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The young man meandered downstairs, his peripheral vision inadvertently catching a familiar figure disappear from sight. Wasn't that the xiǎo láng jūn suspected to be Gōng Chěng's wife's elder brother? Why is this person only leaving now?
The young man called a xiǎo sī and asked what was happening, what Shěn Táng's purpose for lingering in Yuè Huá Lóu was. But the xiǎo sī replied with an envious expression: "You mean that xiǎo niáng zi? She came to redeem her grandfather, Old Chǔ, who works odd jobs in the kitchen. So filial."
The young man's eyelids lowered upon hearing this, deep in thought. "Who is this 'Old Chǔ' you speak of?" Since he was a descendant of the Shěn clan, even if he had a grandfather, he would have perished at the execution block. How could he be working odd jobs in Yuè Huá Lóu's kitchen? This person was already full of suspicious points. At such a time, he still didn't forget to acquire a servant. What would he do with an elderly attendant? The young man's eyes darkened slightly, his mind churning with countless thoughts. He was already meticulous and suspicious by nature, so he naturally wouldn't let this go.
"Call your head steward here."
Outside Yuè Huá Lóu. Old Mr. Chǔ hugged a tattered bundle, his expression calm as he looked at the empty street. Shěn Táng stood silently to one side. The Zhǎng Guì, intending to give this "grandfather and grandchild" pair some space to reminisce after years apart, and also knowing it was daytime, so there shouldn't be any danger even in the bustling entertainment district, confidently bid farewell to go back and tend to his shop.
Watching the Zhǎng Guì leave, Shěn Táng looked up at Old Mr. Chǔ again; he still had the same expression. She opened her mouth, wondering how to start a conversation to break the awkward silence, when her own little Mó Tuō trotted up, reins in mouth, gently nudging her chest with its head. Shěn Táng instinctively took the reins. She figured out how to start a conversation.
"Old Mr. Chǔ, there's still a long way back. Would you like to ride on the... mule's back first?" She had intended to say "horseback," but alas, her Mó Tuō, no matter how tall and beautiful, was still a mule, not a horse. She couldn't very well call a mule a horse... "Old Mr. Chǔ?" Shěn Táng softly called out again, finally rousing Old Mr. Chǔ, who seemed to be in a daze, absent-minded. He looked at Mó Tuō, and Mó Tuō looked at him. He then looked at the xiǎo láng jūn, who was shorter than his chest, and was also his new owner. The owner was also looking at him. Being stared at by this person and mule with the same gaze, he felt a subtle mix of emotions. His lips twitched, and he bowed his head, saying, "This slave dares not."
Shěn Táng: "..." He called himself "slave," but his demeanor and eyes were completely at odds with this self-address, very contradictory. The more she heard it, the more uncomfortable she felt. So she waved her hand and said, "Old Mr. Chǔ, there's no need for this 'slave' business. You can refer to yourself by your given name or courtesy name." Old Mr. Chǔ was startled upon hearing this, but didn't retort. He simply went with the flow and agreed.
"Yes."
"Then what is your given name and courtesy name? My surname is Shěn, courtesy name Yòu Lí, and I'm the..." Exchanging names was one of the signs of getting to know someone better. Shěn Táng began with the standard format of self-introduction, but paused when she got to her birth order—What was the original owner's birth order again? Never mind, she couldn't remember right now, it wasn't important. So she made up a number.
"I'm the fifth. You can call me Wǔ Láng if you like." She wouldn't mind if he called her Wǔ Niáng Zi (Fifth Young Lady) either. It's just—a perfectly beautiful girl, constantly mistaken for a handsome young man. The eyesight of the natives in this world was somewhat problematic.
Chǔ Yào said, "Chǔ, Chǔ Yào, courtesy name Wú Huì."
