Seeking shelter from the rain

Xi Chun guessed that Wei Qiao must have been thinking of his mother.

She touched the jade pendant on her chest, and she thought of her mother.

"Uncle, do you remember Mother? I miss my mother so much too, but I've never seen her. Aunt Li said my mother was a prostitute at the Baihua Brothel in the county town. After giving birth to me, she left me in the back alley of the brothel. My grandfather was a peddler back then, and he found me when he passed by that alley. I later went to the Baihua Brothel to look for my mother. The madam of the Baihua Brothel said that my mother committed suicide by swallowing gold not long after she left me in the back alley. I've never seen what my mother looked like, but she must have been very beautiful. The madam said my mother was the most beautiful girl she had ever seen."

As Xichun spoke, tears welled up in her eyes, large drops sliding down her cheeks. Wei Qiao pulled a clean handkerchief from his sleeve and handed it to her.

Xi Chun took the handkerchief and wiped away her tears, then turned her head to look at Wei Qiao, "And what was your uncle's mother like?"

Having not spoken of his past for a long time, Wei Qiao felt a sense of sympathy for Xi Chun, and suddenly felt the urge to share his own story.

“I have never met my mother. My mother is a concubine in the Wei family and also the sister of the madam. My mother was already engaged and preparing her dowry. The madam asked my mother to stay temporarily in the Wei family to help her with her dowry. The master forced my mother when he was drunk, and that's how my mother became a concubine in the Wei family.”

"The man my mother was engaged to couldn't accept it and drowned himself in the lake. My mother miscarried because of my mother and the master's affair. My mother felt sorry for my mother and was very obedient to her in the Wei family. But later she accidentally heard that my mother was the one who started all of this. My mother was jealous that my mother was able to marry the man she liked, so she came up with the idea of ​​making my mother a concubine."

“My mother was pregnant with me at the time, and she couldn’t bear the shock, so she gave birth prematurely. The night after she gave birth, she jumped into the well in the yard. I don’t know what she looked like, but to be envied by the mistress, she must have been extremely beautiful.”

Xi Chun stood there stunned after hearing Wei Qiao's words. She never imagined that Zhang Yunyao, who seemed so gentle and kind, had ever done such a thing, scheming against her own sister out of jealousy, and even ruining both of their lives.

No wonder she heard that Wei Qiao had a bad childhood in the Wei family. She cast a sympathetic look at Wei Qiao, but couldn't think of any words of comfort, as if anything she said would be inadequate.

Suddenly remembering that she had a peace charm given to her by a high monk from Guangyun Temple in her sleeve pocket, she took it out and handed it to Wei Qiao.

"Uncle, this is a good luck charm that a high monk gave me when I was at Guangyun Temple. I'm giving it to you, and it will bless you with good fortune."

Wei Qiao glanced down at the triangular yellow amulet in front of him, then turned to look at Xi Chun. Xi Chun had a gentle smile on her face, a smile like a spring breeze. In his cold heart, a tender sprout seemed eager to break through the soil.

He reached out and took the amulet, putting it into his sleeve pocket. "Thank you, sister-in-law."

Xi Chun smiled and shook her head, noticing that the sky had suddenly darkened, with thick, dark clouds covering the sky above them. Worried that it might rain soon, and since they didn't have any rain gear, Xi Chun said, "Uncle, let's go down the mountain; it looks like it's going to rain."

Wei Qiao didn't want to get wet in the rain, so he nodded.

The two hurried down the mountain, but before they had gone halfway, a light drizzle began to fall. The raindrops danced in the air, instantly blurring the sky and earth. They reached a stone pavilion, but seeing the rain intensifying, they decided to take shelter there until the downpour subsided before continuing their descent.

Wei Qiao's clothes were soaked by the rain, and his face was also dotted with raindrops, making him feel extremely uncomfortable. The only handkerchief he had was given to Xi Chun to wipe her tears, and now he couldn't find anything to wipe his face with. He frowned, pursed his lips, and glanced sideways at the rain outside.

Xi Chun noticed his discomfort and pulled a handkerchief from her sleeve, handing it to Wei Qiao. "This is new; I haven't used it before. Uncle, take it to wipe your face."

Upon seeing the light pink handkerchief, Wei Qiao initially hesitated to accept it. The rainwater on his face slid down his neck and into his clothes, feeling like ants crawling into his garments. Feeling uncomfortable all over, he took the handkerchief and wiped his face dry.

