Farmhouse Green Plum

Chapter 488 Hairpin

When they arrived, the literary competition had already started for a while. Some people had already written poems and handed them to a middle-aged man for evaluation.

From the words of the students, we can know that he is a lecturer of Qingshui Academy, who is a scholar by birth and is more than qualified to comment on poems for a group of Confucian students who have not yet passed the imperial examinations.

This lecturer was also an interesting person. For example, he said, "Your poems are just like a banana leaf that has been eaten by insects." His humor was so witty that even the students who received bad reviews couldn't help laughing.

Song Ying was watching with great interest when she suddenly felt someone tugging at her sleeve. She turned around and saw it was Yuan Qing.

He blinked and headed out to the deck.

Song Ying glanced at the people who came with him. Shen Jing and Shen Yonghui were thinking hard, not wanting to tarnish the reputation of Jiahu Academy in such an occasion. The three sisters of the Shen family were also concentrating on thinking hard. Yanxing Meiyue and the other two were attending such a literary gathering for the first time, and they were so focused that no one noticed them.

She carefully took a few steps back, away from the group of people, before turning around and leaving.

A crescent moon hangs high in the dark sky. Although the moonlight is bright, it does not illuminate the lake very brightly. Fortunately, there are many colorful pleasure boats around, and the dim lights on them make the lake not dark.

She glanced around and soon saw Yuan Qing on the side of the boat. He had his hands on the side of the boat, half leaning on it. The lake breeze blew from the opposite side of him, making his hair and clothes flutter, as if he was about to fly away with the wind.

Song Ying walked over and stood beside him, also looking at the lake and feeling the cool lake breeze on his face.

"I still like this familiar lake breeze on my face. It's cool and makes my mind clearer."

The boy's unique voice sounded in his ears. Song Ying pursed his lips, savored the word "familiar", and smiled.

She likes it too.

"Yes, the smell of alcohol is too strong, it makes people drowsy."

Yuan Qing also smiled, turning slightly to look at Song Ying, "I was negligent today and was not thoughtful enough."

As soon as I finished speaking, I felt the familiar, natural atmosphere begin to shake and heat up again, making my face flush, and the cool lake breeze couldn't blow away the heat on my cheeks.

"It's my first time, so it's normal to have no experience." As soon as the words came out of his mouth, Song Ying wanted to beat himself to death. What a mess he was talking about.

"Yes, I will think it over carefully next time."

Song Ying's cheeks burned uncontrollably, but fortunately it was dark and difficult to see.

She told herself over and over in her heart that there was nothing to be shy about. They read books together by the lake every day, and it was not like they had never been alone together before.

Unfortunately, she couldn't deceive herself. She knew very well in her heart that this was their first real tryst, and it was on a special festival like Chinese Valentine's Day, and it was under the eyes of so many people!

While lifting her hair, she covered her right cheek, hoping to cool her face down with the coolness of her palm, but it had little effect.

"By the way, this is for you." Yuan Qing handed over something.

Song Ying took it and saw the object clearly in the dim light from the cabin. "Silver hairpin?"

Yuan Qing nodded, looking embarrassed. "I asked a silversmith to make it. I originally wanted to add a small green plum pendant, but I'm short of money and can't afford green jade to make the pendant, so this is the only way."

"This hairpin is already very good. I like it very much." Song Ying stroked the pattern on it, a small fruit with two leaves. "So this is engraved with a green plum? Very unique!"

Most hairpin ornaments are engraved with patterns such as peach blossoms, plum blossoms, and auspicious clouds. This is the first time she has seen one engraved with fruit, and it is the particularly rare green plum.

Seeing that she really liked it, Yuan Qing was very happy, "Yes, I asked Aunt Chen for a green plum and followed the picture."

Originally, he wanted to give her a dress embroidered with green plums. He still remembered the Double Ninth Festival that year. She was wearing the beautiful dress her master bought for her. She held up the hem of the dress and tilted her head slightly to show it to him. She exuded joy from the inside out.

At that moment, he finally understood what it meant to smile like a flower.

It turns out that this word is not a metaphor or an adjective, but a real description.

The scene was so beautiful and the smile was so bright that people couldn't help but want to keep looking at it.

But their marriage has not been decided yet, and an extra skirt would really attract attention. The hairpin is small, and no one who is not close to her would notice it.

Song Ying blinked and caught the key point: "Did you draw the pattern?"

Yuan Qing nodded.

Song Ying's heart suddenly melted like honey, sweet. "You have to prepare for the college entrance examination, but you are still painting patterns. Will it affect your studies?"

"It won't take more than a minute and a half."

"Wouldn't that be too expensive? The next academy exam will take place in the provincial capital, and there will be a lot of expenses..."

Before Song Ying finished speaking, Yuan Qing said, "No, no matter how expensive something is, if you like it, it's worth it."

Song Ying felt as if his chest was filled with sunshine, warm and cozy, and the dark night became brighter. The breeze from the lake became softer, making people feel lighter and as if they were about to float upwards.

She wanted to laugh, but was afraid that someone would hear her laugh, so she pursed her lips. However, the corners of her lips kept curling up involuntarily, as if being pulled by some invisible force and she couldn't suppress it no matter what.

The crescent moon overhead grew brighter, illuminating the lake surface with a dim silver glow, like a piece of green satin wrinkled by the wind.

The wind slid over from afar, along the surface of the water, bringing a moist coolness as it gently passed by, making their hair dance and entangle, like butterflies chasing and playing...

Inside the cabin, Shen Wanyun rubbed her swollen temples, got up and went to the inner room, intending to open the window to get some fresh air to clear her mind.

As soon as I lifted the curtain, I saw two people standing outside the ship's side. The night was too hazy and I couldn't see their faces clearly. I could only roughly tell that they were a man and a woman, and their figures seemed somewhat familiar.

In addition to their group, some people also brought their sisters to tonight's literary gathering, including some daughters from official families.

For a moment, Shen Wanyun couldn't guess who these two people were.

Just then, a boat passed by, and the surroundings suddenly became much brighter. Shen Wanyun could see the faces of the two people clearly.

She saw Song Ying and Yuan Qing looking at each other, neither of them spoke, but the friendship and joy in their eyes and brows were so strong that they could not be dissolved.

She was a little surprised, but also felt it was natural. It was normal for people from the same village to have feelings for each other. However, she did not expect that the poor boy Yuan Qing would ignore the advances of his seventh sister and fall in love with the village girl Song Ying.

Immediately, she saw the simple silver hairpin in Song Ying's hand, and couldn't help but sneer. He was indeed a poor boy. He could only afford such a shabby hairpin as a gift for his sweetheart on Valentine's Day. Even the maids in their house who had a little face would not wear it.

Tsk, it's such a family, but grandpa still wants her to marry into their family. It really proves the saying that no matter how things are in daily life, the superiority of legitimate and illegitimate children can be seen when they get married. If Yuan Qing is really that good, why doesn't grandpa let the fifth and seventh sisters marry into their family?