Chapter 4
He suddenly moved closer to Wen Yu, his presence overwhelming...
"You're back?" Xiao Huiniang cleared another spot by the firepit and said, "The wind and snow are heavy outside. Come warm your hands and feet."
"Not too bad, not too cold." Xiao Li's gaze fleetingly swept over Wen Yu sitting by the firepit as he took off his bamboo hat and hung it on the wall by the door. Carrying several oil-paper packages, he walked in: "Passed by Fengqing Tower and bought some pastries you like."Xiao Huiniang, feeling heartbroken for her son's hard-earned money, couldn't help but nag: 'Wasting money again.' I've told you I don't like these..."
Xiao Li placed the pastries on the table and said, "During the New Year festival, Fengqing Tower offers buy-one-get-one-free on pastries. It didn't cost much."
The inappropriate question Wen Yu had blurted out earlier was thus buried under the mother and son's conversation.
Xiao Li hooked a long stool with his foot and sat by the firepit to warm his hands. Although the cleared space was quite large, his tall stature and long legs still made the corner of the firepit feel cramped, like a giant beast returning from the raging snowstorm, retracting its claws and fangs in this confined space.
Since he entered the room, Wen Yu hadn't lifted her head again, silently embroidering the handkerchief on her hoop in the corner.
However, the overwhelming presence of the person opposite made her unconsciously tense all her nerves.
"Why are you back so early today? Are you going out again this afternoon?" Xiao Huiniang added two pieces of firewood to the pit and used iron tongs to take out the glowing charcoal, placing it into an earthen jar covered with a mud brick nearby.
"Have to go out. Today I'm collecting debt from Butcher Li. It's close to home, so I came back for a meal." The snowflakes on Xiao Li's body melted from the fire's heat, leaving dampness. He leaned over to pick up a broken piece of firewood, this posture making him suddenly move closer to Wen Yu, his sense of oppression intensifying.
The needle in Wen Yu's hand suddenly pricked her fingertip, the pain making her frown. Though she made no sound, her hand trembled slightly.
Xiao Li raised his eyes, his wild and scrutinizing gaze just meeting hers.
Wen Yu didn't dare meet his eyes, lowering her gaze and curling her injured finger. The rash on her cheek seemed much fainter in the firelight.
"Did you prick yourself? Let me see." Noticing Wen Yu's hand tremble, Xiao Huiniang knew something was wrong. Taking her hand, she saw a bean-sized drop of blood already welling on her fingertip and couldn't help but feel pity: "How did you prick it so deep?".."
Wen Yu said, "It's my clumsiness. I've soiled your handkerchief."
Xiao Huiniang said, "A little blood on the handkerchief doesn't matter; it'll wash out. Is the light too dim over there? Move closer for your embroidery work."
As she spoke, she patted the long bench beside her.
Sitting there would inevitably bring her extremely close to the Rogue. Just as Wen Yu was about to refuse, she saw the Rogue throw the broken piece of firewood into the flames, straighten up, and ask Xiao Huiniang: "Have you taken your medicine yet?"
Xiao Huiniang said, "Not yet. I was planning to warm it while cooking."
He then picked up a brightly burning stick from the firepit and walked out: "I'll warm it for you."
Once he left, Wen Yu felt she could breathe much more freely and moved to sit where Xiao Huiniang had indicated, as suggested.
Xiao Huiniang seemed to have noticed her fear of her son and said with a smile, "Although my son works at the gambling house, he's not one of those barbaric types." Don't be afraid of him."Wen Yu obediently nodded, but the wariness in her heart remained.
She had suffered brutal beatings at the hands of Chen Lai Zi and witnessed him casually whipping others. As a bond servant tricked by Chen Lai Zi and sent by his mother to settle debts, how could she not fear that man?
Therefore, whenever the rogue was around, she did her utmost to minimize her presence.
