From the inn that faced the official road to the southern end of the village lay a considerable distance, and Hua Xiaomai sprinted all the way until she could see the not-so-large courtyard before her, at which her pace finally slowed.
She had dashed out from the shop with a burst of energy, and while she had thought everything through clearly on the road, at this mont her heart felt sowhat apprehensive, with her teeth unconsciously clamping down on her lower lip.
For an instant, she had nearly turned back because of the trepidation in her heart but ultimately forced herself to stand still. She took a deep breath without averting her gaze, passed in front of the Guan Family’s gate, and positioned herself right at the entrance of the neighboring courtyard, peering inside curiously.
Perhaps because of the day’s long commotion, both families seed tired, and currently, there was an unusual quiet. Light shone from inside the main house, with the warm yellow glow seeping through the door cracks, but not a sound could be heard.
Thinking about it, this seed to be the first ti she had ever approached the door of this courtyard...
Hua Xiaomai stood in place for a while, debating whether to stride in boldly or to find a more indirect and tactful approach. While she hesitated, she suddenly heard so faint noises from behind the house and tiptoed towards them.
At that ti, ng Yuhuai was feeding his horse with a bundle of green grass behind the house, occasionally grooming the slick black hair on the horse’s back. As a martial artist, his hearing and observation skills were naturally far superior to the average person’s. Without any effort, he noticed the extrely light footsteps behind him and turned around abruptly only to find Hua Xiaomai appearing startled, halting abruptly, and staring at him with wide eyes.
His eyes flickered briefly, showing neither panic nor disarray, but rely so surprise and astonishnt, smiling faintly, and he said in a sober voice, "Xiaomai."
Hua Xiaomai, who hadn’t expected him to suddenly turn around, was already nervous, and now caught off guard, rubbed her hands behind her back and awkwardly nodded, asking a pointless question, "Feeding... feeding the horse?"
ng Yuhuai felt like laughing but seeing her with such a tight face, he had to stifle it and nodded very calmly, "Yes, feeding the horse."
Hua Xiaomai struggled inwardly and then abruptly bit the bullet, "That... are you free? I have sothing to tell you."
ng Yuhuai, puzzled, examined her closely and eventually re-secured the big black horse to the tree, dusted the grass clippings from his hands, and gestured, "Follow ."
The two of them then turned off the small path behind the house into a grove, surrounded by towering trees. Moonlight stread through the gaps in the leaves, casting tiny shadows on the ground.
Stepping into the grove, Hua Xiaomai didn’t forget to look around quickly and was caught in the act by ng Yuhuai, whose mouth twitched, "What are you looking at? What do you intend to do with such a sneaky appearance?"
"Nothing." Hua Xiaomai straightened her chin with feigned strength and crossing her heart, said irritably, "Such a big incident happened today, and you didn’t plan to tell ? The whole village was buzzing, did you think my little inn was too remote, business not good enough, so surely I wouldn’t hear about it?"
ng Yuhuai remained composed, even smiling slightly, "What big incident? Why should I tell you? Better I deal with the matter myself rather than upset you with it..."
"But if you don’t tell , how would I know what’s on your mind? Thankfully, today it was my second sister who ca to tell . If soone else from the village had co to share the news as though it were a joke, imagine how comfortable that would make feel?" Hua Xiaomai said, then took a step forward, not waiting for his response, and went on asking, "Did you see it?"
"What... did I see?" ng Yuhuai furrowed his brows.
"Nonsense, she was bathing in the washing room, and Lady Guan called you over to help... Did you see, and how much?"
"Why think so much about it? I just kicked the door and then..."
"Oh—" Hua Xiaomai took a step closer to him, now closer still, "She’s in there bathing, and you just kick down the door without any explanation, you must have seen sothing then, right? Was it nice to look at?"
"Don’t talk nonsense!" ng Yuhuai was both amused and exasperated, "Under those circumstances, I knew there had to be so mischief, so why would I carelessly look at her again? Do you think I enjoy having such troubles?"
"Hmph." Hua Xiaomai pursed her lips, disregarding what he said, pressuring him with every step, and in no ti, ca face to face with him, just a fist’s distance away.
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