Jiang Ling naturally didn't know what Ji Zheng was thinking. She put down the bowl and said softly to Qing Ju in a hoarse voice: "I've finished drinking."

The latter responded, touched the tip of his nose awkwardly, and left holding the empty bowl.

For a time, there were only three of them left in the small inner room.

Jiang Ling wiped her mouth with her handkerchief, raised her face, and said sincerely to the man at the table: "Thank you."

Although her voice was soft, her eyes were full of sincere gratitude.

Ji Fusheng was startled and was amused by her.

"Ma'am, what do you want to thank me for?"

He lowered his head slightly, and the small pear dimples at the corners of his lips were looming. This smile was so contagious that Jiang Ling couldn't help but smile too.

The girl pursed her lips, but did not dare to smile too big. There was only a slight arc at the corner of her lips.

Ji Zheng suddenly stood up and walked over.

His steps were neither slow nor hasty, just bringing up a very light breeze. The jade pendant around his waist made a crisp sound, gently hitting Jiang Ling's eardrum.

She covered half of her face with her sleeves and looked away in panic.

"Mr. Ji, you...why do you look at me like this?"

She felt very uncomfortable being stared at by Ji Zheng so naked.

Unexpectedly, contrary to her restraint, the other party looked calm. He bent slightly and spoke in a clear voice.

"I just feel that Madam is obviously a sweetheart, but why is she so timid even when she smiles?"

"Afraid of hands and feet," Jiang Ling was puzzled and blinked in confusion, "According to the Master's words, how should people laugh?"

Ji Zheng made a "swish" sound and opened the small gilt fan in his hand.

This is the first time Jiang Ling has seen such an exquisite fan surface. Although the fan is outlined with gold patterns and lines, the surface of the fan is filled with extremely elegant green mountains and green waters.

With just one glance, she knew that this was a painting by Ji Fusheng himself. Jiang Ling couldn't help but feel emotional that such an artistic conception could be painted on such a small fan.

"That's how you laugh," Ji Fusheng weighed the handle of the fan and caught it in time, "Who said women should smile without showing their teeth? My wife doesn't hide her face when she smiles, which makes her more beautiful."

"Mr. Ji, don't make fun of our lady!"

"Lvwu, don't be rude."

Jiang Ling took the hand of the maid beside him, but his eyes stopped on Ji Zheng.

To her, Ji Fusheng was like a pioneering teacher. She admired him and respected him. Therefore, when the other person's words fell into Jiang Ling's ears, they gained a little more weight out of thin air.

But what he said was completely contrary to what he had learned in the past fifteen years.

Jiang Ling's eyelashes twitched slightly.

"Mr. Ji, the nuns in the palace have taught me that as a woman, you must first learn how to stand upright. The only way to stand upright is to be clean and chaste. If you are clean, your body will be clean, and if you are chaste, your body will be honorable. Don't look back when you act, don't lift your lips when you speak... "(1)

"Are the rules in the palace necessarily correct?"

His sudden words made Jiang Ling tremble.

The girl raised her eyes and widened her eyes.

Not only her, but also Lu Wu beside her was stunned and froze in place.

"Mr. Ji, you——"

Jiang Ling wanted to say "Don't talk nonsense like this", but accidentally bit her tongue when she opened her mouth. The pain from the tip of her tongue made her wake up a little, but what could not be dispelled was the mist in her eyes.

She seemed to be shocked, shocked by Ji Fusheng's words.

——Are the rules in the palace necessarily correct?

——Can’t we break the conventions?

Halos circled in her eyes.

She had never heard... such rebellious remarks.

If these words were spread and heard by others, even beheading would be regarded as a lenient punishment.

The woman sitting behind the bed curtain hurriedly lowered her head.

It was obviously a man talking, but she didn't dare to look at him directly.

After a long while, she whispered: "Mr. Ji, you must never say these words again."

Having already anticipated Jiang Ling's reaction, Ji Fusheng just smiled faintly. With long fingers, he closed the small fan and bowed his hands behind the bed curtain.

"It's getting late. Madam, please go to bed early. Ji has resigned."

