Ink Burns

Chapter 22: Initial Control (Part )

Duan suddenly realized: "It's because of these two sects!"

He explained: "It's not a big deal! There's trouble at home. Not only the girls' painting classes, but also the music and string music classes have stopped..."

After vaguely mentioning the fact that her family was restless, she emphasized the latter part: "We let Miss Zhou go home because she lied to us at the beginning, saying that she had not yet arranged a marriage. You know, after an arranged marriage, a girl's mind becomes restless and impetuous after she has opened her heart to love! Now that we have found out that she has a lover at home, we gave her money and asked her to go back!"

Duan thought that if she talked it over nicely, Miss He would feel at ease.

Who would have thought that as soon as she said the word "conceal", He Shanyue trembled visibly.

Duan was stunned for a moment, then paused, a thought suddenly popped up in her mind - could it be that Miss He is not innocent either?
Now he is feeling sympathy for his own kind. Seeing that Miss Zhou was being driven back, he is rushing to save himself before anything happens?

Duan glanced at He Shanyue.

The girl's drooping eyelashes trembled slightly. She sat on the edge of a chair, folded her hands on the hem of her skirt, and the tips of her slender index fingers trembled again and again. As if someone had seen through her, she finally hid her trembling hands and clenched her five fingers into a fist.

Visible guilt.

Duan suddenly realized what was going on. She said a few insignificant words to comfort him, and told He Shanyue to go back first. She turned around and looked for Huangqi: "…Tell the people who went to Suzhou Prefecture to investigate to come back immediately!"

Duan stood up anxiously and walked back and forth: "This girl must be hiding a big secret! Tell them to come back quickly, and we must talk to them carefully!"

On the second night, when the night fell and the stars flowed like water, forming a dazzling path, the east wing of the back room was suddenly pushed open, and several sturdy old women rushed in.

Miss Wang Er tried to stop them: "What are you doing?"

Before he could finish his words, he was grabbed and thrown to the ground.

He Shanyue held onto the corner of the Eight Immortals Table with one hand, and stood up, looking extremely anxious: "What is this, what is this for?"

The two maids held down Miss Wang Er on either side, and the one in the lead said fiercely, "Search!"

The other two women began to rummage through the boxes and cabinets, pulling out all the drawers, wooden cabinets, and wooden drawers. They threw all the miscellaneous clothes, needles and thread, and canvasses onto the floor. Finally, they found what they really wanted in the gap between the drawers.

The leading woman proudly picked up a half-finished landscape painting. Her hands were shaking, and the edges and corners of the rice paper were also drooping. "Miss He, will you come with me?"

He Shanyue's face turned pale: "This... This is just... my daily practice..."

The old woman smiled and said, "Save these words for the master." She turned aside and said, "Miss He is a delicate scholar. I have strong hands and I will bend your arm. Don't cry out in pain."

He Shanyue's face turned pale immediately.

Several old women pushed He Shanyue around the hanging flower gate and took a small path to the master's outer courtyard.

The lights were on in the outer courtyard, and in the inner room a middle-aged man with a beard sat at the head of the table. To his lower left was a young man wearing a royal blue Chinese character "福" (meaning "blessing") inscribed on his robe. Opposite the young man sat Lady Duan.

Like a three-court trial.

He Shanyue raised her eyes and quickly swept her gaze across the face of the young man on the lower left - she had to put her hands into her sleeve pockets, exerting great force, digging her nails into the flesh. The sharp pain on her palms could keep her expression normal and stop her from rushing forward to cut this man into pieces!
She finally saw them.

It’s been eight years, long time no see.

Oh no.

No.

Three months ago, she saw the face she had been longing for for eight years in a studio in Songjiang Prefecture.

That night!

The night of the Battle Royale!
The man standing on the bicycle frame, serving wine respectfully!
The man who spoke fluent Songjiang dialect and was as humble as a dog in front of those "noble people"!

She had been looking for him for eight years!

Her household registration and name card were fake, so she couldn't enter the capital city with strict discipline!

She can only start looking from this dog!
She had been looking for him for eight years! Eight years!

Day and night! Every moment! All the time! She was looking forward to finding them, killing them, and pouring their flesh and blood on Fushou Mountain, paying blood debt with blood, exchanging flesh for flesh, using their pain a thousand times greater to commemorate her mother who was burned to ashes!
She hid in Suzhou Prefecture, painting, looking at paintings, and appraising paintings for the Fifth Master without sleep... As long as it was painting and as long as she could make money, she would dare to take any job!

After earning money, she would take it to Songjiang Prefecture, searching alley after alley, squatting on every street, and walking through every county...

She could eat steamed buns and sit on the snowy roadside during the night of the Lantern Festival in the first month of the lunar year, staring intently at the passers-by in the lively lantern market in Songjiang Prefecture, distinguishing each face one by one;
She could be like a beggar, standing under the blazing sun in the dog days of summer, just to see the face of the person coming out of the Songjiang Mansion;

She doesn't want anything, nothing at all!

Just find them.

Just find them!

They are the medicine that keeps her alive!

It was the strength she had to spit out a mouthful of blood and drink a mouthful of water when she was about to die!
She endured all the thoughts of red-hot charcoal entering her mouth and burning her tongue to death!
They were her first half of life, her second half of life, and the poison that gnawed at her for all eternity.

When she looked back and saw the man behind the Xiangfei bamboo curtain in the studio, her heart skipped a beat.

The man had a tall stature, a handsome face, and dark eyebrows. He stood upright in front of the counter of the studio, talking to the shopkeeper in a warm and gentle voice.

In an instant, all the blood in her body froze.

"Who is he, the man leaning against the counter and talking to Shopkeeper Li?" she asked without blinking her eyes.

The painter who was familiar with her looked in the direction she was looking and said with a smile, "Oh, him? The eldest son of the Cheng family, a medicinal herb merchant in Songjiang Prefecture, is a very good man. The Cheng family is also a very kind family. They provide free medical treatment every month and are a well-known family of good deeds in the city."

She turned her head in disbelief.

A good person?
The door lintel of kindness?
A good man, a dog that serves wine; a good man, a dog that serves wine; a man, a dog
Two faces alternately rotated before her eyes.
She stood there for a long time, until the man waved goodbye with a smile and left the studio.

"He seems to be very familiar with the shopkeeper."

She spoke in a casual manner.

The voice was hoarse as if it had been burned by fire.

The painter thought for a moment and said, "Recently, the Cheng family has been looking for people in various studios. I heard that they want to hire a female teacher to teach painting. The tuition fee is very high—"

The painter laughed and said, "If I were a woman, I would go there."

The painter lowered his head and drew a few strokes, as if remembering something: "Hey! You're quite suitable!"

Yes.

No one would be more suitable than her.

She stared at the direction where the man had already left: "Master Cheng."

Hello, the eldest master of the Cheng family.

Under the starry night sky, in the study outside the Cheng family's hanging flower door, during the three-judge trial, He Shanyue shrugged his shoulders, his shoulders trembling, as if he was sobbing.

But no one knew that He Shanyue lowered his head, and a smile slowly appeared on the corner of his mouth hidden in the shadows.

Hello, the eldest master of the Cheng family.

Long time no see, hope you are well.

　Not finished yet! Not finished yet! There are updates! Please refresh and check!!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)