Chapter 3

Shen Rui's arm burned with pain, and he barely managed to stop his small body from trembling.

Hao Pozi's hand did not stop, and she pinched him a second time, even harder.

Shen Rui cursed inwardly, this old hag was too cruel. How should he react? Meekly enduring it didn't fit his nature, but if he made a fuss, who knew what other dirty tricks might be waiting.

Shen Rui gritted his teeth in anger but couldn't remain completely passive, or it would seem fake. So he kept his eyes closed, frowned, and moaned, "Mom, it hurts..."

The vicious hand on his arm finally paused.

After a while, the sound of footsteps indicated someone had left.

Shen Rui still did not open his eyes, continuing to mumble "Mom" a couple more times before pretending to fall asleep again.

The footsteps at the door started again, and after a while, it finally became quiet.

Shen Rui still did not open his eyes. Not until about two quarters of an hour had passed, and the sound of footsteps returned from outside, did he open his eyes.

The room was already lit, and Liuyao had entered. Seeing Shen Rui awake, she whispered, "This servant is keeping watch for Second Brother. Would Second Brother like some tea?"

Shen Rui had slept for a while and was quite thirsty, so he nodded.

Liuyao poured a cup of hot water and held another cup, moving them back and forth to cool the water faster.

Shen Rui, having just woken up, felt his pores relax, making the room seem even colder. He said, "I want it hot, no need to cool it."

Liuyao obediently brought the cup of water over, hesitating, "Second Brother should drink slowly, it's very hot..."

Her tone was full of concern, treating Shen Rui like a child.

Shen Rui eagerly watched the cup, and as soon as she came closer, he reached out to take it.

The warm temperature of the cup transmitted to his fingers, and he squinted his eyes.

Amitabha, what is the feeling of happiness? In the cold, a bit of warmth is happiness. As he lifted the cup and took a sip of the slightly scalding hot water, his body shivered involuntarily.

His body was already cold, and his stomach was empty. The hot water seemed to make his insides boil.

Shen Rui handed the empty cup back to Liuyao, got out of bed, and walked to the door.

Liuyao, puzzled, wanted to follow, but Shen Rui glanced at the unopened bedding on the ground and said, "You tidy up the bedding, I'll... change my clothes..."

The outer room was not lit, and Liuyao was a bit worried, "The lamp, this servant will hold the lamp for Second Brother..."

Shen Rui waved his hand, "No need, I can do it myself."

The room was quite small, only a few steps from the bed to the door, about ten square meters. Shen Rui grabbed the lamp stand and went out to the outer room. The outer room was the same size as the inner room but had no bed, only a table and a few square stools. The partition between the inner and outer rooms was a display cabinet, empty and dilapidated.

Shen Rui looked back and, through the gaps in the display cabinet, could still see Liuyao's shadow. She had not squatted down to tidy the bedding but stood there, listening for any movement in the outer room, ready to serve at any moment.

A half-old red-lacquered chamber pot was placed under the display cabinet.

Although he had used this chamber pot for the past two days, it was always in front of Mama Wang, and his mind was not very clear. Now, with a little girl and in a fully conscious state, Shen Rui felt somewhat uncomfortable.

But he was so desperate that he could only grimace and place the lamp stand on the display cabinet.

The sound of water falling into the empty chamber pot was particularly loud, and his stomach, as if joining in, rumbled.

Shen Rui did not have the heart to think about whether it was indecent to relieve himself in front of the little girl a few steps away. He rubbed his stomach and glanced out the window. The lights in the side room were still on, but the courtyard gate was pitch black.

An old woman and a skinny little servant, a seemingly unguarded courtyard gate, a great temptation.

But even if he left the courtyard, who would he tell that the old lady was deliberately starving and freezing him, with ill intentions?

Who would believe him?

Even if he went out when others were around, cried and complained, and told the truth, the old lady could simply say, "The child is ignorant and doesn't know that one should eat light and clear food when sick, insisting on eating meat," and the label of "disobedient and unruly" would firmly stick to him.

Although his body was small, there was an old saying, "Three years old, and you can see how they'll be when they grow up," especially during the sensitive period of mourning for his mother.

But if he obediently did not make a fuss, how long could this child's body endure such hunger and cold?

The sound of water stopped, and Shen Rui pulled up his pants, holding the candlestick and returning to the inner room.

Liuyao then lowered her head and started to tidy her bedding.

Shen Rui touched the two horns on his head and looked at the double buns on Liuyao's forehead. They looked somewhat similar, but his horns were smaller, and Liuyao's buns were slightly thicker.

Shen Rui walked over and said, "Liuyao, will you listen to me?"

Liuyao blinked her eyes and said innocently, "Second Brother is the young master, this servant will listen to Second Brother."

Shen Rui nodded and pointed to her hair buns, "I want my hair styled like this, this big."

Over the past two days, Mama Wang had styled his hair, so he knew where the comb was and pointed it out to Liuyao.

