After a while, Cheng Yuanjing came out. When everyone saw that Cheng Yujin was not following him, they asked, "Where is eldest miss Cheng?"
"She is inside, practicing her writing." Cheng Yuanjing said lightly, "She is still young, and shouldn't neglect her study."
This sentence sounded a bit strange. Lin Qingyuan said with a smile: "Jingxing, your change is too great. After the palace exam that year, how many people secretly inquiring about your marriage? Yet you only said it was troublesome, and refused all. Since when you become this patient, even have the mood to supervise your niece's study?"
Many scholars' ideas were to get jinshi, become an official, join the cabinet, and look after grandchildren after retiring. That was ideal, fulfilling life. That's why, teaching the younger generation was an old age's hobby. Cheng Yuanjing was only nineteen. It was way too early for him to start worrying about his junior's study progress.
Cheng Yuanjing momentarily paused, and then evaded lightly: "She has a temperament, if I don't look at her, no one will."
Lin Qingyuan and others naturally thought that only Cheng Yuanjing could control the eldest young miss. If he didn't care, no one else could control her. But to Huo Changyuan, Cheng Yuanjing was saying that except him, no one bothered to care about Cheng Yujin.
Huo Changyuan suddenly had strange emotions. When he and Cheng Yujin got engaged, he heard a lot about Cheng Yujin's situation. He knew that she had been adopted as soon as she was born. Although there was a noble Junzhu mother, Qingfu didn't care about her and only loved the child born from her stomach. Ruan-shi had a real feeling for Cheng Yujin, but her affection for Cheng Yumo was much deeper.
As for old Madam Cheng, she only cared about power and benefit, and was very snobbish. She would dote on whomever granddaughter who was useful and biased towards the one who would benefit the family. Born in this environment, Cheng Yujin actually had a very difficult time.
But she still grew up smoothly, and she grew up to be the model of her peers, showing her tenacity. It was Cheng Yujin's wetnurse who told Huo Changyuan all of these things. She wanted to let this future male master knew how her miss didn't have it easy. However, Huo Changyuan canceled the engagement in just two months, and became one of those who hurt Cheng Yujin.
Huo Changyuan initially resented Cheng Yujin for deceiving him, but at this moment, when he looked at another man who protected Cheng Yujin and cared for her, he felt some dull pain in his heart. As if a treasure he once had in his palm, but he did not cherish it, and now belonged to others.
Xu Zhixian sat for a while. He had come to the inner courtyard to find his maternal grandmother and cousins. The last time he visited, he didn't talk to Cheng Yujin before he left. Xu Zhixian felt uneasy after returning home, and always wanted to have a good chat with Cheng Yujin. Now that Cheng Yuanjing and his guests were talking, he didn't understand much and felt it boring. Xu Zhixian wanted to go inside and chat with his elder sister Jin. He stood up and took two steps. Cheng Yuanjing, who was talking to Lin Qingyuan, glanced: "What are you doing?"
Xu Zhixian was taken aback, and subconsciously stood up straight, answering respectfully: "Go to elder sister Jin."
This kind of proper posture, he only used it when getting scolded by elders.
Cheng Yuanjing's expression didn't change, and simply said, "She is busy, you shouldn't disturb her."
Xu Zhixian rubbed his fingers, feeling tangled. He and the people here were different. He stayed in the inner courtyard all year along and knew that womenfolks had much spare time. After all, they didn't need to study for the imperial exam. Even if Cheng Yuanjing forbade him to disturb Cheng Yujin's study, he didn't take it seriously. Unwilling to give up, Xu Zhixian struggled and said: "But elder sister is alone inside, and no one speaks with her. I am afraid she will be bored."
"She is not bored." Cheng Yuanjing glanced at Xu Zhixian. Then, as if he had just casually remembered, added: "During the banquet in the front yard earlier, old Marchioness sent someone to tell you to go to Shou'an Hall after the banquet. Time is no longer early. It's not good for you to let the elder wait too long."
Xu Zhixian believed Cheng Yuanjing's words and hurried to Shou'an Hall. Soon, his figure no longer could be seen. Cheng Yuanjing withdrew his gaze insipidly, but immediately met Huo Changyuan's eyes.
Huo Changyuan was looking at him thoughtfully. Cheng Yuanjing did not avoid his gaze and calmly put on some coercion. Huo Changyuan quickly was unable to stand it and turned his eyes away.
After that, Huo Changyuan didn't see Cheng Yujin again. He clearly knew that she was in the room not far away, but there was Cheng Yuanjing blocked midway. It was such a queer feeling. Lin Qingyuan and Zou Cheng said goodbye one after another. Huo Changyuan couldn't sit down idly anymore and followed them up. Huo Changyuan secretly had an expectation. To see off guests was a proper manner. With Cheng Yujin's strictness towards etiquette and her unwillingness to put herself even in the slightest unfavorable light, she would definitely come to see them off. However, he was wrong. Even until Cheng Yuanjing sent them to the gate, the door and windows to the study were still tightly closed.
