It was hard to say who he'd seen in the dream. The setting felt somewhat modern.

Ning Yi closed his eyes.

After a while, Xiao Chan climbed down from the side of the bed.

The little maid was obviously anxious, but her expression wasn't complicated. She simply put on her clothes at the foot of the bed, fastened the buttons, then quietly left the room. Shortly after, he heard scattered sounds of water from outside—probably washing her face, hands, and rinsing her mouth. In the quiet night, crickets chirped in the grass. Xiao Chan pushed the door open quietly, closed it quietly, took off her shoes, took off her clothes, got back into bed, and lay down in Ning Yi's arms, bringing with her the fresh scent of water.

"This... isn't really appropriate..." Ning Yi said softly.

"Young... Young Master..." Xiao Chan shrank her neck slightly, her body stiffening. Ning Yi smiled. "There's no need for this..."

"But... but... this is what Xiao Chan is supposed to do, and... Young Master is uncomfortable..."

Xiao Chan spoke softly. Ning Yi rubbed her hair. "Where did you learn all this?"

"Be-before the wedding, some aunties brought pictures, saying... saying..."

She might have gathered her courage when doing it, but caught in the act, she couldn't continue. She turned in Ning Yi's arms to face him, her forehead pressing against his chest. After a long while, he heard her say, "Young Master... will you think Xiao Chan is thoughtless? That Xiao Chan is unfilial? About Father..."

Ning Yi laughed. "Why would you say that?"

"Actually... Mother and Brother and Sister-in-law all think Xiao Chan has already... already... with Young Master... Actually, when Mother and Brother and Sister-in-law said Xiao Chan should share a room with Young Master, Xiao Chan was... happy inside... Father passed away, and Xiao Chan actually didn't feel... very sad..."

Her voice dropped lower as she spoke. Ning Yi held her shoulders and neck, silent for a long time.

"I can't say what's right, but I'm happy."

"Hm?" Xiao Chan blinked.

"Xiao Chan entered the Su family at four, right?"

"Mm." She nodded.

"Xiao Chan thinks the Su family is more important, thinks of herself as the Su family's maid, thinks... thinks I'm uncomfortable... Though I'm happy about it, though it might be somewhat unfair to you..."

The young girl in his arms didn't understand these words. She looked up at Ning Yi, then blinked with some confusion. "But... it is that way. Xiao Chan is... supposed to do these things, and..." She pressed closer, lowering her voice slightly. "Xiao Chan likes Young Master..."

"Liking is good."

"Then what Young Master said earlier..."

"Heh, it's nothing." Ning Yi patted her shoulder. After a while, "Still, there's nothing wrong with being a bit careful. These few days... no need for this..."

"Mm." Xiao Chan nodded obediently. After another moment, "But if... Young Master is uncomfortable..."

"It's fine to endure a bit. Your Young Master is very capable, has willpower. Otherwise, why would I be called Ning Yi¹?"

"But Xiao Chan doesn't like Young Master enduring..."

"I said it's fine, so it's fine. No more talking!"

"Oh."

Silence. Then Xiao Chan's small voice came out.

"...Is Young Master enduring right now?"

"..." Ning Yi opened his eyes and let out a wordless breath.

"Fine, I'll go take a cold bath."

"I'll take Young Master there."

"Lie down! Don't move!"

"Um..."

"...I know where to wash."

"But..."

"Lie down! Sleep!"

After shutting down the enthusiastic Xiao Chan, Ning Yi put on his clothes and went out. After closing the door, he curled his lips under the eaves. "Just a small test." Walking a few steps, he shrugged and muttered to himself, "Been through so many storms, who am I afraid of..." Then he walked very boldly to the room at the end.

Not long after, he sighed, walked back somewhat speechlessly, and pushed open the bedroom door. Xiao Chan lay properly on the inner side of the bed, hands folded over her dudou on her lower abdomen, eyes closed in sleep as quietly as a mummy. Ning Yi sighed. "Xiao Chan, where's the well? There's no water. I need to fetch some."

Xiao Chan kept her eyes closed as if she were asleep. After a moment, her voice came out in a cute, deliberate tone: "Xiao! Chan! Is! Sleeping!"

"..."

Ning Yi was stunned for a long moment before spreading his hands. How could there be a night combining sadness, romance, and comedy like this...

That night, they ended up going out under Xiao Chan's guidance to find a small stream formed by well water from above, where he took a cold bath. Of course, saying it was under Xiao Chan's guidance wasn't entirely reliable. The master and maid snuck out quietly, careful not to alert Guard Geng and Dongzhu in the neighboring courtyard. They searched for the well based on Xiao Chan's memory but came up empty.

Xiao Chan hadn't been back to Nanting Village for long and couldn't figure out where the well was in the dark of night. Master and maid then groped around in the dark slowly searching until they found the stream where Ning Yi could bathe. Since Xiao Chan was standing guard nearby, there was no chance for a second release. The next morning when he got up, he felt he might have dark circles.

Being able to return to the room from there was actually already fortunate.

For Xiao Chan, there were perhaps two emotions existing in her personality at this time.

Peaceful and sad... Having been sold into the Su household at four, her heart had long since settled in the Su family. As for her home in Nanting Village, she treated it as such because others did. She sent money back every year, brought gifts when she visited, and looked after her family, calling them Father, Mother, Brother, and Sister-in-law. But how much actual recognition there was might be hard to say clearly.

