Chongfei Manual

Chapter: 039.2 out of 171

Wei Chang Mi was now seven or eight months old. This was the age when a child would start crawling everywhere. Qin-shi was worried that he would bump or knock over something and hurt himself. So, she ordered the servants to wrap the edges of the tables and the chairs in her house with cotton cloths.

Bai Lan arrived at the entrance to the Qin-shi‘s main room and saw that Wei Luo was holding an infant that was happily humming as he gnawed on her face.

Wei Luo’s face was covered in saliva from his attempts at nibbling, but she didn’t push away the infant.

Instead she blew her out her cheeks and said, ” You’re not allowed to bite me!”

Wei Luo glared at him. She could obviously easily push him away, but she didn’t.

Next to her, Qin-shi laughed as she said, “Mi-er likes you. If it were someone else, he wouldn’t be so happily chewing. Ah Luo, be good and don’t avoid him out of annoyance.”

Wei Luo stood up from the ironwood couch and took the handkerchief that Jin Lu handed her to wipe her face, “Fourth aunt, you doesn’t understand. Whenever I leave here to go back to my room, I always have to spend a long time bathing to be clean from his saliva and the smell of milk.”

Hearing this, Qin-shi burst out laughing and nodded as she saw Wei Luo’s furrowed eyebrows, then she said her sincere and earnest wishes, “Once Mi-er is grown up, you’ll understand that his affection for you is a positive thing.”

Wei Luo pursed her lips and didn’t say anything. She didn’t need to wait until Wei Chang Mi grew up to understand. The closer that Wei Chang Mi was with them, the more hopeless Du-shi and Wei Zheng felt. It wasn’t that terrible to be hopeless. But, if you kept giving a person hope and then taking away that hope, then the despair she felt each time would be truly terrible.

Wasn’t that the situation that Du-shi was currently experiencing? After she had cried and begged for a long time, Wei Kun allowed her to see Wei Chang Mi every two months. Wei Chang Mi wasn’t close to her. Every time they met, he would behave as if she were a stranger. The moment she held him, he would cry to the point that Du-shi didn’t know what to do. Her heart would feel as if a knife was twisting her heart.

However, no one felt any compassion for her. She was reaping what she had sowed.

The servant girls walked to the couch and reported, “Fourth madam and fourth miss, Bai Lan is here.”

Hearing her words, Qin-shi and Wei Luo looked towards the doorway. Bai Lan was nervously standing right outside the door.

She didn’t know what to do with her hands, so she followed the servants girls’ actions and also saluted, “Greetings fourth madam and fourth miss…”

Qin-shi was very friendly and waved for her to come closer. After she had carefully looked at her, “Were you the one who made the silks flowers for fifth branch?”

Bai Lan nodded and looked at the bottom of the couch. She didn’t dare to look at her directly. “To answer madam, it was I.”

Qin-shi praised her, “I saw them. The silk flowers were very pretty. Since Ah Luo has a preference for your silk flowers, you must have an exceptional point.”

Qin-shi looked at the servant girls in the room, “My house has twelve servant girls. I want to buy two silk flowers for every girl. In the future, deliver these flowers along with the ones you sell Ah Luo. The price will be the same as fifth branch’s and they must be made beauitfully.”

Bai Lan was unable to contain her joy and hurried to kneel and press her forehead to the ground, “Fourth madam, be assured…”

Hearing that Qin-shi was going to give them gifts, the servant girls in the room kneeled down to express their thanks. For a time, the room was filled with the sounds of “Thank you madam.”

With this new income from Duke Ying’s residence, Bai Lan didn’t need to go the market to sell silk flowers anymore. Every half month, she would timely come to Duke Ying’s residence and earn enough to support her family.

——–

Ever since Ah Luo stopped going to the palace to study, she had lessons with Teacher Xue and Han-shi.

Ah Luo liked to fiddle with the things in Han-shi‘s room and would occasionally ask Han-shi for a few things to use in her own room. She loved beauty and knew that she was born good-looking, but she wasn’t satisfied and wanted to look even better.

One time, she saw a porcelain bottle on Han-shi’s dressing table and held it up to ask, “Aunty Han, what is this?”

