A faint steam filled the room.
Su He gently rubbed her hair with a cloth, and once it was clean, she used a dry cloth to slowly wring it out. She loosely twisted her hair up, wiped it down with the cloth, and waited until most of the steam had dissipated before she started changing her clothes.
The outfit Mother Xiao had given her was a complete set of light pink, old clothes. The top was a front-buttoned short shirt with slightly narrow sleeves, and the bottom was a matching culotte skirt. The hem wasn’t wide, but it looked sturdy and durable. This kind of clothing was perfect for a borderland woman to work in. It didn’t have much intricate embroidery, but it made up for it by being practical and long-lasting. Although the fabric was somewhat old, the stitching was fine and tight, and a row of very simple, small patterns was embroidered along the edges of the cuffs and collar. Clearly, the person who made these clothes back then had put real thought into them.
Su He finished changing. The dimensions were slightly loose on her, but it fit surprisingly well. She looked down to smooth out the hem of her skirt, then used a wooden comb to simply detangle her half-dry hair. Next, she gathered it into a simple half-up bun at the back of her head, securing it with a small wooden branch. During her exile, they weren’t allowed to keep any accessories. Even to do their hair, they had to use twigs picked up from the road, slightly trimming them to use as hairpins. With limited conditions now, everything had to be kept as simple as possible.
Once she had everything sorted, Su He pushed open the door.
Creak~
A gust of wind happened to blow through the courtyard, and the sunlight fell at an angle from outside the eaves.
Su He stepped out. The light pink hem of her skirt swayed gently with the wind.
Her face had originally been covered in dust and dirt, but now that it was washed clean, it revealed her delicate features. Su He wasn’t the kind of striking, glamorous beauty; her features weren’t intense, but she stood out for her clean aura. Her eyes and brows were clear, her skin was fair and clean, and her eyes were exceptionally bright. That brightness wasn’t a fragile, watery shimmer, but rather carried a sense of clarity and calm. Like morning water, clean and transparent. Standing there, her entire being looked serene and composed.
On the other side of the yard.
Xiao Zheng was sitting on a small stool, holding a water ladle and getting ready to take a drink. Hearing the sound of the door, he instinctively looked up.
The next second, he froze completely, his hand holding the ladle stopping mid-air.
It wasn’t that he had never seen a woman before. It was just that the girl before his eyes was far too different from the disheveled, filthy criminal slave maid from just moments ago!
Having washed away the exhaustion of the road, her entire being seemed to suddenly brighten. The light pink clothes complemented her soft eyes and brows, making her naturally lean face look clean and delicate, and her eyes were especially clear and bright. Her skin was flushed slightly pink from the hot water, making her look like a flower that had just been plucked from the water.
Xiao Zheng stared for several seconds before snaping out of it.
Cough~
He coughed violently all of a sudden, nearly choking.
“What’s wrong?” Su He walked quickly over to him, her tone carrying a bit of concern.
Xiao Zheng remained silent for a brief moment, then said very honestly, “Uh… I almost didn’t recognize you.”
“Was I very ugly before?” Su He teased him on purpose.
Xiao Zheng looked entirely serious. “It wasn’t ugly, just too dirty.”
Her whole body had been covered in gray dust, to the point where her true skin tone couldn’t even be seen. How much beauty could he have possibly made out?
Su He was almost choked up by his blunt words. This man truly didn’t beat around the bush at all.
Xiao Zheng glanced at her again, seemingly realizing that his last comment wasn’t quite appropriate and worrying that he might have hurt the girl’s self-esteem. So he added another line.
“You look quite nice now.” He paused, and as if eager to affirm it, another sentence slipped out. “Even nicer than when my mother wore it in her youth.”
Hearing this, Su He couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “Aren’t you afraid Auntie will beat you if she hears you say that?”
Xiao Zheng thought about it and answered very seriously, “Then I won’t say it in front of her.”
Just now, he hadn’t known how to express it properly, so the words had just tumbled out one after another.
