Seeing her lowering her head and staying quiet, Lu Yi carefully observed her expression, then asked, “Are you complaining in your heart because I didn’t tell you the truth?”
Jinxia said in a reluctant voice, “Beizhe does not dare.”
Seeing that her expression didn’t match her words, Lu Yi didn’t bother trying to make up with her and only said, “If you’re complaining, then you’re angry. You thought it was you who fooled me, but realistically, it’s me who had known the situation for a long time, so you’re dissatisfied.”
“Beizhe wouldn’t dare to fool Daren.”
“In order to let go of Sha Xiuzhu, you got hurt and pretended to be attacked, so come to think of it, it’s me who should be dissatisfied.” Lu Yi said casually, “I didn’t care too much to investigate the situation but now, you’re keeping counts with me?”
Jinxia was stunned, she felt that his words were right and reasonable, this was indeed her mistake from the beginning.
“Daren’s words are too heavy, how do I dare to keep count with Daren?”
Lu Yi casually replied, “Then, I tricked you once, you also tricked me once, let’s call it even.”
Jinxia felt that something was wrong, but since Lu Yi decided to let it go, Jinxia also took a step back and nodded, “We’re even.”
“Then…” Lu Yi leaned his body closer, “Can you tell me what happened last night?”
Jinxia stepped back, still feeling uneasy, and quickly stood up and sat on a chair, took a cup and poured tea, then drank it in one shot.
“You know… It’s not a big deal… That’s…” She hesitated for a while, then said, “The way LiuShanmen works is to help people when they are in trouble, to heal wounds and save the dying. Daren, you must have heard about it, right?”
“Never heard of it.” Lu Yi replied.
“It’s fine if you haven’t, now let me explain it to Daren so that you know.” Jinxia held the cup in her hand, slightly stroking it… Her mind kept working, trying to figure out how to explain, “Yesterday, Daren was poisoned by the Japanese’s flying weapons, of course you know this part. Mrs. Shen found a way to heal you. When she finished cleaning the external wounds, if anything abnormal would have happened, I had to immediately feed you the medicinal soup. Of course, Mrs. Shen is very skilled, look at Daren now, you’re more than sixty-seventy percent cured.”
“Huh?” Lu Yi waited and continued to look at her without saying anything.
Jinxia continued to say, “At that time, the wound was being treated with snake poison, it was as painful as getting a piece of flesh cut off. Even though you are a strong man, you didn’t scream during the treatment, but you were gritting your teeth so tight that the medicinal soup couldn’t enter at all. That’s why I told uncle to feed the medicine to you, mouth to mouth…”
Lu Yi furrowed his eyebrows, “What?”
“I didn’t expect him to think of his purity as his life, of course, it’s not his life, but he wouldn’t do it no matter how much I tried to persuade him.” Jinxia’s upcoming words were said as fast as if they were flying, “At that time, the situation was critical, if we had delayed anything, Daren’s life might have gone with the wind. I remembered what my mother said *‘saving one’s life is better than building a seven level float’. I also remembered what my father said ‘if you can help, you should help; and the master also said ‘turning a blind eye when someone is in danger, you don’t deserve to be a person. Help those in need, care for the wounded, everyone has the responsibility…”
“I was in the middle of dying and you still had time to think about so many things?”
“Well, I just wanted to tell you, I didn’t mean to offend you…” Jinxia bit her lip and looked at him, “I fed you the medicine.”
Not expecting her to confess so quickly, Lu Yi continued looking at her for a moment, then said, uttering word by word, “You used your mouth to feed me?”
“Daren, don’t misunderstand, it was a very critical situation… Whether I liked it or not, I had no choice.” Jinxia held her forehead, “…Daren, if you think about it, this is a loss for a girl.”
Lu Yi said all quiet, “Logically thinking, that’s not wrong… If you want to cry or hang yourself or begging me to marry you, I can consider it.”
Jinxia hurriedly raised her hand to stop him, “Daren, please don’t consider it. I never intended to use Daren as a stepping stone. This matter, in fact, I had no intention of telling you, let’s pretend that nothing happened. If I force Daren to marry me, then this behaviour is like blackmailing Daren!”
Lu Yi was slightly stunned by what she said.
