ebookland Chapter 297 Willow Catkins
Chapter 297 Willow Catkins
Xu Sheng left, and Nian Yao stayed at Jingling Mountain until evening before returning.
Inside the foyer, Meng Dong was teasing Xue Chenxi with a rattle drum. When he saw Nian Yao come in, he laughed and said, "Girls are so sweet. They smile at me as soon as they hear the 'dong dong' sound. When my two boys were about Chenxi's age, they would snatch the rattle drum and throw it away whenever they saw me shaking it."
Nianyao hugged Chenxi and said, "Auntie, I went to Chongyang Temple and Jingling Mountain today. I heard from General Yuan that his father was cultivating at Chongyang Temple, so I thought I'd go and see him."
I thought Chongyang Temple would be very large and magnificent, but it turned out to be so small and overgrown with weeds. So I went to Jingling Mountain to see Yuan Feng and Nan Fei.
Meng Dong said, "I visited Chongyang Temple when Master Song Yu was alive. He kept it clean and tidy back then, but now it's inevitably overgrown with weeds without anyone taking care of it. If you ask me, Master Song Yu couldn't understand why he would leave the General's Mansion and choose to live in Chongyang Temple."
Nianyao, not wanting to comment, changed the subject: "Auntie, did you see the Crown Princess at the palace?"
Meng Dong suddenly lowered her voice: "The Crown Princess has gone to the Celestial Realm; I heard she's very ill. Keep this to yourself, but don't tell anyone..."
As they walked in, Nianyao twisted her ankle and almost fell down the steps, but Mengdong quickly grabbed her.
Xue Chenxi was startled and then burst into tears. The wet nurse quickly took the child and comforted her.
Is the critically ill patient Gu Yu mentioned Nan Hua? Last time An Liangchen said Nan Hua was unwell, and now, only a few days later, he's become very ill?
As Nianyao was thinking, she heard Guyu's voice: "Madam."
The two turned around at the same time, and Meng Dong joked, "Gu Yu, what's the rush? It's better for Nian Yao to be at our house than to be stuck with you like a block of wood in Xi Zhai. Nian Yao, don't you think so?"
Nianyao's heart skipped a beat: "Is something the matter?"
Gu Yu simply said, "Xi Zhai has guests coming, so Madam needs to go back."
What kind of guests require her to go back and entertain them? Nianyao asked, "Are they from Chongming Island?"
Grain Rain did not respond.
Nianyao thought that Guyu's silence meant acquiescence, but she didn't expect it was because it was inconvenient.
There was a slightly chubby girl named Yang Hua who claimed to be Luo An's savior and came to Bianjing specifically to find Luo An.
Yang Hua vividly recounted how she saved Luo An: "...That's how it happened. He said he'd wait for me at the Goddess Temple, but then he left without saying goodbye. His brother told me to come to Bianjing to find him, saying that I should repay his life-saving grace with my body..."
Gu Yu, unusually, couldn't contain herself: "Miss, my young master is already married. This is our lady."
Yang Hua shook her head: "I know I'm not good enough for him, and I never wanted to marry him. His brother even said that if he wasn't willing to give himself to me, I could be his concubine."
Don't even think about Xu Sheng doing anything decent! Nian Yao's rare goodwill towards Xu Sheng vanished instantly.
Gu Yu looked slightly embarrassed: "Madam, this is purely a frame-up."
Nianyao nodded: "Yang Hua, right? You've been fooled. He doesn't have a brother."
Yang Hua took out a money bag and poured the loose silver and copper coins onto the table: "He said his name is An Sheng, and his brother said his name is Luo An. You can only find him in Bianjing by using the name Luo An."
His brother also gave me fifty taels of silver as travel expenses. I hitched a ride on a merchant's cart, and it only cost me a little over two taels of silver in total. The rest is here.
Nianyao cursed Luo An inwardly. Couldn't he speak like Yang Hua, mentioning every little detail? She went to Bohai and claimed the Goddess Temple was washed away, and she didn't even know what had happened when her savior came looking for her.
