Early the next morning.
Sun Shaozong groggily opened his eyes, only to discover that he had spent the entire night sprawled over the dining table. Jia Lian was nowhere to be seen across from him; presumably, the servants had carried him back to his bedroom to rest.
Rubbing at his faintly throbbing temples, he could not help complaining that Jia Manor's servants played favorites.
In truth, he had wronged them. The night before, four or five servants had worked together and still failed to lift him from the wine table. Instead, with one casual fling of his arm, he had sent several of them tumbling to the floor. After that, who would have dared touch him?
As Sun Shaozong grumbled in the hall, he heard a hurried set of footsteps outside. Looking up, he saw Ruan Rong rushing in, followed by a pretty little maid.
Their eyes met. Seeing the bloodshot look in his eyes and his still-unrecovered hangover, Ruan Rong felt both distressed and annoyed. But with an outsider present, she could not say much, so she pointed to a side table and said, "Zijuan, put the things down, then go back to my sister."
Zijuan was carrying a basin of water and was curiously looking Sun Shaozong over from head to toe. Hearing this, she hurriedly replied, "What are you saying, Miss Rong? If I simply leave like this, how am I supposed to explain it to my young mistress?"
As she spoke, she set the copper basin on the table, soaked a towel, and moved to wipe the stains from Sun Shaozong's face.
Sun Shaozong leaned back with a smile. "Leave it to me. I feel awkward having someone wait on me like this."
Zijuan froze at his words and turned to look at Ruan Rong. Seeing that she had no objection, she let Sun Shaozong take the towel and wash up on his own.
By the time Sun Shaozong had finished washing, Zijuan had already vanished from the room. Seeing that he did not need attending to, she had presumably returned to Lin Daiyu.
The thought of Daiyu stirred something in Sun Shaozong's heart, and he could not resist asking quietly, "What does Miss Lin actually look like? Jia Lian got drunk yesterday and kept praising her in front of me."
Though he had never read Dream of the Red Chamber, Sun Shaozong knew that it was famed for its abundance of beauties, with Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai among the finest. His curiosity swelled like wildfire, impossible to suppress.
Hearing him ask about her, Ruan Rong first became wary. Then, considering Daiyu's age, she relaxed and covered her mouth with a smile. "Daiyu is naturally very beautiful, and her character and literary talent are beyond reproach. Otherwise, why would I have taken her as my sworn younger sister?"
"What? You took her as your sworn younger sister?!"
Sun Shaozong blurted out in astonishment, "But hadn't you only known each other for one day?"
Ruan Rong rolled her eyes and pinched his arm, pretending to be angry. "So what if it was one day? Didn't I spend only one day with someone before deciding he was the man I wished to entrust my life to?"
Sun Shaozong was instantly at a loss for words.
It had to be said that Ruan Rong truly was a woman of swift and decisive action. She had taken a fancy to him after only one day, and now, after just one day, she had acquired herself a Sister Lin.
Seeing that she had rendered Sun Shaozong speechless, Ruan Rong could not help bursting into laughter. "My sister is only eleven or twelve. Don't go getting any improper ideas. Besides, she has such a refined and intelligent heart that she probably would not fancy a rough fellow like you."
"What?!"
Sun Shaozong put on an expression of utter shock. "It's enough that you know that yourself. Why did you tell the little girl?!"
Ruan Rong was baffled at first, then suddenly understood. Flushed with shame and anger, she pounced on him and began scratching at him wildly. Sun Shaozong dodged aside, then swept her into his arms and laughed triumphantly.
Ruan Rong took the chance to give his chest two light bites, but she could not hold it in either, laughing so hard in his arms that she swayed back and forth.
This was hardly a secluded place, however. After laughing while embracing for a while, they quickly separated.
Sun Shaozong instructed, "I plan to help Second Master Lian deal with the remaining matters first, so we can set off for the capital as soon as possible. You'll have to stay here and wait for two days. Fortunately, you've just gained a younger sister, so you should not feel lonely staying at this government office."
After a pause, he added, "Don't forget to ask your sister what interesting places there are in Yangzhou City. Before we leave, I'll take you around to have a look."
Even while still hungover, Sun Shaozong was thinking of taking her into the city for some fun. Ruan Rong was naturally delighted. After lingering with him for a few more sweet words, she finally returned reluctantly to the rear courtyard.
Meanwhile, Zijuan was speaking of Sun Shaozu before Daiyu.
"You didn't see him, Miss."
She rolled up her sleeves and held her hands apart in the air, forming a circle as thick as a water bucket. "Captain Sun's arm was this thick! One of his thighs was probably as big around as our Second Master Bao's whole body!"
Daiyu had sent Zijuan along not only out of consideration for Ruan Rong, but more importantly because she wanted to see what the man who had so utterly captured her sworn sister's heart actually looked like.
Listening to Zijuan's exaggerated description, she silently pieced together an image in her mind. Then she suddenly frowned. "From what you say, doesn't Captain Sun sound somewhat like Brother Xue?"
Xue Pan had left an extremely poor impression on Daiyu. He was practically filth from a mud pit. Linking the two together, she could not help transferring her dislike to Sun Shaozu and feeling deeply that Ruan Rong deserved better.
"Young Master Xue?"
Zijuan was startled at first, then hurriedly shook her head like a rattle. "How could they possibly be alike?! Other than being overbearing and unreasonable, how is that Fool Overlord like an overlord at all? Captain Sun, on the other hand, is broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, with an imposing air. He truly has something of the Chu Overlord about him."
As she spoke, she lowered her voice shyly and whispered, "To tell you the truth, Miss, whenever Captain Sun moved even a little, his long robe stretched tight and bulged out, as though it wrapped not flesh and blood, but blocks of iron! When Miss Rong told me yesterday about how he fought the bandits, I thought she was exaggerating. But now, I fear it was all true."
"Chu Overlord..."
Lin Daiyu softly repeated those three words. In her mind, she pieced together the image of Sun Shaozong holding Ruan Rong affectionately in his arms, chatting and laughing while the bandits fled at the mere sight of him. Before she knew it, she had become somewhat entranced.
After a long while, Daiyu could not help placing herself in that scene and replacing Sun Shaozong with Baoyu. Yet no matter how she tried, she could not imagine the heroic sight of Jia Overlord charging fearlessly into battle and scattering a mob of bandits in an instant.
If Brother Bao and I encountered such a situation, wouldn't it be more likely that we'd hold hands and flee in a panic?
Thinking this, Daiyu could not help laughing until she swayed back and forth.
Watching from the side, Zijuan could not help sighing inwardly. It had been a long time since she had seen Daiyu laugh so sincerely. Just for that laugh alone, taking Ruan Rong as her sworn sister had been worth it.
Before you continue