New shoes
A-Gui was ordered to start the carriage. Wei Qiao took out two clean cloaks from a sandalwood box under the carriage. He always kept them in the carriage to prevent his clothes from getting dirty when he went out. Wei Qiao handed one of them, a light purple one with black trim, to Xi Chun, and took the other, a dark blue one, for himself.
"Sister-in-law, it'll take some time to get back. Change your clothes so you don't catch a cold." He then took off his own clothes and put on a clean cloak. Xi Chun looked away, not daring to look at him. Seeing that Xi Chun was still sitting there with her clothes on the carriage seat after he had changed, Wei Qiao asked, "Sister-in-law, don't you want to change?"
Looking at her still damp clothes, Xi Chun hesitated for a moment before loosening her sash. She figured there was nothing to be ashamed of since she was wearing several layers underneath. Once she understood, she quickly changed into clean clothes. Wei Qiao, seeing that Xi Chun wasn't avoiding him at all, but instead looked a little shy, quickly turned away, avoiding her gaze.
After changing into clean clothes, Xichun felt much more at ease. She smiled at Wei Qiao and said, "Thank you, Uncle. I feel much warmer now."
As the carriage entered the city gate, A-Gui stopped the carriage in front of Dong Ji Sheng Pharmacy in Liren Lane. Wei Qiao lifted the curtain and saw a large character for "medicine" on the signboard above the door.
"Sister-in-law, we've arrived at the herbal medicine shop."
Wei Qiao carried Xi Chun all the way to the herbal medicine shop. There weren't many people there to see a doctor, and Xi Chun's turn came after a short wait. The doctor was a sprightly old man with gray hair. He glanced at Xi Chun and Wei Qiao and smiled, "You two seem quite affectionate. Is your foot injured, young lady?"
Just as Xi Chun was about to explain that they weren't husband and wife, Wei Qiao spoke up before she could, "Yes, I accidentally missed a step and twisted my ankle. Can you see how serious it is?"
The doctor touched Xichun's ankle through her socks and said after a moment, "The bone is fine. Apply some of my homemade ointment and it should recover in three or four days. Just be careful when you walk in the future, because once you sprain your ankle, it's easy to sprain it again."
"Yes, we will be careful. Please prescribe the medicine now," Wei Qiao said with a look of agreement.
The doctor turned around and took out a small porcelain box from the counter behind him, instructing, "You don't need much medicine at once, just a scoop out the size of a fingernail. The key is to rub the medicine on the wound until it feels slightly warm, then you'll get it right."
Wei Qiao took the porcelain box and handed it to Xi Chun. After paying the doctor twenty coins, he carried Xi Chun away. Just as they stepped out of the pharmacy, Xi Chun's stomach growled at an inopportune moment.
"Is your sister-in-law hungry?" Wei Qiao asked her, looking down.
Xichun, nestled in his arms, nodded shyly, "I've been hungry for ages."
Hearing their conversation, Ah Gui stepped forward and said, "Second Young Master, there's a wonton stall at the end of that alley. I ate there before when I passed by, and it was pretty good. Why don't you take the Eldest Young Madam there for a bite?"
Wei Qiao looked in the direction A Gui had pointed out and indeed saw a blue flag with the word "wonton" written on it. He nodded and carried Xi Chun towards the wonton stall. Many people glanced at them along the way, and Xi Chun nestled even deeper into Wei Qiao's arms. Wei Qiao glanced at Xi Chun in his arms; she was wearing his clothes and leaning affectionately against him, and a sudden feeling of contentment welled up within him. A smile played on his lips as he carried Xi Chun to the wonton stall before putting her down.
"Boss, two bowls of wontons, please," Wei Qiao called out to the female stall owner next to the stove.
The female stall owner was dressed very smartly, and her silver-plated face was adorned with a warm smile. "Okay, please have a seat. The wontons will be ready soon."
Agui and Zhao Yu also drove their carriage to the open space next to the wonton stall, tied their horses to a big locust tree, and sat down at another table, ordering two bowls of wontons.
Xi Chun hadn't eaten at a street stall in a long time, and she was hungry. She looked at the stall owner with anticipation. When she saw the owner scooping the wontons into bowls and starting to add toppings to each bowl, Xi Chun quickly said, "Please, shopkeeper, add more pepper and dogwood to my wontons."
The stall owner looked up and nodded to Xichun, "Okay."
Soon, two bowls of wontons were served. The vendor handed the bowl with significantly more condiments to Xichun. Xichun thanked him and began eating the wontons with a spoon. She was so hungry that she finished the ten wontons in less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. Meanwhile, Wei Qiao was leisurely eating his fifth wonton.
