Chapter 5 It seemed that the people around her knew her before they even knew her…
Ci'en Temple was an official temple, and although ordinary people were allowed to offer incense and worship there, it was still different from other temples. Before the servants from the mansion arrived, Yu'an had nowhere to go, so she and Baozhu wandered around the temple.
I was keeping track of time while I was strolling around, but two hours have passed and no one has come yet.
Yu'an was tired from walking, so she sat down to rest on a stone bench in the temple courtyard. Soon after, her stomach started rumbling.
"What are the people in this mansion doing? More than two hours have passed, and they're still not coming!" They came right after breakfast, busy all morning, and now it's past lunchtime. They're really incompetent.
Baozhu cursed aloud, but inwardly she regretted not having prepared some filling provisions before leaving home that morning, otherwise the young lady wouldn't have gone hungry.
Yu'an was so hungry that she had no strength left, and she was also hoping that the servants in the mansion would come to pick them up soon.
It's only a half-hour journey from the Ji residence to Ci'en Temple. Even if there are some delays along the way, we should be here by now.
"I think the servants in this mansion really don't respect us. They dared to be negligent before, so why don't they dare to be negligent today? They deliberately dragged out the time to annoy us..." Baozhu lowered her voice. She was cursing and angry, but she couldn't let passersby hear her and laugh.
The gloomy sky grew even lower, and a strong wind carrying stones and sand lashed at our faces. The signs of rain became increasingly obvious, and even the number of people entering and leaving the temple courtyard gradually decreased.
Yu An raised her hand and patted the dust off Bao Zhu's skirt: "Let's wait another half an hour. If no one comes by then, we'll figure something out ourselves."
Unfortunately, before half an hour had passed, it was too late for the rain to start.
The torrential rain fell, and even when sheltered under the eaves, the large raindrops still pelted down with the wind, soaking the hem of your clothes in the blink of an eye.
The rain came suddenly, catching most of the worshippers in the temple off guard. As they watched helplessly as the crowd dispersed from the temple, Yu Anxin's heart sank deeper into despair.
This would probably make it even harder to go back.
Just when Yu'an was at his wit's end, he saw a brightly dressed lady with her maid about to leave with an umbrella. He didn't care about anything else and hurriedly stepped forward to stop her.
"Where is this lady headed? Could you please do me a favor and take my maid and me back to the capital? Our carriage is broken and unusable." Yu An smiled, seemingly trying to hide her embarrassment.
The other person looked at her quietly, their watery eyes secretly observing her. They didn't want to pay attention to Yu An because of her simple clothes, but they softened their hearts because of the heavy rain.
She adjusted the hair ornament in her hair, and looked at the maid beside her with an unreadable expression: "Go to the carriage and get the rest of the umbrellas."
Seeing that the other party had relented, Yu An gradually felt relieved.
It wasn't until she boarded the carriage that she understood why the other person had hesitated. The carriage was cramped, and it was really crowded for four people. If it weren't for helping them, they wouldn't have had to suffer like this.
"Madam, I don't know which family you belong to. When I return, I must properly thank you for your kindness today." Yu An felt guilty and naturally dared not forget to express her gratitude.
The other person pursed their lips and politely raised the corners of their mouth, "It was nothing, no need for a thank you gift."
Since the other party seemed to be refusing, Yu'an didn't press the matter further. They remained silent for the rest of the journey until they finally got off the carriage at the city gate.
Baozhu held up the umbrella she had just received, trying her best to shield Yu'an from it, enduring the fact that her clothes were mostly soaked, and asked Yu'an as they walked why she had gotten off the bus early.
It's quite a distance from here to the Ji residence. If we walk back in the rain, our clothes will probably get completely soaked.
Yu'an pulled Baozhu closer to her, saying, "They helped me without asking for anything in return, how can I possibly trouble them to take us home again?"
Besides, she didn't want others to know that she was the newlywed lady of the Ji family. It would be awful if word got out that she went out without any servants to look after her and had to rely on others to get back to the mansion.
She wasn't that magnanimous, magnanimous enough to completely disregard other people's opinions. After all, before this, the marriage was a harmonious one, a match between equals.
That's what she said, but Baozhu knew her too well, and she could guess why. Watching Yu'an walking with her head down, carefully choosing the shallowest puddles, for some reason, her eyes started to sting and her vision blurred for a moment.
The servants in the mansion were too arrogant, but unfortunately, her daughter wasn't in charge of the household affairs, so she had to suffer in silence.
But looking at Yu An's unyielding back, she could only grit her teeth and hold back her tears.
She was all the girl's family could rely on, so she couldn't cry.
As expected, when she got home, her lower body was almost completely soaked. After ordering hot water to wash up, she felt weak all over, so Yu'an drew the curtains and went to sleep.
