As the gloomy night deepened, Wen Zhiheng, who had remained silent for a long while, finally spoke.
"Shiyi, you are not to associate with him from now on."
Chen Shiyi said nothing.
"He is a criminal of the Qinghe Cui clan. The Cui family is a powerful aristocratic house. Getting involved with them could cost you your life."
Chen Shiyi remained silent.
"Shiyi, say something."
Wen Zhiheng grabbed her wrist, forcing her to look up at him.
Chen Shiyi glanced at the hand gripping her wrist, then raised her eyes to meet Wen Zhiheng's gaze.
Under her stare, Wen Zhiheng involuntarily released his grip.
Chen Shiyi added a few more sticks of firewood to the fire.
"Young Master, you should go wash your hands."
Rui'er hurriedly ran in.
"Sister, is the food ready? I'm hungry."
Chen Shiyi forced a smile.
"It's almost ready."
Rui'er found this rather strange. With his small, tender hand, he touched Chen Shiyi's cheek.
"Sister, why are there finger marks on your face? Did someone hit you?"
Both Wen Zhiheng and Wen Zhirou looked shocked.
Wen Zhiheng examined Chen Shiyi's face closely and only then noticed that her cheek was swollen and there was a trace of blood at the corner of her mouth.
"Shiyi, who hit you?"
"Was it that man surnamed Cui from earlier?"
Chen Shiyi shook her head.
"No, I don't know that person. He slapped me, and I kicked him. We're even."
"How can that be considered even?"
Chen Shiyi said calmly.
"Is Young Master going to seek justice for me?"
"Of course. You are my person."
"Just a servant, Young Master. There's no need to trouble yourself. Besides, I'm already used to this kind of pain. And I've learned to protect myself—settling scores on the spot, without needing others to act wise after the fact."
Wen Zhiheng softened his tone, asking inexplicably.
"Shiyi, what's wrong with you today?"
"Let's eat."
The Second Young Mistress, sipping the plain porridge from her bowl, said weakly.
"Drinking plain porridge these past few days has left me with no energy. I spent all day yesterday sewing clothes, and now I feel a bit dizzy."
Upon hearing this, Madam Wen quickly asked Chen Shiyi.
"Shiyi, haven't you been gathering herbs to sell these past few days? Remember to buy some meat when you return. Even if the adults can do without, Rui'er can't endure this."
The Second Young Mistress added.
"Remember to pick another bouquet of today's flowers. They really are quite lovely. This morning, when I wanted to see your bouquet, you snatched it back. In the old days at the Marquis's Mansion, you would have been beaten to death with sticks for that."
Wen Zhiyuan immediately scolded her.
"What nonsense are you talking? Shiyi already works hard to earn money. It's enough that we have food and won't starve."
Madam Wen said sternly.
"Zhiyuan, Chun'er is right. Why are you scolding her?"
Wen Zhirou interjected impatiently.
"Let's eat. Why talk about such things? When we had nothing before, I didn't see any of you being picky."
Wen Zhiheng remained silent, watching Chen Shiyi beside him calmly eating her meal as if their discussion had nothing to do with her.
What's wrong with her?
She was fine yesterday.
"Is there anything else? I'll take care of it all tomorrow."
Chen Shiyi's soft-spoken words ended their bickering.
She turned to ask Wen Zhirou.
"Miss, do you have any leftover fabric scraps?"
"Yes."
"I need a few pieces."
Limping, she moved the firewood from the woodshed under the eaves. After cleaning up, she placed a wooden plank inside the woodshed—from now on, she would sleep there.
There was a bit of Chicken Nest Grass left from before. After mashing it up, she applied it to the swollen, red area on her ankle. Gritting her teeth, she took a cloth and tightly bound it. After resting for the night, it should be much better by tomorrow.
Outside the door, a tall figure blocked the faint silver moonlight.
Wen Zhiheng crouched down, intending to help Chen Shiyi apply the medicine.
