“Hong’er!” Ji Cheng called out breathlessly as she grabbed the back of Hong’er’s collar.
Hong’er angrily struggled two or three times but couldn’t break free. He turned and pushed Ji Cheng, crying, “You liar!”
Ji Cheng crouched down and hugged Hong’er tightly. “What’s wrong? How did I lie to you?”
Hong’er, shedding tears while trying to act aloof, attempted to push Ji Cheng away again. “You’re just a liar.”
Ji Cheng held Hong’er and patted his back. “Alright, alright, I’m a liar.”
Hong’er was, after all, only a five-year-old child. He found Ji Cheng’s embrace fragrant and comforting. After struggling and pushing a few times, he buried his face in Ji Cheng’s shoulder and began to cry.
“You didn’t come to see me on my mother’s death anniversary. You said you’d come to see me in a few days.” Hong’er cried so hard he began to hiccup.
Ji Cheng silently continued to gently stroke Hong’er’s back. When he stopped crying, she took out a handkerchief and gently wiped his tears. “I’m sorry.”
“I don’t care about your apologies!” Hong’er started pushing Ji Cheng again.
Ji Cheng knew Hong’er’s temperament. Though young, he was somewhat precocious due to losing his mother, and he hated being coddled like a child. Ji Cheng held Hong’er’s hand and said, “Shall I tell you why I didn’t come to see you?”
Hong’er looked as if he didn’t want to hear any excuses, but he stopped struggling.
Ji Cheng led Hong’er to sit on a nearby rock and began, “I didn’t come to see you to avoid suspicion. You know your mother is gone, and your father will eventually remarry. I’m not young anymore, and if I visit Chang Heng Courtyard often, people might misunderstand.”
“Misunderstand what?” Hong’er asked. “Misunderstand that you want to be my mother?” Hong’er lowered his head, thought for a moment, and then looked up at Ji Cheng. “Don’t you want to be my mother?”
Ji Cheng’s face instantly turned red.
“Don’t you find my father suitable?” Hong’er said. He had long known his father would remarry. His grandmother had asked him what kind of stepmother he wanted, and Rui Xue and Yun Zhu had also privately probed him. Hong’er strongly disliked anyone trying to replace his mother, but he also knew he couldn’t prevent it. So if the choice was Ji Cheng, he could reluctantly accept it. “Although my father is a bit dull and stern, I’ll help you.”
Hearing this, Ji Cheng felt a softness in her heart. The innocence unique to children always touches one’s heart the most.
Seeing Ji Cheng not responding, Hong’er became a bit angry again. “Do you think because my father already has me as his legitimate son, I’ll hinder your future sons, so you don’t want to marry my father?”
What a tremendous misunderstanding. Ji Cheng frowned, wondering who had been whispering such things in Hong’er’s ear, clearly trying to sow discord between him and his father’s future wife.
“Of course not. It’s because our families’ social statuses are too different,” Ji Cheng said.
At Hong’er’s age, the concept of social status wasn’t strongly ingrained. He only felt that since Ji Cheng was a relative, there shouldn’t be much difference between them, so he didn’t quite believe Ji Cheng’s words.
“Hong’er, who told you that you would hinder your father’s future wife’s children?” Ji Cheng asked.
Hong’er didn’t understand why Ji Cheng was asking this question.
Ji Cheng sighed. She didn’t want to discuss such matters with a child-like Hong’er, but she felt sorry for him and wanted to tell him everything she knew. “No matter who told you this, you should think about their purpose in saying such things. Once you have this idea in your mind, you’ll probably be dissatisfied with whoever your father marries as his new wife, right?”
“But you’re still young now, and confronting your stepmother too early won’t do you any good, because you’re not strong enough yet.” Ji Cheng didn’t know how to explain the power of a wife’s influence to Hong’er. “If your father marries, it’s best if you can get along well with her. Otherwise, if people spread rumors that you’re unfilial, it could ruin you. People’s hearts are made of flesh. As long as you respect your stepmother, she won’t be bad to you. Your father will also be happy to see you getting along well with your stepmother.”
Hong’er listened in confusion, pouting, “I don’t want any stepmother. If it’s you, that might be okay, and my father surely likes you too.”
Ji Cheng’s face turned red at Hong’er’s innocent words. “You shouldn’t say such things carelessly.”
“I’m not being careless. The sachet you gave me last time, my father likes it. He never wears such things, but he had Rui Xue embroider a pouch just to put your sachet in it,” Hong’er said proudly as if he knew everything.
Unfortunately, joy turned to sorrow as Hong’er finished speaking. Ji Cheng saw Shen Yu walking over from the small path. She quickly tugged on Hong’er’s hand and greeted, “Cousin Yu.”
Ji Cheng wasn’t sure if Shen Yu had heard their previous conversation and looked at him somewhat embarrassedly. However, his expression was characteristically cold as usual, so it was impossible to tell if he had heard or not.
Hong’er also immediately deflated, weakly calling out, “Father.”
Shen Yu said, “The kite you and Ah Yuan made for Hong’er last time hasn’t been flown yet. He’s been waiting for you to take him to fly it.”
