Xu Hengyan brought in a basin of clean water. There was no stand for the basin in the room, nor any extra furniture. He placed the basin on the table, took a clean cloth, soaked it, wrung it out, and handed it to Xie Jiang to wipe her face.
Xie Jiang looked at the fan in her hand and leaned her face forward.
Xu Hengyan stared at her, realizing she was serious. He raised his hand to wipe her face.
Her face, as fair and delicate as milk, was flushed with a hint of pink from the heat, making her look even fresher and more tender.
Xu Hengyan thought to himself, she said she was almost eighteen, but in his opinion, she was at most fifteen. Had she lied about her age?
After washing her face, Xie Jiang returned to the kitchen to work. This time, Xu Hengyan helped her by tending the fire.
Dinner was simple: a clear vegetable and tofu soup, eggplant with salt and pepper, and a few scallion pancakes.
As they were eating, Lu Baohong floated to the outside of the low wall again, his shifty eyes fixed on the dinner table, drooling even at the simple vegetarian fare.
Lu Baohong temporarily set aside his hatred and said politely, "Young Master Xie? Young Master Xie?"
Xie Jiang didn't even lift her eyelids. "What business do you have with your ancestor?"
Hearing this, Xu Hengyan glanced at her, thinking, "Can't you be more refined? Being Lu Baohong's ancestor, is that something honorable?"
Xie Jiang thought about it too. Lu's ancestors wouldn't rest peacefully underground, cursed by so many people now.
Lu Baohong endured the humiliation. "Make me two dishes."
He felt that the oily chicken legs in his own house were not as fragrant as the pancakes in Xu Hengyan's hand.
Xie Jiang said, "Didn't Xu Hengyan just refuse you?"
Lu Baohong said, "Let's discuss it again."
He had already offered a way out; why be ungrateful!
Xie Jiang simply said, "Scram!"
Lu Baohong gritted his teeth. "Xie, you... you're very good. You just wait!"
Xie Jiang ate two scallion pancakes, tasted a piece of eggplant with salt and pepper, and finally drank a little more than half a bamboo tube of vegetable soup. She then wiped her mouth and put down her chopsticks.
Xu Hengyan looked at the table, where two scallion pancakes, half a ceramic basin of eggplant with salt and pepper, and a lot of vegetable and tofu soup remained. He felt a bit troubled.
"Aren't you eating more?" Xu Hengyan asked Xie Jiang.
Xie Jiang had a habit: once she put down her chopsticks, she wouldn't pick them up again. "I'm full. The rest is yours."
Xu Hengyan frowned. "I can't eat this much either. Will it go bad if I save it for tomorrow?"
Lu Baohong, who was still angrily descending the slope, heard their words and ran back. "If there's any leftover food, give it all to me!"
No one paid him any attention.
Xu Hengyan sized up her slender frame. "You're so thin, you should eat more. You..."
Xie Jiang leaned over the table, propping herself up, and provocatively lifted Xu Hengyan's chin with her finger. "Lord Xu has also become quite thin recently. Lord Xu suffered so much because of me, I must take responsibility for fattening you up."
Xu Hengyan: "..."
Lu Baohong temporarily retracted the words he was about to say and turned his back promptly, lest he be blinded.
Relying on the fact that no one in Yongfeng Village recognized them, they dared to be so unrestrained in broad daylight!
Xu Hengyan's heart skipped a beat. How could she be so frivolous? She...
A thought suddenly flashed through his mind: would she be like this with girls too?
If she dared to be so casual and frivolous with other girls, she would be beaten to death by their fathers and brothers sooner or later!
*Slap—*
Xu Hengyan slapped her hand with considerable force.
Xie Jiang's palm quickly turned red, her eyes filled with a wronged accusation.
Xu Hengyan didn't soften his heart this time. He only slapped her once. Anyone else would have broken her offending hand.
Lu Baohong glanced back and saw that the situation had returned to normal. He then propped himself on the low wall. "Young Master Xu? Young Master Xie, since you can't finish, give the leftovers to me. We can trade. You can make any requests."