Nianyao looked at Yanghua and asked honestly, "Do you even know what a concubine is?"
Yang Hua said, "It's about serving others. I have a cousin who was sold by her parents to be a concubine for five taels of silver. She worked from morning till night, and her master often beat her. She eventually jumped into a well and died."
Nianyao asked curiously, "Then why did you become someone's concubine?"
Yang Hua said, "Luo An and his wife seem very nice, they definitely won't hit me. I can do anything: chop wood, boil water, cook, clean, wash dishes, wash clothes, fold blankets, farm, row boats, fish..."
"With such a large courtyard, you must need people to do the work. I won't need two taels of silver a month, one tael will do. I'll pay less than the other concubines, whatever they pay me."
She's a very honest person. Nianyao said to Guyu, "You can arrange it as you see fit."
Yang Hua said happily, "Then I'll be Luo An's concubine from now on?"
Nianyao corrected her seriously: "She is a maid, not a concubine. Your parents did not sell you to Luo An as a concubine."
Chunhua led Yanghua down the aisle, and Yanghua chattered away, "Your name is Chunhua, and my name is Yanghua. Our names both contain the flower radical, what a coincidence! Chunhua, how old are you this year…?"
Nianyao said to Guyu, "You called me back for this?"
Gu Yu said respectfully, "You are the madam, and with the young master not here, you are in charge. Madam, shall I send someone to bring the wet nurse and young lady back? Although the Prince's mansion is nice, it is not our own home after all, and we will inevitably feel constrained."
Gu Yu is not necessarily bad at handling this matter; he's just looking for an excuse to bring her back.
Nianyao was quite moved and said, "I feel at ease wherever I am."
Seeing that Nianyao was somewhat relenting, Gu Yu said, "I will make the arrangements immediately."
Nianyao stood in the courtyard looking around, and in her heart she agreed with what Gu Yu said: No matter how good the Prince's Mansion was, it was not as relaxing and comfortable as Xi Zhai, even when she quarreled with Luo An.
That's what married couples are like; even with lingering resentment, they're closer than anyone else. Besides, it was her fault in the first place, so Luo An's anger is understandable.
Nianyao lay in the hot spring pool, thinking about the events of the past two days.
She ran into An Qile right after arguing with Luo An—what a coincidence!
She and An Qile are related by blood, but that shouldn't be enough to make them so close that they actually treat her like a daughter.
Nianyao could sense that An Qile and Meng Dong were wary of her, or that they were hiding something from her.
It was as if an invisible, enormous net had trapped her inside. She couldn't see clearly or understand, which made her feel both terrible and powerless.
Having not slept well for several days, Nianyao felt comfortable and at ease lying in the hot spring. She unknowingly fell asleep by the pool until someone hugged her.
In the rising steam, Luo An's face was both hazy and clear. The two, entangled in the hot spring with a touch of resentment and deep-seated love, finally fell asleep in each other's arms on the stone bed.
Luo An slept until the next day, but he wasn't at Xi Zhai. Gu Yu said that Luo An had gone to the palace to see the Crown Prince and was expected to return later.
No sooner had he finished speaking than Luo An returned. He was expressionless, as if he hadn't seen them at all, and walked straight into the room.
Luo An picked up a wine bottle from the display shelf and, without any regard for appearances, tilted his head back and gulped down the wine until it was empty. He shook the empty bottle and smashed it heavily on the ground.
With a loud bang, shards of glass littered the floor. Nianyao and Guyu were startled and both looked towards the room.
Gu Yu gestured with her lips, indicating for Nian Yao to go in and take a look. Nian Yao thought about it but was still worried, so she opened the door and peeked out.
The room reeked of alcohol. Luo An sat on a chair by the window, his hands resting on either side, exuding an air of decadence.
It was bright outside the window, but utterly dark below. Nianyao walked over and squatted down, placing her hand on Luo An's leg and looking up at him.
At that moment, Nianyao was incredibly grateful that she had returned, and grateful that she was by Luo An's side at such a time.
Luo An said in a hoarse voice, "I'll go back to Chongming Island with you."