Chapter 26: Menstruation

Last night, Su Mu read until late. When she woke up the next day, a steaming bowl of lean meat porridge was already set on the table in the main room, accompanied by a small dish of pickled vegetables.

There was a faint sound of washing coming from the backyard. Su Mu walked to the backyard and saw Xie Yi bending over, head lowered, drawing water from the well.

The well water was cool and refreshing. Even though it was the transition between spring and summer, it still felt a bit cold. Xie Yi’s pure white hands had reddened fingertips from the cold.

He poured the well water into a wooden basin beside him. In the basin were the clothes she had taken off yesterday. Having only been worn for a day and not doing much dirty work, they were only slightly dusty and not very dirty. A quick wash would suffice.

But Xie Yi placed her clothes on the washboard, carefully applying soap from the inside out, then gently rubbing them on the washboard repeatedly until a fine lather formed. He then drew clean water from the well and rinsed them thoroughly twice. The old clothes were washed to look like new. Only then did he hang the clothes on the clothesline, spreading them out and carefully smoothing every wrinkle before considering the task complete.

Then he bent down again to wash other dirty clothes.

Su Mu looked at the number of clothes on the clothesline. It seemed he had woken up very early again today.

Washing clothes was always laborious in an era without washing machines. Su Mu clearly noticed that Xie Yi’s movements today were slower than usual. Occasionally, he would support his aching waist, and his fingertips had become wrinkled and pale from being in water for so long.

Su Mu firmly resolved to outsource the heavy work.

In Juecheng, there were men who specialized in washing clothes for others. Those who did this kind of work were often widowers or men from poor families. They charged very little, only ten or so coins for several pieces of clothing.

Compared to Xie Yi’s health, this money was insignificant.

“Xiao Yi, go back and rest. I’ll find an old man who specializes in washing clothes to do these later,” Su Mu walked to his side, her voice filled with care.

Xie Yi’s emerald eyes froze, as clear as a jade sea.

He seemed delighted by the touch of tenderness in Su Mu’s voice as she said this, but he tried hard to suppress this joy.

“Sister Mu, those people outside won’t wash them clean,” he said, lowering his head and continuing to scrub the clothes vigorously, as if silently demonstrating his abilities.

Sister Mu, look at me, I’m so capable!

But Su Mu couldn’t be happy about this.

Only when one puts themselves in the position of a servant would they care about whether their work ability is better than others.

Su Mu remembered her childhood, when she spent summer vacations at her grandmother’s house in the countryside. Her grandmother had taken in an abandoned stray dog. Probably afraid of being abandoned again, the stray dog worked very hard at guarding the house and yard, even catching mice, just to prove its worth.

Occasionally, her grandmother would praise the stray dog, and its tail would wag up to the sky with joy.

In contrast, her grandmother’s pet Bichon Frise looked at the stray dog with disdain. Having been pampered by her grandmother since it was little, it scorned to do the things the stray dog did. Being favored always breeds fearlessness.

Su Mu felt that Xie Yi now was like that stray dog, placing himself in a very low position. It wasn’t like this when she first brought him home. Why? Was she not treating him well enough? But if she wasn’t treating him well enough, why did he cry and beg her to keep him in the first place?

Su Mu couldn’t help but think of Yan Jiyue. If it were Yan Jiyue, he wouldn’t be as insecure and anxious as Xie Yi. He would only care about whether his hair ornaments looked good today, whether his clothes were the rarest in the city, just like that little Bichon Frise.

Su Mu helped Xie Yi up from the small stool and said, “Stop washing. My clothes aren’t made of any precious fabric. It doesn’t matter who washes them.”

Xie Yi remained silent. How could it be the same? It was completely different.

Suddenly, he felt Su Mu draw closer, her face very near to his.

Su Mu’s hand slowly caressed his face, her fingertip lightly touching the faint dark circles under his eyes.

Xie Yi’s heart pounded loudly, he was so nervous that his palms broke out in a sweat, but he dared not say a word.

Finally, she spoke: “Did you not sleep well last night?”

Xie Yi’s ears burned. He quickly covered his eyes, anxiously wondering if he had dark circles. Had he become ugly? He was so useless, he couldn’t even present his best self to Su Mu.

Seeing his silence, Su Mu took it as confirmation and said, “There’s nothing much to do at home today. Go back and take a nap, get some good rest.”

Xie Yi shook his head and was about to speak when they heard a knock at the front door.

Their conversation was inevitably interrupted.

Su Mu went to open the door, but it was an unexpected visitor.

“What are you doing here?” Su Mu’s tone was far from welcoming.

“A Mu-” Yan Jiyue stood in front of Su Mu. Although it was evident that he had taken great care in his appearance, he couldn’t hide how much thinner he had become in these past few days.

The clothes that used to fit him well now hung loosely on his frame, and his usual arrogance had softened considerably.

“Su girl, I heard you passed the imperial examination. This old man came specially to congratulate you.” Yan Zhujun stood behind Yan Jiyue, with Ling Hua holding several boxes of congratulatory gifts beside him.

Su Mu remained silent, not responding.

“What’s wrong? You’re not going to give even this old man face?”

Yan Zhujun’s smile made him look like a kind old man, but his words were clearly coercive.

If it was before her rebirth, Su Mu might have still given Yan Zhujun some consideration, but now she really didn’t want to have any more entanglements with these people.

When it’s time to be ruthless, be ruthless. Indecisiveness only breeds trouble.

“Please go back, Lord Yan.” She didn’t offer any further explanation. This cold statement was the best interpretation.

Yan Zhujun’s face suddenly turned cold, then he sighed and spoke of the past: “Very well, very well. You’ve grown up, you’ve matured. You’re no longer that little girl who was nearly frozen to death in the snow.”

Su Mu lowered her eyes and listened quietly, but unexpectedly showed no reaction.

This was Yan Zhujun’s usual tactic. Perhaps the high school student who had just transmigrated might have fallen for it, but she was no longer who she was then.

Moreover, her unclear death in her previous life was like a thorn stuck in her heart. The Yan family was the most suspicious, and she saw everyone as a suspect. How could she possibly go back?

“The gifts Lord Yan has brought are too precious. Su Mu cannot accept them. Please take them back.” With that, Su Mu directly closed the door.

The sound was crisp and clear.