“….”
Su He was temporarily speechless. What kind of ultimate straight-guy logic was this?
She couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly. This man looked fierce, but his personality was actually a bit simple and blunt. Still, it was quite endearing.
Su He lowered her eyes gently to look at the clothes she was wearing.
“This must be Auntie’s wedding dress. She really forced herself to part with a beloved treasure.”
But it didn’t matter. In the future, she would definitely buy Auntie many, many new sets of clothes.
Xiao Zheng gave an affirmative grunt. He had seen this outfit a few times when he was a child. He was about to look away when his gaze suddenly landed on her hair.
The bun was done very simply and neatly. However, the thing holding her hair in place was just a small, smoothly whittled wooden twig.
Xiao Zheng’s eyes lingered for a moment.
It seemed that on this long road of exile, those guards had stripped them completely clean, not leaving them so much as a wooden hairpin.
Just then, hearing the commotion in the courtyard, Wang Guixiang walked out of the kitchen. Seeing the completely transformed Su He, her footsteps paused.
Earlier, she had only thought the girl was too thin and hadn’t looked closely. Now that she was washed clean, her features were actually quite neat and well-proportioned. Her face was small, though she was indeed excessively thin.
She couldn’t help but frown.
“How did you get so thin? Did they not give you food on the road?”
Su He shook her head. “Very little.”
Wang Guixiang sighed. “Eat more from now on. The wind at the border is harsh; you won’t survive without some meat on your bones.”
With that, she sized up the outfit again, a look of satisfaction appearing on her face.
“Not bad. You finally look like a proper human being.”
“…” Su He was speechless.
This evaluation was classic Wang Guixiang!
“Yes, it’s good that you’re washed clean,” Wang Guixiang said with a stiff face, though her eyes couldn’t help but linger a bit longer.
This girl was much more pleasant to look at than she had expected.
“Thank you, Auntie, for lending me your clothes.”
Su He expressed her gratitude sincerely, appreciating the kindness behind the gesture above all else.
“What do you mean ‘lend’? Once you enter this door, you’re one of us. This outfit is yours now.”
Wang Guixiang waved her hand impatiently, and as if realizing she had said too much, she immediately shifted the topic.
“Yue’er! Why haven’t you taken the bowls inside yet?!”
Beside them, Xiao Yue was staring blankly at Su He. Hearing her mother call her out, she smiled and praised, “Sister-in-law is so pretty~”
“What are you staring at? Hurry up and do your work.”
Wang Guixiang glared at her daughter, then turned around to gently instruct her eldest son.
“There’s not much work to do at home. Go back to your room and rest for a bit to recover your energy.”
Although she hadn’t carefully inspected his injuries, she knew in her heart that his body must have taken a heavy toll this time. If the family’s finances weren’t so incredibly tight, she would have wanted to stew a few pots of chicken soup right away to properly nourish her eldest son.
Unfortunately, even the cleverest housewife cannot cook without rice!
“Understood.”
Xiao Zheng stood up in response. He truly hadn’t had a proper rest for several days. For this victory, the general had specially rewarded them with a few days of rest at home.
“I’ll go rest in Ah Jun’s room for a bit.”
Xiao Zheng called out to Su He. After taking two steps, he paused, turned his head, and added, “Call me if you need anything.”
With that, he strode into the western room.
Su He stood in the courtyard, soaking in the sun, suddenly feeling a sense of quiet.
The wind blew over the courtyard wall, carrying a hint of chill.
She looked up at the distance. The sky at the border was very high, the clouds were very thin, and a stretch of rolling, barren mountains lay ahead.
Those mountains looked desolate, but it didn’t mean they were completely devoid of life.
Su He’s gaze lingered on the mountains for a moment.
Her heart suddenly grew a bit restless; she wanted to go up the mountain and take a look.
She looked down at her hands.
She had already tested it in the room just now. Although her wood-element superpower had dropped to level two, the power was still there.
As long as there were plants, she would find a way!