The rain poured harder and harder, as if the heavens had overturned an endless bucket of water. Wide avenues and narrow alleys alike were swallowed by the downpour. Inside the Old Madam Wei’s residence, every lamp was lit, making the room as bright as day.
Heng Shi was trying to feed Jiang Yihuan her medicine, but the girl stubbornly refused to open her mouth.
“Yihuan, just drink a little. Good medicine may taste bitter, but it heals.”
Cough, cough… “I’m not drinking it. Whenever I got sick before, I just endured it without medicine.”
Old Madam Wei snorted.
“How did that foolish Miss Xu even manage to fall into the water? She acts all coquettish—no decent girl behaves like that! And that Young Master Cui is useless too! Why did you bother saving them?”
Weakly, Jiang Yihuan replied,
“Old Madam, you sound awfully energetic when you’re scolding people. You seem twenty years younger.”
The old lady burst into laughter.
“Really? Well, you’ve spared the Wang family from disaster. Lady Wang will surely come to thank you in the next couple of days. Just wait and see.”
Amid the torrential rain, Wei Zhao finally returned.
More than half his clothes were soaked through. The moment he saw Jiang Yihuan lying weakly on the couch, his expression changed.
“What happened to her?”
Old Madam Wei hurriedly explained everything.
“The physician said she’ll be fine. Once she sweats out the fever, she’ll recover. Besides, she ate too many biluo pastries today and threw up quite a bit, so she only looks weak.”
Leaning against the cushion, Jiang Yihuan smiled faintly.
“Old Madam, you don’t have to mention the pastries. Wei Zhao, I made a friend today—a young lady from the Wang family. I also saved Young Master Cui and Miss Xu… even though I don’t really like them.”
Wei Zhao suppressed his anger.
“Are you that close to them? Why risk your own life to save them?”
“I’ve swum through great rivers before. The Wang family’s little lake was nothing. I couldn’t just watch them drown. I knew I could save them.”
“You little fool!”
His voice suddenly turned harsh.
“If they drowned, that would’ve been their own fate! You had no right to risk your own life!”
Everyone present shuddered at the severity in his tone.
Heng Shi quickly tried to calm him.
“Xiguang, don’t frighten her.”
Jiang Yihuan merely huffed.
“I’m not scared. Wei Zhao only sounds fierce.”
Wei Zhao glanced at the untouched bowl of medicine by the bed and frowned.
“You haven’t taken your medicine?”
“I won’t. It’s too bitter.”
Without another word, he picked up the bowl.
“Drink.”
This time, Jiang Yihuan didn’t dare refuse.
After swallowing every last drop, she made a miserable face.
“Let’s go. I don’t want to sleep here.”
Wei Zhao didn’t want her staying in someone else’s courtyard either.
He wrapped her tightly in a cloak and carried her out.
Behind them, Heng Shi hurried after them.
“Xiguang! The ground is slippery! Walk carefully!”
Old Madam Wei stopped her.
“Heng Shi, stay here and attend to me.”
On the way back, rain fell like strings of broken pearls.
Jiang Yihuan suddenly said,
“Wei Zhao, your mother got kept behind by your grandmother again.”
“What?”
The rain was too loud for him to hear clearly.
She shouted at the top of her lungs,
“YOUR MOTHER! IS BEING BULLIED! BY YOUR GRANDMOTHER!”
Wei Zhao froze for a brief moment.
After carrying her back to her room and setting her down, he asked quietly,
“You said my grandmother bullies my mother? How could she?”
“I’ve been watching for a long time. Your mother is always pale, and she never sleeps enough at night. She probably doesn’t tell you because she’s afraid you’ll worry.”
Wei Zhao pressed his lips together.
Every time he asked about his mother’s well-being, she always told him everything was fine, that his grandmother no longer troubled her.
After hearing that enough times, he had eventually stopped asking.
Jiang Yihuan wrapped her arms around him.
“Will you sleep with me?”
“…”
“Zhiru said a man should spend more nights in a woman’s room.”
“…Zhiru?”
Wei Zhao looked completely dumbfounded.
“Why would she tell you something like that?”
“She said we have to sleep together before I can have babies.”
Wei Zhao was speechless.
What babies?
She rubbed her cheek against his.
“Sleep with me. You’re my favorite.”
He barely managed to dodge her.