Chen Shiyi quickly raised her hand to stop him.
"It's already done. There's no need for you to trouble yourself, Young Master."
Though his expression was unclear, his words seemed to carry a hint of remorse.
"You were beaten, and your foot is injured. Why didn't you tell me?"
Chen Shiyi let out a light laugh.
"My actions were so obvious, I thought you would see. It's just a small matter. It'll be fine after resting for a couple of days. Why say more and make it seem like I'm trying to gain sympathy?"
"Are you blaming me?"
Chen Shiyi wondered if there was any resentment in her words.
"Young Master, after you touched my head, you scrubbed your hands over and over until they were red. The night you carried me back, you were so disgusted and uncomfortable that you soaked your skin until it wrinkled in the stream. Every time you speak to me, I don't know how much pride and humiliation you have to endure to lower yourself and speak calmly. You really don't need to put yourself through such difficulty."
"I won't resent you for your neglect, nor will I be grateful for a few more words of concern from you. So, you just need to be yourself, just like in the beginning, when you looked down on me. I am your maid. My indenture is with the Marquis's Mansion. I will do my duties well."
"Young Master, I need to rest."
Chen Shiyi turned on her side, listening to the croaking of frogs and the chirping of insects in the fields, along with Wen Zhiheng's slightly ragged breathing.
She didn't know when he left.
It didn't matter. She didn't need anyone's care.
She had never had it since she was young, and she didn't crave it either.
After resting for a day, her foot was much better, and she resumed her routine.
In the early morning, she would sweep the courtyard, prepare meals, then go up the mountain to gather firewood and still collect Chicken Nest Grass. At noon, she would exchange it for money, occasionally buying some meat or a few eggs, but mostly rice and grains. Life was frugal.
After dinner, she would take a torch to tend to the vegetable garden next door. The hoe was rented from Brother Zheng in the village across the way for three copper coins a day.
Since that night when things were laid bare, she hadn't spoken to Wen Zhiheng for several days.
To be honest, there really was nothing to say between them.
Their vastly different statuses and experiences destined them to have no intersection.
What was there to talk about?
Talk about how nice the weather was today? What to eat for dinner? Whose clothes were torn again?
Rui'er would sometimes come to keep her company while she dug the earth. At his age, everything was still new and exciting. He didn't know what hardship meant, and even if he was bothered by mosquito bites, he didn't want to go back.
Once, he found a nest of quails in the field and got several tiny eggs, so happy his face lit up. That evening, he even made a point of showing off to his father.
Sometimes he would stay by her side, writing and drawing with a stick.
"What are you drawing?"
Rui'er pouted.
"Father is teaching me to read. He tests me every day."
Chen Shiyi fell silent for a moment before asking.
"Rui'er, many jobs in town require literacy. I want to learn too. Can you teach me?"
Hearing that Chen Shiyi was willing to study with him, Rui'er suddenly felt energized about reading and writing. Every time he finished learning and taught Chen Shiyi, he would put on the stern face of a little teacher, pretending to be serious.
"Today you only need to recognize five characters. If you don’t finish, you won’t be allowed to eat."
Sometimes he couldn’t even recognize them all himself, but he didn’t dare tell Chen Shiyi, afraid of losing his dignity as a little teacher. After that, he became very diligent and serious every time he studied characters, which made Wen Zhiyuan quite pleased.
The time for Chicken Nest Grass had passed.
By early May, the pharmacy was no longer buying it.
Chen Shiyi grew very anxious.
"Brother Xue, do you know of any other work around here?"
Xue Lianxing shook his head.
"There are too many people in town looking for work. Everyone wants to earn money—it’s really difficult."
Xue Lianxing couldn’t help her anymore. Besides, he had already helped her for quite some time out of consideration for Nanzhi.
She wandered aimlessly through the town and passed by the Ready-made Clothing Shop where she used to sell cloth. Suddenly, an idea came to her.
"Shopkeeper, besides making ready-made clothes, do you also buy embroidery here?"