"Miss, the old master has already rushed to the capital to take up his post."
"Mm, good that he's gone."
"Miss…" Looking at Danxin's conflicted expression, Xia Qinghe couldn't help but laugh, pulling her hand over. "Danxin, ah! If you keep worrying like this, you'll turn into an old woman! Cuilü, look, does Danxin have wrinkles on her face?"
Cuilü's face was even more bitter. "Miss, ah, Danxin-jie and I are about to die of worry. Are you really not going back to the Xia Manor?"
"Go back? Go back for what? I had such a hard time getting out—why would I go back?!"
"Miss, you're only five years old…"
Seeing that Danxin was gearing up to start another long lecture, Xia Qinghe quickly cut her off. "Stop right there. Today is a good day—let's celebrate that I'm free! From now on, the sky is high and the waters are wide, and I can fly wherever I want! Hurry up and think—how should we celebrate? How about we go shopping?!"
Danxin and Cuilü exchanged a glance. The miss was like this—they truly didn't know what to do. Just think, Madam Fang had only entered the manor a few days ago, and their miss had already been beaten several times and locked up. Who knew how bitter the days ahead would be!
Now the miss was being so willful, running away from home at such a young age, and they couldn't talk her out of it. That household was truly a mess—going back meant being tormented every single day. If worst came to worst, the two of them would just work a little harder, go out and find some work, earn silver to support the miss.
Xia Qinghe still didn't know that these two maids had already made up their minds to support her.
The small courtyard they now lived in was only separated from the former Xia Manor by a single street. In Xia Qinghe's words, this was called "darkness under the lamp." It was a single-entry small courtyard—three main rooms plus two side ear-rooms, three eastern and three western wing rooms, and a row of reversed-seat rooms on either side of the main gate. In the neat square courtyard, two vegetable plots had been opened up, planted with some small greens. Beside them was a well and a grape trellis—in summer, sitting underneath to cool off was the most comfortable thing.
The original owner was an old couple with no children. Their daughter had married a merchant and was doing well, so she sent people to bring the old couple to live out their retirement. The house was going to be sold, and Xia Qinghe happened to buy it—but Danxin and Cuilü didn't know, thinking it was rented.
The three of them, master and servants, had no carriage either. Fortunately, it wasn't far from the market street, so they decided to walk.
After turning two street corners, they arrived at the market street. In one corner of the market, a crowd had gathered around something, pointing and gesturing.
"This person is so pitiful—who would dare treat his illness!"
"The doctor from Shan'an Hall said this illness is hard to cure!"
"He's just a beggar—he can only wait to die!"
"Ah! How pitiful!"
Xia Qinghe caught an earful of the onlookers' idle chatter. Her instinct as a doctor made it impossible for her to ignore a human life.
"Miss!" Danxin and Cuilü grabbed her as she was about to step forward, lowering their voices. "That person has a disease on his body!"
"Don't be afraid." Xia Qinghe patted their hands and, without further discussion, pushed closer to the crowd. The two stomped their feet and had no choice but to follow.
In the crowd, a thin, small youth lay on the ground, dressed in rags. The skin exposed outside was covered in grain-like papules, like a toad's skin—very frightening. Xia Qinghe recognized it at a glance: this was a type of phrynoderma caused by a deficiency of vitamin A or essential fatty acids.
"You beggar, if you're going to die, go far away! Don't stay on this main street! What if your illness is contagious and you end up harming everyone here?!" Someone in the crowd spoke harshly.
No sooner had those words been spoken than they drew considerable agreement from the crowd. One after another, their sympathy turned entirely into accusations. The young man lying there had a look of despair and pain in his eyes. Judging by his appearance, he hadn't eaten in days—how could he possibly have the strength to walk?!
"Move aside, move aside!" Several yamen runners, cursing under their breath, shoved through the crowd. "You beggar, you can't even walk yourself, and now you're making others carry you! Damn it, what rotten luck!" From the sound of it, they intended to haul him outside the city walls—no doubt to dump him in a mass grave and be done with it.
"Wait! He can still be saved!" Xia Qinghe stepped forward and blocked their path.
