In the early summer, Chu Xia’s eyes were still closed as she pushed away the person approaching her with both hands, murmuring, “The time of ugliness has passed… I need to change the lady’s charcoal…” He did not let go of her; instead, he held her even tighter, whispering, “It’s alright, don’t be afraid, it’s just a dream.” Chu Xia, leaning on his chest, unconsciously sniffed the air, the clean and refreshing scent… very comforting. Gradually, her trembling ceased, her head bowed low, finally calming down.
The windows of the Linjiang Pavilion were made of colored glass, through which the moonlight filtered, dotting their faces and bodies with light and shadow. Whether it was an illusion or not, she seemed even more stunning with her eyes closed than during the day. Every curve was perfectly sculpted, even with her brows furrowed in apparent displeasure, she still evoked pity.
Jun Yean, with one hand supporting Chu Xia’s neck, gently laid her back onto the bedding, then covered her with the quilt. He stood silently by the bed for a while before heading to the inner room. When Chu Xia woke up, she sat on the bed for a while, her expression somewhat dazed. Had she had a nightmare last night? It seemed so. But for some reason, the memory had slowly faded…
After tidying herself up, she peeked at the doorway of the inner room. The neatly folded bedding indicated that no one had returned. Chu Xia pouted, closed the door, and descended from the Linjiang Pavilion. Just then, she encountered a hurried servant.
“Chu Xia, the weather is nice today. The young master asked you to bring out the books to air them out.”
“And the young master?” Chu Xia responded, unable to resist asking further.
“The young master has left the mansion after practicing swordsmanship. Before leaving, he instructed you to air out the books. You should hurry.”
Chu Xia was speechless, looking up at the rare good weather in winter, sighing heavily in her heart: Young master, after a brief moment of pleasure, you still remember to exploit me for this and that, you really are… making the most out of everything.
Airing books was truly a laborious task. Chu Xia and several servants shuttled between the study and the open space in front of it, from morning till evening, only managing to move one cabinet of medical books. By dusk, as the servants were putting the books back, one of them suddenly cried out in distress, “Chu Xia, we’re in trouble now.”
“What?” Chu Xia’s cheeks flushed, whether from the wind or the exertion of running around.
“The young master’s books… they are all arranged according to his needs… The young master usually hates it when servants mess up his books…”
“Who says they’ll be messed up?” Chu Xia clapped her hands, standing up, “Alright, this ‘Tongren Tu’ should be on the top left, followed by ‘Shanghan Zabing Lun’, then this ‘Wenre Jingwei’…”
The servants looked skeptical: “How do you know?”
“Yeah, yeah!” Chu Xia was getting impatient, “If I get it wrong, I’ll say I messed them up. That should be fine, right?”
Before Jun Yean pushed the door open, he heard Chu Xia’s voice chattering: “Hey, where’s ‘Gezhi Yulun’? Find it quickly, it’s the fourth book on the right of the third shelf… ‘Piwei Lun’ isn’t here, look down one level…” He decided to wait a little longer until the noise inside subsided, then someone opened the door. The servants, seeing the young master standing outside, quickly bowed.
Jun Yean casually waved them off, indicating they could leave. He saw Chu Xia standing on a wooden chair, tiptoeing, her fingers brushing over the books as she muttered to herself.
“Chu Xia,” he called out.
“Shh,” Chu Xia didn’t turn around, talking to herself, “I’m checking.”
“Checking what?”
“Stop bothering me!” Chu Xia’s finger stopped on a book, turning back with some annoyance, only to see the young master standing behind her, arms crossed, looking at her with interest. Her slight anger immediately faded, though the transition was too quick… Chu Xia felt her expression stiffen, cautiously replying, “Young master, you’re back.”
“Hmm, have these books been aired out?” The young master watched her nimbly jump down from the chair, casually picking up a book.
“Only this cabinet,” Chu Xia answered honestly, “I’ll air out the others tomorrow.”
The young master raised an eyebrow, seemingly skeptical: “In the past, airing books took all day just to sort and put back half a cabinet. How did you manage it so quickly?”
“Young master isn’t doubting that Chu Xia was slacking off, right?” Chu Xia frowned, feeling quite displeased.
The young master gave a faint smile: “Not doubting, just curious.”
“I remember these positions,” Chu Xia said irritably, “If the young master thinks I’m slacking, those servants can vouch for me…”
“You remember?” Jun Yean’s eyes lit up slightly, pointing casually at another cabinet, “What about here?”
Chu Xia glanced over: “Give me a moment to look, and I’ll remember.”
Jun Yean smiled, “Alright, I’ll let you look.”
Chu Xia stood silently before the cabinet, scanning from top to bottom, then turned to the young master, “I’ve got it.”
“What’s on either side of ‘Fan Sheng Zhi Shu’?”
Without hesitation, Chu Xia answered, “Qimin Yaoshu’ on the left, ‘Chen Fu Nong Shu’ on the right.”
After several more questions, Chu Xia answered without a single mistake, leaving even Jun Yean unable to hide his surprise.
“How about it, still doubting?” Chu Xia frowned, feeling her mouth dry from all the talking.
“One last question, girl.” Jun Yean’s eyes brightened, “Yesterday, I asked you to read, if you truly have a photographic memory, recite it for me.”
Chu Xia’s eyes twinkled, continuing, “If you go against the spring energy, the Shaoyang won’t thrive, and the liver energy will change internally. If you go against the summer energy, the Taiyang won’t grow, and the heart energy will be hollowed out…”
“Enough,” the young master smiled, interrupting her, handing her a cup of tea from the desk, “This tea is for you as a reward for your hard work today.”
Chu Xia didn’t hesitate, drinking the cup of Junshan Yinzhen tea, when she heard Cang Qianlang report from the doorway, “Young master, the people from the Unnamed Escort Agency have arrived.”
Jun Yean smiled lightly, “It seems the second ‘great gift’ has arrived.”
His smile was radiant, causing Chu Xia to pause in amazement, asking, “Is the young master very pleased?”
“How do you know I’m pleased?” The young master stood with his hands behind his back, not turning around.
Chu Xia smiled, blurting out, “The young master was very pleased last night, wasn’t he?”
Jun Yean’s steps halted, a half-smile on his face as he glanced at her, saying only, “Let’s go see what old friends have sent us today.”
At the entrance of the Jun mansion, a crowd had gathered, even larger than the day before, with incessant noise. It wasn’t until the gates slowly opened, with attendants standing on either side, and Jun Yean stepped out, that the crowd’s clamor slowly subsided. Wu Renqing nodded to the young master and stepped aside to make way.
