As he spoke, the servants already had their heels lifted ready to move. The moment he mentioned Ming Yueshu, a servant’s rough hand clamped tightly over his mouth.
Qiao Jingchuan tasted the salty bitterness of sweat between his lips and teeth.
Ming Zhouhe kicked him hard in the knee.
Qiao Jingchuan fell to his knees with a thud.
“Of course it’s your fault – shameless and full of frivolous words. How dare you meet other women after being engaged? Do you think my cousin is someone you can bully?”
Ming Zhouhe bent down, lowering his voice: “If you dare tarnish my third sister’s reputation, don’t be surprised if you suffer accidents like broken legs or facial injuries over the next couple of years.”
As her legitimate brother, no matter how angry he was with Ming Yueshu, he had to protect her reputation in public.
Qiao Jingchuan, his face contorted in pain, widened his eyes upon hearing this and shook his head frantically. “I won’t say anything, I won’t say anything anymore!”
Those with physical disabilities or facial disfigurements were barred from holding official positions.
“From now on, act as if you never visited Anguo Gong Manor.”
“I understand…”
Shi Jianli lowered the curtain and dropped her gaze.
Ming Yuelin put an arm around her shoulder. “Sister Li, aren’t you happy?”
Shi Jianli shook her head. “No, since we’re already out, let’s go shopping.”
He had handsome features, but his demeanor was lacking. What should have been an eight-out-of-ten appearance dropped to just five because of his poor bearing.
He even seemed somewhat vulgar.
“Qi Yu, go tell Second Brother and Third Brother that we’re leaving first,” Ming Yuelin called to the maid.
“Yes.”
The carriage slowly exited the alley and entered the main street. The two got off the carriage.
Ming Zhouhe waved his hand, and all the servants followed them as they left. Fang Momo bid farewell to the two young masters and returned to report to Qiao Ruoying.
Ming Zhouqing crossed his arms and asked, “Was one kick enough? You don’t look like you’ve vented your anger.”
“Didn’t we say we’d ambush him with a sack? I’ve already investigated – Qiao Jingchuan goes to the bookstore in the southern city every day to compose poetry with his classmates. When he turns into the alley on his way back this afternoon, we’ll beat him up just in time for him to go home,” Ming Zhouhe replied, watching the two sisters walking ahead at a distance.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. “Qiao Jingchuan is just the son of a minor fifth-rank official. How dare he look down on my cousin?”
“Before the engagement, Cousin Li was the highest support he could reach. After the engagement, through Cousin Li, he could access connections with Third Sister,” Ming Zhouqing answered him.
“Third Brother, how many days do you think Third Sister can last at the Farmstead?”
“She’ll probably be back in three to five days. She even finds martial archery practice tiring – she won’t last long. She gets exhausted after just a few swings of the hoe,” Ming Zhouhe said casually.
…………
After shopping on the street for half an hour, Shi Jianli and Ming Yuelin entered the busiest clothing house on Vermillion Bird Street – Hua Si Meng Clothing House.
The name “Hua Si Meng” was taken from the line “free-flying petals light as dreams” from the poem “Silk-Washing Stream.”
Seeing Shi Jianli, the female shopkeeper came forward and led them upstairs. “Miss, Miss Lin, you’ve come.”
Shi Jianli nodded and, after leading Ming Yuelin to the second floor, released her hand. “Sister Lin, go try on the new styles. I’m going to the third floor to check the account books. You can have anything you like.”
“Thank you, Sister Li~”
Upon reaching the third floor, the shopkeeper opened the door to an elegantly furnished room and invited Shi Jianli inside.
Shi Jianli sat at the desk and took a thin stack of drawings from her sleeve, handing them to the shopkeeper. “These are the new designs for this summer.”
The shopkeeper accepted them and flipped through, her eyes lighting up. “Miss, these are truly ingenious designs, and your craftsmanship is exquisite!”
“No need to accompany me, I’ll be leaving shortly.”
“Very well.” The shopkeeper closed the door as he left, and a young maid brought tea.
Shi Jianli pushed the account book on the table toward Lanxing. “You check it for me. I can’t be bothered to think right now.”
Her capable assistant Lanxing dutifully began examining the accounts.
Shi Jianli opened the small window, sipping tea while watching the street market below. The mist blurred her features, adding to her air of cool detachment.
Leaning her head on her hand as she waited for Lanxing to finish checking the accounts, Shi Jianli noticed the window opposite opening and glanced sideways.
