He injured her with his internal force and treated her like an idiot, thinking she would protect him by saying a few nice words and acting pitiful. Jia Tan must be regretting it to death. She probably doesn't know that saying nice words and acting pitiful has always been Xiao Man's forte. It's basically impossible for others to fool her with this method.
Xiao Man didn't know how Tuan Shanzi would handle things when he got back—whether he would scold Jia Tan half to death, or Jia Tan would scold him half to death. Her internal injuries were quite severe, and she kept getting nosebleeds. Tuan Shanzi prescribed some medicine, told her to rest quietly, and then went upstairs with a sullen face, ignoring them completely.
Zexiu carried her slowly back to the rented house, and suddenly said, "Is that Second Aunt?"
Xiao Man wanted to laugh, but said softly, "How should I know? I just woke up."
Zexiu knew she was full of tricks, so she chuckled and said, "Come to think of it, I didn't recognize my second aunt's voice at first. Although she's not in good health, she's very jealous. But in the end, it's because she cares too much about my second uncle."
Xiao Man nodded and said, "That's right, so that's why someone is so jealous."
Zexiu didn't speak. Xiaoman leaned closer to look at him, but he turned away. She laughed and softly called out, "Zexiu."
He said calmly, "Stop talking nonsense, shut up, go back and get some sleep. You're not allowed to go out to play until your injury is fully healed."
Xiao Man sighed: "You really... are becoming more and more like my father."
The Scroll of Splendor, Chapter Three: Love and Jealousy Go Hand in Hand (Part Three)
Updated: 2008-10-27 17:44:21 Word Count: 3337
Third update.
The fan was right. On the third day of Xiaoman's recovery, a pink carriage brazenly pulled up in front of their rented house. Xiaoman was taking a nap when she was startled awake by Mr. Xue's loud greeting. Opening her eyes, she saw this flamboyant and beautiful man clinging tightly to Zexiu, cupping his face and looking him over from all angles, wailing, "Zexiu, my sweet baby, let Uncle take a good look at you! Uncle missed you so much, I couldn't eat or sleep properly. You've lost weight, it really breaks my heart..."
Zexiu threw him down, coldly patted his clothes as if he were brushing off something dirty.
Xiao Man carefully got up and whispered, "Mr. Xue, what brings you to Kaifeng?"
Mr. Xue walked over, took her hand, and said softly, "Little Man has grown up and become beautiful. Uncle has prepared even more beautiful clothes for you this time, I guarantee you will like them."
Zexiu said calmly, "She won't like it."
Mr. Xue sighed: "How come you live in such a shabby place? Come on, come with your uncle, let your uncle fatten you up."
Before he could make a move, Zexiu scooped up Xiaoman in his arms, leaving Mr. Xue with his bundle to follow behind into the carriage. Xiaoman noticed that the driver was a handsome young man who looked familiar, but she couldn't quite place him. The man turned around and smiled, saying, "Xiaoman, it's been a long time."
Xiaoman exclaimed, "Ah! Duanhui! Have you turned into a man?"
He smiled slightly: "I am a man by nature, and it will be more convenient to make men's clothing this time when I go out with Mr. Xue."
Xiaoman felt strange. When he dressed as a woman before, she didn't have such a strong mental block. The thought of him helping her change clothes and wash up, which she could pretend not to care about, made her very uncomfortable now that he was a man again. Her face flushed, and she was speechless.
Duan Hui understandingly remained silent and obediently drove. The wind blew the curtains open, and Ze Xiu drew them back, letting the warm breeze in. After a while, he asked, "Third Uncle, will you be staying in Kaifeng for a long time?"
Mr. Xue touched his face: "Pretty much, but the store in Liaodi hasn't closed either. Those are all regular customers. Staying in the north all the time, it's dry and cold, which isn't good for the skin. We go back when it gets hot and come back when it gets cold."
"You really know how to cause trouble," Xiao Man thought to herself.
Zexiu seemed lost in thought, then lowered the curtain and remained silent. (Mobile site)
As expected, Tuan Shanzi and Jia Tan arrived first. They chatted and drank tea in the side hall. Jia Tan stubbornly refused to believe that the pretty maids dressed in red and green were men, and was pressuring Rong Yue to take off her clothes for her. Suddenly, they saw Mr. Xue and the others return, with Xiao Man following behind. Embarrassed, her face flushed again. She obediently sat back down.
"Second sister-in-law, there are only men here. Apart from you two female guests, there are no other women. I'm afraid I'll disappoint you." Mr. Xue said tenderly, as if he felt extremely guilty towards her.
Jia Tan looked at him with a flushed face, appearing utterly innocent. Here we go again, this woman, Xiao Man sighed inwardly. Besides herself, there really were people in the world who loved to put on airs; she never expected it.
The family was chatting, but Xiaoman wasn't interested. She excused herself to relieve herself and ran off to play at Mr. Xue's new residence. She had just admired an apricot blossom when she turned a corner and saw Jiatan smiling at her. Startled, she quickly put on a bright smile: "Sister Jiatan, hello! You really are Mr. Round Fan's wife."
