The Splendid Brocade of the Painting Physician – Chapter 40

Chapter 40: Tenth Young Lady Comes to Inform

“You are the Tenth Young Lady of the Xiao family, what are you doing here?” Fenghuang asked warily.

Xiao Ruoling came with only one maid, the maid was holding a long brocade box in her arms, the two of them stood against the wind, their delicate figures were really pitiful, which made the huge brocade box look particularly abrupt.

“Come in and talk!” Xiao Jinyu raised her hand and gestured.

Xiao Ruoling looked at Xiao Jinyu with her clear eyes for a long time, then ordered her maid You Tan to step aside, and said to Xiao Jinyu: “Tenth Young Lady has something to say to this Divine Physician alone.”

Xiao Jinyu nodded, invited Xiao Ruoling into the inner room of the inner hall, and ordered Fenghuang and A’xiu to guard outside the door.

Xiao Ruoling then placed the long brocade box on the table and said straight to the point: “This is from Eighth Young Master Xiao, your uncle Xiao Yun, who asked me to give it to you, saying that it is an apology from his mother to the Divine Physician, this is the sincerity he sent on behalf of the Xiao family.”

“Oh.”

Xiao Jinyu responded, and then took the brocade box, ready to open it, but Xiao Ruoling suddenly reached out and grabbed her wrist, shaking her head and said: “Don’t open it, I’m afraid there is something bad in it.”

Seeing Xiao Jinyu smiling, she didn’t seem surprised or curious, Xiao Ruoling said again: “You are not afraid at all?”

“Should I be afraid of something?” Xiao Jinyu asked back.

Xiao Ruoling then said: “I have also heard about your affairs, you are just my aunt’s illegitimate daughter, the granddaughter of the Xiao family, it is only right and proper that you are not included in the Xiao family genealogy, why do you have to come back? Isn’t it good to live a peaceful life outside?”

When she said this, tears gradually welled up in Xiao Ruoling’s eyes, and she whispered: “How many lives do you have to escape the schemes of the Chen family… or rather, Princess Yunyin?”

“Are you worried that I will be poisoned by them?” Xiao Jinyu understood the meaning of the girl’s words and saw the worry hidden in her eyes.

This all-seeing gaze made Xiao Ruoling’s heart tremble, she quickly looked away, quietly wiped away a tear, and continued: “Yes, you are very smart, the first time you saw me, you could see that the illness I have been suffering from for a long time has not been cured, it is entirely my own reason, I deliberately dragged on this seriously ill body, but what else can I do if I don’t do this? The Xiao family is not what it used to be, there are fewer and fewer male offspring, even Seventh Uncle can’t control his own destiny, let alone a young lady like me who has no father or mother, as long as Princess Yunyin says a word, I will be given to some fat old pervert as a concubine, I have no power to resist, when that time comes, I will only have death!”

“Does Princess Yunyin have any plans recently?” Xiao Jinyu asked.

Xiao Ruoling pondered for a moment, nodded and said: “Although I don’t know what she is planning, she is raising death warriors and seems to be in contact with several ministers in the court. Three months ago, I heard that she seems to want to marry me to Lu Sheng, the son of Lu Fang, the Assistant in the Secretariat. I have also heard of that Lu Sheng, he is an unlearned and incompetent dandy, he has dozens of concubines at home, and he spends all day looking for fun and pleasure, even my Eighth Uncle is one of his drinking buddies…”

Speaking of this, she looked at Xiao Jinyu again and said: “You must not know how lecherous my Eighth Uncle can be, he even spared no effort in pursuing the young ladies in his own clan, let alone you… your niece!”

Speaking of this, it seemed a bit difficult to say, Xiao Ruoling’s face was embarrassed and gloomy.

Xiao Jinyu seemed to understand her intention and said: “I know, you are here to tell me that he is going to attack me, right?”

Xiao Ruoling suddenly looked up at her, seeing that she seemed indifferent, and asked: “Do you already know?”

“I didn’t know before, but from the moment you stopped me from opening the brocade box, I guessed it.” Xiao Jinyu said, and then asked, “Did he tell you their plan?”

“Apricot Blossom and Misty Rain Tower, you must not go, that’s all!”

Xiao Jinyu nodded her thanks, Xiao Ruoling felt relieved and left, when she reached the door of the side room, Xiao Jinyu suddenly asked another question: “You said that the Xiao family is not what it used to be, what was the Xiao family like before? And when did it become like this?”

Xiao Ruoling stopped abruptly, turned her head and said to Xiao Jinyu: “I heard that during the war, the eldest legitimate daughter of the Xiao family, your mother, took the Xiao family to Jingkang to take refuge, and later settled in Jiankang. The Xiao family had a loving mother and filial sons, they lived in harmony, and the whole family was happy, but since Princess Yunyin married into the Xiao family, everything has changed… The Xiao family now, each has their own thoughts, no one is willing, nor dare to give their true heart.

I came today to repay you for saving my life that day!”

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After Xiao Ruoling left the courtyard, she didn’t go far before she saw Xiao Ninth Miss jumping off the carriage, obviously she had been waiting for her for a long time.

