Recklessly Breaking a Delicate Branch - Chapter 3

He grew up in the grasslands since he was a child. The customs of the grasslands are different from the Central Plains. For grassland lads and lasses, as long as a man and a woman are of one heart, they may perform the Rites of Zhou (referring to sexual intercourse).

Thinking of this, Zhou Yan picked up a raw egg from the wooden table. Just as the noodle soup was boiling and about to be served, he cracked the egg into it.

Stretching the long chopsticks into the pot, Zhou Yan swiftly rotated them clockwise. In an instant, the perfectly fine egg was stirred into an egg drop soup.

He didn’t mind having egg drop soup with his noodles. Without even adding seasoning to the bowl, he stood by the stove and scarfed down the noodles.

After finishing the noodles, the man put on his usual hunting clothes, picked up his hunting tools from the wooden table, and walked deep into the forest.

Past the hour of Shen (around 3 to 5 PM), Jiang Wanshu, who was currently inside the thatched cottage, temporarily accepted her fate of being placed there by the man. The fair-skinned, slender beauty’s legs landed on the ground. Jiang Wanshu, unable to remain idle, wanted to step outside and look around.

However, because she had no outer garment to cover herself, she hesitated. Then, she noticed the clothes chest in the corner of the bedroom that Zhou Yan had mentioned. She slowly walked toward it.

Immediately upon sight, Jiang Wanshu was drawn to a set of grassland ethnic clothes inside the chest. She pinched the shoulders of the dress, extended her arms, and carefully examined the attire.

The garment was primarily a large expanse of blue, interspersed with colors like moon-white and lake-blue. The sleeves and collar had small clusters of cotton fur trim, and nearby, there were thick strands of antique silver ceramic bead necklaces, along with a forehead ornament made of crimson wood, blue jewels, and silver beads.

Jiang Wanshu meticulously inspected the dress and the accessories in the chest. If she guessed correctly, this was the attire worn by the people of Xirong (Western Rong, an ancient ethnic group).

In the Central Plains, propriety dictated wearing clothes according to the occasion.

Yet, this set of Xirong clothing looked particularly grand and was not suitable for daily wear. Just looking at the accessories, they weighed several jin (a unit of weight).

Jiang Wanshu imagined putting on the full set of accessories. After wearing them for a long time, the weight of the ornaments would surely cause her back to ache. She simply chose to simplify, only wearing the dress. She then imitated the Xirong women she had seen in palace illustrations, pulling down a thin, white cord from the wooden bed’s curtain to tie a small braid for herself in front of a small wooden and copper mirror, letting it rest on her right shoulder.

Once fully dressed, a lovely beauty appeared in the wooden and copper mirror: glossy, dark hair and skin as fair as jade.

Jiang Wanshu looked at her reflection in the copper mirror, wearing the exotic clothing, and even felt that this kind of attire suited her. However, the dress was a bit long for her, perhaps the person who lent her the clothes was taller than she was.

It was the age for playful spirit after all. Putting on the dress, Jiang Wanshu spun around once, lightly pinching the fabric near her waist. She had a habit of using perfume in the palace, and as she spun, a faint, subtle fragrance quietly diffused into the air.

When Jiang Wanshu calmed down, she walked to the door and pushed open the wooden door with her delicate, long arm.

Stepping out, she saw dense bamboo forests starting ten meters from the thatched cottage. Jiang Wanshu, with the goal of familiarizing herself with the terrain for escape, stood still and looked symmetrically to the left and right. She saw only one other household about ten meters away on one side.

Recalling Zhou Yan’s warning, Jiang Wanshu was in no hurry to greet the people in the neighboring house.

Her purpose for coming out was not just because she couldn’t sit still, but also to scout the terrain and prepare for her escape.

As for why she wasn’t running now, it was simply because night was quickly approaching in the forest, and she didn’t know how to get out of this deep forest. If she were to unfortunately fall into the hands of an even more wicked group, or be captured again by the man and have her intentions discovered, her next attempt to escape would be much more difficult.