The rain showed no sign of stopping; the rainwater poured down the roof of the stone pavilion, and the transparent curtain of rain trapped Xichun and Weiqiao inside the small stone pavilion.

A thick layer of dust covered the stone bench. Wei Qiao stood aside with a look of disgust. Seeing that he wasn't sitting, Xi Chun felt embarrassed to sit either, so the two stood side by side. Rain splashed into the stone pavilion from the ground. To avoid getting wet, they had to stand in the center of the pavilion. The pavilion was too small, so they had to be very close together.

Unlike Wei Qiao's dislike of rain, Xi Chun had some fond memories of it. Bored waiting for the rain to stop, Xi Chun told Wei Qiao stories about rain from her childhood.

"I have two good friends, one named Li Lanxiang and the other named Zhao Xiaopeng. We used to play together almost every day. We loved to play by the river, especially in the summer. We would catch fish and shrimp in the river, or just play in the water. But in our hometown, there were often sudden rainstorms in the summer, especially in the afternoon. Whenever it rained while we were playing by the river, we would hide in a dilapidated temple not far from the river. That temple used to be used to worship the Earth God, but it was abandoned after a new temple was built. We didn't just stay in the temple to avoid the rain; we prepared some taro in advance, and when it rained, we would roast taro in the temple. Lanxiang was especially good at roasting taro. I can still remember the aroma of that taro, powdery and soft with the sweetness of the taro itself."

Hearing Xichun's happy recollections, Wei Qiao felt a pang of jealousy.

"Uncle, how did you play with your friends when you were a kid?"

He had few playmates during both of his childhoods. When he was the heir apparent, his father was very strict with him, and he had heavy schoolwork from morning till night. When he was Wei Qiao, he was confined to Xuesong Hall with only Aunt Ling Shuang to keep him company. At that time, even eating was a problem, let alone having the mood to play.

Seeing that Wei Qiao was only looking at the swirling rain outside and not answering her question, Xi Chun shut her mouth and stopped talking.

The rain continued until the afternoon.

Xi Chun's stomach had been rumbling with hunger for ages, and finally the clouds dispersed and the rain stopped. The two stepped out of the stone pavilion. Just as they were about to descend the mountain, a small, withered yellow leaf drifted down and landed on Xi Chun's shoulder.

Wei Qiao caught a glimpse of the leaf and reached out to brush it away for Xi Chun. Xi Chun tried to back away when he reached out, but missed a step on the stone steps. Fortunately, Wei Qiao grabbed her and prevented her from rolling down the mountain with the stone steps.

Xi Chun felt an excruciating pain in her ankle, and tears instantly streamed down her face.

"What's wrong?"

Wei Qiao let Xi Chun place her hand on his body, then leaned down and gently massaged Xi Chun's ankle. The bones in Xi Chun's ankle were not dislocated; it seemed she had only sprained her ankle.

"Sister-in-law, you've sprained your ankle. Let me carry you down the mountain."

Xichun shook her head, crying. How could a widow like her have such intimate behavior with her brother-in-law?

"Really not? Your foot can't go down the mountain. Don't be fooled by how safe it looks around here; there are wild boars and wolves on this mountain. If you're not afraid, then I'll go down first. I'm really hungry and need to get something to eat." Wei Qiao was a little annoyed that his act of kindness had been rejected by Xi Chun, so he quickly made up some excuses to deceive her. Xi Chun wasn't from a hunter's background, and he didn't believe she wouldn't be afraid.

Xi Chun looked around suspiciously. The woods were dark and gloomy, and she was afraid, but she still didn't agree. She had sworn an oath before Wei Kang's memorial tablet, and she couldn't break her promise.

Seeing that Xichun was determined to continue, Wei Qiao remained silent, casually walking down the mountain alone, showing no intention of waiting for her. A mountain wind blew, making Xichun's already damp clothes feel even colder against her skin. She hugged her arms, trying to warm herself. Birds flew by, rustling the leaves, and when she was alone, the mountain suddenly took on a sinister and terrifying atmosphere. As Wei Qiao was about to disappear from sight, Xichun's fear of the mountain reached its peak.

The wind grew stronger, and Xichun became increasingly frightened. Finally, she couldn't help but shout in Wei Qiao's direction, "Uncle, I'm scared, please come back!"

Wei Qiao had been listening intently to Xi Chun's voice from the mountain. Finally, when he heard her relent, a triumphant smile appeared on his lips. He turned to look at Xi Chun beside the stone pavilion; she was so far away that she appeared as a tiny dot.