Xiao Huiniang chattered on about other matters while tidying the embroidery frame. When she noticed the handkerchief stained with Wen Yu’s blood, her gaze suddenly paused. She picked it up and examined it against the light, then looked back at Wen Yu with a mix of delight and scrutiny. “You know Suzhou embroidery?”
Wen Yu nodded. “My mother was from Suzhou and Hangzhou, skilled in Suzhou embroidery. I learned a bit from her.”
Xiao Huiniang studied the few stitches Wen Yu had embroidered and praised, “Your needlework is extraordinary. Even those embroiderers who rely on their craft for a living might not compare to you.”
As the foremost noble lady of Luodu, what earned her acclaim was not merely her status. Wen Yu’s demeanor, needlework, and talents were all honed under the strict tutelage of instructors and mentors, often with the aid of rulers.
Recalling the past, Wen Yu’s eyes dimmed slightly, and a tickle rose in her throat. She coughed twice and said, “You flatter me, Auntie.”
Xiao Huiniang grew increasingly fond of the stitches Wen Yu had made and smiled at her. “If this handkerchief were sold at double the price in a vendor’s stall, it would surely be snatched up in no time.”
Wen Yu replied, “Then I’ll help you embroider in my spare time.”
This was precisely her intention in revealing her embroidery skills. Though her cold had somewhat improved, her constitution remained weak. Having lived a life of privilege before, she was unaccustomed to manual labor.
Yet, judging by the rogue’s words that day, he intended for her to take on all household chores and serve his mother. Wen Yu worried that her inability to perform these tasks well would incur their displeasure, making her situation even more dire.
After all, Xiao Huiniang’s kindness stemmed from pity, but how long would such compassion last? The Xiao family did not seem well-off, and an extra mouth meant extra expenses. As someone who could neither carry heavy loads nor perform strenuous tasks, how could there not be resentment over time?
If she could take on some embroidery work, she would not be freeloading.
Xiao Huiniang, however, was not a harsh person and refused to let Wen Yu help with such tasks while still unwell. “Your cold hasn’t fully healed yet. Focus on recuperating for now.”
Wen Yu insisted, “Idleness serves no purpose. Handling needles and thread can help pass the time.”
With the matter put this way, Xiao Huiniang could no longer refuse. She smiled and agreed, then examined the handkerchief Wen Yu had embroidered and said, “The pattern you embroidered is lovely. I’ve never seen anything like it before.”
Wen Yu explained, “It’s a fashionable style from Luodu. Perhaps it hasn’t reached this area yet.”
At these words, Xiao Huiniang’s eyes brightened even more. “That’s perfect! Trendy patterned handkerchiefs usually sell out in less than half a day at vendor stalls on market days. The only downside is that the designs are quickly copied. Before long, the streets are flooded with similar silk handkerchiefs. In the long run, it’s the needlework that truly matters.”
Hearing this, Wen Yu’s eyes flickered with interest. “Flooding the streets?”
Thinking she didn’t understand the situation, Xiao Huiniang explained, “Popular designs are always eagerly imitated by embroiderers. They rely on this for their livelihood.”
Wen Yu lowered her gaze and said softly, “Then I’ll embroider using the latest styles from Luodu.”She had been at a loss earlier, not knowing how to contact her personal attendants, but Xiao Huiniang's casual remark gave her a clue.
If fashionable handkerchief styles could be so widely imitated that they flooded the streets, she could slightly modify the secret emblem used to contact the Wen family's death warriors and embroider it onto a handkerchief. When her attendants saw it, they would know she was here.
With this idea in mind, Wen Yu ignored the pain in her hand and Xiao Huiniang's advice, immediately continuing her embroidery by the fire pit.
When Xiao Li entered the room carrying the cooked meal, he saw the woman Chen Lai Zi had pawned off on him sitting by the fire pit, not even lifting her head as she focused intently on her needlework.
Xiao Li unconsciously frowned.
Was she afraid he would think she wasn't pulling her weight, so she found work for herself as soon as she could get out of bed?
He didn't consider himself a particularly kind person, but he wasn't so harsh as that, was he?
