The Road to Glory

Chapter 21

Xiao Li lifted his half-drunken eyes: "..."

After several heavy snowfalls, the festive atmosphere in the streets grew increasingly vibrant day by day.

Since that day, Wen Yu had rarely seen Xiao Li. Though they lived under the same roof, he left early and returned late every day, occasionally not coming home at night.

As long as Wen Yu woke up a bit later in the morning and returned to her room earlier in the evening, she could essentially avoid him completely.

Xiao Huiniang simply thought both were busy with their own affairs and didn't notice the tension between them.

After lying in the medical clinic for several days to heal his superficial wounds, Hou Xiao'an could no longer stay put and kept wanting to follow Xiao Li around again.

Xiao Li had him stay at home instead. Only under Xiao Huiniang's watch did he finally settle down.

It was from Hou Xiao'an that Wen Yu learned Xiao Li had actually cracked open Wang Qing's head at the gambling house that day.

Wang Qing remained bedridden to this day. The proprietor originally had both him and Xiao Li at his disposal, but with Wang Qing severely injured, all tasks—guarding the gambling house, collecting debts, and handling the proprietor's shady dealings—fell entirely on Xiao Li's shoulders.

This came as quite a surprise to her. She had assumed Xiao Li would teach Wang Qing a lesson over the incident and then wait for the proprietor to take his side. Instead, he directly disabled the proprietor's other enforcer, forcing the proprietor to rely solely on him for the time being.

Though effective, this method was overly aggressive and would only make the proprietor more wary of him. Without Wang Qing, the proprietor would inevitably promote someone else—be it Li Qing or Liu Qing—to continue challenging him.

Wen Yu didn't know what Xiao Li had been thinking at the time, but this explained why he had been so busy lately.

If he were clever, he would seize this opportunity to suppress those under Wang Qing who could be suppressed, win over those who could be swayed, and firmly take control of the entire gambling house.

This way, whether Wang Qing returned after recovering or the proprietor intended to groom a new subordinate, neither could shake Xiao Li's position in the short term.

Recalling what Xiao Li had told her that day—that the proprietor could no longer use Wang Qing—Wen Yu surmised this was likely his plan.

Though the method was somewhat extreme, the fact that he dared to take such action showed he had nerve.

"...Third Brother has already been promoted by Second Brother to his former position! When I recover and return to the gambling house, I'll be managing several people too!" Hou Xiao'an chattered excitedly to Wen Yu.

But Wen Yu was completely lost in her own thoughts and didn't react at all.

Hou Xiao'an waved his hand in front of her eyes: "Sister A Yu? Sister A Yu?"

Wen Yu snapped back to reality and looked at him: "What?"

Hou Xiao'an said, "What were you thinking about so intently, Sister A Yu? I called you several times but you didn't respond."

Wen Yu made a few stitches on her embroidery hoop and said, "Auntie mentioned that the embroidered handkerchiefs are selling well with the cloth merchants. A stewardess from an embroidery workshop took a liking to the thread colors and patterns, and wants me to design some embroidery patterns for their ready-made garments. They're offering good payment, so I've been pondering the patterns and color schemes."

Her handkerchief embroidery business with Xiao Huiniang had taken an unexpected turn. Originally, several embroiderers had agreed to embroider handkerchiefs, but after troublemakers spread rumors that Xiao Huiniang was once the top courtesan at Drunken Red Chamber, they all resigned, fearing public criticism.Just as Xiao Huiniang was about to embroider everything herself, several widowed women came to her door, saying they were willing to take on the work. However, instead of coming to embroider daily, they would take the fabric and embroidery patterns home to work on, delivering a batch of finished handkerchiefs every few days. This way, they could avoid neighborhood gossip.

After discussing it with Wen Yu, Xiao Huiniang immediately agreed.

The first batch of handkerchiefs sold extremely well to the cloth merchant. When Xiao Huiniang returned from the market, she was so happy she couldn't stop smiling all day.

As soon as Hou Xiao'an heard it was related to earning money, he immediately stopped his constant chatter with Wen Yu and hurriedly said, "Then you think slowly, I won't disturb you anymore."

He sprawled himself on the recliner that Xiao Li slept on at night, but finding it uncomfortable, he tossed and turned like flipping pancakes. Finally, he couldn't help muttering, "How does Second Brother sleep on this at night? It's so hard and uncomfortable..."