Perhaps I was exhausted, both physically and mentally. Listening to the rain outside, I closed my eyes and fell into a deep sleep, but I slept very restlessly, always feeling that someone was making noise outside the window.
The rain gradually subsided, and the dazzling sun reappeared from behind the broken, heavy clouds, baking everything around it. The rising heat carried a sticky dampness, and the carriage rumbled along. Scenes from many years ago flashed through my mind, and before I could react, I met that person I hadn't seen for so many years again.
"Mother, I want to go out and pick flowers so you can make me a flower wreath."
Just as Chu Xingjian was being promoted, he moved his entire family from Jiangling to the capital.
Her mother was still as vibrant and youthful as ever, always dressed in plain clothes and wearing a jade hairpin with cloud patterns. No matter what she did, she always looked at her with a smile, even though she was more mischievous than other boys.
“It’s a bit far, I’m worried something might happen to you,” Li explained, patting her head.
She was very mischievous as a child, and whenever she came across something new and fun, she had to get her hands on it. So this time, she begged for a long time. Finally, after much pleading and cajoling, she got Mrs. Li to give in.
Accustomed to running rampant in Jiangling Town, she was careless and fell into the hands of human traffickers.
They would beat and scold them at the drop of a hat, deprive them of food, lock them in cages, and leave them to spend the night in the open grass. To prevent them from crying out, the traffickers would place a Tibetan mastiff with sharp teeth nearby to guard them.
At that moment, all she wanted to do was cry, but she was afraid of waking the sleeping Tibetan mastiff next to her, so she could only curl up into a ball, bury her head in her arms, and not be afraid if she couldn't see it.
That night, she was tied to the stable at the inn, and her huddled position startled the man who came to fetch her horse.
Yu'an's eyes were immediately drawn to the boy who came to lead the horse, who had a piece of cake in his mouth.
She reached out her hand and asked him for it.
He ignored her, so she clung tightly to his leg, refusing to let him leave.
The boy tried to shake him off but couldn't, so he called out, "Young master, there's a little beggar here who won't let go of me."
As the words fell, a corner of a robe came into view. Yu An looked up, stunned, and let go of her hand.
She had never seen such a handsome brother before, as if he were a child descended from heaven, untouched by any worldly dust.
To this day, she still remembers one of his words: "She is not a beggar; she was trafficked."
He handed her a piece of bread and then disappeared. It was after that day that the authorities found her.
Li hugged her tattered clothes and cried bitterly, calling her name again and again with heartache. She tried to open her mouth to comfort her, but it felt like something was pressing down on her chest, and she couldn't breathe for a long time, unable to utter a single word. Ji Jinghe just stood in the distance, watching her coldly, without a trace of emotion.
She was like a ghost always hidden among people, unnoticed by anyone, yet she could see everything clearly.
The realistic scene made it hard for her to distinguish between reality and illusion. She longed to call out "Mother" again, and she longed to call out "Ji Jinghe" once more.
The harder she tried, the more agonizing it became; she felt as if she were tightly wrapped in a ball of cotton, unable to muster any strength.
"mother……"
She shouted with all her might, completely waking herself from her dream. Before she could even open her eyes, she heard a clear questioning voice in her ear.
It was Baozhu outside the door.
"...She is, after all, a wife who was married through proper channels. It's only been a few days, and you dare to try to fool people with this kind of food. Who gave you the guts?"
Yu An slowly opened her eyes, her thoughts surprisingly clear.
The woman's voice outside the door said matter-of-factly, "Master isn't coming back today, what's the point of having such good food? Master said that Madam should be frugal and not develop a luxurious lifestyle. We are doing this for Madam's own good."
"Good my ass, I..."
"Hey, hey, hey!" the maid immediately cried out, "We're following the master's orders. Everyone in the manor does the same. How dare you hit me?"
The situation seemed to be getting worse. Yu'an propped herself up, slipped on her shoes, and went forward. After opening the door, the maid who had spoken earlier had already turned and left. She only saw Baozhu, who was feeling extremely aggrieved.
Yu'an felt a mix of emotions. She said nothing, but simply took Baozhu's hand and walked back.
"Miss." Baozhu was surprised that Yu'an had woken up, but then she felt a surge of grievance and tears welled up in her eyes.
Yu'an didn't say anything. After comforting Baozhu, she told her to go and rest.
When Ji Jinghe returned in the evening, Yu An was sitting on the tatami mat reading a book.
She was still wearing a moon-white cross-collar ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), her long black hair was loosely tied back with a jade hairpin, and a few strands of hair hung down her neck, glowing softly in the candlelight.
Hearing him return, she slowly raised her head and quietly gazed at him with her dark, clean, round eyes.
He turned his head away, changed out of his outer robe, and went to the clean room.
When she came out again, Yu An had extinguished most of the candles in the room and was busy making the bed.
