Recklessly Breaking a Delicate Branch - Chapter 14

The sky outside gradually darkened. After Maigulaji carried the meal into the house again, Jiang Wanshu ate alone.

In front of the old wooden table, Jiang Wanshu, for the first time, mimicked the palace maids who served her meals and tidied the dishes, bending down to place the leftovers into the food box.

The bright moon rose higher into the branches. Jiang Wanshu looked up at the night sky pieced together through the bamboo leaves, her eyes sparkling.

Night entered the house. Jiang Wanshu pulled down a corner of the window lattice, leaving an opening for Zhou Yan to enter, then took off her clothes, hurried onto the wooden bed, covered herself, and fell asleep.

In the early hours of the morning, when everything was silent, a sound of human activity finally appeared outside.

From a distance, the man was tall with long legs, dressed in black, appearing remarkably harmonious against the devouring night. He was like a skilled shepherd, placing the livestock—chickens, ducks, and geese he had bought from the village outside the deep forest today—into the small enclosure he had cleared and fenced off next to the cultivated patch of land earlier that day.

In the past few days, he could clearly feel that Jiang Wanshu was growing tired of the wild game he hunted in the forest, and her appetite needed him to strongly compel her to eat to meet the amount he had stipulated.

He had heard that domestically raised poultry was fresher when slaughtered. Besides wild boar, there wasn’t much edible in the deep forest, and the variety of poultry available outside would allow for more dishes suitable for a girl’s palate.

Based on this, he had spent most of the day walking into the village, selecting several plump-looking chickens, ducks, and geese from a farmyard to bring back, thinking of letting Jiang Wanshu eat something domestically raised tomorrow to change her taste.

Zhou Yan finished everything, took a bath, and then opened the door. By the flickering candlelight left for him on the round table, he took the paper and brush from the drawer and began to write, his head bowed, not knowing what he was writing.

Under the scattered, dimly lit candlelight, the man’s face, carved by the shadow on the table, had long, curled eyelashes and distinct contours.

Later, a whistle sounded from the window lattice. The man stretched out his long, muscular arm, calmly taking a letter from a homing pigeon as it flew by. After the pigeon picked up the letter tube in its mouth and flew away, the man finally closed the window lattice.

Zhou Yan looked at the old, seemingly well-used wooden bed in front of him, thinking that he must make a new one tomorrow. His crude nature had made him forget that Jiang Wanshu had never suffered hardship before, and it was rare for her not to complain after sleeping on this style of old bed for so long.

Thinking this, he casually took off his complicated outer garments, remaining only in his underpants, and stepped onto the bed.

The cool autumn night wind naturally made people cold, but since someone had already slept early in the silk quilt, the quilt was warm. When Zhou Yan crawled into the quilt, he felt a warmth rush into his body. A little later, when Zhou Yan felt his own body temperature was the same as inside the quilt, he finally embraced the person who had fallen asleep earlier.

The person in his arms was warm and soft, making him uncontrollably want to get closer. The muscles on the man’s abdomen were firm, but the person being held, in her sleep, seemed to feel a heavy, sturdy, and rough stone pressing against her waist, and she moved slightly, uncomfortably, under the man’s confinement.

The extreme softness suddenly brushed against the man’s chest, instantly igniting a sudden heat in the man who was about to fall asleep behind her. His body was burning. He saw Jiang Wanshu sleeping peacefully, and his expression coldly swept over her body, glancing at the ‘rise’ under the quilt before continuing to pull her tighter into his embrace, closing his eyes in annoyance to sleep.

Waking up early the next day, Jiang Wanshu planned to use the time while Zhou Yan was out hunting in the morning to tinker with some tools for her escape, but she didn’t expect to hear several calls she didn’t recognize as she opened the door after washing up.

She followed the sound, and the further she walked to the side, the more she heard the disorderly noises. She finally reached the patch of land Zhou Yan had cleared for planting vegetables yesterday morning and found another enclosure next to the fenced-off vegetable patch.

She curiously watched the noisy, chirping poultry inside, tightly gripping the skirt around her waist. She had only seen descriptions of poultry in books, but never seen them in reality.

Now, combining the words in the book with the real poultry she saw, she could almost confirm that the birds in front of her were the things she saw on the dining tables in the palace.

Jiang Wanshu felt surprised on the one hand, but worried on the other.

Yesterday, Zhou Yan planted vegetables here, and this morning she could see edible poultry brought by him to be raised here. With vegetables and meat, besides the rice that could last for another half month, would Zhou Yan just stay here for the rest of the time?

If that were the case, what should she do?

Sure enough, the next second, Jiang Wanshu saw the man, dressed in light clothing, scooping a dozen scoops of clear water from the large vat in the small kitchen into a bucket. The man’s shoulders were broad, and he easily lifted the bucket and walked towards the vegetable garden.

Recalling yesterday’s scene, Jiang Wanshu couldn’t help but blush, desperately suppressing the heat in her heart as the man approached the vegetable garden.

“You woke up so early today?”

Zhou Yan’s sleeves were rolled up, exposing his strong and powerful arm. Jiang Wanshu, feeling like a thief, sneaked a glance at Zhou Yan’s body and then shook her head, awkwardly saying, “I just slept too much and thought I’d try waking up early.”

Saying this, Jiang Wanshu secretly glanced at the man again, lowering her delicate brows.

Zhou Yan didn’t know why she woke up early unexpectedly today, but he wasn’t worried about Jiang Wanshu. She was an adult; if something was wrong, she just had to call him, and he would know. So, he stopped paying attention to Jiang Wanshu’s shy and awkward appearance on the side, picked up a scoop, poured water into the bucket, and then poured it into the soil. Yesterday, when he went to the village to catch poultry, he asked the farmer how to plant these seeds. He carefully memorized the instructions and applied them here.

