My sister-in-law took the initiative
That evening, Zhou Zhengdu indeed sent over a maid. The girl was pale and muscular, clearly a newly purchased servant.
"How old are you?" Zhang Chunfeng asked.
The little girl seemed to have never seen someone as beautiful as Zhang Chunfeng before, and said nervously, "I'm twelve years old."
"Twelve years old? You don't look like it, you look more like nine?"
The little girl panicked upon hearing this and knelt down on the ground with a thud. "I really am twelve years old. My family is poor, so I grow slowly. I'm not lying to you. I really am twelve. I can cook and do laundry. Please, please don't abandon me."
Zhang Chunfeng smiled and said, "I only said it didn't look like you, I didn't say I didn't want you."
After asking around, Zhang Chunfeng learned that the girl wasn't a local; her home was in Lingnan, which was truly far away. A native of Lingnan, she was a bit dark-skinned and thin. She had a large family—ten siblings! Her family was so poor they were starving, so she had come here to beg for food.
Who knew he looked too young, was dark-skinned and thin, had an accent, and was illiterate? Forget about making money, he couldn't even beg for food.
Inns and hotels need women who speak fluently, but she doesn't speak the local dialect. Wealthy families need daughters who are beautiful and graceful, but she's dark-skinned and small, unsuitable for hard labor, and illiterate. She was truly struggling to find food. Having eaten at restaurants for free, she was put up for sale at the market, but couldn't be sold for months, suffering many beatings in the process. Finally, today, Zhou Zhengdu bought her for thirty copper coins.
Zhang Chunfeng raised an eyebrow. Thirty copper coins was actually ten more than his sister-in-law's.
What's your name?
"Xiao Jiu," Xiao Tao said, "her surname is Liang." It turned out that she was the ninth child in her family, so she was called Xiao Jiu.
Zhang Chunfeng nodded and led Xiao Jiu to meet Li Xiuman and Zhang Chuntian. Li Shi did not want to see anyone, so she did not bring anyone with her.
Xiao Jiu was truly quick and efficient; starting a fire and cooking were a piece of cake for her, and she had everything ready by that very night.
Zhang Chunfeng asked her to cook ginseng soup and bring it to Li Shi. After Xiao Jiu went there, she came back and said, "The old lady has finished drinking it. She said she wants to see her sister-in-law and ask how her foot is."
Xiao Jiu's words were so roundabout that Zhang Chunfeng couldn't tell whether Li Shi wanted to see Li Xiuman or was just asking about Li Xiuman's foot.
"I'd better go see Mother." Lee Soo-man slowly walked towards Lee's room.
Zhang Chunfeng nodded and arranged accommodations for Xiao Jiu; both the east and west wing rooms were occupied. However, there was another room opposite Li Shi's room in the main hall. That room had been left to Zhang Chunfeng by his deceased father. Logically, parents should live together, and Zhang Chunfeng didn't understand why his father wanted to live separately from Li Shi.
But she couldn't recall any trace of her deceased father. Li said that Zhang Chunfeng's father died when Zhang Chunfeng was just a month old. When she talked about this, Li was still indignant, complaining that the man had to die right before her child's one-month celebration, which was truly a disappointment.
Xiao Jiu was overjoyed to have a place to stay, and surprisingly knelt down in front of Zhang Chunfeng again with a thud.
"Thank you, sir. This is the first time I've had a bed to sleep in since I left home." Although Xiao Jiu's face was tanned, her eyes were bright and sparkling.
Zhang Chunfeng helped her up, holding Xiao Jiu's arm in his hand.
Xiao Jiu was only four years younger than her, but she was two heads shorter than Zhang Chunfeng. When the two stood together, Xiao Jiu was indeed almost a whole size smaller than Zhang Chunfeng.
"Don't kneel. I bought you. As long as you don't commit any crimes, we'll be family from now on. I'll never drive you away or abandon you."
"A family?" Xiao Jiu's eyes sparkled, as if she was savoring the words.
