Chapter 6
Edward Quan ·
“I only want to protect the person I want to protect.”
Gu Qingyi said nothing more.
Standing beside them, I understood.
Just as I had thought.
13
After a few more instructions, Shen Zhiyan left.
I stole a glance at Gu Qingyi.
She sat beneath the lamp, staring toward the door. I didn’t know what she was thinking.
Perhaps his actions had moved her.
I looked away and fetched a thick quilt from the inner room.
“My lady, it’s late. Rest early. I’ll keep watch outside.”
She looked at the quilt in my arms and said softly:
“Awan, don’t call me your lady anymore. I’m no longer a grand young mistress.”
I faltered. “But…”
“From now on, we’ll be sisters.”
Her tone remained quiet, but allowed no argument.
“You’ll sleep with me tonight.”
She took my hand and pulled me inside.
My eyes stung. At last, I nodded.
“All right.”
So we settled into that secluded estate.
Fields surrounded it. There wasn’t another household for miles.
The days were peaceful enough.
But whenever I wanted to go out for a walk, the men guarding the gate stopped me.
They were courteous and respectful. Their arms remained across the doorway.
“Please stop, miss.”
“The young master says it’s unsafe outside. You and Miss Gu must stay here for now.”
At first, I understood.
But after hearing the same thing every day, I began to see.
Call it protection if you wished.
Wasn’t it simply locking us in, forbidding us to go anywhere?
We knew nothing of the situation outside, the Gu family’s fate, or whether the soldiers had noticed missing people.
One sunny day, Gu Qingyi sat indoors while I considered washing the accumulated clothes and hanging them out.
Footsteps sounded in the courtyard.
I looked up. Shen Zhiyan entered.
She saw him too and rose to greet him.
I didn’t want to be involved in their conversation. Taking a wooden basin and some clothes, I quietly crouched by the well.
The cool water splashed onto the backs of my hands.
I rubbed the clothes, my fingers repeating the same motion, and gradually lost myself in thought.
After wringing out the last garment and hanging it securely, I straightened, ready to carry the basin inside.
When I looked up, he stood a few paces away.
Startled, I greeted him properly.
“Young master.”
He watched me for a long time without answering.
His attention was so intense that my palms grew damp. Unsure where to look, I lowered my eyes to the ripples in the basin.
After a few breaths, he spoke.
“Wait a little longer.”
I looked up, confused.
“What?”
He didn’t explain. He only gave me a long look, then turned and left.
I stood there, unable to guess what he meant, and watched him pass through the gate.
14
After that, Shen Zhiyan didn’t come for a long time.
Life at the estate continued.
Gu Qingyi gradually grew accustomed to it and began helping with the housework.
She had never done such things. Sweeping sent dust flying through the courtyard; washing dishes often ended in broken crockery.
But every time, she pressed her lips together and tried again seriously.
In our free time, I taught her to write.
The men had brought books, paper, and brushes.
She learned quickly, forming each stroke more carefully than I did.
Sometimes, long after dark, she still couldn’t bear to put down her brush.
It was even more peaceful here than at the Grand Secretary’s residence.
Until one day, people suddenly filled the courtyard, carrying things in and out.
They pasted red double-happiness characters, hung red silk, and arranged the bedding until the room looked exactly like a bridal chamber.
I watched in bewilderment, then looked for Gu Qingyi.
She stood beneath the corridor, watching them with a troubled expression.
A thought flashed through me.
Was Shen Zhiyan going to marry her? Here?
The Gu family had fallen. As the daughter of a condemned official, her position was sensitive. She couldn’t enter the Shen house through its main gates.
Preparing a bridal room here could only mean installing her as a hidden mistress.
My heart tightened.
Who was Gu Qingyi? The Grand Secretary’s legitimate daughter, accomplished in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting.
And now she would have to become someone’s secret mistress.