Chapter 20 Veil
Since Wutongyuan started cooking separately, Aman has been dedicated to getting Fu Yunxiu to go out, in addition to preparing three meals a day.
In her words, being around people and getting some sunshine makes you feel better.
Fu Yunxiu thought this was a fallacy.
According to him, then the happiest people in the world are probably not only farmers, who bask in the sun for so long every day.
But Aman didn't care. She firmly believed in her theory and would push Fu Yunxiu out to bask in the sun from time to time.
Fu Yunxiu went from resisting at first to becoming numb to it later. After all, Aman could spout a whole bunch of nonsense, and he, a well-read man, really couldn't argue with her.
And so, seeing that the weather was nice today, he was coaxed and cajoled into going out to sunbathe again.
In the tidy courtyard, several poles are currently lying haphazardly, with Aman's quilts drying on them.
The weather was nice these past two days, so Aman took advantage of having nothing to do and took out everything in Fu Yunxiu's house that could be disassembled and dried, and washed it all.
Since there was nothing else to wash, she asked Mantou to take out his bedding to air it out as well.
Mantou's house was near the courtyard wall, and it was usually quite cold and damp, rarely getting any sunlight. Airing out the blankets in the sun would make them warmer at night, so Mantou was naturally happy to do so.
After the steamed buns had finished airing the quilts, Aman saw that there were still empty poles, so he brought out his own bedding to air as well.
The bedding in Wutong Garden was all a similar color, a light sky blue, which was Fu Yunxiu's favorite color.
After airing out the bedding, Aman thought for a moment and then took out the clothes she had brought with her when she first arrived to air out as well.
A light pink jacket and a lotus root pink ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) were the coming-of-age gift that Aman's maternal grandmother gave her.
The two pieces of clothing and bedding complemented each other nicely and were quite harmonious. The only jarring thing was what Aman took out of a small yellow silk bag.
The bright red, like human blood, with gold embroidery threads shimmering in the sunlight, instantly grabs the eye.
Sure enough, the steamed bun, which had been tending to its bedding, quickly looked over, and when it saw what it was, it opened its mouth wide.
"Why would you carry something like this with you?" He suddenly stepped closer, examining it closely as if afraid he was seeing things.
What Aman was holding was actually a large red veil that a bride would wear when she got married.
Moreover, the veil has a very nice color, the fabric is of high quality, and the embroidery on it is very delicate, showing that a lot of thought and effort was put into it.
"You actually carry your wedding veil with you?" Mantou exclaimed, quickly attracting Fu Yunxiu's attention.
He looked up from the book and saw the bright red in Aman's hand.
"What's wrong? Is it not allowed?" Aman couldn't help but roll her eyes at him when she saw him acting so startled.
After moving the bedding aside, Aman carefully laid the veil flat on the pole.
In this way, the pattern on the veil became even clearer in front of Mantou. Looking at the lifelike mandarin ducks playing in the water, Mantou couldn't help but reach out to touch it, but Aman quickly slapped it away, saying, "Don't touch it, this is something my grandma embroidered for my wedding."
The steamed bun stung and jerked its hand back, but it still said rudely, "You stingy little thing, what's wrong with touching it? You don't need it now."
"That won't work either, and who said I don't need it anymore?" Aman bristled instantly, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
Mantou wasn't intimidated by her. Now that the two were familiar with each other, bickering was a common occurrence. Fu Yunxiu had gone from finding it noisy at first to getting used to it now.
He snorted, "This is bright red. You're already the young master's concubine."
"So what? Grandma said a true wife is one who stays with you for life." Aman was about to argue with him and have a good talk with him, but when she looked up, she met Fu Yunxiu's eyes. His eyes were calm and expressionless, but they made Aman blush. "I'm not talking to you anymore. I'm going to buy groceries."
Aman strolled to the kitchen, grabbed the grocery basket, and left without even looking up. Mantou was completely bewildered, not understanding why Aman was suddenly acting this way. "Young Master?"
Fu Yunxiu didn't say anything, but he understood perfectly well.
Mantou felt that Aman was just a concubine and shouldn't be allowed to use the bright red color reserved for the principal wife. But Aman said that a true wife is someone you'll be with for life. Although she was nominally just his concubine, he himself didn't have many years left to live. In a way, wasn't she exactly the kind of person Aman wanted—someone he'd be with for life?
Fu Yunxiu couldn't help but shake his head.
He didn't think Aman was hoping for his death; it was a foregone conclusion, so there was nothing to think about. He just felt that Aman was too honest, so easily entrusting the rest of her life to a dying man like him.
Didn't she ever think about the fact that she still has a bright future ahead of her?
Fu Yunxiu was instantly relieved. Luckily, he had kept Aman with him. Otherwise, someone as honest as her would have been easily fooled once she got out.
"Young Master?" Mantou looked at Fu Yunxiu somewhat helplessly.
He wasn't sure if he had said something wrong, which was why Aman suddenly left. But he was just used to arguing with her, and it was just an unintentional slip of the tongue.
