Chapter 678: Apricot blossom rain, willow wind, want to seek justice for Xu Wu Ge [Many thanks

Yin hour (before 4:00 AM)

The time was still early,

the courtyard was pitch black.

"Click."

The sound of the door bolt being removed rang out.

After the door opened,

Xu Zaijing and Qingcao, who was carrying a lantern, walked out one after another.

After walking a few steps at the door, Xu Zaijing stopped.

"Young Master?"

Qingcao looked at Xu Zaijing in confusion.

"Hiss! Whoo!" Xu Zaijing exhaled long and said, "It is truly a good rain that knows the season."

"Ah?"

Qingcao, carrying the lantern, leaned toward the outside of the corridor.

In the bright yellow candlelight, Qingcao saw that the blue bricks beside the corridor pillar were already half wet.

"Young Master, it rained in the middle of the night! The slave didn't hear the sound of rain at all," Qingcao said in surprise.

"Let's go."

"Mm."

Qingcao followed Xu Zaijing quickly and said with a smile, "Young Master, this scene is the 'entering the night with the wind, moisturizing things silently' in the poem, right?"

Xu Zaijing turned his head to look at Qingcao and smiled, "It seems you haven't listened to Scholar Zhuang's class in vain these years."

"Thank you for the praise, Young Master," Qingcao bowed with a smile.

The master and servant went down the veranda, feeling the rain silk falling on their faces. Qingcao touched her cheek and said in surprise, "Young Master, it's still raining, the slave will go back and get an umbrella."

"With this little rain, what umbrella do you need. Let's go."

"Oh."

Qingcao answered with her head lowered, and when she raised her head again, she felt the cloak behind her move.

A moment later, the hood on the cloak covered Qingcao's head.

"Thank you, Young Master."

"Mm."

Xu Zaijing answered while putting on the hood of his own cloak.

More than half an hour later,

Xu Zaijing, who had finished exercising, sweated slightly.

The drizzling spring rain in the early morning also made Xu Zaijing's clothes very damp.

After changing into dry clothes, Xu Zaijing went to his mother's courtyard.

Younger sister Ningmei was mostly sleeping, Xu Zaijing rarely saw her, and this day was the same.

Early in the morning,

on the way to the Sheng residence,

the spring rain was still drizzling, and some puddles on the street had already accumulated some rainwater.

At this time, there were already vendors setting up stalls early on the side of the street, and the candlelight under the canopy was reflected on the water surface in the puddles.

There was also some light coming from the candlelight under the eaves of the military patrol shop on the side of the road, or the lantern in the hands of the night watchman announcing the time.

Looking at the scenery of the early morning, Xu Zaijing tapped the horse's belly lightly and continued to walk forward.

The air in the early morning was fresh, but it would also occasionally mix with the smell of charcoal fire and cooking smoke.

Of course,

spring was warm and flowers were blooming,

and one would also occasionally see flower vendors carrying flower baskets on the road.

At this time, the flower vendors didn't sing loudly to sell. I imagine it was because the time was still early, and singing loudly to sell would disturb people's dreams, and if the flowers weren't sold, they would be scolded, which would not be worth the loss.

Qingcao, in the carriage behind, would occasionally lift the carriage curtain to look outside.

By the candlelight on the side of the road, Qingcao's eyes lit up, and she called out to a flower vendor.

"This one, the one in your flower basket is a wood fragrance flower?"

The flower vendor looked at the tall and luxurious carriage stopped beside him and nodded non-stop, "You truly have good eyesight, it is indeed a wood fragrance flower."

Qingcao asked for the price and didn't bargain, directly buying a bunch.

Rain in the morning, sunny all day.

Chen hour (after 7:00 AM), the sun rose slowly behind the clouds.

Jiying Lane,

Sheng family outer courtyard,

the ground had already been wetted by the rain, and one could still see some traces of the rain.

There was the sound of chewing in the stable,

that was the horse eating forage in the manger.

Qingyun had already wiped the rain off the little Li horse, and the used towel was hung on the wooden railing of the stable to dry, the towel fluttering from time to time with the spring breeze.

School courtyard,

outside the room,

Scholar Zhuang held a book in his hand, looked at Changmu who was following behind him with a smile, and said, "Mu'er, do you know what the two characters 'ai ai' in this poem mean?"

