Jiang Hanlin suddenly turned around and scolded, "This is a matter for the elders. What are you doing out here?"
Jiang Shishi wasn't the least bit constrained. She stepped forward, took her father's hand, and said, "Since childhood, I've been taught that a promise should be kept. Although I'm not a man, once a matter is settled, I'm not willing to change it easily."
Hearing this, Mrs. Jiang rushed out of the room and hugged her daughter, crying.
Jiang Shishi was rather unperturbed. After comforting her parents, she simply said that she wanted to go out for a stroll with Princess Zhaoyang and then left.
Lu Wanning stood not far away, coldly eyeing the He family members. The He family was known for bullying others. Even someone like Uncle He, who seemed decent on the surface, was still a hypocrite. It was a pity that in this place, no matter how reasonable a woman was, breaking off an engagement was a shocking act. It would not only damage her own reputation but also that of the other girls in the clan.
Jiang Shishi pulled Lu Wanning out of the house and onto the carriage. She let out a long sigh and said, "It's really troublesome. Come on, today's time is all mine. Keep me company well."
Lu Wanning was in a bad mood. Seeing Jiang Shishi like this, she asked in a low voice, "Are you willing?"
Jiang Shishi lifted the curtain of the carriage and looked outside. Hearing this, she just let out a chuckle. "Look at your question. What do you mean by willing or not? Isn't that how people are? Instead of wasting time thinking about all that, it's better to think about how much longer we can enjoy such carefree days. Anyway, in half a year or a year at most, I'll have to get married."
Lu Wanning's eyes stung with sourness. "What's the point if you can't be with the man you love?"
"The man you love? How can a girl in the boudoir meet the man of her heart? Even if she does, it's just a glance at his appearance. After marriage, it's all the same. What's there to hope for? Besides, can you achieve what you want just by thinking about it?"
Lu Wanning sized Jiang Shishi up and down. She didn't expect her to be so unperturbed.
Jiang Shishi loved poetry and books. She took Lu Wanning to a bookstore and lingered among the poetry books, reluctant to leave. Lu Wanning picked out a few storybooks and asked Jiyue to wrap them up so she could read them later.
As they were strolling around, Lu Wanning saw a dusty book on the top shelf. It was a collection of guqin melodies. When she opened it, she found that the words used in the musical scores were not the common ones of the time.
Most noble girls in the capital had some skills. They not only knew the language of the Great Zhou but also learned the languages of the surrounding countries. The original owner didn't like poetry, but it didn't mean she couldn't understand it. However, Lu Wanning couldn't recognize most of the words in this guqin score.
"Is it called 'Hui Feng Yin'?"
Lu Wanning looked at it for a long time and recognized the title, but only half of the musical score was legible. The rest was either torn off or blurred after being soaked.
It was just a tattered book. Forget it.
Lu Wanning was just looking at it out of boredom. Just as she was about to put it back, a thought flashed through her mind. A tattered book? How could such a large bookstore have a tattered book? It was placed on the top shelf. If she hadn't been looking around out of boredom, she might not have even noticed it.
Could it be a rare copy? Maybe she should buy it and study it?
Although Lu Wanning didn't think her luck was that good, she got interested. She found a cloth and carefully wiped the book before taking it to the shopkeeper to ask the price.
The shopkeeper squinted his eyes and looked at it from all angles. He scratched his head and thought for a long time before asking, "Where did you see this, miss?"
Lu Wanning pointed casually. "Over there."
The shopkeeper hesitated for a long time and called a clerk to inquire. The clerk also shook his head repeatedly. It was obvious that neither of them knew when this book had appeared.
Lu Wanning asked impatiently, "If it's not from your bookstore, then give it back to me. I'll just consider it as something I picked up outside."
The shopkeeper didn't dare to comply. He flipped through it and found that it was a damaged guqin score. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "Ten taels of silver."
Lu Wanning's eyes widened. "Ten taels? Are you kidding me? The total price of my three new books is only one tael of silver, and you're asking for ten taels for this one?"
The shopkeeper quickly explained, "Miss, you don't understand. This book is a rare copy. It's damaged inside. Mainly, those who like the guqin would take this score back to repair it. If they can repair it perfectly, they'll surely gain great fame. Usually, we auction items like this by page. Each page of the musical score starts at five taels. There are nine musical pieces in here. Even if we ask you for a hundred taels, it wouldn't be too much."
Lu Wanning thought the shopkeeper was bluffing. Just then, she heard a few men's laughs at the door. She frowned slightly and waved her hand impatiently. "Ten taels it is. Give it to me."
After taking the book, Lu Wanning turned around and saw He Wenbo walking in with two friends, laughing and chatting.
"Is this the bookstore? I wonder if they have any guqin scores. Miss Shi likes the guqin, so I naturally have to find the best one for her." He Wenbo's voice was clear and loud, with a hint of sweetness in his tone.
Just then, Jiang Shishi got the book she wanted. With the help of her maid, she walked out and bumped into the three men.
He Wenbo's face showed an embarrassed expression. Then he rubbed his nose and turned to walk inside.
Lu Wanning didn't know how Jiang Shishi felt, but obviously, her maid couldn't hold back. She stepped forward and asked, "Didn't Second Young Master He say he wasn't feeling well and couldn't go out today?"
He Wenbo's face stiffened. He said impatiently, "Do I need to report my actions to you?"
The maid was so angry that she said, "You..."
"Hongling, don't be rude!" Jiang Shishi's face was pale. She put the book aside and turned to leave.
The maid was both angry and felt wronged for her young mistress. She quickly lifted her skirt and chased after her.
He Wenbo's friend whispered, "Today is your engagement day. This... isn't very appropriate, is it?"
He Wenbo rolled his eyes. "I don't want to marry that lifeless woman. I've told my mother countless times that I don't want to, but my parents don't agree. They even threatened me with the family rules. Humph, hurry up and find the guqin score. Miss Shi has been troubled for days because she can't find a new guqin score."
Lu Wanning leaned against the side and sneered at him. She clapped her hands and said, "Second Young Master He is really a brave and responsible man. This princess has never seen such a thing before. Abandoning your fiancée's engagement banquet just to make another woman smile."
As soon as she said this, everyone in the bookstore looked up and frowned at He Wenbo.
He Wenbo was furious. He shouted, "Lu Wanning, what are you talking nonsense about! Miss Shi and I are innocent. She's my cousin. I just saw that she's been so preoccupied with the guqin musical pieces these days that she can't eat or sleep well, so I want to buy a book for her."
Lu Wanning tapped on the table and sighed. "Neglecting your fiancée for your cousin. Tsk, tsk, tsk. It's really... By the way, I'm also your cousin. I've been so preoccupied with the jade on my curved sword these days that I can't eat or sleep well. I wonder if cousin can be more considerate of me and give me some jade and jewels?"
"You're so vulgar!" He Wenbo was so angry that he was out of control. He knew Lu Wanning had a fiery temper and was afraid she would say something bad about Shi Aohan. He flung his sleeves and walked out of the bookstore.