Seeing that he only turned to look at her and didn't go upstairs, Xichun called out to him again, "Uncle, I was wrong, please come back."

Wei Qiao heard her call out again before he slowly climbed back to the stone pavilion.

As Wei Qiao approached, Xi Chun's heart gradually calmed down. Her sprained ankle still hurt, but it was still within her tolerance. Seeing Wei Qiao reach her, Xi Chun immediately flashed him a big smile, "Uncle, why don't you carry me down the mountain? I don't want to be left alone on this mountain."

Wei Qiao bent down in front of Xi Chun, and Xi Chun climbed onto his back. Her hands clasped in front of Wei Qiao's chest, and Wei Qiao supported her legs to make sure she was steady before slowly walking down the mountain. Apart from being carried by her grandfather, Xi Chun had never been so intimate with another man. Although it was out of necessity, she also had some indescribable feelings.

Wei Qiao had never carried a girl on his back before. With Xi Chun's warm and soft body pressed against his back, he felt inexplicably uncomfortable.

The two walked in silence. Bored, Xichun began to observe Wei Qiao's ears, noticing a small black mole behind one. His hair was black and soft, emitting a faint scent of soap. Being close to Wei Qiao, Xichun didn't feel so cold anymore.

The descent took longer than the ascent. The cobblestone path was slippery, and Wei Qiao carried Xi Chun carefully with every step.

A-Gui and Zhao Yu, who were at the foot of the mountain, waited for them to come down, but Wei Qiao had given them instructions in advance not to go up the mountain, so the two of them had no choice but to wait at the foot of the mountain.

Zhao Yu was already asleep, leaning against the carriage wall. A-Gui, idly gazing at the sky with a blade of grass in his mouth, suddenly heard footsteps. He jumped off the carriage and looked towards the mountain road, only to find that Wei Qiao and the others had indeed returned. A-Gui turned around and patted Zhao Yu, "Zhao Yu, wake up! The second young master and the eldest young mistress are back."

Zhao Yu rubbed his sleepy eyes and, seeing that it was indeed Wei Qiao, jumped off the carriage. He was incredulous to see Wei Qiao carrying Xi Chun on his back, thinking he was still half asleep, but after rubbing his eyes again, he realized it was real.

"Second Young Master, Eldest Young Mistress, you're finally back!" A-Gui greeted them joyfully. A-Gui was actually momentarily surprised to see Wei Qiao carrying Xi Chun on his back, but ever since the incident of copying the Analects, he had learned to hide his emotions. The Second Young Master must have his own reasons for doing things.

When Xi Chun saw that A Gui and Zhao Yu suddenly became uneasy, especially after seeing Zhao Yu's surprised expression, Wei Qiao put her down in front of the carriage. She quickly explained to the two of them, "Don't misunderstand, I sprained my ankle and couldn't walk, so I asked my uncle to carry me down."

Upon hearing Xichun's explanation, Agui and Zhao Yu exchanged a glance, their expressions showing a mixture of understanding.

A-Gui placed his foot firmly on the ground, and Xi-Chun tried to walk on it, but the pain from her injured foot almost brought tears to her eyes. Seeing that she couldn't walk at all, Wei-Qiao bent down and picked her up in his arms. Caught off guard and afraid of falling, Xi-Chun quickly grabbed Wei-Qiao's collar.

Xi Chun clutched his clothes tightly to his chest. Wei Qiao looked down at Xi Chun in his arms; her bright eyes were looking at him helplessly. He smiled and said, "Sister-in-law sprained her ankle and can't get into the carriage, so I'll have to trouble you to carry me up."

Xi Chun realized that Wei Qiao had decided to carry her because she couldn't get into the carriage. She whispered, "Thank you, Uncle."

Wei Qiao nodded without speaking, and carried Xi Chun into the carriage in a few steps. A Gui and Zhao Yu had never seen Wei Qiao treat any woman like this before, especially since it was clearly Wei Qiao who had taken the initiative. Zhao Yu pointed to the carriage and then to his mouth, making a shushing gesture. A Gui understood and nodded with a smile.

Wei Qiao placed Xi Chun in the same spot she had sat in that morning. A Gui cracked his whip, spurred the carriage onto the road, and called out to Wei Qiao inside, "Second Young Master, are we going back to the manor now?"

Wei Qiao glanced at Xi Chun's injury and said, "Let's find a clinic to have the young mistress's foot injury checked first."