She sat there, holding a book in her hand. She wasn't reading; she was blind, so of course she couldn't. She was just holding it, her fingers running through the pages, her ear tilted as if she were listening intently.
Long Er subconsciously listened as well. He heard the soft sound of the flowing river, the rustling of leaves in the wind, and the sound of Ju Mu'er turning the pages of a book.
Long Er pursed his lips, thinking to himself that she couldn't see again, so what was the point of flipping through the book? It was just a futile attempt to comfort himself.
He looked at Ju Mu'er's expression and saw that she seemed quite pleased. He frowned; her pleasure made him unhappy. Thinking about how badly others were talking about him, about those young ladies from wealthy families still pestering him, and about Granny Yu's expectant eyes, he felt that it was all Ju Mu'er's fault.
In the past, people only knew him as greedy and stingy, which he didn't think was a bad thing. He felt it had a deterrent effect, making it difficult for others to make any demands that might take advantage of him. But now, rumors are circulating that he's gay, has a secret illness, or suffers from that ridiculous constipation problem, and he's unhappy about it. Isn't that just making people laugh at him?
In short, it's all Ju Mu'er's fault.
Long Er watched as Ju Mu'er picked up a small stone and threw it forward, making a "plop" sound as it hit the water. Then she laughed, picked up another stone, and threw it over, making another "plop" sound.
Ju Mu'er was having fun playing by herself, but Long Er thought she was silly. He snorted inwardly, thinking she was incredibly boring.
He deliberately didn't want her to be happy; he wanted to scare her instead.
Long Er saw Ju Mu'er's new bamboo cane leaning against the large wooden stake she was sitting on. He lightly touched the ground with his toes, used his lightness skill to quietly leap over, hooked the bamboo cane with his toes, and the bamboo cane flew up. He held it in his hand and gently and skillfully landed it on a tree.
He swept past Ju Mu'er, creating a light breeze. Ju Mu'er was about to throw another stone when she sensed the movement of his presence beside her. Startled, her smile froze on her face, and she quickly reached for the bamboo staff, only to find it gone.
Ju Mu'er jumped up in fright and cried out, "Who is it?"
Long Er chuckled silently in the tree, holding his bamboo cane. He felt a surge of triumph, the smugness of a child who had successfully pulled off a prank. Her panicked and helpless expression swept away the gloom of the past few days, brightening his mood. He thought, "I'm not telling you, I'll scare you to death."
Ju Mu'er bit her lip and listened intently, but couldn't hear any voices or footsteps around her. Her face turned pale; she was terrified. Instinctively, she hugged the book to her chest.
Long Er, amused by her teasing, gracefully descended the tree, picked up a few stones, and threw them into the water in several directions. The stones landed at varying distances, making it impossible to discern their exact locations.
Startled by the sound of the stone falling into the water, Ju Mu'er shrank her shoulders. She didn't say anything, but suddenly turned her head and rushed to the nearest tree. She touched the thick rope tied to the tree, gritted her teeth, and climbed the rope, running wildly towards home.
She wasn't running fast; she stumbled and fell, looking utterly disheveled.
Long Er laughed silently, wondering if he should cut the rope to make her panic even more. But then he thought better of it and decided to save the fun for next time.
He was satisfied, played with the bamboo staff in his hand for a while, then went into the woods, found his horse, and happily went home.
For several days in a row, Long Er sent people to inquire about Ju Mu'er's movements. Hearing that she had been staying at home for days without leaving her house, he laughed heartily. He played with the two bamboo canes he had stolen from her, thoroughly enjoying himself.
That day, a scout reported that Ju Mu'er was ill, and Yun Qingxian went to visit her. Long Er was unimpressed, but he thought that Yun Qingxian's family was not someone to be trifled with, and he wondered how Ding Yanshan and her sister would deal with Ju Mu'er this time.
Several days passed without any response. The scouts reported that Ding Yanshan had visited the Yun residence, presumably to see Ding Yanxiang. She left looking unhappy, but afterwards remained secluded at the Ding residence, refusing to leave. Meanwhile, Ju Mu'er had recovered from her illness and was back to normal activities.
Upon hearing this, Long Er was somewhat disappointed. Ju Mu'er was already living a good life so soon? That wouldn't do!
