Chapter 225: Lowly Things (Thanks to the book friend

Both sides exchanged pleasantries.

Jia Tanchun was somewhat puzzled and asked in a low voice, "Is there something the matter with your visit today?"

Bai Qingtong smiled and said, "Can't we visit if there's nothing the matter?"

Jia Tanchun smiled slightly and said, "Of course not, it's just... I feel like you must have something on your mind."

Bai Qingtong pulled her along and said, "Let's go, let's go find Daiyu, Xichun, and the others to play."

Jia Tanchun glanced at the person beside her and asked, "What about Young Master Luo?"

Luo Zijun said, "Miss Tanchun, please don't worry about me. I have no other business today; I am just here for a stroll."

Jia Tanchun's gaze flickered, and she did not ask further, saying, "Then I shall have Cuimo accompany Young Master Luo. If Young Master Luo has any needs, just tell Cuimo."

Luo Zijun said, "Many thanks."

Jia Tanchun nodded, took Bai Qingtong by the hand, and left, surrounded by a crowd of servants.

Behind Luo Zijun, only Cuimo followed.

Luo Zijun walked into the courtyard, strolled around for a while, and suddenly asked, "Miss Cuimo, do you know where Steward Lai is?"

Cuimo was taken aback by the question and said, "Young Master Luo, please wait a moment; this servant will go ask someone."

Having said that, she hurried away.

After a good while, she finally hurried back and said, "Steward Lai is in the back, directing the servants to clean the pond."

"Oh? Let's go take a look."

Luo Zijun's expression was calm as he went straight to the back.

Cuimo led the way, passing through the long veranda until they arrived at a garden in the back.

In the northwest corner of the garden sat a pond.

A short, thin middle-aged man wearing a brocade robe was standing by the pond, directing the servants to clear out the withered leaves and floating debris from the water.

Luo Zijun glanced over there and said to Cuimo, "You wait here; I will go over myself."

Cuimo bowed her head and said, "Yes."

Luo Zijun crossed the path between the flower beds and walked toward the pond.

Before he had even approached, Lai Da turned his head to look at him. When he saw clearly that it was him, he was stunned for a moment, then a warm smile appeared on his face, and he hurriedly cupped his hands and said, "Isn't this Young Master Luo? What brings you to our humble mansion today? Are you looking for the Second Young Master, or the Great Master? I shall send someone to notify them immediately."

Luo Zijun walked up to him, his expression calm: "I am not looking for them. I simply had nothing to do at home and came here for a stroll. Is Steward Lai not welcoming?"

Lai Da hurriedly smiled and said, "Young Master Luo, what are you saying? Welcome, of course you are welcome."

Luo Zijun walked to his side, looked at the pond in front, and asked, "It is the middle of winter; why are you cleaning the pond?"

Lai Da also turned around and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with him, keeping a smile on his face throughout: "It is too dirty inside. If it isn't cleaned, it will rot and stink everywhere, polluting this garden."

Luo Zijun nodded and said, "Steward Lai is right. One cannot let a foul pond ruin an entire garden. The stench must not be mixed with the fragrance of flowers, or the whole garden will reek."

Lai Da chuckled and suddenly shouted at a servant in the pond: "Li Shi, how are you supposed to clean the bottom of the water while standing on the boat? Jump in and clean it for me! Taking such an elegant name, do you really think you're a poet?"

Upon hearing this, the servant standing on the boat immediately endured the cold and got into the water.

Lai Da smiled to the side and said, "Young Master Luo, you may not know, but this kid was born a mud-legged peasant, a lowly thing, yet he spends his days dreaming of reading and climbing the social ladder. His life is cheaper than mud, yet his heart is higher than the heavens. He shouldn't be surprised if he falls to his death after climbing too high. I have to keep knocking him down a peg so he doesn't spend his days daydreaming."

A faint smile also appeared on Luo Zijun's face as he said, "Steward Lai is right to keep him in check. A servant is a servant and should look like one; being too flashy is never a good thing."

Lai Da kept the smile on his face, looked at the pond, and said nothing more.

Luo Zijun also said nothing more.

A long time passed.

When the servant who had entered the water could no longer bear the cold and climbed onto the boat with blue lips, Lai Da suddenly laughed: "Look, I told you, trash is trash. At first, it looks like they can do something, but when they actually start doing it, they find they aren't capable after all."

Luo Zijun did not speak again.

Lai Da withdrew his gaze, turned his head to look at him, and smiled: "Young Master Luo, if you have something to say, you can say it directly, so you don't have to hold it in and feel uncomfortable."

Luo Zijun's gaze also turned to him, and he said calmly, "I have nothing to say; I just wanted to come and see Steward Lai."

Lai Da smiled and nodded. His gaze returned to the pond in front of him, and after a moment, he said slowly, "For Young Master Luo to be so young and have achieved so much is truly something to be happy and proud of. I imagine Young Master Luo's family must be very proud as well. However, I would still like to offer Young Master Luo a piece of advice: some things, once they are in the past, are in the past. There is no need to keep them in your heart, and even less need to keep dwelling on them. We must look forward and look far ahead. With Young Master Luo's abilities, your future is limitless; why dwell on past matters?"

He turned his head to look at him and said, "What does Young Master Luo think?"

Luo Zijun nodded and said, "Steward Lai is right. However, some things are not a matter of whether one dwells on them or not, but that they truly cannot be forgotten, nor can they be let go. I have no choice."

Lai Da wore a smile, stared at him for a while, and nodded: "Since you cannot let it go, then keeping it in your heart is also quite fine."