Jia Tan walked over shyly and took her hand, saying softly, "When you stood under this apricot tree just now and smiled, you were even more beautiful than the embroidery."
Xiao Man knew that she definitely didn't mean it that way, but she was still very happy to be flattered, and immediately laughed and said, "How can I compare to you, sister? You are the one with the most beautiful face in the world."
Do you really think they'd spend an entire afternoon praising each other like that?
Jia Tan flattered her for a while, and she flattered Jia Tan for a while in return. They probably both felt that this flattery was pointless, so Jia Tan took out a new round fan from her bosom and said softly, "Little Man, your needlework is so good, it's truly enviable. Hmm, look at this fan... how long would it take to embroider it?"
So they wanted her to embroider a fan. Xiaoman took the fan and looked at it for a while. It had a peacock painted in a meticulous style, with bright and luxurious colors and extremely delicate details. After considering it for a moment, she smiled and said, "This is very difficult to embroider. My skills are too shallow to do it."
She doesn't want to work for free.
Jia Tan said in a low voice, "Sister, you are too modest. Your needlework is probably better than any other knitting workshop. I would be very grateful if you would help me."
Xiao Man recalled the crude fan embroidery on the curtains and screens at the Tuan Shan Manor, supposedly the work of this Lady Jia Tan. She certainly wasn't good at it. And later, when she disguised herself as a singing girl, she didn't quite fit the role; her pipa playing and singing voice were both terrible. It seemed she knew nothing but martial arts.
She looked down at the peacock fan. It wasn't actually that difficult to embroider; it was just time-consuming.
Seeing her head bowed in silence, Jia Tan had no choice but to continue, "Actually... it was him... um, he said that if I didn't like other people embroidering fans, he would let me embroider them from now on, and he would like them no matter how well they were embroidered. But I... am not very good at it, so I had to ask my sister to help me..."
Xiao Man smiled and said, "Embroidering this fan will take at least ten days and at most two months, which is too long..."
Jia Tan immediately took out a small cloth bag and quietly stuffed it into her hand: "So I can only trouble you, sister... This is a small token of my appreciation. Once you finish embroidering, I will have even more to offer."
Given Xiaoman's keen sense of real gold and silver, the moment she held the cloth bag, she estimated it to be worth about fifty taels of gold. Just as she was about to complain that it wasn't enough, she heard that there would be more after she finished embroidering it. So she smiled and tucked the cloth bag into her sleeve, saying softly, "I will definitely help you solve your problems, sister. Don't worry. You can come back to collect it in a month."
Jia Tan was overjoyed, thanked her repeatedly, and left satisfied. Xiao Man sat under the long corridor, with fiery apricot blossoms falling from above, a beautiful sight she seemed oblivious to. She hurriedly untied the cloth bag, counted the contents, and indeed found fifty taels of gold.
She stuffed all the gold into the wide sleeves of her spring gown, held up the fan to look at it, and pondered how to match the colors and stitch the needle.
Zexiu knew perfectly well that this girl had no poetic or artistic mind, but he still couldn't help but slow his pace, as if afraid of disturbing the delicate beauty of spring.
As this happened more and more often, he realized that Xiaoman wouldn't stay a little girl forever. Her messy hair and clothes, though cute, weren't beautiful.
When she begins to look beautiful, he is no longer the carefree man he once was.
Her long dress and sleeves trailed to the ground as she leaned against the vermilion railing, tilting her head back to examine the round fan that had appeared out of nowhere in the light. She was truly beautiful, gentle and delicate, a beauty that seemed to have been completely foreign to her, a beauty unlike anything she had ever encountered in her life, a beauty born from the mercenary transactions she had just witnessed.
He walked over slowly, and when he saw her, she looked startled and quickly turned around. After recognizing him, she immediately smiled and said in a soft voice, "Zexiu, come here quickly. I made another fifty taels of gold today. If I had known that embroidery was so profitable, I would have opened a knitting shop."
Zexiu felt ashamed for not hearing what she said. He sat behind her, letting her lean against his shoulder, her legs propped up on the railing, the two lilac-colored pom-poms on her shoes trembling pitifully yet adorably. He couldn't help but begin to comb her dark hair that hung down her back, the touch cool and soft.
She spoke for a while, but received no reply, so she stopped, stuffed her fan into her sleeve, and seeing that he was holding onto the railing with one hand, she poked at it with her finger. Zexiu tried to grab it, so she used the railing to run away, and when he pulled back, she poked him again, as if enticing him to grab her.
Her cheeks were radiant with a smile as gentle as a spring breeze, captivating all who beheld her. Zexiu, unable to resist, joined in this idiotic and pointless game. Finally, he grabbed her hand, pulling her into his arms, and, as if bewitched, whispered, "Xiaoman, have you thought it through? Are you willing to marry me?"
Xiaoman froze, thinking for a long time, blushing and gritting her teeth, but she didn't say a word.
