Chapter 22 Xue Yuan's Visit
After Qingquan lit the small stove in the pavilion for the young master, he stayed at the garden gate. Perhaps because he had walked too fast on the way here and caught a cold wind, he soon felt a stomachache and rumbling in his intestines, so he ran to the toilet with his trousers pulled up.
After relaxing, he slowly walked back. At this hour, aside from a few maids doing rough work, there was no one around. But after only a few steps, he spotted a figure in red hurriedly leaving the garden. Judging from the direction the figure was heading, it was either the corner gate or a side courtyard. Could it be some daring maid from the outer courtyard trying to climb up the social ladder with her young master?
Feeling that something was wrong, he hurriedly trotted into the garden.
But I saw the young man standing in the plum forest, with snow falling on his hair and shoulders, his brows tightly furrowed, as if he was thinking about something.
Qingquan thought the young master was extremely angry, and with a chill in his heart, he knelt down and admitted his fault: "Young master, I had a stomachache just now, and I didn't guard the garden well. I let someone disturb your peace. Please punish me."
Du Heng was simply distracted by Su Ying's swaying red dress as she hurried away. Her panicked eyes, her evasive expression, left him perplexed. For a moment, he forgot to return to the pavilion, and unknowingly fell into the white snow.
The intrusion of Qingquan brought him back from his thoughts.
Looking at the servant who had followed him for many years, kneeling deep in the snow, Du Heng's brows tightened and he asked, "Qingquan, are you afraid of me?"
Seeing that the young master's expression was even more solemn than before, Qingquan felt panic in his heart and shook his head in denial, "How, how could it be? The young master has always, always treated me very well. How could I be afraid?"
"Then why are you so panicked?"
"Little, just, just,"
Qingquan had never been asked this question by the young master before, and didn't know what he meant. His usual cleverness was of no use at this moment.
Du Heng saw Qingquan stuttering and burst out laughing.
He raised his hand towards Qingquan, motioning him to stand up, but the corners of his mouth rose helplessly. What was wrong with him today that he compared Su Ying's panic with Qingquan's.
Seeing that the young master's expression had eased, Qingquan mustered up the courage to stand up and said, "Young master, why don't we go back to the pavilion to rest? You've got quite a bit of snow on you, so don't catch a cold."
After Qingquan reminded him, Du Heng looked down and saw that there was indeed a lot of snow on his dark-colored fur coat.
He had actually been standing in the snow for so long. After a moment of contemplation, he casually brushed off the snow and said, "Let's go back!"
He strode out of the garden without looking back.
Qingquan thought that the young master had returned disappointed, so he hurried back to the pavilion to extinguish the stove before hurriedly chasing after him.
After the young master went out to enjoy the snow, Chunnuan returned to the ear room and took out the young master's old underwear that he had not worn for a long time, intending to dismantle the material to make sleeves.
The young master was always writing at his desk, and even the best clothes couldn't withstand the wear and tear of sitting at his desk all day. Chun Nuan thought that the material of his old underwear was softer than new cloth, and if he made it into sleeves and sewn them into the young master's regular clothes, it would save waste and protect the material, which would be perfect.
But just as he picked up the scissors, he heard the little maid come to report that Xue Yuan from the Madam's room had come, so he hurriedly put down the scissors and went to greet her.
As soon as he left the house, he saw Xue Yuan carrying a food box, supported by a little maid holding an umbrella as she entered the courtyard. She was wearing a silver-blue brocade jacket and a plain cloak trimmed with fine rabbit fur. Compared to the little maid beside her holding the umbrella attentively, she had the air of a master.
Chun Nuan thought to herself, three years ago, the eldest mistress had intended for Sister Xue Yuan to take care of the young master's daily life, but due to the master's sudden death, there was no follow-up. In the past three years, whenever the mistress had something to do, she would always let Xue Yuan pass on the message. Everyone knew that Xue Yuan would be sent to the young master's room by the mistress sooner or later.
Judging from Xue Yuan's attire and demeanor, she must be coming right after the Spring Examination. So Chun Nuan became even more welcoming and attentive, saying, "It's snowing heavily, and you've asked me to go there in person. You can just call me next time."
She took the food box from Xue Yuan's hand, placed it on the table, and personally took off Xue Yuan's cloak.
"Sister, please sit down and warm yourself up!"
Xue Yuan was very pleased to see Chun Nuan was so understanding and said, "We are sisters, why are you being so polite?"
He sat down after saying this, but his eyes calmly inspected the ear room.
Chun Nuan took the tea offered by the little girl in the room, handed it to Xue Yuan, and took the initiative to say: "Young Master has gone to the garden to enjoy the snow, and will not be back for a while."
Xue Yuan nodded, put down the teacup, and said, "I know that Master always cooks snow to make tea whenever it snows, but snow water is always colder than well water, so I asked someone to make this red date and white fungus porridge. When Master comes back, at least let him have some, and don't let Madam worry."
Chun Nuan responded, "Sister, you are so thoughtful. Don't worry, I will warm up a bowl for you when you come back."
Xue Yuan was satisfied, picked up the teacup and sipped the tea slowly.
After a long while, he looked at Chun Nuan again and asked, "Yesterday, my wife and I went to the accounting office. When we came back, we heard the maid guarding the side door mention that the young master came to the east courtyard at noon and left half an hour later. Do you know what happened?"
The old woman in the courtyard was known for her slickness. Knowing she had no chance to curry favor with her master, she naturally preferred to be close to those around him. The young master had told her not to spread the news, but he hadn't told her not to report it to Xue Yuan. So that evening, she found an opportunity to tell Xue Yuan about the young master's visit to the East Courtyard, presenting it to her like a treasure. Xue Yuan rewarded the woman with a small purse and instructed her that if such a matter occurred again, she should report it to her, just as she had done this time.
Chun Nuan listened, thought carefully, and replied, "Yesterday, the young master was writing in the study as usual, and he did leave in the middle of the work. However, the young master always only allowed Qingquan to accompany him and serve him, so I don't know where he went."
She paused, fearing her answer wasn't good enough, and added, "Sister, you know that the young master never likes to be disturbed when he's writing. Since he left halfway, perhaps he remembered something. How about I ask him about it for you when he comes back?"
Xue Yuan heard this and quickly stopped him, saying, "No need for that. If it was truly something urgent, the Master would have sent someone to look for the Madam. I don't think it's a big deal."
Xue Yuan knew the young master's temper. When she heard the maid's report, she felt a sense of unease. What could be more important than writing an essay that would bring the young master to the East Courtyard? But why didn't he want the maid to tell her? Moreover, she and the mistress were in the accounting office at the time. If the young master really wanted to see the mistress, why didn't he send someone to inform her?
Since Chun Nuan didn't know, she didn't want Chun Nuan to bother with anything, so she just said nonchalantly, "I was just asking. Maybe the young master just wants to go for a walk."
After finishing the tea, Xue Yuan stood up and said, "It's getting late. I should go back and help my wife wash up."
Chunnuan hurriedly responded and followed, then put a cloak on Xueyuan.
Xue Yuan walked to the door and seemed to recall something. She took Chun Nuan's hand and said softly, "Madam only hopes that the young master can study hard for the exam, so she sent me to ask. Let's just let this matter pass. Don't let the young master know about it, or it will distract him."
Chun Nuan said hurriedly: "Don't worry, sister, I know."
Xue Yuan smiled and waited for the little girl at the door to open the umbrella before she slowly left.
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