Chapter 3: 3

Chapter 3: Caught

Tao Xinhe wiped away her tears, went back to the bed quietly, opened her eyes and stared at the top of the bed in a daze, she really didn’t understand what kind of heart-rending things happened to her husband, and she couldn’t figure out after all kinds of inquiries.

After a long time, she vaguely sensed that Gu Ningxi had quietly entered the house, and stood in front of the charcoal stove for a long time before getting on the canopy bed, and he could not avoid making noises with light hands and feet, Tao Xinhe pretended not to know, and didn’t open her eyes until dawn.

Early the next morning, Tao Xinhe made up her mind to have a good talk with Gu Ningxi, but found that Gu Ningxi’s cheeks were red and his breathing was a little erratic.

She stretched out her hand to touch her husband’s forehead, and smiled wryly in her heart. Sure enough, he was sick and had a fever, and the temperature on his forehead was so high.

Now Tao Xinhe had no choice but to put aside her husband’s abnormal condition for the past two months, wait for the doctor to decoct the medicine, send someone to the Ministry of Rites to ask for a leave.

She personally stood beside Gu Ningxi’s bed, taking care of the patient on the bed.

Tao Xinhe gently wiped his body and changed his clothes, and changed the wet handkerchief on his forehead from time to time. I helped him to half-sit, several times a day, with a large cushion tucked behind his back. I fed him water, medicine, and food spoon by spoon, and patiently blew each spoonful until the temperature was just right.

Seeing him rolling left and right, Tao Xinhe gently patted and hummed a calming tune.

Listening to his ravings, she leaned forward but couldn’t understand, Tao Xinhe could only say it over and over again, not sure if it was to herself or her husband: “It’s fine, you will be fine, everything will definitely be fine.”

Gu Ningxi’s body is strong and sturdy, and he seldom gets sick, but this time the fever came on fiercely, and it continued on, for more than ten days.

During this period, people from the second house, third house, and people from the Tao manor came to visit and give gifts. Tao Xinhe had to work hard to deal with each of them properly.

Later, the Ministry of Rites also came to inquire, and Tao Xinhe accidentally learned that Gu Ningxi did not stay in the Ministry of Rites during this time, and left the government office in a hurry when it was time to be on duty.

Tao Xinhe felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave, her mouth and tongue were dry, her hands and feet were cold, and she hardly knew where she was, what day and what time.

On the 21st day of the twelfth lunar month, Gu Ningxi completely recovered from his illness. His expression cleared up, his voice was no longer hoarse, and he held Tao Xinhe’s hand guiltily and said,

“My lady, you have been tired these few days.”

Tao Xinhe seemed to realize at this moment that Gu Ningxi hadn’t looked at him and talked for a long time, and his eyes were wandering in all directions.

She slowly but firmly pulled away her hands, tried her best to be calm, and said lightly: “These are nothing. You missed your so much work, go get ready.”

Sure enough, Gu Ningxi walked down the steps and said a few words urgently, he leaned over and touched Tao Xinhe’s cheek, and the touch was instant, and then he left in a hurry with the words “Don’t wait for me to come back for dinner”.

Tao Xinhe didn’t have time to avoid, but felt that the part of her cheek touched by Gu Ningxi seemed to be frozen and cold.

She raised her head and only saw the back of her husband going away.

“Qingfang, come and wait for me to change my clothes and hairstyle.” Tao Xinhe was very surprised, her voice was so calm, as if she was just saying an ordinary order.

Under the service of the maids, Tao Xinhe changed out of the ginger-yellow cotton-padded jacket skirt trimmed with white rabbit fur, removed the bun with the tail curled up, and wore a lotus-colored cotton-padded robe with a snake bun.

She had locked Shishu, one of the servants who usually went out with Gu Ningxi, in the firewood room for two days. At this moment, she slipped Shishu out and told him to lead the way with a solemn face.

Shishu was like dead ashes, knowing that his mistress has noticed something, and he leads the way without daring to refute.

