Hibiscus as a Painting - Chapter 149
"Brother! I don't want to send her off to get married! I don't want to send her off to get married! I..."
"Le'er, don't be willful. Jin'er... really likes the Crown Prince of Yue Kingdom. You should be happy for her," Sikou Xunxiang gently scolded.
“Brother, are you really willing to accept this? How could you think like that? If she liked that Crown Prince, she would have had plenty of opportunities in the past. No… I have to go and ask her, to ask her in person if she wants to marry that Crown Prince.” Prince Anle’s eyes were filled with madness as he grabbed Sikou Xunxiang’s wrist and shook it violently.
Sikou Xunxiang tidied Anle Wang's slightly disheveled long hair, gently patted his back, and soothed his panic little by little: "Le'er, don't panic. I know what you're thinking, but it's too late...it's already too late...do you know that?"
Anle Wang's frantic eyes were gradually calmed down. He silently looked out the window, and his beautiful face gradually regained its composure: "Jin Yu, set off for Cangyu Manor immediately."
Jin Yu glanced at Si Kou Huan Xiang, who gently raised his hand, and Jin Yu understood and withdrew.
Jietian Garden is the largest garden in Cangyu Manor. The garden is oval-shaped, with a teardrop-shaped lotus pond in the center being the most eye-catching feature. On the pond's bank is a small open-air area, the heart of this banquet.
The Yu family's open-air banquet this time did not have a main seat, but rather two tables facing each other. Zi Jin, Jun Lin, and Madam Yu sat at one table on each side, while Dugu Xi Hui and the Si Kou brothers sat opposite them at their respective tables.
Madam Yu raised her wine glass formally and said with a smile, "It is truly a great honor for my Yu family that the three distinguished guests do not mind our humble family's humble abode in this place."
"What are you saying, Madam Yu? It is we who have troubled you," Sikou Xunle replied with a smile.
Everyone raised their glasses and drank them down in one gulp.
"My Jin'er's wedding to the Crown Prince of Yue Kingdom will be in a few days. If you don't mind, please stay at my Yu family for a few more days until the ceremony." Although these words were spoken calmly, the genuine joy on Madam Yu's face was like a thorny bramble, piercing the hearts of the three people opposite her.
Dugu Xihui raised his cup and said with a smile, "I would be honored to accept your offer."
After that, everyone exchanged polite words.
Zi Jin was filled with unbearable anger. Finally, she saw an opportunity when no one was paying attention, grabbed Bao Xian by the front of his shirt, and said coldly, "Speak! What happened?"
To cover Zi Jin's hand, Bao Xian quickly bent down: "What is it, Master?"
"What is it? You conspired with that old woman to deliberately make me soak in the medicinal bath in that garden for nearly three days, and while I was away, you made a marriage promise and set a wedding date without my consent!" Zi Jin said through gritted teeth.
“Bao Xian has been with Master these past few days and is naturally unaware of this matter,” Bao Xian said, lowering his eyes.
Jun Lin's phoenix eyes were filled with joy as he looked at Zi Jin, shifted his body slightly, and whispered softly in Zi Jin's ear, "Jin'er, don't you want to marry me? Does what you said by the hot spring that day mean it doesn't count?"
"You!...Despicable!" Zi Jin tried her best to suppress her anger.
Jun Lin gently patted Zi Jin's back to soothe her, then whispered in her ear, "Don't be silly. They're all watching. Do you want them to laugh at you? Be good..."
Zi Jin took a deep breath and grabbed Bao Xian again: "Tell them I'm not feeling well and can't stay any longer!"
Madam Yu's smile deepened, and she looked completely at ease. She had clearly overheard the conversation between Zi Jin and the other two. She slowly turned her head and looked at Zi Jin with loving eyes: "Jin'er is not fully recovered yet. If you are not feeling well, please go back to your room first."
Zi Jin glanced at Madam Yu, then looked at no one else before getting up and walking toward the garden gate.
Jun Lin watched Zi Jin leave, a warm smile on his lips. He turned back to the three people opposite him and said, "Jin'er is always like this. I hope the three of you won't take offense."
Sikou Xunle's face turned pale instantly. He wanted to retort, but found that he could not find any grounds or words to refute Jun Lin's words.
Dugu Xihui calmly sipped his wine, his composed demeanor seemingly oblivious to Jun Lin's words. However, the tightly clenched hands hidden under the table betrayed his true feelings.
