Robe blanche

Chapitre 5

“Then you can go. Tianqi, get a set of tools for Miss.” Seeing that Mr. Song did not answer, Mu Shaoting spoke up.

Fifteen minutes later, I took the tools Tianqi had given me to the lakeside, ran back to Hongxiuju to fetch a small table, laid out the paper, and knelt on the ground, pondering how to transfer this half-lake scene onto my paper.

I drew, painted, tore, and then drew again. The sun was high in the sky, so I had no choice but to move the table under a tree and continue painting. Finally, a "Lotus and White Goose" painting, which I felt was rather decent but lacked any grand style, appeared before me after much sweating. After examining the painting for a long time, I felt something was still missing, so I picked up my brush and wrote a few lines on the left side:

Goose, goose, goose

With its neck bent, it sings to the sky.

White feathers float on green water,

Red palms stir clear waves.

A few crooked lines of writing were twisted on top, ruining what was originally a passable painting. I was so angry I wanted to punch myself, but I couldn't bear to tear it up, because I wasn't sure I could paint at this level again. Gritting my teeth, I took out a small seal that Mu Shaoting had given me a few days ago, lightly dotted it on the red paint, and then pressed it firmly onto my "masterpiece." Removing the seal, the bright red characters "Huai En" were deeply imprinted in the lower left corner of the paper. I breathed a sigh of relief. It was passable; doing it too well would arouse suspicion. Seeing that the matter of the congratulatory gift was settled, I easily packed my things and prepared to leave.

After returning the borrowed tools, I took my first work and a small table back to Hongxiuju. As soon as I entered, I asked my aunt to frame the "Lotus and White Goose" painting for me. My aunt was a little surprised to see me come back so early.

"Um, I didn't have class today. I went to the lake and painted a picture," I handed the painting to my aunt. "Is this a suitable gift for the young master? If so, could you please frame it for me?"

The aunt took the painting and examined it carefully. She smiled and said, "It's very good. I didn't know Huai'en had this talent. It's just that the handwriting is a bit ugly, like tadpoles."

“That’s called art. You know what art is, right?” I argued.

"Alright, Auntie will take it to be framed now, so you can give it as a gift tomorrow." Auntie smiled as she took the painting and left, and I took over the task of looking after Zinuo.

Early on the morning of the fifth day of the sixth lunar month, I wore the new dress I designed and my aunt had made by hand, and brought the painting I had finished the day before to the study, but I didn't see a single person. I had thought that all the women of the Marquis's household would attend Mu Shaoting's birthday celebration, which was why I had asked my aunt to make such a special dress. Who knew that his eldest son's birthday was just a matter for the higher-ups, and had nothing to do with the West Courtyard? I wasn't even allowed to go see it—the tragedy of being a lowly person! So, I had no choice but to come to the study early in the morning to find him, hoping to deliver the gift, otherwise all my efforts yesterday would have been in vain. But, the study was empty; I had forgotten to consider that today was a special day.

I was wandering aimlessly in the garden outside the study when I suddenly heard footsteps outside. I quickly ran over to see what was happening and found it was Tianqi.

"Miss Huaien, what are you doing here?" he asked me, puzzled.

"I want to see the young master, but I don't know where else to look for him besides here," I said, feeling aggrieved.

"The eldest young master is in his room. He's not coming to the study today. I just came to get a book for him to read," Tianqi explained.

I took out the scroll and handed it to Tianqi, pleading, "Then please take this to the young master for me. I painted it yesterday by the lake where we first met."

Tianqi took the painting, then went to the study to find a book and left in a hurry. I followed him out.

Before I knew it, I was back at the lake. Bored, I pulled out my fishing rod, intending to while away the lonely hours. I quickly caught a small fish, broke off a willow branch, and threaded it onto a string. As I was fishing for my fifth fish, I heard someone approaching behind me. Without turning around, I knew roughly who it was.

"Brother, aren't you very busy today?" I asked, staring at the fishing rod.

Mu Shaoting sat down next to me and said, seemingly out of the blue, "Huai En's paintings are very interesting. I never expected Huai En could also write poetry. He's grown up to be my favorite gift."

“Huai’en knows he’s not good at drawing and his handwriting is terrible, but he just ran to the lake to paint because he thought of the first time he met his brother.” I glanced at him and said emotionally, “With his brother, Huai’en’s life is much happier. His brother is Huai’en’s sun.”

Mu Shaoting looked at me with heartache, pulled me to my feet, and threw my fishing rod on the ground.

"I'll take Huai'en somewhere." He took my hand and we left the lake, winding through the garden. He would look back at me from time to time, and say with smiling eyes, "Huai'en, you look beautiful in your clothes today. You look like a little fairy."

Have you ever seen a fairy?

"No." He looked at me, puzzled. "Why do you ask?"

