Huihe Inn.
A separate courtyard belonging to Ye Man.
Or rather, just her and a donkey, without even a single Maidservant.
So, honest Waiter, light the lamps and bring plenty of hot water.
Ye Man closed the door and bathed inside. The bathtub was quite clean, no need to overthink it.
A bath would make her feel much better. Traveling by donkey was tiring, and now she couldn't just lie down.
Encountering the matter with Tan Xianglin, she couldn't let it go to waste.
Ye Man put on her clothes; she looked much tidier. Although her face was thin, she wasn't unattractive and certainly wouldn't spoil the view.
Wearing a Short Gown, thankfully Madam Shui in the Mountain Area had given her extra clothes, otherwise, it would have been cold.
Ding Yuan was busy outside working diligently.
The rain had started, but it wasn't heavy; the overcast sky looked like it was preparing for a grand performance.
Ding Yuan settled the donkey, then brought a lot of firewood to the Kitchen. He quickly ran back with a food container.
Ye Man sat on a chair in the Main room, lazily asking, "What delicious food is there?"
Ding Yuan placed the food container aside, opened it, and set a bowl of noodles next to her table: "It's nothing special. The noodles next door are decent; please eat some while they are hot."
Ye Man smelled the aroma and was instantly conquered by the full bowl of pork rib and egg noodles!
She picked up her chopsticks, took a piece of pork rib to her mouth, and hummed! This preparation deserved fifteen thumbs-up!
Even though she was starving, everything tasted good, but Ye Man had Meat Buns and boiled Eggs; she wasn't in a state of starvation.
Truly, what the Prefecture City could offer was indeed not ordinary fare.
Ye Man took out a small ingot and gave it to the Waiter: "Go buy a set of more presentable clothes, and also buy some Brush, Ink, Paper, and Inkstone."
Ding Yuan looked at the Five taels of silver: "You can buy quite nice clothes with this."
Ye Man nodded: "Good enough will do; the rest is for you as a tip."
Seeing that it was starting to rain, and feeling too uncomfortable to run errands herself, she took out another two taels of silver: "Buy some cloth later to make clothes. Calculate ten sets for the inner layers, and three to five sets for the outer layers."
Ding Yuan calculated: one bolt of cloth is four zhang; he could make three sets for himself, which should be enough for five sets for the Esteemed guest. That means two bolts for the inner layers and one bolt for the outer layers. Winter clothes needed to be thick, so that would require another two bolts for the outer layers as well.
Ordinary cloth is cheaper; Ding Yuan said, "It's more cost-effective to make them yourself. Do you need to buy needles and thread? Should I hire someone to do the sewing?"
Ye Man noticed he talked a lot but was quite sensible. She gave him another two taels of silver: "Needles and thread must be bought, and buy two pairs of shoes too."
Ding Yuan noted it down.
Seeing the Esteemed guest handing out silver repeatedly without hesitation, she must not be short of Silver.
Ye Man finished the noodles, feeling comfortable! Sitting there, she didn't want to move at all.
She wished she could immediately crawl into bed.
As for bringing her own bedding, that was something for later. Suddenly producing a bedding roll when she didn't have one wasn't a good idea.
The Inn provided them, and she had glanced at them earlier; they were acceptable.
Ding Yuan cleared the bowls and chopsticks, then left. A moment later, he returned, bringing a pot of hot tea.
Ye Man looked; there was a tea barrel here, not exquisite but usable.
The Waiter nimbly laid down a layer of Rice Straw and placed the teapot inside; this would keep it warm for several hours.
Since the Esteemed guest had no other instructions, Ding Yuan ran off to handle the errands.
Ye Man observed his energetic demeanor; he was truly a good young man. As for what his colleagues thought, she didn't care.
She stood up with effort, sighing; a rainy day wasn't so bad after all.
Ye Man went to the courtyard. Hearing no movement outside, instead of opening the door, she climbed over the wall to leave.
This Wall Top wasn't very high, and climbing it was a bit strenuous for her. Forget it, she decided, hurry up and get the job done.