With a cold laugh, he said,
“Oh? I thought Zhu Xian was your favorite. At best I’m second. No—there’s still your brother. I’m probably only third.”
“It’s different.”
His irritation eased slightly.
He waited for her to explain exactly how it was different.
Instead…
She yawned.
Then curled up against him and promptly fell asleep.
Wei Zhao couldn’t help laughing.
She really could fall asleep anywhere. That was almost enviable.
He tucked the blanket around her before taking an umbrella and heading toward Heng Shi’s courtyard.
Long before arriving, he heard his mother coughing.
Then Wei Zhilan’s voice drifted through the doorway.
“Mother, whenever Grandmother is unhappy, she takes it out on you. Why won’t you tell Brother? Look at Jiang Yihuan—she complains about every little grievance.”
“If she’s wronged even a little, she makes a fuss, and Brother always stands up for her. Why do you have to keep enduring everything?”
Heng Shi replied softly,
“I’m already used to your grandmother’s methods.”
“I owe your brother too much. How can I keep troubling him?”
“His temperament is unpredictable. Sometimes… even I feel a little afraid of him.”
“If we can treat others kindly, then we should. Suffering a little is also a kind of blessing.”
Wei Zhao stood silently outside the door.
He stopped the maid from announcing his arrival.
Only after the room had fallen silent did he throw aside his umbrella and leave.
His head felt unbearably heavy.
His mother felt guilty toward him.
His mother feared him.
The realization left him with an indescribable sense of helplessness.
Before he knew it, he had wandered back to Jiang Yihuan’s room.
The little girl was sleeping soundly beneath the blanket, wrapped so tightly she looked like a plump silkworm cocoon.
Adorable.
After hesitating for a long while…
He quietly lay down beside her.
The giant cocoon suddenly jolted awake.
“Ahhh! Who are you?! I’ll beat you to death—”
She slapped him repeatedly across the face.
Wei Zhao hurriedly covered her mouth.
“It’s me! Wei Zhao! I came to sleep with you!”
Without hesitation, Jiang Yihuan grabbed the porcelain pillow and smashed it toward his head.
“Get lost!”
“You’re fake!”
“The real Wei Zhao would never climb into a girl’s bed in the middle of the night!”
The next morning, she summoned Zhu Xian, still shaken.
“Big Sister, I had such a terrible dream last night.”
“I dreamed Wei Zhao secretly climbed into my bed.”
“It must be because I think about him during the day, so I dreamed about him at night.”
“He’s definitely not some shameless rogue.”
Zhu Xian bit her lip to keep from laughing.
Last night, her master had fled Jiang Yihuan’s room in utter disgrace.
There had been clear handprints across his face.
His forehead was swollen too.
He had even given her a strict order—and promised three months’ extra salary—to keep the truth a secret.
Naturally…
She had accepted.
After all, it was three months’ pay.
Early that morning, Wei Zhao went to Heng Shi’s courtyard.
“Mother, your health is poor. You should rest quietly.”
“I’ll speak to Grandmother. From now on, you don’t need to attend her morning greetings.”
Heng Shi coughed lightly.
“I know your intentions are good, but I’m the eldest daughter-in-law. Proper etiquette must be observed.”
Wei Zhao grew irritated.
He had the ability to let his mother live comfortably.
Yet she refused to accept it.
“Mother, Grandmother won’t die just because she doesn’t see you!”
“Even if none of her daughters-in-law showed up, she’d still live perfectly well.”
Heng Shi sighed helplessly.
That mouth of my son’s… If Mother-in-law heard him, she’d be furious.
Then she noticed his forehead.
“Xiguang, what happened to your forehead? It’s swollen.”
“It’s nothing.”
“I accidentally bumped into something.”
She couldn’t help feeling puzzled.
The swelling looked exactly like the injuries he’d gotten as a child when other children threw stones at him.
But nowadays…
Who would dare throw something at Wei Zhao?
Rubbing his forehead, Wei Zhao changed the subject.
“Mother, I’ve decided to let Yihuan manage one of our shops.”
“It’ll give her something to do instead of letting her daydream all day.”
It was an idea he’d come up with after lying awake the rest of the night.
That silly goose clearly had improper thoughts about him.
Better keep her busy.
Heng Shi looked astonished.
“Manage a shop?”
“Which shop are you planning to put her in charge of?”
Top of Form
Bottom of Form