Jinxia continued to talk uprightly, “As a LiuShanmen, how can I turn a blind eye when someone is in danger? How can I not repay your kindness? That’s right, we are both government officials, if Daren were me, you would’ve definitely done the same.”
“You think too high of me…” Lu Yi leaned back against the bed, his hands supporting his head, then said, “You really don’t want me to be responsible?”
*[I’ll explain a bit why they keep talking about being held responsible. In the culture, unsure about other places, but in Asia, when a girl gives her ‘first time’ to a man, she’s considered to be his woman, but for a man, it doesn’t matter. So, when she said they ‘kissed’, logically thinking, she could technically become his woman. That’s why, you see in historical dramas or modern dramas, sometimes the man could be dating numerous times or the king is having multiple wives and girlfriends. Aside from that, traditional parents nowadays still followed this rule, TN]
“It’s really not necessary. Of course, Daren shouldn’t spread this around, saying I took advantage of you when you were injured, things like that…” Jinxia looked at him anxiously, “If my mother knew about it, my days would be over.”
Lu Yi snorted and didn’t answer her, but his eyes glanced down on her lips and said, “Then, that wound… Did I bite you?”
“Yes, at the time, it really hurt… Nevermind, it’s just a small problem.”
She waved her hands, not wanting to continue talking about it.
“Yesterday, if it weren’t me but another person, would you have done the same?” Lu Yi suddenly asked.
She was silent for a moment, thinking about his words, frowned and said, “Of course! It’s all about saving people, you can’t distinguish status, strangers or family…” Before she could finish her words, Lu Yi cut her off.
“Alright! You go out, I want to rest.”
Jinxia tilted her head, trying to question his attitude, carefully said, ”Is Daren angry? That’s why I didn’t want to tell you. I just made you angry, right? Actually, Daren’t didn’t lose too much…”
“Go out!”
“Then, you should rest first, be more open-minded…”
Jinxia kept turning back to look at him while leaving the room.
It wasn’t until she completely left the room and closed the door that Lu Yi let out a long sigh.
***
She savoured the taste of the bamboo shoots mixed with the salty meat, as well as the thick broth of the meat mixed with the bamboo shoots, both of which complemented each other and came together harmoniously in a very good combination.
Jinxia took a small piece of meat, ate a bite of it, then put in her mouth a large quantity of rice; this way she wouldn’t waste good food that had fallen from the sky.
“Why don’t you grab some food and serve it to him?” The beggar uncle asked while eating.
Jinxia shook her head, “Earlier I asked, he said he has no appetite, he won’t eat. He’s angry now, I knew it was better to hide it.”
“What’s he angry about?” The beggar uncle was curious.
“Yesterday’s problem, he kept asking, so I told him.” Jinxia sighed, even eating didn’t diminish her uneasiness, “He’s uncomfortable.”
The beggar uncle still did not understand, “He has already taken advantage of you, he should be happy, why get angry instead?”
“Uncle, try to think about his status. He must have thought I have taken advantage of him, and think I should be happy about it.” Jinxia lowered her voice and sighed.
Mrs. Shen looked at her, somewhat suspicious, then asked the beggar uncle, “Is the outside world always like this?”
The beggar uncle said right away, “No, no, this girl is the problem, just ignore her… Do you feel happy?” His last sentence was addressed to Jinxia.
“How can I? Why would I? He even bit my lips.” Jinxia’s cheeks suddenly flushed red.
“Be honest!”
Jinxia took another mouthful of rice, then said, “Absolutely not, I just feel… Feel… I feel that I have nothing to lose.”
Upon hearing her words, the one who reacted first was Mrs. Shen: her expression was dignified and serious, she couldn’t help but laugh while covering her mouth.
“Girl! That’s the right way to think!” The uncle beggar slapped her on the shoulder, “Although, my grandson is no better than me, but if you look at him carefully, he is quite a handsome man, so you have nothing to lose.”
Jinxia who was hit on the shoulder almost hit the table and was struggling to raise her body up to continue eating.
“Aunt, I know how to make tofu. I will make tofu for you when I have time and let you try it first.” Jinxia looked at Mrs. Shen attentively, “My family has a secret recipe, the tofu we make smells really good.”
Mrs. Shen did not answer right away. She paused for a while and then said, “You don’t need to come again because I will be leaving this place.”
