Another world of the library
Jiang Yan could act silently as long as she thought of it, but even though she deliberately took larger steps to the bedside, she still couldn't wake the sleeping person.
The soft glow of the glass floor lamps shone on Ah Chou's clean, porcelain-like face. Her long, thick eyelashes cast a small shadow under her eyes, and her delicate nose and full, petal-like pink lips made her appear harmless.
Even if Jiang Yan Hui was unwilling to admit it, she had to realize that the slave she casually bought for five taels of silver would be more to her liking than the male prostitutes carefully selected and trained in the brothel.
The fawn, fast asleep in the tiger's den, was oblivious to the approaching danger, lost in a sweet dream.
Jiang Yan bent down and slipped her hand under the quilt. It was still ice cold inside even after being covered for so long. She curled up to warm herself up, completely forgetting her duty to warm the bed.
The moment Jiang Yanhui touched A Chou's ankle, the sleeping man shuddered violently as if he had been electrocuted. If Jiang Yanhui hadn't been holding his ankle, he probably would have kicked him.
Ah Chou scrambled to sit up, tried to pull his foot back but failed. His toes curled up in shame, and his eyes trembled with fear as he looked at the culprit who was completely unaware of his transgression.
Jiang Yanhui's thin, bony ankle could be easily wrapped in one hand. Her thumb deliberately brushed against the protruding bone in an ambiguous way. "You touched mine, so it's not too much for me to touch you back, is it?"
Eloquent tongue! Turning black into white!
Ah Chou blushed with shame and anger. Knowing that he had no room or possibility to resist, he simply turned his head away and refused to look at her.
Those in positions of power don't take the occasional indulgence of pets to heart. The moment Jiang Yan let go, A Chou's feet tucked back into the blanket, and he sat with his knees drawn up, adopting a defensive posture.
Jiang Yanhui exuded a languid air, enjoying the luxury, but her straight back and open shoulders revealed the upright posture that a soldier could not conceal. These two completely different styles blended together to create a unique temperament in her.
His thin lips curved into a beautiful arc, and his voice, filled with irresistible allure, slowly seduced her, "The wind and snow in Lingzhou are unbearable. Even the most charming person will lose their charm if worn down. Why don't you come with me? I'll protect you and ensure your safety in Lingzhou."
Ah Chou's wariness remained unabated; her pursed lips curled slightly downwards, and she made no reaction.
Jiang Yanhui did not become impatient with A Chou's slowness, after all, this mute slave did not seem to understand the love and desire between men and women.
He explained again, quite unusually, "Follow me. Just do whatever I tell you to do, and you'll be blessed with wealth and honor in the future."
Perhaps it was because Jiang Yanhui's gaze was too blatant, but Ah Chou quickly realized what was happening and crossed her arms in front of her again to defend and resist, shaking her head like a rattle drum.
Jiang Yan scoffed, "Do you know who I am?"
Under the overwhelming pressure of her aura, Ah Chou sensed her displeasure. Startled, she gasped for breath, her shoulders trembling, and dared not look up at her.
Fear and panic quickly filled the small space inside the bed curtains. The familiar feeling made Jiang Yan frown and a nameless irritation arose.
Jiang Yan got up, her back to the bed, her figure indistinct in the dim light. She said in a flat, emotionless tone, "Put on your clothes and go out."
Upon being released, Ah Chou scrambled off the bed, grabbed his clothes and haphazardly put them on, ignoring the wrinkled lining. He threw on his coat and cotton shoes, then stormed out the door without looking back.
The night was silent, and the wind and snow continued without ceasing. Ah Chou wrapped herself tightly in her coat and returned to her lodgings absentmindedly. The dim and oppressive light nourished her deep sense of grievance.
Afraid of waking the others in the room, he curled up in the corner of the dormitory, covering his mouth and silently shedding tears.
