bestfiction Chapter 235 "Choosing a Gift"
Chapter 235 "Choosing a Gift"
Zheng Luoqi suddenly opened her tightly closed eyes, a hint of alertness and shrewdness flashing in them.
He sat up, staring intently at the kneeling figure before him, and asked in a deep voice, "What is it?"
Immediately afterwards, the shadowy figure reported to Zheng Luoqi everything that Cao Yan and the steward had just said in the study.
Seeing that Zheng Luoqi remained silent for a while, the shadowy figure continued, "Does Master have any further instructions?"
"Keep an eye on things, and report back if anything happens!" Zheng Luoqi replied.
"Yes!" the shadowy figure replied.
"Go down!" Zheng Luoqi waved her hand, signaling him to leave.
As the door closed, Zheng Luoqi fell into deep thought.
The next morning
Zheng Luoqi woke up early and, after washing up, went to practice martial arts as usual. However, it started to rain soon after she started practicing.
Seeing this, Zheng Luoqi stopped practicing martial arts. Since the rain continued to fall, she packed up her things, took a few guards, and headed towards the gate of the Cao residence.
At that moment, a light drizzle was falling from the sky. He walked down the street, looking at the bustling crowd around him.
Zheng Luoqi narrowed his eyes slightly, and suddenly asked thoughtfully, "I remember that Yangzhou is most famous for its wood carvings, isn't it?"
Upon hearing this, the guard standing to the side hurriedly and respectfully replied, "Yes, sir! The street not far ahead is where the largest wood carving market in Yangzhou is located."
Zheng Luoqi nodded slightly, a faint smile playing on his lips. He gently waved the exquisite folding fan in his hand and said slowly, "Since that's the case, and the young master's birthday gift hasn't been chosen yet, why don't we go over there and take a look? Perhaps we can find something that suits our taste." With that, he gracefully flicked his sleeve and led the guards behind him toward the market.
A light drizzle was falling from the sky, and the once bustling and lively streets now appeared somewhat deserted.
The number of street stalls has decreased significantly compared to usual, and the hawking cries have become sparse, completely lacking the hustle and bustle of the past.
Zheng Luoqi walked slowly along the wet stone path, her gaze casually sweeping over the stalls along the way.
Suddenly, an inconspicuous little stall caught his eye. There sat an old man sitting quietly under the eaves, quite different from the other street vendors around him.
Most of the other vendors had their own small stalls and had put up umbrellas to protect their goods from the rain.
But the old man was only wearing a tattered straw hat. The wooden carvings on the ground were soaked by the rain. He didn't even have time to put them all away. Only a few scattered pieces were placed under the eaves to avoid the erosion of the light rain.
Zheng Luoqi walked over slowly, and just as she was about to ask a question, the old man sitting behind the stall seemed to sense someone approaching. With some hesitation and probing, he spoke first and asked, "Excuse me, are you a customer who came to see the wood carvings?"
As Zheng Luoqi moved closer, he realized that the old man was actually blind.
His eyes were mostly white, and his pupils were rolled upwards.
Zheng Luoqi responded, "That's right, yes!" Then, he turned his gaze to the wood carvings. Perhaps because he was blind, the wood carvings he picked up were also strangely shaped, but they had a unique sense of the bizarre.
Zheng Luoqi continued with great interest, "Uncle, how much do your wood carvings cost?"
The old man listened intently to Zheng Luoqi's voice, but for a moment he couldn't tell whether he should address her as "Young Master" or "Miss".
After hesitating for a moment, he cautiously said, "I'm sorry, I'm blind and can't tell the difference. If this young lady takes a fancy to any of the wood carvings, please feel free to choose. All the wood carvings are priced at ten coins each."
Just then, the guard standing next to Zheng Luoqi suddenly frowned and angrily shouted, "You rude old man! How dare you be so disrespectful? Can't you even distinguish between a man's and a woman's voice? This is clearly a young master; how can you address him so casually!"
The old man realized he had called the wrong person, and an embarrassed look instantly appeared on his weathered face. He quickly opened his mouth and hurriedly explained, "I'm so sorry, so sorry!"
"Young master, it's all my fault for being blind and hard of hearing. I actually misheard your voice. I'm so sorry, I hope you'll be magnanimous and not hold this old man against me!"
Zheng Luoqi smiled slightly, waved her hand to indicate that she didn't care, and comforted him, "It's alright, old man, there's no need to be so nervous. It's just a small misunderstanding, nothing serious."
"However, I am quite curious about you. Since your eyesight isn't very good, how do you usually carve these pieces of wood?"
The old man chuckled, but within his hearty laughter, there seemed to be a hint of indescribable melancholy.
He slowly raised his calloused hands, gently stroking the wooden carvings beside him, and said with emotion, "Haha, I'm not afraid to tell you, young master, that although I can't see anything, my hands are still quite nimble."
“Whenever I’m about to carve, I always first carefully touch the wooden objects with my hands to feel their texture and shape.”
"With all the experience I've accumulated over the years, the shape of that wood carving naturally came to mind!" the old man said, pointing to his head as he spoke.
"Then, with these hands, I painstakingly carved and polished these low-class trinkets." After saying this, the old man sighed softly, a hint of helplessness and sadness in his eyes.
"Uncle, I'll buy all of your wood carvings. I want to ask you some questions!" Zheng Luoqi said to the old man in front of her while carefully examining the wood carvings that were wet with the light rain.
Upon hearing this, the old man replied with a broad smile, "Young master, I am honored that you think highly of my skills. May I ask what you would like to inquire about?"
Zheng Luoqi slowly asked, "Uncle, have you heard anything suspicious lately? Or has anything major happened in Yangzhou recently?"
"For example, have you ever heard of anyone suddenly disappearing without a trace, or someone going out and never returning? Have you ever heard of such cases?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the old man gasped, his voice suddenly stopping. Then, he seemed to freeze in place, sitting there motionless, as if trying to recall some past events.
[Don't blame me for the long breaks in updates these past two months, it's just that there's been so much going on. All the project deadlines are piling up into the three months before the new year, and I've been working overtime a lot lately, so updates have been much slower, sob sob... The company only gives us time off on New Year's Eve, it's so painful.]