"How do you know I look like a fairy if you've never seen one? You're obviously lying." I said angrily, but he laughed.

After wandering around for a while, we finally stopped in front of a sandy area filled with small sand models. I sighed inwardly; little boys throughout history have always loved this! Suddenly, I lost interest.

Mu Shaoting squatted down and beckoned me over. Reluctantly, I squatted beside him, watching him scoop up a handful of sand and start playing with it. He was having a great time, saying to me, "Only you, me, and Tianqi know this place. Huai'en can make whatever he wants with sand!" So childish! But I forced a smile and joined him. He's usually so mature for his age; it's rare to see him act like a child like this, so I decided to play along.

So we played until the sun was setting before returning home covered in sand, ignoring our hunger and the fact that the mansion was frantically searching for him. He quietly returned to the North Courtyard, and I returned to Hongxiu Residence.

Do not lean against the west railing to lock in the clear autumn. Chapter 005

Chapter word count: 3381 Update time: 09-07-25 11:02

Life went on like plain water, and two years passed by, yet the situation seemed unchanged.

I still went to Mu Shaoting's study almost every day to read, and also practiced some martial arts with them. Even though I was tone-deaf in my previous life, I started taking music lessons with them. When choosing an instrument, I picked a pure white jade flute. Mu Shaoting asked me why I chose it, and I said it was easy to carry so I could practice anytime, making up for my lack of talent through diligence. In reality, I was afraid that learning stringed instruments would hurt my fingers, and I wasn't comfortable holding a flute. Other oddly shaped instruments gave me even more of a headache. Of course, he didn't know any of this, otherwise he wouldn't have looked at me with such satisfaction.

Speaking of martial arts, they originally didn't want me to practice it, saying it wasn't appropriate for a girl like me. Until one day, some prince came to visit the Marquis's mansion with his family. His youngest son, about our age, played with us. I don't know what I did to offend him, but he slapped me. Of course, I was furious, and the two of us started fighting. In the heat of the moment, I remembered I had learned Taekwondo, and with a few graceful kicks, I knocked him senseless, leaving even Mu Shaoting and the others who were trying to break up the fight dumbfounded.

"What kind of technique is that? Did you steal it? We've never seen it before," Tianqi asked anxiously.

In a moment of overconfidence, I wiped my nose and said, "What a joke! This is something I invented myself while struggling through hardship!"

Then I saw the shocked faces of everyone, even the young prince forgot to cry. But when I saw his disheveled appearance, I still felt flustered, knowing I had made a mistake. How could I, who had lived for over twenty years, actually argue with a child? Did I really think I was a child?

To make amends, I went over and helped him up, tidied his clothes a bit, and solemnly apologized. Regardless of whether he accepted it or not, I said to him in a half-threatening tone, "You're not going to run off and tell everyone you were beaten up like this by a girl younger than you, are you? That would be a real disgrace to a man. My brothers never utter a sound when they get injured practicing martial arts." He glared at me resentfully, but I continued, determined to resolve the matter myself: "When your father sees you, he'll definitely ask how you got like this. Just say you insisted on learning martial arts and accidentally got hurt. I promise, your father won't scold you for being useless; he'll praise you for being a real man."

Before I could finish speaking, he turned and left without looking back. Mu Shaoting quickly told Tianqi to follow him, while he pulled me aside, saying with a mix of amusement and exasperation, "Huai'en, you're too bold. He's a prince, even Father wouldn't dare to do anything to him."

I covered my forehead apologetically and said, "Brother, I know I was too impulsive, but he's a boy, and he started it. But don't worry, he definitely won't tell the truth."

Mu Shaoting sighed, looked at me, and shook his head.

In fact, the young prince didn't reveal the truth; he probably felt embarrassed himself. According to Tianqi's later account, the young prince told the prince my story, and the prince indeed praised him and promised to find him the best martial arts instructor when they returned. Then, Mu Shaoting and Tianqi looked at me with disbelief again. After that, I begged them to take me to the martial arts training ground to practice with them, explaining that I was afraid the young prince would seek revenge and beat me to a pulp later…

I was basking in the glory of my past achievements when I was suddenly struck on the back.

"Huai'en, concentrate! I'll beat you so badly you won't be able to find your way home!" Mu Shaoting shouted, holding up the ball in his hand.

Ignoring my back pain, I quickly focused my attention on his ball. We'd long since converted the martial arts training ground into a small Cuju (ancient Chinese football) field. Besides Tianqi, there were five other boys who practiced with him. In our spare time, we often played Cuju together. Although I'm a girl and the youngest, I'm quite agile, so they gradually stopped shunning me. Today, get out of class ended early, and the group was excited to play another game.

I don't know how many balls I took or how many times I fell, but I was in a really bad state today, even worse than when I first started learning.