Sang Chen’s face turned pale as he stood at the bottom of the slope, speaking somewhat anxiously, "Lady, you should go back quickly. This place, this place is not suitable to linger."
Ran Yan nodded slightly and truly turned around to go back up the mountain.
"Wife!" Sang Chen hastily called out, "I, I sold a painting and calligraphy piece yesterday and made fifty guan. The money for the kiln has already been repaid."
Ran Yan looked down at him with an expectant look, like a child waiting for praise, his eyes as pure as a clear, washed sky. Her hand, hidden in her sleeve, clenched slightly as she said coldly, "Rabbit!"
Sang Chen stared at Ran Yan’s figure as it gradually disappeared among the grass and trees, his face full of bewilderment as he looked around the surrounding grass and muttered to himself, "There are no rabbits?"
When he looked up again, he could no longer see Ran Yan’s figure and murmured to himself in disappointment, "I came especially to return the Lady’s money and, incidentally... to enjoy the view."
Upon mentioning enjoying the view, a suspicious blush crept onto his handsome, fair cheeks. He quickly recited "Amitabha," but the next moment, a sudden gust of wind made him shiver. He looked around and, clutching the money in his bosom, scurried toward the temple like a rabbit.
"Lady, the person who was spying on us just now seemed to be a nun from Yingmei Temple," Xiao Man said, still shaken.
Ran Yan nodded, her annoyance with Sang Chen growing. He was such a jinx; he never showed up when expected and popped out exactly when the nun was fleeing.
As she nearly reached the courtyard, Ran Yan suddenly thought of the young nun who peered around every so often; could she be the one stalking and spying on them this time? If it was because of the rumors in the city, she wouldn’t be this curious, right? What exactly were her intentions?
Ran Yan put the matter aside for now, instructing Xiao Man to keep it to herself and not to speak of it to anyone, not even to Mrs. Xing or Wan Lu.
Back in the courtyard, Mrs. Xing had already cleaned all the vegetables she had bought, and the stove was spotless.
"Let me do the cooking today," Ran Yan said to Mrs. Xing, who was tending the fire.
Mrs. Xing was astonished. She knew very well what Ran Yan was capable of; previously, she never touched a single domestic task, so how could she suddenly know how to cook!
"I tried a few times before to honor my master, and after tasting it, he thought it was quite acceptable," Ran Yan said, rolling up her sleeves and placing the clean bamboo shoots on the cutting board, cutting at a steady pace, "Yunsheng didn’t eat breakfast this morning before leaving, and I want to cook for him myself."
Mrs. Xing was stunned for a moment, her eyes welling up with tears as she kept repeating, "Good, good."
Ran Yan frowned slightly, "Why are you crying again? You really should change this habit; crying too much is not good for your health." Ran Yan cut the vegetables and glanced at Mrs. Xing, whose emaciated appearance, gray hair, and wrinkled face made her look around sixty years old. However, Ran Yan judged from some details that she was only slightly over fifty. Could this age... actually be menopause?
"Be careful with the knife, Wife. Don’t hurt yourself," Mrs. Xing wiped away her tears while tidying up the firewood and nagged, "Such a sensible wife, truly heartrending, ah, yet so unfortunate. Now that you’ve changed your ways and have learned medical skills, you can manage both hall and kitchen, come from a good background, and the Ran Clan elders are also sharp-minded; they won’t be as thoughtless as your husband, and just by considering Lady’s face, they would treat you better. Once this storm passes, wife, you will surely see the light at the end of the tunnel..."
Mrs. Xing watched as Ran Yan skillfully cut the vegetables, secretly marveling in her heart, but in her eyes, as long as her own lady was fine, all else was not an issue.
"It’s already past noon; why is there still no news!" Mrs. Xing glanced at the sky outside, becoming anxious again.
Ran Yan gave her a look and thought carefully—if Mrs. Xing had always been , how could she have won Lady Zheng’s favor? Perhaps indecisiveness was her nature, but she at least wouldn’t cry at every turn. It must be menopause.
Mrs. Xing occasionally peered outside, and Ran Yan had almost finished preparing all the dishes, just waiting for Yunsheng to return so she could start cooking.
"Wife! Wife!" The frantic voice of Wan Lu suddenly pierced the quiet.
Mrs. Xing immediately rushed out to see only Wan Lu there, she took her hand urgently and asked, "Has the person been rescued? Where is Shilang?"
"He’s coming up behind. Ge Lan is weak and couldn’t walk the mountain path, so Shilang found some porters to carry her up," Wan Lu said with a trembling voice, her eyes swollen like walnuts, clearly from previous crying. Seeing Ran Yan come out of the kitchen, she hurried over, grabbing her arm and shaking it excitedly, "Wife, it’s Ge Lan, it’s Ge Lan!"