Xuan Zhi didn't answer her. However, from the next day on, he really left early and returned late. He was nowhere to be seen all day long. When he came back at night, he shook his hands and went to wash them without saying a word.
Weirui quickly followed him and sniffed hard. "Brother Xuan Zhi, why do you smell like medicine? Where have you been? What's wrong with your hands? Are you not feeling well?"
But despite all her concerned questions, Xuan Zhi didn't answer a single one. After drying his hands, he ran up to Shen Yuning and asked, "Are you tired today, Yuning? Do you want me to give you a massage?"
Shen Yuning shook her head to indicate that she didn't need it. Then she picked up a pen and started to reply to the letters from the prefectures that couldn't be arranged for the time being. The first one was a letter to Wuyun Prefecture.
Xuan Zhi stood beside her, silently watching the elegant handwriting on the paper.
Shen Yuning's letter was brief. The general idea was that she didn't have a suitable candidate at hand, so it was inconvenient to open a shop in a far - off place like Wuyun.
She hesitated for a long time and finally didn't write that the terrain of Wuyun was not suitable for sericulture. After all, what she knew, the officials in Wuyun Prefecture must also know.
Looking back and seeing Xuan Zhi staring intently, Shen Yuning laughed. "Xuan Zhi, do you think it's okay to reply so simply?"
When Xuan Zhi was named and asked, his ears unconsciously turned completely red. In fact, he had been watching her write, but his attention was attracted by her tender little hands. He didn't really look at what was written on the paper at all.
He walked away silently, wondering if he was crazy. Why did he always have some inexplicable emotions when he saw Yuning? It seemed as if he wanted to possess her.
For several consecutive days, Xuan Zhi was nowhere to be seen during the day, and when he came back at night, he would massage Shen Yuning's shoulders to help her relax. It wasn't until Shen Yuning had finished organizing all her account books and specially written a method for unified book - keeping that she told Zhang Mo to take it to each shop when he came back next time.
When she picked up the embroidery work that she hadn't touched for several months, she found that Xuan Zhi didn't seem to have gone out today.
Shen Yuning was quite curious. "What were you doing these days, Xuan Zhi? Why do you have time today and don't need to go?"
Xuan Zhi pursed his lips and smiled. Then he went to wash his hands and started to massage Shen Yuning.
Shen Yuning couldn't help laughing and said somewhat reproachfully, "Xuan Zhi, the strength of your massage is even more appropriate than before. My shoulders do feel much better."
Hearing this, Old Man Zhang quickly waved. "Xuan Zhi, come and give me a massage too."
Xuan Zhi tightened his lips, let go of Shen Yuning, but didn't go to Old Man Zhang. Instead, he made an excuse that he was going to check Yuanbao's homework and went to the side hall to see Yuanbao.
Old Man Zhang scolded a few words and then didn't bother to care about him.
Shen Yuning said, "Xuan Zhi has grown up. In the capital, boys over fifteen either study in the academy or should find a proper job."
Old Man Zhang nodded. "You're right. When your Brother Fugui was his age, he did all the farm work. When he had free time, he even went to the dock to carry goods to earn some copper coins to buy flowers for your sister - in - law."
Shen Yuning never thought that her not - so - bright second brother actually knew how to earn money to buy flowers for the girl he loved. She laughed so hard that she bent forward and backward. She couldn't help but pull Shen Fugui over to tease him.
Shen Fugui touched his nose embarrassedly. Hearing them discussing Xuan Zhi's matter, he quickly suggested, "I always see Xuan Zhi massaging Yuning's shoulders and back, and Yuning also said that he does it well. It shows that he has some skills in this area. Why not send him to the medical clinic as an apprentice?"
Old Man Zhang quickly shook his head. "No, no. What ability does that child Xuan Zhi not have? Even if a doctor does a good job, at most he will only have a good reputation. In my opinion, it would be best if he could pursue a career in the officialdom. Passing the imperial examinations and becoming an official would be so glorious."
Shen Fugui hesitated. "But Xuan Zhi has a problem with his background. If he wants to take the imperial examinations, I'm afraid some people will use his background against him."
"With a county princess as his sister, is Xuan Zhi still afraid of what others say?"
Although he said so, Old Man Zhang also thought that taking the imperial examinations was not appropriate. After much thought, he asked Shen Yuning again, "I heard a few days ago that the court is now recruiting soldiers. Xuan Zhi is so good at martial arts. Why not let him give it a try?"
The idea of becoming a new recruit was indeed good. Xuan Zhi came from the Jiang family. If he only relied on the fame obtained through the imperial examinations, if someone with a hidden agenda brought up the matter of the Jiang family's downfall, even though he was from a collateral branch, he might still be deprived of the qualification to take the exams. But joining the army was different. The military merits earned with one's life on the battlefield were real. They never asked about a hero's origin, and there was no need to care about the matter of the Jiang family back then.
However, fortune comes with risks. Swords and arrows on the battlefield are merciless. How could an ordinary person bear such a risk?
Shen Yuning smiled slightly. "It depends on what Xuan Zhi himself thinks. With my current salary and the shops, am I still afraid that I can't support one more person?"
Old Man Zhang looked sad. "I've heard a saying that a golden dragon is not a creature that can be confined in a pond. Although I don't quite understand it, I think it refers to Xuan Zhi. With his character, how could he stay at home?"
