The Wen family’s mansion was a large compound with four courtyards. After the entrance was the main hall on the left, and the dining room connected to the garden was on the right. Through the central corridor, past the hanging flower door, was the inner courtyard.
The guest house was in the west courtyard. The housekeeper took Chu Xiangtian in to settle down, and arranged for two servants to wait for orders before leaving.
After waving his hand to dismiss the servants, Chu Xiangtian picked up the cup on the table and looked at it. The Wen family was indeed worthy of being regarded as the wealthiest in Sifang Town: even the courtyard where the guests lived had been painstakingly organized. The tea cup with blue and white branches was completely transparent and felt excellent to the touch. It was clearly no ordinary goods.
After pouring himself a cup of tea, Chu Xiangtian silently pondered the follow-up plan.
What he said to Fu Youqin before was not all made up. Zhou Chuanqing had already visited the gold mine to find out the details. There were many people staffing the gold mine, and there were officers and soldiers monitoring the surroundings. The mining sites were in Sifang Town and Lehe Town. The two towns were unlikely to stay out of the matter, and might even be more involved. What he had to do now was find out how deep Nanming County’s involvement was in the gold mine.
As a bandit, it was inconvenient to go down the mountain, but things were different if he took the opportunity to live in the Wen family. He had also heard the rumors outside, which gave him a good excuse to stay.
It was just that… Chu Xiangtian tapped his fingers on the table, a hint of a pleasant smile appearing on his lips. He was afraid that the young master of the Wen family was going to angrily glare at him again.
Laifu carried Wen Tian back to the east courtyard. The mansion’s doctor was also summoned hurriedly, who examined Wen Tian again. The doctor re-bandaged the cloth towel and said, “The person who bandaged the young master had good technique, and the medicine applied to his wound was also effective. His wound is not inflamed. The young master should take care not to get wet in the next few days. I will come back tomorrow to change the young master’s dressings.”
Wen Li was not too happy and bristled. “Can’t you change it now?” He didn’t want to use the bandit leader’s things.
“This…” The doctor was a little embarrassed, “This medicine is better than this old man’s; your wound will heal faster.”
Wen Tian moved his toes, not too happy about it, and said that he would change it tomorrow then.
After the doctor left, Wen Tian wanted to take a shower again. In truth, Chu Xiangtian had wiped his body very clean yesterday, but when he thought that it was Chu Xiangtian who cleaned his body, and that even the clothes he wore were that person’s clothes, he felt as uncomfortable as though grass was growing all over his body.
The doctor just told him to keep away from water, so of course Daifu didn’t dare to let him take a bath. He had to ask the servants to bring a big wooden basin in to wipe his body.
Wen Tian took off his clothes behind the screen. The injuries on his body wasn’t so painful anymore. He saw to his surprise that even the bruises appeared minor. He really seemed to be much better.
If it were before, he wouldn’t have gotten better at all without bruising for half a month.
However, Wen Tian didn’t think much about it and asked Dai Fu to wipe his body clean. He also disliked how dirty his hair was and wanted it washed.
Dai Fu could only bring in another basin of water to wash his hair with and wrap it with a cloth. Wen Tian put on a soft middle robe and felt refreshed.
Putting on his outer robe, Wen Tian sat by the window, and Dai Fu took the cloth towel to dry his hair.
Chu Xiangtian had nothing to do in the yard, so he asked servants where Wen Tian’s yard was, and then strolled over to tease Wen Tian.
As soon as he entered the yard, he saw Wen Tian sitting by the window.
Wen Tian’s black hair was spread out, and there was moisture between his brows. His whole body seemed incredibly soft. The collar of his middle robe was slightly open, and a light blue outer robe was casually draped over him. He leaned against the window on his elbows, his pair of bright black eyes looking towards Chu Xiangtian.
Chu Xiangtian was about to speak to him when he saw those bright black eyes slowly widen at first, followed by a hint of anger. He asked exasperatedly, “Why haven’t you left yet?!”