That night, Ah Chou's dreams were chaotic and disordered. One moment he saw a vast, lush grassland with eagles soaring through the sky; the next, he saw Jiang Yanhui's dark, ink-like eyes forcefully restraining his limbs from their unrestrained oppression...
"Ugly... Ugly... Ugly..."
Ah Chou suddenly opened his eyes and met Xiao Le's worried gaze, which startled the latter, who patted his chest to catch his breath.
He complained, "Why did you wake up so late today? If you keep dawdling, you'll get punished by Uncle Ban."
Xiao Le was the first friend Ah Chou made in the mansion besides Aunt Pan and Uncle Ban. Only Xiao Le didn't mind that he was mute and was even willing to let him put his mattress next to him.
Xiao Le asked in surprise, "Why are you sweating so much in the middle of winter? Are you sick?"
Once he came to his senses, Ah Chou realized that his inner lining was sticking to his body with sweat, which was extremely uncomfortable. He tugged at his sleeve and wiped the sweat off his face haphazardly, shaking his head to indicate that he was fine.
Xiao Le checked his temperature and said with some doubt, "Take the water that's hot on the charcoal stove and wipe yourself down. If you feel unwell, tell Uncle Ban. Don't hide it from him!"
"I won't hold it against you for infecting me, but if you offend the other people in the house, be careful you don't get kicked out. Even if you have to sleep outside in the snow, I can't save you."
Ah Chou slowly got up after lifting the covers, and nodded seriously upon hearing this.
Xiao Le looked around, took out the moisturizing cream hidden at the very back of the drawer, and applied it to her face in front of the mirror.
"Come over after you wash your face, I'll put some perfume on you, so no one else can see."
He pulled Ah Chou, who had just finished washing her face, to sit down, and shook his head repeatedly at her delicate face, saying as he wiped her face,
“Lingzhou is windy in winter. If you don’t put something on, your face will definitely chapped from the wind. But you can’t let anyone else know, otherwise they’ll want to put this on and that on. I saved up money to buy this bottle. We can use it sparingly for the whole winter, and that should be enough.”
The cream was moisturizing and fragrant, which put people in a good mood. Ah Chou nodded solemnly and decided to give half of his monthly salary to Xiao Le. He couldn't let Xiao Le use such a good thing for free.
Thinking of something interesting, Xiao Le said excitedly, "I just heard from the people on night watch last night that Wang Zun did something wrong and ordered people to tear down and throw away all the mattresses, pillows, and curtains. If they hadn't been able to find a suitable canopy bed for his status, they probably would have thrown the bed out as well."
Xiao Le was engrossed in gossip and didn't notice Ah Chou's momentary stiffness. She then asked, "I remember Uncle Ban asked you to keep watch yesterday. Why did you come back in the middle of the night?"
Ah Chou swallowed nervously. He knew that Jiang Yan Hui had thrown everything away in disgust because he had overslept. His intuition told him that it was best to keep everything that happened last night to himself.
Fortunately, Xiao Le didn't expect a mute person to explain anything reasonable, nor did he think that the well-behaved A Chou could be related to Wang Zun.
He whispered a reminder, "Next time Uncle Ban asks you to keep watch, you can't sneak back again. Disobedient slaves will be kicked out of the manor, and then they'll just have to wait to die."
Ah Chou nodded repeatedly, and breathed a small sigh of relief when Xiao Le turned his back.
After quickly tidying up and putting out the charcoal fire in the house, Xiao Le, who was running out of time, pulled Ah Chou along and ran towards the front yard against the wind and snow.
As dawn broke, a number of servants were already standing in the open space, lined up in order of height.
Xiao Le and Achou are the same age, but Xiao Le is taller than Achou, so he stands in the back row. He doesn't forget to wink at Achou, who is looking over because he is nervous.
Ah Chou stood silently in the first row. To his left was a fifteen-year-old servant, and to his right was a sixteen-year-old servant. Eighteen-year-old Ah Chou stood stubbornly in the middle, tiptoeing.
