In the office of the Court of Judicial Review, Lin Zeyan flipped through the book in his hands for a moment, then closed it and said, "She's very interested in this book?"
Wuhen: "The young miss from the maternal side read this book for quite a long time. It seems she had already read it before, and today she bought another copy."
Lin Zeyan tapped his finger on the pen name of the compiler on the cover, "Xiaoxiao Li…"
"She also met Princess Zhaole and the Fourth Prince?"
Wuhen: "Princess Zhaole's fruit syrup spilled on the young miss's skirt, and then they started chatting. It seemed they didn't know each other before."
Lin Zeyan handed the book to Youji: "Go investigate what connection this compiler has with Zhao Lijia."
Youji took it—it was a leisure book called The Whimsical Brush.
Wuhen then pulled out his little notebook from his bosom and opened it in front of Lin Zeyan. Lin Zeyan glanced at it, then fixed his gaze on Wuhen.
Wuhen craned his neck to look at the page he had opened—it was his recipe notes. He quickly flipped to the next page, "Young master, it's this one, this one…"
Lin Zeyan shook his head, took the little notebook, and read it. After a moment, his expression turned sour. "What is all this?"
He tossed the notebook onto the table. Wuhen lowered his head, "Young master, the young miss also wrote this down. I found it suspicious, so I noted it."
Youji slowly edged closer to the table. Seeing that the young master said nothing, he picked up the notebook and flipped to that page. After reading for a moment, he couldn't hold back a laugh. "It seems the young miss really enjoys jokes."
After speaking, he saw the young master's face darken with displeasure and slowly retreated, quickly trying to make amends: "Perhaps there's something fishy in this. Maybe the young miss is corresponding with a storyteller or the bookstore owner."
Lin Zeyan sneered with disdain: "A young lady of the inner chambers corresponding with someone? With a Turk?"
Youji shook his head like a rattle-drum. Wuhen interjected: "Perhaps with a lover…?"
Seeing the conversation drifting further off track, Lin Zeyan quickly dismissed Wuhen and Youji. He then took the book and the little notebook himself to re-examine them, checking whether there was anything he had overlooked.
The joke was titled "Dog Father," and its content was somewhat hard to put on display in polite company.
"Once upon a time, there was a man surnamed Lu, witty and eloquent."
"His neighbor had a woman who never laughed or smiled."
"His friend said to Lu: 'If you can say one word to make this woman laugh, and then another word to make her curse, I'll treat you to a meal.'"
"Lu agreed, so the two went together to find the woman."
"The woman was standing at her door, and outside the door there was also a dog."
"Lu hurried a few steps, went up to the dog, and dropped to his knees with a thud:
'Father!'"
"The woman was startled, then burst out laughing."
"Lu raised his head again and said to the woman: 'Mother!'"
A faint smile tugged at the corner of Lin Zeyan's lips, then he suppressed it. But in the end, he couldn't hold it in—the corner of his brow lifted slightly, and a slow curve spread across his lips.
He looked at the joke again, laughing even as he scolded: "What nonsense did she write down."
Zhao Lijia had no idea that her every move was being followed. She had no time to go out in the next few days, because the second young master's wedding was only days away. Second Madam and the future second young madam had been busy for months, and these days, touches of red and green had begun to appear throughout the estate.
In the Daliang dynasty, blue and red were favored. The mansion was adorned with blue curtains that billowed in the wind like green waves. In the front courtyard's waterside pavilion, blue cloth drapes were used to enclose a space for feasting. From the main gate to the central hall, the walkways on both sides were densely lined with potted plants.
Pomegranates, jujube trees, peonies, orchids—in celadon and white porcelain pots, the pots tied with red silk ribbons, stood out strikingly among the blue curtains. These plants had been carefully tended by servants for days, watered and loosened at precise times to ensure they bloomed perfectly on the grand day.
Zhao Lijia held a child in each hand as they walked under the corridor. Everywhere were rough-work servants on ladders hanging lanterns, suspending plain silk lanterns with tassels tied in love knots from the eaves.
Han Guang and Tieyi followed behind, looking around. "So lively," they said.
The two children also swung her hands. "So pretty," they said.
Zhao Lijia smiled and replied, "Yes." She was excited inside, just like during a festival.
Huabao was pointing at lanterns on the ground not yet hung up. "Cousin, I want this one."
The other little girl, named Shuangshuang, also tugged at her hand. "Sister, I want one too."
Zhao Lijia was troubled. "But these are meant to be hung up there. If we take them to play with, there won't be enough."
That's right—Zhao Lijia was accompanying two children on a tour of the ducal mansion.
These past few days the mansion had been busy and chaotic, and she felt awkward going out to play, so she thought she'd help the Second Madam and see what she could do. When she arrived, the Second Madam had a guest—Shuangshuang was that family's child. Huabao was also there. The two children weren't yet familiar with each other, sneaking glances at one another, and no matter how the maids tried to coax them, they refused to go out and play, just lingering there.
At that moment Zhao Lijia arrived at the door. Huabao saw her and grabbed her hand, then said to Shuangshuang with a show of pride, "Cousin, let's go play."
Huabao actually wanted to play with Shuangshuang too, but she was too shy to speak to Shuangshuang directly, so she spoke to Zhao Lijia, hoping Shuangshuang would be swayed, or that her grandmother would say the words she wanted to hear.
Her wish came true. The next moment, the Second Madam smiled apologetically at Zhao Lijia and said, "Lizhi, take the two children outside for a look."
Zhao Lijia thought that taking the children out to give the Second Madam some peace counted as helping, so she took the two children on a tour of the ducal mansion.
