The next day, Wen Yu walked out of the room yawning, with two faint dark circles under her eyes.
Ever since learning that the room had originally belonged to that scoundrel, she had lain in bed at night, resting her head on the chaff-filled pillow and covered by the half-worn quilt, feeling uncomfortable everywhere.
It wasn’t that the pillow or bedding had any strange odor, but rather that although the Great Liang Dynasty had an open-minded culture, it certainly wasn’t so liberal that unmarried men and women could share the same quilt.
Of course, Wen Yu clearly understood this was an exceptional circumstance that couldn’t be judged by ordinary standards.
When Ren Yazi had delivered her that day, she had been covered in rashes and suffering from a wind-cold with a high fever that wouldn’t break. That scoundrel presumably hadn’t dared risk placing her in the same room as his mother, which was why he had made such an arrangement.
But understanding something in one’s mind was one thing; being able to completely not mind it was another matter entirely.
It was just that right now her wind-cold hadn’t fully recovered, and the rashes on her body still showed red marks. She absolutely couldn’t rashly suggest going to Xiao Huiniang’s room to squeeze in and sleep with her.
In this severe winter, after a night of wind and snow, the icicles hanging from the eaves could grow a full chi long. Wen Yu had already experienced beatings at Ren Yazi’s hands and walked before the gates of hell once, so she cherished her life dearly. She didn’t dare endure a whole night of freezing just for the sake of that bit of so-called reputation, stubbornly refusing to sleep in the bed.
Therefore, after nightfall, she still wrapped herself in the quilt and lay down to sleep. However, the soapberry scent on the quilt, which had previously been so faint as to be almost undetectable, seemed to suddenly become rich and intense, lingering around her nose and keeping her awake until the middle of the night.
Wen Yu only dozed off in a daze around the fourth watch. When dawn had just broken and a rooster from some unknown household in the distance began crowing to announce the morning, she lost any desire to sleep again and simply got dressed and got up.
The wind had howled all through last night. When Wen Yu opened the main door of the central room, she saw snow so thick it nearly covered the threshold, with the entire courtyard blanketed in white.
She lightly poked her finger into the nearly half-chi thick accumulated snow, recalling that yesterday after she had gotten up, only the rim of the water vat and the courtyard walls had been piled high with snow, while the ground itself hadn’t accumulated much—it must have been swept by someone.
Right now Xiao Huiniang hadn’t risen yet, and that scoundrel hadn’t returned last night either. Wen Yu surveyed the interior and found a broom behind the door, first sweeping away the snow piled at the entrance.
At that moment, however, a noise came from outside the courtyard wall. Wen Yu leaned on the broom and looked up, just in time to see the scoundrel who hadn’t returned all night bracing himself against the top of the wall and leaping down, his form as agile as a leopard returning from the hunt.
Seeing her, Xiao Li also froze for a moment. His gaze fell on the broom in her hand, then he furrowed his brow, walked closer, retrieved a broom made of bound fine bamboo branches from the corner by the outer wall, tossed it to her and said, “Use this one to sweep the courtyard.”
Wen Yu looked at the bamboo branch broom that had been tossed over but didn’t make a sound.
In the past at the prince’s manor, when she had seen the rough servant girls sweeping snow, the brooms in their hands had been made of palm fiber.
So earlier when she had spotted this palm fiber broom in the room, she had taken it to sweep the snow without a moment’s hesitation.
Fortunately, that scoundrel didn’t seem to have any intention of reproaching her further. He lifted his foot to head inside the house, his head and shoulders both covered with a layer of fine snow, his handsome face showing unmistakable weariness. With exhausted laziness, he tossed out a sentence: “I’m going to sleep for a while. Don’t call me for breakfast.”
Wen Yu watched as he entered the room and walked straight toward the reclining chair by the fire pit, pulled the thin blanket over himself with a toss and lay down to sleep.
He seemed to not have closed his eyes all night. She wondered what he had been doing last night.
Wen Yu turned her head back to continue sweeping the snow, though the movements of her hands became much lighter.
Before long, Xiao Huiniang also got up. Seeing her son sleeping with his head tilted on the reclining chair, she picked up the blanket that had fallen halfway off and covered him back up with light, careful movements.
Xiao Li slept deeply and wasn’t disturbed by this small commotion. His usually fierce eyes were now only slightly lowered, as if even in his dreams he wasn’t very happy.