She stared intently at Zhang Chunfeng, admiring his beautiful peach blossom eyes. She figured that what such a handsome person said must be believable.
"Xiao Jiu has a family now!" Xiao Jiu laughed excitedly, not feeling tired at all, and picked up a bucket to start cleaning the house.
Seeing that Li Xiuman had not yet come out, Zhang Chunfeng went back to his room to read.
As night deepened, Zhang Chunfeng lay sprawled on the bed and drifted off to sleep.
Lee Soo-man emerged from the Lee family's house when the last star in the sky went out. His eyes were red and swollen, his face was streaked with tears, and there were red marks on his forehead from repeatedly kowtowing.
Lee Soo-man stood in the courtyard, looking up at the dark sky. He suddenly knelt on the ground, two streams of tears flowing down his cheeks. He stared at the flickering candlelight in Zhang Chunfeng's room, his heart aching as if it were being torn apart.
"God, you really know how to play tricks on people!" Lee Soo-man thought bitterly.
He was completely exhausted and crawled little by little to the bottom of Zhang Chunfeng's house, leaning against the wall.
Lee Soo-man took out the bracelet, kissed it repeatedly, and tears still streamed down her face.
Spring breeze, spring breeze, spring breeze.
I'm afraid I'll have to break my promise.
The next day, Zhang Chunfeng got up early and was about to go see Li Xiuman when he was stopped by Li Shi, who came in from outside.
"Spring Breeze, shouldn't you be heading to the capital?" Madam Li asked, noting that it would be November by then.
Those traveling to the capital for the imperial examinations always had to arrive early. Starting from the Jiangnan region, they had to travel by water first and then by land, a journey that would take at least two months. This didn't even account for unforeseen circumstances along the way; if something went wrong on the water, or other miscellaneous issues arose, they would have to wait another half month.
Therefore, some diligent students from the Jiangnan region, or those who wanted a less rushed journey, set off in October, enjoying the scenery along the way. Now it is early November.
"I made an appointment with Zhou Zhengdu to leave in seven days."
"Mother has packed your things," said Li.
"No need to bring too much, I don't like heavy luggage," Zhang Chunfeng replied, feeling that Li Shi was quite different today.
She thought for a moment and realized that Li Shi always liked to sleep in late, so why was she up so early today?
"Mom, where did you go so early in the morning?"
"Feeling upset, I'm going for a walk."
What's troubling you?
"It's alright, it's been resolved." Li's words were filled with joy.
Zhang Chunfeng didn't ask any more questions. "I'm going to see my brother."
She slipped into Lee Soo-man's room but didn't see Lee's long sigh; her expression was gloomy.
Li Xiuman had overheard Zhang Chunfeng and Li Shi talking long ago. He panicked, rubbing his face. He had cried too much last night, and his eyes were still a little swollen.
He tried hard to cover it up, but Zhang Chunfeng saw right through him.
"You cried? What's wrong?" Zhang Chunfeng pulled Li Xiuman to sit on the edge of the bed.
"I'm not crying, there were mosquitoes last night, so I didn't sleep well."
Zhang Chunfeng glanced at Zhang Chuntian, who was still fast asleep. If there were mosquitoes, would Zhang Chuntian be sleeping so soundly?
“Really, I’m not lying to you. The mosquitoes only bothered me, and I chased them away after I got up.” Li Xiuman said seriously, so Zhang Chunfeng didn’t argue with him about it.
"Does your foot still hurt?"
Lee Soo-man stood up and walked a little on the ground. "It doesn't hurt anymore."
"Don't do any work today. Even though it doesn't hurt, you still need to be careful. I'll take you to the city to listen to some music," Zhang Chunfeng said.
Listening to music? Lee Soo-man has never heard of it before.
Zhang Chunfeng suddenly put his arm around Li Xiuman's waist, "Don't say no, I may have to leave in seven days and won't have time to spend with you anymore."
She had barely finished speaking when another servant from the Zhou family called out from the doorway.
Zhang Chunfeng hurriedly went out. It turned out to be a letter from Zhou Zhengdu. After reading it, her face turned extremely gloomy.
