CHAPTER 89: CHAPTER 89: FATHER (5)

"First Master!" The maid’s voice trembled, clearly frightened herself: "I am Taohua from Madam Wang’s courtyard. Madam has not eaten all day, and she’s lost her spirit. Seeing her like this unnerves me. I beg you, First Master, please go have a look at her."

"If she’s ill, go get a doctor. Acting this way, what if you scare the masters in the courtyard!" He turned his head towards the attendant behind him and said: "Take her to Manager Lai and have him handle it according to the mansion’s rules!"

"First Master!" Taohua’s face turned pale, and she collapsed on the ground: "First Master, please go and see the Madam!" The attendant beside the First Master wouldn’t let her speak, dragging her away without any mercy.

Xiqiu was full of surprise. This Tong Zheng’an seemed completely different from the man who was just speaking kindly to them in the room; gentle, stern, kind, and domineering!

Realizing that Xiqiu had not left, the First Master turned to another attendant beside him and said: "Send Sixth Miss back."

Xiqiu bowed towards the First Master: "Father, take care!" She paused, her eyes flickered, then said: "Madam Wang has always been in poor health; it’s said that long-term illness makes people emotionally agitated, Father, please don’t take it to heart."

The First Master raised his eyebrows, looking at Xiqiu as if surprised.

Xiqiu curtsied again: "Daughter spoke out of turn!" With that, she and Siliu followed the First Master’s attendant along the path to the West Courtyard.

The First Master watched Xiqiu’s back for a long time, his expression inscrutable.

At Zhiqu Courtyard, Chunyan hurriedly came over at the door, pulled Xiqiu aside, and whispered: "Miss, Fourth Miss is inside... something seems wrong, her face doesn’t look good!"

Xiqiu frowned slightly, nodded and said, "I know, you go ahead with your work!" She personally lifted the curtain and went inside.

Inside the Warm Pavilion, as expected, Tong Xiyan was sitting cross-legged on the kang bed, and when Xiqiu entered, she said nothing, just stared at her directly.

Xiqiu raised her eyebrows and smiled, "What’s wrong, Fourth Sister? Who offended you?"

Tong Xiyan glared at her, her tone contained angry interrogation: "Why didn’t you tell me that Mother took you to Wujin Bo Mansion for your marriage proposal?"

Xiqiu was taken aback. Tong Xiyan didn’t know? She thought that with all the fuss in the mansion, even if Lady didn’t mention it, she should have been aware. How could she be completely clueless!

"Fourth Sister, you never asked me, I thought you already knew." Xiqiu smiled, holding her hand: "Besides, the matter didn’t go through, so there’s no need to bring it up."

"Didn’t go through? Then why did Third Sister say the marriage was confirmed?" She paused, suddenly realizing that Tong Xiyang must have been trying to stir trouble between her and Sixth Sister by saying so. Thinking of this, she said angrily: "Hmph! I thought she was being kind, turns out it was just a play to sow discord."

Regarding the marriage, Xiqiu didn’t want to discuss it further, so she changed the topic, pulling Tong Xiyan with a smile: "Not angry anymore? I’m curious, how come you remained unaware of such a big event? What have you been busy with lately?"

It was a casual question, but unexpectedly Tong Xiyan’s cheeks turned red. She lowered her face, pondered for a while, and suddenly took out a pocket. Seeing Xiqiu’s puzzled expression, she took a letter from the pocket and handed it to Xiqiu, whispering: "See for yourself."

Xiqiu raised her eyebrows, opened the letter as instructed, and after reading the content, her face turned pale, full of disbelief: "Who wrote this?" The letter was unsigned, but the content was brazenly a correspondence of affection between a man and a woman.

Tong Xiyan cherished it, placed it back into the envelope, and packed it into the pocket before looking up at Xiqiu: "You must keep this secret for me. No one else can know!"

Xiqiu nodded: "Let’s not talk about this first. Tell me, who on earth wrote this letter to you."

Tong Xiyan hesitated for a while, her voice as low as a mosquito’s hum: "It’s Young Master Jiang!"

"Young Master Jiang?" Xiqiu quickly sorted through the people she knew in her mind, suddenly remembering something Tong Shen Zhi had mentioned during a meal: "Could it be that Young Master Jiang who teaches at the private school?"

Tong Xiyan shyly nodded.

Xiqiu couldn’t believe it and asked: "How did you two meet?" Tong Xiyan didn’t look at Xiqiu’s expression at all, as if lost in some sweet memory, slowly said: "It was that day when none of you were in the mansion. I was bored, so I thought of wandering in the outer courtyard and happened to go to Cousin’s place. Remembering that he had many poetry collections... I intruded in unexpectedly and didn’t notice there was a guest inside. Without looking carefully, I just took a poetry collection and came back."

"The next day, when I went to return the book, I saw him again in Cousin’s courtyard. I dropped the book, and he picked it up for me... He even chatted with me briefly, and knowing that I liked Li Zhenqing’s poetry, he specially found her original work for me."

Holding her forehead, Xiqiu couldn’t believe Tong Xiyan could meet a man and exchange letters of love right under Lady’s nose. What would happen if Lady found out? She didn’t dare to imagine.

But judging from Tong Xiyan’s expression, she clearly had feelings for Jiang Shilin through their ongoing correspondence. Xiqiu firmly held Tong Xiyan’s shoulders and earnestly asked: "Isn’t Young Master Jiang of a certain age by now? Hasn’t he married yet?" If she remembered correctly, Jiang Shilin had entered Hanlin a year earlier than Tong Shen Zhi.

"No!" Tong Xiyan shook her head confidently: "I had Nanny Duan inquire about him. It’s said he kept mourning like Eldest Brother for three years. Just as he was about to marry, the woman fell gravely ill and soon died. He mourned for three more years for his yet-to-wed bride, later joined the government, faced career setbacks, and till now, he remains unmarried."

An able, bold, progressive older youth.

Xiqiu was left speechless by this unexpected romance. According to her principles, she would think such a man, having only met a young lady twice, disregards her reputation by writing such affectionate letters, was exceedingly frivolous. But Tong Xiyan obviously didn’t think so. She was filled with poetry and debate, and Jiang Shilin was known to be a talented and refined scholar, probably was admired even before meeting him. With the gentleman’s proactive gestures, she naturally took the bait.

"Sixth Sister! Are you thinking he’s deceiving me?" Tong Xiyan tilted against the large pillow, resting her head on Xiqiu’s shoulder, her tone unconcealedly sweet.

Xiqiu nodded without denial.

"I can understand you thinking that way. He is Young Master Jiang, the third-ranked scholar, and even out of the officialdom, he is well-regarded in the Capital. Though he holds no official position, he is already accomplished, but what about me? Merely a young miss from a fifth-rank official’s home, what could he deceive me for? Young ladies like me are countless in the Capital. If he were truly such a person, why would he choose me!" She sat up seriously, looking at Xiqiu as if trying to persuade her, hoping she would also have faith in her feelings: "Think about it, he and Second Master hold different political views, it’s publicly known, yet he is very close to Eldest Brother and Cousin. This shows he separates the personal and the official. We only exchange letters and he never spoke disrespectfully in them, showing his upright character, definitely not a frivolous flirt!"