Re-embroidering life

Ji Zimo hurried towards Ji Zixuan's study.

Ji Zixuan was concentrating on looking at an ink painting under the lamp. Unexpectedly, Ji Zimo suddenly pushed the door open and came in. Ji Zixuan hurriedly covered the painting with his body, with a trace of panic on his face.

"You are usually a very steady person, why are you so impulsive today!" Ji Zixuan scolded his brother.

Ji Zimo bowed his head and clasped his hands. He caught a glimpse of a corner of the ink painting out of the corner of his eye and felt inexplicably familiar with it.

"You seldom come to my study on your own initiative. Tell me, what's the matter?" Ji Zixuan rolled up the painting as if unintentionally, sat behind the desk, his face calm.

Ji Zimo retracted his gaze, "Brother, I want to know, is there any way to make the Ji family recover as soon as possible?"

Ji Zixuan paused while stroking his short beard: "What happened?"

After being dismissed from office for so many years, this is the first time I heard my younger brother ask me this question. In the past, perhaps because we were afraid of hurting my self-esteem, the whole family did not mention it at all. According to the experience in the past year, most of the things that can make my younger brother's temperament change drastically are related to his sister-in-law. I didn't expect that the talented man I cultivated with my own hands would become a slave to his wife and daughter.

Ji Zixuan thought so, and his face showed a bit of displeasure: "I have my own ideas about official affairs. You just need to study hard. You will be out of the game in a few months."

Ji Zimo bowed and said yes, then asked, "Do you know who the mysterious person who offered 10,000 taels of silver is, big brother?"

Ji Zixuan knew that he couldn't fool Ji Zimo today, so he glanced at him and asked, "What's your guess?"

Ji Zimo shook his head honestly: "No, I don't even know why my elder brother was dismissed from office and his property was confiscated. But I know that no one would take out 10,000 taels for no reason. What did he want? It shouldn't be for me, I haven't achieved fame yet, it's for my elder brother."

Ji Zixuan didn't say anything, as if he agreed. Ji Zimo continued, "My brother used to regard fame and fortune as dirt, but now he realizes that he was too naive. Without power, he can't even protect his wife and children. If I can help the Ji family recover, my brother is willing to accept the responsibility."

Ji Zixuan looked at the young man in front of him with complicated eyes. He had always protected him very well. No matter how strong the wind and rain were outside, he would try his best to prevent him from being attacked. Even if he was dismissed from office and his property was confiscated, he could still let him paint safely. Now, his younger brother took the initiative to offer to work for the family for the first time. He should have felt relieved, but when he thought that his younger brother's starting point was not for the future of the family, and it was probably because of his wife, he felt a little uncomfortable.

"Let's get the top prize first. There should be some progress in reinstatement, so be patient. What's the matter? Has your wife been bullied?" Ji Zixuan raised his eyebrows.

"Yes," Ji Zimo's eyes were cold, "It turns out that the Ji family has fallen into poverty, and even the family of a concubine in the prefect's family dares to provoke them."

Ji Zixuan didn't ask what the matter was. He waved his hand impatiently and said, "As a man, you should have a broader vision. The concubine's family is not worth your anger. If you want to fight, just overthrow the prefect. If the skin is gone, where will the hair be attached?"

As he spoke, a sense of arrogance poured out, and no one could have imagined that such words would come from the mouth of a deposed official.

Ji Zimo felt more and more that there was a lot of mystery surrounding his elder brother.

In the middle of the night, Ji Zimo suddenly woke up from his dream. He finally remembered the ink painting that he had caught a glimpse of in his elder brother's study. He had seen it before, on the silk handkerchief that Qinghua gave to Chen Jinlan. It was the painting "Snow on the River"!

For some reason, his heart was pounding. The last time he saw the handkerchief, he felt it was strangely familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen it. Now comparing the two, the brushstrokes and the use of ink were all his elder brother's habits. He had followed his elder brother to learn music, chess, calligraphy and painting since he was a child. His elder brother was his enlightenment teacher, so how could he not recognize it.

Big brother and Shen Xiu Niang… He suddenly felt it was ridiculous. One was born in Jiangxia, and the other grew up in Jiangnan. What connection could there be between these two people? Ink painting emphasizes artistic conception, not realism, so it is not surprising that they are similar. He cursed himself for being seriously ill, suppressed his chaotic thoughts, turned over, and forced himself to sleep. But his head kept buzzing, and he tossed and turned until dawn before he could barely fall asleep.

The next day, Shui Qinghua was startled to see Ji Zimo with dark circles under his eyes, listlessly appearing in front of her. She stroked his swollen eyes and asked with concern, "Did you stay up late to study again last night? Studying is important, but you also have to take care of your body."

Ji Zimo did not refute, but grabbed his wife's hand and asked, "Qinghua, why did Shen Xiuniang, who taught you embroidery, come all the way from Jiangnan to Jiangxia?"

Shui Qinghua shook her head: "I don't know either." She told Ji Zimo the story that Shen Xin had told her. "I originally thought that she was doing this for her lover from her youth, but in the seven years that I've known her, I've never seen her contact anyone else, so I don't think that's the reason."

Ji Zimo's breathing quickened. "Do you know where her lover is from?"

Shui Qinghua tried to recall for a long while, but still shook her head, "I don't know, Sister Shen and the others don't know either, the Shen family doesn't allow us to talk about this matter."

Ji Zimo's heart was like a boiling pot of porridge. He and his elder brother were very different in age. When his elder brother was a young man, he was not yet born. But as far as he could remember, he had never heard that his elder brother had been to Jiangnan. When Shen Xiu Niang came to Jiangxia, he was already in his teens and a little adult. If a strange woman came to see his elder brother, he would not be unaware. He was sure that he had never seen Shen Xiu Niang. The first time he heard about this person was from his wife, who had passed away at that time.

After thinking it over, he still felt that he was overthinking.

"Why are you suddenly asking about Shen Xiu Niang?" Shui Qinghua asked puzzledly.

"Nothing. I saw a painting of "Snow on the River" at my elder brother's place yesterday, and somehow it reminded me of your handkerchief."

Shui Qinghua didn't take it to heart: "So that's how it is, the paintings are similar. It was only after I met Sister Shen that I realized that the painting "Snow on the River" contained Shen Xiu Niang's name."

The speaker was unintentional, but the listener was interested. Ji Zimo asked, "What's her name?"

"Shen Xue."

"Xue, Jiang Xue." Ji Zimo murmured. He would never forget the moment he pushed open the study door last night, when the light shone on his elder brother's face. He could see every trace of his expression clearly, which was reminiscence, sweetness, longing, and seemed to be mixed with pain. His elder brother's concealing action and flustered expression showed that this painting was unusual to him.

Ji Zimo couldn't continue to deceive himself. Almost out of intuition, he deduced that his elder brother was the lover of Shen Xiu Niang when she was young. It turned out that his elder brother had been to Jiangnan. Why did he hide this experience? Shen Xiu Niang traveled thousands of miles to Jiangxia, why didn't she come to find his elder brother? The elder brother missed her when he saw the painting. Did he know that Shen Xiu Niang had already died alone in Jiangxia?

It seems that by clearing away one layer of fog, we fall into a deeper fog.