Chapter 058
Chapter 58: Spring Hidden in the Mint Balm
Yao Xiao Man lay on the desk like she had no bones, the tip of her brush poking the rice paper again and again as a big cloud of ink spread across the fine sheet.
She muttered, voice pressed low: “Buddha’s Chosen sure has a lot of admirers.”
She wrinkled her mouth, looking full of dislike: “That blind date feast with Miss Qiu Ru Ying and those other Misses ended only a few days ago, and now some Cousin Zheng Xiu Yun drops in out of nowhere.”
With a huff, she added: “Women after Lin Qing Xuan could line up like Xiang Piao Piao circling the earth three times and reach Paris by now.”
From the inkstone, a slow puff of black mist rose and twisted into a tiny fog-shape with two curious eyes. It asked: “What is Xiang Piao Piao? Where is Paris?”
Xiao Man didn’t even lift her eyelids as she answered: “Another world, very far away. Anyway, it’s so far a little demon like you couldn’t get there even in a hundred years of training.”
A cold voice came from right behind her without warning, light yet icy enough to freeze someone solid: “Copy the sutra one hundred times.”
Xiao Man jolted so hard her hand shook, and a drop of dark ink flew from the brush and landed right on Lin Qing Xuan’s white sleeve. On pure white, the dot of black was shockingly bright.
She sprang up, almost knocking over the chair, cheeks blazing as she cried: “Eldest Grandson Young Master, I was wrong!”
Lin Qing Xuan didn’t even look at the stain. His eyes were all on Xiao Man’s blushing face. Seeing her panic, he only found it adorable.
He asked with calm coolness: “You let your thoughts run wild and speak without care. Should you be punished?”
At once Tuan Tuan, the little black mist, zipped back into the inkstone and slipped down the table leg like an invisible streak. It fled in a whispering panic: “Run, run! That fake-upright Buddha’s Chosen won’t take it out on me, right?”
Hearing she had to be punished, Xiao Man pulled a long face and sat to begin copying. But the more she wrote, the more her heart tangled. The brush would not listen. Her characters tilted and clawed like a bunch of earthworms holding a meeting on the page.
Lin Qing Xuan stood behind her in silence for a while. Then he moved. He leaned down a little, one hand bracing the desk edge, the other arm reaching past her shoulder, caging her between his body and the desk.
His long, steady fingers closed over her wrist that held the brush as he said near her ear, deep and smooth: “Keep the wrist level. Keep the force even.”
His warm breath brushed her hair and sent a tremor along her skin. Xiao Man went rigid, her fingers shaking on their own. [How am I supposed to copy like this!]
His palm was warm and dry, carrying a clean sandalwood scent, wrapping her hand without missing a spot. His fingertips slowly adjusted how she held the brush, and whenever his finger pads slid over the back of her hand, a sweet tingling itch followed.
Her heart pounded like a drum, numbing her chest. Her cheeks were hot enough to fry an egg. Her head buzzed. Wrist level and force even flew out of her mind. This only made her heart messier, not calmer. This wasn’t calligraphy teaching. This was handsome-guy charm skills.
Sensing the stiffness and tremble in the girl in his arms, Lin Qing Xuan lowered his voice even more, almost speaking against her ear: “Focus.” Yet at the corner of his cool lips, a tiny, secret, satisfied smile curved.
She was about to cry and could not hold it in. With a soft, watery plea, she said: “Eldest Grandson Young Master, like this, I can’t focus.”
His hand stilled. At last he let go and straightened slowly: “Then write on your own.” He stepped back and returned to his fresh, clear look.
Xiao Man let out a big breath, but for some reason, when the warmth left her wrist, her heart felt oddly empty.
Up on the beam, the black mist circled. Tuan Tuan watched the two of them and chuckled in a creepy little voice: “He says he’s punishing you, but his body is very honest.”
It drifted to Xiao Man’s ear, whispering in a coaxing tone: “See, he clearly likes you but pretends to be all proper. How fake.”
Xiao Man’s brush paused and her heart tightened, but she ignored it. Not willing to give up, Tuan Tuan floated to Lin Qing Xuan’s back and kept stirring trouble: “Dare you admit this little woman is very cute? If you held her and stroked her, you would forget all those rules and vows.”
