"To hell with it! Can't a person eat in peace!"
She shouldn't have come here!
Lu Yanmo placed a silver ingot on the table. "Make a few more bowls and give them to the beggars by the roadside."
"Oh my, we've truly met a kind soul!"
The proprietress quickly pocketed the silver, her face splitting into a wide smile. She then lavished them with praise before busying herself with preparing the noodles. The man clearing the dishes also grinned and offered a few compliments.
Xue Niang felt a pang in her heart. She thought of Xiao Shan again.
In the past, he had risked his life for Jingguo, guarding the borders, yet few people recognized or appreciated him.
Now, these parasites of Jingguo were using money to pretend to be good people.
The world was truly unfair.
The noodles suddenly lost their appeal.
"Why aren't you eating? Is it not good?" Lu Yanmo asked, noticing she had put down her chopsticks.
The proprietress chimed in, "Perhaps it's been too long since you last ate, and you find the flavor too bland. Our noodles' true deliciousness is in the broth. Little madam, try some soup."
This woman was truly talkative. Xue Niang felt a surge of annoyance.
Lu Yanmo, at this moment, scooped some soup with his spoon and offered it to Xue Niang's lips. "Try it?"
Xue Niang stared at the spoon of soup as if it were poison, recoiling. She heard the proprietress stifle a laugh. If she had less self-restraint, she would have slapped her!
Just then, she felt a strong gaze upon her. "I won't drink it."
She lowered her head and resumed eating her noodles, pretending to casually scan her surroundings.
She saw no one out of the ordinary.
Wait, who was that?
A man and a woman were approaching down the street. Wasn't the woman the one she had rescued from the human traffickers in the dilapidated temple? The one who wanted Yuan Bufie to arrange her life!
Seeing how flirtatiously she clung to the man, it seemed she had found someone to support her.
Xue Niang choked on her noodles, coughing into her hand.
"Eat slowly," Lu Yanmo said, patting her back gently.
"Brother Jin, I want a bowl of plain noodles too."
Xue Niang heard the woman's sweet voice and instinctively buried her head.
"Oh, what's so good about these noodles? Homemade ones are tastier. Don't eat them," the man said, sounding unwilling to spend money. He pulled her away.
Xue Niang breathed a sigh of relief, only to hear a slightly concerned voice from above, "Are you feeling unwell?"
"Yes, I... I have a stomachache."
"I knew these outside places weren't clean. Come, let's go back quickly."
Xue Niang looked up, surprised by how close Lu Yanmo was. Her movement bumped his chin, leaving a red mark.
"What are you doing?"
Xue Niang stood up with a cold expression, wondering what he was trying to do by getting so close.
Lu Yanmo rubbed his chin, his gaze turning cold as he looked at her.
"Oh my, you were so affectionate just now, what's happened? A little quarrel between husband and wife—"
"Shut up!"
Xue Niang's sharp interruption startled the proprietress, leaving her flustered and unsure of what to do.
Lu Yanmo's eyes darkened, and he said in a low, stern voice, "Women are better off being gentle and soft-spoken. Such a temper is not endearing."
Do I need your approval?
What is he?
I'm nothing, and my two sons are nothing!
One brother forcibly takes women, the other leverages favors. Truly a family of bandits.
The wandering was over, the noodles eaten. If Xiao Shan still couldn't find her, he'd be an idiot. Then she'd see if she'd pay him any mind!
Lu Yanmo narrowed his eyes. Her stomachache was gone?
People bustled past. Seeing such a distinguished young gentleman, they instinctively made way. He scanned his surroundings, finding nothing amiss. He then looked at the person walking quickly ahead. Had she recovered so quickly?
Zhusheng saw Xue Niang running ahead of the young master and was instantly enraged.
Did she have no awareness of her position as a concubine? How could she walk in front of her master?
"I say, do you understand propriety? Don't take advantage of the young master's good temper and disregard hierarchy."
"Little follower, don't provoke me. Be careful, or I'll tell your young master you were being flirtatious with me." Xue Niang looked at his fair, smooth face, which had lost its swelling, with only a few faint finger marks. She considered her slap a sufficient reprisal and decided not to let Xiao Shan beat him.
"You, shameless!"
Zhusheng's face turned red, his anger so intense that smoke seemed to billow from his nostrils. How could there be such a woman? She was utterly unworthy of serving by the young master's side!
"Little follower, I think your young master might be ill. I told him I'm a married woman, yet he's still clinging to me. Is there a shortage of women in the capital?"
Get angry! The angrier the better!
"What did you say? You're... a married woman?" And the young master knew?
How could he take her as a concubine? Such an impure person should not even be allowed near him!
Seeing his expression as if the sky had fallen, Xue Niang let out a scoff and returned to her room.
Night fell, and the inn grew quiet. They were leaving Xinyu tomorrow. Xue Niang tossed and turned, unable to sleep, contemplating the possibility of faking her death to escape. This would require the cooperation of that little follower, but she didn't know when the opportune moment would arise.
The candlelight in the room was suddenly extinguished by the wind. Xue Niang sighed, too lazy to get out of bed to relight it.
No, she realized with a delayed sense of dread. The inn used high-quality gauze lamps, which couldn't be blown out by the wind.
"Who?"
Although she heard no sound, she sensed someone else in the room, and her hair stood on end.
Could it be that Mr. Lu?
Xue Niang pulled out her hairpin and gripped it, silently moving to the edge of the bed.
There was no movement in the room. Was it her imagination?
Just as she was about to get out of bed to check the oil lamp, a breath suddenly appeared by her ear. Startled, she opened her mouth to scream, but a pair of large hands quickly covered it.
"It's me."
The low voice was deep and resonant. The familiar warmth of the body leaning against her belonged to the man she longed for, the scoundrel she wanted to bite!
The scent of calm sandalwood wafted through the air – his scent.
Xue Niang's tense body relaxed. Tears streamed down her face in large drops.
She had so much she wanted to say to him, but now, she could only cry out her grievances.
She had almost failed to see him several times.
Xiao Shan had been filled with anger, but upon feeling her burning tears, his hand trembled, and he let go.
"Why are you crying?"
She was crying, of course, because she felt wronged!
He had no idea how much she had suffered, almost being humiliated by Butcher Zhang, nearly dying in an alley, and being confined as if she couldn't return home.
Why wasn't he holding her?
With tear-filled eyes, Xue Niang turned around and reached out to caress his strong body. "A Shan, I've waited for you for so long. Why did you take so long to come? I was so scared."
"Is that so?"
In the darkness, Xue Niang couldn't see his expression, but she sensed something was wrong.
"What's wrong?"
She caressed his face, his eyes, his nose, his firm jaw, his prickly stubble.
Yes, it was Xiao Shan. She kissed his lips in the darkness.
But he remained motionless, his lips tightly closed.
Her grievance reached its peak. Xue Niang let go of him and buried her face in the quilt, crying. Lu Yanmo was in the next room, so she dared not make a sound. Her face was pressed tightly into the quilt, her body trembling violently.