Noticing that her bowl was empty, with even the wonton soup completely drunk by Xichun, Wei Qiao asked, "Sister-in-law, would you like another bowl?"
Xi Chun nodded shyly, and Wei Qiao then asked the stall owner to cook her another bowl. Wei Qiao had also been very hungry when he took shelter from the rain at the stone pavilion, but he had become so hungry that he didn't have much of an appetite now. He scooped up a spoonful of wonton soup, blew on it to cool it down, and then drank it. Bored while waiting, Xi Chun started telling Wei Qiao about her grandfather's stall.
"Second Young Master, do you know there's a snack in Sichuan called 'chaoshou'?"
Wei Qiao looked up at her. "I've heard of it, but I've never tried it. I remember your family runs a wonton stall in Fuping County. Is there anything special about their food?"
"I didn't expect my uncle to know about my past." Xi Chun was a little surprised. She continued, "Wontons, like wontons, are wrapped in square dough wrappers, but the wrappers for wontons are thicker. The main seasonings for wontons are minced pork (30% fat, 70% lean), eggs, chopped green onions, minced ginger, salt, soy sauce, Sichuan peppercorn powder, and sesame oil. Of course, this is my grandfather's recipe; every family might be a little different. The way wontons are wrapped is also different from wontons. Wontons are shaped like ingots, and after they're cooked, they can be served in soup or dry."
"It seems that you've helped out quite a bit at your grandfather's wonton stall. Do you know how to make this dish?"
Xi Chun thought for a moment, then said, "Half."
"Can this wonton be made only halfway?"
Xi Chun smacked her lips and then said, "I only know how to prepare the filling and make the dumplings, but I don't know how to make wonton wrappers. Grandpa has taught me many times, but I still haven't learned it."
The stall owner then cooked Xichun's second bowl of wontons and brought it to her. "I just heard you mention wontons, young lady. It seems you're from Sichuan, no wonder you love spicy food so much. My husband is also from Sichuan, and I have some freshly made chili powder here. Would you like some to add to your wontons?"
Upon hearing about the chili peppers, Xi Chun's mouth involuntarily began to salivate. She smiled and nodded, saying, "Okay, thank you, shopkeeper."
The shopkeeper took Xichun's wontons back to the stove, found a ceramic jar in the cabinet under the stove, and scooped a spoonful of chili powder into a bowl. Xichun took the bowl, mixed the chili powder and wontons evenly, and took a deep breath. The taste she had been longing for was simply too delicious.
Wei Qiao saw that her expression was really exaggerated, so he smiled, shook his head, and then lowered his head to eat his wontons.
After eating the wontons, they boarded the carriage. When they reached Yongding Street, Wei Qiao suddenly stopped the carriage. Without speaking to Xi Chun, he got out and went straight into a shoe shop. Xi Chun, sitting at the window on her side, couldn't see what Wei Qiao was doing. Her feet hurt, and she didn't want to move, so she simply sat quietly in the carriage and waited for him. After about half an incense stick's time, Wei Qiao lifted the curtain and entered the carriage, handing Xi Chun something wrapped in cloth.
After Wei Qiao sat down, he saw Xi Chun looking at him with a puzzled expression. He gave her a look, and only then did Xi Chun open the cloth bag.
The first thing she saw was a pair of light pink satin shoes, lined with white rabbit fur, and embroidered with delicate peony patterns. Xi Chun tilted her head and looked at Wei Qiao. "These are for me?"
"Of course, are you suggesting I wear it?"
Wei Qiao's expression was calm, and Xi Chun found him strange today. She glanced down at her shoes and noticed that the patch she had made had split open, revealing her white stockings. Remembering how Wei Qiao had looked at her shoes with disdain earlier, she realized he must have been disgusted to have gone out of his way to buy her new shoes. Xi Chun blushed with embarrassment. She wanted to bend down and quickly put on the new shoes to avoid further upsetting Wei Qiao.
She changed her left shoe, but her right foot hurt so much she couldn't bend it. She could only try to take off her old shoe little by little. Wei Qiao saw that she was sweating from struggling, so he got up, squatted down beside her, and helped her take off her shoe.
Wei Qiao carefully held Xi Chun's ankle and slowly helped her put on her new shoes. His movements were slow and gentle, as if he were cherishing a precious treasure.
Xi Chun stared intently at his forehead, feeling her heart pounding. Wei Qiao didn't look at her either, returning to his seat and taking out a handkerchief from his suitcase to wipe his hands.
Xi Chun tilted her head to look at the light pink satin shoes she was wearing. The rabbit fur inside was soft and warm, and walking on them felt like walking on clouds.
"Thank you, Uncle," Xichun said to him with a smile, her tone tinged with shyness.
Wei Qiao's gaze fell upon her feet; the light pink satin shoes were the perfect size and fit her perfectly. He looked away and nodded to Xi Chun in response.
