How did things come to be like this?

Zhao Xiu sat bored under the verandah outside the house, picked a leaf casually, tore it into pieces one after another, and then let them disperse with the wind, feeling very bored.

As soon as her request came out, Shang Qiong and Fang Renzhu were like dry firewood encountering a fire, and they hit it off. Shang Qiong had been to the library a lot, and she was already familiar with the situation in the library, so she actually volunteered to be a guide and led Fang Renzhu around the West Pavilion. Not only would he lead people around, but he would also tell Fang Renzhu from time to time what kind of books were stored in which room, which bookshelf had good books, and which books had some wonderful sentences...... It's like a few treasures, and Zhao Xiu can't do this himself.

Fang Shang's two families were originally in-laws, and the children of the two families knew what books they had, especially Shang Qiong and Fang Renzhu, who were both book lovers, and they knew it very well. Therefore, Shang Qiong knew what books Fang Renzhu had read, and which books in the library could arouse her interest, or make up for the shortcomings of her past knowledge, and every introduction was just right, 100% of Fang Renzhu's needs and interests. Fang Renzhu listened for a while, and was already attracted by Shang Qiong, and she didn't even notice that her friend Zhao Xiu had already left the room.

Zhao Xiu felt as if she had become a shining light bulb. Although Shang Qiong and Fang Renzhu are both from a family and do not forget to be polite when they get along, this atmosphere looks like they are dating, or the kind that both parties find very pleasant. When Zhao Xiu looked at it, he felt very uncomfortable, as if he was hindering others. The problem is that Fang Renzhu was brought out by her, she can't leave first, and it's not good to leave people in this courtyard, so that their fiancée is alone and widowed together. So she had to sit bored under the porch and blow the wind.

Blowing and blowing, she suddenly woke up and secretly took a sip of herself. Even if you have to wait for Fang Renzhu, there is no need to sit still, that would be too much of a waste of time! She got up and went to the side room, where there were tables and chairs for copying and pens, ink, paper, and inkstones that had been hired to read and write. The remnants of the Yongle Canon are too precious, and some of them have been damaged for various reasons. In order to ensure the inheritance of this canon, Zhao Wei arranged for some employees to copy all the books in another copy for future readers. As for the original, it is naturally good to not move if you can.

Zhao Xiu had personally participated in the renovation of the library, so he was very clear about the layout of this room, and he turned out the pen and ink very skillfully.

When she finished copying half of the book, she saw Shang Qiong and Fang Renzhu walking into the wing. The latter's cheeks were red, but Shang Qiong's expression was calm, and she said to her: "Someone is calling in the front yard of the middle hall, thinking that the servants of the house are looking for the girl." ”

Zhao Xiu blinked, looked past them and looked at the sky outside, and replied very calmly: "Oh, probably because the sun is about to set, it's time to go home for dinner, they are in a hurry when they see that we haven't gone out for a long time, right?" ”

Fang Renzhu listened, and the flush on his face deepened.

Shang Qiong calmly saluted Zhao Xiu: "The tired girl has taken care of her cousin." Joan is afraid that if outsiders learn that my cousin and I have met here, it will damage my cousin's reputation, so it is better not to show up. When the girl and her cousin leave, Joan will leave on her own. ”

Zhao Xiu glanced at him, thinking that this person was still an understanding person, not a nerd. Looking at Fang Renzhu's situation when she gets along with him, she must be very happy after marriage, right?

Thinking of this, she smiled: "Young Master Shang is polite, Miss Fang Wu is my friend, I will naturally take care of her." Then he finished writing the half sentence that he had not yet copied, and pressed the paperweight against it, so that the wind would not blow the paper and stain the ink, and he got up and went out with them.

When she left the small courtyard gate, Shang Qiong stood by the door, not planning to go out with them. As a parting message, he simply said goodbye to Zhao Xiu, but the other party Renzhu said more, and asked her not to forget the books he mentioned, read more when he had time, and if there is anything he doesn't understand, just ask him. Fang Renzhu blushed and bowed his head in response.