After a moment's thought, he called Li Ke over, took out the two bamboo canes, and instructed him to deliver them to Ju Mu'er. "Just tell her that I heard she was ill, so I prepared this small gift for her, wishing her a speedy recovery."
What Long Er really meant was that he, Long Er, was the one bullying her, making her spill tea all over him, forcing him to repair the street and build the eaves, and manipulating a group of women to harass him. Hmph, get ready to face the consequences.
Li Ke looked at the two bamboo canes and his face turned green; their color was probably similar to that of bamboo canes.
Shouldn't such an embarrassing gift be delivered by a valiant high-ranking bodyguard like him? He has his pride too. Besides, this thing is clearly not meant as a gesture of goodwill; it's obviously an insult implying that the person is blind.
Li Ke was unwilling, but since his master had given the order, he had to obey, so he went with a stiff upper lip.
After delivering the gift, Long Er immediately called him into the study and asked, "Did the blind girl accept it?"
"I've accepted it."
"What did she say?"
Li Ke scratched his head: "Miss Ju didn't say anything."
"Didn't say anything?" Long Er frowned. "Then there should have been some reaction. What was her expression?"
Li Ke replied, "Miss Ju touched the bamboo cane, paused for a moment, then sighed, turned and went into the courtyard, closing the door behind her."
"Sighing?" Long Er stroked his chin. He guessed she was angry or annoyed, but he didn't expect her to sigh. What was she sighing about?
Two days later, the gatekeeper came to report that a flower girl had brought a gift, which was said to be a gift from Miss Ju Mu'er to the Second Master. The girl left the gift and left, and the gatekeeper gave it to Li Ke, who then handed it to Long Er.
It was a long object wrapped in cloth. At Long Er's prompting, Li Ke opened the cloth and found a zither inside.
Long Er immediately became unhappy. Everyone knew that he, Long Er, was ignorant of music and only loved money. No one would be so foolish as to invite him to appreciate and discuss music, and no one would give him such an unpleasant gift.
Was Ju Mu'er sending this thing to him as a sarcastic remark?
Li Ke said cautiously, "Second Master, there's a small note inside."
Long Er snatched it away, and upon reading it, his face darkened. The note contained eight characters: "Practicing the zither cultivates character, relieves idleness and worries."
The characters were written with elegant strokes, but the strokes were somewhat intertwined, as if written blindfolded. Long Er knew in his heart that this was not writing blindfolded, but writing blindly.
Saying that Qin was meant to satirize him, what kind of temperament does he have? He has a very good temperament, haven't you seen how many girls want to marry him?
He's not supposed to be idle. He's incredibly busy. People line up to report things every day, and he can't even finish reading all the ledgers and files piled up on his desk. How can he be idle?
He wasn't worried at all, not at all for her sake!
"Oh, right, the gatekeeper also said that he asked what the gift was for. The flower girl said, as Miss Ju said, that it's best for naughty children to learn the piano."
Mischievous? Who are you talking about!
Long Er slammed his fist on the table. This annoying blind girl, he was not finished with her!
8. Temporary truce, rare guests arrive.
The rivalry between Long Er and Ju Mu'er thus began.
Long Er refused to admit that his unpleasantness was self-inflicted, because he believed that his previous minor punishment wasn't truly serious. He had considered that she was a woman, so he hadn't treated her with the same methods he used on men. Otherwise, given that she was just a blind girl, Long Er could have easily crushed her with a single finger.
But he didn't do that.
He didn't even call on thugs and hooligans to lay a hand on her like Ding Yanshan did, and he himself didn't touch a single hair on her head. He didn't shut down her father's liquor shop, nor did he cut off the livelihood of the flower-selling girl she cared about, nor did he destroy the small, dilapidated courtyard where she taught the children of the common people to play the piano.
See, he wasn't really serious about dealing with her; he was just... well, just teasing her a little.
But Ju Mu'er is ungrateful; not only does she always retaliate, but now she even dares to mock him.
As a man of status and position, Long Er felt that if he let this woman's behavior go unpunished, he would lose all face as a man.
He had to retaliate; he couldn't let her think he had given up.
So, he quickly arranged for Xianweilou to deliver food to Jujia Tavern, specifically requesting it be for Ju Mu'er. The food was nothing but fish. Steamed, braised, fried, stewed… basically, fish. He bought a bunch of bony fish for Ju Mu'er, knowing she would understand his meaning.
