A Beautiful Duchess with a Dark Heart – Chapter 52

Chapter 52: He Listens to You

The Song family held many beautiful and cruel memories for Wen Yu.

Having been reborn, these things belonged only to her, and she didn’t want outsiders to disturb them.

So, she said to Cousin Hui, who wanted to accompany her, “Cousin, why don’t you go have fun with my sisters? I’ll go back and change my clothes, and then I’ll come find you!”

As she walked back to her room, she kept feeling something strange behind her, as if someone was following her.

But when she looked back, she couldn’t see anyone.

She paid attention and soon discovered that someone was indeed following her…because they had hidden their body well, but not the corner of their skirt…

Wen Yu smiled…

Back in her room, she had Yan Zhu re-comb her hair. She braided the hair on top of her head into a flower bun and secured it with a silver hairpin. The rest of her hair cascaded down her back, reaching all the way to her buttocks, light and flowing like satin.

She changed into a very light beige shirt and skirt. Paired with her hairstyle, it made her look ethereal and otherworldly.

Xiao Ji stared blankly, “Miss, you look like a fairy!”

Yan Zhu admired her handiwork, “Of course! Miss is the most beautiful!” She was particularly efficient when she was doing something she enjoyed. So, earlier, she had also changed her clothes, into a dress that was altered from one of Wen Yu’s.

Wen Yu’s clothes were a bit tight on her, accentuating her enviable figure.

Xiao Ji looked at Yan Zhu and was stunned again, “Zhu Zhu, you look so good too! My goodness, going out with you two, I, I…” Xiao Ji’s face flushed red, which was rare for her.

She felt so inadequate!

Wen Yu and Yan Zhu both laughed, like flowers blooming under the bright sun.

The servant girl hiding in the corner, who had been following them, saw this and her heart pounded.

The group first went to the opera house. They heard from the servant girl at the entrance that the two Old Madams were inside listening to a storyteller. Miss Wen and Miss Yi’er had gone to the Hundred Beasts Garden.

Next to the opera house was the library. In the past two years, it had been expanded and renovated, and it now looked quite impressive in scale and design.

Wen Yu intended to go and see what new books had been added, but Yan Zhu didn’t like this place. She quickly pulled her away, “Ah Yu, let’s go to the bamboo garden, shall we?”

She blinked her eyes pleadingly.

Wen Yu instinctively wanted to refuse, but then she thought for a moment and smiled, “Alright! Let’s go to the bamboo garden!”

Yan Zhu was delighted. As they walked, she picked flowers from the roadside and had Xiao Ji put them in her hair, “We haven’t been there for years! I wonder if that row of raspberries against the wall is still there! Haha, they’re so delicious.”

Wen Yu also giggled, “Delicious? We always picked them before they were ripe! They were so sour and astringent…”

“Haha, that’s what makes them delicious…”

They chatted and laughed for a while before they reached the bamboo garden in her memory.

Yan Zhu was utterly shocked. She looked left and right, “Eh, this is the bamboo garden? How did it become like this?”

The once somewhat dilapidated bamboo fence had been replaced with a neat wall of patterned stones, and there was a large red door, which was closed.

Through the wall, they could see the eaves of the house inside.

“They built a house?”

Wen Yu, however, was not surprised. In her past life, she had lived here most of the time.

“Who lives here?” Yan Zhu was curious. She took two steps forward and peered through the crack in the door.

At that moment, the door suddenly opened, startling Yan Zhu.

A woman in dark blue clothes came out. She had a long face and was extremely ordinary-looking, but she stood as straight as a ramrod, thin and hard. She bowed to Wen Yu, “Miss Wen!”

“Madam Xu.” Wen Yu recognized her, a capable subordinate of Song Shang’s.

“Miss, please come in and have a seat, I’ve just made tea…” Madam Xu smiled and gestured for them to enter.

Yan Zhu loved novelty and dashed inside in a flash.

Wen Yu nodded and followed Madam Xu in.

The servant girl who had been watching outside saw this and her face changed dramatically. One of them ran off to report it.

✿✿✿

Inside, a house had been built, made of stone and bamboo, with two floors. The second floor had a large platform where one could look out over the sea of bamboo behind.

Yan Zhu ran up and down, looking around, full of admiration.

Wen Yu went straight into the main hall.

Tea was being brewed on a small charcoal stove by the table, and there were dried fruits and snacks… she took a look and saw that they were all her favorites.

Wen Yu was touched, but also felt a bit apprehensive… She poured herself a cup of tea and drank it slowly to calm herself down.

This bamboo garden, Song Shang had once said, was built for her.

The style was rustic, yet very refined.

Whenever it rained, the two of them would sit on the platform, drinking wine and watching the rain. It had been so pleasant.

They had indeed had wonderful times together!

She gestured for Madam Xu to sit down. Madam Xu didn’t stand on ceremony and said as she sat, “Fifth Master said that if he saw Miss, he would ask if arranging horseback riding for the day after tomorrow morning would be alright?”

Wen Yu shook her head and said, “Tell Cousin, horseback riding is troublesome to arrange, and it takes a long time. The day after tomorrow is Aunt’s birthday banquet, and so many guests will be coming. Cousin should focus on that first. We can find another opportunity to go horseback riding later…”

Madam Xu smiled, “The arrangements for horseback riding have already been made. I will relay what Miss has said to Fifth Master.”

“Is Cousin staying here?”

“Yes.”

“…Cousin asked me to bring the accounts. I’d like to find some time to go over them with him!”

“Fifth Master knows. He said that since Miss must be tired from your journey, it would be best to arrange it for tomorrow around dinner time.”

