Remarrying Chun Yuan

Hou Lai carried the drunken Lin Mengjun onto the Lin family carriage and escorted him back to the mansion.

When I returned, I saw Yuan Cuo sitting in the courtyard, lost in thought.

"If you have feelings for Lady Liu, we might as well stay here. I will go and help you snatch a kite on the second day of the second lunar month."

Yuan Cuo ignored his topic and directly ordered, "Go and prepare the pine, stone, and pigments. Use silk as the base material."

Hou Lai: "Are you going to imitate the painting master's fan painting again?"

Yuan Cuo nodded.

What if she meets someone she doesn't want to marry again? The previous kite was too perfunctory. He wanted to make some preparations in advance, otherwise, if her request was too sudden, he wouldn't be caught off guard. "...Remember to bring a little more orpiment powder."

"No."

"Have you forgotten that we're broke? Where did you get this stone yellow?"

Yuan Cuo stroked his chin. "Then let's go ask Aunt Wang next door for some dried persimmons and a bunch of yellow rapeseed flowers, and also get some raw rhubarb from the pharmacy."

After drying persimmons and cauliflower, grind them together and mix them with raw rhubarb; you might be able to get a stone-yellow color.

Hou Lai accepted the order and went, but returned halfway there. "Why don't I just steal that kite? It would be easier for you to copy it."

Yuan Cuo scoffed, even despised, "A person should be honest; how could he steal? Besides, would I need to steal?"

He closed his eyes and quietly recalled that the kite she and her two best friends flew at Jingchun Tower that day must have been a ribbon bird painted by the master painter.

Two ribbon-tailed birds fly to a branch, where there are a few red cherry blossoms, a few blades of green grass, and white clouds flying by... The pattern is not large, but the materials used are extremely exquisite. If the colors are not properly mixed, the imitation will be unbearable, and the real and fake can be known at a glance.

For example, that single stroke of withered branch used four colors, and the shades were perfectly balanced. Using four colors in one stroke is a unique skill of the painting master, which is why no one on the market dares to replicate the Suzhou style of the painting master.

Yuan Cuo silently drew the pattern in his mind, and when he opened his eyes, he quickly sketched it on a piece of scrap paper...

The Lunar New Year is a time of joy and celebration. Even though the snow disaster caused considerable damage, people are still happy to decorate their homes with lanterns and colorful decorations in the snowy winter, hoping for good fortune and a prosperous and happy year to come.

In addition, the news of the marriage selection on the second day of the lunar month spread, which was a hot topic of conversation. Those who were interested were eager to participate, while many others just wanted to watch the excitement.

After all, she was the daughter of the Painting Sage and the head of the Liu family.

She distributed porridge during the snow disaster, sold grain at low prices to subsidize the Ministry of Revenue, opened a rice and grain general store at affordable prices, and invested in several small shops. She supported the business in the capital, and most of the people benefited from her kindness.

People couldn't help but wonder, just how rich was the Liu family? And how rich was Madam Liu?

On the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, Jingchunlou hosted a small gathering of three close friends, Liu Yuechu, three days in advance.

During the Lunar New Year, Lin Mengyu and Li Shu had to accompany their elders to visit and greet guests, so they didn't have time to get together.

Lin Mengyu chattered on about the marriage selection, and even gloated about how her eldest brother had been drunk these past few days and had been slapped twice by their mother yesterday.

"...He felt he had let you down. When he found out I was coming to see you this morning, he stammered for a long time and even made me apologize to you."

Liu Yuechu was surprised. What did it have to do with him?

"Then what do you say?"

“I told him to stop daydreaming. You’re not doing this for him at all, just to sober him up.” Lin Mengyu has a very sharp tongue.

Liu Yuechu couldn't help but laugh out loud, "He's still your own brother, after all."

“He’s gone mad from reading so much classical literature.” Lin Mengyu looked around and leaned closer to Liu Yuechu. “So who are you really doing this for? Tell me secretly, and I promise I won’t tell anyone.”

"Huh? So obvious?" Liu Yuechu thought it was well hidden.

Lin Mengyu smugly stroked the hand warmer. "Who am I? I've slept in the same bed with you for six years. Do you think I don't know what you're thinking?" She had studied the zither with Liu Yuechu's mother and lived in Liu Yuechu's house.

Liu Yuechu pouted, "I can't tell you for now, just wait and see." She didn't know if the bait would catch that arrogant fish, wouldn't it be embarrassing to say it now?

"You really have someone you like? Who is it? Tell me quickly, you're driving me crazy!" Lin Mengyu put down the hand warmer and kept shaking her. "Tell me, I'll go back and tell my brother, and he'll give up on that idea."

“If I tell you, the whole world will know, and then the kite-based marriage selection won’t be fun anymore.”

"I swear to God, as long as you tell me, I will not utter a single word..."

"So you already had someone in mind, which is why you said that what Young Master Wei snatched was fake! Now you've arranged this play for that person on the second day of the second lunar month?"

Li Shu arrived at some unknown time and overheard their conversation. She thought of Wei Gongming again, and her tone was filled with resentment.

Lin Mengyu froze, then turned to look at her. "Don't talk nonsense. Yue Niang's kite last time was just for fun, didn't you know that?"

"I know, I know I was made a fool of and even helped her deceive people." Li Shu became more and more angry as she spoke, her eyes even turning red. She remembered how Wei Gongming had asked her seriously, and she felt so guilty that she wanted to cry.

Including the last time she accompanied Wei Gongming to ask her elder brother for a favor, but she didn't know why her elder brother hit him. Since then, she has never seen Wei Gongming again, and has never spoken to her elder brother.

Lin Mengyu was somewhat bewildered by Li Shu's sudden outburst.

Liu Yuechu looked at Li Shu, and she could sense a hint of resentment in her eyes.

What are you unwilling to accept?

Was she unwilling to accept that the man she admired had been played by her?

"The county government has already made its judgment on what happened before, so I don't need to explain. But I can tell you that he is not a good match." She knew this was nonsense, because someone had told her the same thing in her previous life.

"He wasn't a good match, so you made up a story to put him in jail, saying the kite was fake? Liu Yuechu, do you even consider me a friend? You're still lying at a time like this." Li Shu choked up, speaking imperiously.

"Then what will you do if I admit that I lied?" Liu Yuechu asked.

Li Shu was stunned. What could she do?

Aside from feeling sorry for Wei Gongming being deceived and suffering in prison, there seemed to be nothing she could do. She was somewhat angry at herself for not having money, at least not as much as Liu Yuechu.

"I'm just angry that you don't tell me what's on your mind directly, that you're sneaking around and don't really consider me a true friend."

Liu Yuechu chuckled lightly, without retorting.

Bai Shao, however, was quite indignant and stepped forward directly, "It is not proper for this servant to speak up, but you are criticizing our master so harshly. Do you consider our master a friend? We saw you associating with Young Master Wei in private on the street. It seems you didn't tell our master at all? Now you're judging us based on how close we are to each other."

"!!!"

Li Shu froze, her face filled with disbelief. She never expected that Liu Yuechu would witness her meeting with Wei Gongming!

Lin Mengyu stood there dumbfounded, feeling that there was something hidden in their conversation, but she was completely confused. However, after hearing Bai Shao's words, she instantly understood, "So you like Wei Gongming!"