If Qingfang felt something, she held Tao Xinhe tightly and walked behind Shishu.

After leaving the gate of Gu’s mansion, they turned all the way, passed the lively market, walked through the quiet deep alley, and stopped at the entrance of an alley after about half an hour.

Shishu put his head on his face and replied to Tao Xinhe: “During these days, the second master often brought me or Shihua here, and didn’t let us in, so he just stayed here. He didn’t know which door to look for when he went in alone. .”

The alley entrance is a rather lively three-way intersection, and it is not uncommon for pedestrians to come and go, there are wonton stalls, and a big pot is steaming white. Tao Xinhe sat at the table with two servants and ordered three bowls of wontons.

She looked down at the bowl in front of her, the boiling water gradually became lukewarm, and then became cold again, and a thin layer of oil was formed on the noodles of the soup.

The boss saw that their table had not been moved for a long time, so he came over to ask if the wontons did not fit well. Qingfang took out some loose silver taels and gave them to the boss, saying that she would sit down for a while, and the boss left wisely.

Tao Xinhe turned a deaf ear to this and remained motionless, as if all the bustle in the outside world had nothing to do with her.

The sun in winter is also lazy, and there is no warmth, but the noisy voices of the people carry the expectation for the coming new year, creating a noise.

Tao Xinhe found that she couldn’t help but silently think about the arrangements for the New Year’s Eve in the mansion, and the corners of her mouth moved in a self-conscious manner.

Suddenly, she accurately and keenly captured the familiar male voice among the many voices: “Si Qi, go back quickly, it’s cold outside.”

Tao Xinhe felt like a heavy weight was pressing on her neck, and she couldn’t even lift it. She dared not look.

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A delicate and tender female voice followed from that direction: “Brother Xi, please help me to get some medicine for my brother again. I haven’t seen you for so long, and you tell me what happened, and you don’t care how worried I was.”

Tao Xinhe eagerly looked out, a man and a woman were saying goodbye, the man was tall and stalwart, the woman was small and dainty, such a beautiful couple. Except for one thing, this man is her husband Gu Ningxi.

Tao Xinhe had never seen Gu Ningxi’s focused eyes on the woman beside her.

Tao Xinhe married him for three years, and always thought that he looked at human faces and still life with the same eyes, but it turned out to be wrong.

There was light in Gu Ningxi’s eyes, a smile on his lips, and an affectionate voice. These seemed to be transformed into countless sharp arrows, and without missing a single arrow, they firmly tied Tao Xinhe, making her sit still and unable to move.

The woman tiptoed and brushed something off Gu Ningxi’s shoulders. Tao Xinhe focused on Gu Ningxi’s face.

Gu Ningxi was wearing a thick but not bloated quilted brocade gown with black embroidered cyan fairy grass pattern. This was a new winter coat that Tao Xinhe had rushed to make over the past few days. There was a brand-new long purple cotton scarf around his neck, and the woman helped him tidy the scarf again.

Gu Ningxi’s voice of thanks came, and Tao Xinhe stared at the traces of the woman lingering on his shoulders and neck.

She clearly remembered that because of Gu Ningxi’s face blindness, everyone he saw was a stranger, and he didn’t like others touching him, so he did everything by herself.

It turned out that this was not the case, this woman could touch him without any scruples, and he fully accepted it. This is not her prerogative.

Tao Xinhe unconsciously pinched her palm tightly with her fingertips and held on for a long time, as if she didn’t feel the pain of the long nails embedded in the flesh.

Some passers-by also noticed the couple, most of them looked at them with the eyes of a loving couple. Tao Xinhe looked at the passers-by without any trace. It turned out that when the husband and wife looked at each other and smiled in front of others, the eyes of the people around them looked like this.

Gu Ningxi also sent the woman a few more steps into the alley. The feeling of inseparability was as strong as the sea, about to flood the entire street, Tao Xinhe felt short of breath, as if she was drowning and suffocating.

Gu Ningxi passed by this wonton stall without even looking at anyone. Tao Xinhe stared at the so-called husband’s receding back, her vision gradually blurred until the world was full of mist.