Lee Soo-man also came out and asked, "What's wrong?"
"The Yellow River basin has been flooded, and the roads are probably difficult to travel, so we have to leave ahead of schedule." Zhang Chunfeng sighed. Zhou Zhengdu meant to leave tonight.
Zhang Chunfeng secretly pulled Li Xiuman into the house and showed her the letter.
"I have to leave tonight. I only have a short time. Sister-in-law, come with me to the city."
Lee Soo-man lowered his head and agreed without thinking.
When the two left, Zhang Chunfeng casually made up an excuse and told Li Shi about it, but Li Shi didn't ask any questions. Zhang Chunfeng found this even stranger.
But the thought of parting saddened Zhang Chunfeng. The thought that he would not be able to see Li Xiuman for another five months made Zhang Chunfeng feel extremely uneasy.
Lee Soo-man was acting strangely today; his eyes were always red, he kept getting distracted, and several times he seemed to want to say something but couldn't.
"Does sister-in-law have something to say to me?" Zhang Chunfeng asked, wrapping his arms around Li Xiuman from behind as the two rode together on a horse.
Lee Soo-man gave a dry laugh. "I'm sad because I'm thinking about you leaving."
“I’m sad too. By the way, I fell asleep while reading last night. What did Mother and Sister-in-law talk about? What time did they talk about?”
Lee Soo-man froze instantly.
“It’s nothing. My mother wasn’t feeling well, but she still cared about me and found some of her own medicine for me to apply to my feet. It was all just trivial family matters.”
"Why take so long to talk about trivial household matters?"
"It didn't take long. I noticed that my mother wasn't feeling well, so I sat there and kept her company."
Zhang Chunfeng sneered, "I asked her yesterday, and she said she wasn't feeling unwell. If she had said she wasn't feeling well earlier, I would have called a doctor."
“After all, Mother is getting old. Her discomfort can’t be treated by just seeing a doctor. She doesn’t want to burden you,” Li Xiuman said, her eyes slightly lowered.
Zhang Chunfeng smiled and hugged the person even tighter. "Let's not talk about her anymore. As long as you're alright, that's all that matters."
When the two arrived in the city, Zhang Chunfeng held Li Xiuman's hand without any hesitation. Li Xiuman was still a little panicked, afraid of encountering another villager, and kept looking around along the way.
The two first listened to opera, then went to a restaurant, and finally Zhang Chunfeng took Li Xiuman to stay at an inn. Throughout the day, Li Xiuman wore a smile, but it was a forced expression, not a genuine expression from her heart. No matter what they did, Li Xiuman kept looking at Zhang Chunfeng, as if she would never see his face again if she didn't look at him.
In the inn, there was a large bed. Without Zhang Chunfeng saying a word, Li Xiuman already knew what to do next. Zhang Chunfeng ordered hot water for a bath; the warm water in the tub was filled with fragrant jasmine petals.
Zhang Chunfeng quickly took off his clothes. "Sister-in-law, let's do it together."
Although the two had already decided on their feelings for each other and had done it several times, it was broad daylight now, and the outside was bright.
Lee Soo-man blushed, "Or perhaps we should..."
"I'm leaving tomorrow, sister-in-law, are you really not going to leave me with anything to remember me by?"
Lee Soo-man immediately thought of this, and his eyes, which had been filled with spring-like joy, were shrouded in layers of sadness. He sighed softly.
That's enough.
Warm water washes away the day's fatigue.
"It's only been a little over a month, how come my sister-in-law is so..."
Li Xiuman frowned, no longer daring to listen to anything Zhang Chunfeng said.
He was extremely obedient today, except for turning his back.
"Spring breeze, let me look at you, let me look at you again." Lee Soo-man was in tears. When he turned his head to look out the window, it was already dark.
He was running out of time; Zhang Chunfeng would be leaving in a few hours. He would never see Zhang Chunfeng again, never see that breathtakingly beautiful face, those mesmerizing peach blossom eyes. He would never again feel the warmth of Zhang Chunfeng's hands, the heat of her body, or smell her faint fragrance.
