Yuan Yingti was preoccupied with washing her undergarments. Fortunately, Xie Zhi would be leaving early the next morning. The household had run out of firewood, and fresh vegetables and meat were gone—he needed to make a trip to the market.
Before leaving, he said to her, "I probably won't be back until noon. Stay home, miss, and don't go anywhere."
Yuan Yingti obediently nodded in agreement, and Xie Zhi walked out of the courtyard, closing the main gate behind him.
The sound of the lock clicking came through, and Yuan Yingti blinked, then smiled.
She loved that locking sound—loved how A-Nu would lock her inside the courtyard.
It made her feel safe.
Once he was gone, Yuan Yingti slipped back into the house and retrieved the undergarments and drawers she had hidden away, preparing to wash them.
There was still a little more than half a bucket of water left in the house. Yuan Yingti set up a small stool in the courtyard, placed the wooden basin in position, and laid out the soapberry. Everything was in order, and only then did she bend down, straining with both hands to lift the heavy bucket, wobbling as she tilted it toward the basin.
With a splash, the basin was filled. Yuan Yingti hurriedly dragged the bucket aside, caught her breath for a moment, then tossed the undergarments and drawers into the water.
She recalled the washing steps she'd learned from A-Nu yesterday, gripped the garment, and scrubbed downward with force—bang! Water sloshed over the edge, soaking one of her feet.
So cold. Yuan Yingti shrank her foot back in dismay.
The… the water was too much again?
Yuan Yingti tentatively touched the surface of the water. Quite a bit had spilled out just now, so there didn't seem to be much left…
She hesitated, then reached in again, fished out the garment, and continued scrubbing—but every time she scrubbed, a bit more water sloshed out. By the time the water had dwindled to the point where it finally stopped splashing, she had finished the first rinse of her undergarments and drawers.
She still needed to change the water and rinse them again, to wash out all the soapberry.
Yuan Yingti poured out the water, then lifted the bucket to refill the basin.
But this time, her arms were weak and sore, and she couldn't hold on. The bucket lurched violently, and the water inside came splashing down—right onto her other foot.
Both embroidered shoes were soaked through, one after the other, water seeping through the fabric and drenching her silk socks. Yuan Yingti stood there in a daze, feeling two streams of cold creeping up from the soles of her feet and spreading through her body.
Washing clothes was so, so, hard.
Why wasn't A-Nu a woman? If he were a woman, she wouldn't have to suffer through this.
Yuan Yingti indulged in that fantasy for a moment, then finally let out a sigh and bent back down to keep scrubbing.
A full half hour more passed before her undergarments and drawers were finally washed clean. Yuan Yingti was so exhausted that the hair at her temples was damp and plastered messily against her cheeks, her back was slick with sweat, and her hands had been turned red by the cold water. Squelching along in her two soggy embroidered shoes, she went back to the bedroom.
She wanted to hang the clothes to dry indoors—these were her most intimate garments, and she couldn't let A-Nu see them.
But just as she was about to drape the undergarments over the window frame, she hesitated. She remembered Mama Fang saying that a woman's undergarments and drawers had to be thoroughly dried in the sunlight to be truly clean. Back at the marquis's estate, she'd had her own small open-air courtyard, set aside specifically for drying these private garments.
Yuan Yingti didn't dare imagine how rank they'd become left to dry in the shadows of the room. She drew her hand back, uncertain.
The sun was lovely today. The window was open, and the spring breeze drifted in from outside, carrying a warm, gentle heat.
On such a fine day, with her undergarments' thin fabric, if she hung them in the courtyard, they'd be dry in at most half an hour.
A-Nu would not be back by then. She simply needed to watch the time and take the clothes inside before he returned.
Yuan Yingti bit her lip and decided to go outside to hang the clothes.
Yesterday, A-Nu had set up a drying rack in the courtyard specifically so she could air her clothes. She carried two soggy, still-dripping garments to the rack and, rising onto her tiptoes, draped them over it.
The thin fabric trembled gently in the breeze, and with the warm wind blowing, they would surely dry quickly.
Yuan Yingti stepped back a few paces, then removed her damp silk stockings and embroidered shoes and set them under the eaves to dry as well. Barefoot, she returned to her bedchamber and took out a new pair of shoes Sanniang had made, slipping them on.
