ARTTEDSBGT Chapter 107
Li Zhizhi saw the expression of Su Tangyu, then looked at the young master, and asked her softly, “Do you know him?”
Su Tangyu also replied softly, “I saw him a few times when I was young, we played together. If I remember correctly, he is the eldest grandson of Yang Lao Taifu, so this person should be his elder brother…”
Li Zhizhi looked at the young master named Yang Du again. Although their appearances were similar, their personalities seemed completely different. The younger brother appeared more stable. He bowed politely to the two of them and said with a hint of apology, “I am Yang Shen, and this is my elder sister, Yang Jun. She has a strange temper and likes to tease people. If there’s anything offensive, please forgive us, ladies.”
She turned out to be a woman!
Both Li Zhizhi and Su Tangyu showed surprise on their faces and looked at Yang Jun simultaneously. Pei Yanchuan was originally standing in front of Li Zhizhi, very close to Yang Jun. When he heard this, he was shocked and stepped back, almost panicking, and said, “A woman?!”
Yang Jun rolled her eyes and said impatiently, “So what if I’m a woman? I’m not a monkey.”
As she spoke, her voice had completely changed into a woman’s unique tone, soft and pleasant. Li Zhizhi finally understood where the sense of dissonance came from just now. No wonder she always felt a strange feeling in the other’s gestures and expressions; it turned out she was disguised as a man.
Yang Jun stared at Pei Yanchuan suspiciously and asked, “Why is your reaction so big? Do you dislike women?”
Pei Yanchuan immediately defended himself, saying, “I’m not…”
He looked a little fl.u.s.tered at Li Zhizhi, and Li Zhizhi helped him out by smiling and saying, “Young Master Pei is just worried about offending Miss Yang earlier. Please don’t take it to heart, Miss.”
Pei Yanchuan nodded repeatedly. When Yang Jun heard this, she glanced at Li Zhizhi and chuckled, saying, “This little sister is quite eloquent. By the way, do you happen to have—”
“Sister!” Yang Shen immediately called out to her, timely stopping her from saying more, leaving everyone else confused.
“Alright, alright,” Yang Jun rolled her eyes and said, “If it weren’t for you, would I bother with this? It’s like a dog biting Lu Dongbin, not recognizing a good person’s heart.”
Hearing this, Li Zhizhi looked at her, then glanced at Yang Shen, with a thoughtful expression on her face. Whether it was flirting in public or playing the hero to save her, it was evident that Yang Jun deliberately set up a situation involving her and Su Tangyu, trying to get closer. Even though Li Zhizhi was the one being approached, it was clear from Yang Jun’s conversation with her attendants earlier that the person she originally wanted to find was Su Tangyu.
What’s even more interesting is that Su Tangyu and this young master named Yang Shen were childhood playmates.
Thinking of this, Li Zhizhi casually probed, “What do you mean by ‘for Yang Gongzi’?”
Yang Jun’s eyes shifted, and she chuckled, “This brother of mine is a bit of a recluse. When we were walking earlier, he saw this Miss Su, whom he knew from childhood, but he felt awkward about approaching her for recognition. As his elder sister, I had to come up with this plan for him, but who would have thought it would be exposed.”
She then apologized to Li Zhizhi and Su Tangyu, saying, “It’s ultimately my fault. If I have offended you in any way, I apologize first.”
Su Tangyu didn’t mind much. After all, she knew Yang Shen, and now after many years, meeting again felt both fresh and familiar. She smiled and said, “I heard earlier that the old Grand Tutor retired and returned home, taking the whole family back to their hometown. At that time, I asked my parents about you and remembered you said you wanted to make a kite for me to play with.”
Yang Shen muttered, “I’m really sorry, it was too rushed back then. But the kite was made, just didn’t get a chance to give it to you. Later, I was asked to take it to Bianzhou.”
He paused for a moment, then said, “I’ll give it to you another day.”
“No need,” Su Tangyu quickly waved her hand, laughing, “I don’t play with kites anymore.”
