ARTTEDSBGT Chapter 105

The early morning sunlight shines through, illuminating the courtyard brightly. Several cl.u.s.ters of green bamboo are planted along the corridor, gently swaying in the mild breeze, casting graceful shadows. Occasionally, patches of dappled sunlight flicker down unpredictably, adding to the serene scene. In the garden, a cl.u.s.ter of roses has grown lush, with fist-sized pink blossoms in full bloom, attracting bees and b.u.t.terflies, creating a lively atmosphere.

Just then, a young girl walks from the end of the veranda. She is dressed in a smoky pink dress, her hair styled up with a silver hairpin adorned with ta.s.sels swaying lightly. This young girl is none other than Jiang Ziyu.

Today, she looks carefully dressed, with a hint of rouge and powder on her face, and a flower hairpin adorning her eyebrows, making her look exceptionally charming and beautiful. Her steps are light and brisk, accompanied by the tinkling of ornaments, carried on a fragrant breeze.

However, as soon as she enters the courtyard, she sees a group of people walking towards her. The cheerful expression on Jiang Ziyu’s face dissipates, replaced by a hint of unease and anxiety. She addresses the two leading figures, “Second cousin, eldest cousin.”

Su Qingshang glances at her, his fair and pale face showing a faint smile, polite yet distant. It’s the elder sister from the Su family who stops in her tracks, appraising Jiang Ziyu with a light smile. “Oh, dressed so beautifully, cousin, are you going out for a stroll?”

Jiang Ziyu lowers her head slightly and replies softly, “I-I’m just going out for a walk…”

The elder sister from the Su family has been married for several years and doesn’t have much to say to her. After exchanging a few casual pleasantries, she leaves with Su Qingshang. Only after pa.s.sing the veranda does she turn back to take a glance, only to see the fleeting shadow of the smoky pink figure disappearing under the porch.

“It’s strange,” the elder sister from the Su family wonders, “Every time Ziyu sees you, she acts like a mouse meeting a cat, speaking so softly. Why is that?”

Upon hearing this, Su Qingshang, with her thick-as-ink brows slightly raised, seemed to be amused as she said, “How would I know?”

After walking for a while, Su’s eldest sister hesitated and asked, “Little Er, a long time ago, Mother mentioned something about your childhood accident in the water, was it because of Zi Yu’s influence?”

Su Qingshang fell silent for a moment upon hearing this, then smiled faintly and replied, “It’s been so long, I don’t really remember anymore. Why does sister suddenly ask about this?”

“It’s nothing,” Su’s eldest sister shook her head and said, “I just remembered it and asked casually.”

Moreover, bringing this up now is meaningless. Regardless of what the truth was back then, Uncle had already sacrificed his life to save Su Qingshang. That’s a fact. Their Su family still owes a debt to Jiang Zi Yu and her daughter.

As they spoke, they arrived at Su Tangyu’s courtyard. Two maids were conversing in the yard and greeted them upon seeing them approach. Su’s eldest sister waved her hand and asked, “Where’s A Yu?”

“The young miss is still resting,” one maid whispered, “She only fell asleep around midnight last night.”

Su’s eldest sister frowned and asked, “Did she cry a lot?”

“In these past few days, she’s been okay. The young miss hasn’t cried, but she still doesn’t want to come out much and her face lacks a smile.”

Upon hearing this, Su’s eldest sister’s expression showed some concern. She approached the door and knocked. After a moment, Su Tangyu’s voice came from inside, somewhat m.u.f.fled, asking, “Who is it?”

“A’yu it’s elder sister.”

After a while, the door finally opened, and Su Tangyu stood inside with her hair disheveled, looking a bit downcast, but still trying to cheer up: “Elder sister, second brother, when did elder sister arrive?”

“I just arrived this morning,” Su’s eldest sister took her hand and smiled, saying, “It’s been a while since we last met. A’yu, you look even more beautiful now. Let me have a good look. Oh, such a beautiful appearance, even more charming than the fairies in the sky.”

After a bit of coaxing, Su Tangyu finally had a smile on her face. The two sisters chatted warmly, and Su’s eldest sister scolded Song Lingyun as being blind and foolish, saying, “He usually looks decent, but who would have thought he’s a fickle-hearted man. Luckily, we found out in time. We can’t keep such a rotten man. Let’s curse him to be a swine in his next life!”

Su Tangyu chuckled, and Su’s eldest sister finally felt relieved. Just then, a maid came in, carrying a letter and said, “Young Miss, the Grand Princess’s Mansion has sent a letter for you.”

“The Grand Princess’s Mansion?” Su’s eldest sister asked curiously, “Who sent it for you?”

Su Tangyu explained, “It should be Zhizhi who sent it.”

Su’s eldest sister suddenly realized and said, “Is it that Miss Li who acknowledged the Grand Princess as her adoptive mother and was later t.i.tled as a Princess by the emperor?”

Su Tangyu nodded, opened the letter, and said, “It’s Zhizhi. She invited me to go to the temple fair at Shenbao Temple.”

“Go on,” Su’s eldest sister urged with a smile, “You’ve been hiding in the mansion for so many days, almost getting moldy. It’s good to go out for a walk.”

Su Tangyu had been feeling low these days and hadn’t been in the mood for anything, but suddenly she remembered something and turned to ask Su Qingshang beside her, “Is Second Brother going too?”

Su Tangyu thought to herself that although her marriage had fallen through, her Second Brother still had a chance.

