Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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Wen Shu casually tossed aside the ink-stained talisman, pulled out a new one, and continued writing, his expression unchanged throughout, without even glancing at her.
People of this era valued subtlety and restraint, especially women, so You Xu knew that Wen Shu was only startled by her shocking remark; but he hadn’t taken it to heart, or perhaps he simply didn’t care.
Unimportant people weren’t worth wasting any emotion or attention on.
As expected, You Xu maintained a good attitude and was about to say something when there was a knock at the door.
“Knock knock—” A woman’s voice, as gentle as a nightingale’s song, rang out, “Master, it’s me.”
You Xu knew without guessing that it was Ye Lingling.
Wen Shu lived alone in Guili Garden; other monks, including servants, were not allowed inside. He secluded himself there to cultivate Buddhism, naturally handling everything personally, mainly because he disliked contact with others.
Even Master Xuanjing had never entered Guili Garden. The only one with special privileges was Ye Lingling. She could see Wen Shu without even needing a guidebook; she could go directly to Guili Garden.
“Miss Ye, please come in.” Wen Shu put down his pen, stood up, dusted off his clothes, and went to open the door.
You Xu looked over and saw Ye Lingling in a light blue ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), with a slender figure, a delicate waist, and a pretty face lightly made up. She was indeed beautiful.
When Ye Lingling saw Wen Shu, she lowered her head and gave a shy smile. Carrying a basket, she walked in and said softly, “Master, I brought you some stir-fried radish…”
Her words suddenly stopped when she saw You Xu smiling in the courtyard, and she even stopped in her tracks.
You Xu, upon seeing her rival, remained composed and even greeted her politely, “Miss Ye.”
“Master, why is she here?” Ye Lingling also recognized You Xu; the young and beautiful widow from East Street was a familiar face. Ye Lingling ran a small tavern and often heard male customers speak of You Xu, mostly in lewd and suggestive terms.
Ye Lingling, a woman running a business, initially sympathized with You Xu as a widow, but later, upon learning of her entanglement with the master, she grew somewhat disgusted.
At the same time, however, Ye Lingling felt a sense of triumph. Other women who shyly and secretly admired Wen Shu were unrequited, and You Xu, despite her shamelessness, was always met with indifference. Yet, Ye Lingling had gained the master’s favor, making her feel secretly and openly pleased.
Wen Shu completely ignored her, refusing to even engage in conversation.
Ye Lingling was delighted and skilfully placed the basket on the bamboo table in the courtyard, arranging the four dishes inside. “Master, come and eat! It will taste bad if it gets cold.”
Seeing that there was nothing for him to do, You Xu casually sat down on a wooden chair, lazily squinting her eyes as she watched their interaction.
Wen Shu sat down, picked up his chopsticks, and only took two bites of the stir-fried radish before putting them down.
Ye Lingling nervously clenched her handkerchief: “Master, is it not to your liking?”
Wen Shu took a sip of tea and said calmly, “I ate at the dining hall before. Thank you for your kindness, Miss Ye. Please take everything with you when you leave.”
Wen Shu’s willingness to eat was already a favor to her. In the past, Ye Lingling wouldn’t dare to ask for too much, but today… She glanced at You Xu not far away, feeling uneasy. So Ye Lingling smiled and asked, “Master, you haven’t visited my little tavern for a few days. Why don’t you grace me with your presence in a few days? I’ve prepared some new dishes especially for you.” Speaking of the difficulties Ye Lingling faced in running her tavern, because she had no backing, she was always harassed. It was either local officials or local bullies who caused trouble at her tavern, or some customers who groped her.
She was originally going to marry a merchant as a concubine, but the man was not only old but also had unspeakable fetishes. Two young concubines had already been tortured to death by him. She didn’t want that, so she took the silver and fled to Jian’an City.
Later, the tavern finally started to do well, but then a competitor hired someone to stage a drama, claiming that several people who ate her food suffered from vomiting and diarrhea, some even dying. This caused a huge uproar, with everyone believing her food was unclean, causing her business to plummet. She reported it to the authorities, but no one cared, and she had to suffer in silence.
When Ye Lingling was suffering heavy losses and preparing to close the tavern and leave Jian’an City, Wen Shu came to her tavern for a meal. After two or three visits, her tavern’s business inexplicably improved. Only then did she learn of Wen Shu’s name. He had once divined for a minor official, who rose through the ranks to become the prefect of Jian’an City, and whose son even became the top scholar in the imperial examination.
The prefect treated Wen Shu as a VIP, sending him gifts on holidays and frequently inviting him to his home for banquets. Thus, everyone in Jian’an City knew Wen Shu’s name. Many people sought out Wen Shu, including important figures who travelled from afar. Thanks to Wen Shu’s influence, her tavern business flourished even more.
Although Wen Shu had lost an arm, he was handsome and had no shortage of gold, silver, or fame. If she followed him, she wouldn’t have to worry for the rest of her life, living a life of luxury and being surrounded by admirers. Ye Lingling was terrified of the lonely, exposed life she had endured.
She thought that Wen Shu had feelings for her; he hadn’t given any other woman a second glance, only her.
This longing, once held onto, became unwavering, and Ye Lingling believed that she would be the future Mrs. Wen.
“Alright,” Wen Shu said, then walked into the house.
The wooden door closed, leaving only You Xu and Ye Lingling in the courtyard. Seeing Ye Lingling’s wary expression, as if she wouldn’t leave unless she did, You Xu stood up, stretched, and smiled, “Miss Ye, why don’t we go down the mountain together? It would be good to have someone to look after you.”
