Chapter 3: Thoughts

The pastry seemed to have been left overnight, and was very dry. Wen Ru stuffed it into her mouth and chewed hard, almost choking herself, but even with her eyes reddening at the corners, she didn’t dare to cough out loud.

She only stared in shock at Fu Jizhou standing there, with tears large and small falling one after another. She was truly frightened, her heart in such a panic that she didn’t know what to do.

What kind of world was this matriarchal society after all? Could it be that here, boys were the ones made of water?

“I…”

As soon as Wen Ru spoke, Fu Jizhou’s sobbing became even more apparent. He was small and thin, lowering his head and hugging his dirty veil hat, looking utterly pitiful.

Having escaped from home, trembling all the way, he had finally reached Weiking City, only to encounter the cold gaze of the Wen family head and Wen Ru’s teasing. Fu Jizhou’s pent-up grievances, once he started crying, couldn’t be stopped.

The more he cried, the more aggrieved he felt, and the more aggrieved he felt, the more he cried. He cried until his head was in a daze, standing there stupidly with his head lowered, letting the tears fall one by one.

Heavens, Wen Ru had never seen such a scene before. Instinctively, she stepped forward and embraced him like a child, raising her hand to gently pat his back, comforting him in a soft voice.

“Please don’t cry anymore, I was wrong, okay? How about you hit me instead? Or punish me by not letting me eat, and give all the food to you?”

“I didn’t know you didn’t like this. I’ve been so careless for so many years, I habitually forgot that things are different here. Don’t be angry, I’ll be more careful in the future.”

Wen Ru spoke anxiously without thinking, but fortunately, Fu Jizhou was crying dazedly in the crook of her neck and didn’t notice anything inappropriate in her words. He only felt that Wen Ru was trying hard to comfort him, which further confirmed in his heart that all of this was Wen Ru’s fault, and she deserved to be humble.

After a while, Fu Jizhou grew tired from crying, and his confused thoughts gradually calmed down. It was then that Fu Jizhou realized they were embracing in the front hall in broad daylight. Immediately, his sobs stopped, and his entire body stiffened.

His body was covered in rain and mud, cold as if it was seeping into his bones, but Wen Ru held him in her arms without minding, and the temperature between their close bodies was hot enough to make one’s ears burn.

Fu Jizhou realized that he might have embarrassed himself a bit. Usually, he wasn’t the type to cry easily, and he disdained using weakness to gain sympathy. It was just that, as soon as he entered the Wen family’s door, both the mother and daughter had given him unfriendly looks, causing him to lose his composure a bit.

But, if he said that now, would they believe him?

“Your… your clothes are dirty,” Fu Jizhou retreated from Wen Ru’s embrace and mumbled, as he spoke, the tiny teardrops hanging on his long eyelashes trembled along.

Hearing this, Wen Ru looked down at her own clothes. The once fine clothes were now soaked in a large patch, and the mud that had been wet by the rain was smeared all over. Now she was just as dirty as the crybaby in front of her. Wen Ru turned her face to look at him helplessly, seeing that he had stopped crying and was secretly glancing at her with red-rimmed eyes, she couldn’t help but find it amusing.

She rarely interacted with the opposite sex in her daily life, preferring the free and easy single life. But whenever she watched some lovey-dovey TV dramas, novels, or short stories, she couldn’t help but post status updates saying, “Bring on a man, let this big sister shed a few tears of love in a man’s broad shoulders.”

Who would have thought that after inexplicably transmigrating into this matriarchal novel, it would be the man shedding tears, and her providing the shoulders?

What kind of situation was this?

“Oh, my ancestors!”

Hua Ting lifted the bead curtain from the back courtyard and entered the front hall. At a glance, he saw the eldest young master of the Fu family cornered at the front hall entrance by his own young miss, pitifully hanging tears, while his young miss’s body was covered in rain and mud that had rubbed off on her. It was clear that she had just overstepped her bounds. His temple twitched involuntarily, and he quickly threw the clean clothes in his hand into the arms of the servant behind him, hurriedly stepping forward to pull Wen Ru to a corner.