Jiang Ling did not respond, pursed her lips, and her heartbeat suddenly became very fast.

From the corner of her eye, she saw the man slowly putting away the papers and pens on the table.

His movements were gentle, and the sunlight outside the window poured in, and a golden halo danced between his fingers and his clothes. The breeze passed through, and his clothes were particularly elegant. I wonder if it was an illusion, but Jiang Ling felt that Everything around him was moved by the wind.

Dots of golden light, inches of light and shadow, were active and beating on his fingers. They seemed to have vitality, surrounding Ji Zheng's body, so vivid and full of vitality.

In contrast, the surroundings around her were silent, too quiet.

The smoke from the incense burner burned out, and the last wisp of mist slowly coiled around the girl's eyebrows.

Seeing her looking over, Ji Zheng put away the paper and pen in his hand and began to scroll the painting "Water Waves and Mountains".

Maybe the light was so dazzling that it actually made Jiang Ling's mind move, and before his brain could react, he had already opened his mouth.

"Young Master has superb painting skills, but have you ever had any high-level apprentices?"

"Never accepted it."

He rolled up the scroll and explained, "My paintings are more arbitrary, I don't belong to any school, and I don't accept any disciples."

After hearing this, Jiang Ling softly said "Oh" and lowered his eyes in disappointment.

She couldn't tell what she had to lose.

Even if Ji Zheng said that he was happy to accept a disciple, he was already married, so how could he linger in the study with his foreign husband? What's more, ever since she said the word "Ji" at the Lantern Festival banquet that year, she He never took up painting again.

She could only hide this preference deep in her heart and dare not mention it to anyone again.

But the person in front of me was different.

He is the painter she has followed since childhood and whom she admires most.

Hearing Jiang Ling's voice, Ji Fusheng turned his head and looked over.

Then, she heard a very slight sound of footsteps.

Ji Zheng, like Bu Zhan, walked almost silently. Jiang Ling only smelled the aroma of books, and the other party had already come to her side. At such a close distance, even if Lu Wu didn't stop her, she still felt a little nervous. Uncomfortable. The other party curled his lips and smiled, then bent down.

"but--"

She heard the other party's drawn-out tone and raised her face.

"If the eldest lady opens her mouth," Ji Fusheng blinked, "I can make an exception."

Jiang Ling was stunned for a moment, then shook his head hurriedly, "Mr. Ji, that's not what I meant."

"But that's what I mean."

He stood up straight and his tone suddenly became serious.

"There is a thin callus on the fingertips of Madam's right hand, which is the mark left by holding a pen. Since you like calligraphy and painting, why do you waste it? Since Madam likes it, why don't you do it?"

"I……"

Why not do it?

She could feel the burning gaze of the person beside her.

His expression is gentle, but his eyes are sincere and fiery. He seems to be born with a light, a light that is unrestrained and does not care about the judgment of others.

Jiang Ling turned her face away, not daring to look at him.

She cannot become Ji Zheng.

She simply cannot be as willful and bold as Ji Zheng.

She used to live in the Jiang Mansion, but now she married into the Bu family. For the past fifteen years, she has been wearing the phoenix life and dare not take a single step wrong in the eyes of everyone.

From the former eldest lady of the Jiang family to the current Mrs. Bu family. Since ancient times, women have been dependents of their mother's family and husband's family. In their mother's family, they are given their father's surname. After marrying into their husband's family, they have to take another surname. They take their husband's surname before their father's surname. No one cares who they are or what they like.

What about her? What does she like?

Jiang Ling has not thought about this issue for a long time.

The last time someone asked her what she liked was at the Lantern Festival banquet that year. Since then, she has understood that what others care about is not what she likes, but what she should like.

As the future queen of Daxuan, she should be well-educated, elegant, virtuous, and proficient in all kinds of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. She should be what everyone expected the queen of Daxuan to be.

But no one has ever asked her what Jiang Ling likes.

What does Jiang Ling like?

She likes making incense, painting, copying Ji Zheng's paintings, and eating candy figures made into various shapes in the market.
To be continued...