“What?!?”
“…….”
Jinxia and the beggar uncle were both surprised.
“Where are you going?” The beggar uncle asked.
Mrs. Shen put down her bamboo chopsticks, used a handkerchief to wipe her mouth, then turned to look at the beggar uncle and said, “You know my rules. Since they’re here, other officials will too, it will be difficult to maintain this place quiet.”
“No, I can guarantee…” Jinxia quickly said.
“I don’t blame you,” Mrs. Shen interrupted her, not letting her continue, “If Brother Lu brought you here, then we were destined to meet, but I still have to abide to my rules, I can’t continue living here.”
Knowing Mrs. Shen’s personality, the beggar was very upset, “It’s all my fault, I really shouldn’t have… But, where are you going?”
“I haven’t visited my hometown for many years, I think it’s time to go back.” Mrs. Shen’s eyes fell on Jinxia, as if she thought of something, “The embroidery on the collar of your dress was sewn by my sister…”
The beggar uncle tightened his eyebrows, “Is there anyone still living there? Not to mention, recently, places haven’t been very safe, yet you are a woman living alone…”
“Brother Lu, honestly you tell me, is there even a safe place out there in the city?” Mrs. Shen smiled slightly, “I am alone after all, so everywhere would be the same.”
Hearing this, the beggar uncle didn’t know how to answer. He remained silent and his face was full of uneasiness.
Jinxia kicked him several times under the table. She felt like she was kicking a wooden statue because he did not respond at all.
“After finishing your meal, you guys can go, I need time to tidy up things.” Mrs. Shen said to Jinxia, “I can write another prescription for you, if he has a fever, you can boil medicinal soup for him to drink.”
Jinxia could only nod her head, remembering the snakes around the place she couldn’t help but feel worried, “If you’re leaving, what about these snakes?”
“The villagers around here usually drive animals into the forest to become food for them. Before leaving, I will also distribute prescriptions to keep them safe from the snakes.”
It seemed that Mrs. Shen had thought about this matter very thoroughly, it was obvious she didn’t want to leave, but Jinxia didn’t dare to ask her to stay. Instead, she remained silent and kept her head down.
Seeing her lowering her head and staying quiet, Lu Yi carefully observed her expression, then asked, “Are you complaining in your heart because I didn’t tell you the truth?”
Jinxia said in a reluctant voice, “Beizhe does not dare.”
Seeing that her expression didn’t match her words, Lu Yi didn’t bother trying to make up with her and only said, “If you’re complaining, then you’re angry. You thought it was you who fooled me, but realistically, it’s me who had known the situation for a long time, so you’re dissatisfied.”
“Beizhe wouldn’t dare to fool Daren.”
“In order to let go of Sha Xiuzhu, you got hurt and pretended to be attacked, so come to think of it, it’s me who should be dissatisfied.” Lu Yi said casually, “I didn’t care too much to investigate the situation but now, you’re keeping counts with me?”
Jinxia was stunned, she felt that his words were right and reasonable, this was indeed her mistake from the beginning.
“Daren’s words are too heavy, how do I dare to keep count with Daren?”
Lu Yi casually replied, “Then, I tricked you once, you also tricked me once, let’s call it even.”
Jinxia felt that something was wrong, but since Lu Yi decided to let it go, Jinxia also took a step back and nodded, “We’re even.”
“Then…” Lu Yi leaned his body closer, “Can you tell me what happened last night?”
Jinxia stepped back, still feeling uneasy, and quickly stood up and sat on a chair, took a cup and poured tea, then drank it in one shot.
“You know… It’s not a big deal… That’s…” She hesitated for a while, then said, “The way LiuShanmen works is to help people when they are in trouble, to heal wounds and save the dying. Daren, you must have heard about it, right?”
“Never heard of it.” Lu Yi replied.
“It’s fine if you haven’t, now let me explain it to Daren so that you know.” Jinxia held the cup in her hand, slightly stroking it… Her mind kept working, trying to figure out how to explain, “Yesterday, Daren was poisoned by the Japanese’s flying weapons, of course you know this part. Mrs. Shen found a way to heal you. When she finished cleaning the external wounds, if anything abnormal would have happened, I had to immediately feed you the medicinal soup. Of course, Mrs. Shen is very skilled, look at Daren now, you’re more than sixty-seventy percent cured.”
