Mrs. Ma took out the key and replied in a lowered voice, "As long as the two of you spend the night in the same room, tomorrow he won't be able to back out. This is the only way your aunt can think of. I'll have to inconvenience you for now. There's a spring stool outside, you can spend the night there and I will come to unlock the door in the morning." With that, she left, leaning on her cane.
Warm Lan tried to push the door and found it firmly locked from the outside. She found it both amusing and annoying. She didn't expect the old lady to have such a trick. Looking around, she saw a shelf against the wall, on which hung the owner's weapons. The window was open, but it was of the oldest design, with sturdy wooden bars nailed in place. The option to escape by climbing out the window was also closed. Helplessly, she placed the tea pot on the table and quietly slipped over to the thick wooden screen that served as a partition, peeking in. Due to the dim light, she could only vaguely see a figure lying on the bed, emitting a faint smell of alcohol in the room.
Exiting the room, she sat at the table and, resting her chin on her hand, stared at the candlestick for a while.
~~
Xie Yuan woke up as soon as the alcohol's effects wore off, feeling thirsty. He noticed the light was still on and decided to go out. He went straight to the table and saw a teapot by the nearly extinguished candle, without much thought he picked it up to drink. As he moved his eyes, he suddenly felt something was off, and turned to see a person sleeping on the spring stool, wearing a cool robe. Though her face was turned away, her figure was recognizable, she was his cousin Sanniang. Due to the narrowness of the stool, she was curled up, and her loose long hair silently hung down from the back of her head.
Xie Yuan was so startled that he forgot about being thirsty. Before he could recover from the shock, he noticed her body shifting, almost falling off the stool, so instinctively, he put down the teapot with a loud sound, and hurried to the stool, reaching out to catch her in mid-air. He felt her soft and slippery skin in his hands. It was only then that he realized he was shirtless and felt a slight jolt in his chest, and an unexpected dryness in his throat. In a hurry, he was about to put her back on the stool when she made a sound and her eyelashes quivered. After a brief silence, she seemed to realize something was wrong, suddenly opened her eyes, looking at him as he looked back at her.
Warm Lan had not fully fallen asleep earlier, and when she heard the movement, she was partly awakened. But forgetting where she was, she tried to turn around, feeling a sudden sensation of falling from high up without support, which completely startled her and fully woke her up. Opening her eyes, she found she was not on the ground, but being held in Xie Yuan's arms. Looking at him, she noticed he was still shirtless, and though her thin robe was between them, she could clearly feel the body heat emanating from his slightly tense muscles, creating a unique feeling.
Although it felt like a long time, it was actually very brief. Warm Lan made a slight struggle, and Xie Yuan quickly let her go. He promptly explained, "When I came out and saw you lying here, it seemed you were going to fall…" He noticed her gaze had dropped to the ground, with her long hair hanging peacefully over her raised chest, and realized he felt even thirstier. He abruptly closed his mouth and went quickly into the inner room. When he came out again, he was fully dressed.
"How did you end up here?"
He didn't continue with the previous explanation. Instead, he asked this question from the table, standing several steps away from her.
It was late and quiet, and she had found herself alone in his room. She must not let him misunderstand this situation.
Warm Lan suppressed a slight embarrassment still lingering in her mind from the physical contact, and pretended to innocently push the door, but to no avail. Turning to look at him, she calmly said, "Aunt said you were drunk and asleep, and she was afraid you would be thirsty upon waking, so she asked me to bring a teapot. When I entered, she locked the door from the outside. I couldn't leave when I saw you were sound asleep, so I stayed here to wait for you to wake up."
Xie's eyebrows furrowed slightly, showing an incredulous look. She tried to push towards her side and saw that only a crack was visible under the door, indicating that it was indeed locked from the outside. When she looked back at Wen Lan, there was a hint of helplessness in her expression.
"Cousin, my mother is really..."
Before he could finish, the candle on the candlestick suddenly flickered, and there was a movement on the wall. Both of them looked towards the candlestick and watched the flame gradually shrink and eventually extinguish, indicating that the candle had burned out.
Under the moonlit night, Wen Lan suddenly found herself in complete darkness. After a moment, as her eyes adjusted to the light in the room, she could barely make out the silhouette of a person in front of her, seemingly motionless like clay.
This scene, compared to the previous skin contact, was another kind of awkwardness. Even Wen Lan felt her heart beating out of rhythm, and she tried to act nonchalantly, but heard a cracking sound and felt something hitting her lower back. She realized that she had bumped into the weapon rack against the wall.
"Be careful!"
Her arm suddenly warmed, and the next second, he had reached out and pulled her back.
As she listened to the continuous clanging of the weapons hitting the ground, her heart beat even faster. When the sound stopped, she finally managed to speak up, "Cousin... what should we do? Aunt said she will only come to open the door tomorrow morning..."
Xie Yuan said, "My mother is acting up. Let me escort you back to your room first. I will talk to her tomorrow." After speaking, he gently released her hand. In the dim light, Wen Lan saw him walk to the window - she widened her eyes, not yet understanding how he would escort her back to her room, when she heard a few snaps, the sound of wood breaking.