Thinking of how she had looked at him several times as if he were some ferocious beast, he felt slightly displeased but didn't dwell on it.
Her fear would make her take extra care in looking after his mother, without harboring any ulterior motives - that was a good thing.
Yet whenever he recalled the ferocity with which she had picked up a brick to smash Chen Lai Zi, and then looked at her current timid and obedient appearance, he felt something wasn't quite right.
His gaze, which should have just glanced over her, lingered on Wen Yu for a few more breaths, sharp enough to seem like it could peel open her spine and search for something within.
But Wen Yu only continued moving her needle and thread, as if completely unaware.
Xiao Li withdrew his gaze, placed the food on the square table, and called out: "Mother, time to eat."
Xiao Huiniang, who had been watching Wen Yu embroider by the fire pit, responded with an "Aye," then called to Wen Yu: "A Yu, finish your meal before continuing with the embroidery. Those few stitches can wait."
When Wen Yu, who had been completely focused on her needlework, heard the name "A Yu," her embroidery needle nearly pricked her fingertip again.
No one had called her that since leaving Fengyang.
Suppressing the emotions surging within her, Wen Yu responded with an "Okay."
One side of the square table was against the wall, with Xiao Huiniang and Xiao Li each sitting on one side.
When Wen Yu approached, she noticed that the unoccupied side also had a bowl and chopsticks set, with dough drop soup already served in the bowl, apparently prepared for her.
Though doubtful, she didn't dare sit down immediately. After all, back in the prince's mansion, no matter how favored a maid was, she had to stand by to serve dishes when her masters were eating. So she picked up the chopsticks and stood beside Xiao Huiniang, asking: "Madam, what would you like to eat?"
Xiao Huiniang, holding a large bowl with chopsticks already picking up some stir-fried bamboo shoots, turned to look at her strangely and said: "Sit down and eat. I can pick what I want to eat myself."
Truth be told, there weren't many dishes to choose from on the table - aside from a plate of stir-fried bamboo shoots and a plate of salt-boiled beans, there was only a dish of pickled vegetables.
Wen Yu stood frozen in place, chopsticks in hand.
She didn't need to serve dishes?
Her questioning gaze turned toward the rogue.
Xiao Li, caught by her look, choked on a mouthful of dough drop soup. After coughing twice, he said: "We don't have so many rules at home. Since we told you to sit and eat, just sit down and eat."
Only then did Wen Yu sit at the other side of the table. As she ate the dough drop soup made from some unknown flour paste, she gradually came to understand something.
Although the rogue had said she was to be a maid for his mother, it seemed neither he nor his mother cared much about formal hierarchies.Lost in her own thoughts, she was startled when Xiao Huiniang placed a strand of bamboo shoots into her bowl. "Why only eat the dough drop soup? Have some vegetables too."
The peculiar feeling in Wen Yu's heart grew heavier, gradually accumulating into a somewhat astringent emotion. She lowered her head and picked at the oil-glistening bamboo shoots, hoarsely murmuring her thanks.
Xiao Huiniang looked at her slender frame, still visibly thin even in her old padded jacket, and felt even more compassion. "Don't stand on ceremony," she said. "I've told you, from now on just treat this place as your own home."
Xiao Li glanced at her while eating his dough drop soup but remained silent.
After the meal, Xiao Huiniang drank another dose of medicine and, feeling somewhat fatigued, returned to her room to rest.
Listening to the sounds of washing from the kitchen, Wen Yu weighed whether to continue her embroidery by the fire pit or return to her room. Eventually, she took her sewing basket and went back to her room.
When Xiao Li returned after cleaning the dishes and found no one by the fire pit, he slightly raised an eyebrow.
He walked to Wen Yu's door and knocked.
Author's Note:
The first three chapters' red envelopes have been distributed. Thank you all for supporting this new story! This novel will be updated daily from now on. If anything comes up, I'll take leave in advance. Red envelopes will also be distributed不定期ly in the future~
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