Chapter 10: Walking on Thin Ice
The young master had been gone for a long time. Jiaoran followed Susu Shaofeng out of Siyu Garden. The courtyard was paved with white pebbles, and the black cloud pattern in the middle was paved with black pebbles, which looked very unique.
Shao Feng and she stayed silent all the way. Jiao Ran thought that since they were new here, getting familiar with the place and taking care of each other might help them in a critical moment. She flattered him, "The Governor's Mansion is truly magnificent. Not to mention the magnificent buildings stacked one after another, but even the flower-like gardens surrounded by houses without corridors are amazing. Look, sister, even the pebbles on the ground are laid with beautiful patterns."
Most of what Jiaoran said was sincere. After leaving Siyuyuan, she could see the strange layout of the surroundings in broad daylight.
The Governor's Mansion was surrounded by mountains and water. As far as she could see, water accounted for one-fifth of it. Bamboo forests, pine and cypress trees, and flower gardens were just a few steps away. The gardens in the mansion were dotted with islands, trees, bridges, and paths.
There are many pools in the palace, with small islands in each pool and pavilions built on the islands. Jiaoran has never seen so many pavilions and towers in his life. Compared with here, Mianyuan is really a mud town.
Going further, there was a bridge connecting the two places and a path around the pond. Along the way, Jiaoran met several groups of servants and maids wearing robes of various colors. Three or four maids came down from a pavilion, each holding a pile of books. Jiaoran guessed that they were maids in the library.
There were women playing the zither and the flute in the zither pavilion. Jiaoran was too far away to see their faces clearly.
Small buildings are connected to each other, stones are stacked outside the walls and flowers and plants are planted inside the canals. The gardens are full of strange rocks on both sides of the corridor and stacked stones to form mountains.
There was no response to what Jiaoran said. Shao Feng ignored her and just kept walking forward.
When they were almost at Qingbi Garden, she suddenly turned around and asked angrily, "Did you tell the young master that you can't read?"
Jiao Ran smiled foolishly and said, "I originally wanted to follow my sister's wishes and not tell you, but I was worried that you would be angry with me for lying to him, so I just confessed everything."
In her heart, she was thinking about what her mother said, "Walls have ears." She had just spoken to the young master in the morning, and now these words had fallen into Shao Feng's ears. It was true that there were ears everywhere. Jiaoran swallowed secretly.
"Go and pick up the young master. He's in the main pavilion of Qingbi Garden. He's painting."
"Sister, aren't you going?" Jiaoran asked defensively.
She turned around and said, "In the past, it was Sister Ranhong's job to pick up the young master. Now that the young master wants to keep you, these jobs will naturally belong to you. Why, do you still want me to do your job?"
Jiaoran nodded, "Yes, Jiaoran understands."
She didn't think much about it and walked in. She called out "Young Master" several times at the stairs outside the main pavilion, but no one answered her.
Jiaoran walked up, stood at the door and stretched his head inside. It was pitch black inside. He could only see rows of bookshelves filled with heavy books. Dozens of bookshelves further in looked like rolled-up scrolls, all placed in the bookcases further in. There seemed to be ancient paintings on the walls as well. There was a fresh and bitter smell of grass and trees in the room.
Just as she was looking around, a middle-aged man came down from upstairs. He looked to be in his early thirties, less than forty, and had a mustache.
Jiaoran didn't recognize him. His hair was neatly combed into a scarf, and he looked like a country teacher, except that he didn't have that sour Confucian air.
"What are you looking at?" he asked Jiaoran in an unfriendly tone.
Jiao Ran knew she shouldn't look any further from his frown. The days of training she'd experienced in the inn had made her kneel down and say, "Damn you, my servant, for disturbing your lord."
Although I don't know who his master is.
"You like to look around so much, and you have a pair of bright eyes. I wonder if Mu Jin will be scared if I dig out your eyes?" He sat on the floor beside the table in the middle. Strangely, there was no one in the room to serve him.
Jiaoran was shocked, remembering that Fenghuangchu said that the governor was practicing a kind of magical skill that could ensure eternal youth. Those who practiced this magical skill would look much younger than their peers. According to Fenghuangchu, the governor was about fifty years old. If he really practiced the magical skill "Gaoshan Shou" that could rejuvenate people, then this man was most likely the governor who commanded Xiutu.