She was too tired—so tired she felt dizzy. Yuan Yingti collapsed onto the bed, intending only to rest for a moment, to catch her breath before rising to gather the clothes.
But she hadn't expected that once she lay down, drowsiness would surge over her like a tide, and she slipped into a dazed sleep.
…
The sun climbed higher, crawling from the eastern eaves to the center of the sky. The daylight was dazzling, bright enough to sting the eyes.
Xie Zhi carried two bundles of firewood in one hand, and in the other a slaughtered chicken and several bunches of green vegetables as he unlocked the gate and returned home.
The moment he opened the courtyard door, his steps froze.
He stared straight at the foot of the drying rack. On the bluestone ground lay two thin pieces of fabric.
Exactly the pure white he had glimpsed last night.
Xie Zhi stood there for a while, his gaze drifting past the open window to peer into Yuan Yingti's room. She lay on the bed, curled into a small ball, completely still.
She was asleep.
Xie Zhi understood quickly. The young miss, taking advantage of his absence, had secretly washed her undergarments and hung them out to dry. But she didn't know the wind had blown her clean clothes to the ground.
That thin material was now completely dirty, crumpled and clinging to the bluestone, covered in bits of grass debris and dust. The pure white had been stained with gray, looking like snow fallen into mud—so filthy one could hardly bear to look at it.
Xie Zhi's eyes ached at the sight. He walked over to pick them up and wash them clean, his fingers already half-raised—but then he stopped mid-motion.
The young miss had washed them herself in secret, clearly not wanting him involved in this matter. Besides, he truly shouldn't help her with this.
What kind of nonsense would it be for a man to wash a woman's small clothes and undergarments? Setting aside her feelings—even he, thinking of it himself, felt like a lewd and despicable rogue.
He needed to keep the young miss stable and did not want her to detest him over something like this.
Xie Zhi restrained himself, deciding to ignore it, to pretend he knew nothing.
He carried his things into the main room, first stacking the firewood neatly, then setting the chicken and vegetables in their proper places. When he finished tidying up, he turned to fetch the water bucket, intending to wash the vegetables and prepare a meal, only to find the wooden bucket completely empty.
Thin as those two pieces of fabric had been, they had used nearly a full bucket of water…
Xie Zhi was silent for a moment, then carried the bucket out to draw water. Reaching the well, he set down the bucket, but his gaze inevitably fell back on that patch of bluestone.
It seemed dirtier now.
The wind had blown more bits of leaf onto it. Dark, blackish specks.
Like nails driven into his eyes.
Xie Zhi looked again at Yuan Yingti's room. She was likely sleeping deeply, still curled motionless on the bed in the same position.
…He might as well wash them for her.
He could clean them and hang them back before she woke—she would never know.
Xie Zhi finally couldn't hold back. He bent down and picked up the two crumpled, dust-covered pieces of fabric.
The fabric had been dried under the sun and was almost half-dry. It felt light and airy in his hand, as if it were nothing at all. He fetched water and sat down beneath the eaves, first placing the top garment into the basin.
The thin material absorbed the water and slowly unfurled. Xie Zhi lowered his gaze and recognized it as a undergarment. Exactly as depicted in the booklet.
The pure white fabric, once in the water, became almost transparent, embroidered with delicate hidden patterns. Xie Zhi averted his gaze, not looking closely at what was embroidered.
He added soapberry and began to scrub.
The water rippled and swayed. Xie Zhi kept his head up, eyes fixed straight ahead.
The thin ties drifted and swirled in the water, gradually tangling around his hand. Xie Zhi still did not lower his head, only tilted his face slightly, his fingers groping in the water to slowly untangle the ties.
Once the undergarment was washed, he changed the water and washed the next piece.
He still avoided looking, turning his head away as he scrubbed.
This time the fabric was even thinner, softer—like a fluttering butterfly when placed in the water. It too had thin ties. Even though Xie Zhi did not look, his fingers were nimble and quickly detected that these two fragile ties were located at the waist.
Uncontrollably, an untimely image surfaced in his mind.
Xie Zhi's movements abruptly halted.
His expression was indescribable. He tossed the fabric in his hand into the basin, rested his elbows on his knees, and leaned his back against the wall.
Water droplets dripped down along his slender fingers.
Xie Zhi tilted his head back and looked at the sky.