Then he smiled again: "Last night was just a small warning; next time, it might be a corpse."

Having said this, he cupped his hands and smiled: "Young Master Luo, I am going over there to get busy. Please enjoy your stroll. If you have any instructions, just come find me."

With that, he left.

Luo Zijun watched his back, said nothing more, stood by the pond for a while longer, and then turned to leave.

Seeing him return, Cuimo asked, "Young Master Luo, are you going to the back to find the young ladies? Yuanyang was just here and said the Old Matriarch invites you to go to the back to sit and chat. Miss Daiyu, Miss Xiangyun, and Miss Baochai are all there."

Luo Zijun paused and politely declined: "I won't go. Please thank the Old Matriarch for me; I have other business, so I will be leaving first." Cuimo was stunned for a moment, did not dare to ask more, and said, "Oh."

Luo Zijun exited the garden, passed through the veranda, arrived at the front courtyard, and looked back at the mansion once before exiting the main gate.

After Cuimo saw him out, she immediately returned.

At this time.

In the back courtyard of the Jia Mansion, Jia Tanchun, Jia Xichun, Lin Meimei, Xue Baochai, and others were gathered around the Old Matriarch, chatting.

Bai Qingtong was also there.

The Old Matriarch first asked about some matters regarding the Bai Family, and then the topic turned to Luo Zijun.

"Qingtong, for your Bai Family to have Young Master Luo become a matrilocal son-in-law, isn't that a bit of a grievance to him?"

If it were anyone else, they certainly wouldn't be able to say this.

This Old Matriarch was highly respected and virtuous; even the head of the Bai Family had to be respectful upon seeing her, so naturally, she could say this.

!

Besides, it looks like they are just chatting casually.

Bai Qingtong laughed and said, "Whether he feels wronged or not, Grandmother should ask my brother-in-law. If he says he feels wronged, then he must be, but since things have reached this point, there is nothing to be done."

Jia Mu laughed and said, "In front of you, he certainly wouldn't dare to say he feels wronged. When he comes later, you go out to play, and I will ask him."

Everyone else started laughing.

Bai Qingtong also laughed and said, "Then I wouldn't dare to leave. With so many beautiful girls here, if I don't keep a good eye on my brother-in-law, what if he gets taken advantage of by some sister, or gets lured away? How would I answer to my sister when I go back?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the crowd burst into laughter again.

Jia Tanchun laughed from the side, "He is already married, who would fancy him?"

Bai Qingtong said, "Tanchun, you might not fancy him, but there are certainly others who do. My brother-in-law is highly talented and handsome; even if he is married, there will still be many who fancy him."

Jia Mu laughed and said, "Then tell me, in this room, who fancies him?"

Bai Qingtong deliberately scanned the room, and before she could speak, Shi Xiangyun, who was to the side, suddenly laughed and said, "I know who fancies him; whoever is blushing is the one who fancies him."

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately looked left and right.

Shi Xiangyun, however, suppressed her laughter and looked at someone across from her.

Lin Meimei suddenly became anxious: "Yun'er, why are you looking at me? I'm not blushing."

When everyone looked, they saw her cheeks were flushed, as beautiful as peach blossoms.

Shi Xiangyun chuckled and said, "Look at you all, and she still says she isn't blushing."

Lin Daiyu was suddenly both shy and anxious: "I... I... my face is naturally red, it's hot in here..."

The crowd burst into laughter.

Jia Mu hurriedly said with a smile, "Yun'er, you are not allowed to bully Daiyu."

At this moment, Yuanyang came in to report: "Cuimo is back."

The room suddenly went quiet.

Upon hearing this, Lin Daiyu's cheeks became even redder and hotter, and her gaze turned toward the doorway.

At this time, Cuimo came in and reported: "Replying to the Old Matriarch, Young Master Luo said he still has matters to attend to, and asked this servant to thank you on his behalf. He has left first, saying he will come to pay his respects to you next time."

Jia Mu was stunned and asked, "When he came to the mansion, did he go to see anyone?"

Cuimo glanced at her young mistress, lowered her head, and said, "No, Young Master Luo just wandered around, watched the servants cleaning the pond in the garden, and then left."

Jia Mu was full of confusion.

Luo Zijun left the Jia Mansion, walked out of the small alley, and strolled slowly along the street.

Thinking about things along the way, he passed by Bao'an Hall without realizing it.

Just as he was about to walk past the shop front, a familiar "cough-cough" sound suddenly came from the entrance.

He snapped out of his thoughts, stopped his footsteps, and turned his head to look.

Su Qingling was wearing a white dress, draped in a snow-white fox fur, leaning prettily against the doorframe, looking at him coldly and aloofly.

The sunlight spilled onto her pure, flawless, and tall figure, as well as her pure and beautiful face, plating her in a layer of golden radiance, as if she were a beautiful and holy fairy who had just descended into the Human Realm.

At this moment, her figure and her face were unexpectedly as pure as snow, without the slightest hint of seductive charm.

Luo Zijun stared at her blankly for a while, then said, "Senior Sister, my sister is fine; she already returned last night."

Su Qingling looked at him for a few more moments, suddenly extended a slender, snow-white jade finger, beckoned to him, then puffed out her towering chest, and turned to enter the shop.

At the moment she turned, her jet-black, waterfall-like hair hanging to her waist and her spotless snow-white skirt hem danced lightly; one black and one white, beautiful to the extreme.

In this instant, the allure reappeared.

Luo Zijun hesitated for a moment, then followed her inside.

(End of this chapter)