“Young Miss, where are the rules you’ve learned all these years?” Hua Ting’s face sank as he scolded, his eyes full of reproach.

Wen Ru’s mind went blank for a moment as he pulled her, trying to explain: “I didn’t…”

“Nonsense!” Hua Ting didn’t let her finish, reaching out to take a clean handkerchief from the servant, wiping her damp collar. After a couple of wipes, he left Wen Ru hanging and turned to smile, instructing the servants to arrange for Fu Jizhou to be taken to Qingwu Courtyard and to take good care of him, lest he catch a cold.

A servant immediately stepped forward, draping a brown-black cloak over Fu Jizhou, saying, “Young Master Fu, please follow this servant.”

Author: Excellent online reading website Meiwu Novel Network (meiwuxs.com)

Fu Jizhou gave an “Mm” and followed with his head lowered. After a few steps, he couldn’t help but turn back to look at Wen Ru. But his view was completely blocked by Hua Ting.

Hua Ting met his gaze, his eyes carrying a polite smile: “The young miss is young and lacks discretion in her actions. Young Master Fu, please don’t take it to heart. Later, I will bring the young miss to apologize to you. Please take care of yourself, the autumn chill is heavy, change out of your wet clothes quickly to avoid catching a cold.”

With Hua Ting speaking to this extent, Fu Jizhou could only purse his lips and turn to follow the servants.

Actually, he hadn’t planned on complaining about anything. Although Wen Ru’s behavior had been a bit improper, he could feel that Wen Ru didn’t have any bad intentions. Now that he understood, he didn’t want to make a fuss about it.

As soon as Fu Jizhou’s figure disappeared into the corridor, Hua Ting hurriedly crouched down, carefully examining Wen Ru’s clothes. Looking at the wet front, his brows furrowed even more: “Young Miss is being reckless. The autumn dew is heavy, getting soaked by rain will harm your constitution. Quickly follow Hua Ting back to change out of these wet clothes.” As he spoke, he reached out, intending to pick Wen Ru up.

Wen Ru quickly stepped back half a step, explaining: “It’s not that serious, only the outer layer is wet, it’s fine.”

Hua Ting shook his head, his gaze clearly disapproving.

Wen Ru ignored this, walking around him towards the back courtyard, muttering and bargaining as she went: “Hua Ting, I’ve grown up already, there’s no need for all this carrying around. It makes me lose face.”

Hua Ting took large strides, walking in front of Wen Ru, lifting the bead curtain for her first: “Yes, Hua Ting forgot, the young miss has grown up, and her thoughts have become especially numerous.”

He emphasized the words “thoughts”, full of implications.

Wen Ru actually understood, her ears reddening slightly, her footsteps quickening: “I don’t have those thoughts, don’t talk nonsense.” What thoughts could she possibly have about a little crybaby weakling?

“Whatever the young miss says, Hua Ting believes it all.” No matter how fast Wen Ru walked, Hua Ting could keep up leisurely with his long legs. “The young miss is only thirteen this year, still seven springs and autumns away from coming of age. You mustn’t entertain too many wayward thoughts. Young Master Fu is now temporarily residing in Qingwu Courtyard, only a few steps away from our courtyard. The young miss should minimize her wanderings. Although the engagement has been set, men and women should still maintain proper distance.”

Wen Ru wore a cold expression, feeling as if she was being portrayed as some impatient, lecherous scoundrel. However, hearing that women came of age at twenty surprised her quite a bit.

Hua Ting pursued Wen Ru all the way, advising her, and Wen Ru couldn’t escape. When she finally entered her own courtyard, she closed the door and went in alone to find clean clothes to change into.

Hua Ting waited helplessly outside, continuing to say: “Young Miss, don’t think Hua Ting is nagging. A woman’s constitution is inherently more precious. Getting involved in worldly affairs too early is not beneficial in the long run. It’s good that you like Young Master Fu, but you must not overstep boundaries too early…”

The door suddenly burst open. Wen Ru, who had changed her clothes, frowned her delicate brows, her face with baby fat looking cold enough to freeze: “Hua Ting, I really didn’t do anything to Fu Jizhou. I saw him crying badly, so I just went to comfort him a bit. I didn’t have any thoughts. If you keep talking nonsense, I’m going to get angry.”