Xie Jiang finally looked towards the low wall. "Let Xu Hengyan accompany me out for a walk to digest our food?"
Lu Baohong's expression changed. "That's not possible. Ask for something more reasonable."
Xu Hengyan's safety was related to the lives of the Lu clan members. He had to keep Xu Hengyan firmly in his grasp. Lu Baohong understood priorities.
Even if Xie Jiang's food was tempting, he couldn't agree to this. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
Xie Jiang said, "Then get lost quickly."
Lu Baohong was persistent. "No other requests?"
Xie Jiang said, "Scram."
Lu Baohong truly scrambled away this time.
Xu Hengyan silently ate everything that was left.
Then he paced around the small courtyard.
As Xu Hengyan walked, he glanced at Xie Jiang, who was squatting in the corner, bothering a rabbit.
Even the rabbit trembled in her presence.
Ghosts would be troubled by her too.
~
At night.
Xie Jiang had only been asleep for a short while.
The frequency of Xu Hengyan fanning himself became lower and lower. As his hand holding the fan slowly lowered, he was suddenly startled awake by shouts and the sound of knocking at the door.
Just as he tightened his grip on the fan and became alert, the sound of running footsteps stopped in front of the room door.
"Young Master Xie! Is Young Master Xie asleep?"
It was Luo Shou's voice, tinged with crying.
Xie Jiang also woke up. As she sat up, she said to the outside, "Wait a moment."
Xu Hengyan also sat up and looked at her. "I wonder what happened."
Xie Jiang said, "I'll go see."
It shouldn't be Luo Zhongtong suddenly rebelling, otherwise, there would have been commotion in the village.
"Don't get up. Go back to sleep."
Xie Jiang pressed Xu Hengyan down, got out of bed in the dark, put on her shoes, and went out.
Luo Shou was anxiously scratching his ears and cheeks. When he saw Xie Jiang come out, his eyes lit up, unsure if it was tears or the sight of hope.
"Young Master Xie!"
"Is it your little niece?"
Xie Jiang remembered that Luo Shou had told her before that his niece had been ill for a long time and had not recovered. Luo Shou rushing to find her in the middle of the night was likely because his niece's condition was not good.
Luo Shou nodded heavily and was about to pour out Qingqing's condition, but Xie Jiang patted his shoulder.
"Let's talk as we walk."
Several times when Luo Shou opened his mouth to talk about Qingqing's situation, Xie Jiang stopped him.
Although Luo Shou was flustered with worry, he wasn't brainless. He quickly realized that Young Master Xie didn't want anyone to overhear.
The small courtyard where Young Master Xie and Young Master Xu lived was always being watched.
Once they were deep into the east village's territory and confirmed that Lu Baohong's men were not following, Xie Jiang spoke first. "What is your little niece's condition?"
Luo Shou anxiously said, "She has diarrhea and vomiting. She's been taking medicine for days and hasn't gotten better. After dinner tonight, she had more diarrhea and vomiting than before. She even fainted just now..."
Xie Jiang suddenly stopped and glared at him. "She's had diarrhea and vomiting for a long time?!"
Luo Shou nodded.
Xie Jiang said, "Then did she also eat braised pork and pig trotters tonight?"
Luo Shou grunted in affirmation.
Xie Jiang kicked him.
Luo Shou fell to the ground and rolled a few times. When he looked up at Xie Jiang, he was still a bit dazed.
Xie Jiang said, "Diarrhea and vomiting are likely gastrointestinal issues. And you still fed her such greasy food? You don't even have this basic common sense!"
Hearing that Qingqing's condition had indeed worsened because she ate braised pork and pig trotters, Luo Shou's eyes reddened with self-reproach.
"She, she saw us eating and was so greedy, she even cried..."
It wasn't that they didn't know Qingqing was sick recently and shouldn't eat greasy food, but Qingqing hadn't eaten properly for a long time. Who wouldn't feel sorry for the little girl looking so thin?
They thought that eating just a little wouldn't make much difference, but who knew...