The Splendid Brocade of the Painting Physician – Chapter 35

Chapter 35: An Old Friend Speaks of Mother’s Past

“Look, she really wrote it down in her little notebook. Third Young Master, tell me, did she write me down on the page of gratitude or the page of grudges?” Li Mi said, taunting Cui Heng while his eyes were glued to the small notebook in Fenghuang’s hand. The more he looked, the more surprised he became. “Eh, what kind of paper is that book made of? I don’t think I’ve ever seen it before. And that pen?”

Before he could finish speaking, Fenghuang quickly put away the book and pen, hiding them in his bosom. Li Mi, unable to see clearly, was somewhat disappointed.

At this moment, Cui Heng reprimanded him in a low voice, “Stop talking! Who told you to tease the young lady?!” He then bowed deeply towards Xiao Jinyu from afar and said, “Twelfth Young Master is mischievous. He has offended the young lady with his words. I hope the young lady will forgive him!” After speaking, he pulled Li Mi, intending to leave.

Li Mi continued to struggle, saying, “Hey, Third Young Master, don’t talk nonsense. I was serious. How was that teasing?”

After taking a few steps while being pulled, Cui Heng suddenly stopped.

“What’s wrong?”

“That seems to be Xiao Xian, the young master of the Xiao Clan, renowned as the most handsome and talented man in Jiankang!” Catching a glimpse of a white figure sitting in a wheelchair and looking over from afar, Cui Heng stopped and said.

“Then let’s go pay him a visit! I’ve also heard of Xiao Xian’s name for a long time. It’s better to see someone once than to hear about them a hundred times. Moreover…” He leaned into Cui Heng’s ear and said, “He’s also a relative of this young lady, isn’t he?”

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The two whispered to each other for a while before walking towards Xiao Xian, completely unaware that Xiao Ninth Miss, hiding far away, was almost grinding her teeth in anger, staring hatefully at these figures who seemed to be leisurely strolling and chatting like they were on a spring outing.

Especially at this moment, some people in the passing crowd were pointing at her and discussing her with disdain and contempt:

“This Ninth Miss of the Xiao Clan is truly stupid and vicious. In order to prevent the legitimate granddaughter of the Xiao Clan who was living outside from returning, she actually came up with such a sinister trick to destroy the Xiao Clan’s reputation and slander her own family’s young lady.”

“The mistress of the Xiao Clan is even more ruthless. She actually sent several assassins to pursue and kill this granddaughter. How deep is their hatred?”

“Yes, yes! It’s truly pitiful for that young lady Xiao Jinyu. She’s all alone in a foreign land. After finally returning to Southern Chen from the north, she was originally here to find her relatives, but she still has to suffer persecution from them…”

“That young lady is truly beautiful! And her demeanor and actions when she defended her mother just now, that calmness in the face of a collapsing mountain, that’s the elegant demeanor of a distinguished scholar passed down from the Wei and Jin period, right?”

“Indeed, indeed. That’s the true aristocratic temperament and elegant demeanor of a distinguished scholar that can only be cultivated by a centuries-old clan. Compared to her, that Xiao Ninth Miss… is far too inferior!”

Hearing these discussions, Xiao Ninth Miss became even angrier. She glared at Xiao Jinyu fiercely, gritting her teeth and saying, “Just you wait!” Then, she covered her face in shame and left, and the group of noble ladies also dispersed in embarrassment.

A’xiu had never seen such a scene before. When she saw the venomous look in Xiao Ninth Miss’s eyes, as if she wanted to destroy everything, she couldn’t help but feel a little scared.

“Young lady… we…” She reminded her tremblingly.

“We… let’s go back too!” Xiao Jinyu said softly, without a trace of fear in her voice. She flicked her sleeves and walked forward leisurely.

The stunningly beautiful boy named Fenghuang also seemed as if nothing had happened, closely following Xiao Jinyu towards West Stream Alley. After who knows how long, A’xiu suddenly heard Xiao Jinyu calling her, “A’xiu, since you’ve chosen to follow me, you don’t have to be timid. No matter what happens, to me, it’s not a big deal… When you’re alive, even death is not something to be afraid of, so what else is there to be afraid of?

I know you weren’t like this before. You don’t have to suppress your true nature here with me.”

“Yes, young lady!” A’xiu replied, the gloom and fear in her heart instantly swept away. She also followed Xiao Jinyu towards West Stream Alley.

The secluded Early Spring Courtyard deep in West Stream Alley was the new residence that the young lady had bought. After what happened today, it seemed that the young lady didn’t plan to move and wanted to stay here permanently.

