Miss and farmhand

Huang Chu didn't expect to get a confession from the man himself; the man's expression confirmed her words.

Her feelings were complicated. She thought that if she intervened, she could change something, but in reality, she couldn't change anything.

A person's nature cannot be changed.

The cicadas chirped incessantly on a summer afternoon, everything exposed to the unhindered sunlight. A mimosa tree provided shade in front of the window, its feathery leaves casting shadows like totems across the wall, some delicate pinkish-white petals clinging to the windowsill. When Huang Chu bumped into it, one petal fell, slipping through the window frame and landing on her hair bun, unnoticed as it wobbled precariously.

The man picked it off and casually tossed it on the ground.

This is a closed environment, a closed time. Only the trees and flowers hear them speak, and thus they can say and do anything. The trees and flowers will forgive everything.

Huang Chu had an urge to tell the man the truth.

She told him that she knew the future, that the man would still be doing well after leaving the Huang family, and that he didn't have to stay here; he had his own world outside.

It was as if she would tell the man what she meant and then he would leave on his own.

She met the man's gaze. Even in her past life, she had never scrutinized his face so closely. He was the complete opposite of Zhu Xiaoxu—rough, dark, sharp, and calculating. All those days spent in the study hadn't cultivated even a trace of scholarly air in him. Huang Xingtong was careless, only remembering to take care of his painting and reading, neglecting his daily needs; the man was still wearing the short shirt he wore at work. Beneath the thin fabric was such a tall and broad body, standing out starkly in the otherwise refined and elegant study.

He shouldn't be here. His presence only disrupts their lives, not even makes them better.

She looked at the man with such a complex expression, and the man fell silent, as if curious about the source of her emotions.

Huang Chu was almost about to speak. She desperately wanted a clean break, for the man to leave.

Then came the voices of servants from the corridor outside the door. It sounded like they were doing some kind of washing work. In this kind of weather, being able to touch water was considered a rest, and how refreshing it was. Their voices were filled with joy.

A joyful sound broke the stagnant atmosphere in the room.

Huang Chu took a step forward, and the man stepped back. One after the other, in perfect unspoken harmony, the tense atmosphere vanished.

When Huang Chu spoke again, his voice was very low, "I don't want to make a big deal out of this. You can leave on your own."

The man didn't speak, his dark eyes fixed on her.

"Father will definitely try to keep you here, but if you insist, he won't force you," she said to herself. "Father admires you. If you insist on leaving, he will give you a sum of money to help you. The amount will definitely be substantial, enough for you to start a small business or buy land back in your hometown. Either way, it's better than you staying here."

"...Wouldn't that mean I got a huge advantage for nothing?" the man said sarcastically.

Huang Chu smiled, unconcerned. "That's fine with me. If you ask for something, I'll usually grant it. Think it through. If you're sure, you can leave in the next couple of days."

"If I can gain such great benefits by leaving now, why shouldn't I stay for two more years?" This was a defiant remark deliberately made for Huang Chu to hear. "Master Huang is going to send me to the academy. Why should I give up such a good opportunity?"

Huang Chu ignored his provocation and walked towards the door, saying casually, "You can't keep me here. If you don't leave, I'll tell Father, and then you'll have nothing left."

Looking back, I thought, "Why not earn more while I still have a choice? After all, this is all you want."

Without waiting for the man's reply, and hearing that there was no sound or anyone outside, she pushed open the door and went out.

The man remained in the house, just as Huang Chu had predicted, and didn't find the idea of ​​"what's the point of all this?" satisfying.

Yes, that's all he wants. If he can cash it out, he's still making a profit. He should be happy.

……

A few days later, news came that Huang Xingyu was going to formally marry Luo San as his concubine.

At first, Shen Yurui pretended not to know anything, and the servants in the house were also suppressed, not daring to say a word about it, for fear of offending the mistress and suffering the consequences.

They pretended to be dead, and there was no further commotion in the academy. They began to have a little self-deceptive hope, thinking that it was just talk and that once this storm passed, they could go back to their ordinary lives.

Huang Xingtong and Shen Xuying naturally heard the news as well.

Huang Xingtong was determined not to get involved in this mess. If his elder brother sent an invitation, he would go and have a drink at the wedding; if not, he would pretend he knew nothing. These days, the students in the academy didn't dare let them approach Huang Xingyu, so Huang Xingtong had to step in himself. But the students weren't afraid of him, and during breaks, they all sneakily crowded around his table, pushing and shoving each other, wanting to hear some definite news.

Huang Xingtong was at his wit's end. He tried to defend himself with gentlemanly conduct, covering his ears and closing his eyes while shouting "Don't speak or hear what is improper!" until the students could no longer hear him. Then, he peeked through his eyelids and saw a bunch of black, beady eyes staring at him. Embarrassed, he raised his voice even higher, continuing to shout until the break ended. After two days, his voice was so hoarse it was unrecognizable.

In just two days, Huang Xingyu wrote to Luo Shutao's parents in the countryside and sent someone to bring them to the city to stay in an inn. He then openly took Luo Shutao to have a meal with her parents, without even asking for a private room, and they sat in front of everyone.

Upon hearing this news, Shen Yurui closed her eyes and remained silent for a long time.

The gossip boy said, "They're staying on the second floor of the Yuelai Inn. The innkeeper said they booked the room for a month, saying it's for a wedding and they need to book a banquet with their kitchen..."

The old woman, listening nearby, felt uneasy and dared not look at Shen Yurui's face. She waved her hand repeatedly, telling the boy to stop talking.

"What banquet? It's all just for show. If you still have any shame, sir, this can't be a big deal. Who's ever seen a concubine taken in such a grand manner..."

She didn't care what she said; she only wanted to comfort Shen Yurui.

After a long pause, Shen Yurui finally asked, "...Do you know which room in the inn we're staying in?"

"Well... I didn't ask, and the shopkeeper won't tell me."

The old woman spat at the ground: "That lowly thing even knows how to hide!"

"No, it's not hidden..." The boy's eyes darted around. "After the meal, the master took, took Miss Luo back to the academy as usual. Only the two elders of the Luo family are left in the inn."

Shen Yurui couldn't catch her breath again.

They're about to marry her, and they can't bear to be apart from her for even a day. They can't bear to send her back even when her parents come to visit! That's how precious she is!

Her face turned pale and then red, and in the end she couldn't say anything in front of the servants.

The old woman, disregarding the chill that clung to Shen Yurui, tenderly patted her back to soothe her. As she patted, she said, "It's utterly disgraceful! It's not like she's taking a concubine; she's clearly bewitched by a vixen! Madam, don't get upset. It's not worth ruining your health over something like this. Those two old bastards from the Luo family will definitely come to pay their respects when they come to town. No matter what the master says, Madam, just let them take that shameless little hussy back. Madam is the mistress of the house; what can the master do about the household? He still obeys Madam's orders. They'll understand."

Shen Yurui was stunned for a moment, as if she had grasped a glimmer of hope in the vast darkness.

"Yes... wait until they come... and see what I do..."

The boy kneeling below dared not speak, his mind still filled with the obsequious smiles of the Luo family elders to their master that he had seen at the inn.

That didn't seem like someone who was afraid of the First Madam or who could understand things.