It was already late afternoon when they returned to the Wei residence. Wei Qiao carried Xi Chun down from the carriage and headed straight for the west gate. Xi Chun saw that he seemed to be carrying her into the residence, so she gently tugged at Wei Qiao's sleeve. Wei Qiao glanced at her, and Xi Chun said embarrassedly, "Uncle, please put me down. There are many people in the residence."
"No one will see it," Wei Qiao said nonchalantly.
After entering the West Corner Gate, Xichun buried her head tightly in Wei Qiao's arms, afraid that someone would see her being held in his embrace. Although their relationship was innocent, such intimate behavior would inevitably arouse suspicion in anyone. Upon arriving at Qingwu Garden, Wei Qiao ordered Agui and Zhao Yu to return first, leaving him to escort Xichun home alone. Seeing that Xichun didn't dare to look up even after entering Qingwu Garden, he found it amusing and simply placed her on an armchair in the main room.
Suddenly being put down from his arms, Xichun opened her eyes and realized she was in her room. She was relieved. Seeing Wei Qiao standing in front of her, looking around at the furnishings, she followed his back with her gaze. When Wei Qiao turned to look at her, she smiled and said, "Thank you for bringing me back, Uncle."
Wei Qiao nodded expressionlessly, glanced at her, and then looked at the sycamore tree outside the house as if he was thinking about something.
"Meow." Hearing the commotion, Mozhi hurriedly darted out of Xichun's bedroom, ran to Xichun's legs, and began to fawn over her. Seeing Wei Qiao present, it abandoned Xichun and rubbed its tail against Wei Qiao's leg. Xichun felt a pang of jealousy. Seeing that Wei Qiao showed no sign of leaving, she asked, "Is there anything else, Uncle?"
"Aren't you going to apply medicine to your feet, sister-in-law?" He turned to look at her.
Only after being reminded did Xichun take out the ointment. The space here was larger than in the carriage, and Xichun could slowly take off her shoes and socks by lifting her feet. Xichun scooped out a little ointment with her fingers and applied it to her ankle. The injury was very painful, so Xichun only applied a thin layer before intending to put on her socks.
Wei Qiao frowned as he watched her movements, then knelt down in front of her, stopping her hand from putting on her socks. Xi Chun felt a surge of shame and anger as he suddenly approached and stared at her bare feet. Wei Qiao showed no respect whatsoever for her, his sister-in-law. She was about to tell him to leave when Wei Qiao spoke first, "The doctor said to rub the ointment until it's warm. How long will it take to get better if you apply it like this?"
Wei Qiao looked into her eyes without a trace of romantic intent, and his words were genuinely out of concern for her. Xi Chun inwardly berated herself, realizing she was overthinking things. While Xi Chun was still analyzing herself, Wei Qiao had already begun massaging her affected area, the warmth of his palm flowing steadily into her skin.
At first, Xi Chun was shy, as the contact was too intimate. Then, the pain made all her thoughts vanish, and tears streamed down her face. She gritted her teeth and gripped her clothes tightly with both hands. Unable to bear it any longer, she begged Wei Qiao for mercy, "Uncle, could you be gentler? It really hurts."
Hearing her tearful voice, Wei Qiao paused for a moment, then resumed rubbing as before, only his voice became much gentler, "You just need to rub it in firmly so it won't hurt so much next time you apply the medicine. Just bear with it."
After a while, Wei Qiao felt it was enough and stopped, then gently put Xi Chun's shoes and socks back on. Xi Chun stared at his movements, her heart pounding. Suddenly, everything around her disappeared; she could only see him. Everything about her and him suddenly flashed through Xi Chun's mind like a revolving lantern. Before she could even react, he had already taken over her heart.
Wei Qiao stood up to leave, but seeing her lost in thought, he chuckled and prepared to go out. Xi Chun suddenly snapped out of her reverie, remembering that he always preferred quiet, and quickly said, "Uncle, why don't you go to my bedroom to wash your hands before you leave? There's clean water on the washbasin stand inside."
Hearing her words, Wei Qiao, who had stepped out the door, turned back and went into Xi Chun's bedroom. He washed his hands in the copper basin before coming out. As he was leaving, he felt a little curious about Xi Chun's bedroom. He glanced at it and saw that the decoration was as simple as the main room outside. Just as he was about to leave, he caught sight of a familiar object. He looked closely and realized that it was the candlestick he had given to Xi Chun last year.
When she saw Wei Qiao come out, Xi Chun immediately lowered her head and dared not look at him; her heart was in turmoil.
"Greetings, Young Madam and Second Young Master." Fu Qing suddenly greeted the two with a smile at the door of the main room.
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