When the two girls returned to the front yard, the subordinates of the Zhao Fang family thought that Zhao Xiu and Fang Renzhu were fascinated by reading, so they forgot the time, but they were not verbose. As for the few servants of the library, they hadn't noticed Shang Qiong coming before, so they wondered if they would be surprised when they went to the West Pavilion to pack up their things later? I hope Shang Qiong can be clever and cover up the past. However, in Zhao Xiu's opinion, even if this matter is exposed, it is not a big problem. She was one of the owners of the library, the top boss of the servants, and the parent of the servants, and she specially ordered: "Don't tell anyone else that we have come." How dare they disobey?

Zhao Xiu and Fang Renzhu happily rode home in the carriage. On the way, Fang Renzhu kept praising Shang Qiong, saying how he learned how to excel, how gentle and considerate he was, how polite he was, how rigorous he was in his studies, and how hard he studied - he was simply perfect!

Zhao Xiu had to interrupt her words with a smile: "Okay, okay, I know that your fiancé is the best in the world, and no one else can compare." I usually hear people say that there is something in the eyes of a lover, but now I finally see an example. ”

Fang Renzhu's face turned red, and she stammered in defense: "No...... No...... I didn't mean that...... I really don't have ......."

Seeing her embarrassment, Zhao Xiu couldn't help but lean on the pillow and laughed loudly, before reassuring her: "Okay, okay, I know you didn't mean it." But Shang Qiong's performance today should be quite satisfactory to you, right? I see that you have similar interests, Qin Se and Ming, and when they become relatives in the future, they will surely be a loving couple. ”

Fang Renzhu's face was about to burn, he lowered his head and pursed his mouth without speaking, but there was shyness in his eyes, but the corners of his mouth couldn't help but show a hint of joy.

Zhao Xiu looked at her like this, and was happy for her in her heart, and made an idea for her: "It's a pity that you will go to Jining in a few days, otherwise I will take you to the library a few more times, so that you can meet more and cultivate your feelings, it will be better." Why didn't I think of it beforehand? ”

Fang Renzhu was startled, and hurriedly pressed her hand: "You are really crazy, it's just a chance encounter today, how can you make a special appointment?" That's too ...... It's ......," she said. What is the difference between this and the behavior of the eldest sister Fang Huizhu? She would never make that mistake.

Zhao Xiu sighed secretly, and didn't embarrass this little lady from a famous scholarly family: "Okay, although I think Shang Qiong's character is trustworthy, and there is nothing wrong with you fiancées talking about books and papers, but since you don't want to, I won't force you." It's just that there is a big age difference between you, and it will be at least a few years before you get married. And you are about to go south to Jining with your mother and brother, maybe you will have to cut off from Shang Qiong in the next few years. Can you really rest assured? He's already old enough to marry a wife, in case he's tempted by someone else......"

Fang Renzhu's face flushed, and he held back for a long time before he said: "I believe in Cousin Shang, he is a gentleman." ”

Zhao Xiu sighed repeatedly: "Forget it, since you have so much confidence in him, why should I be a villain in vain?" I just think that if you haven't seen each other for a few years, if you can communicate with each other, it is also a way to maintain a relationship. You can mention it to your parents, and the letter doesn't talk about personal affairs, but only says that you want to ask Shang Qiong for teaching, so it's okay to come? Didn't you have a great time chatting with him today? He also asked you to ask him if you didn't understand. If you don't meet and don't write letters, how do you ask? ”

Fang Renzhu was slightly moved, Shang Qiong did say such a thing, that maybe...... Is communication okay? If you can often discuss poetry with Shang Qiong, please teach and ask, it is naturally a pleasure. It's just that the guilt of privately teaching and receiving it is pressing on her heart again, what if the Shang family members know about it and think she is an unruly girl?

But if she doesn't correspond with Shang Qiong, how can she ask him if she has questions?