The husband and wife have been married for more than three years, and he is within three steps away from him, but he can not recognize her after changing his clothes.

What kind of couple do you call that? Tao Xinhe’s mind is full of absurdity, only she can devote herself wholeheartedly to take care of the housework for him, right?

He made a new love outside, and as soon as he recovered from his illness, he couldn’t wait to meet him. He even forgot to bring the servant. He probably forgot the vow he made on his wedding day, “A couple for a lifetime”?

Tao Xinhe didn’t even know how she returned to the main room of Gu’s mansion when she was full of grief and resentment.

When she regained consciousness, she saw Shishu kneeling on the ground, not daring to lift his head, and Qingfang standing beside her with worried eyes.

Tao Xinhe kept thinking about the way Gu Ningxi looked at the woman just now, the eyes were shining and focused, which she had never seen before.

“Tell me.” She didn’t expect her voice to remain calm.

Shishu kowtowed fiercely, as if pouring beans into a bamboo tube, for fear of being slow in speaking, Madam punished him: “Second madam, the second master found this family with this servant and Shihua on the second day after he came out of the Gongyuan. There are only brothers and sisters in this family. The older brother is Mo Qi, is a twenty-two-year-old Juren1, he was supposed to take part in the autumn exam this year, but was seriously ill and was bedridden, so he couldn’t make it. The younger sister is Mo Qiqi, who has not yet married at the age of eighteen, and takes care of her elder brother at home on weekdays. I don’t know how the second master got to know this family, and the elder brother doesn’t know why, but the younger sister was emotional when she first met the second master, and kept saying that she didn’t pass the exam or something.”

Mo Qiqi? Tao Xinhe remembered Gu Ningxi’s “Qiniang”2 and it was this woman.

Shishu said so much in one go, changed his breath and continued without waiting for urging:

“Later, the second master took me or Shihua there every now and then, and it took about two months before the second master fell ill. Most of the time the sister come to the second master because her elder brother was ill, she often asks him to give her some pointers and teach her, she asks him to donate some silver taels, and give some medicinal materials, as if to support the younger generation. The younger sister will accompany him almost every time, and he will listen to her as if she is interested in learning. The second master should never be alone with the younger sister. He just take a second look once in a while, Second Madam, don’t worry too much.”

Tao Xinhe thought, two months, it is true that something is wrong when my husband came back from the Gongyuan in early October, why is she so slow-witted.

“Occasionally take a second look”, hehe, Tao Xinhe sneered, Gu Ningxi had never looked at anyone more, he didn’t even look at the wife that he decided to marry. he said my appearance were just tiles to him.

Could it be that in Gu Ningxi’s eyes, she is indeed rubble, and that woman is the jewel?

Tao Xinhe let go of the lips that she had been biting tightly for a long time, took a few deep breaths, and let the book keeper go down first. Then she said to Qingfang: “Qingfang, you wear the yellow clothes I’m used to wearing, sit in the main room and wait for the second master, don’t make a sound.”

Qingfang has served Tao Xinhe for many years, knowing that she is calm on the outside but emotionally agitated, so she hastily followed suit.

As the sun went down, Qingfang lit candles around the house. Tao Xinhe looked at her back in a daze, with the familiar dress and the familiar bun, and she couldn’t see her face. Is this the case in Gu Ningxi’s mind?

It was very late, and Qingfang couldn’t bear to take a nap. Tao Xinhe has been sober, she is waiting for something.

Until she heard the sound of the cotton curtain at the door, she stood in the corner of the room in her maid’s attire, watched Gu Ningxi push the door in, and walked towards Qingfang who was beside the Eight Immortals table step by step.

1

Juren (Chinese: 舉人; lit. ‘recommended man’) was a rank achieved by people who passed the xiangshi (Chinese: 鄉試) exam in the imperial examination system of imperial China. The xiangshi is also known, in English, as the provincial examination.

2

-Niang, can often mean mother in Chinese but is often used as a form of endearment between lovers.

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