She had thought that once she fell asleep, the pain from her back would fade, but Ruan Jiaojiao hadn't eaten all day, and by the middle of the night, she was jolted awake by hunger.
Her head swam, and she lost track of time, not knowing what day or even what year it was.
She touched her forehead; as expected, she was running a fever.
But she couldn't even crawl, let alone take care of herself.
There were always strange noises coming from the firewood room—the sound of doors being nudged or windows rattled—and she had assumed this time it was just mice again. But, in fact, someone had actually sneaked inside.
It was a teenager in the uniform of a servant.
"Daniu? I never expected this. You’ve grown quite bold—daring to steal the key just to come and see your Sister Jiaojiao?"
Daniu was a young apprentice who chopped firewood at the Prime Minister's Estate. His situation was much like Ruan Jiaojiao’s; because he stuttered, he was looked down upon and frequently left starving by Nanny Hu, who seemed to derive some sense of superiority from mistreating them.
That was how they had met—stealing rations from the kitchen together.
Daniu kept glancing left and right, terrified someone might show up, yet he had still taken the risk to come.
"I-I heard Nanny Hu saying that no one was allowed to bring you medicine or food. I was worried about you, so I s-snuck two steamed buns from the kitchen."
Ruan Jiaojiao was so moved that she lost control of her strength and nearly knocked Daniu over, crying, "Sister didn't waste her time spoiling you!"
"I-If it weren't for you, Sister Jiaojiao, I would have been kicked out long ago when I was caught stealing a bun because I was starving. I can't lose this job; my grandfather needs the wages for his medicine, so you... you are my benefactor..."
Daniu continued to pour his heart out.
Ruan Jiaojiao, however, had already wolfed down the two large buns. Having finished her meal, she hadn't heard a word he said and stared blankly at the bashful boy. "What did you say?"
"N-nothing..."
"If it's nothing, then come here and help me apply the medicine."
The moment Ruan Jiaojiao moved to take off her outer robe, the innocent Daniu nearly jumped out of his skin. He quickly covered his eyes, his stutter vanishing in his panic. "What?! Men and women must keep their distance!"
Ruan Jiaojiao had never been one for such formalities. "Daniu, my injury is on my backside. I can't reach it myself, and since I’m stuck lying here and can't even move my waist, could you just be a good soul and help me out?"After a series of internal struggles, Daniu and Ruan Jiaojiao finally arrived at a compromise.
Daniu tied a blindfold over his eyes, and Ruan Jiaojiao kept her back turned to him.
Daniu excused himself to go outside and compose himself. Meanwhile, inside the woodshed, Ruan Jiaojiao tugged at her clothes, exposing the wounded area so it would be easier to apply the medicine.
"Sss—"
The woodshed door was old and in disrepair; Ruan Jiaojiao could hear the moment someone stepped inside.
"Daniu, sister has been waiting for you until the flowers have all withered. I, a maiden, am not shy, yet you are the one blushing."
"Tell me, when do you plan on getting married? Let me tell you, you are so easily embarrassed and so quiet—it’s going to be very hard for you to find a wife. Hey! Be gentle!"
The moment the cold ointment touched her wound, Ruan Jiaojiao gasped in pain. To her surprise, the hand applying it pressed down even harder. It hurt so much she nearly turned around to smack him, but she kept her promise.
She had agreed not to turn around.
"Let me tell you, I know someone just like that. If not for a beauty like me falling from the sky and pursuing him relentlessly, I guarantee you, before he turned fifty, let alone a wife, he wouldn’t have even been able to bring home a female mosquito. You must never be like him... Ah! Try pressing that hard one more time and I really will turn around and hit you!"
Ruan Jiaojiao broke into a cold sweat from the pain. Perhaps this young lad was just shy about such topics?
"If you don’t like me talking about marriage, I’ll stop. It’s just that I’m so bored being all alone in this woodshed."
"And it’s not just the boredom. That Pei Doggy is doing this on purpose. Don't think I don't know it. He’s ordered everyone in the estate to stay away from me. Otherwise, how could a beauty like me, so charming and cheerful, have no one to talk to in this entire place? Oh, it’s so desolate!"
As the cool ointment covered the raw, wounded flesh, the soothing sensation began to ease the pain. The salve gave off a faint scent of herbs. Ruan Jiaojiao had always been sensitive to fragrance, and she could tell this was no ordinary ointment.Stealing medicine from one's master is a completely different crime from stealing a few steamed buns from the kitchen.