Fang Renzhu was worried, so Zhao Xiu gave her an idea: "Or, you can just clip the letter to him in the letter to me?" I'll pass it on for you? My brother and Shang Qiong often corresponded, and if he were to be the messenger, outsiders would not know. If Shang Qiong has a reply, he can also forward it in this way. Then people will only think that it is a communication between our boudoirs. You can be a little more careful, leave no signature in the letter, or give another nickname, only talk about poetry and books, and not talk about Fengyue, it will be safer. ”

Fang Renzhu blushed and refused: "That's too troublesome...... Brother Ling still has to prepare for the exam. ”

Zhao Xiu snorted: "You can let my brother act after the exam, or let him send his henchmen to deliver the letter, just say that the correspondence between him and Shang Qiong is good." She tilted her head and thought, "Or...... I'll find someone to open two letter boxes, the kind that can be locked, and leave two keys, one for you and one for Shang Qiong, so that no matter who is responsible for handing it over, there is no way to secretly open it and look at it? ”

This time, Fang Renzhu shook her head not as crisply as she did just now, and she could see that she was also a little moved. Zhao Xiu smiled: "You want to go yourself." Of course, if you can convince your family to agree, it will be easier for your relatives to communicate with each other. After saying that, she leaned back on the pillow and closed her eyes to recuperate.

Fang Renzhu looked at her hesitantly, wanting to reach out and pull her arm, but she stretched out halfway and retracted again, her face was full of shame, but she was embarrassed to say anything, and her heart was extremely entangled.

At the same time, Shang Qiong, who was in the West Hall of the Mingzhi Library, was not as entangled as Fang Renzhu. He felt that there were too many surprises between the libraries today. It turned out that the little fiancée was so in tune with him, and her talent was also very outstanding.

Although he had long heard that the five girls of the Fang family were talented women, there were many people who were praised as "talented women" by famous girls in Beijing, and they seemed to be able to read two lines of poetry and understand a little bit of piano, chess, calligraphy and painting. And Fang Renzhu's performance today proves that she lives up to the name of a talented woman. With her talent and learning, I'm afraid that ordinary people can't compare to her. Shang Qiong thought that when she got married in the future, the husband and wife could talk about learning, sing poems and harmonize, and that kind of day was wonderful when she thought about it.

But the thought of waiting at least a few years for such a wonderful day began to sigh again.

"That's not going to work." He thought. It would take at least three years for him to marry such an ideal fiancée back home, which was too long. But his fiancée is still young, and it is impossible to get married early, and he heard that the Fang family plans to go south to Jining after the Midyear Festival, and he can't even meet her in their respective homes.

It's better to communicate. Writing down what you want to say on paper can be more detailed and thoughtful, and it is better to avoid omissions than direct speech. He can also send her the book he likes to read, along with the letter, and then tell her what he thinks after reading the book, and she can also write down her thoughts and write back to him after reading it. They'll be able to discuss it to their heart's content!

Shang Qiong decided to return home and choose a suitable messenger among the servants at home. At this moment, the servants of the library came to the West Pavilion to clean up the traces left by Zhao Xiu and them, and when they saw him standing in the courtyard, they were startled: "Shang Gongzi, why are you here?" Then he nervously asked again, "When did you come here?" ”

Shang Qiong came to her senses and smiled: "I suddenly remembered a sentence in a book, so I ran over, just arrived." ”

The servant breathed a sigh of relief, but he didn't expect Shang Qiong to ask, "I saw the door of the wing room over there open, did anyone come just now?" ”

That servant had already listened to Zhao Xiu's orders, how dare he tell the truth? He replied dryly: "It's the little one who forgot to close the door when he was cleaning before, and the little one will pass." "I ran away.

Shang Qiong listened to his answer, and also calmed down, it seems that the daughter of Jiannan Hou Mansion is a thoughtful person, and the arrangements are very stable. Then he was relieved.