Liuyao was very compliant and did not question why Shen Rui wanted to style his hair at midnight. She took the comb and obediently styled Shen Rui's hair into two buns. Unable to find a white hair tie, she untied her own and tied it around Shen Rui's hair.

In no time, Shen Rui's hair was loosely styled, and it looked about the same size as Liuyao's buns.

Shen Rui looked at himself in the bronze mirror. The originally fair and tender child had rapidly become thin, his chin sharp. With the hair buns, he looked like a little servant, but his skin was too pale.

He stood up, walked to the corner where the charcoal brazier was, grabbed a handful of charcoal ash, and smiled as he smeared it on his face and hands, saying, "Do I look like Liuyao?"

Liuyao, unable to stop him in time, looked at Shen Rui's blackened face and laughed awkwardly.

Shen Rui sized up Liuyao, noting that they were about the same height. He tugged at Liuyao's sleeve and said, "I've never worn such clothes. Let me try them on for fun..."

Liuyao seemed hesitant, but seeing Shen Rui's determination, she bit her lip and nodded, lowering her head to take off her outer clothes and help Shen Rui put them on.

Shen Rui, now dressed in the outer clothes, looked like a little servant. He smiled, "Let's play a game..."

Liuyao was still confused, but Shen Rui had already taken the ties from the bed curtains and said, "We'll play a game. You pretend to be a kidnapped boy, and I'll pretend to be the officer who comes to save you."

In Liuyao's experience, there were only various household chores, and she had no idea what a game was.

But being used to being obedient, and seeing Shen Rui's enthusiasm, she let him do as he pleased.

Before long, Liuyao's arms were tied behind her back, her eyes blindfolded, and her mouth gagged.

Shen Rui led Liuyao to the bed, had her lie down, and said, "This is the temple where you are hidden. Lie still. The officer has a lot of procedures to follow and can only act at midnight. You'll have to wait a while."

Liuyao, though somewhat frightened and confused, understood Shen Rui's meaning and nodded in agreement.

After a long time, the distant sound of a gong indicated it was the second watch of the night.

The room became even colder, and Shen Rui pulled the blanket up to cover Liuyao, then adjusted the bed curtains and walked to the window to extinguish the lamp.

The door to the west room was pushed open, and a shadow stood at the door. Seeing the light extinguished, the person returned to the room, and the light in the west room was also extinguished.

The room was quite dark, with only a faint light.

Shen Rui looked down at his hemp clothes, which were only off-white and not as glaringly white as pure white. It was the beginning of the month, and only a crescent moon was in the sky, with dim stars. Otherwise, wearing this outfit would be too conspicuous. But not wearing it would make it hard to explain if he encountered someone.

He could only wait until it was deep into the night.

Shen Rui took slightly heavier steps and walked to the outer room, sitting on a chair.

Now, he could only wait.

Under the hunger and cold, time seemed to drag on.

Shen Rui touched his mourning clothes, feeling increasingly puzzled. He was the main mother's biological son, a filial son, and even in "convalescence," he should have been wearing mourning clothes, and the heaviest mourning clothes at that. But when he woke up, he was only wearing a slightly used blue silk undergarment and a blue satin jacket, and no one had changed his clothes to mourning attire.

Wearing that outfit, he would be accused of not mourning his mother, which could not be covered by a simple "childish mischief."

Surprised, Shen Rui became more alert. Was it the elders, busy with funeral arrangements, who had neglected to change his mourning clothes, or was it intentional? If intentional, was it the old lady mistreating her own flesh and blood, or was it the "second mother" pushing the situation?

Time passed slowly, and the inner room remained quiet.

Finally, the second watch passed, and the sound of the gong indicated it was the third watch of the night.

Shen Rui got up and quietly left the room.

He first went to the window of the west room and listened for a moment. The sound of Mama Wang's snoring indicated she was sound asleep.

He did not know the exact layout of the house, but he remembered that ancient residences often followed certain patterns. The ancients also valued feng shui, and the positions of the kitchen and toilet were usually fixed.

Shen Rui's target was not the kitchen but the main courtyard of the house.

The main courtyard was where the master and mistress lived. The ancients valued "continuation of the lineage," and the couple's duties were important. Hot water was necessary before and after, so even if the main courtyard did not have a small kitchen, it would have a hot water room.

With a hot water room, it was common to have tea and soup.

Since it was the main courtyard, it should be in the center of the house. With the direction clear, Shen Rui felt his way over.

The main courtyard was pitch black, and Shen Rui stood at the entrance of a courtyard on the central path, feeling uncertain.

If not for the height of the main house and the size of the courtyard, he would have doubted he had come to the wrong place.

Even in the quiet side courtyard, the sound of Mama Wang's snoring added a sense of life, but why was the main courtyard so silent, with no sign of life? Even if Lady Sun had passed away, where were the maids and servants who came with her dowry? If she was the main mistress, shouldn't she have had a substantial dowry and a large retinue of servants?

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