Ye Lingling smiled back, “That would be ideal.”
She put the food back in the basket and left Guili Garden with You Xu.
They encountered familiar monks and greeted them with smiles. After leaving Shanyuan Temple, You Xu and Ye Lingling walked side-by-side down the stone steps.
Ye Lingling turned to look at her: “Miss You, how are you doing alone?”
“I’m doing quite well,” You Xu replied.
Ye Lingling continued gently, “We are both women, and I know how difficult it is for you. We always pretend to be carefree and content in front of others, but who knows the hardships we endure?”
This “I understand you, we’re on your side, I care about you” tone was sure to be followed by something unpleasant. You Xu silently awaited her next words.
Ye Lingling, not getting the expected response, paused before continuing, “It would be better to find someone to rely on, so that you’ll have someone to keep you company when you’re old. If you have children, you’ll have a house full of grandchildren and won’t be lonely anymore. You won’t have to drift aimlessly like duckweed. What do you say, sister?”
“Sister is absolutely right,” You Xu smiled, knowing what Ye Lingling was about to say, so she said, “That’s why, as you can see, sister is working hard.”
Ye Lingling was about to suggest introducing You Xu to a few families when she was interrupted and subconsciously asked, “Working hard on what?”
“Working hard to win the master’s heart,” You Xu said naturally and frankly.
“You…” Ye Lingling was speechless for a moment.
“Ordinary people can’t catch the master’s eye. Sister, don’t waste your efforts.” Ye Lingling’s smile vanished.
“Sister, you’re no ordinary person?” You Xu smiled brightly, pointed to her basket, and said casually, “Why don’t you tell me, sister, what kind of skill is this?”
Her earnest attitude of asking questions, coupled with her nonchalant tone, made Ye Lingling feel mocked. She gritted her teeth, picked up her basket, and quickly walked downstairs.
Seeing Ye Lingling disappear around the bend in the stone steps, You Xu slowly walked down as well.
The sound of footsteps echoed as You Xu’s mind went blank. She had noticed that Wen Shu’s attitude towards Ye Lingling wasn’t exactly affectionate; in fact, it could be described as quite cold.
Moreover, his eyes were devoid of any emotion, as calm as a stagnant lake, without a ripple.
This struck You Xu as odd. In the original timeline, Wen Shu fell in love with Ye Lingling, left the monastic life, and married her. But You Xu hadn’t sensed any affection from Wen Shu for Ye Lingling. Was it that he hadn’t fallen in love yet, or was he hiding it too well?
What event had prompted Wen Shu to leave the monastic life?
You Xu wandered home without figuring it out.
“Madam, the meal is ready. Please dine at any time,” He Xiang said.
You Xu ate a few bites, then put down her chopsticks and went to the kitchen, rolling up her sleeves to cook herself.
Using food to capture a man’s attention— she wasn’t particularly skilled at it, but she had at least tried it before. You Xu thought that since she was going to serve food anyway, she might as well see who could cook better.
An hour later.
“78!” You Xu swallowed the bamboo shoot and pork stir-fry[1] with difficulty. “How could it taste so bad?!”
78 slapped his forehead: “I forgot to tell you, that newbie cheat’s validity period is one world.”
“…” No wonder cooking was so difficult this time. You Xu looked down at the messy stove. She thought she had become rusty from not cooking for a world, but it turned out her cheat had expired. Oh well, if she couldn’t outsmart him, she would have to fight him head-on.
….
The next day, You Xu went to Shanyuan Temple again, going directly to the back, intending to climb over the wall like yesterday. But she found a large pit on the ground with some tree roots left in it.
Wen Shu was too clever; he had someone dig up the crooked tree.
Unable to climb over the wall, You Xu had to give up and go home.
In the following days, she took a few storybooks with her and read them outside the wall. As long as Wen Shu was in the yard, he could hear her. Anyway, she had nothing better to do than make her presence known.
Ye Lingling also came more frequently, but fearing she would bother Wen Shu too much and annoy him, she only came every two or three days.
You Xu thought this wouldn’t work; a forceful approach had to be used, so she simply spent a lot of money to hire people to carry a wooden ladder up the mountain.
The two strong men were panting heavily: “My goodness, carrying this ladder up almost made me want to die!”
You Xu paid them: “Thank you for your hard work, you can go now.”
The whole trip took quite a while, so You Xu quickly set up the ladder against the wall and climbed up.
She straddled the wall and looked into the courtyard. The setting sun cast its glow on the yard, and in one corner, several kittens of different colors were nestled. A man in blue placed a porcelain plate full of fish in front of them.
The kittens meowed softly at him familiarly before burying their heads to eat.
Wen Shu had a fair and handsome face, and his dark eyes were calm and peaceful as he looked at them.
He didn’t approach them, but his expression was unusually friendly.
“Master—” You Xu called out happily, her voice trailing off.
Wen Shu didn’t even blink, only looking down at the kittens in front of him.
“Master likes cats?”
“Coincidentally, I do too.”
“But the cat I like is afraid of mice, and even afraid of being chased by them.”
As You Xu finished speaking, Wen Shu slowly stood up, his clear, dark eyes fixed on her.
This was the first time in so many days that he had responded to her.
The author has something to say:
You Xu: If I call you Master, will you dare to answer?
Wen Shu: Meow first, let me hear it.
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