Blutbefleckter Tod

Kapitel 54

Her voice, like her personality, was calm and composed, with each word enunciated with perfect rhythm and intonation, creating an inescapable sense of distance. However, the faint smile on her face when she looked over revealed a touch of warmth and kindness.

"Auntie, you go about your business, don't worry about us."

Lu Ziqi responded and led Song Xiaohua, who had just exchanged greetings, into the inner hall. He poured himself a cup of pre-brewed flower tea and said, "Try it. It's made with dried wintersweet petals and is perfect for cooling down and relieving heat."

Song Xiaohua, feeling thirsty after walking around, took the cup, tilted her head back, and drank it all in one gulp. She smacked her lips and said, "Another cup, please."

"You're drinking it like that, it's such a waste of my good tea."

Ignoring Lu Ziqi's teasing, Song Xiaohua drank nearly half a pot of wine before letting out a long sigh: "That was refreshing!" Only then did she realize and look around: "Why haven't I seen any servants come over?"

“My aunt prefers quiet, and there are already few servants in this garden. Besides, I come and go frequently, so I don’t need anyone to serve me specially.”

Lu Ziqi's mother passed away from illness when he was five years old, and he and his brother Lu Ziheng were cared for most by their third aunt, Qin. Because Lu Ziqi was very young at the time, his relationship with Qin was like that of a biological mother and son.

Qin was born into a once-prominent but now fallen family in Jiangnan. Having experienced this upheaval in her youth, she deeply felt that wealth and fame were meaningless. After becoming Lu Tuo's concubine, she lost all her pride and reserve, losing all desire to compete. Her only wish was to raise her only son safely to adulthood; that would be enough for her in this life.

Her son was the fifth of the six sons in the Lu family, but he was the first to go out and take up an official post. He has achieved considerable success by now, and a few years ago he brought his family to live with him. Since there were no younger relatives by her side, Qin took in the newborn Lu Ling to raise and educate him with all her heart.

Therefore, Lu Ziqi had the deepest connection with her, so when addressing her, he dropped the first rank and directly called her "Auntie," which naturally showed a greater sense of intimacy compared to the other three.

Knowing the reason, Song Xiaohua nodded and casually said, "This room is really tastefully decorated. Look at the calligraphy and paintings hanging on the walls, they're so beautiful!"

Lu Ziqi rubbed his forehead.

This girl is extremely talented in every aspect, learning everything quickly and easily. However, all her intelligence vanishes when it comes to poetry, calligraphy, and painting. Even after traveling for half a year with a whole carload of rare books and collections, she wasn't influenced at all. At most, she would browse through some unusual and interesting articles to pass the time.

Fortunately, I had mentioned to the old man beforehand that we should not discuss this matter when we met. Otherwise, given the Lu family’s tradition, how could we not compose poems and play drinking games at a grand banquet?

However, this kind of skill takes time to develop and can't be rushed. We'll have to teach her slowly later. Until then, if anything happens, well… well, we'll just have to play it by ear and hope for the best…

"Yaoyao, judging calligraphy and paintings should not be based on whether they are beautiful or not."

"Then what standard should we use?"

"It should be appreciated from the aspects of brush strength, brush technique, brush intent, detail arrangement and overall layout."

"All this effort to make and put together is just to make things visually pleasing, isn't visually pleasing the same as being aesthetically pleasing? That's my concluding statement, hitting the nail on the head!"

"…………"

As they were talking, Madam Qin personally carried in a plate of refreshing pastries: "How do you find these pieces from my collection acceptable?"

Song Xiaohua quickly took the plate, laughing awkwardly, "I don't know anything at all, I was just talking nonsense."

Qin smiled and said, "Dongqing's description of you is entirely accurate. It's rare to find someone with such genuine feelings. As you probably know, Dongqing has been close to me since childhood, so may I follow his example and call you Yaoyao?"

Song Xiaohua was truly flattered.

Yesterday, whether at their first meeting or at the banquet, this third concubine only exchanged a few perfunctory pleasantries with her, barely even glancing at her, a stark contrast to the enthusiasm shown by the others. This left her feeling quite uneasy and anxious, wondering what she had done to offend this woman so much that she couldn't even extend her affection to her mistress.

Suddenly receiving such a contrasting treatment, he was momentarily taken aback. After stammering for a moment, he replied, "This is Third Aunt's way of showing respect to a junior; how could it be anything but?"

Madam Qin smiled faintly: "Then you can just call me Auntie, just like Dongqing does."

Song Xiaohua was once again overwhelmed with gratitude, almost to the point of tears. This stark contrast between her initial shock and her current state of being was comparable to a hen turning into a duck...

Lu Ziqi, however, took this for granted and had no reaction whatsoever. He picked up a piece of pastry, ate it, and drank a couple of sips of tea: "Auntie's cooking is always so delicious."