Therefore, she had to carefully plan during the time Zhou Yan was still relatively decent to her, striving for a successful escape on the first try.

At this moment, she was taking a step forward to see if the bamboo in the forest grew densely enough for her to slip through.

But just as Jiang Wanshu took a step forward, the voice of a grassland woman, speaking with somewhat broken Central Plains dialect, came from outside the other house.

She turned to look and saw that the girl’s two scorpion-like long braids over her shoulders were adorned with jade beads and small round bells, which made a pleasant sound as she ran past her.

The girl approached, and Jiang Wanshu instinctively stepped back. The next moment, the girl grabbed her fair, slender wrist.

She frowned and leaned closer to her, seemingly displeased, “You’re too boring, are all Central Plains people like this?”

Then Mai Gu Laji lowered her head again, scrutinizing her face, and honestly nodded, “But what Mu Sha said is really true. No wonder Zhuo Jing Cha’er cherishes you so much. You are the most beautiful Central Plains girl I have ever seen, much prettier than Cha’er’s alluringly beautiful older sister.”

“And Zhuo Jing Cha’er actually came to my house late last night and asked Mu Sha to warn the hunters in this deep mountain that the person in his house is not to be bullied, or he will definitely kill without mercy. So, he was hiding an immortal like you in the house.”

Jiang Wanshu ignored the latter part of Mai Gu Laji’s speech, only shaking her head and replying, “I don’t know you.”

Now Mai Gu Laji finally understood why she was keeping her distance. It turned out it wasn’t because she found her too lively. Her smile instantly brightened.

She looked at the clothes Jiang Wanshu was wearing, which Zhou Yan had asked Mu Sha to borrow from her last night.

Mai Gu Laji stopped in front of Jiang Wanshu and looked her over carefully from head to toe again. She clenched one hand into a fist and slapped her right palm, saying excitedly,

“You really are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. I originally thought that with the dignified look of you Central Plains girls, you definitely wouldn’t look good wearing our grassland clothes. I never expected that even without the accessories I prepared for you, this outfit looks more beautiful on you than on all our grassland women.”

Mai Gu Laji was a lovely girl.

Jiang Wanshu was used to backhanded compliments, but suddenly hearing her praise her looks so directly made her face blush, “Thank you.”

After thanking her, Jiang Wanshu quickly pinpointed the words in Mai Gu Laji’s speech that she deemed important, stammering out a few confused words, “Zhuo Jing Cha’er?”

Mai Gu Laji sounded incredulous upon hearing her tone, as if she didn’t know the person, “You don’t know Zhuo Jing Cha’er? He’s your Ma Ge Ba.”

Hearing this, Jiang Wanshu froze, trying to translate it in her mind, and confusedly asked, “What does Ma Ge Ba mean?”

Mai Gu Laji, standing on the side, sighed as if she hadn’t realized Jiang Wanshu was originally from the Central Plains, and looked distressed.

It was only when a large hand stretched out from behind and patted her shoulder, startling her into turning around, that the matter was resolved.

Mai Gu Laji was so shocked that she patted her chest, frowned, and turned around, “Mu Sha, you scared me!”

Jiang Wanshu listened with difficulty to the conversation between the two people in front of her. Their actions seemed somewhat intimate. Just as the guess was about to escape her lips, she instantly saw the man turn his gaze onto her.

Remembering that she was unfamiliar with this place, Jiang Wanshu subconsciously took a few steps back, but the man teased her, “Beautiful Central Plains girl, don’t be afraid. We are all Zhuo Jing Cha’er’s friends. My name is Mu Sha.”

Saying this, he pulled Mai Gu Laji into his arms and added, “Her name is Mai Gu Laji, and she is my A’Jia.” (A’Jia here means wife/madam).

It was only then that Mai Gu Laji remembered that Jiang Wanshu was Han Chinese, and naturally wouldn’t understand their unique grassland language.

Mai Gu Laji, like a chirping little bird, her brow arches showing delight, said, “Ma Ge Ba is what you in the Central Plains call a husband. A’Jia is a wife/madam. Now do you understand?”

