Letting go of his stubbornness and bowing his head meant he no longer had the right to cause trouble. The little dog was indeed tired from making too much fuss. After eating his fill, he immediately fell into a deep, sound sleep.
The master and servant, who had been thoroughly tormented, finally enjoyed a peaceful sleep as well.
After a full night’s rest, waking up and stepping outside to see the sunlight again, Wen Xin felt completely refreshed. Seeing Yu Qing waiting in the garden, her thoughts stirred slightly.
She said nothing for now and went next door for breakfast first.
Xiao Hong accompanied her, with Yu Qing following behind.
After escorting Wen Xin to dine with the clan head, Xiao Hong and Yu Qing went to the servants’ dining area in the main courtyard. The food here was incomparable to that of the West Utility Courtyard. The cooks were a team who prepared meals for the clan head, so their culinary skills were naturally excellent. Ingredients were plentiful, and even the scraps were beyond what ordinary people could eat.
After returning to the Jade Garden following the meal, Wen Xin sat in the pavilion within the grounds. Looking at the elegant scenery around her, she felt relaxed and said, “Xiao Hong, bring me the writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.”
“Yes,” Xiao Hong replied. She stepped out of the pavilion and waved at Yu Qing outside, saying, “A Qing, come over and help.”
“Alright,” Yu Qing immediately trotted after her.
At the door to the study, Xiao Hong ordered him to wait outside again.
A moment later, Xiao Hong made several trips to carry out a pile of stationery, stuffing it all into Yu Qing’s arms at once. She then left with empty hands, while Yu Qing followed behind, holding everything.
Once in the pavilion, Xiao Hong took the items from his arms one by one and arranged them on the stone table.
Wen Xin, sitting to the side, occasionally observed Yu Qing discreetly. She noticed he was still the same, not glancing at her once from start to finish.
She had discovered this on the second day he entered the Jade Garden. Whenever facing her, he would never look at her again. When answering questions, he would slightly lower his head and look at his feet.
His well-behaved and proper demeanour, adhering to the rule of not looking improperly, seemed dutiful and reassuring. Yet she knew what he was like before. She still vividly remembered his relaxed conversations and ease in the utility yard. Now, he seemed to have lost his former vitality, no longer lively, but rather dull and rigid.
Having arranged the stationery, Xiao Hong began grinding the ink again.
With his hands now free, Yu Qing, as usual, kept a respectful distance from his mistress. He stepped out of the pavilion and stood guard outside, facing away. He knew that Wen Xin was not the only one with the power to dismiss him from the Jade Garden. Due to the separation between men and women, if he wished to manage Wen Xin’s dowry, he had to earn the Wen family’s complete trust. This was the foundation for becoming her confidant.
Wen Xin picked up her brush and wrote and sketched, clearly somewhat distracted. She occasionally stole a glance at the figure outside the pavilion.
After enduring the silence for a while, she suddenly spoke: “Xiao Hong, go tell Elder Fan that Zi Long has started eating. Ask him if we can release Zi Long from its cage now. It feels so uncomfortable being locked up in there.”
“Yes, alright,” Xiao Hong replied and turned to leave.
Wen Xin added, “Drop by to see Sister Ping Ping as well, and check how her senior brother’s injuries are doing.”
“Yes, I know,” Xiao Hong said, acting as if no reminder were needed, and cheerfully hurried away.
Of course, before leaving, she did not forget to glance at Yu Qing and her mistress. Realising it was broad daylight, with servants working nearby and guards watching from outside, she left with peace of mind.
The scene grew quiet. With men and women maintaining proper distance, inside and outside the pavilion, a gentle breeze rustled the thin paper, creating a subtle tension.
As Wen Xin wrote and sketched, she occasionally glanced at Yu Qing’s back. She felt a bit nervous, wondering if it was improper for an unmarried woman to converse privately with a man. She hesitated several times, but finally took a deep breath. After writing a few characters with her brush, she called out, “A Qing.”
“I am here,” Yu Qing replied. He entered with his hands clasped respectfully and stood quietly beside her. “What are your orders, miss?”
Wen Xin said: “You are also literate and know how to write. Tell me, how are these characters I have written?”
“Your calligraphy is naturally…” Yu Qing finally raised his head and looked at the characters on the paper. Seeing three large characters, his voice cut off abruptly. His expression grew momentarily flustered. He quickly glanced at Wen Xin, saw she was staring at him, and swiftly averted his gaze. “Naturally, it is excellent,” he said.
The three large characters on the paper were none other than “The World is Good”.
Wen Xin had written them precisely to test his reaction, and she had seen it. The reaction these three characters provoked in this household servant was clearly abnormal, and extremely so. She secretly bit her lower lip, her gentle gaze drifting faintly towards him.
Standing nearby with his head bowed, Yu Qing muttered inwardly, filled with shock and doubt. He wondered what this woman meant by suddenly writing these three characters. Could she know who he truly was? Impossible. He had been beaten so badly last time that he barely recognised himself. Wen Yan’an could not possibly recognise him.
Later, he thought he might be overthinking it. A Shiheng’s reputation was simply too vast. It seemed anyone with a bit of literary flair admired him.
Wen Xin asked: “A Qing, since you are also educated, have you heard of A Shiheng? He was the top scorer in the metropolitan examination last year with perfect marks in all four subjects, also the third-place scholar on the golden roll, and is now hailed as the finest scholar under heaven?”
Yu Qing muttered inwardly once more, but said aloud: “I have heard of him, I have heard of him.”
The weaker his demeanour became, the stronger hers grew, and she no longer felt nervous.
