Chapter 20
Seeing Gu Wan’s shocked expression, Lanxi chuckled and said, “Young General, this subordinate told you, women and women can also be together. And this subordinate firmly believes Miss Li is exactly that kind of person.”
How should one put it? In this regard, Lanxi could be considered the most knowledgeable person by Gu Wan’s side.
Moreover, from Lanxi’s interactions with Shang Rongyue during this period, Li Yueyue could always break apart the original couple in the storybook, then match the already dazzling female lead with another girl who devoted herself wholeheartedly to her.
Did that not explain the problem?
That was why Lanxi had said last time that Li Yueyue had stayed in their “bandit den” because she was after someone. And that person was among the four of them.
Lanxi and Ziying could most likely be ruled out, so the only suspects left were Su Zhaoyun and the Young General.
As for which of the two it was, Lanxi could not say for certain.
Although, based on The Record of Mulan, the prototypes of the two characters were very much like the Young General and Miss Li. But before this, Miss Li had also once paired a medical woman with an injured orphan girl.
Of course, Gu Wan did not know about that part.
She stood there in shock. By the time she came back to herself, the ink stain that had fallen onto the Snow Wave paper had already dried. The originally smooth sheet had become wrinkled around the ink mark.
Just like the surging waves in her heart.
That night, rarely, Gu Wan knocked on Shang Rongyue’s door.
Shang Rongyue answered. When she opened the door and saw Gu Wan, the smile originally hanging on her face stiffened for a moment, then slowly sank.
She turned around with her back to Gu Wan, but she did not close the door either.
Just like that, one stood inside the doorway and the other outside. The two were separated by a single door panel, as though it were a boundary line clearly dividing them.
In the end, Shang Rongyue spoke first. After all, she understood the principle of flying a kite. She still wanted to continue living in this camp, so if she kept leaving Shen Sanniang hanging, and the other party ended up throwing her out, the loss would outweigh the gain.
Besides, Shen Sanniang would not casually ask her to do needlework anymore, so this round was not a loss.
“It’s almost dark. What does the chief need?” Shang Rongyue’s tone was cold, and she still pretended to look as though her anger had not faded.
“I didn’t sleep well some time ago, and recently my eyes always hurt. I really can’t do any needlework or weaving. If the chief came for that, please go back.”
Thinking of how the other woman had not slept well while she was away, Gu Wan’s heart softened a little more, and her attitude became gentler.
“Today is the Grain in Ear Festival. There will be a night market in Furong City.”
Shang Rongyue slowly turned back.
Oh-ho! Was she going to take her out to play?
But very quickly, she turned her face away again. “The chief won’t take the opportunity to swindle me out of more money, right? The silver on Yueyue has already been almost completely scraped away by the chief. It isn’t even enough to buy candy.”
The implication was: I have no money. Going to the night market would be meaningless. I might as well sleep properly in my room.
In truth, Shang Rongyue really wanted to go out and play. But that was Furong City, the Zheng family’s territory, the place her stepmother had wanted to send her to back then.
Although the Zheng family might already have been dealt with by the female supporting character who loved the male lead, just thinking of the words Furong City still made Shang Rongyue feel blocked inside.
Unless…
“How about I buy them for you?” Gu Wan said in a low voice. “Tonight’s candy is on me.”
Mom! Look how far I’ve come! I can actually make a bandit spend money on me!
Shang Rongyue’s heart leapt with joy, but on the surface, she still maintained a calm expression. She glanced back faintly and asked doubtfully, “What idea is the chief plotting against Yueyue this time? You’re not planning to sell Yueyue off while you have the chance, are you? My mother taught me that anyone who gives you a piece of candy and wants to take you away is not a good person!”
Gu Wan had not expected this little girl to be so difficult to coax, so she said in a low voice, “In a few days, it will be Su Zhaoyun’s birthday. I want you to help me choose a birthday gift for her.”
A birthday gift. This reason sounded much more genuine. Thinking about it, someone like Shen Sanniang, who waved blades and swords every day, was probably best at choosing weapons.
On the way down the mountain, Lanxi drove the carriage. Inside the carriage, Gu Wan and Shang Rongyue sat opposite each other.
Several times, Gu Wan wanted to start a conversation, but every time, Shang Rongyue interrupted by lifting the brocade curtain and looking out the window.
Gu Wan finally could not endure it anymore. “Stop looking. We haven’t entered Furong City yet. You can’t see anything.”
The night was thick. They were traveling through the mountain forest, and outside, there was not even a single lamp. All one could see was darkness. This was also why Gu Wan had not chosen to blindfold Shang Rongyue when bringing her out.
If it had been daytime, in order to prevent her from remembering the location of the camp, Gu Wan definitely would have made thorough preparations.
Of course, at this moment, Gu Wan could naturally also see that Li Yueyue was deliberately avoiding her. Even when she turned back around, she deliberately looked away, not daring to meet Gu Wan’s eyes.
But that did not matter. Gu Wan thought that young girls, pampered in deep inner chambers, naturally had some little tempers. Regarding that so-called “longevity cord,” Gu Wan had guessed at her intentions in such a way. It was only natural that she would be unhappy.
Thinking of this, Gu Wan’s gaze softened a little as she said, “Where do you want to go later?”
When giving a gift, naturally one should cater to the recipient’s taste. If it were an ordinary young girl, Shang Rongyue would probably go to a jewelry shop and choose a piece of jewelry for her, or perhaps have a set of clothes made.
But she thought Su Zhaoyun probably would not like those things. Su Zhaoyun’s hair ornaments were very simple. She braided her hair, then used a hair ribbon to coil it up at the back of her head, likely for convenience when moving around.
