Four Seasons Brocade – CH 155

Chapter 155 ☆、

When Ah Wu woke up, Chu Mao was nowhere to be seen, but she was not surprised at all. If Chu Mao were still there, she would have felt that something serious had happened.

Ah Wu sat up, feeling a slight soreness in her bones, probably from not sleeping well the night before. Sometimes sleeping in the wrong position could cause this feeling—nothing strange, but…

Ah Wu frowned, looking at her fingers. They still looked clean, but when she rubbed her thumb and forefinger together, she felt a resistance. Ah Wu could not help but sniff her fingers, but immediately moved them away. What a strange smell! Ah Wu could not imagine it; it was not her own scent, nor was it Chu Mao’s. How strange!

If you, dear readers, thought Ah Wu would let such a trivial matter go unnoticed, you would be sorely mistaken. On this Lantern Festival, while everyone was discussing and looking forward to seeing the dazzling lanterns and enjoying the myriad flavors of street food on the last day of the year, Ah Wu was troubled by this strange smell all day.

She even suspected that a rat might have crawled onto her bed after Chu Mao left. The thought almost made Ah Wu scream; goosebumps immediately rose all over her body, and she asked Zi-Shan, somewhat nervously, “Has a rat been in Yulan Hall?”

“Absolutely not.” Zi-Shan, having served Ah Wu for so many years, clearly knew that if she did not answer this way, her mistress would probably turn Yulan Hall upside down, searching high and low for the rat’s nest. Ah Wu believed Zi-Shan’s words. If they were so careless as to let a mouse slip in, she would not have been able to use them for so many years.

But Ah Wu was still uneasy. “Call Tong-Guan and Tong-Wen. The five of you search this room inch by inch. Look for any gaps that a mouse could squeeze through. Also, go outside and find a cat to come in and let it walk around the room.”

Ah Wu was a clean freak and did not like furry animals, feeling that their shed fur was everywhere. But today, under the influence of her paranoia, she was not even afraid of a cat. After all, the fur had not landed on her fingers.

This commotion consumed the entire day of the Lantern Festival. It was not until after dusk that Chu Mao returned to his room for dinner.

“Why are you so absent-minded?” During the meal, Chu Mao, unusually, broke the rule of not speaking while eating.

“Huh?” Ah Wu paused, looking at Chu Mao, but her eyes were unfocused.

“Do you not dislike spicy food?”

Ah Wu followed Chu Mao’s gaze to a piece of spicy chicken in her bowl. Ah Wu did not eat spicy food; firstly, it was bad for her stomach and health, and secondly, it was bad for her skin. But Chu Mao occasionally ate something spicy; aside from sweets, he ate a little of almost everything, even bitter vegetables.

In comparison, Ah Wu was much more delicate. She quickly put the spicy chicken on her plate, took a bite of rice, and her expression suddenly became strange; she wanted to spit out the rice but was too embarrassed to.

Finally, Ah Wu chose to swallow it elegantly and slowly, then reached for some soup.

In her family, it was customary not to keep water handy during formal meals. Drinking water while eating was considered bad for the stomach, and tea was only used to cleanse the mouth before and after meals. As for the soup, it was always the first thing served, with everyone having a bowl before picking up their chopsticks.

But today, Ah Wu had clearly broken this rule.

Suddenly, a hand reached out and stopped Ah Wu from eating. “Eat some vegetables; the soup will not cool you down.”

If it were not for her good manners, Ah Wu would probably be gulping down mouthfuls of cold water by now, practically fanning herself with her hand. Seeing Chu Mao scoop up a spoonful of steamed pumpkin with lily bulbs, she thought, “It’s sweet; it must cool me down,” and without thinking twice, took it and popped it into her mouth. The effect was immediate.

Chu Mao looked down at Ah Wu. Her eyes were lightly misted, her cheeks were flushed, and her lips, once a delicate pink, had turned a vibrant cherry red, a color even brighter than any lipstick. The beauty of a woman was astonishing; an expression that might appear disheveled on others would possess a unique and breathtaking beauty on her face.

“Want to go see the lanterns tonight?” Chu Mao asked, his tone relaxed and his demeanor casual, as if they, as a couple, often chatted over meals and went on outings together.

“No,” Ah Wu shook her head without hesitation, not taking the invitation at all, assuming it was just a question. Ah Wu now harbored a strange fear of the Lantern Festival. She had gone twice and encountered kidnappers both times, each time more dangerous than the last; the second time, she had nearly been raped. Ah Wu could still recall the stench in the cabin, to the point that she rarely ate fish anymore.

But reflecting on her near-death experience at the Lantern Festival, Ah Wu suddenly realized that both times Chu Mao had saved her, and now she was married to him—it truly seemed like fate.

Chu Mao, however, clearly had not expected a rejection, but his expression remained unchanged. “Let’s eat. After we finish, I will take you for a walk.”

