A wolf howl suddenly rang out from the depths of the mountains and forests.
Startled, Mo Xiaowan abruptly withdrew her hand, her expression becoming somewhat unnatural.
Mu Run was startled by the wolf's howl and asked Mo Xiaowan, "Are there any more wolves here?"
Mo Xiaowan casually raised her hand and tucked a few stray hairs behind her ear. "Yes, there are indeed wolves. But they live on the more distant mountaintops and almost never come this way, so there's no need to be afraid."
"That's scary enough." Surprisingly, Mu Run wasn't dizzy after being frightened by the wolf's howl. She slowly stood up. "Let's go upstairs first."
"Okay." Mo Xiaowan looked at her, her hands clenched into fists.
This time, Mu Run climbed to the top in one go without stopping. Then, gazing at the palatial building, especially the plaque hanging above the main entrance, he said breathlessly, "Chongyi Hall."
Mo Xiaowan continued walking into Chongyi Hall. "Chongyi Hall is where the chieftain and the hall masters discuss matters. Yihua Garden behind it is the chieftain's inner courtyard. By the way, according to the succession rules of Bianyun Village chieftain, in addition to the chieftain's rightful position, the new chieftain must also take over the wives and concubines of the former chieftain. There are still the former chieftain's women in the inner courtyard, and they are all beautiful. But don't worry, their status is not comparable to yours. They are the former chieftain's women; to put it nicely, they are concubines; to put it bluntly, they are playthings. But you should be careful of one of the women; she is the former chieftain's wife, Xue Niang. She is the adopted daughter of the fourth chieftain and the head of Jingyan Hall. Her identity is quite complicated, and she has a certain influence in the village. Even Brother Chen is very polite to her."
"..." Mu Run felt that since arriving here, his worldview had been constantly being refreshed, without end.
So women can inherit things too? This is blatant lion pride law.
Seeing her absent-minded appearance, Mo Xiaowan assumed she was frightened by her words and felt even more disdain for her. She then changed the arrangement for Mu Run to live in Fu Yunchen's main house in the inner courtyard to Mingxiangju, a side room in the outer courtyard where Mu Run could live with the former chieftain's concubine.
...
"The main courtyard needs cleaning and renovation, so you can stay at Mingxiang's place for now. We'll make arrangements when Brother Chen returns."
"Yes, this little courtyard is quite quiet and nice."
"If you need anything, just call for the maids or servants, and I will arrange for them to come and serve you."
"No need, I can manage on my own."
To be honest, she's perfectly capable and doesn't need anyone to wait on her. When Hongmi was here, she always did things herself whenever possible. Hongmi was clever and noticed she didn't like being waited on, so she didn't disturb her alone. But who knows if the people here are as dexterous as Hongmi? So she simply refused them outright.
Mo Xiaowan didn't insist. "If you don't need anyone to serve you, I'll find someone in charge to come over and explain the situation of Yihua Garden to you in a bit."
"That would be perfect," Mu Run said with a smile.
Mo Xiaowan glanced at the courtyard of Mingxiangju again, "In that case, I'll be leaving now."
After seeing Mo Xiaowan off, Mu Run closed the courtyard gate and bolted it. Thanks to Fu Yunchen's constant barging in, she had developed a habit of always bolting the gate when closing it, to prevent any possibility of accidents.
There was a slightly worn-out recliner in the courtyard. Mu Run walked over, lay down directly, and took off her cloth shoes to completely release the fatigue and stress of the journey.
Perhaps because I was too relaxed, I fell asleep after only a few breaths.
The person in charge came and knocked on the door looking for her, but she didn't hear him.
She slept soundly until the sun was setting in the west before waking up. She got up from the recliner and looked around the small courtyard.
The more I look at this little courtyard, the more I appreciate its beauty, especially the clump of emerald bamboo growing in the corner, which is very pleasing to the eye.
'Knock knock knock—' Someone knocked on the door.
Mu Run paused for a moment, then replied, "Who is it?"
"I am Yang Gong, the manager of Yihua Garden. You can just call me Old Yang. Let me tell Miss Mu about the rules of Yihua Garden. Shall we start now?"
Miss Mu? She'd been called "Sister-in-law" by the bandits the whole way, and she was almost numb to it. Suddenly someone called her Miss Mu was... nice!
Upon opening the door, a middle-aged man stood outside, with kind features that gave off a friendly and approachable feeling.
"Please come in and talk."
“Miss Xie Mu, no need, it’s just a matter of a few words. The rules in our Yihua Garden are simple. Apart from not being allowed to go to the front yard, especially the council hall of Chongyi Hall, and not being allowed to leave Chongyi Peak, there’s nothing else. Just do your best to serve the chieftain.”
"Is this the mountain that we can't leave Chongyi Peak?" Mu Run completely ignored the words of Fu Yunchen, who was serving behind him.
Manager Yang replied, "Yes."
Mu Run: "What if I don't go down the mountain, but instead climb up?"
Manager Yang was surprised, not expecting Mu Run to say that. "There is no rule against going up the mountain, only against going down."
"Oh, do I cook my own meals every day, or do you deliver them to me?"
"That's fine. If Miss Mu wants to cook for herself, I'll arrange for someone to deliver the ingredients. The other concubines also cook for themselves. If they don't want to cook, we'll deliver the ingredients to them too."
"I'll do it myself."
"Okay. I'll have someone bring the things over in a bit."
"OK."
Not long after he left, several old women and maids brought her a large pile of things, including pots and pans, fruits and vegetables, firewood, candles, and so on—all the necessities of life.
Mu Run watched them busy themselves, occasionally inquiring about things happening in Yi Hua Yuan.
Old Yang was a thoughtful person, so he had his wife bring her dinner, which included meat, vegetables, rice, and soup.
After a satisfying meal, Mu Run lay on a recliner, gazing at the bright, low-hanging stars, which seemed almost within reach. The air was filled with the fragrance of flowers, grass, and trees.
"That's really good." Mu Run took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and calmed his mind.
Suddenly, melodious piano music began to play.
Mu Run opened her eyes and looked in the direction from which the music was coming. She remembered it was a garden. It was the height of spring, and the garden was bustling with greenery and blooming flowers. If it weren't so dark, she would definitely have gone for a stroll.
Fangyu Xiaozhu, separated from Mingxiangju by a small garden, is an exquisite two-story bamboo building.
On the second-floor terrace of the bamboo house, a woman in white with a thin veil burned incense and played the zither. Her figure was ethereal and graceful, like a fairy who had descended to earth.
A maid in green stood to the side, holding a silver fox cloak.
When the music ended, the woman stopped playing the zither, glanced at the Mingxiang Residence across the garden, and said to her maid, "Xiao Li, have people entered the Mingxiang Residence across the street?"
Xiao Li stepped forward, draped a cloak over her shoulders, and replied, "It was brought by Miss Xiao Wan. The old women in the kitchen said she's an ordinary-looking country girl."
"Ordinary appearance? To catch that person's eye, there must be something special about him. Let's go and take a look tomorrow, and prepare a jar of Hundred Flowers Wine."
"Yes, Miss."
...
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P.S.: My computer was in a blackout mode, so it's only now being released. Sorry for the late update, my darlings! Also, thank you to Luo Xi Not Radish Baby for the donation, muah!
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