These pottery vats were covered with fine woven bamboo grates, their bottom drainage spouts suspended above a row of wooden buckets, dripping water rhythmically downward.
A square pool had been dug in the center of the courtyard, lined with layers of fine sand, and its uppermost layer was scattered with greenish, fragmented leaves that looked like some kind of medicinal herb.
Apart from that, there was nothing else; it looked no different from an ordinary water shop.
Shi Yue raised his fan as if to touch the bamboo grate, but Shen Zongyao intercepted him.
“Be careful, young master. The water in this vat has just been collected and hasn’t been filtered yet; it still carries some riverbed silt.”
Personally lifting the lid of a pottery vat, Shen Zongyao revealed what was indeed a murky, yellowish liquid with fine bits of grass debris floating on the surface.
“My method is as simple as it is effective. First, let the raw water settle in the pool for three days, filter out the mud and dirt with fine sand, and then layer it with artemisia leaves, a local specialty that can remove the fishy odor from the water.”
As Shen Zongyao slowly filtered out the sediment, he explained step by step, lifting his gaze toward a copper kettle bubbling merrily nearby:
“The filtered water must also be boiled over charcoal fire for half an hour, then poured into pottery vats to cool completely before it’s considered done.”
Sweeping his gaze across the various jars before him, Shi Yue remarked, “Boss Shen’s method is truly extraordinarily effective.”
“You flatter me, young master. It’s just something I stumbled upon by chance,” Shen Zongyao said, waving his hands with a smile full of humility. He then picked up two tea cups from the side, ladled some of the filtered water directly from the vat, and handed them to Shi Yue and Pei Xuan. “Would the two of you care to taste it? It was filtered just this morning.”
Shi Yue took a cup and took a sip. The water was indeed sweet and crisp, yet he still felt the texture remained somewhat peculiar.
He glanced at Pei Xuan and saw, as expected, a flash of doubt in the other’s eyes.
Quietly setting down his tea cup, Shi Yue smiled. “Truly fine water. Boss Shen is quite skilled.”
The corners of Shen Zongyao’s eyes crinkled with smiles. “As long as the young master likes it. The water requested by the Mu estate has already been prepared and is waiting by the water cart in the front courtyard. Shall I have the hands assist you in loading it?”
“Sorry to trouble Boss Shen,” Shi Yue said, his peach-blossom eyes slowly scanning the surroundings before finally coming to rest on a pottery urn placed in a corner.
“What is that?”
A trace of imperceptible tension flashed across Shen Zongyao’s eyes, but he kept a beaming smile as he replied, “Oh, that was something I happened to pick up while drawing water from the river. Seeing that it was sturdy and undamaged, I brought it back to hold the filtered sediment.”
Suppressing the thoughts in his eyes, Shi Yue withdrew from the back courtyard alongside Shen Zongyao.
Shen Zongyao’s workers were nimble-handed, and in no time at all, the massive water vats were loaded onto the carriage.
“Safe journey, young master. There are matters to attend to in the shop, so Shen will not accompany you out.” Shen Zongyao bowed in salute.
Nodding, Shi Yue returned to the carriage.
“What do you think?” Shi Yue asked.
“He looks calm on the surface, but he’s panicking inside. And there’s something wrong with that water,” Pei Xuan said offhandedly.
“Keep a close eye on him during this period. But since he’s on guard against us, he won’t carelessly expose any flaws,” Shi Yue said quietly, gazing out at the street through the window.
It seemed the waters run deep indeed in Qingzhou.
The moment the carriage rolled through the back gate of the Mu estate, Shi Yue pulled back the curtain for some fresh air and caught sight of a young woman in a pale lotus-pink ruqun sitting by the stone steps of the corridor. She was pressing a handkerchief against her forehead, the corner of the cloth stained with a faint trace of blood.
It was none other than the bride-to-be, Su Lianyue.
At that moment, she sat on the bamboo chair by the corridor with an expression of pain.
“Isn’t that Cousin-in-law?”
Raising an eyebrow, Shi Yue stepped down from the carriage and walked toward Su Lianyue.