"Even Shanan Hall says he can't be saved—what can a young girl like you do? Don't get in the way of our work. Move along, move along!" The runner, seeing she was just a girl, paid her no mind at all.
"I can cure his illness! And besides, I can take him in—you don't need to carry him off."
The runner looked her up and down. "You? Little miss, are you joking? His illness isn't just hard to cure—it'll cost a good deal of silver. You're being so charitable—does your family know about this?"
The onlookers, seeing she was just a young girl, shook their heads helplessly and tried to dissuade her. No one noticed the fierce will to live burning in the young man's eyes.
Xia Qinghe shot Danxin a glance, and Danxin took out some silver from her pouch. "You gentlemen have worked hard. Our young lady is kind-hearted, so we'd trouble you to help carry this young man to our residence."
Seeing they'd get silver and wouldn't have to trek outside the city, the runners were naturally happy to oblige. Many in the crowd sneered in disdain, some praised Xia Qinghe's righteous act, and others worried that this girl would catch an earful when she got home!
The outing was ruined. Danxin directed the runners to carry the young man into the gatehouse, then sent them off. Xia Qinghe had Cuilü feed him some porridge.
When Cuilü came out with the empty bowl, her eyes were red. "When I was feeding him the porridge, he kept crying…"
"Alright, don't worry! Now that we've taken him in, he'll recover soon enough." Xia Qinghe understood well what it meant to find hope in the face of death. She instructed the two of them, "Once he's regained some strength, have him wash up properly. Danxin, help him get a set of clean clothes. Starting tomorrow, I'll treat his illness."
Danxin let out a resigned sigh. She wasn't even sure they could support themselves, and now they had another patient to care for. Her young lady's heart was too kind.
The next day, when Xia Qinghe got up, Cuilü told her that the young man had been kneeling in the courtyard since dawn.
"What are you doing?" Xia Qinghe stepped out and saw him still sitting upright with a straight back. When he saw her emerge, he kowtowed to the ground. "My lady's great kindness—Li San has no way to repay it. I will serve you as my mistress for life and devote myself to your service!"
"Your name is Li San?"
"Yes, this humble one is Li San, from the capital. My parents are both deceased. Because of this illness, I was cast out by my former master and wandered the streets. Many physicians said it couldn't be cured. I spent all my money and couldn't even beg successfully. If not for my lady taking me in, I would have had no choice but to wait for death."
"From the way you speak, it sounds like you've had some education? How old are you this year?"
"In the 16th year of the current reign, I am sixteen years old. I only know a few characters, have learned some martial arts, and later went to the capital to serve as a guard in the Third Prince's residence for two years."
"Oh?" Xia Qinghe was taken aback, not expecting him to actually come from the capital and have entered the prince's residence—it was quite unexpected.
"Since my master has taken me in, I must clarify my past. I have no ties with the Third Prince's residence anymore. They drove me out of the residence, but in reality, they wanted to silence me. Fortunately, my brothers gave me a way to live. My master's kindness is like rebirth. Li San requests my master to bestow a new name."
Xia Qinghe thought it over and felt she had truly picked up a treasure. She just happened to lack a house guard, and it was like someone handing her a pillow when she was sleepy.
"Then let's call you Fengchun!" Xia Qinghe thought for a moment, taking the two characters from 'withered wood meets spring'—the meaning was self-evident.
"Fengchun thanks my master for the name!"
"Good. Here are medicine pills for healing. Take one each day, and you should recover in about half a month, but it might leave pitted scars that affect your appearance. As for diet, I have already instructed Cui Lü. Eat whatever is prepared and recover your health as soon as possible. In our residence, there are only three of us—master and servants. From now on, you will live in the front courtyard and guard the house."
"Fengchun is already content to have preserved my life; as for appearance, it doesn't matter." Fengchun took the pills, placed them in his bosom, and did not find it strange at all that there were only three people in the household—master and servants.
From then on, Fengchun settled in the gatehouse of the front courtyard, guarding the door and protecting the residence, and he very insistently signed a death contract as a servant.