"Uncle, you're joking, Jiaoran. Why don't you pay your respects to the master of the Governor's Mansion?" Mu Jin walked quickly from upstairs to the door. There was cold sweat on his forehead, which fell on Jiaoran's hand. Jiaoran raised her head and was about to look at him, but his hand gently pressed her head down, not allowing her to raise her face.
"Jiaoran greets you, sir. It was an unintentional mistake to disturb your meditation. May you be as healthy as the green mountains." Fenghuangchu was really smart. He anticipated that she would get into trouble and even thought of words for her to beg for mercy.
Mu Jin saluted and said humbly, "Uncle, please don't be angry with her. Jiaoran just came yesterday and doesn't know many of the rules. Mu Jin will definitely discipline her in the future."
He propped up his face with the back of his left hand and smiled playfully at the air, "Never mind, go ahead. You've stayed long enough today."
Only after receiving his order did Mu Jin dare to take Jiao Ran away.
He walked in front and Jiaoran followed him, feeling nervous. She had just arrived and had already gotten into trouble, and she still asked him to rescue her. He wouldn't punish her, I thought.
As they were far away from here, Jiaoran suppressed his fear and asked, "Is the young master angry?"
Mu Jin listened to her talk and stopped beside a bird-scare-away eaves bell on the wooden corridor. A tassel fluttered in the wind and the bell made a crisp sound.
"No, I'm not angry. You were just startled, weren't you?" He comforted Jiaoran. "Don't worry, your uncle was just joking with you. I won't punish you. But from now on, just wait for me in the Qingbi Pavilion. When I finish painting, I'll come out of the main pavilion to find you and go back together."
Jiaoran knew that Shao Feng had plotted against her, but she didn't understand why she was so hostile, considering she had just arrived.
"Yes, I will know later."
This mansion is full of rules. She felt like she was walking on thin ice after just one day there and had to be very careful. She didn't know how these people, who had lived here for so many years, could tolerate these rules.
Everyone was tied with puppet strings, and she seemed to have accidentally walked into a puppet show.
Jiaoran bowed his head and saluted, and caught a glimpse of the young man's long gown with wide sleeves and a cross-lapel design, which gave him a sense of immortality. Looking along the cuffs with purple brocade edges, he saw that his knuckles were slightly red.
Seeing Jiaoran looking at her for a few times, Mu Jin smiled kindly and explained, "The weather is too cold. My hands and feet always turn red from the cold in autumn and winter. I might get frostbite in a few days."
Jiaoran said it was okay, "Just apply some snake oil and safflower ointment. In the past, I, your maid's hands also got frostbite in winter. Later, your maid's mother made snake oil and safflower ointment herself. It will be much better after applying it for a few days. It's best to wash your hands and apply it in the morning and evening." The two of them strolled in the garden. The wind from the bamboo forest blew in his face, and he turned blue with cold.
Jiao Ran asked him to wait a moment, walked over to him, gathered his cloak, fixed his collar, and retied the silk ribbon. "Sir, let's go quickly. The woods and the pond here are both cold. It will be warmer if we go back and warm ourselves by the fire."
He nodded and looked down silently as she skillfully adjusted his cloak.
The next day, the red and swollen area turned a little blue. Jiaoran felt that it was not a frostbite, but rather... a bit like the scar left by a heavy object hitting it, or perhaps a finger slamming against the ground or the wall. However, there was no bleeding or broken skin. It was really puzzling. How could a pampered nobleman like him get such an injury?
Xiaoju asked Jiaoran to get the frostbite cream, and then said, "Forget it, you don't know the bottles in the medicine box. Shaofeng, you go."
Jiaoran was a little discouraged. It wasn't that she didn't want to learn to read. When she was a child, she couldn't sit at the desk for more than a stick of incense before her whole body started to move around. She would feel dizzy if she looked at those words for too long. She was born a blind loser.
The young man changed his clothes and turned to talk to her, "After some time, when the weather is warmer and I feel better, I can teach you to read."
Jiaoran looked into his eyes guiltily. Did he know what she was thinking? She didn't dare to think about it anymore.
But the young master was really a good man. Not only was he humble, he even offered to teach a maid to read.
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