When Xiao Huiniang came out, Wen Yu said softly, “Second Master only returned this morning. He said he wanted to sleep for a while and wouldn’t need breakfast.”
Xiao Huiniang sighed quietly and said, “Let him rest well. It’s my fault for being a burden to him. If he could find proper work, why would he need to stay out all night every few days?”
Wen Yu didn’t understand the meaning of Xiao Huiniang’s words. Was it because the gambling house paid high wages, and her medical expenses were also high, that this scoundrel was forced to work at the gambling house? Or was it that… for some reason, this scoundrel could only work at the gambling house?
But these were matters she couldn’t inquire about, so she only said, “Does Second Master often have to collect debts at night too?”
Xiao Huiniang said, “It’s not collecting debts. The gambling house doesn’t close at night either. To prevent people from causing trouble, the workers below need to take turns watching over the establishment.”
With this explanation, Wen Yu understood completely.
This scoundrel had gone to watch over the gambling house last night.
No wonder yesterday when Xiao Huiniang heard him say he wouldn’t return at night, she hadn’t asked much, only instructing him to be careful on the road.
As she was lowering her eyes and silently pondering these matters, she suddenly heard Xiao Huiniang say, “I’m going out for a bit. Today is market day, and Li Erlang who sells sundries at the street corner always leaves early. I’ll take these handkerchiefs to him and have him take them to the tile market to sell. A’Yu, could you light a brazier for Huan’er?”
Called by her nickname, Wen Yu snapped back to attention and only then noticed that Xiao Huiniang was still carrying a basket in her hand. She immediately stopped Xiao Huiniang, saying, “Big Sister, wait a moment. I also embroidered some yesterday. Please take them along as well.”
As she spoke, she put down the broom and went into the room. When she came out, she held seven or eight handkerchiefs in her hand.
Xiao Huiniang was quite surprised. “You embroidered this many?”
Wen Yu said, “Thanks to Big Sister’s kindness, I have a place to shelter. A’Yu possesses nothing of value, only this embroidery skill is passable, so I wanted to help Big Sister a little.”
Since this concerned whether she could contact her personal guards early, she naturally didn’t dare slack off.
Xiao Huiniang was moved in her heart, gripping her hand and repeatedly calling her “good child.”
Those several handkerchiefs, Wen Yu had embroidered in a hurry, so naturally they weren’t as refined as her usual needlework. But for selling in a market setting, they were more than adequate. What’s more, what made them outstanding was the embroidered pattern designs on the handkerchiefs.
After Xiao Huiniang roughly looked over the seven or eight handkerchiefs she had embroidered, she placed them all in the basket and went out carrying them.
When the courtyard gate opened, the door shaft let out a heavy “creak,” but suddenly a low, somewhat hoarse voice rang out from inside the house: “Mother, where are you going?”
The sudden voice from inside startled Wen Yu.
She turned her head and saw that the person who had been sleeping with closed eyes on the reclining chair had awakened.
Xiao Huiniang said from outside the courtyard gate, “Sleep a bit more. I’m going to Li Erlang’s house.”
Then the courtyard gate closed again with another “creak” of a muffled thud.
Only then did Xiao Li lie back down again.
Wen Yu was somewhat surprised. So this scoundrel had climbed over the wall to come in earlier because he was afraid the sound of opening the gate would wake his mother?
He was quite filial after all.
She withdrew her gaze, remembering Xiao Huiniang’s instruction to light a brazier, and went to the kitchen. But after searching all around she couldn’t find a tinderbox to light fires. She only found a flint and a fire steel to strike the flint in a small cavity beneath the stove, which made her furrow her brow.
She didn’t know how to use this flint and fire steel.
She could recognize them only because she had seen them in books before.
The books said one needed to strike the stone with the fire steel to ignite the tinder.
Wen Yu found some dry fluffy grass from the firewood pile, placed the flint underneath and tried striking it with the fire steel for a while, but aside from making her hand hurt from the striking, she didn’t produce even half a spark.
She stared at these items in contemplation for a while, then took them to the main room.
Xiao Li had just fallen into a deep sleep when he heard a series of clanging sounds. He opened his eyes with a furrowed brow and saw that woman crouching in front of the fire pit, striking the flint with the fire steel, but both the direction and force were wrong.
Being disturbed from his sleep several times, his expression really couldn’t be considered pleasant. “You don’t even know how to light a fire?”
The flint and fire steel were both in the kitchen, yet she specifically brought them here to strike—it was hard not to suspect she was doing it on purpose.