Cheng Yuanjing noticed Huo Changyuan's movements, and his gaze darkened, silently watched the other man. After everyone had left, he stood outside for a moment before slowly walking back into the main building.
In the study, Cheng Yujin was indeed busy. She practiced for a long time to copy the character following Cheng Yuanjing's handwriting example. Suddenly, inspiration struck in. She quickly asked Du Ruo to go back to her courtyard and brought her embroidery basket over. Now, Cheng Yujin sat on the bench, which was piled with embroidery fabrics, moving the needle with a high focus.
When Cheng Yuanjing came in, Cheng Yujin was still threading stitch after stitch. Cheng Yuanjing watched those fair-skinned hands flipping up and down, her fingers were incredibly flexible, as if moving with a strange rhythm. Cheng Yujin noticed that Cheng Yuanjing was standing not far away, and casually asked: "All the guests have gone?"
"Mm." The next moment, Cheng Yuanjing was stunned. What did he do, answering this kind of question? They were originally his guests, why did Cheng Yujin so familiarly ask like a hostess?
Cheng Yujin did not notice that the conversation they had just now was like a pair of old husband and wife. She put the last few stitches, skilfully hid the thread end, and put down the embroidery frame with great relief, saying, "I was embroidering the crucial part just now, and couldn't go out to send away guests. Brother Lin did not blame me for being rude, right? "
She already called him brother Lin? Cheng Yuanjing refused to answer. He picked up the fabric that Cheng Yujin had just embroidered, looked back and forth for a while, and very naturally changed the subject: "These characters are the ones you had most difficulty with, but the embroidery result is pretty good. The rest should be easier, right?"
"Yes." Cheng Yujin nodded, "Since the hardest part has been done, the rest is naturally a breeze. It will be finished in just a few days."
Cheng Yuanjing caressed the calligraphed writing embroidered on the fabric. He didn't care much about worldly objects, but beautiful things naturally roused people's fondness. And in this case, Cheng Yujin's embroidery work made him extremely pleased.
"Your progress is much faster than planned. There is still time, no need to hurry."
"I understand." Cheng Yujin rubbed her wrist and raised her head to smile brightly at Cheng Yuanjing, "Thank you for ninth uncle's kindness."
Kindness? Who was being kind to her? Cheng Yuanjing put down the embroidery and sat coldly on the opposite side.
Although Cheng Yujin didn't hurry, the embroidered screen was an extremely important task, and she didn't want to slack off. She kept embroidering for a few days and finally finished the whole thing.
It has been a long time since Cheng Yujin felt this happy. As soon as she cut down the last thread, before she even loosened her stiff neck, Cheng Yujin already called Du Ruo: "Du Ruo, is ninth uncle at home?"
Du Ruo hurriedly walked into the embroidery room and answered, "It's raining today. I didn't hear that ninth master go out."
Only now Cheng Yujin found out that it was raining outside. Spring rain was rare. She got up, lightly stretched her stiff joints, and said, "Remove the screen from the embroidery frame. I will show it to ninth uncle."
"Miss, the screen has not been washed yet."
An embroidery fabric was held continuously by a bare hand, and inevitably would be dirtied by the skin's contact. So, it would be shown to outsiders only after washing. However, Cheng Yujin couldn't wait so long. She said: "It's okay, you also know how many times ninth uncle has seen it before. Does he still care about such a thing? Just remove it now. We will take it with us."
Cheng Yujin rushed to Chenming courtyard, but when she entered the door, she found a set of unfamiliar rain gear under the eaves. Cheng Yujin paused her steps, and a servant quickly reported: "Eldest miss, Compiler Lin is visiting."
Lin Qingyuan? Cheng Yujin didn't realize that her first reaction was to feel annoyed, as if the man had disturbed her plan. But soon, her rational brain immediately analyzed it to be a good chance.
The people inside had heard the movement, and a man's clear voice called: "Cheng Yujin? Come in."
With her servant girl's help, Cheng Yujin took off her rain gear, put on soft-soled shoes, and stepped into the room. Cheng Yuanjing and Lin Qingyuan sat opposite each other, steeping tea. The place where they were sitting was an area separated by a wooden moon partition with zigzag patterns, that turned the inner space into one chamber altogether. Through the partition, one could see a low platform with cushions on it, a tea table in the middle, and two rows of tall windows on the side, which can be removed entirely. At this moment, it was raining outside, and tea was being steeped inside, filling the wooden chamber with an elegant fragrance.
