaze lingered for too long, Li Zhizhi seemed to sense something and raised her eyes, saying, “Your Highness?”
Xiao Yan immediately averted his gaze, coughed lightly, and pointed casually at a certain part of the painting, asking, “Who is depicted in this painting?”
“There are three birds, with one of them looking fierce. The one next to it, with ink-like markings, is being stepped on by the fierce one, as if in pain and desperately pleading for mercy. Besides them, there is another small bird hiding behind, peeking curiously.
Li Zhizhi was stunned for a moment. This scene seemed somewhat familiar.
Xiao Yan was still examining the painting and suddenly asked, ‘Why is there a fight in the Su family village?’
Li Zhizhi:…
This painting probably depicted the scene where she reprimanded Jiang Ziyu. Li Zhizhi was unwilling to admit it, but Xiao Rulei spoke faster, ‘Yes, it is.’
Li Zhizhi could only say, ‘It was me.’
She rolled up the scroll and, facing Xiao Yan’s puzzled gaze, smiled slightly, ‘What expression is this on Your Highness’s face? For us girls, is a fight such a rare thing?’
She proceeded to explain the ins and outs of the incident. After listening, Xiao Yan’s expression turned serious. Li Zhizhi continued, ‘Jiang Ziyu has always been malicious and jealous. In short, she’s a chicken that can’t produce the phoenix’s sound. I scolded her at the time, thinking that she would behave for a while. But if Your Highness encounters her next time, please don’t be merciful. Give her a good lesson so that she knows your capabilities.’
Xiao Yan looked at her sweet smile and the sharp words from her mouth. He found it interesting and raised an eyebrow, ‘What capabilities do I have?’
Li Zhizhi thought for a moment and said, ‘Use extremely sharp words, sarcasm, and mockery?’
Xiao Yan squinted slightly and said, ‘Do you understand? Are you mocking me with those words?"”
“How could that be?” Li Zhizhi looked surprised, then said very sincerely, “Your Highness misunderstood. I was clearly applying eye medicine for you.”
Xiao Yan stared at her for a while, then suddenly smiled and said, “The eye medicine seems to be applied quite well. Don’t do it next time.”
Li Zhizhi was very obedient, “Yes, this humble woman remembers.”
On the way without incident, in the evening, the carriage entered the city, pa.s.sed through the east market, and stopped in front of the princess’s mansion. Li Zhizhi got off the carriage first, and when she raised her eyes, she saw another carriage parked in front of the main gate. Madam Li was coming down from above, followed by the carefully dressed Li Suwan.
Seeing her, Madam Li’s face showed a warm smile, waving her hand very kindly, “Oh, Zhizhi, come over quickly.”
However, Li Zhizhi’s face showed no expression, just staring coldly at her without moving. Madam Li’s smile quickly turned awkward, scolding, “You child, why can’t you hear me? Is your ears not working?”
At that moment, a hand was suddenly gently placed on Li Zhizhi’s shoulder, and a familiar deep voice sounded, “Her ears are fine. I, on the other hand, think your eyes aren’t working.”