0135 The Golden-Clad Swordsman (Part 8)
The man inside, his face flushed with anger, had clearly heard the commotion outside the gate. He angrily threw down the stick he had been using to hit someone and spat out a curse.
Seeing that things were turning around, the woman quickly added, "Who's so shameless as to come to someone's house at this hour..."
She spoke words of scolding, but her body moved quickly. She hurriedly tidied a branch, tucked her loose hair behind her ears, pushed open the door, put on her straw hat, and went to the gate.
Outside, it was raining heavily, the sky was a gray expanse, and countless thin, cool raindrops pattered down to the ground, disappearing into the mud, while the rising dust was also a hazy blue.
A-Jian stood there stunned, her heart pounding in her chest, almost knocking her unconscious.
Through the rain, she saw two figures, one tall and one short, standing gracefully amidst the drizzling raindrops. The taller one wore a blue robe, while her mother wore a brown dress. The damp, cold rain in the world was also gray and gloomy, except for the girl's bright and cheerful clothes, which were like the sky after the rain.
The woman in the green dress took out a string of coins and stuffed it into her mother's hand. Her mother weighed it in her hand, then stepped aside to let the two of them in.
The woman in the green dress held an umbrella and accompanied Shu Fu to the entrance of the main room. After she closed the umbrella, she saw that there were still people inside, so she did not go in. Instead, she stood under the eaves and bowed to them.
"Our young lady is from the household of the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. Today she was exploring a secluded spot when she was caught in a sudden downpour. So she came here to take shelter from the rain. We have already sent a servant back to fetch a carriage, and she will be leaving soon."
The man had no idea what the position of the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices was, nor could he guess whether the man had the qualifications to become a prime minister. He only knew that the young woman outside was the daughter of an official in Chang'an, probably not even as good as the village head. So he dared not say another word and told her to come in.
The woman in the green dress still refused to go in, saying that it would be fine to stand under the eaves.
A-Jian cautiously glanced at her, trying hard to recall who she was. After a while, she barely remembered that she was the tutor the girl had hired when she was eleven or twelve years old. She had taught three girls for a while before, but later the lady of the house thought that she was only good at poetry and books but not at practical matters, so she dismissed her.
Having confirmed the person's identity, A-Jian slowly turned her gaze to Shu-Fu.
The girl was just turning 18 that year, her cheeks were rosy and white, as if nestled in a cloud of rosy clouds. Her chin was not as sharp and delicate as it would be after she came of age, but was somewhat rounded. However, her eyes were as bright and sparkling as they would be for many years to come.
She clasped her hands behind her back, her fingertips turning a slightly reddish tinge from the torrential rain.
A-Jian slowly tilted her head, her eyes misting over. It took her a long time to calm herself down before she turned around, went into the main room, brought out a small stool, and carefully placed it against the wall.
"Please sit down and rest, young lady."
When Shufu heard the petite girl call her name, she turned to look at her, a shy smile appearing on her cheeks.
She had sensed that the man was watching her, but he didn't say a word. He just stared at her without blinking, which made her afraid to ask any questions. She could only stand there stiffly.
Fortunately, the person spoke, so Shu Fu smiled back at her and said, "Thank you."
After Shufu sat down, Ajian became even more reluctant to leave. He just wanted to stand beside the girl and watch the string of white raindrops splashing under the eaves with her.
But her father wouldn't let her have her way. With a stern face, he came out and dragged her into the main room. As soon as they entered, before he could even close the door, he said in a harsh voice, "Don't think that just because we have a distinguished guest here, I won't dare to touch you."
The man's large, fan-like hand grabbed the twig that the woman had previously put away and swung it hard at her. A-Jian cried out in pain and turned halfway to the side, tightly covering her wound.
The woman quickly tried to stop them: "You can't hit them, you can't hit them, the Wang family at the village entrance..."
"What Wang family, what Li family, I will never marry into either of them!" A-Jian turned around, ignoring the burning hot arm, and looked back defiantly. "If you're short of money, unless you let my little brother marry into the He family to get it for you, don't even think about getting involved with me!"
"Fine, I've raised you for so many years, how come I never knew you had such a stubborn temper? You won't learn your lesson unless you get a beating, will you?"
The man was panting heavily, and was about to strike again with a stick when A-Jian raised her hand to block it, tightly gripping the stick that was about to fall on her.
One was furious, his hands trembling uncontrollably; the other was determined to stop him, his hand bones and veins clearly visible. For a moment, they were evenly matched, neither able to advance further.
Then someone outside spoke up again: "I'm a little thirsty, could you please lend me some water?"
Everyone in the main room turned to look, and this time it was Shu Fu herself who spoke. She stood by the door, her eyes calm, the wind and rain barely clinging to the hem of her skirt.
Since the guest had given her a string of coins, the woman dared not be negligent and quickly filled a rough earthenware cup with water and handed it over.
Shu Fu took the ceramic cup but didn't drink from it. Instead, she handed over a bulging purse and a gold ornament from her hair, which she used to adorn her hair, and gave it to the woman as well.
She glanced at the gray rain outside and said, "After the long rain, summer will deepen, followed by autumn, and then winter. I hope you all have a good year."
The woman's face turned completely red—
How long until the New Year? She clearly wants to use money to prevent her daughter from being beaten.
She quickly returned to the man's side, pressed the money bag down on him, and the two exchanged a glance, seeing the shock in each other's eyes, and remained silent.
Fortunately, the carriage from the Shu family finally arrived, and Shu Fu and the tutor boarded the carriage and left together.
