Chapter 7 Proof
"Third Young Master" Mantou opened the door and was slightly surprised to see who it was. "When did you get back?"
The visitor was Fu Yunting, Fu Yunxiu's younger brother from the same parents. He was five years younger than Fu Yunxiu and was currently studying at the Imperial Academy. He usually stayed in the capital and rarely came back.
"I just got back yesterday, is my brother home?"
Mantou was a few years older than Fu Yunting, and he entered the manor earlier, so they practically grew up together. They used to go fishing and climbing trees to steal bird eggs together when they were kids, and they almost got bitten by snakes. They had a life-or-death friendship.
Later, Fu Yunting went to school and grew up to be more sensible. Gradually, the two drifted apart, and when they met, all they could say was "Third Young Master."
"Oh, right, Mantou, I brought you a little something this time I came back." Although Fu Yunting has grown up, he is still as playful as he was when he was a child.
He pulled a small bag from his sleeve, and inside was a little bird made of straw, with black beans stuck into its eyes, which looked very lifelike.
“I saw this when I went on a field trip with my classmates. It looked a lot like the one you had before, so I bought it.” Fu Yunting laughed heartily, still a bit like when he was a child, not treating the steamed bun like a commoner at all.
Mantou took the little bird and looked at it. It did look quite like the bird, but what Fu Yunting didn't know was that the bird was made for him by his father. His father died while fleeing the famine, and the bird became his only memento. Later, he came to Yongzhou with the fleeing army and almost starved to death on the street. He was rescued by Fu Yunxiu, who happened to be passing by, and Fu Yunxiu took him in.
He was timid, and the huge mansion was unfamiliar and frightening to him, so he only dared to hide to the side. At that time, Fu Yunting, who was only five years old, discovered him and asked him why he was there. Then he took a fancy to the little bird in his hand and wanted to see it. He refused to let him, so the two of them wrestled. As a result, the little bird accidentally fell into the fire pit and burned to ashes.
So many years have passed, and Mantou has almost forgotten about this incident, but unexpectedly, Fu Yunting still holds a grudge and even bought this to accompany him.
"Thank you, Third Young Master," Mantou smiled, answering his earlier question, "You're reading inside right now."
"Then I'll go find him." Before Mantou could finish speaking, Fu Yunting had already disappeared in a flash, shouting as he ran, "Brother, brother, I'm back."
After knocking twice symbolically, Fu Yunting pushed the door open and went in without waiting for a response. He then discovered that his older brother, who was always engrossed in reading, was not reading at all, but was lost in thought.
His eyes were vacant as he stared ahead, seemingly lost in thought.
"elder brother?"
Seeing that he hadn't responded after calling Fu Yunxiu twice, Fu Yunting went over and nudged his arm, "Brother?"
"Hmm." Fu Yunxiu snapped out of his reverie and, seeing it was Fu Yunting, raised an eyebrow slightly. "You're back."
He coughed lightly, put down the book he was holding, and asked, "When did you arrive?"
"And you're one to talk! I called you twice when I came in, but you didn't even answer. What were you thinking about so intently, brother?" Fu Yunting plopped down on the desk, looking aggrieved as if Fu Yunxiu had done something terribly wrong to him. But his dark, jade-like eyes were scrutinizing Fu Yunxiu, seemingly trying to glean some interesting information from him.
Looking at the book he was pressing down on, Fu Yunxiu couldn't help but frown. "Get up. The way you sit there shows absolutely no gentlemanly demeanor."
"Brother, why are you just like Mother, always lecturing me?" Fu Yunting reluctantly stood up, grumbling as he expressed his dissatisfaction.
But Fu Yunxiu ignored him completely, pushing his wheelchair to the table. "When did you get back? Why didn't you send someone to let us know?"
“I came back yesterday at noon. Mother kept me from going out and insisted that I go and pay my respects to the elders of the clan,” Fu Yunting said, pouring himself a cup of tea. He took a small sip and frowned. “Brother, your tea is cold.”
Fu Yunxiu was about to say, "Just make do with what you have, why are you being so picky?" when he heard Aman's voice from outside the door, "Young Master?"
Fu Yunxiu paused for a moment before confirming that it was indeed Aman's voice.
"Come in."
The door opened, and Aman came in carrying a tray with two teacups filled with steaming tea.
"Please have some tea, Third Young Master," Aman said, handing the teacup to Fu Yunting while giving him a cursory glance.
She said the man looked familiar, because he was the young master's younger brother. Brothers naturally have some similarities.
This was the first time Fu Yunting had seen a woman in his own brother's courtyard. Out of curiosity, he took a second look and, pretending to speak softly but actually speaking loudly enough for everyone in the room to hear, asked, "Brother, I suppose this is your new sister-in-law?"
He had heard from his mother yesterday about his brother taking a concubine. According to Doctor Cheng, his brother was unlikely to live past the age of twenty-five, so Aman was like a sister-in-law to him.
He hoped that the woman in front of him could stay with his brother and live a long and healthy life, preferably a hundred years old.
But Fu Yunxiu frowned and said coldly, "What sister-in-law? Don't call me that."
"Oh, I've heard it all from Mother," Fu Yunting ignored him and turned to Aman, "I still don't know what my sister-in-law's name is."
He kept calling her "sister-in-law," which made Aman blush and say, "My name is Aman."
“Aman, it’s a good name, isn’t it, brother?” Fu Yunting winked at his older brother, but Fu Yunxiu ignored him completely. “If you keep talking nonsense, get out.”