Yang Shen seemed choked up for a moment before managing to say dryly, “Oh.”
Yang Jun couldn’t help rolling her eyes, showing a hint of dissatisfaction, while Li Zhizhi glanced at the siblings and suddenly said with a smile, “Speaking of which, I’ve never played with a kite before. Is it fun?”
“It’s fun. If you want to play, I can accompany you,” Su Tangyu replied.
Xiao Rulei quickly added, “A’yang also wants to play with kites.”
Su Tang readily agreed, and seeing this, Yang Jun quickly nudged her brother with her arm. Yang Shen opened his mouth, struggled for a while, but ultimately didn’t say a word.
Instead, Li Zhizhi smiled and said, “If Young Master Yang is free, he can also come. It’s a good opportunity to give the kite to Tangyu.”
Yang Shen nodded immediately and said, “Alright.”
Yang Jun looked at Li Zhizhi, and they both smiled knowingly at each other, sensing a tacit understanding in each other’s eyes.
After chatting for a while, Li Zhizhi invited Yang Jun and his brother to watch a play together. Yang Jun happily agreed, and they went to the temple where they met Su Qingshang.
Seeing two unfamiliar faces, Su Qingshang was a bit surprised but didn’t say anything. On the contrary, Yang Shen seemed a bit nervous. After they sat down, he remained silent unless the conversation was directed at him. His sister Yang Jun frequently signaled him with her eyes, blinking so much that her eyes were almost twitching, but Yang Shen didn’t respond. Li Zhizhi watched with amus.e.m.e.nt, finding this brother-sister pair quite interesting.
After watching a play, it was almost noon, and everyone was a bit hungry. Pei Yanchuan suggested going to a restaurant to eat. He said to Li Zhizhi, “There’s a restaurant called Yanhui Tower on White Tiger Street. They’re famous for their ice and snow snacks.”
When they arrived at Yanhui Tower, Li Zhizhi learned that reservations were required here, and they had to be made two days in advance. The main hall was full of diners, creating a lively scene that showed how popular the restaurant was.
Fortunately, Pei Yanchuan had made arrangements in advance. They were led to a private room, where they took their seats. Soon, a waiter brought tea and handed the menu to Pei Yanchuan, saying with a smile, “Sir, take a look at the menu. What would you like to order?”
Pei Yanchuan glanced at the menu and asked Li Zhizhi, “What would you like to eat, Miss Li? You can order.”
Li Zhizhi smiled and said, “This is my first time here. I’m not sure what’s good to eat. Let’s let Tangyu and the Second Young Master have a look.”
Su Tangyu declined a few times and ordered a roasted duck and a seafood soup. Yang Jun and his sister also ordered a few items. When it was Su Qingshang’s turn, he only ordered a bowl of plain congee. Yang Jun rested his chin on his hand, somewhat puzzled, and asked, “It’s lunchtime, and you’re only having congee. Can you get full on that?”
Pei Yanchuan then advised, “Why not order a bit more?”
Li Zhizhi suddenly remembered the first time she saw Su Qingshang, he was eating medicinal food, so she spoke up to explain for him, “The Second Young Master is unwell, other dishes probably aren’t suitable, so he can only have this lighter congee.”
Upon hearing this, Su Qingshang glanced at her and smiled slightly, “Miss Li is right, I can manage with congee. I just feel bad for dampening everyone’s spirits.”
Yang Jun suddenly understood, “No wonder you look like you could faint at the slightest breeze, and your face is so pale. You’re actually sick—”
“Sister!” Yang Shen intervened in time, his expression looking somewhat helpless. He bowed apologetically to Su Qingshang, saying, “I apologize, Second Young Master. My sister hasn’t been to the Central Plains for a long time, so she’s a bit casual in her words and actions, not mindful of taboos. If there’s any offense, we hope for your forgiveness.”
Su Qingshang’s expression remained unchanged, still wearing a faint smile, seemingly unconcerned about such trivial matters. He waved his hand and said, “It’s alright.”
“Not in the Central Plains,” Li Zhizhi asked curiously, “then where is she from?”