Cheng Yuanjing looked at Cheng Yujin and waved. Cheng Yujin naturally walked over, carefully holding her skirt, and sat on her knees beside Cheng Yuanjing.
"Ninth uncle."
"What's the matter?"
Since Cheng Yujin came over on a rainy day, it would never be on a whim.
Cheng Yuanjing didn't expect to hear Cheng Yujin said with a smile, "Ninth Uncle, I've finished the embroidering."
"Oh? So fast?" Cheng Yuanjing glanced at Du Ruo, who was holding a brocade box nearby. There was a visible smile in his eyes. "Do you bring it over?"
Cheng Yujin nodded. She looked at Lin Qingyuan a little hesitantly. The longevity feast was approaching, and all eligible families were busy with gift preparation, making sure that no one could copy or deliberately suppress their gifts. Cheng Yujin was confident that this screen would bring a benefit for Yichun marquis manor. Now to let Lin Qingyuan see it...
Cheng Yuanjing guessed Cheng Yujin's thoughts at a glance. He said: "Don't worry, Lin Qingyuan can be trusted."
Lin Qingyuan still remembered this Cheng family's eldest young miss. When he heard Cheng Yuanjing's words, he smiled and said, "What did eldest young miss prepare? You can't let me see?"
"Of course not, Compiler Lin." Cheng Yujin bowed at Lin Qingyuan apologizingly, then said to Du Ruo, "Take it out for ninth uncle and Compiler Lin."
With the help of another servant girl, Du Ruo slowly opened the screen. Lin Qingyuan was surprised when he saw it and couldn't help but trying to observe the embroidery at a closer range: "Double-sided embroidery... and even a double-sided embroidery with different patterns. I thought these skills had been lost."
Lin Qingyuan looked at Cheng Yujin incredulously: "This... is this thing really..."
Cheng Yujin nodded with a smile: "This little girl embroidered it. Many parts are still insufficient, ask Compiler Lin to please not laugh."
Insufficient? Cheng Yuanjing glanced at Cheng Yujin with a smile, clearly seeing through her humbleness. Cheng Yujin also glared and signaled at him not to dismantle her performance.
Standing below the platform, Lin Qingyuan didn't notice the silent communication between the uncle and niece. His praises became louder and more excited: "It turned out to be so! One side is calligraphy, and the other is mountainous scenery, what an incredible skill! The front side, is it Jingxing's handwriting? No wonder eldest young miss Cheng came to find Jingxin last time to ask about calligraphy."
Lin Qingyuan was so excited that he couldn't find more words. Finally, he gestured at the two people sitting on the platform: "Good words, good writing, good embroidery!"
Cheng Yujin couldn't help laughing, a bright light flashed in her eyes. It was rare to see her acted like a girl of her age. Cheng Yuanjing also looked at her with a faint smile in his eyes.
The embroidered screen was done after weeks of hard work. Cheng Yujin ordered Du Ruo to put it back carefully. Cheng Yuanjing saw it and said, "Just left it here. Tomorrow I will let people find good wood to make a frame."
"Yes." Cheng Yujin couldn't help reminding, "I touched the fabric every day. Ninth uncle, don't forget to wash it beforehand."
So it still hasn't been washed. Cheng Yuanjing replied helplessly: "I know."
Lin Qingyuan looked at this scene with some interest and said: "I never see Jingxing this patient before. He was so impatient that he never even listen to someone speaking a bit long. At first, who knows how many people tried to talk about marriage with him, but he rejected them one by one. I thought he was really impatient with women. Now it seems that it's all wrong."
Cheng Yuanjing has not yet married, and it was indeed a bit strange. Cheng Yujin turned her gaze and suddenly asked, "How about you, Compiler Lin? Have you been married?"
Lin Qingyuan shook his head: "No, I'm a person who is still walking on a bachelor path, free and unfettered."
It was too late for Cheng Yuanjing to stop it. Cheng Yujin took the opportunity to ask: "Compiler Lin is the zhuangyuan in the palace exam. You are young and promising, why still has not married yet?"
"My family are still living in Jinan, including my parents. I am living alone in the capital. Without elders to take care of this thing, my marriage naturally never come through."
Cheng Yujin said again, smiling: "So Compiler Lin actually living alone in the capital. But you definitely have several people to take care of you. Otherwise, it will be too lonely."
Lin Qingyuan shook his head again, more firmly this time: "No, there is an ancestral rule at our clan. A man can't be married before he is twenty, and can't accept a concubine unless he is sonless at forty. The book boy take care of my daily matters."
Cheng Yuanjing clearly saw Cheng Yujin's eyes brightened. His expression changed, and he suddenly felt a sense of crisis. He knew that this time Cheng Yujin was truly tempted.
Book boy: A servant boy, usually around the same age as his master, who help taking care of a young man's study, like preparing ink and other study necessity, accompanying to class, etc.