The ducal mansion was very large, so she took the two children to stroll through the lively areas.
Now the two children each swung one of her hands, calling "Sister" and "Cousin," just wanting that lantern.
Desperately, she looked back at Han Guang and Tieyi. Han Guang and Tieyi each picked up a child, freeing Zhao Lijia's hands. She quickly said, "Let's go see the flowers in the front courtyard—they're so pretty, and there are butterflies too."
The two children wavered a little, and Zhao Lijia immediately took them to the front without another word, afraid they'd change their minds.
But she didn't know that children at this age are at their most curious, with a hundred thousand "whys" on their lips, questions popping out one after another.
When they reached the front courtyard, they walked along the passage. The maids tending the flowers bowed and stepped back, not blocking their view of the flowers.
Huabao pointed at the flower pots and asked endlessly:
"What flower is this?"
"Why is that one red?"
Zhao Lijia actually couldn't identify them all—who could blame her, with so few flowers and plants in Liangzhou? But looking at Huabao's bright, glistening eyes, she tried her best to answer, holding the little girl's hand as they looked pot by pot:
"This one is called pomegranate—its flowers bloom like little lanterns. This one is a peony. Look at how its petals layer upon layer—don't they look like a skirt?"
Huabao tilted her head to look, then suddenly said, "Then Cousin looks like a peony—pretty!"
Zhao Lijia felt fireworks go off in her heart and blushed slightly. She smiled and tilted her head too. "Really?"
Huabao nodded vigorously. "Really!"
Zhao Lijia chuckled. "Such a sweet mouth. I like it."
Shuangshuang watched from the side, unwilling to be outdone. She tugged Zhao Lijia over to one side and pointed at a flower in full, vibrant bloom. "Sister, what about this one?"
Zhao Lijia looked at the layered petals, full of confidence. "This is a peony."
"Wrong."
A cool voice came from behind her. Zhao Lijia thought, "Oh no." She slowly turned around and saw that her Third Cousin had at some point walked up close. He stood with his hands behind his back, glancing at the pot of flowers Shuangshuang had just pointed to, then back at Zhao Lijia, the faintest trace of mockery at the corner of his mouth.
"This is a herbaceous peony. Tree peonies are woody; herbaceous peonies are herbaceous. Cousin can't even tell the difference, and yet you dare take the children flower-viewing?"
Zhao Lijia's face went red with a rush—shame and anger combined. Why did he have to expose her in front of the children! He truly had no grace at all!
She struggled to maintain her smile and took a step back. "Third Cousin seems to know a lot. Why don't you teach Huabao and the others how to identify flowers?"
Huabao, overjoyed to see her Third Uncle, ran into his arms. "Third Uncle, come teach us how to identify flowers."
Zhao Lijia watched Huabao hang on her Third Cousin's neck, grinning happily, and sighed—truly, one only hears the laughter of the new, never sees the tears of the old. Huabao had forgotten her cousin so quickly, when just moments ago she'd been fighting Shuangshuang over her.
Lin Zeyan held Huabao and led Shuangshuang along, ignoring everyone else, and patiently taught them to identify the flowers one by one.
"This is a cotton rose. The buds are white, and as they bloom they gradually turn pink."
Huabao's eyes lit up. "Huabao is white? This is also called Huabao?"
Lin Zeyan tapped her nose. "It's a flower bud, not Huabao."
Huabao shrank back, giggling.
"This is a peony."
Zhao Lijia pursed her lips.
Huabao laughed. "Cousin got this one right—it's the flower that looks like Cousin."
Zhao Lijia wanted to sink into the ground.
"This one, with the long, slender leaves, is an orchid. Though there are many varieties."
Shuangshuang: "Brother teaches better than Sister!"
Zhao Lijia: …
Just then, the Second Madam and that other lady came out as well. Zhao Lijia felt greatly relieved and hurried over to her aunt's side—in truth, her movement was no different from what Huabao and Shuangshuang had done.
The Second Madam took her hand. "Lizhi, you've worked hard. I've already sent someone out to buy your favorite cherry biluo."
Zhao Lijia's eyes sparkled: Auntie is the best!
That lady took Shuangshuang and left. Lin Zeyan brought Huabao over. Zhao Lijia hesitated several times between the cherry biluo and facing her Third Cousin, and finally said, "Auntie, it's midday now. I need to go take my nap. That cherry biluo…"
The Second Madam pinched her cheek. "You! Fine, go on. I'll have the cherry biluo sent to Chunxuan Xiaozhu for you."
"Thank you, Auntie." Zhao Lijia gave the Second Madam a sweet smile, then made her escape.
The Second Madam watched Zhao Lijia leave, then said to Lin Zeyan, "What's going on? Why does Lizhi look at you like a mouse looking at a cat? Did you bully her?"
Lin Zeyan gazed at the goose-yellow figure retreating into the distance. "Perhaps her conscience isn't clear."
Second Madam shot him a glare. "Nonsense. I told you to apologize to Lizhi—did you go?"
Lin Zeyan set Huabao down. "Lizhi?"
Second Madam took Huabao's hand and walked ahead. "It's your cousin's childhood name. Now tell me, what exactly is going on between you two?"
Hearing the name, Lin Zeyan was reminded of the pen name on that book from yesterday—Lizhi, Smiling Lizhi. It seemed it wasn't a coincidence.
"I'm asking you a question—where's your head at?" Second Madam stopped.
Lin Zeyan thought for a moment, then chose what he considered the most fitting description of his relationship with Zhao Lijia:
"We clash."