…

Shenbao Temple was located on Baihu Street in the west of the city. The ninth day of July was the liveliest day here, even more so than the New Year. The palace would send guards to the temple with offerings, and many tourists and merchants would gather here. The streets were bustling with carriages, and the air was filled with noise and excitement, a scene of prosperity and liveliness.

Pei Yanchuan had arrived early. Today, he wore a light blue-gray brocade robe with a silver crown and his hair tied back, giving him a scholarly and elegant appearance, coupled with a youthful and carefree aura.

Baihu Street was indeed too lively. Shops lined both sides of the long street, taverns had their flags waving, and there were various small stalls everywhere. The cries of vendors were constant, and Pei Yanchuan was often b.u.mped into or had his boots stepped on. Luckily, he was tall enough not to be pushed aside.

As Pei Yanchuan looked around the street for the third time, he suddenly felt someone b.u.mp into him. He lowered his head to see an elderly man with white hair and a slightly hunched back, looking shaky and at risk of being knocked down by pa.s.sersby.

Pei Yanchuan reached out to help him and said, “Please take it slow.”

The old man leaned on his cane, repeatedly thanking those around him, when suddenly he exclaimed, “My money pouch…”

Just then, Pei Yanchuan saw a suspicious person bowing their head and trying to enter the crowd. Pei Yanchuan’s expression turned cold as he shouted at the person, “Stop, thief!”

The person indeed had ill intentions. Upon hearing the shout, instead of stopping, they bent down and quickly tried to slip into the crowd. Pei Yanchuan immediately chased after them. Being skilled in martial arts from years of practice, he had agile legs and ran like the wind. Even amidst the bustling crowd, he moved swiftly.

He didn’t take much effort to catch up to the thief who had stolen the money pouch. The thief, realizing he couldn’t escape, began shouting, “What are you doing? Stop it! Help, he’s attacking me!”

Onlookers turned their heads as the commotion unfolded. The thief yelled while attempting to break free, but Pei Yanchuan was no match for him. He managed to subdue the thief, delivering a couple of heavy punches that left him groaning in pain.

The old man retrieved his lost money pouch, expressing profuse grat.i.tude as he left. The surrounding crowd cheered and praised Pei Yanchuan. Suddenly, amidst the noise, he heard a familiar laughter, “Young Master Pei is so impressive!”

The voice was pleasant, and Pei Yanchuan froze for a moment before quickly locating its source. As expected, Li Zhizhi was standing there, smiling and looking at him for who knows how long.

Meeting her smiling eyes, Pei Yanchuan’s handsome face immediately turned red. Feeling fl.u.s.tered as usual in her presence, he was caught off guard, allowing the thief to escape.

However, Pei Yanchuan didn’t even think about chasing him. His mind was filled only with the girl in front of him. Walking over, he awkwardly asked, “Miss Li, when did you arrive?”

“Just now,” Li Zhizhi replied with a smile, “I happened to witness Young Master Pei’s heroic act of catching the thief.”

Pei Yanchuan felt increasingly embarra.s.sed, his heart tensed up. Subconsciously, he scratched his nose and said, “I… I just randomly caught one…”

Li Zhizhi blinked slightly, looking at him with surprise in her eyes. Pei Yanchuan then realized what silly thing he had just said and wanted to smack himself in the face.

Just as he was feeling extremely regretful, Li Zhizhi said, “You’re so amazing to catch a thief so casually! If it were me, I probably wouldn’t have reacted in time.”

The young girl smiled faintly at him, her eyebrows curved slightly, her eyes clear and bright, reminiscent of the early spring lake, reflecting sparkling shards of light under the sunlight, beautiful and charming.

Pei Yanchuan was overwhelmed by the praise, not knowing how to react, only staring at Li Zhizhi, thinking dizzily in his heart, her eyes can shine too, like stars in the sky, so beautiful.

He inexplicably said, “Have you ever seen Obsidian Starstone?”

Li Zhizhi was taken aback, shook her head, and asked, “What’s that?”

Pei Yanchuan replied, “It’s a type of completely black stone that looks very ordinary, but if you leave it under the sun to dry for a day, by nightfall, it will emit faint light, like stars, very beautiful.”

Silently in his heart, he added, “Just like your eyes, beautiful.”

It’s just that this statement was too abrupt, and Pei Yanchuan didn’t dare to say it out loud.

Li Zhizhi did become somewhat interested and said, “There are such miraculous stones? I really want to see one.”

“Yes,” Pei Yanchuan explained, “My eldest brother once gave me a piece. These kinds of stones are only found in the border areas, nowhere else can you find them. It’s a pity that I didn’t know how to cherish it back then and accidentally smashed it. Otherwise, I could have given it to you.”

He said this with a hint of regret in his expression. Li Zhizhi smiled and comforted him, “It seems there is no fate, so be it.”

Upon hearing her words, Pei Yanchuan suddenly became a bit anxious and said, “Let me write to my eldest brother, asking him to help me find another piece to send back.”

Li Zhizhi initially declined a few times, but seeing his insistence, she didn’t say anything more and simply smiled and agreed. Pei Yanchuan felt relieved and decided to write to his eldest brother as soon as he got back today, asking him to send a piece of Celestial Star Stone next time he sent a letter.

Thinking like this, he finally noticed two people standing next to Li Zhizhi. One was Xiao Rulei, and the other was quite familiar as well. Pei Yanchuan took a closer look and couldn’t help but ask in surprise, “Xu Tingfeng? What are you doing here?”

Xu Tingfeng held two strings of candied haws in one hand, staring at him expressionlessly, and nodded to acknowledge, “Young Master Pei.”

“You finally noticed me,” he added.