Lu Zhenbei sighed. "That's exactly it. Otherwise, your sister-in-law would have adopted Zhi Wan as her own daughter long ago. As for your Xin'er... let's just forget it. She's quite a handful. Your sister-in-law and I don't have the energy to look after another child."
Hearing this, Lu Jingsi felt a spark of anger.
'My older brother clearly looks down on my Xin'er.'
'What happened at the flower-viewing banquet was a matter of the inner court, but he refused to believe his brother hadn't heard about it from his wife.'
'For his brother to call Xin'er a handful was really a veiled criticism that he and Lady Lou hadn't raised their daughter well.'
CLACK!
Lu Zhenbei suddenly placed a stone, instantly reversing the situation on the board. "What are you thinking about?" he chided. "I've captured a whole swath of your pieces."
Lu Jingsi laughed it off. "Wasn't I just saying how I'm craving that wine of yours?"
Lu Zhenbei glanced at the wine on the table, then pointed a finger at him. "You, you... Later, we two brothers will have a few cups."
"I'd like that very much!"
「Qingyun Residence, Lu Zhan's study.」
With a rare day off from official duties, Lu Zhan was sitting leisurely in his chair, reading a book.
Just then, Chen Jiu walked in, carrying an oblong box.
"Princely Heir, the Miss sent you a writing brush."
Lu Zhan glanced at it and said coolly, "Just put it down."
"Yes." Chen Jiu placed the box on the desk.
After he finished his book, Lu Zhan finally opened the box to take a look.
It was a purple-hair brush.
He took out the brush and touched the tip with the pad of his finger.
'It's a fine-quality purple-hair brush. That girl is thoughtful.'
After a moment's thought, he said to Chen Jiu, "Take that Red Silk Inkstone from my storeroom and send it to the Miss."
'He had never accepted gifts from young ladies, but Zhi Wan was different. She was living in the Duke Dingguo Mansion, making her family. So, it wasn't a big deal to accept it.'
'However, he had never given a gift in return to a young lady. After racking his brain, he decided that only the Red Silk Inkstone from his private collection was suitable.'
"Yes," Chen Jiu replied respectfully.
「Yaoguang Pavilion.」
When Zhi Wan opened the box and saw it was a Red Silk Inkstone, she looked at Shuang'er in astonishment. "You're saying my cousin had this sent over?"
"Yes," Shuang'er nodded. "Chen Jiu delivered it himself."
Zhi Wan was speechless.
'She had sent him a writing brush, and he sent back a Red Silk Inkstone in return.'
'This Red Silk Inkstone was incredibly valuable; it could buy countless brushes of the kind she had given Lu Zhan.'
'Everyone said her cousin was a stickler for rules and etiquette, and today she had experienced it firsthand.'
'But this return gift was far too extravagant. If she accepted it, what kind of person would that make her?'
"Take the inkstone back." Zhi Wan sealed the box again and handed it to Shuang'er.
Shuang'er looked troubled. "When Chen Jiu delivered it just now, he said the Princely Heir doesn't like to use this inkstone and that it's just been sitting in the storeroom. The Princely Heir also said it's more suited for a young lady's use."
This completely blocked any chance for Zhi Wan to send the inkstone back.
'Since he'd put it that way, it would be inappropriate for her to return it. She had no choice but to brazenly accept it.'
'But she made up her mind: she would definitely not send Lu Zhan any more gifts in the future.'
'Buying the writing brush for Lu Zhan today had only been an afterthought, anyway.'
'After all, she had already bought gifts for her aunt and uncle, so it felt wrong not to get something for her cousin, Lu Zhan.'
'She just hadn't expected Lu Zhan to send a gift in return.'
'A writing brush for a Red Silk Inkstone... She was the one who had gotten the better end of the deal.'
...
「Evening, Lu Zhan's study.」
Chen Jiu knocked and entered again. "Princely Heir, the Lord has sent someone to invite you to Vermilion Bird Hall for drinks."
Lu Zhan put down his brush. "Do you know who else is at Vermilion Bird Hall?"
"I hear the Second Master is also there," Chen Jiu replied.
Lu Zhan mulled it over for a moment, then said coolly, "Just say I still have official duties to attend to and that I will drink with my father another day."
"Yes," Chen Jiu replied respectfully.
'He knew why the Princely Heir was declining the Lord's invitation.'
'The Princely Heir mainly didn't want to see the Second Master.'
