Chapter 094
Chapter 94: The Silly Buddha’s Chosen Is About to Be Abandoned
Xiao Man slept like a rock and woke to bright morning light outside the window. Her whole body felt loose and light, and she could not help thinking: [Working people really do need holidays to recharge.]
She was just stretching when a wrinkled, smiling face leaned in by the bed. It was Granny Chen. Lowering her voice, her old eyes sparkled with unstoppable gossip. She still would not give up, wanting to learn from Xiao Man whether the Young Master had succeeded last night.
Granny Chen bent closer and whispered: “Xiao Man, last night you and the Eldest Grandson Young Master were busy in the room all night, you must be exhausted, right?”
Before Xiao Man’s head could catch up, Granny Chen carried on, too warm and too eager: “Oh my, my memory! The Young Master told Old Granny early this morning to cook you a fragrant bowl of meat porridge, said you should really make up your strength. It is still warming on the stove!”
Make up her strength? Make up for what?
Xiao Man’s cheeks burned all at once, the heat rushing to the top of her head. Was it Lin Qing Xuan’s words that sounded vague, or did Granny Chen imagine a whole play by herself? Something was very off. If this spread, how would she face anyone?
She sprang upright, straightened her expression, and explained word by word with total seriousness: “Nanny, please do not misunderstand. Last night I was only at the Auspicious Cloud Residence helping the Eldest Grandson Young Master with sutra copying, nothing else. It went a bit late. The Young Master is kind and felt for my hard work, so he had you prepare food for me. Truly, it was just sutra copying.”
Granny Chen drew out her reply with meaning, wearing an I-get-it look as she said: “Oh, so that is how it was!”
But her eyes spun, clearly saying, I do not believe a word. She waved happily and urged: “Go drink your porridge, do not go hungry.”
A chill ran through Xiao Man’s heart. She nodded, slipped on her shoes, and headed for the little kitchen. After a few steps, her unease flared again. She turned back and called very earnestly to Granny Chen’s retreating back: “Nanny, it really was just sutra copying. Please do not guess wildly, and do not spread it around.”
She bit down on the words “sutra copying” like she was nailing them in place.
Holding the warm bowl of meat porridge, Xiao Man curled into a corner of the small kitchen, sat on a low stool, and took small sips. The porridge was cooked just right, the rice soft and melting. The rich meat scent mixed with the sharpness of ginger, warming her stomach and chasing away the morning chill. It was truly comforting. But Granny Chen’s meaningful look kept tickling her heart like a feather, making her restless and on edge.
[No. I have to clear this up right away, right now.] She needed to find Lin Qing Xuan. What exactly had he said to Granny Chen? If that big mouth spread it through the manor, how could she live here in peace until the day she could leave? If the whole manor knew, it would be worse than just social death.
Decision made, she barely tasted anything more. In two or three gulps she finished the porridge, washed the bowl and spoon, smoothed her wrinkled clothes, and strode toward the Auspicious Cloud Residence with fierce purpose.
Morning at the Auspicious Cloud Residence was as quiet as ever. Besides a few crisp bird calls, there was no other sound. Xiao Man softened her steps and slipped into the yard. At once she saw a familiar figure: Lin Qing Xuan. He had changed out of his monk’s robe into plain white clothes and sat quietly on a stone stool. He was not chanting or copying scriptures. He tilted his head a little, gazing at the drifting clouds at the sky’s edge, his expression a little empty. The morning light traced his fine profile and set a gentle loneliness around him.
He was so lost in thought he did not notice her approach. Xiao Man stopped, gave a proper curtsey to his back, cleared her throat, and called: “Eldest Grandson Young Master.”
Lin Qing Xuan’s shoulders paused almost invisibly. He slowly drew back his gaze and turned to her. His eyes were calm at first, but the instant they landed on her face, they flickered like something hot had scalded him, then looked away too quickly. The tips of his ears showed a faint red.
He coughed softly to cover it and asked in a steady voice that still held a thread of tension: “You are awake. Did you have the porridge?”
At his question, Xiao Man suddenly remembered last night’s hazy dream, the jumbled, intimate images flooding back. Heat rose to her cheeks again. The air between them turned quiet and strange, full of awkwardness she could not name.
She lowered her eyes and tried to sound businesslike: “I have, thank you for the reward, Eldest Grandson Young Master. Young Master, I came to ask what you told Nanny Chen this morning. Nanny seems to have misunderstood what happened last night.”
Lin Qing Xuan’s brow creased a hair, as if only then realizing what she meant. He thought for a moment and said: “A misunderstanding? I only said you worked hard last night and asked her to prepare food for you so you could rest well. What is wrong with that?”
Then he caught onto something and his voice dropped with a hint of hidden loss: “Xiao Man, you are not calling me Lin Qing Xuan anymore?”
Helpless, Xiao Man explained softly: “Eldest Grandson Young Master, you are the master and I am the servant. There is a difference in rank. I cannot call your name whenever I want. If others hear it, they will judge me and think poorly of you.”
“But we, in the dream, clearly…” he began. She cut him off without mercy, her tone gentle yet firm: “Eldest Grandson Young Master, that was only a dream. When the dream ends, we forget it. It does not count.”
A black blur shot onto the stone table. It was the black cat, Tuan Tuan. Flicking his tail, he yelled in a mocking, over-the-top tone, happy to watch chaos: “Hear that? Hear that? Xiao Man is going to start something and then dump you! Lin Qing Xuan, you silly Buddha’s Chosen, you are about to be abandoned!”
He finished shouting, then turned and reached a paw for Xiao Man’s sleeve, instantly switching to a fawning voice: “Xiao Man, darling, do not abandon me! I am very good. I am much more useful than him!”
Without even looking at him, Xiao Man slapped his furry paw away and scolded in a low voice: “Out of the way.”
“Meow…” Tuan Tuan wilted at once. His ears drooped, and he huddled at the corner of the table drawing circles with a claw, muttering nonstop: “So fierce… flattery does not work… we really are getting dumped…”
Xiao Man looked up and met Lin Qing Xuan’s eyes just as they dimmed. His clear gaze was now full of hurt and confusion. She glanced at the Heart Demon beside him, who only fanned the flames and made trouble. Her head pounded. What a mess.
She refused to get pulled in any further. Giving a proper bow, she turned and left without another look at the man and the cat. If she stayed even one more second, she feared she would soften.
She had taken only a few steps when Tuan Tuan’s scolding meows rang out behind her, loud enough for the whole yard to hear: “So dumb! You block of wood! She is leaving! Will you not try to keep her? Have you chanted your courage away?”
He jumped down from the table and hustled after Xiao Man on his short legs, babbling the whole time: “Useless Buddha’s Chosen, total failure! If I had a human body, I would have already charmed Xiao Man until she was dizzy and head over heels!”
Xiao Man heard every cutting word and only walked faster.