Chu Xiangtian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but he felt that his angry look was very cute, so he deliberately teased him: “Madame agreed to let me stay in your house for a few days, and said I would live in your courtyard.”
“!!!” Wen Tian stood up sharply, his upper body almost sticking out of the window, and fiercely glared at Chu Xiangtian. “No way! There’s no room for you in my courtyard!”
Chu Xiangtian pretended to be distressed. “But Madame said…”
Wen Tian interrupted him and said, “I only have the servant’s room and the study room available.”
He couldn’t live in a guest room, and the study only had a bamboo couch. It might be good enough for a noon-time rest in the cool air, but sleeping there at night would be torture.
Wen Tian, thinking that Chu Xiangtian would know better and retreat, showed a hint of triumph on his face as he said, “I know there’s an inn in the town…”
“Then I’ll sleep in the study.” Chu Xiangtian curled his lips and cupped his hands, “Apologies for bothering Young Master Wen.”
The smile on Wen Tian’s face disappeared, and he stared at him as if he was seeing a ghost. After a moment, he snorted and sat down again. “If you want to sleep, then go sleep!”
He made this person angry again, but Chu Xiangtian just found this more and more interesting. He leisurely sat down in the pavilion facing the window. When a servant served him a cup of tea, he sipped it slowly, his mood very good.
…
As the sun set in the west, all the dishes cooked in the kitchen today were grand courses in order to give Wen Tian a warm welcome back. Wen Tian couldn’t walk easily, so Dai Fu found two strong servants to carry him over in a sedan chair.
Chu Xiangtian’s identity was sensitive, so Fu Youqin asked her servants to give him his own table where he sat alone. She said it was a family banquet and did not invite him over.
The family of four finally sat together again, but this time the atmosphere was not as harmonious as usual.
Wen Boli sat alone in the main seat. Fu Youqin did not sit in the usual matriarch’s seat, but sat to the left of Wen Tian. Wen Shuyue was on Wen Tian’s right side. The three of them mother and children sat closely together to the exclusion of Wen Boli.
Halfway through the meal, Wen Boli said he didn’t feel well and excused himself first.
Wen Tian secretly grinned, asking questions on the surface but actually taking the opportunity to test Fu Youqin’s demeanor. “Why is Mother so angry this time?”
Fu Youqin sighed, a heavy sadness on her face. She looked at Wen Tian lovingly, “I just feel that… your father is not quite the same as before.”
She had been married to Wen Boli for eighteen years. Both before and after their marriage, Wen Boli respected and loved her, and he loved their two children, especially Wen Tian, very much.
She never thought that one day, when there was danger, Wen Boli would shrink back, or even want to leave Wen Tian in the dust.
This discovery was like a thorn in her heart. With how much Wen Boli loved Wen Tian in the past, his later hesitation seemed so ridiculous. Fu Youqin didn’t want to think so badly of her husband who had been with her for many years, but Wen Boli’s words and deeds made her feel disappointed for the first time.
Wen Tian held her hand, lowered his eyes and whispered softly, “People always change.”
“Perhaps…” Fu Youqin looked distant, then smiled sadly after a moment. “Forget it. Let’s not talk about these unhappy things, let’s eat first.”
After dinner, Wen Boli asked his servant to send a message for Wen Tian go to the study.
The mother and son looked at each other. and Fu Youqin touched his face and said, “Go. He is your father, after all. Don’t hold any grudge because of my words.”
Wen Tian nodded obediently and headed over to the study.
The servant helped Wen Tian sit on a chair. Wen Boli, who was meditating with his back to the window, turned around with a trace of distress on his face. “Those thieves dared to hurt you!”
“I just fell down by accident.”
Wen quietly watched him put on a show. On the way here, he had guessed Wen Boli’s possible tricks.