Ah Wu thought for a moment before asking, “Should I bring Yuan-Chun?” Since Chu Mao’s return, he had removed Yuan-Chun from Ah Wu’s side.

“Alright,” Chu Mao said, glancing at Ah Wu.

After the meal, Ah Wu went back to her room to change into her outdoor clothes, only to see Wen-Mei bringing over a set of men’s clothing. Ah Wu raised an eyebrow, recognizing it as a brand-new set. “His Highness sent you to deliver this. Do you want me to wear this?”

Ah Wu had only ever seen women dressed as men on the stage; she never imagined it would happen to her, but she did not want to refuse. With Zi-Shan’s help, she dressed, her hair tied up high and adorned with a jade crown. She flicked her sleeves in front of the window, convinced she was now a dashing young gentleman.

“Tell me, in this attire, does His Highness look better, or do I look better?” Ah Wu firmly believed that Wei Jie’s elaborate display of fruit-throwing at his carriage back then was no different. “I wonder how many handkerchiefs I will collect tonight?” Ah Wu sighed.

Zi-Shan and Zi-Yi, feeling they could not lie, remained silent.

Ah Wu did not take it to heart, turning around in front of the mirror again. “This dress fits perfectly, as if it were measured for me.”

“Your Highness, you’d better hurry out, or the jujube-filled boxes at the Lantern Festival will be sold out,” Zi-Shan urged. Only she dared to speak to Ah Wu like this.

Ah Wu reluctantly left the inner room. Chu Mao, who was sitting on the couch reading, immediately put down his book upon seeing her.

“Brother, I greet you,” Ah Wu said, intrigued, bowing to Chu Mao like a man and walking in a masculine manner.

Chu Mao was somewhat stunned. He had only dressed Ah Wu as a man for convenience, but her appearance, far from being indistinguishable from a woman in men’s clothing, had instead become even more alluring and captivating, her beauty breathtaking. She was like a jade sculpture, a water sprite, her charm beyond description.

And with the added allure of her seductive manner, her affected manner was simply irresistible.

Chu Mao considered asking Ah Wu to go back and change, but then thought, “What difference does it make? She will still be the same person,” and abandoned the idea.

“Are we not taking a carriage?” Ah Wu almost frowned, but her good manners helped her suppress the urge.

“We will see the lanterns once we cross this street,” Chu Mao said, glancing at Ah Wu. “Are you cold?”

Ah Wu shook her head.

The street outside Prince Qi’s mansion was as deserted as ever. Ordinary people were not allowed to linger on this street. Ah Wu silently followed beside Chu Mao, remembering the lingering smell on her fingers. She had washed her hands many times today, but she still felt that smell on the tip of her nose. It was not that it smelled bad, just strange.

Seeing Ah Wu’s reaction, Chu Mao asked, “What’s wrong with your hands?”

“I smelled something strange when I woke up this morning.” Ah Wu flicked her fingers. “Did Your Highness smell it when you were half asleep?”

“No,” Chu Mao answered quickly and decisively, then turned his head away.

Ah Wu did not dwell on such trivial matters. Compared to the long-lost scent on her fingers, the smell of the Lantern Festival was far more unbearable.

To be honest, aside from her initial curiosity as a child and her second outburst encouraged by Master Rong, Ah Wu had never been particularly interested in the Lantern Festival.

The bustling sounds of the streets only hurt her ears, and the strange mingled smells of perfume, sweat, and food made her wish she could just shut her nose.

On the other hand, Chu Mao’s brows were noticeably furrowed, suggesting he also disliked the Lantern Festival’s festivities. Ah Wu truly did not understand why the two of them had bothered to come out.

“There’s a bridge ahead; let’s go for a walk over there.” Chu Mao pointed to a bridge ahead. Today was the fifteenth of the lunar month, and there was a folk belief that walking across a bridge could ward off illness and misfortune, so people always crossed bridges when they encountered them.

Tonight, Ah Wu not only crossed the bridge but also, accompanied by Chu Mao, climbed the south gate, overlooking the city lights. Ah Wu thought it was somewhat interesting, if only there were not so many people at the gate.

After descending from the gate, Ah Wu’s legs were aching. Fortunately, they were heading back. Ah Wu found the night utterly boring; there were no kidnappers she’d been waiting for, no lecherous men trying to flirt with her, and not even a single acquaintance.

If Ah Wu and Chu Mao could also look down from the south gate, they would find themselves probably the strangest people at the Lantern Festival, both wearing pained expressions, as did their servants. Even the most oblivious kidnappers and lecherous men would not dare to provoke them.

Upon seeing the gates of Prince Qi’s mansion, Ah Wu could not help but breathe a sigh of relief, her steps becoming lighter.

Only Chu Mao remained rooted to the spot, frowning. Suddenly, he said, “Wait, I will take you somewhere else.”