Shen Fugui also deeply agreed and thought that Xuan Zhi was not the type to stay put.
The three people outside were chattering away, planning Xuan Zhi's future. Inside the room, Xuan Zhi listened quietly without showing any reaction.
Weirui stopped writing, turned her head to look at Xuan Zhi and asked, "Brother Xuan Zhi, what do you think?"
Xuan Zhi gently patted her head. "Do your homework. I've told you several times. Call me uncle, not brother."
At night, Shen Yuning received another letter. This time, it was from Chen Wenwei in the capital. Shen Yuning was busy and casually put the unopened letter on the table.
When Xuan Zhi was tidying up the study, he saw this letter at a glance. He picked it up and opened it to read.
There wasn't much written in the letter. It mostly talked about some interesting childhood events and his experiences after returning to the capital. It also seemed that he was feeling sad about not being able to stay in Yun County anymore. Then it also mentioned something about the Xue family. It said that the eldest daughter of the Xue family had an accident. She was abducted by kidnappers while on an outing, but luckily she was rescued by the young master of the Zhu family.
Finally, it said that the emperor had secretly ordered people to investigate several gambling houses in the capital. After learning about the shady business in the gambling houses, the emperor was so angry that he even scolded three veteran officials. Now all the gambling houses in the capital were in a panic. They didn't dare to secretly lend money at usurious rates anymore.
After Shen Yuning finished washing up, she remembered that she hadn't read the letter yet. She walked to the study and just happened to see Xuan Zhi reading her letter.
She frowned. "Xuan Zhi, why did you open my letter?"
Asking this question, she then felt the cold aura around Xuan Zhi. It seemed that someone had made him unhappy.
Shen Yuning didn't suspect anything else. She just thought that maybe there was something bad written in the letter. She quickly asked, "What did Lord Chen write in the letter?"
Xuan Zhi looked up and asked, "Did you ever go boating on the lake with him during the Qixi Festival?"
Shen Yuning was stunned. After thinking for a while, she remembered and nodded with a smile. "It was probably when I was ten or eleven years old. Brother Xue was out investigating a case those days and couldn't take us out to play. Our family and the Chen family are family friends, so we played with the sisters of the Chen family."
Xuan Zhi's expression softened a little. He nodded. "It wasn't just the two of you."
Shen Yuning burst out laughing. She reached out her hand to get the letter, but Xuan Zhi moved it away. She just said, "How could it be just the two of us? During the Qixi Festival in the capital, either engaged couples would go out to release lanterns and play, or their older brothers would take them out. We were all young at that time. We could only go out with our older brothers. If our own older brothers weren't around, we would go with the older brothers of the Chen family."
Recalling the past, she also looked happy. "The second brother of the Chen family was a famous handsome man in the capital. I remember that at that time, there was a beautiful woman who gave me a sachet and asked me to give it to the second brother of the Chen family. I was so stupid at that time that I really took the sachet to the second brother of the Chen family. It made the second brother of the Chen family so angry that he beat up the fourth brother of the Chen family."
Xuan Zhi looked down at the letter. Seeing that what was written in it was exactly the same as the story Shen Yuning told, he couldn't help but frown and ask, "Why did Lord Chen's older brother punish him when it was you who made a mistake?"
Shen Yuning clapped her hands and laughed. "Because at that time, the third brother of the Chen family was taking his own younger sister, and my cousin and I were with the fourth brother of the Chen family. The fourth brother of the Chen family wasn't very old at that time. He was even younger than you are now. He was playful and only cared about going to the street to buy roasted taros. I was left alone and was intercepted by that beautiful noblewoman."
Seeing Shen Yuning beaming as she talked about her childhood memories, Xuan Zhi couldn't help but soften his expression. He asked in a low voice, "Do you miss your childhood very much, Yuning?"
Shen Yuning was stunned. After thinking for a long time, she nodded and then shook her head. "I probably do. After all, life in childhood was really care - free. But people will always grow up, and when they grow up, there will be all kinds of annoying things. Let me see what else he wrote."
Xuan Zhi handed the letter to her. Seeing the look of joy and melancholy on her face, he felt a strange sour feeling in his heart. He then asked, "You grew up together when you were kids. You really have a lot of stories together. You even... played the zither for him that day."
Shen Yuning didn't detect the jealousy in his words. Instead, she nodded seriously. "Yes, our family and the Chen family are family friends. We interacted more frequently. I seem to have played the zither that day. I don't remember clearly. Now that I think about it, I used to be a noble girl who was good at music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. But now, I've devoted myself whole - heartedly to business. If my former little sisters..."
She originally wanted to say that if her former little sisters saw her now, they would surely laugh at her. But just as she was halfway through her sentence, she remembered that she was no longer Xue Yuning. How could those sisters from well - matched families still have contact with her?
Seeing her looking sad, Xuan Zhi quickly pointed at the letter. "Is this eldest daughter of the Xue family your older sister?"
Shen Yuning read it for a while and then looked up with a puzzled expression. "This is my cousin. She is the eldest legitimate daughter of the Marquis's Mansion, with a very high status. However, she got engaged to the heir of the Duke of Tang's Mansion a few years ago. Now she is almost nineteen years old. Logically, she should have gotten married half a year ago. The letter doesn't mention her marriage, but it says that she was abducted by kidnappers. What kind of kidnappers would dare to abduct the legitimate daughter of the Marquis's Mansion?"