Drunk on Madness - Chapter 9

In the elegant chamber on the second floor of the Bright Moon Pavilion, a seductive woman in red pushed open the door. Upon seeing the young man she was to serve today, handsome and dignified, her eyes instantly lit up with delight.

“My, what a dashing young master,” the woman in red said as she approached.

A strong wave of perfume hit Chen Bolin, causing him to step back and bow slightly. “You misunderstand, miss. I’m here today to find someone,” he said, taking five taels of silver from his sleeve and placing them on the table.

“Half a year ago, my younger sister was mistakenly sold into the Bright Moon Pavilion. I heard she tried to kill herself by smashing her head against a wall that very day. After being treated by a physician, she went mad and was driven out to a dilapidated temple by the city gates. But I’ve searched the entire city these past few days and haven’t found a trace of her. Do any of the ladies here know anything about her whereabouts?”

Hearing his question, the woman in red fanned herself lightly. “Oh dear, you’re too late.”

“That girl died three months ago,” she said, reaching for the silver on the table.

Chen Bolin pressed his hand over hers. “How did she die?”

The woman struggled impatiently. “How should I know? She was a madwoman, wandering the streets. If she didn’t die of illness or starvation, she was probably torn apart by wild dogs.”

“Did you see her body?” Chen Bolin refused to believe it.

“How unlucky would that be?” The woman pulled her arm free and rubbed it.

“Maybe it’s for the best. What kind of ‘good brother’ waits over half a year to come looking? Did you want to see her selling herself here like me, or were you planning to collect her corpse?” she mocked.

Stung by her words, Chen Bolin fell silent. He stood and bowed to her again.

“My apologies for my earlier outburst. I hope you can forgive my rudeness.”

“I was away studying and only learned of this when I returned home, too late to change anything. As things stand, there’s nothing I can do. But no matter what, she was family to me. Please, tell me truthfully where she was buried. When the Qingming Festival comes, I’d like to bring some wine and pay my respects to her spirit.”

The man’s humble courtesy made it hard for the woman to continue being difficult. “I don’t know where she’s buried.”

“Women like us in the brothels sell our beauty to survive. None of us have stable lives. We pitied her madness and lack of care, so we sometimes gave her scraps of food. But we didn’t have the energy to worry about her struggles, let alone where she died.”

With that, the woman in red took the silver from the table and left.

Songshan Academy

Early in the morning, before the sun grew too strong, Li Xiang had cleared a small plot of land not far from the academy to start a vegetable garden.

Not long after she finished cutting away the weeds, Qingzhi arrived as well.

Together, they loosened the soil, dug holes for seeds, and carried water to irrigate the plot.

Once the work was done, the two sat beneath a willow tree to rest.

“Xiangxiang, are you sure this will actually grow anything?” Qingzhi wiped the sweat from her brow.

“It should. I’ll go back and make some fertilizer to help it along,” Li Xiang said. Though she had never cultivated a garden before, in her past life she had enjoyed growing vegetables on her balcony and occasionally dabbled in making her own fertilizer.

“You’re not talking about using human waste, are you?” Qingzhi gasped in horror.

“Then I can’t help you. That’s disgusting.” Though Qingzhi was a maid, she had never done such dirty work.

“No, no. It’s just vegetable scraps and food waste mixed with water. After a while, it becomes excellent fertilizer,” Li Xiang explained.

“That’s still gross. Count me out,” Qingzhi declared, ready to abandon the project.

“Alright, alright, you don’t need to get involved in this. I’ll handle it. Just stay with me,” Li Xiang coaxed.

“Mmm.” Qingzhi found this acceptable.

As the time was about right, the two packed up their shovels and buckets, ready to return and prepare meals for their masters.

Back at her quarters, Li Xiang rinsed the rice and started cooking, steaming ribs in the pot while chopping and stir-frying vegetables. By the time she finished preparing four dishes and a soup, Su Mo and the others still hadn’t returned.

The morning’s labor had left her drenched in sweat, making her feel uncomfortable all over. She decided to retreat to her room first, pouring several basins of water to take a bath before anything else.

When Su Mo and the other two returned, they saw a table full of food in the dormitory but no sign of Li Xiang.

“I’ll go call Xiangxiang over to eat,” Gu Ci said, turning to leave without waiting for their response.

“No need, I’ll go,” Su Mo interjected.