Looking at Changmu's thoughtful expression, the scholar wasn't in a hurry to urge him, just looked up and stroked his beard under his chin with a smile, and by the way, appreciated the clouds in the sky.

After walking a few steps,

the figures of the scholar and Changmu were blocked by the green bamboo in the courtyard, disappearing from the field of vision of several people in the schoolroom.

Inside the schoolroom,

the moment the two disappeared, Rulan's straight sitting posture quickly deformed.

The schoolroom, which had been very quiet, also rang with low-voiced talking.

Rulan turned her head and swept a glance at the attendants and maids sitting on the wooden platform behind.

At this time, Changfeng's attendant was sitting on the wooden platform, leaning against the attendant Han Niu, with his head tilted toward the sky and his mouth open, looking like he was about to fall asleep.

After curling her lips with quite a bit of disdain, Rulan said in a low voice to Minglan, "Sixth Sister, you don't study, but I and several brothers still have to study, can you stop talking."

"Fifth Sister, you... I!" Rulan turned her body back and wanted to speak but stopped.

Subsequently, Rulan continued to turn her head and said in a low voice, "I'll let Xique prepare the lamb first, you come to my courtyard, let's roast lamb together..."

Before she finished speaking,

looking at Minglan's gaze looking behind her, Rulan turned her body back again, looked at Seeing Mo Lan who was turning her head and glaring, and then looked at Changbai, and in the end, didn't speak.

After taking a few deep breaths, Rulan, who was a bit angry, lowered her head and looked in front of her.

On the table in front of Rulan,

there was high-quality rice paper pressed by a paperweight, without a trace of ink on the paper.

I imagine if she dared to tear such paper, whether Sheng Hong knew, or Scholar Zhuang and the brothers in the schoolroom saw it, they would all glare at her.

Rulan thought for a while, but in the end, didn't make a move.

Turning her head to look at Minglan who was practicing calligraphy, and the paper in front of Minglan that was full of writing on both sides, Rulan reached out and pulled one.

After tearing only once, Changbai in front turned his head and looked over with a solemn face, which also made Rulan's movements pause.

After seeing clearly that what was in Rulan's hand was waste paper full of writing, Changbai turned his body back and continued to lower his head to write.

Seeing this,

Rulan continued her movements, and after tearing off a piece of paper, she crumpled it into a paper ball, aimed a few times, and threw it out.

"Ouch."

Seeing Mo Lan, who was writing, was startled and looked around nervously.

After seeing the paper ball falling beside her and understanding what had happened, Seeing Mo Lan looked back angrily.

Rulan held a brush in her hand, looked at Seeing Mo Lan who was turning her head, and said, "Fourth Sister, what are you screaming for? You don't study, but I still have to study!"

"You!" Seeing Mo Lan frowned and glared at Rulan.

Rulan glared, with an expression of 'what can you do to me', looking at Seeing Mo Lan proudly.

Looking at Qi Heng's gaze looking over, Seeing Mo Lan took a deep breath, "The adult doesn't remember the villain's mistakes! Hmph!"

After finishing, she turned her head back.

"What adult, what villain," Rulan muttered in a low voice.

While muttering, she continued to crumple paper balls.

Gu Tingye, sitting behind Xu Zaijing, noticed the 'Two Lan War' not far away and shook his head with a smile without looking up.

"Plop."

Another paper ball was thrown over, and Seeing Mo Lan took a deep breath visibly.

Rulan turned her head to look at Minglan and said, "It's too troublesome for me to crumple it myself, Sixth Sister, hurry, hurry and help me crumple a few."

"Oh."

Minglan pursed her lips and nodded.

When Rulan was preparing to launch her third attack, the figures of Scholar Zhuang and Changmu appeared behind the bamboo.

Rulan immediately sat upright and looked straight ahead.

After Scholar Zhuang's figure disappeared again, Rulan was about to continue her attack when she saw Changbai in front turn his head and sweep a glance at her.

Rulan pursed her lips with a guilty look, put down the paper ball in her hand, and honestly picked up the brush to write.

"Hmph!"

Seeing Mo Lan in front looked at Rulan and snorted proudly.

Rulan looked outside and saw Scholar Zhuang and Changmu walking over, so she had to give up.

Entering the room,

Scholar Zhuang signaled Changmu to sit down, then gently patted his palm with the book in his hand.

