Fierce Consort

Chapter 36

At the Ningxiang Chambers.

Yan Yan didn't appear any different from normal. She walked around the garden with Yan Mo for half an hour before the two returned to the house.

Yan Mo first drank a bowl of hot concentrated ginger soup sweetened with brown sugar. After he started sweating, he was carried by Matron Dong into a large tub of light brown bathwater to soak. After soaking for Lady Hui's allotted time of half an hour, the water was changed to clear bathwater and he was cleaned up. He was changed into a set of soft innerwear and placed into a soft bed.

At this point, Yan Mo was already extremely tired. He fell deeply asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.

Yan Yan came to check up on Yan Mo and ordered the maids to pay closer attention during the night before returning to her own room.

She felt a little uneasy. In the past she would have finished bathing and started meditating on her bed at this hour. However, she wasn't currently in the mood. Lady Hui had said that one shouldn't train if the mind was elsewhere. Otherwise it's easy to take a wrong turn.

She paced around in her room for a few steps before saying she was going to the rear little courtyard.
Seeing this, Mei Xiang and the other maids didn't dare follow.

The third miss didn't allow the maids to be by her side while she was training. Yan Yan was protective and kind towards her servants, and didn't put on airs. However, she had always been extremely opinionated, and had an imposing aura even if she wasn't angry. Although she wasn't that old, the maids around her all felt a sense of reverence towards her.

There was a small square stone table in the courtyard, with four stone benches on every side. Yan Yan wasn't training martial arts as the maids had guessed. She merely sat on the stone bench while spinning an Emei piercer rapidly in her hand. Her expression was a little anxious.

Lady Hui appeared by her side. She lived in the only wing within this little courtyard. She had sensed it the moment Yan Yan entered. Coming out of her door, she saw the third miss's pensive expression. Yan Yan hadn't even noticed her approach.

Lady Hui took a seat at the table and said softly: "Is there something on miss's mind?"

Yan Yan glanced at her and nodded.
"Is it about the madam?"

Lady Hui wasn't a fool. Although she didn't have much of a presence at the Ningxiang Chambers and rarely appeared in front of others, she knew everything that goes on in this pavilion. Sometimes it wasn't a good thing to have sharp ears. Hearing too much would make one think too much and start worrying.

Ignorance is bliss. This saying wasn't wrong.

"My dad has returned. My mom, she...."

Lady Hui smiled. "Miss is a little at a loss?"
Yan Yan froze and slowly nodded.

"It's normal for miss to feel this way. Since you are at a loss, then don't do anything and silently observe. Miss is still young at the moment. Let grownups worry about grownup affairs."

"But--" Yan Yan also didn't know what she should say, just like her complicated emotions.

Lady Hui raised her eyebrows and smiled. She gazed at the half-moon in the sky and said lightly: "Actually, Lady Hui wasn't used to things when she first came to miss's side. I'm part of the martial world, and experienced a lifetime of bloodshed for the sake of earning a living. Coming to a wealthy household and seeing this place full of extravagance and extreme wealth, without any worries, was unimaginable."

Yan Yan listened silently.
"At first it felt weird. The gap between people's lives is truly too vast. But after some time, I realized everywhere has its troubles. How can paradise truly exist in this world?! The people here conduct themselves far too differently from my previous circle. In the past, we would take drastic actions without saying a single word. The clean blade goes in and comes out bloodied. Debts of gratitude and vengeance are swiftly settled. Here, a single phrase can have dozens of twists. Every word is filled with hidden purpose."