The cold aura around Wen Ru suddenly spread, frightening Hua Ting into immediate silence. However, some doubts arose in his heart.

He thought, the young miss had been raised by his side since childhood and usually understood etiquette best. How could she act so recklessly today? It must all be Young Master Fu’s doing. The death of Fu family’s primary husband was so sudden, he probably didn’t have time to arrange trusted people around him. What should have been taught and learned must have been missed. If only Young Master Fu could stay at the Wen family for a while, then he would have the opportunity to find a male tutor to give him some supplementary lessons.

Wen Ru didn’t know that he had developed some criticism towards Fu Jizhou in his heart. She only instructed: “For Fu Jizhou, send over some easily digestible meals and pastries.” Fearing that Hua Ting would latch onto this, she added, “To avoid people saying the Wen family is not hospitable to guests.”

Hua Ting’s words, which had almost reached his throat, were forcefully swallowed back. He bowed and agreed, but didn’t go himself. Instead, he casually called over a passing servant and gave the instructions.

Wen Ru didn’t mind. Hua Ting was clearly the closest person to Wen Jinyi, his status probably equivalent to what she thought of as a “wet nurse” role. He wouldn’t easily leave her side.

“Young Miss, shall we go to Lan Hall for a meal?” Hua Ting carefully approached, smiling and asking.

“Mm.” Wen Ru returned a smile, finally turning the page on this matter.

*

Fu Jizhou had just finished washing up and was sitting at a table in the main room of Qingwu Courtyard, watching two servants bustling in and out, tidying things up.

He had changed into a water-blue robe, his long hair cleaned of dust and dirt, only half-dried and neatly draped over one shoulder. Although he was just a half-grown boy, from a distance he looked particularly calm and serene, the kind of male temperament popular these days. The two busy servants were young, and being stared at like this made them feel uneasy, their steps becoming much more chaotic.

“Young Master Fu.”

Fu Jizhou was lost in thought when a smiling voice called from outside. He turned his head to look.

A man who looked like a steward walked over with a smile, and behind him, seven or eight servants carefully carried jade-white porcelain bowls. Seeing this scene, the hunger that had been forgotten during the washing up returned.

Fu Jizhou hurriedly stood up, not knowing whether he should bow. By rights, he shouldn’t need to, but Fu Jizhou had never had that confidence since childhood, always feeling as if everyone was a head taller than him.

“Young Master Fu, please don’t stand. This servant doesn’t deserve such courtesy. This servant’s surname is Li. If you would give this servant some face, you can call me Steward Li. In the future, if you need anything regarding food, clothing, shelter, or transportation, just order this servant.” Steward Li’s smile was warm as he turned around, his face becoming much more serious as he instructed the servants behind him, “Be careful, these are all personally ordered by the young miss. If you spill or scatter anything, watch out for your hides.”

Watching them busy about, Fu Jizhou pressed his lips until they were almost white, sitting down reservedly, occupying only half a stool, his heart feeling as if it was suspended in mid-air.

After the servants carefully laid out the meal, Steward Li bowed and said: “The young miss thought that Young Master Fu had traveled a long way and endured many bumps, and might inevitably feel unwell due to the change in environment. So she ordered us to prepare some easily digestible meals. Please enjoy at your leisure, Young Master Fu.”

Hua Ting had only passed on Wen Ru’s words about “easily digestible meals and pastries,” but this cunning steward had added many flattering words, the smile in his eyes particularly soothing.

Fu Jizhou looked up at him, untied the jade pendant from his waist, and handed it over: “Thank you, Steward Li.”

Steward Li smiled as he accepted it: “Thank you for the reward, Young Master Fu. We will take our leave now.”

With that, he led the servants away, leaving only the two who had helped him wash up, standing with their backs to him at the door of the main room.

Fu Jizhou let out a long sigh, sitting weakly in the chair. Before him was a sumptuous meal, his stomach clamoring with hunger, but his appetite was slow to rise.