Sang Wan was flustered for no apparent reason, with his gaze on her she sowhat inexplicably felt guilty. She tilted her head and thought hard, then said with a laugh, "I really can’t rember! Were the peonies not blooming at that ti? It hasn’t been long, but they’ve grown so fast!"
"You, you haven’t noticed the peonies in the courtyard these past few days?" Shi Fengju finally asked.
Sang Wan continued to rack her brain, hesitated, shook her head, and smiled, "I’ve been mostly accompanying you upstairs every day, and even if I go downstairs, I just hurry past without paying attention!" She added with a laugh, "If I had seen them earlier, I would’ve cut a couple of branches to freshen up our room!"
Shi Fengju sounded disheartened, "You really didn’t see them? If I hadn’t ntioned it today, would you not have noticed at all? Miss Wan, these peonies were specially sought out to be brought here for your enjoynt a few days ago! I thought you had admired them already, but you haven’t even given them a glance!"
Sang Wan was suddenly stunned. These peonies, were they really brought here specifically for her? Seeing the faint disappointnt on the man before her, a sudden unpleasant feeling surged in Sang Wan’s heart, as if she had done sothing culpably wrong.
"Fengju, these peonies are excellent, I like them very much!" Sang Wan thought for a mont, took the initiative to cling to his arm, and said in a coy, soft voice, "I... I’ve been worried about your injury every day these past few days, and then busy looking over the account books with you, how could I have the mind to notice anything else? If you hadn’t ntioned it, I really wouldn’t have thought about the changes in the courtyard! I’m pleased by your thoughtfulness, how could I not appreciate it? Please, don’t be angry, will you?"
Shi Fengju was just montarily disheartened. Without her saying anything, he quickly realized the reason, and hearing her explanation, he felt even more relieved and delighted. Supporting her shoulder, he smiled, "I just ntioned it offhand, I am too happy to care that you worry about , how could I be mad at you?"
Sang Wan smiled sweetly, "That’s good, I felt that I was too insensitive, not noticing the changes in the whole courtyard!" She laughed at herself for this.
"I’ll accompany you to admire them carefully, and we can cut any branch you like to take back to our room." Shi Fengju said with a smile as he embraced her.
Sang Wan nodded with a smile, not paying attention to whether she was the one being accompanied or doing the accompanying as they admired the peonies in the courtyard for a while. Eventually, she worried that his recently healed foot wouldn’t bear it for long, and soon picked one red and one white branch to be cut down and taken back to their room together.
As she glanced back at the vibrant purples and reds filling the courtyard, a small ripple stirred in Sang Wan’s heart, and she allowed Shi Fengju, who was enthusiastically leading her upstairs.
She hadn’t expected he would do this for her, and yet she had failed to notice! She knew he was genuinely disappointed at that mont, and his slightly hurt expression made her feel a bit guilty, more panicked and self-conscious, so she quickly diverted his attention with other topics.
He could be extrely good to soone, but also the opposite; and whether fortunately or unfortunately, it seed she had personally experienced both extres with him...
A slight daze ca over Sang Wan, leaving her sowhat bewildered for a mont.
"Oh right, Miss Wan, I have sothing else to give to you!" Shi Fengju suddenly slapped his forehead as if he had rembered sothing very important, and hurried Sang Wan upstairs. In the rush, Sang Wan quickly ca back to her senses and said, "Slow down! Be careful not to hurt yourself again!"
"It’s already healed, it’s not so fragile now!" Shi Fengju chuckled, pulling her into the room.
"Miss Wan, co, sit here and wait for !" Shi Fengju led her to the dressing table, seated her on the embroidered stool, then turned around to get sothing.
"What is this, you’re being so secretive!" Sang Wan asked, sowhat puzzled and laughing.
Soon, Shi Fengju brought over a brocade box, about a foot long and two inches wide, painted with vermilion lacquer. Opening the brocade box, he took out a hairpin, tossed the box casually on the dressing table, and handed the hairpin to her, smiling, "Miss Wan, look at this crystal lotus hairpin, do you like it?"
Looking closely, Sang Wan saw the crystal lotus hairpin in her hand was about a foot long, crystal clear without a hint of impurity. It was impossible to see any joints between the body and the head of the hairpin, indicating it was crafted from a single piece of crystal. The chopstick-sized body of the hairpin was ingeniously polished into a hexagonal shape that reflected and refracted light, emitting a dazzling brilliance. The head of the hairpin featured two lotus blooms the size of copper coins, layered petals, delicate and graceful, translucent and lifelike, it seed they would tremble if blown by a breeze. On one of these lotuses rested a crystal butterfly about the size of two fingers, its wings upright, thin and translucent, its delicate and intricate vein patterns clearly visible, and its pair of delicate silver tentacles occasionally quivering as if alive. The lotus stans, made of golden wire, shone yellow through layers of crystal petals, presenting a dreamlike beauty. From each, a chain of crystal, one longer and slightly shorter than the other, likely to hang down to ear level when worn, dangled at the end, each with a gemstone the size of a fingertip, one a translucent jadeite, and the other a pure pigeon-blood ruby, both with glossy, vivid colors that set against the pure white crystal, enhancing their noble and transcendent appearance.
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