Every day, she read medical books and fiddled with her medicinal herbs. Other than that, Shang Rongyue had not seen her have any particular hobbies.
Shang Rongyue suddenly thought of something, and her eyes lit up. “Where do people here go to buy knives?”
When they came out of the blacksmith’s shop, Shang Rongyue felt relaxed, as though she had solved a major matter.
Outside, the night market was brightly lit. On both sides of the street, vendors’ calls rose one after another, and the street was crowded with people.
It was very lively.
She took a deep breath, feeling this long-missed atmosphere of ordinary life.
Ever since arriving in this world, she had been confined to her little courtyard and had not experienced such a lively scene in a long time.
There were many street performances on the road. Crowds surrounded them, and bursts of cheers and applause rang out from time to time.
Shang Rongyue found it fresh and also squeezed over.
She found a gap and slipped into the front row. A person wearing an oil-painted mask was performing fire-breathing.
Applause rose again from the surrounding crowd, and Shang Rongyue excitedly jumped along with them. “Wow, amazing!”
This was Shang Rongyue’s first time experiencing this kind of live street performance. Her eyes shone brightly as she watched the performer with great interest.
Seeing her running around, Gu Wan did not stop her. She only silently followed beside her.
Shang Rongyue was watching happily, even jumping up to clap when she grew excited. At this moment, she did not forget to turn her face toward Gu Wan and ask with a smile, “Does Sanniang think it’s good?”
Once her mood improved, even the way she addressed her changed along with it.
Gu Wan pressed her lips together and did not answer. But when she looked toward the performer, the performer also approached their side.
His originally empty hand was covered by red silk, and after it passed, a small flower appeared in his hand.
After the performer handed the flower to Shang Rongyue, the child holding the gong tray immediately came closer.
Gu Wan placed a silver ingot onto it, and the child immediately thanked her repeatedly for the reward.
Shang Rongyue froze.
That silver ingot looked rather large. Before this, the tray had only held small pieces of broken silver the size of fingernails and scattered copper coins. Shen Sanniang was this generous?
Why had she never treated Shang Rongyue like this? Instead, she had repeatedly scraped away every valuable thing on her body!
Was Shang Rongyue not prettier than that oil-painted mask? Although she could not breathe fire or make flowers appear from thin air, she could teach her to read and write!
Knowledge was priceless!
For a moment, Shang Rongyue’s gaze became faintly resentful. Faced with the trick before her, she suddenly lost interest and turned to look elsewhere.
The vendor selling candy up ahead was calling out the loudest. After the stimulating scene just now, Shang Rongyue decided to slaughter this bandit for once.
She turned around and looked at Shen Sanniang behind her, her eyes signaling: You promised to treat me to candy.
Gu Wan lifted her eyes and looked at the dazzling variety of candies on the stall. Understanding the other woman’s meaning, she led her forward.
The vendor warmly greeted them. “All the candies here are made fresh every day. Young ladies, have a taste first. If you like them, then buy them. If they aren’t good, no need to pay!”
Shang Rongyue was not polite either. She tasted one of each kind. Then she looked at Gu Wan beside her.
“The boss really wasn’t lying. Every kind is delicious!”
Gu Wan sighed. “Then give us one packet of each.”
“Wait!” Shang Rongyue added, “Two packets of milk candy and plum candy!”
“Got it!” The vendor made a large sale and smiled broadly. He thought that if every customer tonight were this generous, he could close up early and go home.
Shang Rongyue stuffed all the candy into Gu Wan’s hands, only keeping one bag of milk candy in her own arms as she walked and ate.
The rich milk fragrance overflowed, carrying full sweetness. Even after eating half the bag in one go, she did not feel tired of it.
But on the way back, Shang Rongyue kept scratching the skin on her arm from time to time. Gu Wan noticed something was wrong and pulled over her wrist. When she lifted the sleeve, she saw a patch of red rash.
After Su Zhaoyun examined her, she sighed. “Miss Li seems to have eaten something she shouldn’t have.”
Something she shouldn’t have eaten…
After inspecting those candies, Su Zhaoyun picked up the now-empty bag of milk candy.
“Miss Li developed the rash because of this.”
Su Zhaoyun wrote a prescription, then instructed Shang Rongyue, “Miss Li’s diet should remain light for the next few days. Once the rash fades, you no longer need to avoid foods.”
After saying this, she went to prepare the medicine.
Gu Wan sat by the bed and looked at Shang Rongyue’s hand, which was hidden under the blanket and still scratching her skin from time to time. She frowned and said, “You’re already this old, yet you still greedily eat milk when you can’t tolerate it!”
Shang Rongyue lowered her head. How could she have known the original owner was allergic? Fortunately, the rash was only on her body, with not much on her face or neck.
But seeing how uncomfortable Shang Rongyue was, Gu Wan did not say much more. Instead, she went out and brought in a basin of water.
Su Zhaoyun had said that if the red rash was unbearably itchy, clean water could be used to gently wipe it.
Gu Wan took Shang Rongyue’s wrist and pushed her sleeve upward. On her originally lustrous skin, several glaring scratch marks stood out, enough to show how unbearable the rash was.
The words Gu Wan had been about to say were ultimately swallowed back. She only silently moistened the other woman’s skin bit by bit.
Sure enough, just as Su Zhaoyun had said, the itchiness faded greatly wherever she wiped.
But when the cotton handkerchief touched the scratch marks, Shang Rongyue’s body suddenly trembled.
Gu Wan lifted her eyes. Rarely, her tone carried a trace of gentleness as she asked, “Did I hurt you?”
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