Jiang Wanshu nodded, half-understanding. A moment later, her face flushed red, “How did Zhuo Jing Cha’er introduce me?”

“Zhuo Jing Cha’er said you were his A’Jia that he rescued from a bandit, and he told us to treat you well,” Mu Sha eagerly interjected.

Sure enough, she knew no good words could come from his crude speech. Jiang Wanshu stared at the man in front of her, who looked about half a head shorter and somewhat thinner than Zhou Yan. She said calmly,

“I am not his A’Jia. I am merely a Central Plains woman who was rescued by him.”

She clarified with composure, openly revealing her Central Plains integrity.

Unexpectedly, as soon as she said this, Mai Gu Laji instantly covered her lips with her hand, preventing her from speaking.

Before letting her speak, Mai Gu Laji looked around and then quietly whispered to her, “Shh, you absolutely must not deny you are his A’Jia in front of Zhuo Jing Cha’er. Zhuo Jing Cha’er has a bad temper. If he hears it, he might just slaughter you.”

Mu Sha, standing to the side and listening to his A’Jia’s words, felt a headache. He knew that the incident where Zhuo Jing Cha’er had dislocated a man’s leg in the grassland while upholding justice for a child would eventually be criticized. Sure enough, his A’Jia, who had only recently met Zhuo Jing Cha’er, had already subconsciously thought he was a brutal person.

He pulled Mai Gu Laji behind him and said humorously, “My A’Jia is poor at judging people. Please excuse her.”

Mai Gu Laji was displeased at being pulled. Crossing her arms, she said to him in the grassland language, “Hmph, there you go again!”

Jiang Wanshu stood to the side, completely bewildered, and couldn’t make out many words, even trying hard to listen.

She only heard a few words from Mai Gu Laji: “Zhuo Jing Cha’er,” “deny A’Jia,” “bad temper,” and “slaughter you.”

She felt the connection between them was tenuous and couldn’t string them into a coherent sentence in her mind.

Just then, the sky had already darkened, and from deep within the forest, she faintly heard the rustling of bamboo leaves.

Jiang Wanshu’s ears were sharp. She glanced towards the source of the sound and saw the man emerging from the forest, carrying a white cloth sack, containing something unknown with a meaty aroma. She was so startled that she nearly fell backward.

Zhou Yan, in his hunting attire, was quick-handed. In the nick of time, he freed his right hand and held her steadily around the waist, preventing her from falling to the ground.

He looked at the woman in front of him, who was foolishly clumsy, and saw that the grassland attire accentuated her exquisite, jade-like beauty. Below her face was a fair neck as smooth as congealed fat. He widened his eyes and said in a deep voice, “The ground isn’t level. Be careful usually.”

Zhou Yan had been in a high position for a long time, and when he chastised someone, it inevitably made people feel an intense pressure. Now Mai Gu Laji seemed to have found more evidence, vehemently trying to prove her point to Mu Sha, “I told you, Zhuo Jing Cha’er is very fierce.”

Zhou Yan’s hearing was good. Hearing Mai Gu Laji’s words, he shot her a look that instantly terrified Mai Gu Laji into silence, forcing her to obediently stay behind Mu Sha.

Mu Sha took Mai Gu Laji’s hand and laughed awkwardly at Zhou Yan, “Cha’er, A’Jia doesn’t mean what she says. Don’t take it to heart.”

Zhou Yan stared at Mai Gu Laji again, which made her body tremble once more. She spoke to him calmly in the grassland language, “Mu Sha, I’ll go back with Wanwan first.”

Jiang Wanshu, not understanding what was happening, was no match for Zhou Yan’s strength. The man held her by the waist and forced her to walk. As the two entered the thatched cottage, Zhou Yan closed the door. Seeing his expression, which was different from when they walked together, she seemed to sense something. Her heart pounded loudly, its volume amplified in the quiet night.

“Y-y-you… what are you going to do!” Even though his presence in the house gave her a sense of security, that was only when her surroundings were unfamiliar.

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