Chapter 596

Marquis Xu's Da Niangzi, Sun Shi, sat on the Luo Han chair, looking down at the handkerchief in her hand, her eyes filled with mixed joy and worry.

Rubbing the handkerchief lightly with her fingers and feeling the soft texture coming from her fingertips, Sun Shi said: "Did your Young Master tell you whose handkerchief this is?"

"Replying to Madam, the Young Master did not say." Qingcao said.

"Then yesterday, was Qingyun the one who stayed by your Young Master's side the whole time?"

"Yes, Madam."

"Hmm, this matter was handled very well! Don't be afraid of your Young Master scolding you; if anything happens, push it onto me." Sun Shi said.

"This servant understands."

"Hmm, go down."

After Qingcao left the hall, seeing the inquisitive looks Xie Shi and Hualan were casting at the handkerchief, Sun Shi reached out, handed the handkerchief to Xie Shi, and looked at Hualan:

"Hualan, yesterday when you and the Gu Dalang's wife were at Jinming Pool, did you see which young lady was walking close to Jing'er?"

After recalling for a while, Hualan shook her head and said: "Mother, yesterday I did not see any young lady go near Fifth Young Master."

"Could it be that when Fifth Young Master went to the Gu family's tent..." Before Hualan could finish her sentence, she shook her head and denied it herself: "If there really were something, the Eldest Sister would certainly have sent word home."

After Xie Shi handed the handkerchief to Hualan, she looked at Sun Shi and said: "Mother, there are not many families in all of Dongjing that can produce handkerchiefs with this kind of material."

Hualan touched the handkerchief in her hand, looked at Sun Shi, and asked in confusion: "Sister-in-law, although this kind of material is not sold on the market, perhaps it is leftover scraps from the palace after making clothes! There are so many noble and wealthy families in the capital, how could there be only a few?"

Xie Shi smiled and said: "Hualan, a piece of material this large would be enough to make a collar, cuffs, or even a pair of shoe uppers! If you had a piece like this, would you be willing to use it as a handkerchief?"

Hualan looked at the soft-textured, beautifully woven handkerchief in her hand and shook her head: "Sister-in-law's words make sense, I would not be willing to waste it like this!"

Sun Shi nodded, expressing agreement with what the two daughters-in-law had said.

Xie Shi blinked and lowered her voice: "In that case... could it be a Princess or County Princess from one of the Imperial Clan's Prince's houses in the capital?"

Hualan shook her head and said: "Sister-in-law, our family has never had any dealings with the Imperial Clan's Princes in Bianjing, and one could even say there is some friction! Fifth Young Master has always been self-disciplined and would not accept a young lady's handkerchief for no reason!"

After speaking, looking at her mother-in-law Sun Shi's expression, Hualan said: "Mother, do you know something?"

As she spoke, Hualan handed the handkerchief back to Sun Shi.

Looking at the handkerchief, Sun Shi did not answer Hualan's question, but instead placed it on the small table to the side and said: "Qingcao has followed Jing'er for so many years; you tell me, if Jing'er had specifically instructed Qingcao to keep her mouth shut, would she still have come here to tell us about this?"

Hearing Sun Shi's words, Xie Shi and Hualan exchanged thoughtful glances.

"Mother, are you saying that Fifth Young Master let us know about this on purpose?" Hualan said uncertainly.

Sun Shi took a deep breath, and just as she was about to speak, the door curtain was lifted, and Dan Mama stepped inside.

After bowing to Sun Shi and the other two, Dan Mama said: "Madam, word has come from the main gate that the Chai family Madam's personal maid has arrived."

Sun Shi said: "Invite her in quickly."

Dan Mama agreed and went.

After the three mother-in-law and daughters-in-law exchanged glances, Hualan's eyes were filled with realization as she said: "Mother, I suspect this handkerchief is likely..."

Hualan did not say the rest, but the meaning was already clear.

Sun Shi and Xie Shi both nodded slightly.

After the hall was quiet for a while,

"Hiss!"