“I’ll do it,” Gu Ci insisted, raising his voice.

“I’ll go,” Su Mo said, not wanting to argue further as he sprinted toward the backyard.

The two of them dashed down the corridor, neck and neck, and without even stopping to knock, they barged into Li Xiang’s room, propelled by their momentum.

Crack! Perhaps the quality of the maids’ quarters was poor, the door gave way effortlessly under their force.

Li Xiang sat in the bathtub, staring in shock at the two who had suddenly crashed in.

The two froze at the sight before them, a woman with her hair down, sitting in the tub, her arms shielding her chest. Her flushed cheeks glistened with moisture, droplets of water trickling down her damp skin.

“Had enough of a look?” After a stunned pause, Li Xiang finally snapped back to reality.

“Get out!”

The two, still dazed, only reacted after hearing her shout and immediately turned tail and fled, not even noticing the door left wide open behind them.

Li Xiang was furious, they hadn’t even bothered to close the door for her. Though it was only a little over a meter away, she couldn’t very well get up to shut it in her current state.

Gritting her teeth, she stood up to close it herself. Just then, a figure reappeared, Su Mo had turned back. Their eyes met, but before she could say anything, he squeezed his eyes shut, pulled the door closed, and left.

Fuming, Li Xiang slapped the water’s surface, cursing inwardly: Su Mo, you absolute scoundrel!

Su Mo and Gu Ci, still reeling from the sight they shouldn’t have seen, barely had time to process the visual shock before being yelled at and chased away.

Halfway back, Su Mo suddenly remembered, neither of them had closed the door for her. Considering she was bathing, it would be difficult for her to get up and shut it herself. What if someone else saw her? So he turned back, only to arrive just as Li Xiang was rising from the tub.

Zhou Mingxuan watched as the two returned to the dormitory looking guilty and uneasy. “Where’s Xiangxiang?” he asked, puzzled.

Neither of them spoke. After a long pause, Su Mo finally said, “Young Master, let’s eat first. Xiangxiang is busy. We can save some food for her.”

“Alright.” It wouldn’t do for the masters to wait for a maid before eating.

At the table, the three ate in silence. Without Li Xiang present, the usually talkative pair were suddenly mute, their expressions vacant.

“What happened just now? You both look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Zhou Mingxuan asked.

“N-nothing,” Gu Ci stammered.

“Nothing happened,” Su Mo echoed.

For once, the two were in perfect agreement. Since they clearly didn’t want to answer, Zhou Mingxuan didn’t press further.

After the meal, Su Mo, knowing he was in the wrong, went to bring Li Xiang her food.

This time, he knocked on the door. “Xiangxiang, are you there? I brought you something to eat.” When no reply came after a while, he hesitated.

Su Mo spoke again, “We just came to call you for dinner earlier. Who knew you were… We won’t dare do it again, please don’t be angry.”

Footsteps sounded from inside the room. Li Xiang opened the door and, without saying a word, reached out her hand, signaling Su Mo to pass her the food box.

Su Mo handed over the box, and as soon as Li Xiang took it, she shut the door directly.

Not giving up, Su Mo lowered his voice and continued, “Xiangxiang, if… if you’re really bothered that I saw you like that, I can take responsibility. I’ll write to my mother, we can get engaged next year.” He stood at the doorway as he spoke.

“What kind of nonsense is this?” Suddenly, Gu Ci, who had been eavesdropping, stepped out from behind a pillar.

Gu Ci hunched his shoulders slightly and muttered, “Well, I saw it too. Doesn’t that mean I should also take responsibility, since I was there?” Su Mo hadn’t expected someone else to be watching the scene. Caught red-handed in his confession, his face burned crimson. But he was even more furious when Gu Ci added that last remark.

Click. The tightly shut door was pushed open again.

Li Xiang glared at the two of them, her face full of anger. “If you want to argue, go somewhere else. Don’t do it at my door.”

“Also, today was just an accident. You don’t need to blame yourselves, and I don’t need either of you to take responsibility.”

Originally, Li Xiang hadn’t thought it was a big deal to be seen like that. In her past life, going out in shorts and tank tops had been completely normal.

But it was just after lunch, and people occasionally passed through the hallway. If these two kept shouting about it, soon everyone would know.

Without waiting for their response, she shut the door again.

Su Mo turned and glared fiercely at Gu Ci, who had ruined everything, then dragged him away to the outer courtyard.