Sure enough, after hearing what he said, Wen Boli’s angry expression stiffened, and with a somewhat embarrassed expression, he changed the subject. “Has the doctor seen it? Is it serious?”
“He’s seen it, and it’s not serious.” Wen Tian used his words sparingly1. He didn’t want to say another word to him, and his expression was not that of respect and adoration as in the past.
Wen Boli looked at his expression with surprise, and after a moment he sighed quietly, “Did your mother tell you something? I know that… she’s still angry with me.”
Wen Tian suddenly looked up at him, his eyes looking fierce for a moment. Wen Boli was startled again, but when he looked more closely, Wen Tian’s expression was placid once more.
“At that time, your mother wanted to hire militiamen to go up the mountain to rescue you, but I didn’t agree, so she was angry with me for several days.” Wen Boli sighed. “Even your sister refused to talk to me.”
Wen Tian lowered his eyes and remained silent. Wen Boli didn’t know if he heard his words or not, so he had to continue: “But the bandits at the top of the West Mountain are so many and vicious, how can I trust hired men?”
“It’s not that I wasn’t worried about you, but only the government had the ability to save you. You see… if the government hadn’t sent troops this time, your return wouldn’t have been so smooth.”
Wen Tian was originally angry, but after hearing what he said, he almost laughed. He raised his head and asked Wen Boli seriously, “But the government sent troops only because Mother went to their gates with account books. Later, when troops were sent to fight bandits, the one who followed the officers and soldiers up the mountain was also Mother… Where were you at that time? How could you rest assured while letting her, a womanm go up the mountain?”
Wen Boli’s face turned red. He looked at Wen Tian, unable to speak.
Wen Tian only felt mockery in his heart. This person didn’t love them at all, so he didn’t care about their life or death, either. He usually pretended to be flawless, but when it came to life or death situation, his inner truth was revealed.
Adversity revealed people’s hearts.
Wen Tian rubbed his forehead and said a little tiredly: “I’m tired, I want to go back and rest first.”
Wen Boli wanted to say something else, but Wen Tian had already called the servants in, not giving him a chance to continue speaking.
The servants carried the sedan chair away slowly. A “bang” sound came from the study behind him. Wen Tian’s previous feeling of fatigue changed and curled up the corners of his mouth happily, calculating that it was time to find a chance to tell his mother.
As he went back, he passed by the study. The lights were still on, and a tall figure could be seen through the window paper. Wen Tian, who was in a happy mood, thought that if Chu Xiangtian hadn’t caused these things, it would have taken a lot of effort to expose Wen Boli’s hypocritical mask. His hostility towards Chu Xiangtian suddenly decreased greatly. After returning to the room, he specially instructed Dai Fu to sent two quilts to the study.
Chu Xiangtian was ready to rest. Although the bamboo couch in the study was a little harder, it wasn’t as though he had anywhere to sleep when he was marching and fighting. All things considered, the bamboo couch was good, so he didn’t mind and got ready to lie down.
Dai Fu knocked on the door and came in with the quilts in his arms. Chu Xiangtian looked at the two thick quilts and raised his eyebrows. “Is this…?”
“Young Master asked me to bring these to you.” Dai Fu had always been on the same page as Wen Tian. Wen Tian hadn’t liked Chu Xiangtian before, so he also didn’t have a good attitude towards Chu Xiangtian. But now, although Dai Fu didn’t know why, Wen Tian took the initiative to care about him, so Dai Ful also became a lot more polite.
“Extend my thanks to Young Master Wen for me.” Chu Xiangtian received the quilts, which still had a faint scent of incense, and spread them out neatly. The smile on the corner of his mouth became more obvious. Unexpectedly, this tough-talking little thing also had a soft heart.
===Author’s Notes===
Tiantian: Is Chu Xiangtian sick?
The spiritless bandit leader: √
===Translator’s Notes===
- 惜字如金, the literal translation is something like, “cherished his words like gold” ↩︎
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