But that woman only timidly lowered her head without speaking, which suddenly made him unable to lose his temper.
Xiao Li rubbed his face and resignedly sat up, reaching for the fire steel in the woman’s hand. But because he hadn’t slept all night and had just dozed off only to be awakened again, he wasn’t in the best state of mind. When taking the fire steel, his palm inadvertently brushed against the back of her hand.
The incredible smoothness and cool warmth instantly jolted Xiao Li more than halfway awake. The woman also seemed startled, quickly pulling her hand back.
Xiao Li furrowed his brow, wanting to explain something, but when the words reached his lips he swallowed them back.
It had been unintentional to begin with; saying anything would only make it seem like protesting too much.
He picked up the fire steel and struck it against the flint. Sparks immediately burst forth and ignited the dry fluffy grass below. Xiao Li then covered the flames with two pieces of dry bamboo shoot shells, and the flames instantly grew more vigorous.
With his palm being warmed by the firelight, the smooth touch from that fleeting contact still lingered on it, involuntarily making him recall yesterday when melted snow water from the back of her hand had flowed between her fingers.
That hand was extremely beautiful, with slender finger bones and skin so lustrous it was nearly translucent. The frostbite redness spreading from her fingertips contrasted with the rash marks on the back of her hand, like orchid grass covered in snow, and like red plum blossoms budding.
But every inch of sinew connecting bone and skin was taut, and thus the orchid grass had intention, the red plum had backbone.
Originally he had been too lazy to further investigate what exactly was hidden beneath that seemingly timid expression, but at this moment he suddenly felt the urge to uncover that orchid grass’s intention and red plum’s backbone.
The firelight had already grown bright. Xiao Li added a final log to the fire pit, his handsome profile reflecting the firelight, making it impossible to see clearly the expression in his eyes.
Wen Yu had been feeling unsettled in her heart because of the earlier accident. Now seeing that scoundrel not speaking, listening to the “crackling” sound of firewood burning in the fire pit, she only felt as if a string in the air was also silently tightening.
She lowered her eyes to look at the rashes on the back of her own hand, where the red marks were still quite visible.
This shouldn’t be happening…
The red rashes on her face were only less swollen than before, but hadn’t faded. It absolutely couldn’t be that her appearance was bringing her trouble.
Just as she was about to say something to break this unsettling silence, the courtyard gate was suddenly knocked upon.
Wen Yu thought it was Xiao Huiniang returning. Feeling relieved, she stood up and said, “I’ll go open the gate.”
She stepped down from the platform and opened the courtyard gate. Standing outside, however, was a burly man with broad shoulders and thick waist. When that man saw her, his eyes were quite unfriendly. Without waiting for Wen Yu to speak, he directly walked past her toward the inside: “Second Brother, I went to the gambling house this morning and Monkey said you left word for me!”
Seeing it was someone looking for that scoundrel, Wen Yu didn’t obstruct him, only watching his retreating figure with a slight furrow of her brow.
Xiao Li no longer planned to catch up on sleep. When the bearded man entered the door, he pointed to a long bench beside him: “Sit down and talk.”
The man was tall and burly, with a build even more robust than Xiao Li’s. When he sat down he looked like a small mountain. He swept a glance at Wen Yu, who was outside picking up the broom again to sweep snow, and complained, “So that’s the maid that Chen Laizi tricked Big Sister into accepting? Second Brother, you really should bring her to the gambling house and let the boss and the brothers all take a good look at what a shabby sight this is. Then see if that bastard Wang Qing still has the face to swear up and down that you, Second Brother, accepted benefits from Chen Laizi and let him escape…”
Wen Yu, who was outside pretending to sweep snow to avoid going inside: “…”
That voice was a bit too loud; she couldn’t even pretend not to have heard.
However, although what he said were words disparaging her, she actually felt quite relieved.
This was what she wanted to see. She had tormented herself into this appearance precisely so that others would shy away from her at first sight.
That scoundrel… she didn’t know if he had some strange fetish, always staring at her like that.
Wen Yu was so startled by her own thought that she felt a chill of revulsion and quickly stopped that train of thought.
“…That dog bastard Chen Laizi too, actually had the nerve to scheme against you, Second Brother. What did the boss say?”
The conversation inside the house continued. Wen Yu sensed that Chen Laizi’s foolish move seemed to have brought trouble to that scoundrel. Afraid this fire would burn toward herself, she couldn’t help but focus intently and continue listening carefully.