"Daniu, this ointment isn't yours, is it? You mustn't steal..." Ruan Jiaojiao had just intended to turn around and warn the naive and ignorant Daniu not to do something he would regret, but before she could, a large hand firmly held her back, preventing her from turning.
"Fine, if you won't let me look back, I'll let it go. But I still have to tell you: some things, if you shouldn't do them, you really shouldn't. Don't you still need to earn silver to treat your grandfather's illness? You are all he has. If you end up in prison, he'll be all alone."
"Daniu," who was applying the ointment, didn't make a sound the entire time, but his touch was precise, and the wounds on her back didn't ache as much anymore. She was just running a fever now, and her head felt a little dizzy.
Yet, she still wanted to talk to the person behind her.
As she rambled on, she even lost track of what she was saying. "Chunxing is usually too bullying. She’s dead set on becoming a concubine in the Prime Minister's Estate, but I’ve discovered these past few days that she’s long been unable to resist having an affair with another servant in the estate. I have leverage on her, which is why I dared to treat her like that this time—I was thinking of using it to threaten her into a private settlement, to scare her, and hopefully get her to stay far away from me."
"I just didn't expect Pei Huaiyu to show up so suddenly. He wouldn't even listen to my side of the story. It seems he really hates me now..."
As Ruan Jiaojiao spoke, her head gradually drooped, and she began to mutter to herself, her words becoming unintelligible.
She could only feel the hand applying the ointment to her back pause for a moment.
Before Ruan Jiaojiao slipped into unconsciousness, she caught a faint, cold scent of white plum blossoms—the smell of Pei Huaiyu.
It had been years, but it never changed.
Whenever he was near, it always brought her peace of mind.
...
For the next three days, Daniu did not appear, nor did Pei Huaiyu come by. If not for someone delivering a moldy steamed bun every day, Ruan Jiaojiao would have suspected they had forgotten about her entirely.
...
On the fourth day, Ruan Jiaojiao was finally released, though the first person she saw was hardly there with good intentions.
"You wretch, still sleeping?! Let's see how you like a kick!"
Ruan Jiaojiao snapped her eyes open and nimbly dodged Nanny Hu’s early-morning "soul-crushing" kick. To her surprise, she discovered that the wounds on her back had healed significantly, and she could roll over with ease.
She really wanted to ask which shop Daniu had bought the ointment from; it was far more effective than the herbs she usually concocted herself.
Ruan Jiaojiao’s indifference made Nanny Hu feel that her authority had been insulted. Furthermore, with a group of young maids watching from behind, Nanny Hu grew even more furious. "How dare you dodge?!"
Ruan Jiaojiao leaned against the stack of firewood and stood up. "My, my, so much anger this early in the morning—look, you’ve got another wrinkle at the corner of your eye."
Frightened by this, Nanny Hu hurried over to the well to look at her reflection. As Ruan Jiaojiao followed her out, Chunxing shouted nervously, "Nanny! Be careful, this base wench might push you in!"
Ruan Jiaojiao sighed with feigned regret. "Chunxing, it looks like you’ve been scared quite out of your wits."
At the very least, Chunxing wouldn't dare provoke her for a while.
Nanny Hu pointed at Ruan Jiaojiao’s nose and screamed, "You little brat, you’ve been lying around for three days, living in comfort, haven't you? Look at the time—the sun is high, yet there isn't a single drop of water in the tanks. The whole estate needs water, and what do you have to say for yourself?!"
Demanding that a patient fetch water for the entire estate, and then blaming her when it wasn't finished—Ruan Jiaojiao had once again witnessed the absolute bottom of human decency.
"Nanny Hu, Ruan Jiaojiao... Ruan Jiaojiao..."
"Spit it out!"
The young maid who had interrupted trembled. "It seems... Ruan Jiaojiao has already finished fetching the water."
It was true; the tanks were brimming with water.
Ruan Jiaojiao watched as the woman began to wail and carry on with renewed vigor. "Nanny, why don't you look at what's in the tank? I’m so pitiful—weak and powerless, yet still being framed by Nanny Hu. Everyone, come and see; you might be the next one she frames!"
"You, you, you...!" No matter how angry Nanny Hu was, there was nothing she could say.
She huffed and stormed off.
After Nanny Hu left, the servants who were watching the show dispersed one after another. Only Ruan Jiaojiao remained, deep in thought as she looked at the full water tanks. She was thinking of that familiar, cold scent of white plum blossoms that had appeared in the woodshed.