As the first light of dawn touched the snow, Song Chuyi wiped the snow off her face, glanced at him, and grinned. “You like ooking at beauties. I happen to like raising beauties. You got a bargain for nothing – instead of thanking me, you’re nitpicking. Is this how you followers of the Huang-Lao Daoist school always talk?”
After saying this, Song Chuyi paid no mind to Nan Qi’s reaction and quickly walked into the house.
She had also figured out why Nan Qi found her so disagreeable. The school rivalry was secondary; more importantly, Nan Qi was probably a rather solitary person with an eccentric personality who disliked others intruding into his private territory.
Nan Qi was never polite to anyone he found disagreeable, let alone Song Chuyi, who had taken over his space.
This also further proved that Longgu Qing had truly not thought much of her at first -otherwise, he would have considered this and wouldn’t have let her in to clash with Nan Qi.
Once inside, Song Chuyi didn’t bother tidying herself up and hurried to check on the child she had picked up.
“Zi Ya, bring the brazier closer, and go prepare some hot water,” Song Chuyi said as she ran out and brought back a wooden basin full of snow.
Then she reached out and tore off the few scraps of cloth remaining on the child’s body, and began vigorously rubbing snow onto him.
Song Chuyi looked at the snow that had turned black and clicked her tongue. “Truly filthy.”
But this was unavoidable. It had been snowing for days, and there was no dry firewood to be found. Not everyone knew how to start and preserve a fire, let alone boil hot water for a bath – even just warming oneself by a fire was a luxury.
Song Chuyi kept rubbing and massaging him with snow. Before long, her own hands were burning hot. Coupled with being near the fire, the child’s stiff body gradually softened.
But Song Chuyi still didn’t dare be careless and continued rubbing vigorously, especially around his chest.
“Master, the hot water is here.” Zi Ya carried in the steaming water and set it down by Song Chuyi’s feet.
Song Chuyi threw the cloth from the edge of the basin into the water, then pulled it out and wrung it until it was half-dry. After waiting for it to cool slightly, she folded it into a thick pad and pressed it against the child’s chest.
“Is there a water bladder in the room?” Song Chuyi asked.
“I saw one when I was tidying up today. It’s still new,” Zi Ya said as she got up and rummaged through the cabinet in the outer room.
Song Chuyi had only moved in two days ago, and Zi Ya had organized everything in the house, so she knew exactly what was there.
When Zi Ya saw Song Chuyi pressing the cloth against the child’s chest, she understood what she wanted the water bladder for and immediately ran out to fill it with hot water.
Song Chuyi tested the temperature, wrapped it in a dry piece of clothing, and placed it on the child’s chest. Then she wrapped the child up in the bedding.
“The bedding is dirty now. How will you sleep tonight?” Zi Ya looked at the clean new mattress wrapped around a little mud-covered figure and felt a twinge of distress. If she knew that Song Chuyi had spent eight or nine cloth coins just to find this child among a pile of corpses, she would probably think her even more of a spendthrift.
It wasn’t that Zi Ya was heartless – it was just that in this era, a human life was often truly not worth as much as a single blanket.
“There’s a fire – we can make do however we can. Tomorrow I’ll go ask the steward for two more.” Once Song Chuyi finished her work, she sat by the brazier drying her clothes.
Zi Ya asked worriedly, “Will the steward give them?”
“It’s just two blankets. The Longgu estate won’t be that stingy.” Song Chuyi knew that Longgu Qing’s impression of her had improved somewhat. Besides, she was currently working for the state of Wey and was even sharing a courtyard with someone else. Asking for two extra blankets to keep out the cold was hardly extravagant.
Seeing how certain she sounded, Zi Ya finally said, “I have two blankets on my side. If you don’t mind, tonight I’ll share one with my sister and free one up for you.”
Zi Ya came from a scholarly family – that was the only reason she dared speak this way. If she were a true slave, saying such a thing would absolutely be an insult to her master.
“No need. Zi Zhao is still sick.” Song Chuyi changed the subject and asked, “I told you to light the fire – did you do it?”