Xie Shi gasped, her eyes filled with thought.

"Sister-in-law, what is it?" Hualan asked hurriedly.

Xie Shi looked at her mother-in-law and Hualan, and said hesitantly: "Mother, Hualan, do you think the Chai family or Madam Chai knows that Fifth Young Master got the handkerchief?"

"Coming to our house today, could it be that for the sake of Da Niangzi Zhengzheng's reputation, they want to take this handkerchief back?"

Hualan, on the side, shook her head and said: "Sister-in-law, Madam Chai previously mentioned the marriage between the two families in public; logically, she would only go with the flow and not ask for it back, right?"

Sun Shi thought for a moment, picked up the handkerchief from the table, handed it to Cui Mama, and said: "Go, put the item in your sleeve and send it back to Jing'er's courtyard. For the sake of the young lady's reputation, we will pretend we don't know about this matter."

"Yes."

Cui Mama put the handkerchief into her sleeve, agreed, and went.

After a while,

the well-dressed personal maid of Madam Chai entered the hall with a smile on her face.

After bowing to the three Xu family women, the Chai family maid smiled and said: "Madam, two Eldest Young Ladies, this servant has been entrusted by my Madam to come to your noble mansion to express our thanks first."

The three Xu family women were slightly surprised, and Sun Shi said: "This Mama, I wonder why you have come to express thanks?"

The Chai family maid's eyes were full of surprise; seeing that the expressions of the three Xu family women did not look like they were faking it, her eyes turned, and she guessed the reason, hurriedly saying:

"I suppose the Fifth Young Master of your noble mansion did not tell you, Madam, that yesterday afternoon at Wansheng Gate..."

"After the carriage axle broke due to the sandstorm, it almost fell into the Hulong River!"

"This servant was in the carriage at the time and hadn't even reacted to what was happening when everything started spinning!"

"If it hadn't been for the Fifth Young Master's righteous intervention, my Madam and the others would certainly have suffered!"

"To save our carriage, the calluses on the Fifth Young Master's palms were worn away; my Madam felt so sorry for him!"

"The Fifth Young Master came back and didn't tell the family?"

The Chai family maid looked at the Xu family women in confusion.

Sun Shi shook her head and said: "This boy didn't tell the family! No wonder when we were eating last night, I noticed he was a bit clumsy using his chopsticks to pick up food!"

Hearing Sun Shi's words, the Chai family maid nodded with a pained look in her eyes and said: "I don't mean to be disrespectful to you, Madam and Eldest Da Niangzi, but yesterday when I saw the Fifth Young Master's injuries, my legs went a bit weak! That must have hurt so much!"

Sun Shi nodded with some emotion and said: "Speaking of which, from childhood to now, he has gotten used to it."

After the Chai family maid echoed a few more times, she said: "Madam, is your noble mansion free this afternoon? If possible, my Madam will come over this afternoon."

Sun Shi naturally had no objections.

The Chai family maid smiled, bowed, and said: "Then this servant will take her leave and go home to tell my Madam!"

Sun Shi nodded with a smile and said to Xie Shi: "Gu Dalang's wife, go and see her off!"

"Yes, Mother."

The Chai family maid naturally tried to decline, but was still accompanied out of the backyard by Xie Shi.

On the way,

passing through the corridor and gate,

when they arrived at the second gate to wait for the Chai family's carriage, the Chai family maid looked at Xie Shi and smiled:

"Eldest Da Niangzi, speaking of which, the renovation of that residence in Guangfufang is almost finished; see when Madam Sun might be able to go and take a look."

Xie Shi said in surprise: "So fast?"

The Chai family maid smiled and said: "After the fifteenth of the first lunar month, the craftsmen started working; it has been nearly two months, it is not fast!"

Xie Shi nodded and smiled: "Good, then I will tell my mother-in-law."

"Aye!"

Jiying Lane, Sheng family.

School courtyard,

although there was both sand and rain yesterday, the courtyard had been cleaned and wiped very clean by the Sheng family servants early in the morning.