Hearing this, Ji Cheng’s gaze slid down to Shen Yu’s waist, where a sachet hung. She wasn’t sure if it really contained the herbs from the “Top Scholar Fragrance” she had made before.
Although she couldn’t be certain about the fragrance, Ji Cheng hadn’t misheard Shen Yu’s words. Was he encouraging her to get closer to Hong’er?
Ji Cheng didn’t dare to look up. If Shen Che wasn’t standing between them, her heart would surely be fluttering with joy at this moment. But she also knew that if she dared to show even a hint of longing for Shen Yu, Shen Che would surely extinguish all possibilities.
For Ji Cheng, marrying Shen Yu was no longer just about marrying into a prestigious family. She wanted to see Shen Che’s expression at that time, but unfortunately, she could only entertain herself with the thought.
Seeing Ji Cheng keeping her head lowered, Shen Yu wasn’t sure if she was shy or hadn’t understood his meaning. He wanted to say something more but didn’t know how to begin. His eyes fell on Ji Cheng’s earlobe, snow-white and adorable like a small jasmine flower.
Shen Yu didn’t dare to look anymore.
Hong’er couldn’t perceive this silent ambiguity between men and women. He happily said, “That’s right, Sister Cheng, I haven’t flown my eagle kite yet. I’ll go get it now.” After speaking, Hong’er looked to Shen Yu for approval.
Shen Yu nodded, “Go ahead.”
Hong’er immediately pulled Ji Cheng along, as he was also afraid of seeing his father. Just as Ji Cheng turned around, a faint fragrance wafted over in the gentle breeze – it was the scent of the “Top Scholar Fragrance.”
Ji Cheng’s heart was filled with mixed emotions. There was a hint of pride, after all, being noticed by someone like Shen Yu was indeed something to be proud of. But more than that was a sense of melancholy, though she wasn’t sure why. Perhaps it was the feeling of having had the chance to obtain something, only to miss it in the end.
If Shen Yu’s affection had come earlier, before the Lantern Festival, how wonderful would that have been?
“Sister Cheng.” Hong’er impatiently tugged at Ji Cheng, who was lagging.
Ji Cheng came back to her senses and held Hong’er’s hand as they walked towards Chang Heng Courtyard. Hong’er treasured that kite dearly and wouldn’t let anyone else touch it; only he could fetch it himself.
“Sister Cheng, the reel for the string was attached by my father. He used to make kites himself when he was young,” Hong’er excitedly explained to Ji Cheng.
The two of them walked and talked, heading straight for the open area of Qing Garden. As they passed by the rose garden, Ji Cheng heard someone talking, and the voice was quite familiar. Peering through the tree branches at the corner, she saw Shen Che and Feng Qing coming this way.
Ji Cheng tugged on Hong’er’s hand to make him stop, not wanting to spoil Shen Che’s good mood. However, just as they stopped, they saw the maid walking behind Feng Qing suddenly reach out and push her for some reason.
Hong’er also saw this through the gaps in the leaves and was about to cry out when he saw Shen Che had already caught Feng Qing from behind. If not for him, Feng Qing’s face would have been ruined, as she was falling towards a rose trellis. Roses have many thorns, and if a young lady’s face were scarred, it would be difficult to arrange a marriage.
Feng Qing, following the force of Shen Che’s pull, fell into his arms. Ji Cheng quickly covered Hong’er’s eyes – such things should not be seen, especially by children.
Ji Cheng pulled Hong’er’s hand and quickly turned to leave, while Hong’er curiously glanced back several times, clearly reluctant to leave.
“Sister Cheng, what were Uncle Shen and Aunt Feng doing just now?” Hong’er asked. “Aunt Feng’s maid is so mean, pushing her like that. I want to tell Aunt Yun and have her drive that maid away.”
Ji Cheng shook her head amusedly, “That maid isn’t bad, she’s extremely loyal. She did it to…” Ji Cheng suddenly stopped, pondering whether she should explain a young lady’s tactics to Hong’er. But then she thought, in a few years Hong’er would be grown up. In some families, young masters as young as twelve or thirteen were already experienced in matters of the flesh. Given Hong’er’s family background, there probably wouldn’t be a shortage of maids and young ladies throwing themselves at him. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to teach him in advance.
She didn’t expect him to understand fully, but just knowing about such tactics would be enough to prevent him from falling for a young girl’s tricks in the future.
“What was it for?” Hong’er pressed.
Ji Cheng turned to look at Hong’er and said frankly, “Your Aunt Feng wants to marry your Uncle Shen, so her maid pushed her, allowing your uncle to play the hero and save her. They both end up happy. Hong’er, if you encounter such a situation in the future, if it’s a girl you like, saving her will make everyone happy. If you don’t like her, don’t pull her up, otherwise she might cling to you.”
“How could she cling to me?” Hong’er understood the first part but couldn’t comprehend how a woman could cling to him.
This stumped Ji Cheng. She chose her words carefully, “She might refuse to leave your room, steal your food, and your things, and even try to sleep in your bed.”
Hong’er frowned. He didn’t mind the first two, but sleeping with him was something he couldn’t tolerate.