Long Er is not someone to be trifled with; he's determined to make her feel like she has a fishbone stuck in her throat, something she can't spit out or swallow.
A few days later, Ju Mu'er brought over two bamboo canes. Long Er understood what she meant; she was clearly saying, "Stop fooling around. Didn't you want bamboo canes? I'll give you two to play with."
Long Er was not to be outdone. He was determined to steal her bamboo canes, so what? He went there himself, sneaked into Ju Mu'er's courtyard, and stole all three bamboo canes from her room.
The next day, Ju Mu'er asked Su Qing to deliver a zither score to Long Er. It was a very basic score for children to learn the zither. Su Qing, who delivered the score, conveyed a message: "Sister said that if the children in the manor are bored, they should be allowed to learn the zither properly."
Long Er put away the sheet music, his anger rising, but he still hadn't come up with a new way to deal with the blind girl. He had found this gift-giving trick pointless and didn't want to use it anymore.
The last time he went to steal the bamboo cane, he overheard Ju Sheng asking Ju Mu'er why the fish from Xianwei Restaurant wasn't being delivered to his house anymore. His tone sounded quite regretful. It turned out that Ju Mu'er was giving the fish to her father as snacks with her drinks, saying it was payment for teaching people to play the zither. Her father had enjoyed several good meals with it and had started to crave it.
This made Long Er hold another grudge against Ju Mu'er. She made him waste money and end up with no happiness. He also thought that this woman was too unlikeable, as she had even fooled her own father so easily.
Whenever he had a spare moment, Long Er would seriously think about how to make Ju Mu'er suffer again. But then he heard rumors circulating in the city. Everyone in the city now knew that Master Long Er was ashamed of his lack of musical knowledge and had recently been secretly trying to learn the zither and refine his refined taste, hoping to change his image as a vulgar merchant who was only interested in account books.
This rumor displeased Long Er, as he felt no shame in not knowing music. Furthermore, because of this rumor, Long Er began receiving various "generous gifts" related to learning the zither, and even daughters of wealthy families began enthusiastically seeking him out to discuss the fun of playing the zither, with some even volunteering to personally teach him.
This angered Ryuji so much that he couldn't eat or sleep properly.
He made a snap decision: since the blind girl had resorted to such despicable means, he would retaliate with equally ugly tactics.
Before long, rumors began to circulate in the city that the blind girl Ju Mu'er was pursuing the second master of the Long family. It was said that despite her blindness, she actively visited tea houses and restaurants, and even gave the second master a zither, sheet music, and a bamboo cane.
These three items were all things that Ju Mu'er loved dearly. By giving them to Long Er in this way, it seemed as if she was giving Long Er all that she loved most, making a very bold declaration of love.
Once these words spread, all of Ju Mu'er's past was brought up again. She loved music and books so much that she went blind from a state of obsession, becoming a madwoman. She was a gold digger, obsessed with the powerful and wealthy, abandoning her childhood sweetheart and fiancé to seduce Yun Qingxian, the most charming married man in the capital, hoping to marry into a powerful family. However, she was held back by Yun Qingxian's wife and couldn't enter the family. Now, she had changed her target, setting her sights on Long Er, the most sought-after eligible bachelor in the capital. Truly shameless and fearless!
In less than half a month, Ju Mu'er had become the most talked-about person in the capital. She became a recluse, staying at home every day.
Long Er was initially quite pleased to hear the rumors circulating in the city, and even happier to learn that Ju Mu'er was hiding and not going out. However, as the rumors became increasingly unpleasant, Long Er felt uncomfortable. He was being compared to that annoying Yun Qingxian, which made him quite unhappy.
Ju Mu'er seemed genuinely hurt after that, remaining silent and making no retaliatory moves, which disappointed Long Er. The account books no longer looked so appealing. Those old tricks, like stealing bamboo canes and delivering fish, had lost their novelty and were no longer effective.
Long Er felt that life was really boring, but with the end of the year approaching and official business piling up, he decided to put Ju Mu'er out of his mind for the time being and deal with the important matter of making money first.
Meanwhile, Granny Yu had been busy with the New Year preparations for the household lately, so she hadn't had much free time. Of course, most importantly, she understood that the Second Master was extremely busy at the end of the year, and she didn't dare to cause him any trouble by bringing up the matter of getting married.