Noticing Shi Yue approaching, Su Lianyue hastily stood up to offer a greeting, but Shi Yue raised a hand to stop her. “No need for formalities, Cousin-in-law. What happened to your forehead?”
Su Lianyue pressed her handkerchief against her forehead, where blood still seemed to be seeping through.
A blush of embarrassment bloomed across Su Lianyue’s face as she spoke in a voice as delicate as a mosquito’s: “I was stepping out of the estate to purchase some supplies for the household and wasn’t paying attention to my footing. I tripped over the stone steps and hit my head against the railing… I’ve made a spectacle of myself in front of you both.”
Examining the wound closely, Shi Yue saw that although it looked frightening, it wasn’t deep, so he offered comfort. “The wound doesn’t look too serious. Don’t worry, Cousin-in-law. Have you had a physician look at it?”
“I’ve already sent a maid to fetch one.” Su Lianyue clutched her handkerchief tightly, a faint smile tugging at the corner of her lips.
At that moment, Wen Ming came running from afar carrying a medicine box.
“A-Yue!”
Not expecting Shi Yue to be there as well, Wen Ming paused in his fluster to offer a quick bow before instantly turning his attention to Su Lianyue.
The moment their eyes met, Su Lianyue broke into a smile.
Looking up at him, the haste in her eyes melted away by more than half, replaced instead by a playful, reproachful tug at his sleeve. “I’ve told you so many times not to call me A-Yue outside. What would people think if they heard you?”
“What does any of that matter at a time like this?” Full of tenderness, Wen Ming inspected her wound earnestly. Seeing that it was still oozing blood, his brows furrowed deeper and deeper.
Su Lianyue said gently, “It’s fine.”
The two of them exchanged affectionate glances, thick with intimacy.
Knowing he had no role to play here and realizing that lingering any longer might invite annoyance, Shi Yue hurriedly pulled Pei Xuan away from the spot.
Once inside their small courtyard, Pei Xuan remarked in a cool, indifferent tone, “Your cousin-in-law might not be as simple as she looks.”
Startled, Shi Yue asked, “What do you mean?”
“It didn’t rain in the city today. If she had gone outside the estate to purchase supplies, her shoes wouldn’t have been stained with yellow mud.”
Pondering this, Shi Yue recalled that he had been too busy talking earlier to notice.
The main streets within the city were all paved with flagstones; she shouldn’t have stepped in yellow mud. What on earth had Su Lianyue gone to do? Why did she have to lie?
He wondered if Wen Ming knew. After all, the two of them were deeply devoted to each other, so it wasn’t appropriate for Shi Yue to pry further.
“Let’s not make a fuss for now, just keep an eye on things. We shouldn’t jump to conclusions without solid evidence,” Shi Yue cautioned.
Mu Rong had treated him exceptionally well; if things turned ugly because of this…
Meanwhile, Wen Ming helped Su Lianyue slowly back to her room, seated her comfortably against him, and gently wiped her forehead with healing ointment.
“Does it hurt, A-Yue?” Wen Ming lowered his gaze to look at her, asking with concern.
Su Lianyue bit her lip with a smile, reached out, and ruffled his hair. “It doesn’t hurt that much. Don’t be so nervous; I just bumped into something.”
Relaxing slightly, Wen Ming continued applying the ointment with utmost care, terrified of causing her any pain as if she were made of fragile porcelain.
Lowering her gaze, Su Lianyue concealed the emotions in her eyes while pressing her lips tightly together.
Once he finished applying the medicine, Wen Ming produced a paper bag of candied plums. “Here, for you.”
Candied plums, plump and juicy, still dusted with sparkling frost sugar.
Su Lianyue recognized them; they came from that time-honored shop at the corner of the street. Just a few days ago, she had casually mentioned how much she fancied something sweet and sour to taste.
“Did you go out specially to buy these?” She accepted the plums, feeling the lingering warmth beneath the oil paper as her heart gave a sharp squeeze.
Wen Ming smiled. “If you want to eat them, of course I have to buy them for you.”
Su Lianyue stared blankly at the frosted plums in her hand.
“Why aren’t you eating?” Seeing her stare blankly at the plums, Wen Ming asked with concern, “Not to your liking?”