"Don't say things like that in front of Aman in the future." Having brought this up, everyone felt awkward.
To him, Aman was nothing more than a maid, and he was merely Aman's master, nothing more.
When his time is up, he will find a good husband for Aman in the name of his elder brother, so that her service to him will not have been in vain.
*
On the street, Aman walked quite a distance, but her cheeks were still flushed.
That damn steamed bun actually said those things, which made her so angry that she accidentally blurted out her true feelings.
I don't know if the young master heard it or not.
With your intelligence, young master, if you heard this, you would surely understand what she was thinking, and I wonder if you might misunderstand her because of it.
The main reason she agreed to become a concubine was because the madam said the young master was dying and only had three years left to live.
Therefore, she was the only person by the young master's side, and it couldn't be considered as going against the old woman's last wish.
But it's one thing to keep this to oneself, but to actually say it aloud feels like wishing for the young master's death.
Aman felt uneasy.
She was afraid that Fu Yunxiu would misunderstand her and, in a fit of anger, kick her out of Wutong Garden.
Carrying a basket, Aman arrived at the street where he usually bought groceries.
Today is not market day, so the stalls around are sparse, and there are even fewer selling vegetables.
Aman went around in circles but only managed to buy a small bunch of bok choy.
There were about seven or eight of them, but they cost four coins, enough to buy two meat buns.
It's ridiculously expensive.
Ah Man muttered to himself as he walked to the tofu shop he usually bought from.
Because she came often, the two had become quite familiar with each other. The stall owner, Zhao Hu, immediately saw what Aman was thinking and couldn't help but chime in, "It's not quite hot yet today, so these vegetables grown in the city are naturally more expensive. Once the ground thaws in a while, the price of vegetables will naturally go down."
Zhao Hu lived in the suburbs, so he naturally understood that although there was only a wall separating the city from the outside, there was a significant temperature difference. Some places in the city were already full of flowers, while the wild grass in the fields outside the city was just beginning to sprout.
Aman nodded and bought a piece of tofu as usual, but she had other plans in mind.
She'd already picked most of the wild vegetables in the backyard, and it would take some time for the next crop to grow. These days, they cook every meal, and leafy greens are essential. Instead of buying them at high prices, it's better to grow them themselves.
Just like Zhao Hu said, the cheap vegetables outside the city won't be available for a while. In the meantime, she might be able to sell some vegetables and do some business.
To be honest, Aman had absolutely no hope for the Marquis's monthly allowance next month. The Second Madam was clearly trying to make things difficult for the young master, so naturally she wouldn't hand over the money so easily.
They've been cooking for so long, and the First Madam hasn't come to visit even once, which shows how much the Eldest Young Master means to her.
She didn't expect to be able to come to her rescue again next time.
So it's better to be self-reliant. Anyway, there's plenty of space in the backyard to grow vegetables; just clear out a small patch.
Aman has always been an impatient person, always wanting to do something on a whim. So at the lunch table, she brought up the topic of growing vegetables.
Mantou was still feeling guilty about what he had said at noon, so when he heard Aman's suggestion, he immediately raised both hands in agreement.
Fu Yunxiu didn't say anything, but just glanced at Aman twice.
This made Aman sit up straight in a moment of nervousness.
"What do you think, young master?" Aman asked tentatively, but her heart was in her throat, fearing that Fu Yunxiu would kick her out because of what happened that morning.
Looking at Aman's timid expression, Fu Yunxiu felt a little puzzled. He just didn't understand why Aman was so restless. Her small body seemed to have inexhaustible energy, yet she looked as if she was afraid he would get angry.
Is his influence on Aman really that bad?
Fu Yunxiu recalled how he had deliberately made things difficult for Aman to leave, and realized that it hadn't been a good thing. He awkwardly looked away and said indifferently, "Whatever."
Since no one had any objections, Aman finished his meal and began to make plans.
Although the backyard was large, the fruit trees grew so lushly that they almost completely blocked out the sunlight, making it quite difficult for Aman to find a place with fertile soil and plenty of sunshine.
After much deliberation, Aman finally chose a spot near the door. She had first discovered the wild vegetables there, indicating it was a warm place. And because it was close to the wall, the fruit trees were planted further away, their branches only extending over, making them easy to tend to.
Most importantly, it's very close to a well, making it very convenient to water the plants on a daily basis.
Having chosen the location, Aman began preparing the land.
The backyard was overgrown with weeds, so the first step was to clear them away. As for pruning the branches, that was Mantou's job.
Uncle Zhu has a hook knife that can cut down branches as thick as a thumb without climbing the tree; it is very sharp.
Working together, the two managed to tidy up the vegetable garden quite nicely in just one afternoon. Aman didn't waste the cut branches; he dragged them to a nearby open space to dry, intending to use them as firewood later.
Now everything is ready, all that's left is to cultivate the land and plant vegetables.
A note from the author:
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