nycdaug Chapter 138 General's Mansion 9
Chapter 138 General's Mansion 9
Jing Zhuo asked Zhou Leping again: "Will you always be loyal to Daliang in the future?"
Zhou Leping felt that Jing Zhuo was a bit strange today: "I am from Daliang!"
Jing Zhuo added: "Just because you are from Daliang, do you have to remain loyal to this royal family? Even if the current king is incompetent and the court is corrupt and extravagant, do you have to support him regardless of everything?"
Zhou Leping shook his head and for the first time wanted to share his thoughts with others.
"My Zhou family is what it is today not because of others, but because of my parents. I am called Young Master by others because of my father's hard work, so I am not loyal to the current emperor. But I am loyal to my father. I will not betray his beliefs, nor will I conflict with his goals. Since what he wants most is to enter the Imperial Ancestral Temple, as his son, I should naturally help him."
After hearing Zhou Leping's words, Jing Zhuo fell silent. He did not comment, silently tidied up everything in front of him, and silently led Zhou Leping to dinner. Even Master Zhou could not see through this man's true thoughts.
He won't report me. Zhou Leping felt that Jing Zhuo's thoughts had become increasingly difficult to guess over the years.
In the afternoon, Jing Zhuo went to see his master again. He heard that he fell off the bed and hit his face after getting drunk. Zhou Leping originally planned to go and see him, but was stopped by Jing Zhuo: "My master has a bad temper after drinking. You, a young master, should not go to him to cause trouble."
Zhou Leping, who was disliked, felt strange for some reason. He planned to talk to his cousin! But he didn't expect that his cousin was out of the house.
"It's really strange that my cousin is willing to go out. Who is so capable that he can ask my cousin out?"
The little girl in Song Shuyi's courtyard was dumbfounded: "Ah, the young lady said she was going to the cloth shop to choose some cloth, but I didn't hear anyone made an appointment."
What nonsense! The cloth shop was my mother's dowry. Every month, the newest cloth would be sent to the mansion for selection. The cloth piled up in the warehouse was enough for her to be busy for several years. Was it really necessary for her to go out specially?
Being so secretive, there must be someone who invited her. And given how secretive it is, the person who invited her is most likely a man.
I just don't know whose young man he is to catch the eye of his sister and be so careful that he even hides it from his younger brother.
But the more his cousin concealed the truth, the more curious Zhou Leping became: "I want to go and see whose handsome young man has this ability."
The little girl was confused: "White-faced young man? Miss doesn't like to eat sugar figures, did the young master guess wrong?"
Zhou Leping smiled without saying anything, took the pastries on the table, and walked away.
So, in the next few days, Zhou Leping paid close attention to his sister Song Shuyi's movements. However, because he still had schoolwork to complete, he missed every opportunity and regretfully missed it.
Zhou Leping was very upset about this. He had finally waited for the school to be closed, and Song Shuyi was also going out. These two happy events happened at the same time. Zhou Leping led Jing Zhuo on the road.
With a mouthful of snacks he had just bought from the roadside, Zhou Leping stared at the cloth shop in the distance without blinking: "Ah Jing, today's opportunity is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, we must keep an eye on it. We must find out who the pretty boy who has seduced my sister is."
Jing Zhuo thought he was overthinking, so he took out a handkerchief from his bosom and wiped the stains on Zhou Leping's face clean: "The young lady came to the cloth shop as soon as she left the house. Maybe she really wanted to choose cloth. After all, it has been so long, and no man has been seen entering."
Zhou Leping disagreed: "You still don't understand her. In the past, my sister would buy cloth to make clothes and send them to us. But what about these few times? For several months in a row, she always bought smoky blue, and we don't know who is wearing them."
Jing Zhuo thought it made sense: "You prefer blue, but the young lady has been buying cyan these few times, which is indeed suspicious."
"Yeah, there haven't been any smoky blue clothes in our house recently."
After waiting for a long time, Song Shuyi finally came out. Zhou Leping saw the cloth in the maid's hand and danced with excitement: "Smoky blue, smoky blue again! Does that pretty boy have thorns on his body? How can he wear so many clothes!"
Jing Zhuo pulled Zhou Leping back, fearing that they would be discovered by the young lady.
After coming out of the cloth shop, Song Shuyi did not go directly back to the Liang Mansion. Instead, she went around and around and entered a restaurant in the city.
The carriage chose to go through the alleys, obviously avoiding pedestrians.
Zhou Leping looked at his cousin who entered the restaurant with a bag, narrowed his eyes, and was about to rush in. But Jing Zhuo grabbed him and said, "This restaurant is not cheap. You have to pay before entering. Do you have any money?"
Zhou Leping touched his empty purse. Hey, no money.
I spent all my pocket money this month on snacks.
After realizing that the funding chain was broken, Zhou Leping's eyes slowly moved to Jing Zhuo. That look, like a hook, tickled Jing Zhuo and made him want to take off the purse and hand it over. He did so.
Zhou Leping received the purse with a look of joy, but when two copper coins rolled out of the purse, Zhou Leping was stunned: "What did you buy? There are only two left."
Jing Zhuo's gaze slowly moved from Zhou Leping's face to his bulging arms, and what he wanted to say was self-evident.
Zhou Leping looked at the sugar-roasted chestnuts, candied fruit, melon seeds, and strange-tasting snacks in his arms. He was silent for a moment...
It's so sad that he, the only son of the Zhou family, has ended up in such a miserable state. He even has to borrow money to go to a restaurant!
Jing Zhuo took back the empty purse and watched Zhou Leping put the remaining two copper coins into his arms: "What should we do now? We can't get in."
Zhou Leping tucked the snacks in his arms carefully to make sure none of them would fall out, then clapped his hands: "Have you forgotten? Our family is a family of military commanders!"
Jing Zhuo tilted his head: "So what, you want to perform for money?"
"What kind of art are you selling? Let's get in."
"Climb over the wall?"
Zhou Leping had already clung to the outer wall of the restaurant with his hands and feet, and while climbing up, he cursed the damn pretty boy. He actually chose such a place that cost money, forcing me to climb over the wall.
Climbing up little by little, Zhou Leping suddenly saw the figure of his classmate and enemy Gu Er through an open window. He frowned immediately. Why is this guy here? Could it be that his cousin had an appointment with him?
He slowly moved towards the open window. He was so skilled that he slipped in with a flash. This frightened Gu Er, who was lying on the wall and didn't know what to do.
"Zhou Leping, what are you doing!"
Zhou Leping scanned the room and was relieved when he didn't see his cousin. He called Jing Zhuo in and then looked at Gu Er on the ground: "What are you doing lying on the wall in a sneaky way? Are you eavesdropping on the conversation next door?"
Gu Er was speechless. "This is the private room I opened. What I want to do is none of your business. And you're still talking about sneaking around. How dare you say that when you climbed over the wall to get in?"