Xie Yuan broke a dozen or so vertical wooden bars on the window, then called out to her, "Come here."
Wen Lan slowly approached him from behind, and saw him climbing out through the broken window. Then he gestured for her to do the same.
Alright... that's how it is...
The window sill was at her waist height. She pushed herself up and was ready to jump down when he suddenly reached out, his hands lightly holding her shoulders on both sides, intimate but not overly.
Another close proximity. Wen Lan held her breath, trying to avoid any contact between her face and his body. She felt herself being lifted gently, and then her feet touched the ground.
"Alright, let me escort you back."
As she stood firm, he immediately let go of her, his voice sounding very calm.
"I don't want to trouble you. I can go back by myself..."
Wen Lan shook her head hurriedly.
"It's dark, I'll escort you." He took a step towards the east courtyard.
Wen Lan could only follow him, letting his figure lead her through the uneven shadows of the trees between the two courtyards. Finally, when they reached the eastern courtyard, he stopped and turned to her, "Go in. Don't worry, my mother won't behave like this again in the future."
"Yes, yes..." Wen Lan replied absentmindedly, passing by his side and quickly entering the courtyard. As she approached the house of the Matriarch, she knew her hearing was sharp, so she took off her shoes and tiptoed over, then pushed the door of her own room and slipped in, lying down on the bed, patting her chest lightly. She finally let out a long sigh of relief.
~~
The old lady Ma was quite pleased with her own scheme, just waiting for daybreak to close in on her prey. She squinted and woke up as the horizon began to turn slightly white. She fumbled to put on her clothes, and when she went to put on her shoes, she only found one and the other was nowhere to be seen. She was anxious, thinking about the west courtyard, and as she squatted down to look for the missing shoe, she heard the voice of a young girl outside the door, "Aunt, I heard you moving. If you're getting up, open the door and I'll come in to assist you."
The old lady Ma almost sat on the ground, but she felt for the key in her pocket and it was still there. Her niece's voice was indeed outside. She composed herself, found her cane, didn't bother with her shoe, and hastily went to open the bolt. She grabbed Wen Lan and asked, "What are you doing here?"
Wenlan helped her to bed and said, "Not long after you left last night, my cousin woke up, found me, and sent me out after breaking the window."
The old lady, full of anxiety, slapped Wenlan's thigh hard and exclaimed, "Are you stupid? He asked you to climb out the window, and you just did it? Couldn't you have just waited until dawn? If not, you could have shouted for me to come. Is he really daring enough to throw you out?"
Wenlan's thigh hurt from the slap. She said in frustration, "Aunt, he doesn't have any intention of marrying me. Even if I shouted or climbed into his bed, it wouldn't work. If I don't leave, he will climb out the window himself. Is locking the door even effective?"
The old lady was speechless and couldn't say anything. She kept lamenting, "What sin have I committed and why did I raise such a son? Wasn't it just to hope for grandchildren soon? Tell me, what did I do wrong?"
Wenlan sympathized deeply but was powerless. She could only advise, "If my cousin is not willing to marry now, he must have his reasons. Marriage is a matter of fate. When the time is right, it will naturally happen, no need for you to worry..." As she was speaking, she suddenly heard a cough at the door. Looking up, she saw Xie Yuan unexpectedly there, so she hastily stopped talking.
Mrs. Ma, upon hearing her son's voice, remained motionless.
Xie Yuan glanced at Wenlan and hesitated before saying, "Cousin, I have something to tell mother..."
Wenlan immediately understood and said, "Then I will leave first to help Chunfang make breakfast." After speaking, she hurried out of the room.
Xie Yuan moved on, apparently wanting to say something to his mother alone. Wenlan was curious, even having a temptation to eavesdrop. However, she restrained herself. While she was helping Chunfang with the fire, she guessed randomly. When breakfast was almost ready, she noticed Chunfang looking melancholic. Since she seemed to be speaking less in recent days, Wenlan asked, "What's wrong? I noticed you've been quieter these days."
When Wenlan asked, Chunfang's eyes turned red, as if she was about to cry. Startled, Wenlan hurriedly embraced her to console her. Chunfang then choked out, "My father is sick, and I went back last time to see him. It's been several days, and he's not getting any better."
Wenlan knew that she was from the Lemin Village under the Bailong City. The family were pearl divers. Chunfang's father, a legendary expert diver, knew Xie Yuan and had asked for his help in sending his daughter to work here, which made other girls in the village envious.
Wenlan finally understood. She fondly liked this straightforward girl and quickly took out some money to lend to her, saying, "Go home and see your father. I'll lend you some silver. If the money for medicine at home isn't enough, it can be a help in an emergency."
Chunfang's family was struggling to afford good medicine, which was why her father's recovery was delayed. She was grateful as they quickly hugged. When Wenlan told her to wait for a moment, she went back to the room to get the money. Passing by the door of the old lady, she noticed it was open and saw that Xie Yuan had left, leaving only Mrs. Ma sitting on the bed, lost in thought.