Upon hearing this, Wen Yu's hand holding the needle paused slightly.

She didn't know how that person managed to sleep on this recliner either.

The low bed Xiao Huiniang had ordered from the carpenter wouldn't be delivered until after the New Year.

If that rogue came home during this period, he would still have to sleep on this recliner.

That day when he saw how badly she had cooked the rice, his words had been rather harsh. Feeling embarrassed, Wen Yu had been intentionally avoiding him lately and hadn't spoken to him for several days.

But to be fair, he had never truly been stingy with her regarding food and accommodation.

Thinking of this, and recalling how in her shame and embarrassment she had boldly claimed she would repay all clothing and living expenses, Wen Yu felt somewhat ashamed.

When Xiao Huiniang first took pity and took her in, it was an act of kindness. Although that rogue hadn't been particularly kind to her, he had never made things difficult for her, and was even still giving up his room to sleep on the recliner.

Yet she had shamelessly described the mother and son's kindness as if it were some transaction.

The more Wen Yu thought about it, the heavier her guilt became. After some consideration, she asked, "Xiao'an, do you have any other brothers?"

Hou Xiao'an was taken aback and asked, "Why?"

Wen Yu said, "Auntie insisted on giving me some of the money from selling the embroidered handkerchiefs. I noticed your Second Brother sleeps here at night with only a thin quilt. I'd like to buy him a thicker one, but I have to rush to finish this fan embroidery and don't have time to go buy it myself..."

Hou Xiao'an immediately brightened up and said, "Why would we need other brothers? I can go buy it!"

Wen Yu hesitated, "Your injuries..."

Hou Xiao'an quickly patted his chest vigorously, "I'm going to do great things with Second Brother! These minor injuries healed long ago. Second Brother only left me here because he didn't want me following him to collect debts, it's not like I can't even run an errand!"

Xiao Huiniang was busy working in the kitchen and hadn't heard their earlier conversation. Coming over to get something now, she smiled and said, "A Yu, if you need to buy something, just let Xiao'an go. He's like a restless monkey - he's been cooped up here all morning and can't sit still anymore."

Hou Xiao'an quickly nodded, "Exactly, exactly!"

Wen Yu smiled slightly, took out some money and handed it to him, "Then I'll trouble you, Xiao'an. With the remaining money, please buy me a box of rouge. It doesn't need to be expensive, just choose the cheapest one."

Hou Xiao'an let out an "Ah," his gaze falling on the veil Wen Yu wore. Her features below the nose bridge were completely covered, leaving only her clear, moonlit eyes that held a slight smile as she looked at him.

Hou Xiao'an's face suddenly flushed red, and he stammered in agreement.Wen Yu thought to herself that if it weren't for the rashes on her face, Sister A Yu would have been quite beautiful. But even with the rashes, wanting to use rouge was only natural—after all, what young woman doesn’t care about her appearance?

Holding a string of coins, he hopped down the steps and headed outside.

Wen Yu had no idea what Hou Xiao'an was thinking. She had woken up this morning to find the rash marks on her face completely healed. Worried that showing her true appearance might cause trouble, she had covered her face with a veil even at home.

When Xiao Huiniang asked about it, she claimed she might have caught a chill and was coughing a little, so she covered her face to avoid passing it on.

Xiao Huiniang went on at length, urging her to put on more layers and not to overwork herself with embroidery.

Wen Yu felt a warmth in her heart. Though she hadn’t been with the Xiao family for long, Xiao Huiniang treated her with a kindness no less than that of the nanny who had cared for her in the past.

She sighed at the turmoil in the land. In peaceful times, once her trusted aides found her, how could mere wealth repay such kindness? No matter what, she would have to help the mother and son remove their low-status registration and secure a good official position for the son.

But for now, she could only wait for her father to regain power before she could do these things for them.

The more immediate trouble was her appearance.

Wen Yu had considered using cat fur to trigger her allergies again, but aside from the suffering it would cause, the Xiao family didn’t keep a cat. Even if a stray occasionally crossed the courtyard wall, they were too skittish to approach easily.

Besides, her current situation was relatively stable, and she hadn’t yet reached the point where she needed to harm herself for self-preservation.