Nearly twelve years, with only a total of a dozen or so days spent together—for this girl who was almost sixteen, whether she would return to this family in the future, whether she would have thoughts of returning to her roots, was probably hard to say. At least for now, she probably didn't have many such thoughts. She already lived in the Su family, was the Su family's maid, had to do many, many things for the Su family, serve the Young Miss and Young Master. These were natural duties. As for going home, when truly free, she might request leave to return once. How much anticipation could there really be in her heart? It was probably similar to handling a necessary but not urgent minor task.

If her heart could be divided into two layers, the more important layer must be the Su family, while Nanting Village was perhaps just some decoration. Her father had passed away, and her sadness wasn't fake, but this sadness didn't belong to the more important layer. It was as if she'd heard a touching or amusing story while busy with important matters, then hurried off again.

This was why Ning Yi said it was unfair to her. However, many people of this era, including Xiao Chan, would probably think it natural. Only he could understand how precious it was when someone could think of you wholeheartedly.

One day, if Xiao Chan grew up, grew old, felt life wasn't good, she might think of phrases like "returning to one's roots," might wonder what it would have been like to stay with those family members. But as far as Ning Yi was concerned, he didn't plan to give her such an opportunity now. The phrase "for a lifetime" would just be floating clouds many years later, but right now, it was relatively achievable.

Then, the fourth day of the funeral...

The mourning hall with its chanting, daily vigil keeping, and simple social obligations was actually quite tedious. Since he'd prepared gift lists, during the day Ning Yi went with Guard Geng and Dongzhu to visit the neighbors, going from house to house giving gifts, thanking them for taking care of Xiao Chan's family, then chatting a bit. He was friendly and polite, but still kept a certain distance. After the visits, there was basically nothing but praise. Ning Yi figured he could probably charm any of the village girls if he tried, which made him feel a little wistful.

"...Sister-in-law told Brother today that the gifts we sent to Aunt Mu's family were too valuable. She told Brother it wasn't necessary to send such nice gifts, that if we could take some back to supplement the household it would be best... But she didn't feel comfortable telling me directly. Brother cares about face and was somewhat hesitant, so I pretended not to understand..."

At night, still sharing a room with Xiao Chan, she lay on the bed, swinging her bare calves and delicate feet while telling him about the day's events.

Everyone in the village thought Xiao Chan and Ning Yi already had a relationship, and Ning Yi didn't plan to clarify anything. But they just slept, nothing more. As for discomfort and such, he could only endure it and wash up alone in the room. Talking together felt quite nice. At night, Ning Yi divided the bed.

"You sleep inside, I sleep outside." Then he rolled the blanket into a long rope and laid it in the middle. "Let me tell you a story."

"Mm." Xiao Chan scooted her spot further inside.

"Deep in the mountains, a girl's home received a visitor one day—a boy who looked refined and gentlemanly. It rained that day, and he asked to stay overnight. Since the girl's family only had one bed, in the spirit of helping those in need, they decided to share. After all, a gentleman is upright and honest, and he seemed quite proper. They put a rope in the middle, and the girl said if the rope was disturbed by morning, he was a beast, not a gentleman at all. The girl was very beautiful, so that night, the gentlemanly boy endured and endured and endured. The next morning, haha, the rope indeed hadn't moved. He raised his head proudly, and the girl slapped him across the face..."

"That boy was really cunning. He must have messed it up at night then fixed it again."

"No, the girl cursed him: 'You're worse than a beast!'"

Ning Yi shrugged, and Xiao Chan laughed over there.

The next morning when he woke up, Xiao Chan was attached to his back like an octopus. When Ning Yi turned to the side, he felt he might have squashed the girl flat. But Xiao Chan moved and moved and moved like cotton candy, squeezing out from behind him, then groggily climbing onto his chest to continue sleeping.

The blanket had long since disappeared.

On the afternoon of the fifth day, the people who needed visiting had basically all been visited. Next was just enduring two more days, waiting for the burial at the chen hour²the day after tomorrow. It was also this afternoon in Jiangning City, by the riverbank with its green willows, that Nie Yunzhu, returning from her shop, looked at an old man with a chess stall not far away and paused briefly. They'd exchanged greetings several times before and were considered acquaintances. This time, the old man looked up with a smile and beckoned to her.

She bowed respectfully, then smoothed what might have been slightly messy hair and jogged over to the chess stall, standing there smiling as she spoke with the old man.

The old man also stood up smiling. After a few exchanges, he gestured to the opposite side. Then he asked the tea stall girl nearby for a pot of tea. After they both sat down, under the willow shade, they chatted about a man named Ning Liheng who was currently in a remote mountain area. It was a good topic, and the potential father and daughter truly became acquainted.

The chess piece fell for the first time...

At this very moment, Ning Yi stood outside the kitchen of the large house filled with messy smells, sniffing the fishy odor wafting from those big pots of dishes and feeling his teeth ache. This was the best dish for everyone tonight because it had meat. But honestly, it really didn't suit his taste...

He could endure hardship and eat such things while maintaining pleasant conversation without changing expression, but that didn't mean he actually liked eating it. At this moment, after sniffing the smell, he nodded with a smile and turned to leave. Someone approaching thought he was very satisfied with the aroma.

"He's the best cook in our village..."

"Hehehehe..."

Sigh, two more days...

(End of Chapter)