So Ryuji returned to his days with only account books and files for company, but he would occasionally think of the blind girl who had thrown tea at him. He hoped the year would pass quickly so he would have time to figure out how to continue his sparring with her.
With him behaving himself, Ju Mu'er breathed a sigh of relief.
Knowing the unpleasant rumors circulating in the city, it was naturally very upsetting for her, a young woman. Ju Sheng was so angry that he wanted to take a stick and wait in the city streets, saying that if he heard anyone uttering such offensive words, he would give them a good beating.
Ju Mu'er tried her best to persuade him to stop. She advised her father that fists and sticks are far slower than words; he could beat one person, but not the whole city. Besides, if a fight really broke out, people could simply say it was out of guilt or anger.
Old Man Ju sighed repeatedly upon hearing this. He was filled with resentment at letting those gossipy villains go so easily. But his daughter's words made sense; he was also afraid that if things escalated, his daughter would suffer even more.
So the father and daughter simply stayed indoors, and Old Man Ju stopped selling his wine. Normally, with the year-end approaching, wine sales would be at their peak, but Old Man Ju thought, "You wicked people, drinking my wine and speaking ill of my daughter, I'll make sure you never get any." He turned down business from various restaurants, saying he'd sell again when he was in a better mood.
During this period, Long Er didn't cause any more trouble for Ju Mu'er, and Yun Qingxian also didn't appear again, which made Ju Mu'er feel a little better. She reflected on herself and realized that she shouldn't have argued with Master Long Er. She thought that her temper had improved a lot after she went blind and that she could keep her temper in check, but she didn't expect that she was still not restrained enough.
That day, she went to Long Er to ask him to build a roof over her house. He was arrogant and rude, with a sarcastic tone that implied "it's just for a flower girl." Ju Mu'er disliked people bullying others, so in a moment of anger, she deliberately tried to mislead him by splashing tea all over him. This caused her trouble for no reason, and it has become a source of worry ever since.
With the New Year approaching, Ju Mu'er plans to stay hidden until things calm down, then back down and stop opposing Long Er.
But even though she wanted to be a coward, there were people who wouldn't allow her to do so.
That day, an unexpected guest arrived—Ding Yanxiang.
Madam Yun's arrival was completely unexpected for Ju Mu'er, and also something her father never expected.
Rumors had been circulating that Ju Mu'er and Yun Qingxian were having an affair, and Ju's father had certainly heard about it. Some neighbors had even come to inquire whether his daughter would marry into the Yun family. Lord Yun visited frequently and was very polite to him, almost making Ju's father believe the rumors. But his daughter insisted that she had no romantic entanglement with Lord Yun and asked him to rest assured.
Old Man Ju, of course, believed in his daughter. She was just like her mother, whether in appearance, personality, or that cleverness.
In the past, all the big and small matters in the family were decided by Mu'er's mother, while he only needed to do his favorite winemaking work. Unfortunately, her mother died early, which made Old Man Ju heartbroken. Fortunately, Mu'er was sensible, well-behaved, smart and cute, which gradually helped Old Man Ju regain his enthusiasm for life.
Ju Mu'er is sensible and decisive, and sometimes she handles things better than her father. Therefore, Ju Sheng has complete peace of mind about his daughter.
If she says she's fine, then she must be fine.
But recently, rumors have been circulating wildly, and at this critical juncture, Lord Yun's wife has come to visit. Old Master Ju feels that this is definitely not a good thing.
He cautiously led Ding Yanxiang into Ju Mu'er's courtyard.
Ding Yanxiang dismissed the maids and servants, saying she wanted to speak with Ju Mu'er alone. Old Master Ju, however, felt he wasn't a servant and therefore didn't need to back down. As her father, he felt entitled to stay by his daughter's side to listen in and monitor her; if anything went wrong, he would certainly stand in her way.
Seeing that Old Man Ju showed no sign of leaving, Ding Yanxiang's expression darkened. However, being a guest, she couldn't very well speak up. So she kept her mouth shut.
Ju Mu'er waited for a while but didn't hear Ding Yanxiang speak. After thinking for a moment, she called out, "Father." Sure enough, she heard her father respond.
Ju Mu'er pursed her lips and said, "Father, go ahead and do your work. I'll call you when I'm done talking."