As soon as Uncle Ban came out, the whispering servants immediately fell silent, lowering their heads and not daring to breathe, obediently waiting for today's arrangements.
"...Ah Chou and Xiao Le are cleaning the library..."
Ah Chou's eyes lit up, and he quietly turned around to look at Xiao Le, who was also smiling at him. He pursed his lips and smiled shyly back.
The library contains a large number of classical books, so internal lighting is strictly prohibited. Therefore, the servants assigned to clean the library can rest at sunset.
Because the library occupies a large area and is difficult to clean, the servants assigned to clean it basically spend half a month of their work in the library.
After the tasks were assigned, Ah Chou and Xiao Le walked side by side toward the library, their smiles growing even wider.
Xiao Le chuckled softly, "We're really lucky. Every year, so many people are eager to do the year-end cleaning of the library. Going to other places to sweep and do work is tiring and cold. Nothing beats the leisurely comfort of being in the library, where the wind doesn't hit your face and the snow doesn't get on your head!"
Ah Chou listened attentively and nodded in agreement, agreeing with what Xiao Le said.
When Ah Chou was first brought back to the Prince's Mansion, his injuries were too severe. Since Jiang Yan Hui had personally brought him back, Uncle Ban kept him by his side to take good care of him, which is why Ah Chou was able to recover so quickly.
So he didn't understand the difference between "good work" and "bad work" in Xiao Le's words, but seeing how happy Xiao Le was, cleaning the library must be a very good job.
Having obtained the library key, Xiao Le took two steps up the stone steps and unlocked the door. The two tall doors slowly opened, revealing a magnificent scene inside.
Ah Chou's eyes widened, and his grip on the broom tightened involuntarily.
Xiao Le leaned against the door frame, turning the key, and squinted his eyes with satisfaction. "When I saw so many books, I was so amazed that I couldn't close my mouth. It was like entering another world."
He pulled Ah Chou, who was still standing outside in the snow, looking stunned and dumbfounded, and put his arm around Ah Chou's shoulder. "When I first came in to clean, I wondered if Wang Zun could read all those books. And guess what?"
Ah Chou hugged the broom tightly and shook his head.
"I secretly flipped through one of them, and every page had Wang Zun's annotations." Xiao Le scratched his head and grinned sheepishly, his expression full of undisguised admiration. "Although I can't read, I can tell that he put a lot of effort into it."
Ah Chou threw down the broom and slowly walked to the floor-to-ceiling bookshelf. He wiped his hands on his clothes and carefully pulled out a book.
Just as Xiao Le had said, there were annotations on both sides, and even Ah Chou, who couldn't read Chinese characters, could sense the reader's concentration just by feeling.
Jiang Yanhui's face suddenly appeared before my eyes. Her deep eyes were always hidden by a cynical attitude, making it impossible to figure out what she was thinking.
Ah Chou lowered her eyes, thinking about what happened last night. What kind of expression would Jiang Yan Hui have on her face as she turned her back?
Xiao Le leaned closer and asked, "Can you understand it?"
Ah Chou shook his head.
"I saw you reading for so long, I thought you could read," Xiao Le urged, listening to the whooshing wind outside. "It looks like the sun won't come out today. Although we have plenty of time, we can't be too careless. If Uncle Ban finds out we haven't cleaned properly, we'll be punished." A Chou shook off his wandering thoughts, closed the book carefully and put it back, picked up the tools and followed Xiao Le to the innermost part of the house to start mopping the floor.
He knelt down, rolled up his sleeves, wrung out the rag, and performed the whole sequence of movements with fluid grace.
Ah Chou stretched out his pale arms and vigorously scrubbed the cracks in the ground, lost in thought that someone who could read so many books couldn't be too bad, right?
A note from the author:
----------------------
Jiang Yanhui: Throw it away! Throw it away! Throw it all away!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
