Chapter 88 (1/2)
Chapter 88
Translator: NovelMultiverse | Editor: NovelMultiverse
The man’s voice had a strange tone. His inky eyes were hidden in the dark, but he couldn’t conceal their cold light. His eyes were filled with unpredictable emotions as if trying to hide something.
Yu Linglong didn’t expect that he would make such a condition. This man, who appeared by her side several times, seemed to understand her thoughts well, and even knew how much she didn’t want to meet him again.
After a moment of silence, Yu Linglong raised her face, looked straight into the man’s eyes, and said in a deep voice, “Okay, I promise you.”
If she could really stay out of things, it would be the best thing for her. Yu Linglong was never afraid of things, but she was not willing to cause trouble.
Her involvement in this incident was a complete accident. If the accident could end like this, it would undoubtedly be the best result.
In the dim night, the man’s figure seemed to be shaken slightly, and the roses on the side of the road seemed to feel the man’s vibration, and the luxuriant petals fell sternly, spreading all over the ground.
His figure stood in the darkness, almost blending with the night, and his deep eyes looked at Yu Linglong, more distant and indifferent than the night sky above his head.
“Do you really agree?”
Yu Linglong raised her eyebrows. Did this man think she had promised too much, so he refused to believe her?
Raising her bare hand in front of the man, Yu Linglong said coldly: “If you don’t believe me, then we’ll swear an oath!”
The man slowly raised his hand, paused, and finally clapped Yu Linglong’s hand: “Alright, I hope you remember today’s promise.”
The slightly rough palm slowly slipped from Yu Linglong’s hand. On this hot summer night, the man’s hand was actually cold at his fingertips, as if the silver mask on his face was so cold that there was no trace of warmth.
Taking a deep look at Yu Linglong, the man turned and left, and soon disappeared into the darkness.
Yu Linglong breathed a sigh of relief. For some reason, the boulder in her heart didn’t seem to disappear, and it still pressed heavily on her heart.
Would things really end like this?
…
Gulian Tea House was located in the western suburbs of the capital. The water used to make its tea was entirely taken from the Gulian Spring. It is said that every tea set in the tea house, whether purple sand tea bowls or ice crack porcelain bowls, were only taken out to hold tea after being warmed in the spring water for 49 days. Therefore, the tea brewed here can stimulate the aroma of the tea itself more than ordinary water, which was tasty. It is said that after tasting it, you can’t give it up.
Although Gulian Tea House was located in a remote area, it was often overcrowded, especially with the literati, high-ranking officials, and n.o.bles, who all regard it as an elegant thing to be able to taste the tea here.
Yu Linglong arrived not too late but saw Hong Jian already waiting at the door, and when she saw her coming, she greeted her with joy: “Miss Yu, our eldest lady is waiting for you in a private room upstairs, please follow me.”
Yu Linglong looked up and saw that the first floor was a huge open room. There were fine bamboo curtains hanging on the doors and windows. The breeze blew in from the gaps, bringing the light fragrance of the bamboo forest outside. It felt very sophisticated.
There was a huge red sandalwood table in the center. The weight revealed the simplicity and the elegance of its exquisiteness. There were no seats beside it. There was nothing on the table and it was not dusty. The surrounding area was obviously specially set aside. She didn’t know what its purpose was.
In the rest of the place, dozens of tea tables were neatly arranged with tea sets and fruit dishes. At this moment, people were already sitting, and everywhere literati sat shaking their heads and chanting poems.
Yu Linglong felt it was a little strange. s.h.i.+ Huiru came from so far. What did she do in such a place, was it just for tea?
On the second floor, s.h.i.+ Huiru was parting the bead curtains, and looking downstairs. When she saw that Yu Linglong was coming, she immediately smiled and waved to her: “Linglong, over here!”
The two of them took a seat in the private room. It was said that it was a private room, but in fact, it was just a small single room separated by carved screens. A beaded curtain was hung in the door, which not only added a barrier to the people in the room but also allowed them to see the scene downstairs.
Yu Linglong took a sip of her tea, but she didn’t think it was so surprising. It seemed that the reputation of Gulian Tea House was quite exaggerated.
This was probably the case in this world, where a place with a great reputation was not necessarily so outstanding.
After being locked up for a long time, s.h.i.+ Huiru seemed very excited when she left the house. She kept pulling Yu Linglong to say this and that, but Yu Linglong was sensitive to discover that s.h.i.+ Huiru’s gaze floated to the large, empty table downstairs from time to time, as if she was waiting for something.
When s.h.i.+ Huiru questioned her again, Yu Linglong finally said: “Are you here just to drink tea?”
s.h.i.+ Huiru’s round face suddenly flushed: “I didn’t want to talk to you here—”
Before she could finish speaking, there was a commotion from downstairs, followed by Hong Lian yelling outside the door: “Miss, here it comes, here it comes!”
s.h.i.+ Huiru stood up abruptly. The tea bowl was even spilled, but she didn’t care at all and walked to the door in a few steps.
Yu Linglong felt that something was off. She had already guessed the answer internally, and she stood up, walked to s.h.i.+ Huiru’s side, and looked downstairs with her.
On one side of the huge sandalwood table, there was already a slender man, dressed in a navy blue gown, with gentle eyebrows, who clasped his fists in a gesture of applause, which looked very elegant.
Yu Linglong smiled faintly and looked at s.h.i.+ Huiru. When she saw the man, her face was instantly filled with a happy smile, as warm as the sun.
In this world, there was probably only one man who could make s.h.i.+ Huiru so concerned. Yu Linglong thought so, but she was very curious. What was Yang Huanian doing?