Following her memory, she found the room where Tan Xianglin had stayed previously.
The room had a lamp lit, the window was open, and the wind blew in gusts, sometimes fiercely.
The lamp inside hadn't been blown out.
Ye Man stood under the eaves, amused. The Little Beauty secretly climbed out of the window.
She went over and pulled the girl: "Let's go."
The Little Beauty dared not make a sound; she couldn't make a sound.
Fortunately, no one was around on the way. Ye Man opened the door, led the Little Beauty to her own courtyard, and entered the room.
After doing such a small task, her body wasn't very wet, but Old Ancestor Yeman, once seated, didn't want to move anymore.
The Little Beauty stood obediently to the side, secretly watching her, then pondered—were they both not decent people?
Ye Man poured a bowl of tea from the teapot and sipped it slowly, asking as she did, "Why did you try to run away? What did that Tan Jiwen say to you?"
The Little Beauty heard her voice, which wasn't very crisp; perhaps her throat was unwell.
Her aura was quite unique, and it was quiet here. The Little Beauty confessed: "He told me to stay at the Inn, and he would redeem me from Zhichun Pavilion later. But I don't think he was very willing, perhaps because the matter with that Miss made him unhappy; this might not work out well."
The Little Beauty gritted her teeth, her emotions running high: "This humble girl is from Bailu County in Linzhou, my surname is Wang, and my given name is Su Ning. Last year, Linzhou suffered a disaster, and my whole family fled here. Later, we ran out of money, and they sold me to Zhichun Pavilion. I studied for less than a year, and Mama Feng said someone fancied me and wanted to buy me. That Tan Jiwen spoke of redeeming me, but Miss Qian repeatedly brought up my status. I was originally pure and innocent; I just don't want to..."
Ye Man asked lightly, "How much of it is up to you to want?"
The Little Beauty gritted her teeth: "If I don't run, I won't be reconciled."
That was true. Ye Man asked, "Do you hate your parents?"
The Little Beauty's teeth were almost ground to dust: "I have four sisters, and I was the best-looking. They planned to sell me as a concubine since I was small. Last year when we were fleeing disaster, it wasn't so easy to sell someone. Those who can have three wives and four concubines don't lack good-looking women."
Ye Man asked, "You still think you're good-looking?"
The Little Beauty bit her lip: "Being good-looking isn't necessarily a good thing."
Ye Man asked, "Then you think it's great that your parents and sisters are still around?"
The Little Beauty was momentarily bewildered.
Ye Man said, "After all that hardship and fleeing disaster, is marrying just anyone, bearing his children, and enduring him hitting his wife considered good?"
The Little Beauty thought about it; her father hit her mother, and her mother didn't seem to have a good life.
She remembered something: "There was a Landlord who had Eight Hundred Mu of Field; it seems his whole family died."
Ye Man said, "What is Eight Hundred Mu of Field? Even the Emperor must die. When a dynasty changes, the previous Emperor ceases to exist."
The Little Beauty's eyes widened!
How did her small issue get connected to a change of dynasty?
Ye Man said, "Once your parents sold you, that bond was severed. No love means no hate; why dwell on it? You are alone now; you should think about what to do next."
The Little Beauty didn't know.
Ye Man looked at her; ultimately, she was just a Child.
She seemed somewhat sensible, yet half-understanding.
Similar to many Children nowadays who run away from home; some have plans, perhaps just for fun or something similar.
One type is escaping an unsatisfactory current situation, and the other is moving toward an anticipated future.
But for an adult who needs to be responsible for themselves, the current situation isn't important; what matters is having a plan for moving forward.
Ye Man asked, "What do you think of that Tan Jiwen?"
The Little Beauty shook her head violently—no good!
Ye Man was amused.
In the Original Book, Qian Yutong went to find Cai Wenting to be a Sucker and redeem the girl from Zhichun Pavilion, which caused her a lot of trouble.
Now that the Old Ancestor had interfered, the Little Beauty no longer recognized Tan Xianglin as her savior either.
It's like pork is delicious, but it's considered a low-grade meat?