There will never be another one.
Lee Soo-man felt a sharp pain in his heart, making it hard to breathe, just thinking about that word. So this was what separation felt like? When Shen died, he only felt pain. Now that Zhang Chunfeng was leaving, he felt an intense sorrow, as if someone were taking a knife and slowly digging Zhang Chunfeng out of his heart.
It hurts so much, it hurts so much.
This pain made Lee Soo-man no longer think about ethics or morality, no longer think about what was improper, no longer think about what he shouldn't do. He didn't care about shame either; with tears streaming down his face, he suddenly stood up.
This time it was his turn to take the initiative.
Zhang Chunfeng never expected this, and a wave of sweetness washed over her.
Time passed slowly. Finally, the sound of peaceful breathing filled the room.
Before she could get a good look at the person again, someone knocked on the door.
Lee Soo-man quietly got out of bed and opened the door, only to find Zhou Zhengdu with a deathly pale face.
"Spring Breeze, the flood situation on the Yellow River seems to have worsened again. I have packed everything, and the carriage is downstairs. Let's go now."
Zhang Chunfeng frowned slightly and glanced back at Li Xiuman, who was still fast asleep.
She didn't ask Zhou Zhengdu whether he had just arrived here or had been standing here for a long time, or whether he had overheard their absurd conversation.
"Spring Breeze, it's only five hours until tomorrow morning. It's the same whether we leave now or not. The carriages and horses wait for no one. Let's go," Zhou Zhengdu urged again.
Zhang Chunfeng had no choice; the carriages and horses were all arranged by the Zhou family and were parked downstairs, and Zhou Zhengdu insisted on leaving now. Ultimately, she was indebted to them, so she had no choice but to agree.
"Okay, you go first, I'll be right there after I put on my shoes."
Zhou Zhengdu nodded. Having stood outside the door for three hours, his legs were as hard as iron. However, compared to the stiffness in his body, Zhou Zhengdu truly felt that his heart, hidden in his chest, was ice-cold.
If Li hadn't come to him personally that morning and told him everything, he would never have believed that Zhang Chunfeng would be having an affair with his sister-in-law.
That's Zhang Chunfeng! In his heart, Zhang Chunfeng was a radiant and brilliant scholar, a veritable immortal. The two had been classmates for many years, and Zhou Zhengdu felt boundless joy in his heart, but he dared not express it, because he knew that Zhang Chunfeng was no ordinary person and would surely rise to great heights in the future. He was not worthy of him.
She never dared to hope for such a person, yet he wanted her sister-in-law who was ten years older than her, had never been to school, and was married to a mentally challenged man!
Zhou Zhengdu smirked coldly. Li Xiuman? What is he? Just a little good-looking, yet he's clinging to Zhang Chunfeng! Those three hours of screaming! His own parents were prostitutes in the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, no wonder he screams like that! This lowly person thinks he can elope with Zhang Chunfeng?
His parents were both prostitutes, so Zhou Zhengdu comforted himself, thinking that Li Xiuman was just as prostitute. He decided to treat it as Zhang Chunfeng hiring a male prostitute on a whim. From then on, Zhang Chunfeng would never have anything to do with such a person again.
Zhang Chunfeng gently closed the door and returned to the bedside.
Zhang Chunfeng looked at Lee Soo-man's sleeping face again and again, then lowered his head to kiss the beauty mark on Lee Soo-man's nose.
"Sister-in-law, no matter what happens, please wait for me to come back." Zhang Chunfeng kissed her again and again before tiptoeing away.
She had barely left when Lee Soo-man opened his eyes.
Those eyes, which had been crying all night, were now brimming with tears.
He watched Zhang Chunfeng's departing figure and kept his mouth tightly shut.
Spring breeze, spring breeze. As long as he cries out at birth, Zhang Chunfeng will return.
But how could he utter a sound? Lee Soo-man cried out, his whole body trembling.
He was destined to betray her.
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