Chapter 39: He Is No Innocent Little Soul

Fortunately, Lianshui Village was not very large. After wandering around for most of the way, the two of them spotted Xie Yanzhi’s back beside a small thatched hut at the foot of the mountain.

He was bent over with his head inside the doorway, seemingly talking to someone within.

The two stopped some distance away and did not approach any closer.

When Xie Yanzhi turned around, he was still wearing a sweet, obedient smile. But the moment he saw them, his usual arrogant expression returned.

“You two wouldn’t happen to be looking for me, would you?”

He had only just curled his lips when Xie Changzhi interrupted him.

“Little Brother is imagining things. After dinner, Cheng Yuan and I came out for a stroll and happened to catch some fish. So you were outside? Don’t tell me you threw another childish tantrum at Father. Cheng Yuan, look at him. He runs away from home at the slightest provocation and makes Father worry terribly.”

The corners of Xie Yanzhi’s mouth immediately pulled downward, tight as a dog’s after someone had stepped on its tail.

“Who ran away from home? I merely came out for some fresh air and happened to run into Brother Fan, so I went to sit at his house for a while. Which of your eyes saw me run away from home?”

“Oh, then I must have been mistaken. Little Brother, carry on getting some fresh air. Cheng Yuan and I are going home to prepare the fish. Since you did not run away from home, remember to return by yourself later.”

Xie Changzhi’s warm, broad palm covered Cheng Yuan’s hand and tightened around it. She gave a slight nod as well.

As they turned to leave, Cheng Yuan could not forget the bewildered, furious, and helpless expression on Xie Yanzhi’s face. At last, she could not hold back and burst out laughing.

“Xie Changzhi, you’re quite the actor.”

“I really thought you were a man of few words. Turns out you’re even better at irritating people than I am.”

Xie Changzhi, however, wore an honest and innocent expression.

“It is because Sister Yuan taught me well. Changzhi simply does not know how to speak properly. Otherwise, how could Little Brother have been so arrogant all these years? As for how to anger people—for instance, dealing with Old Madam Jiang—I still have much to learn from Sister Yuan.”

Cheng Yuan froze. When she caught the amusement in his eyes, she realized he was teasing her about the day she had imitated the old madam sitting on the ground. She immediately jabbed him hard in the ribs with her elbow, then stalked two long steps ahead in exasperation.

“You really are outrageously bold! You’re taking advantage of being favored!”

The girl pouted and looked back. Tiny snowflakes settled in her hair, making her look like a spirit of the mountains.

The tension between Xie Changzhi’s brows eased, and with a few long strides he caught up to her.

“It is my fault. I should not have laughed at you. Cheng Yuan is very formidable; Changzhi admits his inferiority.”

He instinctively raised a hand to brush the snow from her hair. His cool fingertips inadvertently grazed her cheeks, reddened by the cold.

The expression on Cheng Yuan’s face stiffened. She hurriedly stepped back twice and looked away.

Xie Changzhi also withdrew his hand as if he had been shocked by electricity.

“Sorry. I only saw snow in your hair…”

“Hey! Are the two of you planning to stand there and let yourselves get buried in snow?”

Xie Yanzhi’s high-pitched voice rang out, self-righteous and tinged with the air of someone bestowing a favor. He was breathing slightly hard, as though he had just run part of the way.

Xie Changzhi cast him a glance with his dark eyes.

“Finished getting your fresh air?”

“So what if I have? What kind of attitude is that? Xie Changzhi…”

“What? Are you going to tell Father again? Don’t go running to him only to get slapped.”

Xie Changzhi’s sarcastic reply left Xie Yanzhi speechless. He stared at him with widened eyes, as though he were seeing him for the first time.

“If you want to come home with us, then mind your attitude. Otherwise, Cheng Yuan may well throw Little Brother out of the house for my sake.”

Xie Changzhi bent slightly and stood beside Cheng Yuan. Though he was tall and powerfully built, he looked almost like a little bird leaning against its companion.

Cheng Yuan glanced back at him. Nothing showed on her face, but inwardly she was grinding her teeth.

She, Cheng Yuan, had truly been defeated.

