Chapter 17 Heart Fluttering Like a Little Deer

Su Mu’s expression immediately darkened, coldly staring at the servant and asking, “Who else have you told this to? Who else knows?”

The servant said, “Miss, please rest assured. Revealing this matter would ultimately be shameful, and there’s no need to make it widely known. That’s why my master instructed me to tell you secretly… If you don’t believe me, you can go back and tear open his clothes to see for yourself, it’s right on the left side of his chest.”

“Enough!” Su Mu pressed her lips tightly, “I’m already aware of this matter. You may leave now.”

The servant was somewhat surprised, “Miss, aren’t you angry? Xie Yi is a lowly person branded with a mark. If he stays by your side, it might be exposed someday, and you’ll be the one disgraced.”

The servant’s words were arrogant and mocking, “Although I’m also of lowly status, I wouldn’t stoop to his level. He won’t even have a chance to be redeemed in the future.”

Yang Shu, eavesdropping from around the corner, agreed inwardly, ‘That’s right, that’s right. It’s better to get rid of or sell off this kind of man early.’

Su Mu didn’t say much more to the servant, “Since you’ve delivered your message, please leave now.”

After speaking, Su Mu left first. Seeing her walking back, Yang Shu quickly slipped away. He put aside all thoughts of matchmakers and marriages, deciding to resolve this matter first.

He hid behind the corner, secretly watching Su Mu return to her room with furrowed brows. As soon as the door opened, before he could see anyone inside greeting her, a coquettish ‘Sister Mu’ reached his ears, sounding utterly seductive.

The moment Su Mu heard his voice, her furrowed brows softened, and a faint smile appeared on her face, as if nothing had happened.

Whether intentionally or not, Xie Yi deliberately rolled up his sleeves high, exposing a pair of hands as white as porcelain. Like a dodder vine, he clung to her arm. The flawless white arm and the fiery red clothes created a striking visual impact that assaulted Yang Shu’s eyes.

Yang Shu inwardly spat in disgust, ‘What a brothel commodity!’

If Yang Shu had felt some gratitude towards Xie Yi before, now that he knew how despicable this lowly man was, he felt no guilt at all.

A man who lacks even this much self-awareness, knowing he’s already been branded, yet still brazenly living in a respectable woman’s home. A brothel commodity should stay in the brothel, not dream of ascending to heaven and escaping his lowly status in one step.

Only after Su Mu closed the door did Yang Shu quietly return to his own home.

“Father, weren’t you going to find a matchmaker? Why are you back so soon?” Lin Xiaoxing asked, seeing Yang Shu suddenly return.

“Don’t even mention it. I’ve heard something unbelievable.” Yang Shu told Lin Xiaoxing everything he had overheard, detail by detail.

Lin Xiaoxing widened his eyes in disbelief, “What? Xie Yi was actually… Is it true?”

“I saw that servant speak with certainty, even telling Su Mu to verify it herself. It must be true.” Yang Shu took a sip of tea.

Lin Xiaoxing lay on the bed, muttering, “I never imagined Xie Yi would be so… Just a few days ago, I was teaching him how to make plum blossom snow wine, and now…”

Lin Xiaoxing looked at his own hands, quickly taking out a handkerchief and wiping them thoroughly, afraid of being contaminated by his impurity and dirtying his hands.

“Sister Su is truly unfortunate to have bought such a filthy slave.”

Yang Shu nodded, “Indeed, she must have been deceived. Otherwise, how could she have bought him? What a great insult this is. Just wait and see, after Su Mu goes back to verify, she’ll surely drive Xie Yi away.”

“Right, Sister Su comes from a respectable family. She definitely won’t tolerate him.”

The father and son waited and waited, but even until nightfall, they didn’t hear any commotion from Su Mu’s courtyard.

Instead, Xie Yi came out once to pick green plums for making wine. Yang Shu peeked through the crack in the door and saw that Xie Yi’s face showed no sign of panic. On the contrary, he seemed no different from usual, even happier than normal.

“What’s going on? Could it be that he has bewitched Sister Su, and she’s unwilling to drive him away?” Lin Xiaoxing was almost in tears with anxiety.

“Don’t worry, don’t worry. I’ll go out and investigate,” Yang Shu comforted him.

He sat by the door with a basket, pretending to sew shoe soles, watching Xie Yi use a bamboo pole to knock green plums from the tree branches.

“Hey, Xie Yi, you seem to be in a good mood today? Didn’t Su lass tell you anything?”

Xie Yi put down the pole and turned to look at him.

In fact, over these days, he had come to understand about seven or eight tenths of the Central Plains language. But in front of others, he always pretended not to understand. Firstly, it saved him from unnecessary social interactions, and secondly, it allowed him to hear what these people said behind his back.

“The Su lass didn’t tell you?” Yang Shu put down the shoe sole and smiled, “Oh right, you probably don’t understand what I’m saying, do you? That’s good, that’s good. Not understanding Central Plains customs is better. It saves you from suffering when you hear them.”

What customs? What suffering? What on earth is this old man talking about?

Xie Yi was confused inside, but he didn’t show it. Instead, he smiled innocently at Yang Shu.

He handed Yang Shu a green plum, “Uncle Yang, eat.”

“I don’t want this. You keep it yourself.” Yang Shu waved his hand. After learning about Xie Yi’s background, he no longer wanted to have much contact with such a person. He picked up his basket and went back inside.

