Chapter 019
Chapter 19: Hands On
Xiao Man stuffed the few old clothes she had brought into the very bottom of her new wardrobe. She took a breath while staring at those bright “work uniforms.”
From outside came Shi Tou’s voice, forced low but still lively: “Xiao Man, little sis? Xiao Man, you there?”
She opened the door and found Shi Tou on the step, holding an empty tray and wearing a mix of teasing and sympathy.
“What is it?” Xiao Man’s heart thumped. She had a bad feeling.
“Heh,” Shi Tou scratched his head, leaned closer, and lowered his voice even more: “My mom sent me to pass a message. First Madam just sent orders. The Eldest Grandson Young Master needs careful care these days. His mornings and nights, his tea and water, and the three daily bowls of medicine you must boil and serve…”
He paused and pressed the words, “All. Must. Be. Done. By. You. Personally. No one else may touch anything.”
Xiao Man’s vision went dark for a second. In her mind, the two “kind” faces of Old Madam and First Madam swayed side by side. Behind them, a “Chastity Defense Campaign” sign crashed down.
This was not serving someone. This was full, no-blind-spot bodyguarding plus feeding.
Seeing her look like she had lost all hope, Shi Tou patted her shoulder in sympathy, from a safe distance of air. “Tough break, Xiao Man! If you need help with heavy lifting or errands, just holler. Mom told me to look out for you.”
He stuck out his chest, a little proud: “I’m older than you, right? Just call me Brother Shi Tou.”
Xiao Man managed a smile uglier than a cry: “Th-thanks, Brother Shi Tou.” The word “brother” came out with no soul at all. In her head, only four big characters kept looping: do it yourself.
Before he could add more comfort, the carved window of the main room swung open from inside with a sudden creak.
Both of them froze and looked over.
Lin Qing Xuan stood behind the window. He was still in that plain white monk robe, straight as a pine. In the morning light, his face looked too pale. His thin lips were pressed together without color.
His eyes, deep as a cold pond, looked past Shi Tou and fixed hard on Xiao Man’s face.
How to put that look? It was not how you look at a new maid. It was more like… someone had been caught in the act. There was a shade of scrutiny, a trace of cold that was not easy to notice, and also… Xiao Man thought she must be seeing things, but she even caught a little hint of displeasure at being disturbed.
The air froze.
A chill shot up Shi Tou’s back. His scalp tingled. On reflex, he yanked back the hand he had left hanging, stepped away, and gave a deep bow toward the window: “Young Master, do you have any orders?”
Lin Qing Xuan kept his eyes on Xiao Man. That gaze weighed a thousand pounds. After a moment, he finally looked aside and gave Shi Tou a calm glance that still drenched him in ice water: “Nothing.”
His voice was clear and even. “Go do your work.”
“Yes, yes! I’ll take my leave!” Shi Tou fled with his empty tray, not daring to look at Xiao Man. Everything about his retreat said, This is not a place to linger.
The courtyard held only Xiao Man and Lin Qing Xuan, staring at each other across the window.
His gaze made her skin itch. The little voice in her head ranted: [What are you staring at? I didn’t do anything! Is talking to your page a crime now? Do you need to act like you just caught us in bed?!]
Just as she wondered if she should copy Shi Tou and run, Lin Qing Xuan spoke. He did not look at her again. His eyes shifted toward the desk inside. His tone stayed flat, but it held a command that left no room to refuse: “Come in. Grind the ink.”
Xiao Man blinked. [What?]
She could hardly believe her ears. Grind ink?
This Master. This Buddha’s Chosen. The one who prided himself on “a pure heart and few desires.” Didn’t he always do everything himself? Didn’t he insist on copying sutras by his own hand, afraid anyone else might stain his Buddha-fate? Didn’t he think even Granny Chen’s nearness was a cloud of foul air?
Why did he suddenly need someone to grind ink for him?
Her mind fired off lines like a storm: [The Buddha’s Chosen needs someone to grind his ink? Are your hands made of gold?]
[Is “do it yourself” only for me? For your page it’s “you may go,” but for me it’s “come in and grind ink”?]
[Grind ink? Isn’t that your precious page Shi Tou’s special job? Why me?]
[No no no! Is my Chastity Defense Campaign going to fall at the very first step… to ink grinding?!]
At the courtyard gate, Shi Tou, who had sneaked back to peek, almost dropped his jaw. His eyes went round, his mouth formed a silent O. The Young Master had asked Xiao Man to come in and grind ink?
Shock crashed through him: [Young Master always grinds his own ink! The ink stick is almost polished smooth from his hands!]
[Last time I brushed his inkstone by accident, his look nearly froze me into an ice statue!]
[And now he’s calling someone in to grind? And a maid, at that?]
[Could it be… he’s that badly hurt? Does he not even have strength to grind? But he doesn’t look like it…]
[Or is it…]
He dared not think further. It felt like the sky over Auspicious Cloud Residence was about to change. He ducked back, clutched his tray, and staggered off with a head full of questions and shock. [Maybe I saw it wrong.]
Xiao Man still stood stuck in place, fighting herself. Go in, or not? That was the question.
She looked at the white figure behind the window. The pressure made her scalp prickle. In the end, a newbie’s will to survive won out. She drew a deep breath, dropped her gaze, and, accepting her fate, shuffled toward the door that had opened for her again, straight onto the front line of her Chastity Defense Campaign.
[Amitabha, please let it be only ink grinding. Only ink grinding…]