Chapter 15
Done
When she reached the last stroke, the brush trembled uncontrollably. A finger-sized blood-red stain appeared on the end of the charm.
Gu Yanfei put away her brush and placed it on the brush holder beside him. She crumpled the talisman paper into a ball and threw it into the white porcelain wastepaper basket without looking at it…
The cat’s eyes lit up. It leaped up and bit the paper ball, successfully intercepting it!
After it landed lightly, its little claws plucked at the balls of paper on the floor. Chase, intercept, push… It was having a lot of fun.
After Gu Yanfei closed her eyes and meditated for a while, she dipped her brush into the cinnabar again and drew the next talisman.
Unfortunately, the tip of the brush crooked again at the last stroke. Gu Yanfei failed for the 101st time.
The kitten raced over and crouched obediently by her skirt.
When Gu Yanfei threw out the next ball of paper, it leaped up again…
The balls of paper on the ground increased one after another. The satisfied cat felt like it had a fish pond and was playing crazily.
It was tired by midnight, yawning wearily and bleary-eyed.
Gu Yanfei ignored it and continued drawing talismans.
There was still no wind that night and it was as stuffy as a steamer.
As the long night wore on, the sky began to lighten, and the sun rose.
The morning sun shone through the window into the house. The flowers and trees in the courtyard shone brightly.
There were a few green chrysanthemums in the plum vase at the head of the table, and an elegant scent filled the air.
The room was silent.
Gu Yanfei, who had not slept the entire night, was reading a book. Her figure was straight and slender, as straight as a bamboo, as elegant as a green willow. She was quiet but tenacious.
Outside the window, the goldfish in the pond leaped out of the water and plopped back into it. At the same time, her brush finally completed the last stroke smoothly.
She let out a long breath between her pink lips.
It worked!
It was the first talisman she had completed in recent days, the first using the cinnabar.
Gu Yanfei admired the talisman she had drawn with satisfaction and smiled.
That smile was like the warm April sun, spreading from the corners of her lips to the corners of her eyes and eyebrows, like clusters of beautiful wisteria blooming.
The little kitten beside her had long fallen into a deep sleep. It was sprawled on its back and had a small furry paw over its eyes.
Gu Yanfei was in a good mood. She quietly leaned over with the cinnabar brush and drew a small red plum between the little kitten’s eyebrows.
The sleeping cat sensed something strange. It opened its green cat eyes and yawned lazily.
“My Lady,” Juan Bi reported, entering the inner room at that moment. “The Eldest Lady is here.”
Gu Yanfei picked up the cat and walked towards the central room outside.
Although she had not slept all night, she had once meditated for two to four hours on and off. At this moment, her face was rosy and she was full of energy.
“Second Sister.” Gu Yunzhen, who was dressed in a lilac-colored dress, walked towards Gu Yanfei and said with a smile, “I’m here to have breakfast with you. It won’t be convenient for us to travel later, so we can only make do with lunch. We have to eat breakfast well.”
The maidservant behind Gu Yunzhen was holding a red-painted gold food box.
Gu Yunzhen’s voice was gentle, and it warmed Gu Yanfei’s heart. She readily agreed, “Okay.”
She knew that Gu Yunzhen was a very good sister. She was the only daughter of the Gu family’s third branch. She had lost her father three years ago and relied on her widowed mother.
In her previous life, when Gu Yanfei first arrived at the Marquis Mansion, she was unfamiliar with the place and was uneasy. Gu Yunzhen took good care of her and gave her pointers from time to time.
The two sisters sat down at the table. Gu Yunzhen took out a big red bib from her sleeve and said to the little kitten in Gu Yanfei’s arms, “Your gem-faced civet is really cute. I sewed this bib for it last night.”
Gem-faced civet was the elegant name for a calico cat.
“Meow!” The little kitten jumped from Gu Yanfei’s arms to the table. It bowed and stretched, its long fur trembling.
Gu Yanfei said with a smile, “Big Sister, put it on.”
“Can I?” Gu Yunzhen was a little flattered. She carefully put on a small bib embroidered with carp for the kitten, careful not to scare it.
The little kitten remained motionless as Gu Yunzhen served it.
“It’s so obedient!” Gu Yunzhen stared at the little kitten with sparkling eyes. Her heart was about to melt.
After putting on the bib, the little kitten jumped back into Gu Yanfei’s arms and eagerly rubbed against her clothes. Its round cat eyes narrowed into two crescents.
Gu Yunzhen’s eyes were filled with envy. She asked gently, “Little kitty, have you eaten?”
Qing Guang rubbed its head against Gu Yanfei coquettishly and meowed, as if to say, no.
Gu Yunzhen could not help but reach out to touch the kitten’s back. Her voice was softer and gentler. “There’s still an hour before we set off. Qing Guang has to eat something too, it’s still growing.”
Gu Yanfei smiled but did not say anything.
She knew they would never leave today.
As they spoke, the maids opened the food boxes and took out the food one by one. There were two bowls of green onion mushroom lean meat porridge, a cage of crab roe soup dumplings, and a few plates of assorted vegetables. Each dish was steaming hot and had obviously just been fetched from the kitchen.
The sisters happily enjoyed their breakfast, and the kitten did not go hungry. Or rather, there were many people waiting on it. One of them fussed over it and added warm goat milk to its bowl, another fed it chicken, and another brushed its fur.
Wherever there were humans, it was like a fish in water.
The maidservants surrounding it were all treating it like a cat emperor.
Even the old woman, who had been ordered by Madam Gu to pass on a message, could not help but glance at the little kitten. Her eyes wandered as she reported, “Eldest Lady, Second Lady, Madam said that we can’t leave for the time being. Let the two ladies rest first.”
“What’s wrong?” Gu Yunzhen’s maid asked.
The old woman answered truthfully, “I don’t know what exactly happened. The northern city gate was opened early in the morning, but just now, the officials suddenly ordered the city gate to be closed. They said that no one is allowed to enter or leave. Madam has already asked Granny Xu to take the token of the Marquis Mansion to the Danyang Manor. Please do me a favor.”
...
Gu Yanfei lowered her eyes and drank her tea. The corners of her lips curled up behind the teacup.
Not just today, but tomorrow and the day after that too.
Gu Yunzhen frowned and asked the maidservant to send the old woman away. She comforted Gu Yanfei gently, “My Second Sister, it’s fine. Even if we can’t leave today, we’ll just stay in Danyang City for a few more days.”
“I don’t know what’s going on these days. It’s October, but it’s still so hot and humid, and there’s no wind. It’s like a sauna in the carriage. It would be good to leave a few days later.”
A smile appeared on Gu Yanfei’s lips.
Her Big Sister was like that. She was soft-hearted and always thought well of people and things. However, people were vicious. Sometimes, the so-called family would be more ruthless and vicious than strangers.