Inside the room,

Seeing Mo Lan, at the very front, was holding a brush and writing poetry in her poetry collection, "Mo Yuan."

Rulan, behind her, was supporting her cheek with one hand, eyes closed, nodding off from time to time.

Minglan, sitting in the last row, held a brush in her hand. After writing a few characters on the paper, she looked to her right with some confusion.

To Minglan's right was Changfeng, who was currently biting the handle of his brush, frowning as he looked at the lesson on the paper on the table.

Skipping over Changfeng, Minglan's gaze fell on the hands of Xu Zaijing, who was sitting upright and holding a brush to write.

Minglan had only looked for a moment when she noticed Xu Zaijing's brush pause.

Seeing Xu Zaijing about to turn his head to look over, Minglan hurriedly lowered her gaze and focused on Changfeng's clothes.

Feeling Xu Zaijing's gaze looking over, Minglan turned her head slightly again to look at the brush washer on her own table.

"Ahem."

Scholar Zhuang, at the very front, coughed lightly.

In front of Minglan, Rulan, who had been nodding off non-stop, woke up with a start. After wiping the saliva from the corner of her mouth, she pretended to be looking at the miscellaneous books on the table.

Minglan glanced to the right with the corner of her eye and found that Xu Zaijing was no longer looking this way.

"Everyone, it has been an hour, let's all take a rest!"

"Yes, Scholar!"

Everyone agreed one after another.

In front of Minglan to the right, Qi Heng, who had stretched forcefully, looked at Minglan, who was lowering her head behind him, while he was loosening his neck.

Because Minglan was lowering her head and had bangs covering her, from Qi Heng's angle, he could not see Minglan's full face; he could only see Minglan's long eyelashes, the tip of her nose, and a touch of her lips beneath the tip of her nose over her bangs.

After only one glance, Qi Heng hurriedly withdrew his gaze.

Nowadays, Minglan's appearance was like a piece of unpolished jade, gradually revealing the color it should have under the slow carving of time.

Qi Heng believed he was the only one who had discovered this piece of unpolished jade that was Minglan.

In his heart, there was both secret joy and appreciation for his own eye, as well as melancholy because Minglan wouldn't even look at him.

Since discovering the potential of Minglan's appearance, Qi Heng didn't know how many times he had looked for opportunities to turn back and look at her, but almost every time he turned back, Minglan was lowering her head.

At this moment,

Gu Tingye, to Qi Heng's right, turned back to look at Xu Zaijing's hand and said in surprise: "Jingge'er, what happened to your hand? Just now in the dim light of early morning, I really didn't notice!"

Changfeng, who was nearby, yawned and looked over as well.

Xu Zaijing flipped over his palm, which was wrapped in thin cloth strips, and said: "It's nothing, just that when I was exercising this morning, I used a bit too much force and wore the calluses off."

Gu Tingye's eye twitched, and he said: "Hiss! I've had them fall off a few times, that hurts a lot!"

"Hmm! It's alright."

After speaking, Xu Zaijing looked at Qi Heng and said: "By the way, Yuanruo, yesterday in the colorful shed in front of Linshui Hall, you also boarded the Great Dragon Boat; did you see the young ladies from the Li and Yao families who were going to enter the palace?"

Gu Tingye nodded repeatedly upon hearing this and looked at Qi Heng, saying: "If it hadn't been for the sudden wind and sandstorm yesterday afternoon, we few would certainly have fished for a while longer near the Ao House!"

"When fishing, we could have chatted and talked about what we saw yesterday, maybe..."

Before Gu Tingye could finish his sentence, he raised his eyebrows and smiled at Xu Zaijing.

Xu Zaijing understood Gu Tingye's smile; it meant maybe they could have seen Liang Han's sweetheart, that young lady from the Wan family.

Qi Heng, for some reason, also nodded with some regret, looked at Xu Zaijing and Gu Tingye, and said: "I naturally saw them."