Han-shi’s face showed a bit of her uneasiness as she took the bottle from her and put it back on her dressing table, “You’re still young. This thing isn’t suitable for you. Aunty Han will give you something else.”

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Wei Luo was even more curious, “Why isn’t it suitable?”

Han-shi coughed once and was determined to not tell her.

Later on, Ah Luo found out that it was used on a woman’s private parts to… not only would it make that part more fragrant, it would also tighten that area. No wonder Han-shi looked so awkward at that time.

Fine, her body was still young, so it truly wasn’t suitable to use this item. After she was a bit more grown up, she would definitely asked Han-shi for this item! What girl wouldn’t want to smell fragrant?

——–

The days had become colder once again. There was a heavy snowfall today. Ah Luo was sitting outside on Duke Ying’s residence’s red tiles looking at the charming and gentle scenery.

When she woke up the next day, the courtyard was covered in a layer of snow. There were a few servant girls sweeping the snow away outside. Wei Luo was wearing a fox fur cloak.

She held her hand stove as she asked, “Has Bai Lan not come here to deliver silk flowers this month yet?”

Jin Lu brought over a cup of rose water and nodded as she said, “It’s already the seventh day of this month. Normally, she would come on the first day. She’s probably delayed because something is wrong at home.”

Trouble at home… What could it be other than Lin Huilian’s deceased son?

Could it be that Bai Lan was now fifteen years old and had been forced to marry Lin Huilian’s son?

The more Wei Luo thought about this, the more she thought this was possible. She wanted to send someone to ask about the situation in Longsho village, but that village was too far away and she didn’t have a good reason. Wei Luo could only impatiently wait another half a month. Ban Lan still didn’t come.

The snow had just fallen today. Duke Ying’s residence was a vast expanse of whiteness. The tree branches that were covered in sparkling, white frost looked like jade. She had heard from the courtyard’s servants that Prince Jing had come to visit Duke Ying today. Currently, the two of them were in the front courtyard discussing something.

After Wei Luo heard this news, she repeatedly considered something before standing up to go the front courtyard.

She didn’t have anyone else she could ask help from at the moment. Zhao Jie knew her nature and she wasn’t afraid of him knowing more. As long as she hid the matter of her rebirth, she had a reasonable explanation for everything else.

She arrived outside the chess room. The chestnut wood doors were tightly closed. The people inside were probably still talking. She didn’t enter and stood outside to silently wait. Jin Lu repeatedly asked her to go back out of worry that she would get cold, but Wei Luo firmly shook her head.

After the time it would take an incense to burn, there was finally movement inside the room.

Zhao Jie opened the door and saw a young girl standing near the door. She was wearing cashmere clothing that had a decorative design of crimson Japanese roses. The young girl turned around to see that he had come outside and revealed a pleasantly surprised smile. She had been standing outside for too long. Her small face had paled to the point that it was almost transparent, only her nose was red.

She opened her soft lips to call out, “Big brother!”

Zhao Jie hadn’t seen her in a long time. He had been very busy lately and didn’t even have the free time to listen to Yang Hao’s reports about her. She had grown a little taller and her facial features had become more beautiful. When he walked towards her, there was a faint sweet smell. She was only eight, but her beauty was almost too shocking.

Zhao Jie smiled and reached out to stroke her hair, “Were you waiting for me?”

Ah Luo raised her head and grabbed the hand that had been placed on her head. On his wrist, there was a trace of an uneven bite mark. By now, it had become faint, but it was still possible to feel the mark.

Her eyes showed her quick-wittedness and her smile showed her two dimples, “Big brother, could you go with me to somewhere?”

The author has something to say:

Zhao Jie comes out ~ greeted with flowers and applause ~

Zhao Jie: Wifey has invited me. Should I accept? o(*////▽////*)o

(T/N: Has anyone read “Mei Gongqing”? In all Chinese novels, the MC is flawlessly beautiful and prettier than every other girl, but there isn’t any negative consequence. I liked how in “Mei Gongqing”, the root of the MC’s troubles is her incredible beauty and how she even considers scarring her face so that she could be free from her overly persistent suitors and have her desired peaceful life.)