manynovel Chapter 274 The Young Master is Willing to Be a Mistress (19)
Chapter 274 The Young Master is Willing to Be a Mistress (19)
Inside the Jianjia Courtyard, Liu Yuwan, dressed in a plain white nightgown, leaned against the headboard. The nightgown, which used to fit her perfectly, now hung loosely on her shoulders. Her face was bare, and her pale lips made her look even weaker.
To outsiders, Liu Yuwan seemed particularly pitiful, but at this moment, she felt no sadness whatsoever. This was a play she had orchestrated herself, and she only hoped that the play would grow bigger and bigger.
The heartbreak she had shown these past few days was all a lie. The Liu Yuwan who could feel sadness for others had died three years ago along with the destruction of the Liu family. The reason she had woven such a beautiful dream for Qin Sheng was to drag him into this vortex of pain now, so that he could truly empathize with her.
Now it seems her first major performance has come to an end, and now it's up to her characters to fall into the trap themselves.
Since that night by the pool, Xie Jingci seemed to have unlocked some kind of breakthrough. He no longer silently waited in the corner, but would send people over with little trinkets every now and then.
Not only did the things not overstep the bounds, but they also had a legitimate reason for being done, namely, by using the name of a close friend.
The title of "confidant" came rather reluctantly, but Xie Jingci was completely oblivious to it.
Knowing that Jiang Rou was fond of poetry and books, he sent someone to deliver a rare copy of Wang Dajia's poetry collection. In addition, he specially included a letter, the letter paper was three fingers thick, filled with annotations, the handwriting was vigorous and powerful, forming its own style, and was particularly elegant.
Fearing that Jiang Rou might find the gift too heavy, he added at the end of the letter that while gold is easy to come by, true friends are hard to find. He said that he regarded Jiang Rou as a true friend, and the friendship between them was naturally priceless, so it should never be compared to money.
Later, under the pretext of bringing fine writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, Jiang Rou repeatedly refused, but she couldn't resist Sheng An's smooth talk:
"Madam Jiang is my young master's confidante, so she is naturally different from others. This is just a small gift, which Madam Jiang is more than worthy of."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Rou looked conflicted and her voice became hesitant: "This..., Master Xie is exceptionally talented, while I am merely a woman confined to my chambers. How can I be worthy of being called a confidant? Furthermore, Master Xie has given me many generous gifts, yet I have never done anything in return. I am truly ashamed to accept them."
Upon hearing this, Sheng An silently replied in his heart: 'What else do you need to do? Just smile and my young master will bring everything to you.'
After her thoughts wandered for a while, Sheng An's gaze suddenly fell on the small pastries on the table. Her eyes paused, and her expression changed in an instant: "My young master lost his parents at a young age and had a very difficult childhood with no one to take care of him. The lotus root cake that the late madam made for the young master before she passed away has become the young master's last memory. If you feel that you are unworthy of it, madam, could you make a lotus root cake yourself as a return gift?"
After a moment's thought, Jiang Rou agreed: "Thank you for your help, sir. I am naturally willing to do anything for you, but..."
Upon hearing this, Sheng An immediately beamed with joy and quickly interrupted Jiang Rou, saying, "It's good that you agree, my lady. I'll have someone bring the ingredients shortly. I'll trouble you to prepare them yourself."
Before Jiang Rou could say anything, Sheng An had already disappeared in a flash. Cui Tao looked at the poems, books, calligraphy and paintings on the table and felt a little uneasy, but seeing the joy in Jiang Rou's eyes, she put those thoughts far away and happily helped Jiang Rou pack her things.
“Miss, this young master is truly generous. I heard that his maternal grandfather was a wealthy man in Jiangnan, and now it seems that it is indeed true.”
Jiang Rou looked at the thick stack of Chengxintang paper, a smile appearing in her eyes, and said, "Young Master Xie is very generous. He truly values those who have a close friend."
After saying that, he put down the rare book in his hand and said to Cui Tao, "Thank you for your sincerity. A plate of lotus root cake is not enough. Since you like sweets, let's make more cakes and send them over together."
Upon hearing this, Cui Tao quickly echoed, "Of course it should be so. It's a pity that the peach blossom season has passed. Otherwise, Young Master Xie could have tasted the peach blossom cake made by Miss herself. That would have been truly exceptional."
Before the master and servant could get busy, a rather unfamiliar voice came from outside the door: "Is the second young mistress here? The old lady wants you to go to Rongxi Hall."
Jiang Rou pondered for a moment and then knew why. She patted Cui Tao's hand gently to comfort her, and then whispered to the door, "I'm sorry to have troubled you to come all this way. I wonder if you know what important matter the old lady has to discuss?"
The person outside the door was quite impatient and spoke perfunctorily: "How would this servant know? You'll find out when the Second Madam arrives. This servant has other important matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave now."
Once the footsteps outside the door had faded into the distance, Jiang Rou released Cui Tao's hand, gave her a reassuring look, and said, "It's alright, hurry up and help me change."
Meanwhile, when Sheng An returned to Xie Jingci's residence, Xie Jingci summoned her to his study.
Seeing the young master holding the book upside down, Sheng An chuckled inwardly. Before Xie Jingci could speak, he said, "Reporting to the young master, the items have been delivered to Madam Jiang."
Upon hearing this, Xie Jingci could no longer contain himself. He coughed lightly and asked, "Do you like it?"
Sheng An said, "Madam Jiang seems to like it very much, and she seems quite fond of it."
Upon hearing this, Xie Jingci's lips unconsciously curled up, but he suppressed it for the sake of his image, and coughed lightly again to cover up his embarrassment.
The thoughtful subordinate Sheng An pretended not to see it and said something that made Xie Jingci even happier: "Madam Jiang is very grateful to the young master, so she asked her subordinates about the young master's preferences and said that she would make a lotus root cake for the young master herself."
Although the process was completely wrong, the result was correct.
Just as Sheng An had predicted, Xie Jingci was indeed overjoyed upon hearing this. Seeing this, Sheng An was also extremely happy. Heavens, who could understand? It was only he who had to step in.
Xie Jingci, who usually kept his emotions hidden, recovered quickly from this outburst, though his deep voice revealed his good mood: "Take the Xuan Yue Sword from the storeroom."
Upon hearing this, Sheng An immediately looked up in surprise. It was the treasure he had been dreaming of. However, the young master always had a clear system of rewards and punishments. He had already planned to accumulate some merit during his next mission to exchange for the Xuan Yue Sword. He never expected that he would get the Xuan Yue Sword he had been longing for simply by running an errand.
When Sheng An walked out, she was still dizzy, feeling a sense of surprise and disbelief, like she had been hit by a pie.
To fill the emptiness in his heart from feeling undeserving, he decided to speak well of his young master to Lady Jiang, hoping that his young master could win the beauty's heart as soon as possible.
As if on cue, Sheng An sent someone to deliver ingredients to Jiang Rou, only to be told that she was not in the courtyard. When she still hadn't returned by dusk, he sent someone to investigate.
Upon investigation, it was discovered that Jiang Rou had gone to Rongxi Hall several hours earlier and had not yet returned. Sheng An's years of experience reading storybooks told him that Jiang Rou must be in danger.
While sending someone to inquire about the matter, he went to the study to report it to Xie Jingci.
"Young master, Lady Jiang has been summoned to Rongxi Hall and has not yet returned."
Upon hearing this, Xie Jingci immediately put down the book in his hand, stood up, and walked outside.