Miss and farmhand

Huang Xingyu did not heed her brother's advice to go home.

He and Luo Shutao stayed at the academy for one night. The next day, he sent someone down to retrieve Luo Shutao's luggage, which she had packed to go to the nunnery with others. As if they were settling down in another home, they settled in a side study of the academy.

No one knew where his rebelliousness came from. But in less than a day, almost everyone comforted him and thought: it must be his wife's fault.

This has caused her husband to be unable to return home, spending all his time holed up in the small academy. Oh right, their son even lives at the academy; even the son doesn't come home. It can't be that both father and son are worthless; the problem must lie with the woman.

Upon hearing this, Shen Xuying wanted to visit her elder sister. Huang Xingtong initially disagreed and still didn't want to take the risk of letting his wife go. However, Shen Xuying insisted and said that she had to go at least once, as it was a matter of courtesy, and that she wouldn't need to go again after that. Huang Xingtong had no choice but to let her go.

We waited anxiously until they returned safely.

Shen Xuying said that Shen Yurui seemed to have become even thinner overnight, her cheeks were sunken, and her sallow skin had a faint purplish-black tinge. Her spirits were still good, she was not bedridden, and she still got up to eat. She told her that she would rather Huang Xingyu not come back, that he had Luo San with him, than let them into the house.

Shen Yurui's original words were even harsher, which pained Shen Xuying. She had no choice but to stay and have some tea with her before returning home.

"Just like you said, I didn't dare stay any longer. I felt guilty even sitting for a little while, as if I had come here specifically to see a play. How could I feel like that?"

Huang Xingtong said, "You don't know your sister. She's such a strong-willed person. My brother did this behind her back. Even if we were brothers, I would say that my brother was practically driving her to the brink of despair. And she's still our own cousin."

Shen Xuying asked, "Do you know how my elder brother and my cousin... how exactly did this happen? Were there any warning signs beforehand?"

Huang Xingtong shook his head: "How could I tell? They probably didn't even have a chance to interact before. I don't know what my brother was thinking."

The couple had absolutely no talent for such matters. They huddled together, brooding for ages, only able to say things like, "How could this happen? Who knows? It's just not right."

A tense atmosphere pervaded the house. The servants knew that something had happened—not in their own household, but next door—which lessened their psychological burden, allowing them to observe with detached curiosity. But they also knew it concerned the master's reputation. For the academy, such an incident, involving the master's elder brother, was truly unpleasant. Yet, the unpleasant the news, the more exciting it became. The servants, tormented by their curiosity, huddled together, whispering amongst themselves, careful not to let anyone outside their inner circle hear—exhausted yet thrilled.

Huang Chu didn't see many people when she went downstairs, which was even better, so she walked straight to the flower hall.

Upon reaching the flower hall, they didn't stop. They walked to another room, paused, hesitated for a moment, and finally knocked on the door.

The man opened the door himself. He had a special status in the family; he was now considered Huang Xingtong's student, yet he still didn't need anyone to serve him.

He had no intention of inviting Huang Chu in; he stood blocking the doorway, his broad body blocking out all the light in the room, his oppressive presence pressing in on people.

"What are your orders, young lady?" he asked calmly.

"Let me in first."

The man raised an eyebrow. "I'm afraid this isn't a good time." He hadn't shown up all day, but Huang Chu was certain that he knew exactly what was happening outside.

"Even at home, it's best for a young lady to be a little cautious."

Huang Chu looked up at him. His face was a little plumper, unlike the thin face she had seen when she first met him on the corridor. He looked more like the face she knew best in her past life.

This is not a good thing; it will only make Huang Chu's suppressed anger intensify.

Moreover, Huang Chu was familiar with his expressionless face; he had the same face, and Huang Chu could tell what emotions he was feeling just by looking at his eyes.

A subtle irony now lingered in his eyes.

"You want me to say it at the door?" Huang Chu said, "I'm afraid what I'm about to say won't be good for you."

"I am just a servant. No matter how bad I am, I cannot hold the young lady back or let others gossip about her."

"I don't mind. I've never cared what others say."

The man's chest trembled, as if he were laughing, but there was no smile on his face.

"The eldest daughter doesn't care, but Master Huang has been kind to me. I can't let people say that I'm ungrateful for the favor I received. The Huang family already has a self-deprecating cousin; if even the eldest daughter of Master Huang's family causes trouble in this matter, then it's my fault." He turned his head slightly, as if checking if anyone else on the corridor had seen them, or perhaps unwilling to engage in a conversation with Huang Chu's unreasonable behavior, avoiding her gaze.

The harsh, raspy tone pierced Huang Chu's ears like a needle. She disliked the expression on the man's face when he spoke of Luo San, and her suppressed anger finally surfaced, causing her blood to rush to her head. She reached out and shoved the man. Of course, she couldn't move him. Huang Chu grew even angrier, and with a second stomp, she pressed her foot firmly against the ground and pushed him away forcefully. But to her surprise, the man dodged, and Huang Chu, caught off guard, stumbled over the threshold, losing her balance and falling forward.

Just as she was about to land, someone grabbed her collar from behind and lifted her into the house, as if she were nothing more than the weight of a ribbon.

The man closed the door behind him.

Huang Chu had just breathed a sigh of relief when the man dragged her from the doorway to the window and threw her against it. Her back slammed against the window frame, and the back of her head throbbed with a dull, buzzing pain as she hit the window railing. She couldn't help but frown, and just as she was about to raise her hand to rub it, the man's hand was placed next to her ear.

A huge shadow, accompanied by the heat emanating from the man, loomed over her, trapping her like an inescapable cage.

"This young lady has quite a temper, daring to lay a hand on a strange man. Has she ever considered that not the whole world will give in to her, that she won't obediently follow her orders just because she asks, or that she'll automatically step aside just because she reaches out her hand?"

The man's deep, husky voice boomed above her head, as distant yet close as thunder.

"I forgot, of course a young lady like you wouldn't think of that. What do girls like you know? The mean elders in the mansion are the worst people you've ever met, and that nunnery outside the mansion, which you've never heard of, is as terrifying as a den of demons; you'd rather die than go there. So you dare to come to my room alone at a time like this, knocking on my door by yourself. You're sure I won't do anything to you, right? What kind of men have you seen in the garden? Your senior brother? The scholar who's so obedient to you, of course he wouldn't throw you against the wall, right? If you trip, he'd be the first to cushion your fall; he wouldn't harm you. So I wouldn't either. That's what you think, isn't it?"

The man straightened up slightly, wanting to see how terrified the fragile, helpless woman beneath him would be. She would cry, she definitely would cry.

Huang Chu just looked at him coldly.

"You just said you absolutely refused to go to the nunnery." She remained unaffected; the pain at the back of her head didn't make her any more vulnerable. A stubborn red tinge appeared at the corner of her eye. "You know very well. That noon, you met your aunt, Miss Luo, didn't you?"