Chapter 64: A Wu and Yu Ting
Li Xiaonan, holding a large bowl wrapped up tightly, hopped out of the courtyard gate and ran towards their family’s preserved egg shop.
It was already November, and she had to hurry so her Eldest Sister could have a hot meal.
Just as she turned out of Cai Lian Lane, not long after she started running, someone bumped into her head-on. Fortunately, Li Xiaonan reacted quickly, holding the rice bowl tightly and braking sharply, managing to avoid dropping it.
“Oh, what a coincidence!” the person opposite exclaimed dramatically.
Li Xiaonan looked up from the rice bowl in her arms and at A Wu, who was standing in front of her.
“I didn’t expect to run into you here!” A Wu said with a smile.
“Coincidence?” Li Xiaonan scoffed, sidestepped A Wu, and continued running.
“Hey! Don’t run, we’re so coincidentally…” A Wu jogged along behind her.
“Coincidence my foot, you were clearly waiting here to block me!” Li Xiaonan said unceremoniously.
“Hey! Even if I was blocking you, my cousin is here too, don’t be scared, don’t run.”
“I’m not scared of you! I’m bringing food to my Eldest Sister, if I don’t hurry, the food will get cold!” Li Xiaonan ran even faster.
“Oh? Oh! Then I’ll run with you.” A Wu simply ran ahead of Li Xiaonan, waving his hands to clear the way for her.
“Wait for me here, don’t go in!” Li Xiaonan stopped A Wu when they were still two or three zhang away from the preserved egg shop.
“Alright, alright.” A Wu was extremely obedient.
Li Xiaonan delivered the food into the preserved egg shop and came out quickly.
A Wu’s cousin and wife, Wang Yuting, had also arrived, panting heavily. They were whispering something to A Wu, and when they saw Li Xiaonan emerge, they quickly put on smiles.
“Let’s talk over there.” Li Xiaonan didn’t stop walking and gestured to A Wu and his wife.
Turning a corner, Li Xiaonan peeked back to make sure her Eldest Sister couldn’t see her, then stopped. She put her hands behind her back and looked at A Wu, then at Wang Yuting.
“How did you know where my home is?” Li Xiaonan asked unceremoniously.
“It was just a coincidence…”
“Tell the young lady the truth.” Wang Yuting interrupted A Wu and said to Li Xiaonan with a fawning smile, “We first went to the Villa to find Miss Wan Jing, and it was Miss Wan Jing who directed us to you.”
“Why were you looking for me?” Li Xiaonan continued to ask.
“Does the young lady know that we managed the wharf well, but now they’re not letting us manage it anymore?” Wang Yuting tentatively probed.
“I don’t know.” Li Xiaonan shook her head decisively. “You want to manage the wharf again? Then you should go find that Young Lord. It’s no use looking for me.”
“We also know we should find the Young Lord, but we can’t find him.” A Wu looked distressed.
“We just want to know if we did something wrong and offended the Young Lord.” Wang Yuting added.
Hearing Wang Yuting say this, Li Xiaonan became a little puzzled.
“How does that Young Lord know you?” Li Xiaonan asked.
“It’s like this…”
Wang Yuting meticulously recounted how they met the Young Lord, how they suddenly got the opportunity to manage the wharf, and how they worked tirelessly for ten days to sort out the wharf. But after ten days, the wharf was taken back by others.
They went to the Villa two or three times. Once, they happened to see the Young Lord returning, but the Young Lord didn’t even look at them. Later, the one called Shi Gun came out and told them not to go to the Villa to look for the Young Lord anymore.
“…We’re not doing this for the wharf, it’s just that the more we think about it, the more scared we become. You tell us, with the Young Lord acting like this, did we do something wrong?” Wang Yuting said with a worried frown.
Li Xiaonan also became puzzled.
Alas, the minds of these nobles were said to be unfathomable. They would create mystery even where there was none, and she couldn’t understand it.
“Then why are you looking for me?” Li Xiaonan’s tone softened.
This young couple was a bit pitiful.
“We went to find Miss Wan Jing, and it was Miss Wan Jing who directed us to come find you, saying that you were the one who could speak to your Young Lord.” Wang Yuting said with a fawning smile.
“How can I speak to him…”
Facing the fawning looks on A Wu and Wang Yuting’s faces, Li Xiaonan couldn’t finish her sentence and sighed.
“Wan Jing really! It’s not that I’m shirking responsibility, but look at me, do I look like someone who can speak for that Young Lord? Besides, I don’t even see him. Sigh, forget it, forget it. If I can see him, I’ll ask for you, why they let you manage it and then not let you manage it anymore, alright?”
“Thank you, young lady!” Wang Yuting breathed a sigh of relief and said, then took out a coarse cloth bag from her sleeve and presented it to Li Xiaonan. “I specifically fried these for you, young lady. These soybeans were all picked out one by one.”
Li Xiaonan sighed again, picked up the small coarse cloth bag, poured a handful into her palm, and handed the bag back to Wang Yuting.
“I’ll eat these. You don’t have much money right now, do you?”
“We’re doing alright.” Wang Yuting turned her head away.
“I don’t have money either, not a single copper coin.” Li Xiaonan stuffed the bag back into Wang Yuting’s hand. “Don’t worry, as long as I can see that Young Lord, I will definitely ask for you.”
“Thank you, young lady.” Wang Yuting clutched the bag and curtsied.
“Thank you.” A Wu also thanked her in a low voice.
“You’re welcome, goodbye.” Li Xiaonan waved to the two of them and turned to walk back.
A day later, just as Li Xiaonan returned from delivering food to her Eldest Sister, Wan Jing came to invite her.
Before Li Xiaonan could step out the door, Wan Jing placed a delicate and small brass hand warmer into Li Xiaonan’s arms.
“I’m not cold, I’m used to it, you don’t need to give it to me.” Li Xiaonan hurriedly tried to push it back.
“This is our Young Lord’s order. He said your family is poor and definitely doesn’t have a hand warmer, so he told me to give you one to use.” Wan Jing pushed it back again.
“I’m not cold, alright, alright, this is your task, I know.” Li Xiaonan still wanted to refuse, but seeing Wan Jing’s stern gaze, she quickly complied.
“Thank you for understanding my task!” Wan Jing rolled her eyes at Li Xiaonan.
“I’m asking you, why did you direct that A Wu and his wife to me? You also said I could speak to your Young Lord? You’re talking nonsense.” Li Xiaonan slowly shuffled her feet, arguing with Wan Jing about her directing A Wu and his wife.
“You can speak to our Young Lord, I didn’t say anything wrong.”
“What I do in front of your Young Lord is called speaking, not being able to speak! Are they the same thing?” Li Xiaonan emphasized the difference between speaking and being able to speak.
“That’s true.” Wan Jing frowned and thought for a moment. “In front of our Young Lord, it’s not even called speaking, it’s called arguing. You’re quite something, daring to talk back to our Young Lord, tsk!”
“So what do we do now?”
Just a few steps from the alley entrance, Li Xiaonan stopped.
“Didn’t that A Wu say he just wanted to know why? When you see our Young Lord later, just ask him, won’t that do?” Wan Jing slanted a look at Li Xiaonan.
Li Xiaonan looked at Wan Jing speechlessly, then after a moment, let out a long sigh.
If she asked, and the Young Lord asked her how she knew, and then asked how A Wu knew her family, and it went on and on, Wan Jing would be in big trouble!
Alas, she would have to think of an excuse. No matter what, she couldn’t drag Wan Jing into it.