"Hey, don't be so rigid. Aren't you afraid of scaring people?" Fu Yunting continued to act recklessly, knowing that his brother would definitely not kick him out.
It's rare to find such a lively person in Wutong Garden. Aman stood to the side, secretly observing Fu Yunting with her eyes.
This third young master seems to have a better personality than our own young master; he is kind and always speaks with a smile.
...Aman glanced at Fu Yunxiu again, but judging from his appearance, he was far inferior to her young master.
Although the two brothers had some similarities, the young master was slender with more defined facial features, while the third young master was rounder and had a somewhat childish innocence. To put it bluntly, he didn't seem very bright.
Aman likes intelligent people.
Moreover, it seems that the lady abandoned the young master and had Yuxiang send her here because of him.
Aman secretly felt indignant on Fu Yunxiu's behalf.
Perhaps her gaze was too intense, for Fu Yunting seemed to notice and turned around, asking with a smile, "What are you looking at, Miss Aman?"
Meeting his gaze, Aman realized she had been momentarily distracted and impolite, and hurriedly lowered her head. Before she could think of an explanation, Fu Yunxiu spoke first, "Alright, this is none of your business, go down!"
Judging from his tone, which wasn't very pleasant, Aman looked up slightly and saw Fu Yunxiu's brows furrowed, his face showing displeasure.
But considering that she had talked back to him that morning, Aman didn't expect him to be kind to her, so she wisely took the tray and left.
Fu Yunting watched until the door closed before turning his gaze away and saying earnestly, "Brother, I think Miss Aman is quite nice. Don't be so cold and make her leave."
"What, are you here to act as a mediator for Mother too?" Fu Yunxiu picked up his teacup, took a sip of tea, and raised an eyebrow with a hint of surprise.
The tea was brewed at the right temperature, without the bitterness of the first cup, clearly indicating that the person who brewed it knew a thing or two about tea ceremony.
He took another sip; the tea was fragrant and had a long aftertaste, indicating that it was brewed with great skill.
"Oh, I didn't mean it," Fu Yunting quickly clarified, "I just thought you were too lonely being all alone. It's always good to have someone by your side, and besides, I think Aman is a lively girl."
"So she has to waste her time here with me, and then become a widow?" Fu Yunxiu had nothing to hide from Fu Yunting. Aman was indeed very good, but it was precisely because she was good that he couldn't keep her here and ruin her life.
Fu Yunxiu hit the nail on the head, leaving Fu Yunting speechless. He clicked his tongue and said, "Anyway, I think Miss Aman is a good girl. If you don't cherish her, you'll definitely regret it in the future."
A thoughtless remark turned out to be a prophecy three years later, but that's another story.
Because they had to travel early the next morning, Fu Yunting couldn't stay long. After the two brothers talked for a while, he left.
Fu Yunxiu saw him to the door, and Fu Yunting waved goodbye, saying, "Go inside, it's cold outside."
After that, he waved to Aman alone, saying, "Goodbye, Miss Aman."
"Goodbye." Although Aman was a little confused, she still waved.
She didn't know that Fu Yunting meant he hoped he could see Aman again when he came back next time.
After the others had gone far away, the three of them went inside. Aman bolted the door, and Mantou pushed Fu Yunxiu back into the room.
As Fu Yunxiu passed by Aman's room, he noticed that her window was wide open, which puzzled him.
"What are you doing?" Fu Yunxiu asked.
“Miss Aman said that the room wouldn’t be so cold if it got some sunshine.” Mantou said bluntly, “Young master, it seems that Miss Aman is determined to stay.”
Fu Yunxiu thought to himself, "Do you even need to tell me that? And judging from her demeanor, she really took what I said this morning seriously."
Thinking of Aman's slightly red eyes that morning, Fu Yunxiu actually felt a little regretful. Although his original intention was to get Aman to leave, he seemed to have said some harsh words when he was angry.
His gaze fell on the table, and Fu Yunxiu asked again, "Who brewed the tea today?"
"It was brewed by Miss Aman, and she controlled the water temperature and everything." She said that brewing directly would ruin the sweetness of the tea leaves, and she went on to say a bunch of other things, which he couldn't remember.
"Looks like he knows about tea ceremony." Fu Yunxiu murmured.
She clearly comes from the countryside, knows tea ceremony, and judging from the way her gaze lingered on his book last night, she seems to be literate. She can also get straight to the point when she argues with him.
It has to be said that Aman is truly captivating, drawing people in and making them want to get closer and explore her.
In the afternoon, the food sent from the Marquis's residence was still very ordinary. The three of them ate a little, and during the meal, Fu Yunxiu and Aman did not exchange a single word. After finishing their meal, the two of them went back to their rooms.
That night, Aman mustered up her courage again and lay down on that bed.
The night was dark and all was quiet. She huddled under the covers, leaving only half of her head sticking out.
After all that commotion in the afternoon, the eerie coldness on the bed was gone, replaced by a faint smell of burning firewood, a smell that Aman had been accustomed to since childhood. Taking a deep breath, he felt much more at ease.
The shadows of the trees outside still swayed, and the cawing of crows rose and fell. Aman, holding back her anger, tried hard to force herself to fall asleep.
She wants to prove it.
It's not just to Fu Yunxiu, but also to those who said they were a burden when they were young.
Aman has never been a burden, never has been. (Author's note:)
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