Miss and farmhand

Huang Chu went to look for the man outside the study again, but found that he was no longer there. She asked him and learned that the man had finished his work and gone to the academy.

Huang Chu was speechless, and for some reason felt a little angry.

While she was stuck in a cycle of marriage, he had already seized every opportunity to advance his career.

The man did not live in the academy; he still came back from the mountain every day to rest.

Searching for someone in the dead of night, knocking on the door under the moonlight—it sounds like a scene from a storybook.

Huang Chu, however, did not feel excited. She strangely felt a heavy weight sinking down in her stomach, which made her feel quite negative.

She knew she shouldn't have come here; she vaguely anticipated the consequences, but she didn't want to take any chances and force herself to experience it firsthand.

The man's room was secluded, situated against the outer wall next to the courtyard. It was cold in winter and hot in summer, and rainwater would accumulate. The only advantage was that there were few people nearby. The servants' quarters were all arranged and were more comfortable.

From a distance, I could see that the door to the house was open, and a dim light was on inside.

When Huang Chu arrived, he heard the sound of water. Immediately afterwards, a man came out carrying a basin and splashed water against the wall. He was only wearing a small shirt, and his upper body and legs were bare. His entire dark wheat-colored back was like a fine wooden board, reflecting a silvery light under the moonlight. It was broad and straight, with a youthful and thin appearance. A towel was draped over his shoulder.

Huang Chu stopped and waited for him to turn around.

The man felt no shame for being improperly dressed, and didn't even glance at Huang Chu. He turned and went inside, his voice lingering outside: "Young lady, you still don't learn your lesson."

Huang Chu followed him outside and could feel the unyielding temperature of the summer night. Cool water was splashed on the base of the blue brick and stone wall that had been exposed to the sun all day, bringing out rising steam.

The man kicked the wooden basin against the wall with a loud bang.

"With her wedding just around the corner, this young lady not only hasn't changed her ways, but she's become even more demanding. If someone sees her like this, I won't be able to explain myself."

The layout of his room was a bit strange. The tables, chairs and shelves were all pushed to the corners and against the walls. In the middle of the room was a bed frame, facing the door, with a straw mat on it. There was no pillow, only a huge palm-leaf fan.

His clothes seemed to be hanging at the foot of the bed, but he wasn't in a hurry to put them on. He picked up a palm-leaf fan, plopped down on the bed, leaned back, and lazily fanned himself with the fan against his belly.

"Aren't you leaving, young lady?"

"I have something to tell you."

"What can't be said during the day? I thought the young lady already knew what happened in the study last time, that there was a risk in talking to me," he paused, a smirk playing on his lips, "or is the young lady's real intention not to talk, but just to seek thrills?"

Huang Chu ignored him and said in a flat voice, "I have decided to marry Zhu Xiaoxu."

The fan inside stopped for a moment, then thudded against the bed board through the straw mat.

"Then I'll congratulate you first, young lady."

Are you angry?

"Young lady, you jest. I am but a servant; what right do I have to get angry?"

The man kicked off his shoes, rolled over, and lay down on the bed with his back to Huang Chu. "Young lady, since you've already promised yourself to someone, you shouldn't be here with me right now."

This was the tone of someone seeing someone off, but Huang Chu ignored it and continued, "I will marry Zhu Xiaoxu. Next year he will go to the capital to take the imperial examination and he will surely pass. I will go to the capital with him and I probably won't come back."

"What does this have to do with me?"

Huang Chu stared at the deep ravines on his back and said, "I want to take you with me."

"..."

"You saved Rongniang before, and my father hasn't given you a thank-you gift yet, has he? I'm thinking of asking him to adopt you as his godson, so that we'll be family. Under that name, I can take you to the capital and find some connections to get into the Imperial Academy or study under a famous teacher. It's better than being stuck here like this. You saved my sister's life, so we'll give you a bright future in your next life. Either way, you're the one who benefits."

The man suddenly sat up. "Are you serious?"

Huang Chu nodded. "I've already spoken to my father, and he has no objections. He even said that there are a few influential people in the capital who he can introduce you to."

"..."

"In that case, whatever you want to do should be much better than you expect."

"...Yes, yes, I never expected there to be such a cheap and generous thing in the world."

"Then you should be even happier."

Huang Chu looked into the man's eyes and said, "Why do you look like you're about to strangle me?"

"...You flatter me, Miss. I wouldn't dare."

"This isn't what you expected, is it? The moment I arrived, you brought up the upcoming wedding, but you never believed I'd marry her; you were just trying to annoy me. And you never even considered becoming my father's godson."

"How could I dare to even think that? Who am I to be related to you, sir?"

"Then you dare to dream of becoming my father's son-in-law?" Huang Chu sneered, mockingly saying, "My father can't touch me, but I can. Do you think the reputation of a live-in son-in-law sounds better than that of an adopted son?"

The man looked at her and suddenly said, "You won't marry Zhu Xiaoxu. You were just making that up to trick me."

Huang Chu remained silent.

"Did your dad tell you?"

"Not as early as you said."

"I'm an outsider with a clearer perspective. Your father is deceiving himself, thinking that by avoiding Zhu Xiaoxu, he can keep you around for a few more years. Zhu Xiaoxu has more than one way to do things. He's already passed the imperial examination, yet he's still lingering in the academy. Even a fool knows why. It couldn't possibly be for some Miss Luo."

Huang Chu remained silent.

The two were silent for a while, and this time the man spoke first.

"So you agreed?"

"Promise what?"

"That thing your father mentioned," the man suddenly leaned forward, barefoot on the ground, arms resting on his knees, his eyes fixed on Huang Chu, almost shooting out light, "did you agree to it?"

Huang Chu couldn't stand that gaze and looked away. The man seemed to have confirmed something, and his tense body immediately relaxed.

"You agreed."

Under the moonlight, his eyebrows and eyes seemed softer than ever before, and the silvery moonlight flowed on every strand of his hair, like a tangible expression of satisfaction.

Huang Chu stiffened his neck and said, "...I didn't."

The man chuckled, letting out a snort through his nose.

"Young lady, you still need to practice your lying skills."

"What lie did I tell?"

"You want me to tell you?" The man raised an eyebrow. "Come closer, and I'll tell you."

Huang Chu didn't move.

The man didn't give her any more options. He grabbed her wrist, pulled her into the house, and made her stand in front of him.

The man stretched out his long legs to block her, still holding Huang Chu's wrist tightly, though he loosened his grip, cupping her hands loosely. He lowered his head, and Huang Chu could see the top of his head. He seemed to want to rest his head on Huang Chu, but ultimately didn't dare to do so, only placing his forehead above her palm. The light, ticklish sensation was hard to tell if it was from his wispy hairs or his overly long eyelashes.

"You like me," he said firmly. "Don't lie to yourself, you didn't choose Zhu Xiaoxu, you chose me."

Huang Chu trembled in his hand and closed his eyes.

For a moment, she wanted to deceive herself and stop there, not to say anything more.

The feeling of something sinking down in my stomach became even stronger.