Chapter 258: In Front of the Widow's Door
Taohua Town is an unknown town west of the imperial capital, located at the foot of Cangshan Mountain. Because there is a Wenquxing Temple on Cangshan Mountain which is very effective, every spring examination, there is an endless stream of students coming to worship Wenquxing.
What's more, some students from well-off families directly rent a courtyard in the small town to live in, claiming that being in the closest place and being influenced by the incense will help them achieve better results in the exams.
The Dilu Lane in the back street of the town was not favored by students because of its bad omen. The landlord rented it for a long time and lowered the rent again and again before finally renting the yard to a widowed woman.
"Alas, this Madam Wen is also a pitiful person. It is said that her husband died on the battlefield, and her relatives at home were so desperate that they wanted to seize her property. She had no choice but to sell her land and come to our town to seek refuge with her relatives before they could do anything."
"With the help of her relatives, she finally found a place to stay by renting a house here."
"Oh, what kind of people are these? Damn it, they actually bully a young lady like this."
"That's right. She's a young lady, and she's pregnant. I felt sorry for her, so I gave her a 10% discount on the rent."
There were several long wooden benches in front of the chaotic food stall at the entrance of the alley.
Normally, the neighbors would sit on the long wooden benches and chat when they had nothing to do. However, these days, the topic of conversation could not avoid the young widow who had just moved into the alley.
When people talked about the young lady, they all sighed with emotion. The young lady's experience was really extraordinary and even more exciting than what was described in the storybook.
"Mrs. Wen is beautiful. If she rents a courtyard and lives alone, isn't she afraid that some lecher might cause trouble?"
"Hey, you don't know this, do you know who her relatives are?"
"Who is it?"
"Captain Zhou from this town."
"Ah, no wonder. With Captain Zhou here, no one dares to cause trouble for her."
The topic of conversation among the aunts and uncles soon turned to the matter of Captain Zhou choosing a wife for his son.
It is said that Captain Zhou's son is a promising man who passed the imperial examination at a young age, so Captain Zhou has very high standards when choosing a wife.
A lame girl carrying a basket of vegetables walked quickly past the group of gossipy women. She walked all the way to the end of the alley, pushed open the gate and went in.
The yard is not big, but it is very beautifully maintained. Flowers and plants are planted all around. There is also an osmanthus tree under the low wall. The osmanthus tree is several decades old and has lush branches and leaves. When the flowers bloom in autumn, the whole garden will be filled with fragrance.
This is why Wen Wan chose this courtyard.
She was lying in a rocking chair under a tree, and when she saw the little maid approaching with an indignant look on her face, she couldn't help laughing.
"Why, are the neighbor aunts telling my story again?"
The little maid placed the vegetable basket beside the well, drew some water and began to wash the vegetables.
"Yes, they talk about it 10 to 20 times in 30 days a month."
The little maid was bought by Wen Wan from a roadside human trafficker when she came to Taohua Town. Because she was lame, he couldn't sell her. The human trafficker lost money and took out his anger on her, beating her until she was covered with wounds.
Wen Wan spent money to buy her and named her Banyue, which means that the moon has phases of waxing and waning. Although the half moon is incomplete, it still has a unique beauty.
Wen Wan casually placed the storybook on the small table beside her. "Let them say whatever they want. After all, we won't lose a single piece of meat. By the way, what are we having for dinner tonight?"
Ban Yue smiled and looked up. "Didn't you say yesterday that you wanted to eat roasted pig's trotters? So I asked the butcher to leave two trotters for you. I'll clean them later and then gather some charcoal to roast them for you."
When Wen Wan heard this, she immediately became energetic and was about to get up to help.
Seeing this, Banyue was frightened and cried out, "You'd better take a rest. The doctor said you are very pregnant. The ground near the well is very slippery. If you fall, it will be terrible."
Hearing this, Wen Wan stopped and said with a smile, "That's right, we have to be more cautious. The little guy in my belly has been very restless these past few days, kicking me seventeen or eighteen times a day. If I really hurt him, who knows how he'll blame me when he gets out."
So Wen Wan lay back down again.
Banyue knew that she liked to hear new things, so she told her the news she heard when she went out today while washing vegetables.
"There's a poetry festival in town in a few days, and the inn is full of talented people coming to attend. I heard one of them is so handsome that many girls in town wait at the door of the inn every day, just waiting to catch a glimpse of him."
"Oh?" Wen Wan happily ate her snacks. "Then you should go and see it tomorrow. When you come back, tell me if that talented man is really as good-looking as they say."
She shook her head with regret.
"It's a pity that it's inconvenient for me to go with my big belly. Otherwise, it would be more interesting to see handsome guys in person."
After a pause, her eyes lit up. "No, that's not right. The doctor told me to keep a good mood. Since appreciating beautiful things can make people feel good, shouldn't I go and see it myself?"
When Banyue heard her say this, he couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Madam, if you want to go, just go. There's no need to bother to come up with such a high-sounding excuse. Only you can make the word 'lustful' sound so refreshing and refined."
Wen Wan glared at him, "Alright, you dare to tease me."
Ban Yue waved her hands and retreated to the kitchen, "I dare not, I dare not, I'm going to make food."
The two of them had been together for a few months, and Wen Wan didn't take Banyue's joke seriously. She picked up the storybook and started reading it out of boredom again.
Half an hour later, the aroma of roasted pig's trotters gradually wafted out of the kitchen, making her so hungry that her mouth watered.
She was having trouble concentrating on reading the book and was feeling annoyed when she heard a knock on the door.
Wen Wan was confused and put down the storybook to open the door.
Outside the door, a little servant boy was carrying a box of cakes and smiled brightly at her when he saw her.
The little book boy, about eleven or twelve years old, bowed and said politely:
"Hello, my lady. My master and I just moved in next door. He said that a close neighbor is worse than a distant relative, so he asked me to give my lady some gifts."
Wen Wan: “…”
She curled her lips and said, "If you want to give me a gift, then give me a gift. What does it mean when you stretch your neck to look towards the kitchen?"
Also, what does it mean to deliberately wipe the saliva from the corner of your mouth?
Is this too obvious a hint?
Wen Wan would not tolerate his little tricks. She smiled and said cheerfully:
"Thank you, young master, for me. However, as a widow, it's not easy for me to accept gifts from men who are not my husband. Widows are prone to gossip. There's nothing I can do about it. I have to avoid suspicion. It's better for us to have less contact in the future."
After saying this, she pretended not to notice the boy's shocked look and closed the gate without hesitation.
There were only two roasted pig's trotters, one for her and one for Banyue, but there was no extra to share with others.
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