“All right, stop arguing. Yanzhi, listen to your brother.”

The three of them walked home in silence. Xie Changzhi kept pace beside Cheng Yuan, following her every step, his gaze practically glued to her.

Sister Yuan, you found me out.

I have never been some honest, pitiful little weakling. How could a truly pitiful person have survived so miserably in a wealthy household until now?

From beginning to end, he had been a selfish hypocrite.

When they returned to the courtyard, Cheng Zhi was sitting anxiously beneath the eaves. Upon seeing Xie Yanzhi behind the other two, she visibly relaxed.

To the right, Xie Tingjun was sternly making the children practice their characters. They were currently writing the character for filial piety.

Every so often, Xie Tingjun glanced toward the courtyard gate. When he saw Xie Yanzhi enter, he let out a cold snort.

“Among all the virtues of man, none is greater than filial piety.”

Xie Yanzhi did not even look at him. Keeping his eyes straight ahead, he entered the house and shut the door decisively.

Against the vast whiteness of the snow, Xie Tingjun’s face looked especially dark.

“Teacher Xie, are you all right? I’ve finished writing.”

A young child asked timidly. Only then did Xie Tingjun’s expression soften. He bent down and walked over.

After setting down the yellow croaker, Xie Changzhi picked up a hoe and hurried toward the fields, deliberately avoiding any chance to be alone with Cheng Yuan.

Cheng Yuan watched his retreating figure. Snow had dampened his shoulders, and several holes the size of a little finger had appeared in his padded jacket, exposing the white cotton stuffing.

As she pondered, Cheng Zhi had already come over.

“Yuan’er, just as you instructed, I went to two households and bought their eggs and flour at the original price. But fruit is a luxury, and there was none to be found in the village. I put the other two things in the kitchen. However, they asked me whether you were planning to make some sort of food.”

The Cheng family was now run by Cheng Yuan. Naturally, the villagers knew that Cheng Zhi’s purchase of ingredients reflected Cheng Yuan’s wishes. With little to do on a snowy day, the villagers could discuss a single topic for ages—especially since Cheng Yuan had bought so many eggs.

“It’s fine. Just brush them off for now.” Cheng Yuan had never intended to hide it forever. If the cake business expanded and demand exceeded supply, she could not keep exploiting the two brothers indefinitely. Once she had to whip cream alone, she would need to hire many more hands. Rather than travel far to buy people at the slave market, it would be better to select a few villagers with good dispositions.

But that was getting ahead of herself. Whether she could successfully establish a reputation among the upper classes remained uncertain.

Great things were accomplished in secrecy. It was best to keep it under wraps for now.

“All right. Yuan’er has grown up. Mother will listen to you.”

Looking at Cheng Yuan’s calm and composed face, Cheng Zhi’s eyes unconsciously filled with tears again.

Afraid her daughter would see and tease her for being such a crybaby, Cheng Zhi quickly blinked and changed the subject.

“If oranges can’t be found, are you planning to put the chestnuts into that—that cake of yours?”

—

Xie Changzhi raised his hoe high and dug into a large section of earth. A stone the size of a child’s head came rolling out.

He kicked it, sending it straight into the heap of stones piled nearby like a small hill.

His face was dark, and he said nothing. The other three sensed that something was wrong with the atmosphere and stopped chatting as well. They all worked with every ounce of strength they had, afraid that any slackening would lead to a complaint behind their backs and cost them this good job, which paid ten copper coins a day.

But Xie Changzhi had no attention to spare for anyone else. Gritting his teeth, he brought the hoe down again and again, as though he were not striking the soil but his own shattered heart.

“Good day, Miss Cheng Yuan.”

“Miss Cheng, are you…”

“You’ve all worked hard. You’ve done an excellent job. The winter cold is severe, so have some ginger tea and rest for a while.”

Xie Changzhi raised his head slightly. Beneath the winter sun shining from behind her, Cheng Yuan stood smiling as steam rose from the cups of tea poured from the pot in her hands.

The young men all flushed.

“How could we accept that? We already ate at your house at noon. This, this…”

When it was his turn, she smiled at him.