Chapter 36 Separated by a Wall

Chapter 36 Separated by a Wall

I just don't know when she discovered that Jiang Ru and Pei Wu were having an affair.

Jiang Ru turned her head slightly and lowered her voice: "What does she mean?"

Pei Wu calmly withdrew his gaze and said indifferently, "I'm saying hello to you."

Jiang Ru listened to him blatantly lying, and immediately tapped Pei Wu in annoyance: "Don't talk nonsense."

Pei Wu lowered his gaze, a glint of light, like ink lightly touched, in his eyes. He smiled wryly, "Then what do you want me to say?"

Jiang Ru cautiously observed Song Shu, who had sat back down, and speculated, "Do you think she's deliberately keeping watch over you here? And why is the Prime Minister so determined to pull you into his camp? He wouldn't want to harm you, would he?"

Her words were naive. Pei Wu said softly, "Why would he want to harm me, a mere sixth-rank official?"

Jiang Ru was also completely baffled: "Why?"

The two exchanged a glance. Jiang Ru, eager to learn, stared intently at Pei Wu, her eyes reflecting his image. Pei Wu hesitated for a moment, then explained, "It was just a test."

To test whether Pei Wu was a capable person.

Song Pingzhang wouldn't harm him, but he was destined to be a troublemaker.

Jiang Ru hesitated again: "Should I go see her the day after tomorrow? What if she ties me up and threatens me?"

Her thoughts had wandered off to some rather absurd places. Pei Wu glanced at her hesitantly, and seeing that she wasn't joking, he said, "No, it's not."

"Are you sure you won't?" Jiang Ru asked, clearly fearing for her life. "If she really tied me up, would you save me?"

She asked the question casually, but Pei Wu avoided the topic and instead walked a few steps away without answering her at all.

Jiang Ru chased after her again: "Tell me, will you save me?"

Pei Wu dodged several times, but seeing that he couldn't avoid it any longer, he reluctantly said, "You won't be tied up by her."

Jiang Ru: "What if?"

She wouldn't give up until she got an answer, so Pei Wu had no choice but to say, "I will save you."

"How will you save him?" Jiang Ru asked again.

Pei Wu: "..."

He completely ignored Jiang Ru.

Fortunately, Jiang Ru didn't pry this time. She just needed to make sure that Pei Wu wouldn't abandon her. Besides, she also wanted to know what the Prime Minister's Mansion was really up to.

The two did not return to their residence directly. Instead, Jiang Ru and Pei Wu strolled around the beverage shops in Bianjing.

The common people have a deep understanding of food. In the previous dynasty, there were five-color drinks and five-spice drinks. Now, many fruit drinks have evolved and are very popular among the people.

Jiang Ru took Pei Wu to the largest beverage shop in Bianjing, a favorite haunt of the girls in the city, which was quite a good reference.

The area is more lively in the evenings. There weren't many people in the shop in the afternoon. The two found a small corner to sit down, and the waiter immediately came over with the menu and asked them what they wanted to drink.

The menu offers a wide variety of drinks, and Jiang Ru ordered several seasonal options, including lychee syrup and preserved plum juice, as well as the restaurant's most popular perilla drink.

Soon, several bowls of drinks were served.

Lychee paste water is not made from real lychees. The color of the resulting liquid is brown, and a few flower petals float on the surface of the white porcelain bowl. It smells sweet and sour with a fruity aroma.

Preserved plum water is basically sour plum soup, garnished with a few red dates; this is a more popular flavor.

The color of the perilla drink is the most beautiful, a light pink, and its fragrant and refreshing aroma makes you feel like you are in a forest. It is the most refreshing drink in summer.

Jiang Ru first took a spoonful and tasted it, then pointed at Pei Wu, indicating that he should also try it.

Pei Wu looked at the drink in front of him, but didn't touch the spoon. Instead, he went and asked for another bowl.

Jiang Ru watched as he picked up another bowl and realized that Pei Wu was going to practice separate meals with her again. So she divided the bowl in half and they tasted it one by one.

Jiang Ru had drunk the beverage in Jinzhou before. Unlike the beverage in Bianjing, the beverage in Jinzhou was purely for quenching thirst and was not as refined.

After taking a sip of each, Jiang Ru asked Pei Wu, "Which one do you think tastes the best?"

Pei Wu pointed to the perilla drink.

Indeed, Jiang Ru thought so too.

However, this beverage shop didn't serve drinks plain; in the previous dynasty, plain drinks were made with milk, otherwise she could have tried them.

In ancient times when resources were scarce, the variety of drinks available was quite impressive and showed great promise.

Pei Wu only took a day off and accompanied Jiang Ru to drink a lot of beverages. The two of them drank until their stomachs were full of water before finally returning to the mansion.

Fortunately, Da Xia put less sugar in her drink; otherwise, if she drank it for a few days, her blood sugar might have spiked to an absurd level.

The next morning, Pei Wu went to the Hanlin Academy, while Jiang Ru, accompanied by outside helpers, went to drink several kinds of beverages.

Xia is the best cook. If she can learn to cook, it will be of great benefit to Jiang Ru's snacks.

After finishing one of the drinks, Jiang Ru asked Xia, "Can you make it?"

Xia said confidently, "I can do it."

After finishing another drink, Jiang Ru asked, "Can it be made?"

Xia Xia, with a confident and strategic mind, declared: "Yes!"

Yet another one, Jiang Ru cast an inquiring glance at Xia.

Xia nodded deeply.

“Good sister.” Jiang Ru held Xia’s hand. “I’ll provide the capital, and you can contribute your skills as shares. From now on, you will be one of the owners of ‘Ru’s Drink Shop’ and you will definitely get a share of the profits.”