'Ever since the position of Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue had become vacant, the Second Master had been eyeing it. Because the Princely Heir had handled the case of the previous Assistant Minister and even received praise from the Emperor for it, the Second Master assumed the Emperor had revealed his preferred candidate to the Princely Heir. He had tried to sound out the Princely Heir several times.'
'But how could the Emperor's thoughts be so easily revealed?'
'Even if the Princely Heir knew, he would never tell the Second Master.'
'The Princely Heir didn't want to deal with his Second Uncle, so he simply refused the Lord's invitation.'
「Vermilion Bird Hall.」
Lu Jingsi had already glanced toward the door several times.
Just then, Zhao Changping walked in. "Lord, the Princely Heir says he is still busy with official duties and will drink with you another day."
Hearing this, Lu Zhenbei nodded. "I see."
Lu Jingsi's eyes narrowed slightly. 'Busy with official duties?'
'He had made inquiries; the Ministry of Justice wasn't busy these past few days. As he saw it, Lu Zhan clearly knew he was here and was deliberately avoiding him.'
At this thought, Lu Jingsi seethed with anger.
'He was Lu Zhan's own uncle, yet this nephew of his had never shown him any respect.'
'After the position of Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue became vacant, he heard that the Emperor had asked Lu Zhan if he had any suitable candidates to recommend. If only Lu Zhan had put in a good word for him before the Emperor, wouldn't the position have fallen to him?'
'But his "good" nephew hadn't given a single thought to his own uncle.'
The more Lu Jingsi thought about it, the more furious he became.
Lu Zhenbei didn't notice his brother's strange mood. After the attendant withdrew, he said, "Jinzhi is busy with his duties and rarely has any free time. It was my oversight. If he's not coming, then it'll just be the two of us drinking."
Lu Jingsi suppressed his anger, raised his wine cup, and sighed. "Jinzhi is so busy with his duties that it's become incredibly difficult for me, his second uncle, to even see him." With that, he took a sip of wine.
Lu Zhenbei had a helpless expression. "You think you're the only one who can't see him? It's not easy for me, his own father, to see him either. Enough, let's not talk about him. Let's just drink."
After a few cups of wine, Lu Jingsi took a bite of food and remarked with emotion, "Among all the juniors in our Lu Family, only Jinzhi is the most accomplished. At such a young age, he has already secured the position of Minister of the Ministry of Justice. The Emperor has praised him repeatedly in court and holds him in high regard. In my opinion, it won't be long before he surpasses you, big brother."
Lu Zhenbei shot him a glance and said nonchalantly, "If he can surpass me, that's a testament to his own ability."
To Lu Jingsi, this attitude was nothing but showing off.
A shadow of gloom passed over Lu Jingsi's eyes. He sighed, "My Lu Jun is just a bookworm, all he does is bury his head in his studies all day. He should really learn from his older cousin."
"Jun'er is already diligent enough. Don't put so much pressure on him," Lu Zhenbei said with a disapproving frown.
Lu Jingsi sneered inwardly. 'Diligent enough? His older brother probably wishes for the second branch of the family to stagnate, so he can keep them suppressed forever.'
...
For several days in a row, Zhi Wan stayed cooped up in her room, reading books and looking at picture albums.
Every time Shuang'er opened the door to enter, she would see her young mistress's face flushed red and assume she was sick.
"Miss, the sun is lovely outside. Why don't you go for a walk? If you stay in your room reading all the time, you'll strain your eyes," Shuang'er advised.
Zhi Wan had just finished looking through the storybooks and picture albums, so she nodded.
Shuang'er tied a sachet to Zhi Wan's waist, then fetched a cloak and fastened it around her.
Zhi Wan looked down and fiddled with the sachet at her waist.
'Shuang'er had embroidered this sachet.'
An orchid was embroidered with silk thread on the pea-green sachet. It was elegant and refined, and it looked lovely with the autumn-spice-colored dress she was wearing today.
Inside, magnolia petals rustled with the movement of the sachet, releasing a rich, pleasant fragrance.
Zhi Wan loved the scent of magnolias.
Every year at this time, she would have Shuang'er dry some petals to put in sachets for her to carry.
Zhi Wan took a gentle sniff of the floral scent and felt her body and mind relax in delight.
After a lap around the garden, Zhi Wan began to feel tired. She headed into the water pavilion to sit for a while, only to see Lu Zhan standing there, leaning against the railing.