When news arrived from Lin'an, Chu Mingyun was in the courtyard sunning his scrolls, ancient volumes and picture albums scattered all over the ground, with sunlight filling the courtyard and the fragrance of ink floating in the warm breeze. He was holding a military treatise above his forehead, momentarily stunned, doubting his own ears: "Did you just say... where is Chen Xuanwen's grandson now?"
Qin Zhao looked across the two-zhang distance of scrolls at Chu Mingyun, repeating emotionlessly: "He's at the Hongxiu Guild in the capital."
"Huh, interesting," Chu Mingyun laughed, "So, he was brought all the way to a brothel with the intention of selling himself?"
Qin Zhao didn't know how to respond.
He casually placed the military treatise on the ground, the tips of his feet gently flipping the pages, and in a blink, he was standing steadily beside Qin Zhao, "Well then, I'll take a look. Stay in the mansion and wait for my news."
"Yes," Qin Zhao said, eyeing the books sprawled all over the floor making it impossible to tread, then said, "Brother, your books..."
"I'll leave them to you." Chu Mingyun lifted his hand, not looking back.
Qin Zhao: "...Oh."
Inside the Hongxiu Guild, the fragrance of flowers and wine lingered, patrons merrily pushing cups and changing glasses, and beautiful women laughing charmingly. Downstairs in the hall, the delicate voice of a woman sang a tender song, its clear notes traveling through the floorboards into the room above, making it exceptionally quiet inside.
Su Shiyu withdrew his gaze and nodded with a smile at the serving girl who brought tea: "Thank you for your trouble."
"You're welcome, sir." The maid blushed and stepped aside.
"I've kept you waiting," Jing Shu said, hanging the curtain on the silver hook and turning her head to the young man holding her hand, "It's okay, come out."
The young man walked towards Su Shiyu slowly, his appearance was clean and handsome, but his complexion was a bit pale, looking at Su Shiyu uneasily.
Su Shiyu looked at him carefully, softening his voice, "Are you called Chen Siheng?"
The young man nodded.
Su Shiyu smiled gently and continued softly, "You must have seen me when you were younger, do you remember?"
Chen Siheng glanced at Su Shiyu hesitantly, then shook his head.
Su Shiyu pondered for a moment, his gaze shifting to Jing Shu standing aside, "I almost forgot to thank the lady. If it weren't for her rescue back then, he might have been buried in a sea of flames."
"I just happened to be passing by; it was nothing more than lifting a finger for me," Jing Shu said.
"However, there's one thing I don't understand," Su Shiyu said, "You, being a frail woman, how did you manage to bring him out of the inferno?"
Jing Shu smiled and shook her head, "I didn't have such abilities. He ran out by accident and fainted in front of my carriage. Seeing him so young and pitiful, I brought him back with me. Now that someone familiar has come looking for him, I feel much more at ease."
"I see." Su Shiyu nodded, looking at Chen Siheng who only showed the top of his head to him, and after a moment of thought, said softly, "I was a colleague of your grandfather, and our families have always been on good terms, so I've been looking for you for a long time."
Chen Siheng remained silent.
Su Shiyu, with great patience, continued, "I'm here to help you; you don't have to be afraid of me."
YOU ARE READING
Jun You Ji Fou
Romance"Shiyu, my heart does not lie." With these words of deep passion, Chu Mingyun inserts his hand back into his sleeve and pinches himself. Su Shiyu's smile deepens all of a sudden. He squints his eyes and gently parts his mouth to say, "Are you sick?"...