Zexiu slapped her face and lowered his head, saying, "Answer quickly."
She cried out in pain, propped herself up, and angrily said, "I don't want to marry a rude barbarian like you! You have no sincerity at all!"
Zexiu grabbed her long sleeve to stop her from leaving, and with a pull, she fell back.
"What kind of sincerity do you want?" he asked earnestly.
"It's just... like this and that, anyway, you're too rude, I won't marry you."
"What do you mean by 'this', 'that', and 'all'?"
Xiao Man pushed him away, jumped up, ran a few steps, turned back and smiled sweetly, her eyes and brows radiating spring-like beauty: "Figure it out yourself! You old geezer."
If he could figure it out, would he still be asking? Zexiu sat alone on the corridor, deep in thought, but couldn't come up with a clue. These things, as delicate as silk, both troublesome and joyful, were really not suitable for him to think about too much.
He sighed deeply, leaned on the railing, and looked up at the apricot blossoms that were ablaze with color. He felt that his usual agility had vanished, and he kept changing his expression, sometimes laughing, sometimes frowning, and sometimes gritting his teeth.
Finally, he stood up, adjusted the three swords at his waist, and decided to go out and catch a few wanted criminals, putting these frustrating things behind him for the time being.
The Scroll of Splendor, Chapter Four: The Fragrance Never Grows Cold (Part One)
Updated: 2008-10-27 17:44:22 Word Count: 4330
Fourth update.
Xiaoman began embroidering the fan three days after Zexiu left.
There's been no news for three days straight! He's not coming back to sleep or eat! If it weren't for Mr. Xue and the others constantly assuring her that Zexiu would be alright, she would have gone crazy.
This man is really going too far. After his marriage proposal was rejected, he started acting petty and ran away in a huff, refusing to come back. She decided she couldn't tolerate this bad habit and had to make him realize his mistake, otherwise he would truly ride roughshod over her for the rest of her life.
Xiao Man was no longer in a hurry to ask Ze Xiu if there was any news today. She spread out the ice silk and began to draw flower patterns.
When she was halfway through drawing, she suddenly realized that it wasn't so bad for Zexiu to go out. The two of them couldn't just stay together all the time and do nothing. She had things she liked to do, and Zexiu had things he liked to do too. It would be unpleasant to make either of them feel wronged. Always being together wasn't love; it was just being clingy.
It took her five days to finish drawing the pattern. Drawing a peacock in the meticulous style was simply torture, and the coordination of color matching and needlework was even more agonizing. Xiaoman secretly regretted that she should have asked Jiatan for more deposit. At this rate, she didn't know if she could finish embroidering it in a month.
She had spent the whole day embroidering the peacock's head and was just about to have a cup of tea to rest when she suddenly heard Duan Hui calling her from outside the door. She hurriedly went to open the door and saw Duan Hui dressed as a pretty girl again, carrying a small food box and smiling as she walked in.
"Young Master Zexiu will be back soon. He should arrive in the next couple of days. Xiaoman, you can rest assured now."
Xiao Man was secretly delighted, but pretended not to care: "So what if you're back? Why did you come all the way here to tell me?"
Duan Hui ignored her petty reserve. She leaned closer to look at the fan she was embroidering and praised it, "Xiao Man's needlework is really good, even better than the knitting shops outside. Last time we had guests at the manor, I asked Rong Yue to order a pair of pillowcases, specifically requesting cloud and ruyi patterns embroidered on them. After waiting for three days, when they came back, the threads were still loose, it was very rough, and the color scheme wasn't nice either."
Xiao Man took a sip of her hot tea. She said softly, "Hmm, I was thinking the same thing. I should have enough money to buy a piece of land. With some setup, I can open a knitting shop and sell handicrafts. Who knows, I might make some money. It's better than just sitting there watching the money all day."
Duan Hui's eyes lit up: "Why didn't you say so earlier? I'm quite familiar with Kaifeng. If you want to buy land, I can take you to find a suitable place."
Xiaoman put down her teacup, somewhat tempted: "That's fine too..."
The spring sunset makes you feel lazy and drowsy.
Zexiu rode on horseback, letting it wander slowly through the streets. He wasn't quite ready to go back yet. He had long been accustomed to a carefree and unrestrained life, like the wind. He felt comfortable and at ease wherever he went. Now, it seemed as if the tail of that wind had been pulled back. He had a lingering attachment wherever he went, and he wasn't really used to it.
Those things, both troublesome and joyful, clung to him like soft silk, not unpleasant, but even somewhat delightful, making him languidly and tipsy once more.
He still didn't quite understand what sincerity truly meant. A mischievous brat had presented him with a huge problem, one that he had to pick up again and think about even if he had temporarily forgotten about.
He tilted his head back, his braid came undone, and his long hair draped casually over his back. Many people on the street were looking at him—some with admiration, some with adoration, some in a daze—but he didn't care; he was already used to these gazes.
He was a chivalrous knight-errant, not a timid nobleman.