Under Fu Rou’s gaze, for the first time in his life, Sheng Chumu felt like a child that had done something bad and he could not raise his head to meet her eyes.
“Yesterday was my fault. I was the one that brought Fu Tao to the brothel. But we only drank, we did not do anything else. If you are angry, just hit me.” Actually, he had already toned down.
Fu Rou actually raised the feather duster.
Sheng Chumu shrank his neck and closed his eyes to prepare for impact, but nothing happened. He opened his eyes only to see Fu Rou holding the feather duster back in the proper orientation as she lightly brushed over his robe.
Fu Rou said softly, “A feather duster is used to get rid of dust, not to hit people.”
Sheng Chumu grabbed onto the feather duster, holding Fu Rou’s hand in his. Fu Rou was startled and immediately wanted to pull away. However, Sheng Chumu grabbed her hand tightly, not wanting to let go. Fu Ruo lifted her eyes and gazed into Sheng Chumu’s eyes. Her reflection in his eyes was dejected, an image of herself that she has never seen before.
“The brothel is a place where pitiful girls are being humiliated. Why would you go there to drink?” In the end, Fu Rou still wanted to ask.
“The brothel can also be a place for people to have intimate conversations and compose poetry. It is also a place to drink and have casual conversations. Du Ning loves to go to the brothel. Du Ning says that the girls at the brothel are very pitiful, if we don’t visit them, they won’t have any customers and won’t even be able to feed themselves.” Sheng Chumu could only use his friend to help him out of this situation.
“So, you like to go to brothels?” She was extremely afraid that he would say yes.
“No, no! Every time I go, it is to warn those dishonest guys that they are only allowed to drink and not play with the girls.”
Fu Rou laughed, “You are too gullible. Do you really think your warning will stop those perverts?”
Sheng Chumu replied wilfully, “I will try my best. In this world, we need some people to stand up for what is right.”
“You are right.” Fu Rou looked deeply at Sheng Chumu and suddenly put on a bright and cheerful expression. “In this world, we need people to stand up for what is right.”
Sheng Chumu looked into Fu Rou’s eyes and felt like he had entered another galaxy.
Meanwhile, Du Ning did not know that he had been used as a playboy. Du Ning carried an ink slab in his hands as he was about to turn the corner. A figure suddenly dashed out, knocking into him and causing black ink to spill all over his robe. Du Ning did not mind as he reached out to grab the person’s shoulder, helping her to regain her balance.
Although she was normally quiet and calm, Fu Yin was furious at that moment. However, when she saw the black ink all over Du Ning’s robe, she became apologetic.
“Brother Lu, I am sorry.”
Du Ning accepted her apology graciously. “I am alright, but what happened to you?”
Fu Yin bit onto her lip as she fumed, “It is all because of my mother. Third Brother was hit by Second Sister for going to a brothel and my mother took her anger out on me. She said I –” Her mother scolded her brother for being useless and then scolded her for not being able to seduce Sheng Chumu. However, she obviously couldn’t say this. “She scolded me for no reason.”
Du Ning advised, “Your mother must have scolded you because she was worried about your brother and became too anxious. Don’t take it to heart.”
Fu Yin made a small sound of assent. Du Ning smiled and was about to leave.
“Brother Lu, did you prepare the ink to practice calligraphy?” Fu Yin blurted. She needed to find something to do. Du Ning nodded.
“Then can you teach me calligraphy? Brother Chumu had agreed to teach me, but I never seem to be able to find him.” Tsk, the more her mother wants her to get close to Brother Chumu, the more she would avoid him.
“Chumu was going to teach you? He said that?” Du Ning wanted to laugh.
“Yes, Brother Chumu’s words are very beautiful. Even my Second Sister agreed.” As Fu Yin saw how Du Ning looked as he laughed, she thought he was extremely handsome.
“He must have written the four characters, 自强不息 (to strive for self-improvement) right?” Du Ning also knew the backstory. Very unfortunately, he had grown up with that said person and attended the same school.
“Oh, Brother Lu you guessed it. You are amazing.” Fu Yin was intrigued as her eyes widened. “No matter how good he is, he doesn’t teach me. Brother Lu, can you teach me?”
Facing such an ‘open-minded and keen’ adorable face, Du Ning could not bring himself to say no. So, after agreeing to meet in the study room, Du Ning went to change. When Du Ning finally entered the study room, Fu Yin unexpectedly lifted a piece of paper with a string of ugly characters, stoically.
“Brother Lu, did you write this?”
Du Ning answered in a spur of a moment. “Nope, it is Chumu—” He almost bit off his own tongue as he suddenly shut his mouth.
Unfortunately, it was too late. Fu Yin was shocked as she heard every word he said.
* * *
1. Remember that Duke Lu is a title Sheng Chumu's father received and not their last name
Chapter 5.1: Heartbroken
Fu Rou was embroidering in her own residence as she saw a servant let Chumu in. She did not remember when it started but it had become a daily occurrence for Sheng Chumu to be around her.
Sheng Chumu brought a stool over and leaned near her stool. He looked at Fu Rou.
Fu Rou did not mind him as she coincidentally reached the end of her intricate embroidery. Bending over and lowering her head, she gathered her strings on the rack. A strand of luscious black hair fell from behind her ears. Her neck was white as snow and looked extremely slender. From the side, her powdered cheeks looked like a lotus that had emerged from a pond. It caused Sheng Chumu’s heart to palpitate wildly and he could not help but get closer to her. In fact, he got so close that he was about to reach her cheek. Fu Rou turned around as Sheng Chumu quickly shifted his gaze, pretending to examine her needlework.
Fu Rou wanted to laugh. “You are a guy. Are you really interested in my needlework?”
Sheng Chumu immediately replied, “You shouldn’t say that. There are three hundred and sixty trades, with a master in each and every trade. Embroidery is also an intricate study. What is wrong with me wanting to learn?”
“Embroidery is also a study?” Fu Rou nodded, “That makes sense. Do you really want to learn?”
Sheng Chumu was not afraid of anything in this world, except for not having a chance to get close to Fu Rou. “If I greet you as my teacher, would you accept me?”
“I won’t accept you. Your fingertips are too big. They are suited for arrows and swords, but they cannot hold a needle. However, if you wish to listen, I can still tell you about it.” Fu Rou pointed at the picture she had just sewn. “I used the Guang embroidery method for this.”
Sheng Chumu pretended to be interested. “Why is it called the Guang embroidery method? Oh, I know. Because we are in Guangzhou, so you used the Guang embroidery method, right?”
“Nonsense.” His answer made Fu Rou laugh and she continued, “It depends on what kind of picture you want to sew. This picture is of an apricot forest in spring, surrounded by swallows. The entire scene is filled at every corner with lush vegetation. Using the Guang embroidery method, the raking stitch, knot stitch and feather stitch are the main stitches that creates the majestic look.”
Sheng Chumu seemed to be enlightened, “I wouldn’t know if you didn’t tell me. It really looks very majestic.” He took the chance to try and ask for more, “Rou’er, help me sew a picture! Mandarin ducks playing in the water! How about that?”
“Didn’t I just sew a fragrance pouch for you?” Fu Rou groaned.