His body was actually changing.
He clearly sensed an uncontrollable heat surging downward through his body. Xie Zhi knew he was base, but he hadn't expected to be this base.
It was just washing two pieces of clothing—how could it come to this?
He raised his wet hand and wiped his face hard. The cold water sobered him. Xie Zhi remained motionless, waiting quietly for it to subside.
Sunlight was cut by the eaves into bright and dark halves. His back pressed against the wall, the upper half of his face hidden in shadow, while his lips and neck were exposed to the daylight.
Xie Zhi's lips were tinged with red.
His lips were well-shaped, on the thin side, with a clear lip line and a sharp cupid's bow. His Adam's apple rolled gently with his breathing. Water droplets trickled down the side of his neck, disappearing into his collar.
After some unknown length of time, it finally subsided.
The red faded from his lips, leaving them somewhat dry. Xie Zhi bent down again and continued washing with a blank expression.
It would be done soon. He turned his head and scrubbed, rinsing the last piece of fabric in the water, when suddenly a voice came from behind him: "A… A-Nu, you're back?"
Xie Zhi instinctively tightened his legs, his back going rigid. He turned to look.
Yuan Yingti was standing dumbly at the doorway of the main hall. She had slept in a daze, and when she woke, she heard the sound of washing from the courtyard.
Her heart gave a violent jolt as she suddenly remembered the clothes she had hung out to dry in the courtyard. She scrambled down from the bed, but now, standing at the doorway, she didn't dare take a single step toward the drying pole.
"Mm, it's me." She heard A-Nu respond, his voice low, emotion indiscernible.
He really had come back. Oh no, oh no—had he seen the clothes she'd hung out?
She hoped not. Please, absolutely not…
Yuan Yingti prayed inwardly, but pretended to be calm as she walked outside.
She walked to the drying pole. A warm breeze blew. She faced the wind and reached up to feel—nothing.
Yuan Yingti was stunned. She stood on her tiptoes, her fingers groping back and forth along the bamboo pole… still nothing.
Where was the undergarment she had hung out to dry?
The man's voice sounded right behind her at just that moment, his tone seemingly extraordinarily calm: "When I came back, miss's clothes had been blown onto the ground by the wind. They were too dirty, so I washed them."
So that was it!
Yuan Yingti's face suddenly flushed crimson, the heat spreading from her cheeks all the way to the tips of her ears. So the sound of washing she'd heard just now—A-Nu had been washing her undergarments and her… her underpants?
How shameful!
Yuan Yingti's earlobes burned hot.
Those were her most intimate garments.
A-Nu must be terribly embarrassed too!
It was all her fault—she couldn't even hang clothes properly. A-Nu had been forced into this…
Yuan Yingti was overwhelmed with self-reproach at this moment, her mind buzzing, her guilt toward A-Nu even greater. Her face red, she stood dazed in the wind for a long while before summoning the courage to turn around, clutching the hem of her skirt with both hands, and said to Xie Zhi, "I'm sorry."
Her voice was so small that Xie Zhi nearly thought he'd misheard.
The contempt, disgust, or anger he'd expected never came. She was actually… apologizing to him?
"Why is miss apologizing?"
Yuan Yingti explained helplessly, "I can't do anything, and I made you do something like this…"
Her cheeks were flushed, the wind blowing past the hem of her skirt. She stood alone, like a small lotus blaming itself for its own inadequacy.
Fragile, pitiful, as if she could be broken at will.
Xie Zhi suddenly smiled.
The curve at the corner of his lips carried an inscrutable quality. He spread his legs, resting his elbows back on his knees, and said slowly, "Miss needn't apologize. This is all A-Nu's duty."
Hearing the smile in his voice, Yuan Yingti also reddened, trying her best to lift the corners of her mouth. She whispered a word of thanks, but truly lacked the courage to retrieve her underpants, so she lowered her head like an ostrich and ducked back into the house.
Only when her figure had disappeared did Xie Zhi lower his head and slowly continue washing.
The snow-white fabric regained its cleanliness in his palms. He rose, draped them over the drying rack, and clipped them in place with wooden clothespins.
The thin fabric lightly unfolded in the wind, and this time Xie Zhi could see clearly—the hidden pattern embroidered on the undergarment was of small wild orchids.