Rulan and Seeing Mo Lan, on the side, also had their attention attracted by the topic of the few.

Rulan drank a sip of tea served by Xique and said: "Brother Yuanruo, Fifth Sister of the Li family, we have met a few times at gatherings! She is beautiful, but it's a pity she always squints."

"That sister from the Yao family of the Duke of Qian, we haven't seen much of her; what does she look like? Is she as beautiful as Da Niangzi Feiyan?"

Listening to Rulan's question, especially the four words "Da Niangzi Feiyan," Seeing Mo Lan, in front, curled her lips and rolled her eyes.

Qi Heng thought about what his mother, Princess Pingning, had said to him last night, and looked at Xu Zaijing.

Afterwards, Qi Heng turned around again, looked at Rulan who was asking, and said: "Fifth Younger Sister, the two young ladies are graceful, virtuous, and intelligent; they are naturally beautiful!"

After glancing at Minglan, who had finally raised her head, Qi Heng deliberated for a moment and continued: "I heard from Mother that both noble ladies were chosen by His Highness because they like soft-bow archery."

"Ah?" Rulan sighed in surprise.

Seeing Mo Lan's eyes were full of confusion.

"Oh?"

Changbai, sitting at the table in front, also turned around curiously, looked at Qi Heng who was speaking, and said: "Yuanruo, you actually know this kind of news?"

Qi Heng smiled at Minglan, turned to look at Changbai, and said: "When boarding the Great Dragon Boat, Mother chatted with the ladies of the two families and also talked with the Empress for a while, so naturally I knew about this matter."

Changbai nodded repeatedly, looked at Gu Tingye and Xu Zaijing, and said: "I think that His Majesty and His Highness having such a move must have some deep meaning!"

Scholar Zhuang, sitting behind the table at the head, looked at Changbai with satisfaction, stroked his graying beard, nodded in approval, and said: "Changbai is right! Why don't we take this matter as a topic, and everyone discuss together what deep meaning might be inside!"

After letting everyone think for a while, the scholar signaled for Changbai to speak first.

Changbai stood up, and after citing classics, the conclusion he reached was that the Imperial family was intentionally guiding the people to value martial arts, preparing for future conquests of Northern Liao and the recovery of the Sixteen Prefectures of Qin Yan Yun.

After Changbai sat down, Scholar Zhuang asked Zaizhang to answer. Zaizhang's explanation was slightly different from Changbai's; he thought this was the Emperor hinting to the officials in the court that the status of civil officials and military generals in the court might be adjusted in the future.

The children of civil official families might not have to be confined to the imperial examinations; joining the army was also an option.

Afterwards,

Qi Heng, Gu Tingye, and Changfeng all expressed their own opinions.

Most started from the status and influence of the Li and Yao families in the court, praising the wisdom and correctness of the choices made by the current Emperor and Prince Zhao Fang.

"Zaijing, it's your turn!"

Scholar Zhuang looked at Xu Zaijing with a smile and said.

Xu Zaijing stood up, bowed and cupped his hands, and said: "Scholar, the student thinks that the Emperor and His Highness being able to make such a choice certainly has the reasons mentioned by several classmates!"

"But perhaps it is also because His Highness has liked the skill of archery since he was a child!"

As he spoke, Xu Zaijing looked at Gu Tingye and Qi Heng and said: "Second Brother, Yuanruo, you should remember the events of that year!"

Gu Tingye's eyes turned, and memories from a few years ago flooded into his mind.

Qi Heng nodded and said: "What Jingge'er said is reasonable; the scene of His Highness holding the golden arrow in front of the Dragon Throne that day is still vivid in my mind."

Scholar Zhuang, at the head, understood the matter Xu Zaijing was referring to, shook his head with a smile, and said: "Zaijing, in that case, His Highness being able to have this move and choice also has your reason in it, eh?"

Xu Zaijing cupped his hands with a smile and said: "Scholar, the student thinks it's just a little bit! The deep meaning is still as mentioned by several classmates."

(End of chapter)