"Clap, clap!"

After scanning the people in the schoolroom who raised their heads, as well as the two paper balls on the ground, Scholar Zhuang said, "Master Five Willows firmly guards his true nature, his several 'Returning to the Garden and Field' poems are simple but actually elegant, thin but actually plump, I will recite one, everyone should appreciate the hidden and transcendent nature within it."

"Yes, Scholar."

Xu Zaijing and the others nodded one after another.

"Young and not suitable for the customs..."

Following Scholar Zhuang's recitation, everyone in the schoolroom wrote down their own insights one after another.

The three Lan sisters also held brushes in their hands, Minglan and Seeing Mo Lan both wrote a few words, only Rulan took advantage of Scholar Zhuang turning around to throw the paper ball in her hand out again.

Seeing this scene, Xu Zaijing shook his head helplessly.

Seeing this scene, Xu Zaijing helplessly shook his head.

It was hard to say whether this girl Rulan was bold or timid.

Suddenly,

Xu Zaijing was taken aback.

He tilted his head to look in the direction of the three Lans, and after pondering for a moment with a thoughtful expression, he smiled and shook his head.

The reason was none other than this: this very scene was one of the images in his memories.

Minglan, who was still a little girl just a few years ago, had now grown into a young lady.

Xu Zaijing swept his gaze over her; having not experienced the pain of losing her mother and having grown up healthily under the care of the Old Madam, there was less caution and more brightness and liveliness in Minglan's eyes.

Minglan, who was covering her mouth and giggling, noticed the gaze from the side. Her eyes moved slightly to look over, only to find that Qi Heng was tilting his head and looking at her.

Minglan hurriedly took advantage of the fact that they were not making eye contact to shift her gaze toward the front.

Seeing this, Qi Heng also straightened his body and continued to lower his head to write.

"Hmm?"

After sensing that something was amiss, Minglan blinked and turned her head to look in the direction of her third brother, Changfeng.

Looking past Changfeng's figure, Minglan then discovered that it was Xu Zaijing who was actually looking at her as well.

Minglan felt a panic in her heart, but she endured her shyness and looked into Xu Zaijing's eyes.

After one glance, Minglan realized that although Xu Zaijing was looking at her, his eyes were not blinking at all; he appeared to be lost in thought.

Seeing this, Minglan scanned Xu Zaijing's face a few more times.

Before she could look away, Xu Zaijing's eyes blinked, his gaze became clear, and he looked back at Minglan.

Minglan's gaze immediately became flustered and evasive; after shifting her gaze to look at Changfeng, she hurriedly lowered her head and began to write with her brush.

Not knowing what he had thought of, Xu Zaijing smiled and shook his head again, then continued to write on the paper.

In the afternoon,

At the Sheng family school,

Scholar Zhuang, who was sitting in front of the screen, said in a deep voice, "That is all for today; everyone may disperse."

After everyone replied in the affirmative, the manservants and maids on the wooden platform behind them stepped forward to tidy up.

The three Lans did not have many things, so the maids tidied up quickly.

Thus, the three Lans left the school before Xu Zaijing and the others.

Minglan, who had walked to the entrance, looked back at the school before leaving.

Unfortunately,

At this moment, Qingcao was standing beside Xu Zaijing tidying up, blocking Minglan's line of sight.

Consequently, Minglan turned around and left the entrance with a hint of disappointment.

Passing through the moon gate into the inner courtyard,

After walking a few steps along the veranda,

Minglan heard voices coming from ahead.

"Fifth Sister, just you wait! Today I will certainly report to Father that you were not paying attention in class and even threw a paper ball at me!"

"Fourth Sister, my mother is the mistress of the house, and I am a daughter of the legal wife. Is it my fault for throwing a paper ball at you, a daughter of a concubine?"

"You! Father said that in this house, we only speak of seniority and not of legal or concubine status. For you to say such things is to defy Father's wishes."

"Look at your hair, it's like a little demon's. Hmph!" After Rulan finished huffing, she looked toward the school and said, "Why hasn't the Sixth girl come over yet? Forget it, I won't wait for her."

As she spoke, Rulan flicked her sleeves and walked triumphantly toward Weirui Xuan.

Seeing that her opponent was gone, Seeing Mo Lan rolled her eyes at Rulan's back, puffed out her chest, and said, "Let's go, back to Lin Qige."

