Chapter 497 - 153 Xiao Hong_6
Having found this warm sanctuary, the black little bird seemed quite comfortable and soon squinted its eyes as if about to fall asleep. Ji Heng watched it for a while, shook her head, and walked to the other end.
This bird was not supposed to be alive, but he truly couldn’t bring himself to do as Jiang Li suggested: to deliberately feed a mute medicine to a bird—it was better to take it back. The Shen residence had simply lost a mynah, and seeing how noisy this mynah was, it wasn’t favored by people either.
He couldn’t help but get the strange impression of "keeping a mistress."
...
In the first few days of the New Year, the festivities were in full swing. Everywhere on the streets, children could be seen playing, dressed in new clothes and hats, holding sugared haws, and their noisy jubilance was a sign of a festive atmosphere.
At Mingyi Hall during the New Year, the students didn’t have to attend school, so the doors were firmly shut. The masters, having a rare moment of leisure, either gathered in small groups with friends or took the time to tend to their own matters. It was, after all, quite a laid-back time.
Xiao Deyin, however, was different.
She lived alone in a mansion and did not stay with her family. People said it was because she had a resilience not inferior to that of men. She never planned to marry in her lifetime. Although she was gentle and beautiful, and not lacking in admirers from official families, her ambition lied in becoming a zither master, devoted to the ancient zither for life. The Xiao family initially tried to persuade her but eventually gave up.