Seeing that neither of them spoke, Si Kou Xunxiang, whose face was covered, raised his cup and said calmly, "It's alright."
Unresolved emotions and inescapable demonic obstacles; karmic retribution—when will we meet again? Parting leaves fall in the wind, the zither strings break. (Part 1)
The leaves fall, the wind blows, and the strings of the zither break (Part 1) The moon hangs like a hook, and the long night seems unusually cold and desolate. The stream in Yangxin Garden murmurs and carries a unique fragrance; it is one of the most beautiful courtyards in the Yu family. The stream in the garden is drawn from the heavens high in the mountains, and its water is constant in temperature all year round, and delicious and sweet.
Zi Jin leaned against the door, facing the moon, and began to gulp down the wine from the jug until it was empty. She then threw the empty jug into the stream in front of the door and picked up another wine jug that was lined up beside her to drink from.
Perhaps it was the alcohol, but the crescent moon in the sky seemed so hazy, almost within reach, yet… it was just a fleeting illusion. To be betrothed without even knowing it—how could I put it? Anger? Was it the anger of being deceived, or the anger stemming from disliking Jun Lin? …I couldn't figure it out, I truly couldn't…Jun Lin, though a last resort, wasn't a bad choice, was he? …What was there to be dissatisfied about? What was there to be angry about? Jun Lin had treated me so well, so very well. Back then…by the hot springs, hadn't I already decided on him? …But was his kindness… truly genuine? …Was this calm and composed demeanor still the same willful and reckless Jun Lin of the past? …Why did I still feel so uneasy? Still so empty, so very empty?
“Baoxian… what did the old woman give me in exchange for selling me to Junlin?” Zi Jin looked up at Yueya’er and asked in a low voice.
Bao Xian stood three steps away from Zi Jin at the foot of the platform, bowing his head and replying, "Bao Xian does not know."
"Heh... what are you pretending for?" Zi Jin's face revealed a mocking smile. "Is there anything about the Yu family that you, the Grand Steward, don't know?"
"The masters have their own plans, which are beyond Bao Xian's control." Bao Xian's voice sounded unusually desolate in the cold, lonely night.
Zi Jin slowly turned his head and glanced at Bao Xian. The moonlight was hazy, making it difficult to see his face clearly. His emerald eyes seemed like pearls covered in dust, appearing even dimmer and duller. He stood there with his knees bent, looking unusually humble: "Why didn't you use medicine to cover your eyes?"
“If Master doesn’t like it, then Bao Xian will stop covering it up. I was born with this appearance, and even if I cover it up, I will still be disliked.” Bao Xian’s head drooped lower and lower, and his voice was unusually weak.
Zi Jin poured herself a drink without restraint: "Don't put on that pitiful act, like someone bullied you. You need to know that I was the one who was poisoned by you, not you. Why are you pretending to be so wronged?"
"Does Master still hold a grudge against Baoxian?... That day, Baoxian was injured by King Dugu... Didn't Master feel sorry for him?" Baoxian's voice grew even lower.
"Heh... What a joke... Why would I feel sorry for you? The day I was nice to you... was to tell you... I didn't want to get involved... You had the ability to save me from Dugu Xihui... didn't you? I was so good to you... and you still watched me being taken away by him... You... are not worth it... not even a little bit of my master's affection... not even a little bit." Perhaps it was the strength of the alcohol, but Zi Jin's eyes became even redder.
"Master, you..."
"Master Bao...Master Bao." A slender man stood outside the round gate and called out timidly.
Bao Xian looked up in surprise, his cold face softening instantly: "Wutong, what happened?" His voice was unusually soft, as if afraid of startling the person in the distance.
Zi Jin looked at the people in the distance with blurry, drunken eyes, a hint of amusement flashing in them.
"Madam said... she wants you to come over." Wutong kept her head down as she spoke, and her voice sounded very low in the quiet night.
Bao Xian glanced at Zi Jin, who was still leaning against the door drinking, picked up the cloak beside her, and quickly walked to Wu Tong's side, draping it over her shoulders: "I'll be right back. You watch over her for now, Master. She's had a bit too much to drink."
"Yes, Madam has already given Wutong instructions," Wutong said softly, her head lowered.
Bao Xian's eyes were full of doting affection as he patted Wu Tong's hair: "If you're cold, there's a hand warmer in Master's room. Go get it yourself."