“No.” Su Lianyue hurriedly popped one into her mouth. The sweet and sour flavor bloomed across her tongue, yet it failed to suppress the nameless panic churning in the depths of her heart.
Lowering her eyelashes to mask the complexity in her gaze, she said, “They’re delicious.”
“Good.” Wen Ming smiled.
After finishing his midday meal, Shi Yue dragged Pei Xuan into a carriage and headed out of the city, intending to investigate what was happening upstream of the water source that had caused the river water inside the city to turn murky.
Pei Xuan leaned lazily against the carriage wall, his phoenix eyes curving in an amused smirk. “The young marquis is getting quite comfortable ordering me around.”
Lounging lazily across the soft couch inside the carriage with no trace of proper posture, his hair loosely gathered behind him, Shi Yue in his pale green robes looked like a banished immortal stepped straight out of a painting.
He curved his lips into a shallow smile. “After all, there are less than six months left until our one-year pact. Naturally, I have to make the most of Guard Pei.”
Pei Xuan let out a cold scoff. “So the young marquis knows that in six months you won’t be able to boss me around anymore? Aren’t you afraid I’ll retaliate against you later?”
Lifting his gaze to glare at him, Shi Yue retorted, “How heartless. I was the one who redeemed you, and it cost me three thousand taels! Even the best dancers in Yangzhou cost less than a thousand.”
When he had handed over the money to Song Huai’an, his heart had been bleeding. It had taken him so long to save up that stash of private money, only for it to vanish in an instant because of this little madman.
Curving his lips in a derisive smirk as he looked down condescendingly at the reclining Shi Yue, Pei Xuan asked offhandedly, “If you had a choice, which is worth more: a thousand taels for a dancer, or three thousand taels for me?”
Pei Xuan’s pitch-black eyes locked intently onto him, as if any answer not to his liking would prompt him to show Shi Yue what it felt like to explode from within.
Yet, knowing Shi Yue’s personality, he figured the other would naturally say that he himself was worth more, right?
Thinking of how Shi Yue might answer, Pei Xuan couldn’t help the corners of his mouth curving upward.
To his surprise, Shi Yue didn’t utter anything pleasant at all. “Of course a thousand-tael dancer is worth more! Watching the number-one dancer in the realm perform just for you, isn’t that magnificent?”
Pei Xuan’s handsome face instantly chilled, fixing Shi Yue with a look that clearly said you deserve to die.
Though the chill in Pei Xuan’s gaze sent a shiver down his spine, Shi Yue bit his lip and offered a fragmented defense anyway. “A thousand is cheaper than three thousand… buying a dancer is really quite worth it.”
The more he spoke, the darker Pei Xuan’s face grew until it finally matched the bottom of a wok.
“Then the young marquis should hurry off to Yangzhou to redeem your dancer, otherwise you’ll be stuck spending the Gan-Scattering Festival with a lunatic like me in a few days.”
With that, Pei Xuan offered a cold chuckle and presented Shi Yue with an exceptionally furious-looking back of his head.
Shi Yue hadn’t expected Pei Xuan to get mad just from hearing the truth, and he seemed genuinely ticked off. Why on earth did he care so much about that answer anyway?
No matter how much they bickered, the fact remained that he had willingly forked over three thousand taels to redeem him.
“Hey, Pei Xuan?” Shi Yue straightened up and tapped him on the shoulder. “Stop sulking.”
Pei Xuan: “___”
Seeing that Pei Xuan wouldn’t even deign to give him a look and was genuinely angry, Shi Yue rubbed his nose awkwardly.
Then, leaning in eagerly, he tugged on the other’s sleeve. “Alright, alright, I was just joking with you! When it comes to value, naturally spending those three thousand taels on you is worth it! Otherwise, I wouldn’t have redeemed you in the first place!”
Naturally, Pei Xuan wasn’t about to swallow his anger and that unnamable sour ache in his chest over just two sentences.
Yet one could tell that the stiff line of Pei Xuan’s mouth had relaxed slightly at the edges.
Sighing in relief, Shi Yue knew this little madman was quite easy to coax after all.