Yang Jun took a sip of tea and replied proactively, “Since childhood, I have been accompanying my mother to Southern Xinjiang. It has been more than ten years since I last returned to the capital. This time, I heard that the Emperor’s Longevity Festival is approaching, so I came to congratulate on behalf of my mother.”
“Oh, I remember now,” Su Tangyu suddenly whispered, pointing at Yang Jun, “Your mother is Princess Shouchun, right? The one who married the Southern Xinjiang King back then.”
Yang Jun smiled and nodded, “Exactly.”
Li Zhizhi was somewhat surprised because she also knew about Princess Shouchun’s reputation. She was the Emperor’s half-sister and later married to Southern Xinjiang. It was said that the Southern Xinjiang King fell in love with her at first sight and was willing to make Southern Xinjiang a va.s.sal state of Dayan, with himself as the king paying tribute every year.
But before marrying into Southern Xinjiang, Princess Shouchun had been married once before and had three children. There were rumors that she was very jealous and didn’t allow her husband to be close to other women. Those who served her closely were all male servants. If she caught her husband looking at other women, she would get angry, let alone taking concubines. Despite this, her husband still kept a mistress.
When Princess Shouchun found out, she was furious and beat him with a horsewhip, threatening to divorce him. Others advised her that men having multiple wives and concubines was common, especially since he kept the mistress outside, which wouldn’t affect her status as the legitimate wife. Why be so uncompromising?
Princess Shouchun angrily retorted, “He’s neither a n.o.ble nor a powerful minister. I married him for a lifelong partnership, not to tolerate his keeping of other women. Since men are supposed to have multiple wives and concubines, why should I lower myself to him?”
She then actually wrote a divorce letter and drove her husband out. At that time, the late Emperor reprimanded her for being too arrogant and indulgent. Princess Shouchun cried, “If I have to endure him raising other women, I might as well marry someone with power and status that matches my ident.i.ty.”
The late emperor was initially stunned and speechless. Later, Princess Shou Chun married to the Southern Frontier, where it is said that the Southern Frontier King, for her sake, disbanded his harem and favored only her. This truly qualifies her as an extraordinary woman.
Yang Jun explained, “Because I am a woman and the Yang family doesn’t care much about it, so they let me go to the Southern Frontier with my mother. Yang Du and Yang Shen stayed behind to carry on the family line. Speaking of which, it’s been more than a decade since I last saw them. My younger brother has achieved a lot, with wives and concubines in abundance, enough to form a table full of leaf opera performers, but I, his younger sister, am left alone.”
As she spoke, she casually put her arm on Yang Shen’s shoulder and smiled, “Even my little brother doesn’t dare to look at me directly, right, little Shen’er?”
Yang Shen felt like he had been p.r.i.c.ked by a needle. He immediately jumped up, hastily pulling her arm down, his slightly dark face turning red with embarra.s.sment. He muttered in a low voice, “What nonsense are you talking about… Sit properly, it’s improper!”
Yang Jun burst into laughter, causing Li Zhizhi and Su Tangyu to chuckle along. The atmosphere became relaxed and lively. Soon enough, the waiter brought the dishes. Indeed, Yan Hui Tower was exceptional. Li Zhizhi looked at the exquisite dishes, ranging from delicacies to common fare, which were no less impressive than those in the Grand Princess’s mansion.
Everyone picked up their chopsticks, enjoying the delicious desserts served at Yan Hui Tower. Li Zhizhi particularly liked them, as there were many new and fresh varieties she had never tasted before. Pei Yanchuan placed a silver bowl in front of her and said, “This is a specialty of Yan Hui Tower, Ice and Snow Cool Lychee Paste. Would you like to try it, Miss Li?”
At the same time, another small dish was pushed over. Su Qingshang said, “This Jade Ribbon Three-Layer Cake is also excellent.”
For a moment, everyone’s attention turned to the dishes. The air inexplicably quieted down, and Li Zhizhi, still holding her chopsticks, couldn’t react for a moment.