Before she knew it, Wenlan had been here for almost half a month. With no worries about food and clothes, she lived a comfortable life and even started to spend time in the courtyard with flowers and plants. In contrast to her comfortable life, Mrs. Ma was not so calm. She constantly asked Wenlan about her cousin, and Chunfang went to Changning to inquire about his return. Chunfang ran very diligently, and Changning also didn't mind the long journey, almost coming over every day to report the latest developments to Mrs. Ma. Unfortunately, in the end, there was still no concrete information. Mrs. Ma was very disappointed.
Wenlan was not a fool. Over these days, she had somewhat figured out Mrs. Ma's thoughts. In later generations, cousins could not marry due to close kinship, but there was no such rule here. Many families even liked to arrange marriages between cousins, making them even closer. The current situation was that the cousin was not yet married, and the cousin-to-be lived under the same roof. If they didn’t come together, it would be intolerable!
In fact, when Wenlan decided to impersonate Sanniang in the first place, she had thought about all kinds of possible situations, but she had not been prepared for this. This cousin was said to be eight years older than Sanniang, and twenty-six this year. - At this age, in modern times, one could still look youthful, but here, it was already considered a mature adult. When she came here, as long as she got along with the cousin's wife and the possibly mischievous children, then it would be fine. But she hadn't expected him to be single. Although she didn't know why he was not married, as the cousin's aunt, it was normal to think of matching the two together when the cousin and cousin's marriage were still unsettled. Frankly, Wenlan was a bit puzzled. Accept it, and feel a bizarre sense of being caught off guard. Refuse it, and wouldn't it be seen as arrogant? Fortunately, Mrs. Ma hadn't mentioned it to her explicitly so far, so she pretended not to know and just went with the flow.
Mrs. Ma, being old, usually slept early at night and might have become accustomed to the weather here, quickly falling asleep. Wenlan, however, was still in the process of adapting. Especially these days, it seemed hotter than when she first arrived - this night, Wenlan was awakened by the heat. Judging from the moonlight shining through the window, it was probably midnight.
Wenlan closed her eyes, hoping to calm down and cool off, but she couldn't. When she tossed and turned, she almost felt the slight tearing sound as her back and the mat separated. Finally, she couldn't help but get up and lean against the thin wall to listen to the movements of Mrs. Ma next door. She seemed to be asleep. So, she quietly opened the door and went out to fetch some water to cool herself and the mat. Otherwise, she wouldn't be able to fall back asleep.
There were no men in the back courtyard, and it was late at night, so Wenlan didn’t put on an outer garment, just wearing the short gown she slept in. This sleeping gown she made to resist the heat of this place was just a few feet of the thinnest fabric from the store, sewn into a cylindrical shape, reaching up to the middle of her thigh, with two straps on top. It was simple and cool. Anyway, when she slept, she locked the door, so she wasn’t afraid of being seen.
The well was very close, just a dozen steps after leaving the east wing where she was. Wenlan went there by the clear moonlight and the scent of flowers in the yard. She bent down and saw the round moon reflected on the calm surface of the well. This scene seemed to have a bit of a poetic feel like "holding water, the moon in hand, picking flowers, the fragrance filling the clothes." The illusion was shattered when she dropped the bucket and broke the calm water. After filling the bucket with water and pulling it up, she sighed. As she turned to pour the water into the basin at her feet, she suddenly saw a dark shadow in front of her. Shocked, she looked up along the shadow and was suddenly horrified - the whole scene was horrifying. She was so scared that she dropped the full bucket of water straight onto her right foot, pouring water all over the ground and screaming in pain. The scream sounded terrifying in this quiet midnight.
After almost half a month, Wenlan knew that the public security in Bailong City was still good. But this did not mean that even nightly petty thieves had completely disappeared. This unexpected guest, who looked like a middle-aged man, could either be a thief or have ill intentions, to trespass into a private house at night.
Tonight, Chunfang was not at home, leaving only Wenlan and Mrs. Ma in the back wing. There was a guard from the Inspection Department staying in the front, but he was probably already fast asleep at this time. Judging from Wenlan, this man was probably at least a head taller than her and looked strong. Not to mention fighting with him, if he slapped her, she might fall over.
Wenlan was seized by a strong sense of fear, which even surpassed the severe pain in her foot. Almost on instinct, she bent down to pick up the empty wooden bucket, used all her strength to smash it at the man's face, and then turned around and ran outside.
Her plan was straightforward: lure the man out and use her screams to wake up the guard in the front. She must not let him enter the back wing and harm Mrs. Ma.