"Chǔ Yào? What a great name. 'Banners and flags in turmoil, blades like a forest. Yang Hui spews fire, illuminating the fields and covering the marshes.' 'Yào' means 'radiance,' brilliant and dazzling. And the courtesy name 'Wú Huì,' without darkness or obscurity, implies excellent fortune." Shěn Táng habitually launched into a round of commercial flattery, swallowing back her inner complaints. The blessings were good, the given name and courtesy name were also good, but unfortunately, reality often contradicted blessings. The person who chose his names hoped his life would be "radiant and dazzling, without darkness or obscurity," yet he ended up washing bowls and plates in a back kitchen at an old age, seemingly also crippled and having lost his scholarly heart (wén xīn). Alas, it's a tragedy in capital letters.
She brought up the old matter again, pointing at Mó Tuō, whose eyes were innocent: "Sir, would you like to ride? Mó Tuō is very well-behaved; its gait isn't bumpy." Chǔ Yào took Mó Tuō's reins from Shěn Táng, his eyes signaling her to mount the mule. After she was seated, he said faintly, "There is no precedent for the master to walk while the servant rides. It's not proper."
Shěn Táng muttered: "Why are there so many rules..." She bought Old Chǔ to take over Qí Shàn's role as the "guiding NPC," and she truly hadn't intended for the elderly man to take care of her. Moreover, this person would also play the role of "half-mentor" in the future.
Chǔ Yào said, "It's different."
Shěn Táng asked, confused, "How is it different?" Respect for the elderly and love for the young, it's the same everywhere. Chǔ Yào held the reins in one hand and his worn-out bundle in the other, walking towards the street. Instead of answering "how it's different," he asked a somewhat strange question.
"How much silver did Wǔ Láng spend to buy me?" This was asking how much money she spent to buy him? Shěn Táng's expression was hesitant: "Although I should consider your feelings and quote a higher price, that wouldn't be honest... The head steward originally intended to ask for five taels, but he misunderstood our relationship, thinking we were grandfather and grandchild, and out of sympathy, he voluntarily deducted two taels."
Unbeknownst to her, Chǔ Yào, whose back was to her, had a fleeting strange expression on his face, a mix of doubt and struggle, complex and unreadable. For a long while, he gave her no response. Shěn Táng was wondering if he was ignoring her when she heard him murmur, "So... it's three taels?"
Shěn Táng: "..."
Five minus two equals three... Is this math problem that hard? Hesitating for so long? Be confident, it is three taels!
"Yes, three taels. I should have calculated it correctly..." Shěn Táng counted on her fingers, confirming she hadn't miscalculated. Then she began to wonder if she had picked the wrong person—this level of arithmetic, and he still hesitated so much? Is Old Mr. Chǔ really as amazing as Qí Shàn said? Or is Qí Shàn pulling her leg?
So Shěn Táng asked a question she had held back for a long time. "Yuán Liáng mentioned earlier that you are talented, sir. A talented person, even if deeply in a low point, can always find ways to make their life better. Why didn't you redeem yourself, sir? Or were you unable to?"
Although offal from pigs, cows, and sheep sold cheaply, even cheap food still cost money, and many ordinary people couldn't afford to eat it. This showed that Chǔ Yào lived a simple life but not without income. He had worked in Yuè Huá Lóu's back kitchen for so many years; did he never think of finding extra work to earn a little money to redeem himself? He was cultured and capable, and would be more popular than ordinary commoners wherever he went. Therefore, Shěn Táng was utterly puzzled.
"Before Xīn Kingdom was destroyed, a criminal like me could not redeem myself."
"But Xīn Kingdom has already been destroyed." This rule would naturally be abolished.
Who knew Chǔ Yào would say something that confused her? "It's not that I was unwilling, nor that I was unable."
"Ah?" If that's the case, why didn't he act?
Chǔ Yào smiled, somewhat confused and helpless, sighing with a sense of resignation that Shěn Táng couldn't quite decipher. His next words successfully left her completely bewildered, her eyes full of question marks. He said, "I was waiting for Wǔ Láng's three taels of silver."