The question was quickly answered. The book boy on the side laid three-foot-long plain white rice paper on the desk and concentrated on preparing various paints to serve Yang Huanian in painting.
For a while, it was silent upstairs and downstairs, and nearly a hundred pairs of eyes looked at Yang Huanian.
s.h.i.+ Huiru dared not pant any more and didn’t even blink her eyes. She was looking straight at Yang Huanian.
It seemed that he didn’t feel the gaze of so many people. Yang Huanian held the paintbrush in his hand and contemplated for a while, then began to write slowly, and after a few strokes, a rough outline was drawn.
In the next room, someone whispered: “Is Prince Yang going to paint beautiful people? Isn’t he good at splas.h.i.+ng ink and landscape?”
With Yang Huanian’s flying brushwork, the characters on the paper gradually became clear, and they turned out to be really a beautiful picture. There was a woman in the painting, with a long and slender figure, beautiful like spring flowers. She had eyebrows like distant mountains, and her eyes were covered with ice and snow. Although it was only a picture, the painting was vivid, as if the woman was standing in front of everyone.
The painting was completed in less than fifteen minutes. Yang Huanian put away his paintbrush, and the boy on the side immediately stepped forward and carefully dried the wet ink with blotting paper. Then he picked up the picture and showed it to everyone. There was a thunderous applause from upstairs and downstairs, followed by various praises and comments from everyone.
Hong Jian stood next to s.h.i.+ Huiru, craning her neck and looking hard. After seeing the beauty in the painting, Hong Jian couldn’t help but be surprised: “Huh, why does she look so familiar?”
The smile on s.h.i.+ Huiru’s face gradually disappeared, and her face immediately became pale. She suddenly turned her head and looked straight at Yu Linglong, her eyes full of shock and surprise.
The un.o.bstructed voice of Hong Jian immediately sounded, as if she suddenly realized: “It looks like the Fourth Lady!”
Yu Linglong’s heart shook slightly, and when she looked intently, she saw that the woman in the painting was dressed in red with a pile of hair, and she looked a bit like herself.
Seeing s.h.i.+ Huiru who looked like she was about to cry, Yu Linglong said indifferently: “There are many people in the world who look alike. How could it be me?”
That is, she only met this prince of Changting Hou once before, and she didn’t even say anything. How could the person in Yang Huanian’s painting be her?
After hearing this, s.h.i.+ Huiru was skeptical, and looked downstairs again, as if to confirm whether the person in the painting was Yu Linglong.
In the noise of the discussion downstairs, a clear voice suddenly sounded, and it was especially clear in the noisy teahouse: “Brother Yang is really talented, and he didn’t fail to live up to my request!”[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the “Novel Multiverse dot com” website @ novelmultiverse.com]
Hearing this familiar voice, Yu Linglong frowned slightly and looked down. Among the crowd, someone in a white robe was very eye-catching. It was Lord Xu, who had not been seen for a few days.
At this moment, he shook the fan in his hand, with the usual smile on his face. He slowly walked to the picture hanging in front of the table. After looking at it carefully for a moment, he smiled at Yang Huanian: “I thought you had forgotten. Now it seems that if you can draw my sweetheart like this now, even if I wait two more months, it is worth it!”
Seeing Lord Xu suddenly coming over, Yang Huanian’s face changed slightly, and his gentle smile was restored in a flash: “I am overwhelmed.”
When the two spoke, the crowd next to them gradually understood what was going on, and they all started talking with smiles. Who in the capital didn’t know that Lord Xu’s favorite woman was the fourth lady of the Yu house? It’s just that Yu Linglong had always been simple, and few people had seen her true face. Now, after hearing Lord Xu, everyone knew that Yang Huanian drew such a beautiful picture for Lord Xu, and the beauty in the painting was naturally the legendary fourth lady of the Yu family.
Everyone immediately rushed forward to see the true face of the Fourth Lady.
s.h.i.+ Huiru, who was standing next to the handrail on the second floor, opened her eyes and smiled immediately. She was in a good mood. She took Yu Linglong’s hand and said with a smile: “Look at how good Lord Xu is to you! He specially asked the prince to give you a portrait. This is something that many people can’t ask for!”
Yu Linglong snorted: “How is it that rare? It happens all the time!”
Although she was not like the conservative women of ancient times, all of them regarded their appearance as a great secret, for fear of being looked at, but she still felt a little awkward to be stared at so intently.
This Yu Lieyang can really go to h.e.l.l!
Ignoring the people downstairs who were enthusiastic about their opinions, Yu Linglong picked up the bead curtain and went back to the table to drink tea.
s.h.i.+ Huiru was embarra.s.sed to be with Yu Linglong, and exchanged a knowing look with Hong Jian, who then wittily never mentioned it again, and went back to the room to chat with Yu Linglong.
At noon, the crowd downstairs gradually dispersed, and s.h.i.+ Huiru and Yu Linglong also got up and left the room.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been out. Are you hungry?” s.h.i.+ Huiru saw her sweetheart, and she was obviously still in a good mood. “I heard that there is a restaurant nearby and the steamed fish is very well done. Let’s try it.”
The water near Gulian Spring was good, and there were many fish ponds. The fish here were famous for their delicate meat and smooth flesh. Yu Linglong responded affirmatively, and the two of them walked up the stairs together.
Just walking to the room in the corner of the corridor, a cold and alienated voice suddenly came out from the private room.
“I have covered up today’s affairs for you, but remember, I will not give you another chance.”