Chu Yan was wondering why he hadn't received the dinner sent by Shang Yunruo as usual today when he received an invitation from her.
He went to the bedroom, lit the sandalwood incense, then took out the most decent blue satin robe from the cabinet and put it on. He also took out the jasper hairpin handmade by his mother and replaced the wooden one he usually wore. He looked at himself in the bronze mirror.
Yin Shan's voice came leisurely from the roof. "Our young master also knows how to dress up now."
Yin Shan was either on the roof or in the trees. He never liked to stay in places where normal people did.
Chu Yan ignored him. After walking two steps, he slowly said, "This is just basic etiquette for attending a banquet. I can't go there looking like a mess."
Yin Shan jumped from the roof to a tree branch. "She can't see anyway."
Chu Yan paused in his steps. "I'm not dressing up for her."
Yin Shan laughed. "Did I say it was for her?"
Chu Yan's ears turned red from the teasing. He casually picked up a pebble and threw it into the darkness. Hearing a cry of "Ouch", he continued walking contentedly.
Mu Chenxuan was especially brightly lit tonight. Even the wood shed in the backyard had lights on.
As soon as Chu Yan stepped into the yard, the bright light dazzled his eyes. He blinked a few times to adapt to the sudden brightness and then followed the maid who led the way to the pavilion.
She was still wearing the plain dress from the day, with a white veil around her eyes. She was idly playing with the water lilies in the water tank. Drops of water from her pink and white fingertips fell on the pure white lotus flowers, looking as beautiful as dewdrops.
Shang Yunruo heard the footsteps. Through the light veil, she saw the blurred outline of the person standing in front of her and said with a smile, "Is that A Yan? Come and sit down quickly."
Chu Yan greeted her and sat down opposite her. His eyes swept over the delicate food on the table, and the smile on his lips gradually faded.
"Sister-in-law originally prepared this banquet for elder brother, right? You only called me because elder brother didn't come?"
Shang Yunruo was washing her hands with the water brought by Chu Yao and replied casually, "Your elder brother promised to come at first, but then he changed his mind. How did you know?"
Chu Yan shifted his gaze to her slender and fair fingers. He quietly watched her wash and dry her hands and then slowly said, "When father was still alive, grandmother once invited me to have dinner with her. The dishes on the table were similar to those today. Grandmother said they were all elder brother's favorites. She didn't know that I'm allergic to beans and even specially picked a piece of pea cake for me to show that she treated us equally."
Shang Yunruo understood what he meant. Her heart skipped a beat, and she realized that he minded such things.
She quickly said to Chu Yao, "Take away all the dishes that contain beans."
Then she asked Chu Yan, "What else do you like to eat? I'll ask the kitchen to make it right away."
Chu Yan lowered his eyelids and then looked up with a pure and innocent look. "Sister-in-law, don't bother. I'm already very grateful that you thought of me."
She didn't dare to be careless at all. If she offended him because of such a small detail, all her previous efforts would be in vain.
She also felt that Chu Yan cared a lot about being respected, so she sincerely apologized to him. "A Yan, I won't make any excuses for this time. But I promise you that from now on, no matter what the invitation is, it will definitely be a sincere invitation to you. I will never take you as a backup or someone who can be casually summoned. Sister-in-law was wrong!"
Chu Yan stared at her. His black eyes reflected the surrounding candle flames, and the flames flickered and gradually shone brightly.
Seeing that he didn't say anything, she thought of making up for her mistake and asked Chu Yao to fetch the zither.
"How can there be good wine and delicious food without the sound of the zither? I'm not as talented in learning the zither as I am in business. It's been very difficult for me to learn, and I've never played for anyone before. It's not a pre - arranged performance for anyone either."
Chu Yao had already brought the zither and placed it on the zither table.
Shang Yunruo sat in front of the zither with a wave of her sleeve. She plucked the strings twice, and the simple and profound sound of the zither made the fish in the lake swim more cheerfully.
Shang Yunruo said, "This Jingyou zither is a masterpiece of Cai Yi, a great master from the previous dynasty. Father gave it to me. This is the first time I've played it in front of others. A Yan, don't laugh at me."
Her slender fingers plucked the strings, and the beautiful sound of the zither flowed out. Chu Yan sat upright, seemingly listening carefully to the tune, but his mind was already far away from the sound of the zither. His eyes were fixed on every move of the woman in front of him.
It was indeed an ancient famous zither. The sound of the zither drifted far away to the neighboring mansion.
Chu Jinli, who was drinking tea and playing chess with his cousin in the pavilion in the middle of the lake, heard the sound of the zither. He couldn't help but put down the folding fan in his hand and listened carefully. He even closed his eyes to enjoy the moment of elegance.
When the tune ended, Chu Jinli couldn't help but clap his hands and praised repeatedly, "Good! What a wonderful zither and excellent skills! The person who plays this zither must have a pure heart and be indifferent and elegant."
"Brother - in - law~"
Xue Ning'an called him coquettishly. "Are we still playing chess?"
Hearing that she was jealous, Chu Jinli quickly comforted her. "Like you, she is also an elegant person."
Xue Ning'an threw down the chess pieces and was on the verge of crying aggrievedly. "I'm not elegant. In order to be worthy of brother - in - law, I'm now full of the smell of money and have become a snob."
Chu Jinli lovingly pulled her into his arms and comforted her. "I know you're as pure as snow. Look, I specially got you two silver notes worth a hundred taels each. After buying the medicinal herbs, you can save the rest. You won't have to ask me for money every time you need it."
Seeing the two silver notes in front of her, Xue Ning'an's eyes lit up. Her previous grievance instantly disappeared, but she still pretended to sob a few times and then became affectionate with Chu Jinli again.
In the pavilion separated from them by just one mansion, they observed the etiquette strictly, but there was also honesty and harmony. As they toasted each other, it was already the Hour of the Boar, time to rest.
Chu Yao came to remind Shang Yunruo to go to bed. She slowly stood up and said to Chu Yan, "With Yin Shan accompanying you, I won't send anyone to see you off."
Mainly because she didn't have enough people. The whole mansion had to be on high alert tonight.
Chu Yan nodded and suddenly asked, "Are you scared?"
Shang Yunruo was slightly stunned. The calm and strong expression she had been pretending to have began to crack a little. She didn't expect that at this moment when she most needed support, the one who cared about her was not her husband but Chu Yan, whom she had always been afraid of.
She quickly hid her momentary loss of composure and smiled slightly. "I'm not scared."
Chu Yan paused for a moment and said, "Okay, then I'll leave first."
As soon as Chu Yan left, Shang Yunruo pulled Chu Yao and quickly walked back into the house. She asked, "Did you sprinkle all the white flour as I told you? Sprinkle it in the inner room, the outer hall, and the front hall. It's best to sprinkle it at the door too."
Chu Yao was also very nervous and replied, "I've sprinkled it all. I've doubled the number of maids and servants on duty in rotation."
Shang Yunruo nodded repeatedly, thinking that it was just a thief and it shouldn't be life - threatening... It shouldn't be life - threatening, right?
The wind chime hanging on the window suddenly hit the door frame, making a moderate sound. It scared Shang Yunruo and Chu Yao so much that they hugged each other and screamed.
After waiting for a while, they found that it was just the wind.
Looking at Chu Yao, who was even more timid than her, Shang Yunruo had to summon up her courage to close the window. The wind blew up her long hair that had been taken down from the hairpin.
Suddenly, a low voice came from outside the window. Liang Yu's voice now seemed to have been moistened by warm water.
"Don't be afraid, I'm here."