It zipped between them, laughing non stop.
Lin Qing Xuan’s gaze turned cold. His fingers barely moved, and a thread of golden light no one else could see flashed like lightning into the mist.
Tuan Tuan screamed, burst into smoke, and fled in panic, spitting a hateful curse as it darted through the wall: “Cursed Buddha Bone Relic!”
That Heart Demon Tuan Tuan fled toward another room, where Zheng Xiu Yun hid alone. Her nails dug crescents deep into her palms until they bled, yet she felt no pain. Staring at her pretty face in the bronze mirror, hatred and malice burned in her eyes as she hissed: “Yao Xiao Man… a lowly maidservant, why her?”
Why did Lin Qing Xuan ignore her yet look at that little maid differently? If she could not seduce him, then she would ruin her, and ruin him too.
Just then, the fleeing Tuan Tuan sniffed the thick scent of spite rolling from Zheng Xiu Yun’s room. Its beady eyes lit up. It had found a lifeline. It thinned to a faint wisp and slipped through the door crack, hiding in her makeup box. That golden light had scorched its eyes and hurt its core. This woman’s grievance would make the best tonic. What fine nourishment.
Back in the study, Yao Xiao Man’s wrist ached from copying. She could not help complaining: “Eldest Grandson Young Master, can’t we have someone print the scriptures? There’s movable type printing outside now. The printed pages would look neater than my writing and save time and effort.”
Lin Qing Xuan took a calm sip of tea and answered lightly: “We can.”
Her eyes lit up, thinking she was saved. He went on in an even tone: “Printing Buddhist scripture is usually done by woodblock. It asks for sincere devotion. So every character must be carved by hand.”
He set the cup down and looked at her with a hint of teasing: “Today you are copying the Heart Sutra. It has only two hundred sixty characters. I will not make it hard for you. Why don’t you work with the craftsmen and carve two hundred sixty type blocks yourself?”
Xiao Man’s face fell at once. [Carve two hundred sixty characters? What about my hands?] She ducked her head right away: “I will just write by hand.”
About an hour later, Lin Qing Xuan left the study to find Chen Shi Tou: “Go and bring me my mint balm.”
Shi Tou scratched his head, puzzled: “Eldest Grandson Young Master, did you bump into something? Are you hurt?”
Lin Qing Xuan’s ears turned a little red. He did not explain, only said: “Just find it.” Then he went back to his room.
Shi Tou leaned his head toward the study. Through the half open window he saw Yao Xiao Man shaking her sore hand and rubbing her wrist with a pout, muttering to herself. A flash of understanding hit him. [The mint balm is for Xiao Man!]
Grinning, he ran straight to Physician Wang’s pharmacy. This wasn’t just any mint balm. Physician Wang made it with a dozen precious herbs. It worked best to move blood and ease bruises. Shi Tou asked for a brand new jar, tucked it like a treasure into his chest, and trotted back to the Auspicious Cloud Residence.
The moment he stepped in, he found his father and mother talking. He drew out the balm like a prize and said in a secret tone: “Father, Mother, look what this is! See? Eldest Grandson Young Master told me to fetch mint balm for Xiao Man.”
Beaming, he added: “Xiao Man was rubbing her wrist in the study, and the Young Master sends mint balm. He cares a lot. Xiao Man is probably the apple of his eye now.”
Old Madam Chen took the little box, opened it, sniffed, and nodded with satisfaction: “Of course. That far related niece of the First Madam, Miss Zheng, may look fine, but she flutters like a butterfly around the Young Master all day. Our Buddha’s Chosen Young Master didn’t even spare her a glance. The day before yesterday he even told her to get lost in front of the servants.”
Old Chen drew on his pipe and blew a smoke ring, brows folding a little: “That’s true, but even though Miss Zheng lost face, the First Madam didn’t send her away. I think the First Madam still looks down on Xiao Man’s birth.”
The three looked at one another, and the room went quiet for a moment. Then Shi Tou slapped his thigh, breaking the silence. Old Madam Chen nodded hard. Old Chen tapped his pipe on the table. Together, the three said firmly: “I support Xiao Man!”