“Huh?” Lu Yi waited and continued to look at her without saying anything.
Jinxia continued to say, “At that time, the wound was being treated with snake poison, it was as painful as getting a piece of flesh cut off. Even though you are a strong man, you didn’t scream during the treatment, but you were gritting your teeth so tight that the medicinal soup couldn’t enter at all. That’s why I told uncle to feed the medicine to you, mouth to mouth…”
Lu Yi furrowed his eyebrows, “What?”
“I didn’t expect him to think of his purity as his life, of course, it’s not his life, but he wouldn’t do it no matter how much I tried to persuade him.” Jinxia’s upcoming words were said as fast as if they were flying, “At that time, the situation was critical, if we had delayed anything, Daren’s life might have gone with the wind. I remembered what my mother said *‘saving one’s life is better than building a seven level float’. I also remembered what my father said ‘if you can help, you should help; and the master also said ‘turning a blind eye when someone is in danger, you don’t deserve to be a person. Help those in need, care for the wounded, everyone has the responsibility…”
“I was in the middle of dying and you still had time to think about so many things?”
“Well, I just wanted to tell you, I didn’t mean to offend you…” Jinxia bit her lip and looked at him, “I fed you the medicine.”
Not expecting her to confess so quickly, Lu Yi continued looking at her for a moment, then said, uttering word by word, “You used your mouth to feed me?”
“Daren, don’t misunderstand, it was a very critical situation… Whether I liked it or not, I had no choice.” Jinxia held her forehead, “…Daren, if you think about it, this is a loss for a girl.”
Lu Yi said all quiet, “Logically thinking, that’s not wrong… If you want to cry or hang yourself or begging me to marry you, I can consider it.”
Jinxia hurriedly raised her hand to stop him, “Daren, please don’t consider it. I never intended to use Daren as a stepping stone. This matter, in fact, I had no intention of telling you, let’s pretend that nothing happened. If I force Daren to marry me, then this behaviour is like blackmailing Daren!”
Lu Yi was slightly stunned by what she said.
Jinxia continued to talk uprightly, “As a LiuShanmen, how can I turn a blind eye when someone is in danger? How can I not repay your kindness? That’s right, we are both government officials, if Daren were me, you would’ve definitely done the same.”
“You think too high of me…” Lu Yi leaned back against the bed, his hands supporting his head, then said, “You really don’t want me to be responsible?”
*[I’ll explain a bit why they keep talking about being held responsible. In the culture, unsure about other places, but in Asia, when a girl gives her ‘first time’ to a man, she’s considered to be his woman, but for a man, it doesn’t matter. So, when she said they ‘kissed’, logically thinking, she could technically become his woman. That’s why, you see in historical dramas or modern dramas, sometimes the man could be dating numerous times or the king is having multiple wives and girlfriends. Aside from that, traditional parents nowadays still followed this rule, TN]
“It’s really not necessary. Of course, Daren shouldn’t spread this around, saying I took advantage of you when you were injured, things like that…” Jinxia looked at him anxiously, “If my mother knew about it, my days would be over.”
Lu Yi snorted and didn’t answer her, but his eyes glanced down on her lips and said, “Then, that wound… Did I bite you?”
“Yes, at the time, it really hurt… Nevermind, it’s just a small problem.”
She waved her hands, not wanting to continue talking about it.
“Yesterday, if it weren’t me but another person, would you have done the same?” Lu Yi suddenly asked.
She was silent for a moment, thinking about his words, frowned and said, “Of course! It’s all about saving people, you can’t distinguish status, strangers or family…” Before she could finish her words, Lu Yi cut her off.
“Alright! You go out, I want to rest.”
Jinxia tilted her head, trying to question his attitude, carefully said, ”Is Daren angry? That’s why I didn’t want to tell you. I just made you angry, right? Actually, Daren’t didn’t lose too much…”
“Go out!”
“Then, you should rest first, be more open-minded…”
Jinxia kept turning back to look at him while leaving the room.
It wasn’t until she completely left the room and closed the door that Lu Yi let out a long sigh.
***
She savoured the taste of the bamboo shoots mixed with the salty meat, as well as the thick broth of the meat mixed with the bamboo shoots, both of which complemented each other and came together harmoniously in a very good combination.