“Alright.”

✿✿✿

The little servant girl was reporting to Wei Shi, “She went to our Master’s bamboo garden and even peered through the crack in the door!” Actually, it was Yan Zhu who peered through the crack.

“How shameless can she be!?” The old servant woman beside Wei Shi said through gritted teeth.

✿✿✿

“Later, that Madam Xu came out and invited Miss Wen inside.”

Wei Shi’s face was livid. The bamboo garden was personally designed and built by her husband, and for the past two years, he had simply lived there.

After it was built, she had only been there once to take a look.

Later, news “reached” her that no one was allowed to enter the bamboo garden without Song Shang’s permission.

Even his own mother was not allowed in, which made his mother laugh in anger!

But how could she laugh…

That Madam Xu was one of her husband’s subordinates. It was said that she was someone’s widow, and both her sons followed him. Even she couldn’t order her around!

And she actually came out to welcome that little wretch.

“Keep an eye on her!” She said through gritted teeth.

Her face was extremely ugly…

Song Chihan was playing with her toys nearby. She found this strange and glanced at her mother.

✿✿✿

Wen Yu sat for a while and then told Yan Zhu to go to the Hundred Beasts Garden.

Yan Zhu muttered in the courtyard, “I remember there was a stove there. Ah Yu, you found a secret manual in the library… what were we doing there again? We cut our hands and burned our fingers… tsk tsk, we both ended up with little black faces! Luckily we didn’t encounter any snakes!”

When she said this, Wen Yu also remembered that incident, “Yes…”

Yan Zhu continued, “Fifth Master even brought us rice and chicken, and cured meat and things. We made roasted cured meat with bamboo rice, and bamboo chicken soup! Ah… it was so delicious!” She swallowed.

“The old man who chopped the bamboo for us, surnamed Liu, I wonder if he’s still around…” Wen Yu also recalled.

“Probably not! He was already very old then! Hunchbacked and lame! So pitiful. He was so happy to eat our leftovers. Haha! He would stay there all day, and Madam Song thought you were going to class, haha.”

Xiao Ji shook her head repeatedly when she heard this. “Zhu Zhu, you were so daring, following Miss in everything she did. What would have happened if Miss’s face and hands had been scarred? It’s a good thing Madam passed away early… otherwise, if she had known, she would have beaten you to death!”

Yes, no matter what crazy things I did, she followed along… Wen Yu looked at Yan Zhu with some emotion. She was skipping along, as happy as a little rabbit.

“It’s a pity that we spent all that effort but couldn’t make that bamboo-flavored salt.”

“We did make it, I…” Wen Yu stopped speaking again.

She finally remembered. She had found an old book in the library that recorded a recipe for bamboo-flavored salt.

She had wanted to make it after seeing it.

At first, it was just her and Yan Zhu working on it, but how could two little girls manage it on their own?

After Song Shang found out, he arranged for people to chop bamboo, tend the fire, and clean up.

They had failed countless times!

Later, one time, Yan Zhu had a cold and couldn’t come, so she was working on it alone.

Song Shang came and pulled her aside, saying he wanted to see “what mischief you’re up to!”

He split open the burned bamboo tubes, looked at them for a long time, tasted them for a long time, and was stunned for a long time. Then he turned to look at her and stared for a long time…

Then, he pulled her braid and insisted that she write down: what she had originally intended to do, how she had done it, how much salt she had used, how many times she had filtered it, what kind of bamboo she had used, what kind of heat she had used, and how long she had burned it.

Usually, she bullied him quite a bit. But when he got angry, she was afraid of him.

She had no choice but to write down the entire process, step by step.

He read it and then questioned her about each item for a long time.

Finally, he threatened her, saying that she was not allowed to tell anyone about this.

If she did, he would stuff all the salt into her mouth! She would eat so much salt that she would turn into Swallow Tiger and fly up to the sky, then fall down and die!

He also said that she had “ruined” his garden and demanded that she write an IOU for ten thousand taels of silver.

She argued with him for a long time and finally wrote one for five hundred taels.

That scoundrel took advantage of her young age!

If Yan Zhu hadn’t brought it up, she would have completely forgotten! Scoundrel!!!

“Ah Yu, tell Fifth Master that we want to stay here for two days!”

“Will he agree if I say so?”

“Yes, he may not listen to anyone else, but he will definitely listen to you!”

“How do you know?” Wen Yu’s heart was pounding. Could it be that his feelings for her were so obvious that even others could see them?

“Of course I know!” Yan Zhu shook her head smugly.

That scoundrel! He only knows how to bully me!

……

“Madam, she came out of the bamboo garden and went to the Hundred Beasts Garden.”

✿✿✿

“Madam! Our Master is back and went straight to the Hundred Beasts Garden. He saw her!”

Wei Shi jumped to her feet, her eyes flashing with anger.

“…That girl called Hong Dou, she was being so loud, ordering our Master to fetch food! She wanted to feed the little pony. Our Master is so good-tempered, he immediately sent someone to get it. A mere servant girl, daring to order our Master around!” The servant girl was indignant.

Wei Shi couldn’t stand it any longer. She rushed out the door and headed for the Hundred Beasts Garden.

When she arrived, panting, she found that the garden was empty.

But another servant girl came with news, saying that Miss Wen had returned to her room. Fifth Master had gone to see Old Madam.

Wei Shi had never been treated like this since she was a child, and she was so angry that she was trembling…

As she stumbled back, just as she entered the door, an old servant woman followed her in, holding a letter in her hand, “Madam, look… Ling’er found this.”

“What!?” Wei Shi took it, opened it, and read…