Madam Qin smiled and scolded, "Don't just think about eating by yourself!"

Once she recovered, Song Xiaohua quickly tended to herself, eating and drinking while offering compliments. Then, a thought struck her: "Does Auntie also like to cook?"

"Just killing time when I have nothing to do."

"I happened to come across a few recipes for Jiangnan snacks, but I'm not sure if they're authentic. If you have some free time someday, could you please help me determine if they're genuine?"

“That’s easy, just bring it over when you have time.” Madam Qin’s smile became even more peaceful and genuine: “I was just about to hear about your experiences in Jiangnan.”

"Would it be convenient for you, Aunt, to come and bother me again at this time tomorrow?"

Qin looked at Lu Ziqi and said, "As long as Dongqing has no objection, you can come to my place anytime."

"Look at what you're saying, Aunt. Whatever you decide, how can I object?" Lu Ziqi spread his hands innocently, then asked, "Where are Father and Ling'er?"

"Early in the morning, the grandfather and grandson went out to walk their birds. Zhanzhi said he was going to take Ling'er to a teahouse for breakfast and to watch a play, and he figured they wouldn't be back until noon."

After chatting for a while, Lu Ziqi took Song Xiaohua and said goodbye. He held up a silk umbrella to shield himself from the sun and then walked around a few places he would need to visit often in the future to familiarize himself with the way.

Lu Ling was not brought back until evening by a nanny, along with a large bag of food, clothes, and other necessities—all the fruits of her shopping trip with Lu Tuo that day.

Having not been apart from him for a moment in all this time, Song Xiaohua hugged the sweaty little dumpling and devoured him for a while before bathing him and asking what he had eaten and done all day and night.

Lu Ling sighed in annoyance: "Mother, why do you like asking me these things, just like my great-aunt?"

Song Xiaohua's heart skipped a beat: "Why do you say that?"

"My great-aunt asked me so many questions like this, such as what I ate for three meals a day when I was in 'Beiya County', what I wore in spring, summer, autumn and winter when I was on the road, whether my mother's cooking was delicious and what her best dish was, oh, and whether my mother had a good temper or if she had ever lost her temper, and so on. She asked so many detailed questions that I got sleepy and wanted to sleep but I wasn't allowed to, I had to answer them all."

Song Xiaohua took a dry cloth and wiped the little boy, who was pouting with a wronged expression, dry off. Then she picked him up and kissed him twice more: "Silly boy, it's because your auntie loves you so much!"

No wonder Madam Qin's attitude towards her changed so drastically overnight. It turned out that she had only accepted her as her daughter-in-law after confirming that her stepmother had not mistreated Lu Ling in any way.

This is the kind of person who truly cares for Lu Ziqi and Lu Ling...

Chapter 57 The Problem of Children Fighting

Lu Ziqi took a half-month leave to properly settle his wife and children. During this time, besides helping Song Xiaohua familiarize herself with the Lu residence, he also tested Lu Ling's studies.

The little guy is already four years old; it's time for him to start school. The Lu family has its own academy, where learned scholars are hired to teach the children of the clan. Boys from each branch can enroll at the age of three. After acquiring basic knowledge, they can hire private tutors as needed to prepare for future examinations and examinations.

Lu Ziqi was busy with official duties and did not want Lu Ling to get bogged down in boring studies too early, so he did not make many demands on her writing and calligraphy practice, only occasionally giving her some pointers in his spare time.

During those days of traveling around, Lu Ling gradually learned a lot of characters and read a few simple introductory books. In addition, he learned some simple arithmetic from Song Xiaohua, as well as the geographical, cultural and local customs he saw along the way, and strange learning methods such as associative memory, pictographic memory, and divergent thinking. Lu Ling's little head was indeed filled with a lot of things.

What Lu Ziqi was doing at this moment was to systematically sort out his thoughts, distinguish between primary and secondary points, and then have him memorize some common questions that would be asked when he first met his teacher.

Lu Tuo would send someone to pick up Lu Ling almost every morning, and the grandfather and grandson would stroll around town together, walking their birds and visiting teahouses.

The reason why the old man, who already has dozens of grandchildren, dotes on Lu Ling so much is partly because, under Song Xiaohua's influence, the little dumpling has long been accustomed to expressing her feelings in a more overt way, such as kissing, hugging, and saying some mushy things.

In this era, the way elders and younger generations interact is extremely reserved. Most people will never even know what it feels like to hug their parents or other close relatives in their entire lives. Not to mention Lu Tuo, who has been the dignified head of a large family all his life. Even though he has many children and grandchildren, he has never experienced that natural and spontaneous closeness.

Now that he is getting old, what he wants most is to enjoy the pleasures of playing with his grandchildren and the joys of family life. Lu Ling's appearance has perfectly satisfied the old man's psychological needs in this regard, so it's no wonder that he is spoiled rotten.