Jinxia took a small piece of meat, ate a bite of it, then put in her mouth a large quantity of rice; this way she wouldn’t waste good food that had fallen from the sky.
“Why don’t you grab some food and serve it to him?” The beggar uncle asked while eating.
Jinxia shook her head, “Earlier I asked, he said he has no appetite, he won’t eat. He’s angry now, I knew it was better to hide it.”
“What’s he angry about?” The beggar uncle was curious.
“Yesterday’s problem, he kept asking, so I told him.” Jinxia sighed, even eating didn’t diminish her uneasiness, “He’s uncomfortable.”
The beggar uncle still did not understand, “He has already taken advantage of you, he should be happy, why get angry instead?”
“Uncle, try to think about his status. He must have thought I have taken advantage of him, and think I should be happy about it.” Jinxia lowered her voice and sighed.
Mrs. Shen looked at her, somewhat suspicious, then asked the beggar uncle, “Is the outside world always like this?”
The beggar uncle said right away, “No, no, this girl is the problem, just ignore her… Do you feel happy?” His last sentence was addressed to Jinxia.
“How can I? Why would I? He even bit my lips.” Jinxia’s cheeks suddenly flushed red.
“Be honest!”
Jinxia took another mouthful of rice, then said, “Absolutely not, I just feel… Feel… I feel that I have nothing to lose.”
Upon hearing her words, the one who reacted first was Mrs. Shen: her expression was dignified and serious, she couldn’t help but laugh while covering her mouth.
“Girl! That’s the right way to think!” The uncle beggar slapped her on the shoulder, “Although, my grandson is no better than me, but if you look at him carefully, he is quite a handsome man, so you have nothing to lose.”
Jinxia who was hit on the shoulder almost hit the table and was struggling to raise her body up to continue eating.
“Aunt, I know how to make tofu. I will make tofu for you when I have time and let you try it first.” Jinxia looked at Mrs. Shen attentively, “My family has a secret recipe, the tofu we make smells really good.”
Mrs. Shen did not answer right away. She paused for a while and then said, “You don’t need to come again because I will be leaving this place.”
“What?!?”
“…….”
Jinxia and the beggar uncle were both surprised.
“Where are you going?” The beggar uncle asked.
Mrs. Shen put down her bamboo chopsticks, used a handkerchief to wipe her mouth, then turned to look at the beggar uncle and said, “You know my rules. Since they’re here, other officials will too, it will be difficult to maintain this place quiet.”
“No, I can guarantee…” Jinxia quickly said.
“I don’t blame you,” Mrs. Shen interrupted her, not letting her continue, “If Brother Lu brought you here, then we were destined to meet, but I still have to abide to my rules, I can’t continue living here.”
Knowing Mrs. Shen’s personality, the beggar was very upset, “It’s all my fault, I really shouldn’t have… But, where are you going?”
“I haven’t visited my hometown for many years, I think it’s time to go back.” Mrs. Shen’s eyes fell on Jinxia, as if she thought of something, “The embroidery on the collar of your dress was sewn by my sister…”
The beggar uncle tightened his eyebrows, “Is there anyone still living there? Not to mention, recently, places haven’t been very safe, yet you are a woman living alone…”
“Brother Lu, honestly you tell me, is there even a safe place out there in the city?” Mrs. Shen smiled slightly, “I am alone after all, so everywhere would be the same.”
Hearing this, the beggar uncle didn’t know how to answer. He remained silent and his face was full of uneasiness.
Jinxia kicked him several times under the table. She felt like she was kicking a wooden statue because he did not respond at all.
“After finishing your meal, you guys can go, I need time to tidy up things.” Mrs. Shen said to Jinxia, “I can write another prescription for you, if he has a fever, you can boil medicinal soup for him to drink.”
Jinxia could only nod her head, remembering the snakes around the place she couldn’t help but feel worried, “If you’re leaving, what about these snakes?”
“The villagers around here usually drive animals into the forest to become food for them. Before leaving, I will also distribute prescriptions to keep them safe from the snakes.”
It seemed that Mrs. Shen had thought about this matter very thoroughly, it was obvious she didn’t want to leave, but Jinxia didn’t dare to ask her to stay. Instead, she remained silent and kept her head down.