Wen Xin asked: “Then do you know the meaning of these three characters?”
Yu Qing glanced at the paper twice more. “This servant has not read many books. It should simply mean that the world is good, should it not?”
Wen Xin explained: “When the newly ranked third-place scholar, A Shiheng, dined at a tavern, he wrote these characters for the establishment. He penned ‘The World is Good’ to praise the excellence of their food and wine.”
Yu Qing said, “Ah, I see.”
Wen Xin slowly set down her brush, staring at the three characters with admiration. “I have seen various words praising fine cuisine before, but never anyone praising it from such an unparalleled perspective. ‘The World is Good’. Just three ordinary characters, yet together they evoke a scene of celestial beings descending to earth, intoxicated by mortal delights. Compared to this, the ornate language of past writers seems merely cluttered.
With just three short characters, such profound artistic conception is truly unprecedented. Perhaps only a genuine celestial being could possess such breadth of mind and conjure such imagery. That third-place scholar truly lives up to his title as the top scorer with perfect marks. He is indeed worthy of being called the finest scholar under heaven!”
Yu Qing’s mouth twitched. His mind was in absolute turmoil, like a stampede of horses kicking up clouds of dust.
This was not the first time he had heard such praise. It confused him so much that he could barely remember his own state of mind when he wrote those three characters. Hearing it so often, he almost began to misunderstand himself, as if there really had been some profound artistic conception when he put brush to paper, as if he truly were A Shiheng.
He replied stiffly: “Good. I see. Very good.”
He was rendered completely speechless. Should he say it was good, or should he praise it? If he praised it too highly, he feared it would go against his conscience.
Wen Xin asked: “Tell me, how could he have conjured such imagery and written such high praise?”
This was easy to answer. Yu Qing bowed slightly and said: “This servant does not know.”
Seeing he still refused to admit it, Wen Xin, who was unaccustomed to being confrontational face to face, lifted the paper, dipped her brush in ink, and continued writing and sketching.
After waiting a while with no further orders, Yu Qing slowly withdrew again and stood guard outside the pavilion.
A good while later, Xiao Hong returned, skipping lightly. She ran into the pavilion and reported: “Miss, Elder Fan said Zi Long cannot be released yet. He said the reason it cannot be released is that you should not have let it out in the first place. If we release it now, Zi Long will just run away again. We must retrain it to form new habits.”
Wen Xin, holding her brush aloft, fell silent for a moment, then nodded. “Understood.”
Xiao Hong added: “I saw Sister Ping Ping. Young Master Zou is still bedridden. They say it is not suitable for him to move around yet, and he needs more days of quiet rest to recover quickly. Sigh, lying in bed for so long is torture. If we ever catch that damned scoundrel, I will definitely break his legs and lock him in a cell for three years!”
Yu Qing’s hands, resting on his abdomen, had one finger scratching the back of the other.
Whether Wen Xin actually listened or not, she continued writing quietly. Suddenly, she asked: “What is Fifth Brother doing?”
Xiao Hong replied: “How would I know? Why not ask A Qing to check?”
Wen Xin set down her brush and stood up. “No need. We have not visited Eldest Uncle’s residence for some time. We will just go visit Fifth Brother directly.”
Go see Wen Yan’an? Yu Qing was slightly bewildered.
The master and servant had already left the pavilion and walked past him.
Xiao Hong looked back, waved her hand, and called out: “A Qing, what are you daydreaming about? Hurry up and come!”
“Uh…” Yu Qing immediately jogged over. Instead of following them, he held his stomach and requested leave: “Miss, my stomach is feeling rather unwell. It is truly inconvenient for me to…” The implication was clear. It was inconvenient to accompany them further.
Xiao Hong frowned. “How did you suddenly get a stomachache when you were fine just now?”
Yu Qing replied: “Perhaps I am not used to such fine food after never eating well before. I may not have adjusted to the meals here yet.”
“Yuck, how disgusting. Just go back then, do not follow us,” Xiao Hong decided directly. This excuse indeed made it hard to force him.
Yu Qing left as if granted a pardon.
Wen Xin made no reaction. She did not even turn her head, continuing forward as before. Her eyes were bright with a hint of a smile, and she bit her lower lip for a long time.
If the two identical pieces of calligraphy before had only made her suspect they were written by the same person, then today, she was ninety percent certain. This servant of hers was almost certainly that legendary figure.
Her emotions at this moment were indescribable. It was joyous and thrilling, yet laced with a hint of nervousness. She wanted to tear through that thin veil of pretence, yet she dared not.
Unlike at the beginning, when she merely wanted to confirm his identity.
Now that the person was often by her side, she felt a new fear. She worried that once the truth was exposed, she would not be able to keep him, as he clearly intended to conceal his identity. Yet if the truth remained hidden forever, she felt a lingering thirst. She truly wished he would interact with her as A Shiheng. It was a longing of the soul.
She had not lied. She did indeed go to the main branch’s residence, but only made a brief appearance before leaving and returning directly to the Jade Garden.
She returned to that pavilion to write and sketch once more.
“Is your stomach feeling better?” Xiao Hong asked concernedly from outside the pavilion.
Rubbing his stomach, Yu Qing replied: “Much better.”
Inside the pavilion, Wen Xin suddenly turned her head and asked: “A Qing, are you willing to remain a household servant in the Wen Manor forever?”
At these sudden words, even Xiao Hong was stunned.
Yu Qing was slightly taken aback, but immediately pledged his loyalty with solemn words: “I am willing to follow you forever, miss, and serve you with utmost devotion.”
Wen Xin asked: “Why?”