On the way,

Yunzai, who was carrying the book box, glanced at Seeing Mo Lan's expression and said, "Young Lady?"

Seeing Mo Lan asked without stopping her pace, "What is it?"

"Young Lady, today I heard Young Lady Qingcao, who is by the side of the Fifth Young Master Xu, talking to Xiaotao, saying..."

"Qingcao? What did that girl say?"

"Replying to Young Lady, she said she heard the Fifth Young Master Xu recite two lines of poetry."

"Poetry? What poetry?"

"The servant remembers it being, 'The apricot blossom rain is about to dampen my clothes; the willow wind blowing on my face is not cold.'"

"Snap." Seeing Mo Lan stopped her pace.

She frowned at Yunzai beside her and said, "Recite it again."

Yunzai repeated it as instructed.

After listening, Seeing Mo Lan took a deep breath, looked at the spring scenery in the Sheng family courtyard, and nodded with certainty in her eyes, saying, "These two lines of poetry truly sound wonderful. I wonder if they were composed by the Fifth Young Brother Xu himself, or if they are from some poetry collection."

Yunzai, standing to the side, also nodded.

After speaking, Seeing Mo Lan continued to walk forward.

Returning to Lin Qige.

"Mother? Mother!"

Seeing Mo Lan called out with a smile.

Soon,

Lin Qinshuang, holding a handkerchief and wearing a smile, appeared at the doorway with Zhou Xueniang.

After walking closer, Seeing Mo Lan looked at Lin Qinshuang and said, "Mother, looking at you, it seems you are in a good mood?"

Lin Qinshuang pulled Seeing Mo Lan toward the room with a smile on her face and said, "Mo'er, just now your father came to see me and brought an invitation."

"An invitation? Whose is it?" Seeing Mo Lan asked with great interest.

Lin Qinshuang smiled: "It is from the home of the Grand Minister Shen."

Seeing Mo Lan was taken aback and said, "Grand Minister Shen? Even if this official's home sent an invitation, it shouldn't have anything to do with you, Mother, right? If anyone were to go, it would be the..."

Lin Qinshuang's smile faltered, and she looked at Seeing Mo Lan with quite a bit of reproach in her eyes.

Realizing she had spoken out of turn, Seeing Mo Lan pursed her lips and did not continue.

"Young Lady, the Fourth Young Lady was just being outspoken," Zhou Xueniang advised from the side.

Seeing Mo Lan gave a conciliatory smile.

Lin Qinshuang then took a deep breath and continued, "The son of Grand Minister Shen married the daughter of General Zheng Jun, and the Shen family also has a young lady who grew up in the south since she was a child..."

Seeing Mo Lan's eyes lit up: "Mother, is it this young lady who sent the invitation?"

Lin Qinshuang nodded with a smile: "Your eldest sister is the Lady of the Hou Fu, and the official Yu, whom your sister Shulan married, also has deep ties with the Shen family; that is why our family received this invitation."

"I heard your father say that on that day, there will be daughters of official families and daughters of noble families, and there will also be a poetry gathering."

Upon hearing this, a smile appeared on Seeing Mo Lan's face, and she said, "Mother, rest assured, your daughter will certainly win glory for the Sheng family. By the way, Mother, am I going by myself, or..."

Lin Qinshuang glared at Seeing Mo Lan and said, "What do you think?"

After thinking for a moment, Seeing Mo Lan said in a rather disdainful tone, "I have to take Rulan and Minglan along; I just hope they don't embarrass themselves and lose face for the Sheng family."

"Good Mo'er, perform well that day and outshine those in the other two courtyards! After you return, speak well of it to your father, and win glory for our Lin Qige as well."

"Mother, rest assured."

A few days later,

The spring sun was bright and the warm breeze was refreshing.

The seats of the three Lans in the school were empty again, which made Qi Heng feel a bit empty inside.

The atmosphere at the home of Grand Minister Shen, however, was the opposite of Qi Heng's mood; it was quite lively.

Grand Minister Shen had been an official for many years and was a giant in the officialdom of the Great Zhou's south.

Today, the Shen family young lady was hosting a poetry gathering, and naturally, many noble young ladies from the capital had come.

At the second gate of the Shen family,

Gu Tingyi, who was not yet married, stepped off the carriage using a horse stool.