Seeing her parents' shocked yet ecstatic expressions, A-Jian subtly moved to the door. By the time they noticed, she had already pushed open the wooden door, letting in a gust of wind and rain mixed with fallen leaves. Her face and eyelashes were covered in tears as she said to them, "This money is more than double what the Wang family or the estate owner offered to buy me. From now on, I will no longer consider you my parents. Just consider me as someone you sold to that woman!"
After saying that, she turned and rushed into the rain, ignoring the shouts of the people behind her.
She took a shortcut and finally caught up with Shufu's carriage. Her legs gave way, and she knelt down on the muddy road.
She forced the carriage to stop, and soon the tutor got out of the carriage, opened the umbrella, and helped her into the carriage.
Once inside the car, Shu Fu, who was writing, saw that she was covered in mud and looked disheveled. She immediately put down her pen and took out a handkerchief from the drawer to wipe her body.
"What's wrong with you? Why did you suddenly run out?"
A-Jian's face was pale, but her eyes were red and wet: "My parents were going to sell me, but you gave me so much money, so now I am your maid and I am at your beck and call."
Shu Fu knelt beside her and wiped her face. Upon hearing this, she not only didn't laugh, but became somewhat serious: "I gave your parents money not to buy you, and being someone's maid isn't a great thing. Do you really want to come back with me?"
"I will never go back on my word!"
Shu Fu stared at her intently for a long time before finally relenting: "If you're really willing, then I'll take you back first."
After drying herself off, A-Jian changed into the cotton clothes that Shu Fu had found in the carriage's hidden compartment. Her dark eyes fixed on Shu Fu, she asked, "So, Miss, you're going to take me in as your personal maid...? I... I've heard stories from Chang'an about how many noble ladies have such personal maids..."
She pursed her lips and whispered, "I will be loyal to you, Miss, and very, very good."
Shu Fu tilted her head and thought for a moment, then smiled and shook her head: "I'm afraid that won't work."
A-Jian's expression cleared up slightly.
Shu Fu continued, "I already have a personal maid named A Xing. We have a very good relationship. If I bring another personal maid back, she will definitely be sad."
Ah Jian let out a soft "Ah," then lowered her head and said nothing more.
When the carriage arrived at the Shu residence, she was taken along with the other servants who had recently entered the residence and was trained by a matron.
The old woman asked her what her original name was. She thought of the name her parents had given her, which sounded like a sprout or a blade of grass, and always felt that it was a bad name.
She thought for a moment, then boldly made up a name for herself: "My name is A-Jian."
The old woman looked at her with surprise: "Which '笺' character?"
Her face turned completely red. Thinking back to when she was in the car, she had asked the girl what she was writing. The girl said it was a note, and she remembered it.
The name "A-Jian" sounds like it belongs to the same generation as "A-Xing" who is next to the girl, and one day she will have to work in the girl's courtyard.
“A type of paper for writing is called a note.”
"It sounds a bit strange, but your parents do know a few characters, so they gave you such an unusual name. Well, your original name isn't bad, so we won't change it. The second young lady brought you back today, so you should go inside and rest first..."
...
A-Jian was fast asleep, dreaming of a torrential downpour and mist, feeling damp all over.
When she woke up again, she was lying on the table in the west room of the Spring Festival Gala Building. The girl had returned and was sitting opposite her. When she saw that she was awake, she pushed the food box on the table away.
"You're awake. I brought you some wontons from Xiao Family Wonton Shop in Banzhengfang. I'd only ever heard people say that their wontons were 'crescent-shaped, sweet and delicious, and the broth was so rich that it could be used to brew tea.' I actually tried them today, and they were indeed extraordinary, so I brought you some too."
Ah Jian had just had such a dream, and she was still somewhat dazed. A bowl of fragrant wontons was placed in front of her, but she didn't move for a long time.
Shu Fu asked in surprise, "Why aren't you eating?"
She then came to her senses, picked up a spoon and stirred the soup: "I... I didn't expect you to care about me so much, afraid that if I ate today, there wouldn't be any left to eat tomorrow..."
Shufu snorted and turned her head away: "Of course there won't be any food tomorrow!"
A-Jian looked up in surprise.
Shu Fu continued, “There are so many delicious foods in Chang’an, why limit ourselves to just one family’s wontons? Today we’ll eat Xiao’s crescent moon wontons, tomorrow we’ll eat Yu’s white jade rice dumplings, and the day after tomorrow we’ll have Han Yue’s cherry dumplings…”①
A-Jian couldn't help but laugh out loud. After taking a couple of bites of wontons, she suddenly remembered something, her expression turned serious, and she suddenly said, "By the way, about the Xiangji Temple you went to today, Miss, and Madam Liu's matter..."
Shufu leaned back in her chair, looked out the window, and sighed softly.
A-Jian's heart immediately tightened, but then she smiled again: "Madam Liu broke her promise today and did not come to discuss marriage, which made Mother quite angry."
"Really?" A-Jian's eyes sparkled. "How did you do that, young lady?"
"Hmm..." Shu Fu deliberately kept him in suspense until A Jian got a little impatient, then she chuckled, "Eat well, I'll tell you in my dream."
A-Jian murmured, "If that's really the case, maybe it's divine protection..."
Shufu smiled and said nothing more.
What does it have to do with Madam Liu's words that have already ruined things?
Outside the window, wispy clouds drifted by and starlight flickered. There were so many wondrous sights she longed to see but had yet to witness. If there truly were gods in this world, they would not have allowed her to perish so easily here.
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①: From "Miscellaneous Morsels from Youyang"
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That concludes this section. In the next chapter, we'll switch to a different scene and visit Feifei's hometown.
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Such a cringeworthy way to say it, forgive me!
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