In the autumn morning sun, Zhou Yan glanced at Jiang Wanshu during a break from his work. She stood alone, dressed in Zhongyuan clothing. A light breeze swept past, making the girl’s skirt flutter, and the strands of hair on her forehead moved with the wind, passing her clear eyes.

The butterfly hairpin in the girl’s hair reflected the light onto her skirt, making her appear even brighter.

Jiang Wanshu, standing nearby, seemed to sense something. Her clear, autumn-water eyes looked up and forward, unexpectedly meeting a gaze.

The man’s eyes were an ink-black color with a distinct exotic flair; a brief glance made one feel they were profoundly indifferent.

A hint of imperceptible amazement flashed in Zhou Yan’s expression, then he calmly called out, “Wanwan, why don’t you come over and work the field with me for a bit? Consider it an experience of a farmer’s life?”

He was asking her, afraid she would have nothing to do after waking up so early. In the eyes of people who are diligent, getting up early with nothing to do can be incredibly boring.

But if Jiang Wanshu didn’t want to, he wouldn’t force her. If she wasn’t willing, letting her do something else or just watching him from there would also be fine.

Jiang Wanshu was lost in disappointment that her plan for the day had fallen through, yet she thought that she couldn’t let a failed plan ruin her entire day. Recalling the vivid descriptions of farm life given by her teacher in the hall, she also felt curious and wanted to try. She was conflicted.

Zhou Yan often guessed people’s hearts and had thus learned many skills for understanding people and things. Seeing the girl’s lotus-like feet turning towards him, he instantly understood Jiang Wanshu’s intention.

Zhou Yan scooped a bit more water and poured it onto the soil. He looked up and said, “Wanwan, if you want to try, just come. Don’t wait there; the sun will set by the time you figure it out.”

The clear voice entered her ears, instantly curing Jiang Wanshu’s hesitation. She quickly walked up to Zhou Yan, her clear, dual-water eyes carrying a faint smile, and she proactively took action.

She skillfully took the scoop from Zhou Yan’s hand, which was for watering the seeds, and with one scoop of clear water, she poured it little by little and carefully into the soil.

Zhou Yan’s eyes showed admiration and pride. “Wanwan, you are quick to pick it up.” He hadn’t expected someone who had never farmed before to be so quick at handling these things.

Jiang Wanshu’s reply to this comment was light, “I heard my teacher talk about it, so I understand a bit.”

Zhou Yan smoothly moved the bucket forward to facilitate the next watering spot.

He put the water down, but only for a moment he put his eyes elsewhere, and then seeing that Jiang Wanshu seemed intent on continuing to work, he quickly snatched the scoop from her hand, continuing the motion while she was stunned.

“That’s enough. The ground here is moist, and the soil can easily stain your skirt. Just try it for a bit, but don’t stay here too long.”

Not for any other reason, but because his view of people had never been about whether a person could quickly learn farm work; the person he, Zhou Yan, had acknowledged was meant to enjoy happiness, not to suffer.

Saying this, Zhou Yan subconsciously patted the soil from the girl’s clothes, which were already stained with dirt.

The mud on the damp ground had stained Jiang Wanshu’s skirt. Jiang Wanshu was a little unhappy that her newfound joy was instantly cut short by the man. She didn’t say anything to Zhou Yan’s words, and stepping across the muddy ground, she walked toward the enclosure on the side of the fence.

Inside the tightly fenced enclosure, she lowered her head to watch the poultry eat.

Looking at the scene, Jiang Wanshu couldn’t deny that Zhou Yan was truly diligent. Getting up so early until this time, he was able to calculate the time to place a bowl of steaming hot noodles for her to eat when she woke up in the still-cool house, and also complete almost everything during her leisure time. By the time she got up, the entire house needed almost no tidying from her.

How early did this man have to wake up to work to almost finish everything by this time?

“I got up at the Mao hour [5-7 AM],” Zhou Yan answered casually.

“That early?!” Jiang Wanshu was surprised, making her mouth into a circle.

Zhou Yan glanced at the surprise in Jiang Wanshu’s eyes and curved his lips into a smile. “Waking up late is something only little lazy pigs love; I am not one of them.”

This remark suddenly made Jiang Wanshu feel mortified. Zhou Yan seemed to be talking directly to her, implying that she slept as late as a pig. Actually, it was not the case; Zhou Yan was teasing her, but Jiang Wanshu ignored his tone and misunderstood.

Thinking this, Jiang Wanshu suddenly slapped her forehead hard, muttering to herself, “You are really confused, Jiang Wanshu. You are a great nation’s princess, imprisoned here by this man, unable to return to the palace. Seeing his actions, which seem sincere and which he doesn’t have to do for her, you actually feel indebted to him, thinking he did the work that both of them should have done, but clearly, she is the victim!”

However, Jiang Wanshu looked at Zhou Yan’s diligent appearance and chose to remain silent out of a slight feeling of guilt. After all, if he hadn’t saved her that day, she might have died on the spot. But he saved her and then insisted on keeping her by his side, which was also wrong. It’s just that the fault was slightly smaller compared to the bandits who wanted her life and her body that day.

But this does not mean she was swept away by the flood and lost her judgment.

“You’re the pig!”

Jiang Wanshu retorted in a bad tone, taking a long, thin stick left over from the fence and poking the chickens and ducks inside.

The morning sunlight gradually moved lower as time passed. Jiang Wanshu soon got tired of playing and lifted her feet to walk back into the house.

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