As the wind and rain swept through the covered corridor, violets hung down from the pillars, swaying left and right in the wind.
Bai Wei's right skirt was mostly soaked by the rain, but she was completely unaware of it.
The sky was covered with dark clouds, pressing down heavily overhead, as if they might collapse at any moment.
The wind howled, making the flower racks along the covered corridor creak. The rain poured down, splashing water onto the ground and forming puddles, creating an atmosphere of endless oppression and gloom.
Bai Wei returned to her courtyard in a daze, her eyes vacant, as if she had lost her soul, her feet moving forward mechanically. Rainwater slid down her hair, dripping onto the ground and splashing up in tiny droplets.
She was soaked through, her clothes clung to her body, yet she felt no chill at all.
Bai Lian was shocked to see that her face and body were covered in water, and quickly took a cotton towel and draped it over her.
"Miss, it's raining so hard, why didn't Sister Lianqiao send someone to escort you?" Bai Lian said angrily.
Her voice carried a hint of heartache, and her eyes were full of concern as she looked at Bai Wei.
Bai Wei brushed Bai Lian's hand away. "I can do it myself." Her voice was low and slightly hoarse. Her movements were slow and weak, as if she had lost all her strength.
Bai Lian released her hand and turned to instruct someone to make ginger soup for Bai Wei. "Oh, and also prepare some hot soup for Miss to take a hot bath!" she instructed before turning back into the room.
The window was half-closed, and a sliver of dim candlelight flickered, illuminating Bai Wei's lonely figure.
Bai Lian stood to one side with her hands hanging down, watching Bai Wei wipe her wet hair with a cotton towel as she walked to the dressing table.
There were several exquisite wooden boxes there, the young lady's most precious treasures from her youth.
Bai Wei opened the wooden box one by one. Each small gift carried the carefree and innocent time she spent with Zhang Fang—there was a wooden bird he carved by hand, whose wings seemed to dance in the wind; there were various strange stones he collected, each one shimmering with a different light, like the stars in his eyes; and there was the silver rose hairpin he gave her.
Bai Wei stroked these objects, her eyes sometimes filled with tears, and sometimes she burst into laughter through her tears.
Bai Lian watched this scene, and her eyes unknowingly reddened.
Outside the window, the rain showed no signs of letting up; in fact, it poured down harder and harder.
Bai Lian was about to close the window when she looked up and saw a man standing in the pouring rain. She was startled, but upon closer inspection, she realized it was Li Afu who had been passing by, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
But it wasn't appropriate for a male servant to see the young lady in such a soaking wet state. Bai Lian walked to the door, beckoned to the drenched Li Afu, and instructed, "What did you see just now?"
Li Afu shook his head and denied it, saying, "I was just passing by."
He didn't remember how long he had stood in the rain. Just now, his gaze had pierced through the dense rain curtain and been fixed on the half-open window, as if he could see through that window into the softest part of Bai Wei's heart.
"Why aren't you using the umbrella? Go back and change into some clean clothes! Come back when you're done. Miss seems to be in a bad mood today, and she might need to call you again later."
Li Afu responded softly and turned to leave.
Bai Wei took a hot bath and lay on the couch, tossing and turning. She called Bai Lian and instructed her, "Go and fetch a jar of Wei wine. I want to drink a few cups by myself."
Wei Xu was a flower wine that Miss and Zhang Fang developed when Miss was young, made from silver violet flowers. She hadn't drunk it since her marriage. So why did she suddenly want to drink Wei Xu now?
Although Bai Lian had doubts, she didn't dare to ask any more questions. She quickly took the wine jar and left.
As night deepened, Bai Wei, alone by candlelight, raised her cup, one cup after another.
Outside, the wind and rain gradually subsided. After changing his clothes, Li Afu stood guard at the door, just in case Bai Wei needed to give him any instructions.
He heard Bai Lian's voice inside the room trying to persuade him, "Miss, although this Wei Xu is a flower wine, you can't keep drinking it, can you? You'll get drunk, Miss."
"No... it would be better if I were drunk. If I were drunk... I could see him..."
"Miss, are you... missing Young Master Zhang?"
Bai Wei mumbled something, then her words became both indistinct and clear in her drunken state: "Zhang Fang... why didn't you come to find me... our child... An'er, he... actually..."
"Miss, what nonsense are you talking about?!" Bai Lian hurriedly covered Bai Wei's mouth. She whispered, "Miss, you told me not to tell you anything, even if it meant death! You can't just blurt it out yourself!"
Upon hearing these words, Li Afu was struck dumb, frozen under the eaves, unable to move.
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