Without an ox cart, the three of them walked forward quickly. Fortunately, the journey wasn’t far, and they reached the courtyard gate in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

“Qing Gege, those assassins… are we just going to let it go?” Fenghuang suddenly said, somewhat indignantly. “I saw that Jiankang official, Zong Yuan, looking at Xiao Ninth Miss repeatedly, his flattery was obvious. If it weren’t for the two young masters from the Zhao Commandery Li Clan and the Boling Cui Clan being here, that villain wouldn’t have dared to offend the envoys from the north, and I’m afraid this matter wouldn’t have ended so easily.”

“Indeed, they helped me today, and we owe them a favor.” Xiao Jinyu pondered for a moment and then said, “Fenghuang, let this matter go. I didn’t expect to get anything out of those assassins anyway. Princess Yunyin is, after all, a princess of the Chen Clan. It’s normal for those low-ranking people to worship the high and trample the low in order to survive!”

“That’s true. However, after Xiao Ninth Miss’s outburst, Qing Gege has actually gained some reputation for your aunt. This matter will probably spread throughout Jiankang City soon!” Fenghuang said with a happy smile. “Qing Gege is still amazing. You deliberately provoked Xiao Ninth Miss into saying those things, right?”

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Xiao Jinyu looked at Fenghuang and smiled faintly.

“Yes,” she replied.

This smile was extremely gentle and indulgent. Even though it was on Xiao Jinyu’s disguised face, it still exuded a warmth like a spring breeze or melting ice.

Fenghuang was momentarily stunned. After a long while, he asked, “Then what should we do next? How can we make the mistress of the Xiao Clan personally invite Qing Gege back to the Xiao family?”

Thinking of what Xiao Jinyu had said to Xiao Xian that day, Fenghuang felt a surge of excitement to give it a try.

Xiao Jinyu couldn’t help but smile. This child didn’t want to live a peaceful life of watching flowers bloom and wither in the courtyard, but was always curious about a life of swords, shadows, and danger.

After all, he was still young! A newborn calf is not afraid of tigers!

He was a bit like her in the past!

“Don’t worry, we might need to go through some more storms!” Xiao Jinyu suddenly said in a deep voice. “And we still need to wait for an old friend!”

“An old friend? What old friend?”

Fenghuang asked curiously, but as soon as he finished speaking, he heard a series of light footsteps approaching.

“Who is it?” The boy, who was naturally sensitive to changes in sound, shouted loudly and turned around to see a young and beautiful woman leading a little girl with her hair in two buns walking towards them.

The little girl was blinking her big, black and white eyes, looking at them with great joy and surprise.

It was the little girl they had saved on the street that day.

“Sister, you’re the sister who saved me that day! Mother, we finally found our benefactor sister!” The little girl shouted happily as she jumped into her mother’s arms. But after a moment, she ran to Xiao Jinyu,

“Sister, my mother and I have been looking for you for a long time. We just heard people on the street say that that Xiao Ninth Miss bullied you again, and that you had an exciting debate with her. My mother and I asked those people where you went, and then we followed them here. Sister, you won’t blame my mother and me, will you?”

The little girl’s innocence brought Xiao Jinyu’s thoughts back to more than twenty years ago. When the sisters in the clan gathered together to recite poems and chat, Yuxuan, who was five or six years old, was about the same age as this little girl. She always dragged her out to play and see the elegant demeanor of those famous scholars.

“I don’t blame you. What’s your name?” Unconsciously, Xiao Jinyu squatted down so that the little girl could look her in the eye.

“Sister, my name is A’yuan. This is my mother!” The little girl pointed happily at the woman behind her.

Only then did Xiao Jinyu turn her gaze to the woman. Unlike the woman’s haggard face when they met on the street last time, today the woman had a rosy complexion, sparkling eyes, red lips, her hair styled in a topknot, and she was wearing a water-green silk gauze dress that trailed on the ground. She looked even more beautiful, and the smile on her lips made people feel even more friendly.

When they first met, some fragmented memories surfaced in Xiao Jinyu’s mind. It seemed that the original owner felt grateful to this woman, so there was a trace of warmth and kindness flowing in her heart, but she didn’t know who this woman was.

Just as she was wondering, the woman spoke first, “We met on the street last time. Thanks to your advice, I soaked my feet in hot water before going to bed, and my insomnia, which I’ve had for many years, has finally eased a bit…” She paused and bowed respectfully to Xiao Jinyu. “I was originally the legitimate daughter of the Chenjun Yuan Clan, Yuan Rujing. Now I’m married to the Fan family. You can call me Lady Fan Yuan, or you can call me Aunt Rujing…”

“You were originally from the Chenjun Yuan Clan. Was my maternal grandmother your aunt?” Xiao Jinyu asked.

“Yes!” The woman replied, a look of guilt suddenly appearing in her eyes. “And I was once close friends with your mother, Xiao Luan, like sisters. After that incident, A’luan went far away, and I felt so guilty that I’ve suffered from insomnia and nightmares for many years.”

When the woman said this, Fenghuang’s expression changed drastically. He couldn’t help but ask, “What incident made you feel so guilty? What do you know?”