Have you visited your grandmother yet?
Yu-an: "I came back a little late today, and with the heavy rain, I thought I'd go again tomorrow."
Ji Jinghe didn't respond. Recalling Chu Xingjian's earnest words during the day, he couldn't help but look at the dressing table.
A wooden comb, and the rest of the items were the white jade jewelry I wore today...
“Grandpa, I’d like to discuss something with you,” Yu’an said. “I’d like to set up a small kitchen in my half-acre courtyard.”
Ji Jinghe paused for a moment, "Not to your liking?"
Thinking of the scene of her eating spicy food at Rongshoutang yesterday, he blurted it out unconsciously.
Yu An paused for a moment: "I just feel that the kitchen is a bit far from here, and it's inconvenient to go back and forth to get food. Lately... lately the food has been bland, and I'm not used to the tastes in the mansion. Rather than having the kitchen cook according to my taste, it would be more convenient for me to set up my own small kitchen."
Ji Jinghe gradually calmed down and remembered that the dinner he had eaten at Banmu Courtyard was not bad, and he immediately understood her implication.
They come and go using the excuse of not liking the food, but in reality, they just can't stand the food here and are disgusted by it.
Yu An heard a soft sneer from above her head, "Since they can't feed them, they should naturally look for better ones. Unfortunately, this place is not as good as the Chu family. The allowance for the half-acre courtyard is limited, so I'm afraid Madam will have to pay out of her own pocket."
“Okay, if it exceeds the allowance, I’ll pay for it myself. I’m just worried about my mother-in-law; I’m afraid it might be difficult to explain…”
Ji Jinghe interrupted, "If you really can't eat, what can your mother say?"
Ji Jinghe blew out the candle by the bedside in one gulp, seemingly with a hint of anger. Even his response to her words had a deliberate, sarcastic tone that one could only belatedly perceive.
Before she lay down, Ji Jinghe had already covered himself with the blanket and turned his back, so she had no choice but to turn her back and lie down as well.
The night is quiet, yet I find it hard to sleep.
Whether it was because she slept too long in the afternoon or because her nose was filled with Ji Jinghe's scent, she couldn't feel at ease.
She was like a besieged pawn, isolated and helpless, unable to move an inch and unable to save herself.
It seemed that the people around her had a prejudice against her before they even knew her, and they condemned her on the spot.
Ji Jinghe, in particular, whom she once considered a celestial being, has now become the one who has sentenced her to death.
Recalling the excitement of recognizing him while peeking from inside the carriage a year ago, all that excitement now turned into heartache.
No one can know how excited she was when she learned that the man was Ji Jinghe.
Perhaps she was too naive, thinking things too simply, entrusting her personal feelings to him without ever considering his intentions, which led to the awkward situation she is in now.
What we are seeing now is a lesson.
*
Because the emperor had fallen ill, Ji Jinghe returned from leave early. Yu An also got up early that morning, but they didn't speak, and didn't even make eye contact.
Thinking about what he had said before going to bed last night, Ji Jinghe decided not to pay any more attention to it, dressed neatly, and left.
With memorials piling up in the Wenyuan Pavilion and officials from various departments arguing amongst themselves, the day was long and he was busy. On his way home in the evening, he happened to run into Wang Jie, who was also riding home.
"Even though we've both been exhausted all day, Brother Ji, you still move with the speed and agility. Look, you haven't slacked off in your martial arts at all."
The so-called six arts of a gentleman are merely superficial for scholars to learn martial arts, which is good for physical fitness. But Ji Jingfei is not like that. If the day comes when he is asked to fight against a military general, the outcome will likely be difficult to predict.
"Brother Wang is joking. If I have the time, I would love to have a contest of archery skills with you," Ji Jinghe said with a smile.
Although he and Wang Jie were not classmates, they had known each other for their archery skills from a young age, and in the blink of an eye, they had both entered officialdom and become colleagues.
Wang Jie: "If I have free time, I will definitely accompany you and have a great time with Brother Ji."
"It's quite a coincidence, my wife and your wife rode back together yesterday." Wang Jie chuckled. "My wife asked me to inquire on your behalf. It rained heavily yesterday. I wonder if your wife made it back safely and is well. Spring rain is also chilly. Be careful not to catch a cold."
Ji Jinghe was slightly taken aback and looked at Wang Jie.
"Was she riding in the Lingzheng carriage yesterday?"
Why? Didn't you send a servant from your household to fetch them?
Wang Jie smiled and said, "My wife said that your wife's carriage broke down, and it just so happened that there was a continuous downpour. She had nowhere else to go, so she helped her. After returning to the city, she got off at the city gate."
A note from the author:
----------------------
Yu-An: [resting chin on hand]
Ji Jinghe: [Question mark]
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