“Yes, Master,” Zi Ya said, lowering her head.
Song Chuyi glanced at her and nodded. “Good.”
The room suddenly fell into silence. Zi Ya’s palms grew a little sweaty. She felt she clearly hadn’t done anything wrong, yet for some reason, she couldn’t help feeling nervous.
A moment later, Song Chuyi asked in a casual, chatty tone, “Zi Ya, what kind of man do you like?”
Zi Ya was startled for a moment, then her face flushed red. She stammered, “I… I’ve never thought about it.”
“Huh? When it comes to knowing beauty and longing for youth, how could a girl your age not have spring feelings? Don’t be shy. Come, tell me, so I can find you a good match. Otherwise, I’ll just pick an old man and give you away.” Song Chuyi coaxed, tempted, and threatened all at once.
Zi Ya said nervously, “I like strong warriors.”
“Strong warriors?” Song Chuyi crouched by the fire, tucked her hands into her sleeves, and leaned forward with a grin. “Not just strong warriors, surely? If he only knows martial force and has no learning, I’m afraid he wouldn’t know how to cherish a person.”
Zi Ya shook her head, face red. “I can’t explain it clearly.”
She hadn’t explained it clearly, but through this questioning, Song Chuyi understood. What kind of person Zi Ya liked, Song Chuyi wasn’t sure – but her standards were probably not low.
“Go prepare hot water. I want to bathe.” Song Chuyi put away her gossiping expression and gave the order.
Zi Ya acknowledged and fled outside as if escaping.
Water can carry a boat, and it can also capsize it. Song Chuyi lightly tapped her fingers on the edge of the couch, lost in thought.
After a moment, she turned and reached into the blanket, feeling for the child’s pulse. The pulse had recovered somewhat, but it still wasn’t certain whether he could survive.
When Song Chuyi had been rubbing his body with snow earlier, she discovered that he had many frostbite wounds all over. Some had broken open and were oozing fluid. If he were kept in a warm environment, there was no telling whether they would fester.
Zi Ya quickly prepared the hot water. After Song Chuyi bathed, she boiled more hot water and placed the child in it to soak, working with Zi Ya to clean the grime off his body.
Zi Ya was very fastidious about cleanliness. Song Chuyi barely had to lift a finger – the moment Zi Ya saw dirt, she couldn’t help but want to remove it. Song Chuyi was happy to take it easy.
He was indeed a child whose features looked fairly proper, but his shriveled face, sallow beneath the black, was truly not pleasant to look at.
By the time they finished cleaning him up, the night watch had grown deep.
Song Chuyi wrapped the child in a blanket and laid him on the couch, then rolled up the mattress from her own couch and slept curled up next to the brazier.
The next morning.
Before Song Chuyi even opened her eyes, she heard violent coughing.
It was that child. Song Chuyi scrambled up, dragged her mattress over to the small couch, and saw a pale little face, eyes tightly shut, lips white, shivering under the blanket.
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang.
Polite yet tinged with anger.
That way of knocking – Song Chuyi could figure out who it was with her toes. There was no one else but Nan Qi. Song Chuyi had been spinning around busily last night, and only now did she remember that the door had been installed. She thought to herself that Ji Mian worked pretty fast.
Song Chuyi dragged her mattress over and opened the door, and sure enough, there was Nan Qi, face pale, eyes full of red blood vessels.
He glared at her viciously. Just when Song Chuyi thought he was about to explode, she saw him suddenly raise his hand and thrust a small red bottle in front of her. “For wind-cold cough – give it to that person immediately. I don’t want to hear coughing tonight again.”
Good medicine – why refuse it for free?
Song Chuyi nimbly reached out and took it. “Whether there’s coughing tonight depends on how effective your medicine is. How could I control that?”
Nan Qi gnashed his teeth, turned around hatefully, and walked a few steps before suddenly whipping his head back. “Is he really a beauty?”
“Would I go to all this trouble if he weren’t a beauty?” Song Chuyi lied without even blinking.
“Good.” Nan Qi flicked his sleeve and left.