Seeing that she and You Tan were both empty-handed and the long brocade box was gone, Xiao Ninth Miss smiled with satisfaction: “Have all the things been delivered? She also agreed to go to the Apricot Blossom and Misty Rain Tower for an appointment, right?”

“Yes!”

Ignoring her, Xiao Ruoling took You Tan into another carriage that she had driven and left!

✿✿✿

“I have also inquired about this Apricot Blossom and Misty Rain Tower, it is considered the largest and most prosperous and elegant place in Jiankang City. I heard that the children of aristocratic families love to play here, composing poems and prose, playing the game of Winding Stream and Floating Cups, or playing Pitch-Pot, archery, horseback riding and Cuju, and also… beautiful women dancing and singing, anyway, these are all games that the children of the southern aristocratic families love to play.” Fenghuang said.

Xiao Jinyu said “oh” and said: “Then do you want to go play?”

✿✿✿

The boy shook his head repeatedly: “Qing Gege, this doesn’t sound like a good place, I don’t want to go!”

“But you are interested in Pitch-Pot, archery, horseback riding and Cuju!” Xiao Jinyu immediately retorted.

Just now when he said these eight words, the boy’s eyes were obviously brighter and his expression more yearning, as if he had once galloped on the open field, this was what he was proud of and his free nature.

“I am interested, but this Apricot Blossom and Misty Rain Tower is only this big, you can’t gallop on horseback! I wonder how Pitch-Pot and Cuju are?”

Fenghuang looked thoughtful, Xiao Jinyu smiled and said: “Okay, we’ll go and see tomorrow!”

“Ah? Really going? But that Xiao Eighth Young Master has bad intentions towards you, Qing Gege!”

“But I can hide once, but I can’t hide the second or third time. If I don’t go, they will be bad for Xiao Ruoling, and… it’s time to avenge ‘me’!” Xiao Jinyu said, stroking her chest.

✿✿✿

The next day, Xiao Jinyu took Fenghuang and A’xiu to the famous Apricot Blossom and Misty Rain Tower in Jiankang City. As soon as they entered the building, their eyes lit up and their vision widened.

It turned out that although the name of this Apricot Blossom and Misty Rain Tower was a tower, it was not just a tower. As far as the eye could see, there were pavilions, terraces, and buildings, rockeries, ponds, and waterside pavilions. It had everything, and there were winding corridors, extending in all directions, crisscrossing paths, and all the way, whether it was by the waterside pavilions and ponds or beside the bluestone paths, apricot blossom trees were planted. When the wind blew, the pink and white petals rustled down, coupled with the morning mist over the water, the falling flowers and water vapor blended together, making it a truly fascinating place!

“No wonder it’s called Apricot Blossom and Misty Rain Tower! Petals are floating everywhere, and there is this lingering mist, it’s truly a fairyland!” Even Fenghuang couldn’t help but sigh.

“Hey, isn’t that a riding ground over there? It seems very lively!” Seeing a waiter coming towards them, Fenghuang couldn’t help but ask.

“Yes, Young Master, that’s the racecourse over there!” The waiter replied.

“It’s a racecourse?” Fenghuang’s eyes were even more surprised, he pulled Xiao Jinyu’s hand and ran towards the so-called racecourse.

Sure enough, after passing through a long corridor, they came to a training ground. Although the training ground didn’t look as big as a hunting ground in the wild, it was enough to run around the training ground for ten laps, after all, it was just a place to play.

But what disappointed Fenghuang was that he didn’t see the sight of fierce horses galloping with their manes like wind, but two slender and weak aristocratic sons riding on two thin horses, walking slowly.

“This is… horse racing?” Fenghuang couldn’t believe it.

“Yes, these aristocratic sons don’t like to gallop and sweat profusely, as that would affect their appearance and demeanor, so maintaining this horse speed is the most suitable, it’s just for fun! It’s all about elegance!” The waiter waiting on the side explained.

Fenghuang almost spat out a mouthful of tea.

“Elegance? You call this elegance?”

Suddenly he remembered a rumor in the south: Wang Fu, the Prefect of Jiankang, was refined and elegant by nature, he never rode a horse, and when he saw a horse neighing and jumping, he was terrified and said to people: “This is clearly a tiger, why is it named a horse?” This is how their customs are.

It means: Wang Fu, the Prefect of Jiankang, heard the neighing of a horse and saw the horse jumping, but he was terrified and even said such absurd words as: “This is clearly a tiger, why is it named a horse?”

The southerners are weak, even after experiencing the Hou Jing Rebellion, they still haven’t changed their hedonistic and cowardly nature.

Thinking about it, Fenghuang couldn’t help but laugh, he immediately chose the tallest horse, jumped onto the horse’s back, and with a “whoosh”, he only whipped the horse once, the horse neighed to the sky, and galloped wildly on the field like crazy, scaring the two aristocratic sons who were walking slowly to roll off their horses and hide aside in a panic.

“Who is this? Are you crazy?” One of the aristocratic sons shouted angrily.

Soon people in the surrounding colorful small buildings poked their heads out to watch.

Someone shouted in surprise: “Come and see, come and see! Something extraordinary seems to have happened on the training ground!”

“Hey! What a beautiful young master, I also have a few good-looking male favorites at home, but compared to this young master, they are simply as worthless as dirt!”

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