Chapter 46: Xu Yunshu

The young man in the room lowered his head and smiled slightly upon hearing this, his features calm and relaxed like a pure white flower.

“Young master, don’t you want to see what she looks like? I saw many young masters downstairs blushing with shyness,” the servant boy said in a low voice.

Xu Yunshu replied softly, “I’ve only heard Father mention that Su Niang’s appearance is extraordinary, with a beautiful face like a man’s. Since we happened to encounter her today, you can see her for me. It would be improper for me to peek through the door.”

The servant boy thought for a moment and smiled, “That’s true. Anyway, you’ll see each other again at tomorrow’s flower-viewing banquet. But…” The servant boy suddenly pouted.

“But what?”

The servant boy said, “I just saw a handsome young man standing beside Su Niang.”

Xu Yunshu lowered his head, tracing the dark pattern on the silk, “Is it a foreign young man with green eyes?”

The servant boy exclaimed in surprise, “Young master, how did you know?”

Xu Yunshu smiled faintly, “Back then, when the Yan family tried to win back Su Niang who had passed the provincial examination, they slandered her for keeping a male concubine outside and abandoning her original husband. The news spread like wildfire. I had nothing to do in my inner chambers, so I heard more about it and remembered this foreign ‘concubine’.”

The servant boy peeked through the door crack again and took another secret look outside, “It seems that not everything the Yan family spread back then was false. At least Su Niang seems to really like this foreign young man. Maybe she really did divorce the Yan family’s young master for him?”

“When you saw that foreign young man, how did you think his appearance compared to the Yan family’s young master?” Xu Yunshu put down the overly bright-colored silk in his hand and turned to select the light blue floating silk prepared by the shopkeeper from the rack.

As the sixth son of the county magistrate, although born of a minor concubine, his mother’s position alone was enough for the shopkeeper to arrange a separate elegant room for him to make his selection, rather than having to compete with other young masters on the first floor.

The servant boy looked troubled, carefully comparing for a moment before saying, “This servant thinks that in terms of appearance, the two are truly on par with each other, just with some differences in style. But I just saw that foreign young man standing quietly beside Su Niang, occasionally chatting and laughing with her. It seems the relationship between the two of them is more intimate.”

Xu Yunshu smiled calmly, his eyes clear as the moon reflected in water, “Although a man’s beauty and appearance can momentarily dazzle a woman, to truly win long-lasting favor, personality is the most important. As you said, he’s on par with Young Master Yan, but why does Su Niang favor him particularly, even willing to divorce Yan Jiyue for him? It must be due to his personality.”

The servant boy nodded thoughtfully, “Before Young Master Yan was married, he was so glorious and arrogant. But when it came to actually marrying him as a husband, there were very few takers.”

Thinking of Yan Jiyue’s former unlimited glory that overshadowed all the young masters in the city, the servant boy suddenly felt vindicated and said, “How the tables have turned! Back then, Young Master Yan even dared to overshadow you, young master. Those women coveted his beauty and pursued him, but now that he’s divorced, no woman is willing to marry him. Serves him right!”

Xu Yunshu’s delicate brows furrowed like light clouds, and he reprimanded in a low voice, “Que’er, don’t speak nonsense outside.”

Que’er pouted, “Young master, I’m just feeling indignant on your behalf. Have you forgotten about last year’s flower-viewing banquet? It was at our mansion, our home turf, yet he still outshone you. I still remember that.”

“That’s all in the past, no need to bring it up again. I suppose Mother won’t invite him this year either. Su Niang will be the focus of tomorrow’s flower-viewing banquet. You must watch your words and not speak carelessly in front of her, especially don’t mention the Yan family’s young master, lest we upset her.”

Que’er nodded in agreement.

Xu Yunshu continued selecting clothes when he suddenly saw a piece of moon-white silk with faint cold plum blossom patterns. He took the fabric and held it against himself, asking, “How does this garment suit me?”

Que’er praised sincerely, “It looks good. Young master looks best in simple yet elegant clothes like this, it suits your temperament perfectly.”

Xu Yunshu didn’t have a stunning appearance at first glance, but he grew on people. His gentle demeanor was like a calmly flowing stream – not eye-catching, but very comfortable.

Xu Yunshu put down the fabric and sat at the table to drink tea, “Then we’ll choose this one.”

Que’er immediately opened the door, preparing to call for an attendant, but still couldn’t suppress his fondness and curiosity for Su Mu, looking down at her selecting clothes.

He saw Su Mu holding two pieces of fabric – one as red as a camellia, blazing hot as if it could burn up the summer. Because the color was so intense, few young masters chose such a color, fearing their appearance couldn’t carry such a passionate hue and would instead make them look frivolous like male courtesans.

But this fabric set off the foreign young man beside her extremely beautifully, giving the illusion of outshining all the flowers. Everyone’s gaze was unconsciously drawn to him.

Que’er marveled that if he wore this to the flower-viewing banquet, it would cause an even bigger sensation than Yan Jiyue last year, making his own young master pale in comparison even more miserably.

So Que’er silently prayed in his heart, hoping he would choose the other light-colored fabric instead.

“Sister Mu, this garment is too flashy. I’m afraid if I wear it, I’ll steal the spotlight from the hosts,” Xie Yi voiced his concerns. Although he vaguely sensed that Sister Mu seemed to really like him in such bright clothes, after all, the flower-viewing banquet was someone else’s event. As a guest, if he stole the limelight, Magistrate Xu would surely hold it against Sister Mu.

So even if he liked this fabric very much, he couldn’t put Su Mu at risk.

Su Mu laughed lightly, “I know it’s not good to wear this to the flower-viewing banquet, but we should still buy this garment.”

Xie Yi was puzzled.

Su Mu leaned closer to him, her low voice slightly ambiguous as it enveloped his ear, “Will you wear it for me when we get home?”

Xie Yi’s earlobes turned red, his eyes misting over as he looked at her with deep affection, “…Alright.”

Although Su Mu enjoyed seeing him blush, they were in public, so she couldn’t act too inappropriately. She then picked up another piece of fabric and said, “I think this garment is also very nice. The color is light and elegant, subdued and not flashy when worn to a banquet. It won’t steal the hosts’ thunder, and it suits you well too.”