Inside the house, Mistress had Zhao Yun change into the newly bought clothes. She was just about to admire her handiwork when she realized something was off.
Yun’s Mother entered soon after, puzzled by Mistress’s strange expression and asked, “Madam, what’s wrong?”
“This child, in every way… is just a bit too messy.”
“Yes, that’s true. Since there are so many things at home that need her help, I rarely get a chance to help her tidy up.” Yun’s Mother showed a guilty expression.
“You two, a widow and her orphan, living deep in the mountains—life is already hard enough. How could you have the energy to care for her appearance?” Sensing Yun’s Mother’s feelings, Mistress smiled and said, “Hmm… But now that we have the chance, we should at least help the child change a little.”
“Eh?” Seeing Mistress smiling as she looked at her own somewhat messy silver hair, little Zhao Yun tilted her head in confusion.
“Qing Er, come and take a look.” I had just finished sweeping the food off the table, hugging a wooden bowl as I gulped down water to wash the food down my throat. Hearing Mistress’s call from behind, I turned around while still drinking.
“Pfft!!”
Who would have thought that just one glance would shock me so much that I sprayed water everywhere.
It wasn’t Mistress who startled me—it was Zhao Yun standing in front of her.
The dirty, patchwork gray clothes that Zhao Yun used to wear had been replaced with a white-and-blue hanfu for girls.
Her petite, slender frame, paired with the delicate and elegant hanfu that brought out her feminine beauty, made one want to build her a castle and protect her from all harm in the world.
What shocked me most was that the fringe covering Zhao Yun’s eyes was gone—Mistress must have trimmed it. That pale, smooth face, not at all like someone who often went out to chop wood, along with those big, watery, golden eyes that were always wet and shy from not being used to having no hair to hide behind, had a devastatingly cute effect.
If the old Zhao Yun was like a little wild child, then the current Zhao Yun was a princess! princess!
“Who are you!?”
Because I’d been staring at her intently, and then shouted like that, Zhao Yun was immediately startled, her eyes filling with tears as she darted behind Yun’s Mother, who had just come out.
“Well, isn’t she cute?” Mistress, unable to hold back her delight, scooped Zhao Yun out from behind Yun’s Mother and hugged her, gleefully fussing over her.
With no hair to hide behind, the girl simply covered her eyes with her hands, her face turning bright red.
“Everyone’s staring… It’s so embarrassing…”
Only then did I realize that it wasn’t just me—even Bing Qiao and Leng Yu, who were helping clean up the dishes, and Old Man, who was sitting nearby resting, were all stunned by Zhao Yun, forgetting what they were doing.
“Don’t look at me, don’t look at me.” Zhao Yun could only shrink deeper into Mistress’s embrace, as if burying her head would shield her from everyone’s gaze. But this only made her look even more like a shy little hamster, making everyone find her even cuter and unable to look away.
Are you really that Changshan Zhao Yun…?
The difference from the image in my mind was so great that I couldn’t help but complain inwardly.
Bing Qiao wiped her damp little hands, stepped forward to examine Zhao Yun’s clothes, and said with a smile, “Sister Yun really is beautiful. Now that her hair’s been trimmed, these clothes suit her even more.”
Mistress smiled and praised, “I knew it was right to ask you. Thank you, Qiao Er.”
“It’s Sister Yun herself who’s gentle and lovely.” Bing Qiao said modestly, but I thought if Bing Qiao dressed up, she’d be just as pretty—though she was already very pretty.
Leng Yu, however, stared at me and said softly, “Although she is beautiful, Young Master, isn’t it a bit much to stare for so long? As expected, a lecher.”
I finally snapped out of it, realizing I’d been staring too long. I could only cough and turn my face away. “This Gongzi has seen a lot of the world. I’ve seen plenty like her before.”
“Nuguan suggests that before Young Master lies, you should control your eyes first. Every time you lie, your eyes always squint as if nothing’s wrong.”
What’s with this girl? Would she die if she didn’t talk back to me for a day?
“Really? I didn’t even know I had that habit.” I was a little shocked—can’t believe I can’t even fool a kid?
Bing Qiao also laughed and said, “Yes, yes! Every time Young Master says something insincere, you do that.”
Mistress clapped her hands, speaking in mock seriousness, “So Qing Er has this habit? I must remember it well.”
Even Old Man laughed, “Hmm, that’s a very important observation. It’ll be useful to prevent you from slacking off.”
“Spare me…”
The little house was filled with laughter, and thus, my time learning in the mountains officially began.
In the next two days, Mistress was especially wary of Old Man, as if afraid he’d try something again. She kept us by her side, making Old Man smile wryly.
Over these two days, we got a bit familiar with the mountain environment, helped Mistress with chores, and tended to the unusually beautiful flowers and plants on the mountain. It was a leisurely life.
It was clear that Mistress cared deeply for this flower field. Every day before dawn, she’d get up to water and arrange the flowers herself, letting us enjoy the serene beauty of the sunrise every morning.
Mistress’s refined taste and conversation really didn’t match that of a woman living deep in the mountains.
Not only that, during this time Old Man also instructed Mistress that, besides martial arts training, we mustn’t neglect our studies. So, every day after training, Mistress would teach us to read and write.
It was during this time that I learned Mistress was actually born into nobility, a true lady from a prestigious family. That explained why she was so elegant and refined, with high tastes, and well-versed in literature since childhood. Naturally, her teaching us was more than sufficient.
As proof, when talking about this, Mistress proudly took us to her room. Though the house was simple and rustic, there were several bookshelves filled with bamboo slips and books. Since Mistress loved flowers, there were also some elegant fresh blooms arranged nearby.
This made the room, which at first seemed a bit crude, feel like the home of a scholarly family.
In this era, books are precious. Noticing my gaze, Mistress lifted her chin proudly, almost as if her nose would point to the sky. “Hmph, Mistress used to be a well-read lady from a noble family, you know. All these books were brought from home when I came to the mountains with your master.”
So that’s it—these must be part of her dowry.
Mistress, a little excited, pulled me to the bookshelf and pointed to the books, saying, “In here, of course, are Daxue, Zhongyong, Lunyu, Mengzi—the Four Books—plus Shijing, Shangshu, Liji, Zhouyi, Chunqiu—the Five Classics. Not to mention Sunzi Bingfa, Liutao, Sanlue, and other Bingfa Shu. Even if you spent your whole life, you might never understand them all.”
The Sishu Wujing go without saying, but Mistress also dabbles in Bingfa Shu?