After squinting her eyes slightly from the bright sunlight, Gu Tingyi finally adapted to the light outside the carriage.

Subsequently,

Gu Tingyi followed the Shen family maid and walked toward the courtyard.

The Shen family residence was an imperial gift, and its size was very much in keeping with Grand Minister Shen's official rank.

After walking along the veranda for a while and passing through a moon gate, Gu Tingyi entered a garden.

Looking around, Gu Tingyi's eyes lit up, and she walked toward one side with the maid, full of surprise and astonishment.

"Fifth Lady, why have you come?"

This Fifth Lady was the granddaughter of Minister Li of the Ministry of Personnel; because she had been selected as one of Zhao Fang's four wives, she had not appeared in public for a long time.

After asking, Gu Tingyi bowed to the female official beside the Fifth Lady of the Li family.

The female official bowed slightly and returned the greeting.

The Fifth Lady of the Li family squinted her eyes slightly and smiled: "I have been learning etiquette from the palace mamas at home for a long time, so I came out today to relax and enjoy myself."

"Oh!" Gu Tingyi nodded with a smile.

"Sister Tingyi, I heard that your happy event is near; I will congratulate you in advance," the Fifth Lady of the Li family smiled.

"Thank you, thank you," Gu Tingyi replied with a hint of shyness.

While the two were talking,

Another noble young lady appeared at the moon gate.

The Fifth Lady of the Li family squinted her eyes and said, "Sister Tingyi, help me see, who is that? I think it looks like Sister Chaoyun."

"Fifth Lady, you are not mistaken; it is indeed the young lady of the Hai family."

As she spoke,

The protagonist of their conversation walked over quickly.

"Fifth Lady, you, why have you come?"

Hai Chaoyun asked with the same words as Gu Tingyi.

The Fifth Lady of the Li family smiled and gave another explanation.

The Fifth Lady of the Li family suffered from myopia and loved to squint her eyes when smiling at people, but she was learned and not arrogant, and she had a very good relationship with the noble young ladies in the capital.

Being one of Zhao Fang's future four wives, combined with her personality, there were soon many people around the Fifth Lady of the Li family.

Whether it was Chai Zhengzheng, Rong Feiyan, or the Fifth Lady of the Zhang family, upon arriving at the Shen family, they would all come to the side of the Fifth Lady of the Li family at the first opportunity.

When the four Lans of the Sheng family arrived at the Shen family, what they saw was a group of noble young ladies gathered together talking.

After some pleasantries,

The Shen family young lady, Hezhen, also appeared in the garden.

When talking to everyone, besides the noble young ladies from the top noble families in the capital, Shen Hezhen also spoke a few extra words to the four Lans of the Sheng family, especially by holding Pinlan's hand, which attracted the attention of many noble young ladies.

After all, Pinlan rarely appeared in this circle; Pinlan mostly dealt with the daughters of wealthy merchants in Bianjing.

Some noble young ladies who were not familiar with the four Lans of the Sheng family asked their friends beside them for the reason.

The question eventually reached Gu Tingyi.

Gu Tingyi did not need to say much, only saying that Pinlan of the Sheng family was the sister-in-law of the official Yu, and the noble young ladies then understood the relationship.

Shen Hezhen's own brother was saved by the official Yu, so the relationship was naturally extraordinary.

Subsequently,

The poetry gathering began.

After changing a few topics and composing poems, the topic eventually turned to "Spring Rain."

After several noble young ladies finished thinking and recited their works, Seeing Mo Lan stood up while waving her round fan.

"At home, I also happened to compose two lines of poetry."

Shen Hezhen, who was sitting to the side, smiled and reached out: "Fourth Sister Sheng, please."

Seeing Mo Lan bowed with a smile, looked around, swept her gaze over Rong Feiyan, and smiled: "The apricot blossom rain is about to dampen my clothes; the willow wind blowing on my face is not cold."

After reciting the two lines,

The garden, which had been a bit noisy just a moment ago, instantly fell silent.

The Fifth Lady of the Li family nodded continuously with shining eyes: "Good, truly good. The Fourth Young Lady of the Sheng family truly has talent."

Beside the triumphant Seeing Mo Lan, Rulan whispered: "Fourth Sister, if you don't tell the truth, I will have to stand up for Fifth Young Brother Xu!"

(End of chapter)