It seems that Su Mu has indeed been bewitched by Xie Yi’s tactics. Undoubtedly, he must have used the same methods he used to bewitch his previous master. Thinking of this, the words about sending him back to the desert after some time also became untrustworthy.

This won’t do. Su lass is the girl his son has set his eyes on. If she becomes entangled with such a person, when his son marries her in the future, he’ll inevitably have to compete for favor and suffer grievances.

The more Yang Shu thought about it, the angrier he became. He slammed the door shut with a bang.

Xie Yi looked at the tightly closed door, lost in thought.

It was obvious that Uncle Yang had come out deliberately to talk to him, but his words were ambiguous, and Xie Yi couldn’t understand them no matter how he tried.

“Xiao Yi, are the green plums ready?” Su Mu’s voice came from behind.

Xie Yi quickly replied that they were ready and carried a basket of green plums back to the small courtyard.

Tonight, they were making green plum wine. Xie Yi sat in the courtyard, cleaning the green plums one by one.

But the confusion in his heart lingered, and he felt it was something not good.

Finally, he put down his work and looked at Su Mu, “Sister Mu, what are the customs of the Central Plains?”

Su Mu was placing utensils in the steamer. Hearing his question, she didn’t quite understand, “What do you mean? There are many customs in the Central Plains.”

“Have I offended any Central Plains customs?” Xie Yi asked.

Su Mu came to his side, smiling, and rubbed his head. The Western Region people had thick hair, abundant and dense but also fine and soft, pleasant to touch. “No, how could you have offended Central Plains customs?”

“That’s good then.” Xie Yi squinted his eyes, seemingly enjoying Su Mu’s touch, like a gentle and affectionate little beast.

Seeing Xie Yi squinting his eyes in comfort, Su Mu’s smile gradually faded, “Did someone say something to you?”

She knew this matter couldn’t be kept hidden forever. Fortunately, in a few days, the merchant caravan would arrive. By then, Xie Yi would leave with them, returning to the desert. The desert women were rough and mostly illiterate, and the desert also had tattooing customs. Once Xie Yi returned to his homeland, he would no longer be subject to pointing and whispering.

Xie Yi pressed his lips together, “No one said anything to me. I just thought of it suddenly.”

Su Mu sat beside Xie Yi, joining him in washing the green plums. Her fair, slender hands looked even more masculine than Xie Yi’s, like silk and white jade in the clear water. The green plums rolled nimbly in her hands, as if playing, with water droplets rolling off her fingertips.

Xie Yi couldn’t take his eyes off her, suddenly feeling a bit flustered, his heart pounding. He vaguely realized that she seemed to have a knack for turning the most ordinary daily tasks into something poetic and picturesque.

He lowered his head, reaching his hand into the water basin to wash along with Su Mu. His little finger inadvertently hooked with her finger, and his already racing heart seemed about to burst out of his chest.

Su Mu’s hand… so soft, her fingers so delicate, yet not giving the impression of being weak and boneless like an effeminate man. Instead, it was more like white jade formed by nature, nurtured by gentle waves.

Xie Yi kept his head down, seeing that Su Mu continued washing the green plums in her hands as if nothing had happened. But his face was already burning hot, his eardrums ringing with extreme excitement.

In an instant, the chatter of men outside, the lingering sound of rain, and the chirping of insects in the trees all disappeared and froze.

All he could hear was the sound of Su Mu’s slender, snow-white fingers inadvertently splashing water.

Splash, splash…

A section of red sleeve slipped down from her snow-white wrist, the cuff soaking in the water.

Xie Yi saw Su Mu’s reflection in the rippling water of the basin, her red clothes soaked, exuding a cold allure.

Splash, splash…

Water splashed onto Xie Yi’s hand, ice-cold, yet feeling like a splash of boiling water, scalding his heart and making him shudder.

“What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?” Su Mu stopped what she was doing and asked with concern.

Xie Yi, fearing she would see through his thoughts, quickly shook his head, “No- nothing.”

Since ancient times, only women have fantasized about men. How could a man fantasize about a woman? If people knew, he would be scorned as impure and weak, and in the future, even as a husband, he would be despised for not being loyal enough.

Xie Yi tried hard to make his flushed face return to normal, but no matter how hard he tried, it was to no avail.

Shameless! Xie Yi cursed himself in his heart.

“The merchant caravan will be here in a couple of days. If there’s anything else you want to bring, you can tell me, and I’ll buy it for you.” Su Mu’s hair fell at the corner of her eye.

In an instant, all the heat, palpitations, and burning youthful feelings in Xie Yi’s heart were like being doused with a bucket of ice water, chilling him from head to toe.

“No- nothing else.” His voice was hoarse, suddenly feeling a bitterness and astringency in his throat.

Time passes so quickly.

When he was a slave in Li Xiucai’s house before, the days dragged on endlessly, and he wished he could open his eyes and decades would have passed. Now, staying by Su Mu’s side, the scene of her buying him seemed like just yesterday.

When he was first picked up by Su Mu, how much he wanted to go home!

But now he felt a bit hesitant. The once blazing desert sunset in his mind, hot enough to melt sand, had quietly dimmed. When mentioning going home, his first reaction was no longer joy, but… a sense of loss. A melancholy rising from the bottom of his heart, like the willow catkins on a spring day in a tired city, clung to his clothes, impossible to brush off or get rid of completely.