So after much thought, she decided to buy a box of rouge and dot her hands and face with rash-like marks daily. That way, she wouldn’t need to cover her face and draw unwanted attention.

Xiao Li left Fengqing Tower, his stomach churning violently. Leaning against the wall, he vomited into the public drain.

With Wang Qing’s downfall, the capable men under him needed to be absorbed. The year-end banquet was the only opportunity for the two factions to sit down and negotiate.

Today’s matter was considered a success.

He had barely touched his food during the banquet, being plied with alcohol the entire time. Now, all he vomited was wine.

Zheng Hu rushed out after him, frustrated. "I should have been the one to drink for you, Second Brother. Why did you keep shielding me? Those bastards deliberately took turns filling you up. No one could hold that much, no matter how great their capacity…"

Xiao Li braced himself against the wall with one hand and waved dismissively, signaling Zheng Hu to say no more.

His stomach was still uneasy, and he didn’t feel like talking.

Tiny snowflakes settled in his hair, accentuating the faint flush in his eyes from the alcohol. His already striking looks gained an added allure, causing passing young women to glance back at him repeatedly.

He reached into his robe, pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his mouth, but paused when he noticed the delicate orchid embroidery. He tucked it back into his robe.

It was the handkerchief Wen Yu had given him earlier. He had washed it clean but hadn’t found a chance to return it yet.

Noticing this, Zheng Hu asked, "What’s wrong?"

Xiao Li replied, "It’s a handkerchief from home. The fabric is too fine to waste."

Hearing him say it was from home, Zheng Hu assumed it was from Xiao Huiniang. He turned back toward the tower, saying, "Wait here, Second Brother. I’ll ask the server for a handkerchief and a bowl of hot soup."

Xiao Li didn’t respond. He retched a couple more times before his stomach felt somewhat relieved.

Leaning against the wall, he let the cold wind sober him up, when he spotted a familiar figure clutching a thick quilt, darting around several rouge shops across the street.

Frowning slightly, he called out, "Xiao'an?"From behind a thick quilt across the way, a head popped out. Spotting him, the person called out cheerfully, "Second Brother!"

Then they scurried over eagerly.

Xiao Li felt a twitch at his temple and said, "I thought my drunken eyes were playing tricks on me, but it really is you, kid?"

He glanced at the quilt Hou Xiao'an was struggling to hold and asked, "What are you buying a quilt for?"

Hou Xiao'an replied, "It's for you, bought by Sister A Yu."

Xiao Li lifted his half-drunken eyes, sobering up a bit: "For me?"

Hou Xiao'an nodded: "Sister A Yu said the bedding you sleep under is too thin, so she sent me to buy a thicker one."

Xiao Li stared at the quilt for a long moment before asking again, "Then what were you darting around the rouge shop for?"

Hou Xiao'an explained, "Sister A Yu also asked me to buy her a box of rouge, saying the cheapest would do. After buying the quilt, there really wasn't much money left, so I was comparing which shop had the cheapest."

"Rouge?"

Xiao Li frowned. In his memory, that woman didn't seem like the type to wear rouge.

Thinking Xiao Li was bothered by Wen Yu having blemishes yet still using rouge, Hou Xiao'an said, "After all, Sister A Yu is a woman. You know... 'A scholar dies for his bosom friend, a woman adorns herself for her admirer. To die under the peony, even as a ghost, is romantic.' What woman doesn't want to look beautiful..."

When Xiao Li heard "a woman adorns herself for her admirer," his heart skipped a beat. Then, hearing "to die under the peony," his face darkened. He rapped Hou Xiao'an on the head: "How many times have I told you? Don't misuse poems and idioms you don't understand! And stop mixing them up randomly!"

Hou Xiao'an grimaced from the knock, complaining aggrievedly, "Doesn't this poem mean women all like to look beautiful? So much so that even dying beside a pretty peony would make them happy as ghosts!"

Xiao Li pinched the bridge of his nose, giving up on correcting his misuse of phrases. He muttered softly, "Can the cheapest rouge even be used...?"

Hou Xiao'an didn't catch it, covering his head with one hand: "What did you say, Second Brother?"

Xiao Li didn't answer, pulling a money pouch from his robe and tossing it to him. After a moment's thought, he said, "Buy her the best one."