Xiaozhu leaned forward: "What about me? What about me?"

Jiang Ru also grasped her hand: "You're a veteran, so you'll get your share too."

Xiao Fang and Xiao Chen:

Jiang Ru waved her hand dismissively: "We have everything."

She was halfway through her sentence when she suddenly remembered something: "Weren't you supposed to be delivering food to Pei Wu? What are you still doing here?"

Xiao Fang and Xiao Chen lowered their heads in shame. The drink was so delicious that they had forgotten about Pei Wu.

After sending Xiao Fang and Xiao Chen away, Jiang Ru took Xia Xia and Xiao Zhu on a shopping spree. Since they were big customers, the store offered to deliver the goods to their door.

After finishing all that, Jiang Ru should start preparing for tomorrow's flower viewing banquet. She made a special trip to Xiangfen Pavilion to buy some cosmetics to use tomorrow.

The flower viewing banquet was in the morning, so she got up early, combed her hair, applied makeup (she only applied a thin layer), and then put on lip rouge. Everything was ready.

Then she changed her clothes and went out.

Since it was a flower-viewing banquet, Jiang Ru wore a pale yellow jacket and a double-butterfly embroidered skirt. As she walked, the skirt flowed gracefully, like butterflies fluttering their wings, giving her a lively and agile appearance.

The Song residence was much larger than their home, with several gates, artificial hills, gardens, and lakes. Song Shu's flower-viewing banquet was in the backyard, and even before getting close, bursts of laughter could be heard.

The Prime Minister's residence was bustling with activity today. Song Shu had invited many young ladies, each more beautiful than a flower, like a painting.

As Jiang Ru walked over, Song Shu happened to see her and waved to her, saying, "I was just about to introduce someone to you. Look, here she is."

Song Shu pulled Jiang Ru to her side, as if they were very close, and spoke to her in an intimate tone.

The young women also enthusiastically pulled Jiang Ru aside to talk. After listening for a while, Jiang Ru glanced at the flowers to the side.

The peonies of Bianjing are the most famous. At this time of year, the peonies are almost finished blooming, but the peonies at the Prime Minister's Mansion are still in full bloom.

Even though Jiang Ru had seen many flowers, she couldn't help but be amazed. The flowers in front of her were layered upon layered, with delicate petals hidden among the clusters of blossoms. Among them, the most familiar one was the black peony that everyone in the capital had been talking about not long ago.

This black peony is the most special one among them. Its color is not as bright as the others, but rather understated and reserved. However, it is precisely among the flowers that this black peony is the most unique.

Seeing Jiang Ru's gaze, Song Shu smiled and said, "Little sister, have you taken a fancy to that black peony?"

Jiang Ru smiled: "It certainly attracts attention."

The price of this black peony skyrocketed, and it was eventually bought and sent to the palace. After many twists and turns, it ended up in the Prime Minister's residence.

Everyone knows the origin of this black peony, so Song Shu's open display of it shows she doesn't shy away from letting people see it.

Upon hearing Song Shu mention the black peony, the young ladies all turned their gazes toward it. They had already noticed the flower before, and now they pretended to be surprised: "Oh, Sister Song, where did you get this flower? It's so beautiful."

Song Shu smiled gently and replied, "It was recently presented as tribute to the palace. Remembering my great-grandfather, they sent it over."

She laughed and said, "I just thought it was something special, so I called all the ladies over to take a look."

This flower was rare, but Jiang Ru had seen many more. She lowered her eyes and looked away.

At this moment, in the bamboo garden behind the Prime Minister's residence, separated by a wall, tea was being brewed in a pavilion. Steam rose from the tea leaves. The two men sat quietly, listening to the laughter coming from outside the wall, playing chess with complete focus.

Pei Wu showed no mercy, forcing the black pieces into a series of retreats. He was just one move away from completely defeating his opponent.

Just as Pei Wu was about to make his move, Song Pingzhang casually remarked, "Commissioner Pei seems to be in a bit of a temper today."

Upon hearing this, Pei Wu moved his piece slightly, placing it in a different spot, giving the black pieces a little breathing space.

Pei Wu remained unfazed: "How do you know?"

Song Pingzhang smiled slightly and personally poured him a cup of tea.

Pei Wu remained motionless, his dark eyes calmly fixed on Song Pingzhang. Though his expression was blank, he inexplicably exuded a chill.

Song Pingzhang said helplessly, "Why is Compiler Pei so wary? There's only a wall between us. If anything happens, you can just go directly there. What else can I do?"

Indeed, they could hear everything that was happening next door. Although Jiang Ru didn't talk much, Song Shu would always strike up a conversation with her from time to time, and Jiang Ru's voice would drift along the wall and into Pei Wu's ears.

Song Pingzhang clearly knew why Pei Wu had come to visit, but he still pretended to be ignorant and asked him, "Commissioner Pei hasn't said anything yet, but you've come to my humble abode without prior notice. Is there anything you wish to do?"

No one who can become prime minister is without a thick skin. Take Song Pingzhang, for example. He knew the answer but asked the question, and still chose this place as the meeting place. Sima Zhao's intentions were completely undisguised.

Pei Wu raised his eyes, his cold gaze like ice, but it melted away in an instant: "I have come here today for the same reason why Prime Minister Song summoned me earlier."

Song Pingzhang laughed. His beard was already white, and it trembled when he laughed. He stroked his beard and said, "Commissioner Pei has really gone to great lengths for your sister."

Their eyes met, and after pretending to be clueless for so long, the two finally got straight to the point.

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Author's Note: There will be another chapter later tonight, check it out tomorrow morning.