Through the small window, she could see two exceptionally handsome men sitting across from each other – one elegant as an orchid and jade tree, the other dignified with profound composure.
She recognized them both: Ming Zhaohuan and Ji Rangzhou.
As she withdrew her gaze, she unexpectedly met Ming Zhaohuan’s eyes. The casually seated Shi Jianli instinctively straightened her posture and nodded calmly at Ming Zhaohuan.
Back in her old home, Shi Jianli had been free-spirited and unrestrained, but since coming to Anguo Gong Manor, she constantly remembered to maintain dignity and composure so as not to cause trouble for her aunt. Her slender back was always kept perfectly straight.
The other party also nodded gently in return.
Shi Jianli closed the window.
Ji Rangzhou followed his gaze but only caught sight of a pale hand resting on the windowsill.
Then, the small window closed completely.
“An acquaintance?”
Ming Zhaohuan nodded slightly, smiling as he glanced at him: “She’s a female relative from our household. Qingqing gets along very well with her.”
Qingqing was Ming Yuelin’s childhood name.
Ji Rangzhou held a black chess piece between his fingers, pondered briefly, then nodded: “Mm.”
Ming Zhaohuan chuckled lightly, “Youqian, don’t be so sparing with your words. Yesterday I asked Qingqing if she wanted to come with me to meet you, but she said she doesn’t like visiting such an old fuddy-duddy.”
“You’ve been engaged to her for six years. How many times have you two met?”
Ji Rangzhou thought for a moment before replying: “Three times.”
Thinking of his sister’s temperament, Ming Zhaohuan shook his head helplessly. “In the future, she’ll inevitably come running home to complain to us, saying ‘That old fuddy-duddy Ji Rangzhou – I can’t stand being around him at all.'”
Noticing two familiar figures downstairs from the corner of his eye, he turned to his attendant Tian Feng. “It’s almost noon already. The Second and Third Young Masters are downstairs. Invite them up for lunch, and ask where the two young ladies who came out with them are. If you see them, bring them up together.”
“Yes, sir.”
After Lanxing finished checking the accounts and verified their accuracy, Shi Jianli took her downstairs to find Ming Yuelin.
Ming Yuelin was watching an embroiderer at work, completely captivated.
Shi Jianli placed a hand on her shoulder. “How many sets have you chosen?”
Ming Yuelin snapped out of her reverie and took her hand. “Two sets. I’ve had them boxed up properly. Thank you, Sister Li. When we return, I’ll have someone send you some jewelry.”
“Alright.”
The two went downstairs together and encountered Tian Feng waiting at the entrance as they were leaving. “Young ladies, His Lordship invites you both to Wuweizhai. The Second and Third Young Masters are there as well.”
Shi Jianli looked at Tian Feng and recognized him as Ming Zhaohuan’s attendant.
The names of the attendants serving the young masters of Anguo Gong Manor weren’t difficult to remember – they were distinguished by the sequence “Heaven, Earth, Mystery, Yellow, Universe, Primordial, Vast, Desert” combined with their rankings.
Those serving Ming Zhaohuan had names containing “Tian” (Heaven), those with Ming Zhouqing had “Di” (Earth), those with Ming Zhouhe had “Xuan” (Mystery), and so on.
The maids serving the young ladies were equally easy to remember, using the eight refined pursuits “Qin, Qi, Shu, Hua, Shi, Jiu, Hua, Cha” (Music, Chess, Calligraphy, Painting, Poetry, Wine, Flowers, Tea) combined with rankings.
Hearing Tian Feng’s words, Ming Yuelin hesitated briefly before pulling Shi Jianli upstairs.
Upon entering, Shi Jianli greeted each person in turn: “Heir, Heir Ji, Second Cousin, Cousin.”
Ming Yuelin glanced at her, opened his mouth as if to speak, but ultimately said nothing and directly took a seat far away from Ji Rangzhou.
Ming Zhaohuan smiled and said to Shi Jianli, “No need for such formality, please sit.”
Only then did Shi Jianli walk toward the seat beside Ming Yuelin.
Ming Zhouqing asked, “Cousin Li, why do you address all of us as ‘cousin’ but call Eldest Brother ‘Heir’?”
When speaking with others, Shi Jianli habitually wore a slight smile at the corner of her lips. Her clear eyes looked at him as she replied, “That is the proper way to address him.”