Meanwhile, Song Xiaohua was not idle either. During this period, she went to her third aunt, Qin Shi, five or six times. Together with her, she made several authentic and unique Jiangnan snacks according to the recipes recorded in Yuan Hao's book. The two got along better and better, and they really had a bit of a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law feeling.

As for the other concubines and the sisters-in-law, they naturally had to visit each other as well. They were even pulled into playing mahjong together a few times. At the mahjong table, everyone had their wins and losses, but each time they played, everyone ended up happy and harmonious.

In short, the results in just over ten days are very encouraging. At least on the surface, Song Xiaohua has begun to integrate into this big family and is thriving.

In an instant, everyone knew that the Second Master, upon his return, was highly valued and poised for a promotion; the newly arrived Second Madam was shrewd and adept at navigating social situations; and Young Master Ling had become the apple of Old Master Lu's eye. 'Nian Garden' was currently the most prestigious location within the Lu family compound.

Lu Ziqi had only been "at work" for a few days, and Lu Ling was also studying hard and making progress every day, leaving Song Xiaohua alone at home during the day. This period coincided with a heat wave, with the highest temperature estimated to be around 35 or 36 degrees Celsius. In an era without air conditioning, fans, or ice cream, it was truly unbearable.

After playing the role of a dutiful daughter-in-law and a refined lady for so long, Song Xiaohua can finally take a breather while everyone else is huddled in the shade to avoid the heat and refuses to go out unless they are about to die.

So even though it was unbearably hot and she was sweating profusely, she was in a very good and cheerful mood.

No need to speak softly and coyly to act like a lady, no need to rack your brains to be cunning and smooth, no need to say insincere, flattering, or lying nonsense, but you rarely speak human language...

Reclining in a bamboo rattan rocking chair, Song Xiaohua squinted at the blinding sunlight blocked by layers of grapevines, patted Song Wuque's big head next to her, whose tongue was sticking out a foot long, and exclaimed sincerely, "This is the life a human being should live!"

The dog, already sweltering from the heat, had lost its usual imposing manner and lay listlessly on the ground like a dog skin. Upon hearing this, it merely raised its eyes slightly, which was its only response.

Song Xiaohua tilted her head and looked at him for a while, then suddenly sat up with a sly grin, saying in a sinister tone like that of a wolf in sheep's clothing, "Wuque, you're hot right now, aren't you? Why don't you just shave off all that fur? Although there aren't any pet grooming shops here, I think my skills are pretty good. You wait here obediently, I'll go get the scissors..."

Before he could finish speaking, Song Wuque, who had just seemed half-dead, suddenly leaped up and fled, bumping into Xiaoyan who happened to be carrying a plate of chilled watermelon. Seeing the cool, sweet flesh scattered on the ground, he immediately stopped running and focused intently on eating it, displaying a generous attitude of "Go ahead and shave me, shave me all you want, turn me into a bald chicken..."

Xiaoyan got up from the ground in annoyance, spitting out a light spit: "You damn dog, you made me fall twice!"

When Lu Ziqi was selecting people for the garden, he had one condition: they couldn't be afraid of dogs. The reason Xiaoyan lost her composure that day was simply because she never expected the 'big dog' the Second Master had mentioned would be so huge…

After about twenty days of joint efforts, Nianyuan has basically established a harmonious society composed of people and dogs. However, because Xiaoyan and Song Wuque didn't leave a perfect impression on each other at the beginning, they still harbor some resentment and have been expressing their love for each other in a unique way—by "fighting to the death"...

Compared to the steady and calm Tingxian, Xiaoyan is more impatient, and her straightforward temperament is more to Song Xiaohua's liking.

In the blink of an eye, Song Wuque had devoured the watermelon on the ground, then squatted down contentedly, licking his nose. Xiaoyan, seeing his arrogant demeanor, grew even angrier, bending down to face his dog-like face: "I spent half the day painstakingly peeling and deseeding it, only to have it all end up in your dog belly. If I'd known, I should have put some croton seeds in it, then you wouldn't have the energy to cause me any trouble!"

His nagging was met with a loud snort. Song Wuque gave Xiaoyan's face a full-on, three-dimensional spray of water, then smirked and swaggered back to Song Xiaohua's side. His little expression clearly conveyed one meaning—contempt!

"Our Wuque wouldn't be so stupid as to eat something drugged! Do you think someone's nose is just for show?"

Song Xiaohua was thoroughly enjoying the show. As she laughed, she took out a silk handkerchief and handed it to the unlucky guy who was jumping up and down in anger: "Stop jumping around here. Aren't you hot? Go wash up and get me a plate of watermelon while you're at it. Ling'er should be getting out of school soon, so we can eat together."