The Farm Girl and the Executioner (Rebirth) 101

Chapter 101: A’Luan and Changyu 1

It was autumn, and the weather was starting to cool down.

A few fifteen or sixteen-year-old young ladies were sitting in the Crispy Fragrance Pavilion, chatting and laughing. Seeing that it was getting late, they got up one by one to take their leave and go home. In the end, only Xue Luan was left.

Seeing her little sisters gather and leave, she had no desire to go home.

The low voices of her mother and grandmother arguing last night seemed to still be ringing in her ears.

She didn’t want to go back. She didn’t want to see her grandmother.

Her mood was low. Although she was not hungry, she waved for the waiter to bring her another plate of hibiscus cakes.

The sky was dark, and a fine rain began to fall.

A carriage stopped outside the shop, and a master and a servant emerged. The former was wearing a moon-white dress, and the latter, who looked like a maid, was in a dark gray.

“Only the young miss has such a big face to have the miss personally come to the shop to choose pastries for her,” Duanwu said.

Li Changyu said faintly, “What’s the big deal? Didn’t you eat the pastries I bought?”

Duanwu dragged out her “uh.” “How can I dare to compete with the young miss for your favor? I just feel that it’s so troublesome for you to come out on a rainy day, miss.”

“A rainy day is good. I like rainy days. It’s not a bad thing to be able to walk in the rain.”

“If there’s a case on a rainy day, I’m afraid you won’t think that going out on a rainy day is a refined thing,” Duanwu snorted.

Li Changyu glared at her with a bad temper. “No one will think you’re mute if you don’t talk.”

Duanwu instantly shut up.

The two of them put away their oil-paper umbrellas and entered the shop.

Li Changyu’s gaze unintentionally swept over a little girl in an apricot-colored dress in the corner. She was eating a huge portion of hibiscus cakes by herself. But the delicious pastries were eaten by her with a look of great sorrow.

She looked away and walked toward the shelves.

The waiter came up to greet them and served them as they chose their goods.

“This… this… and that box, wrap them all up. This box of hibiscus cakes, for here.”

The waiter quickly took the pastries to pack.

Li Changyu then sat down at a side seat, and Duanwu sat down opposite her.

She frowned and said, “Sit to the side.”

Duanwu reluctantly moved to the side. “Why can’t I sit here?”

Although they were master and servant, she had been raised by the miss since she was little, and the miss rarely cared about such details.

After seeing her move, Li Changyu’s gaze swept over Xue Luan’s profile. “I don’t want to see your stupid face.”

Duanwu looked hurt and moved to her left. “Miss, your mouth is getting more and more venomous.”

“Is it?” Li Changyu said with a blank expression. “Then you’d better get used to it.”

Duanwu was about to talk back, but the waiter came up with a plate of hibiscus cakes. “Honored guests, the ones to go are already packed. This is for here. Please enjoy.”

Her eyes instantly lit up, and she had long forgotten what she had wanted to say. “Miss, let’s eat.”

Li Changyu took a piece and took a bite, chewed a couple of times, and said, “It’s too sweet. The rest is all yours.”

Duanwu’s face instantly lit up with a smile. “It’s your taste that’s too light, miss. How is this sweet? This is just right.”

With that, she took a piece in each hand and put them in her mouth one after another.

The rain outside was getting heavier and heavier, and the table by the window was splattered with some. But the little girl sitting at the table was completely unaware and was still eating the pastries, one mouthful at a time.

It wasn’t until the waiter walked over and asked her to move that she looked up in a daze, her little mouth slightly open, and said “oh,” then followed the waiter to another seat.

Li Changyu looked at the head that was blocking her and sighed, then said to Duanwu, “You can move to another seat.”

Duanwu looked up in a daze, her mouth full of food. “…Miss, my face is not directly facing you. Is it still that stupid to you?”

Li Changyu glared at her. “Just move when I tell you to. Move to the opposite side.”

The miss’s personality was usually so strange. Duanwu obediently moved to her right. After she sat down, she pulled the large plate of hibiscus cakes in front of her and continued to feast.

But she didn’t expect that after the little girl had moved to her new seat, she had had the waiter bring another plate of lotus pastries.

Li Changyu couldn’t help but frown and looked at Duanwu. “Aren’t you afraid of getting fat if you eat like this?”

Duanwu didn’t look up. “How old am I? I’m still growing. And I run errands for you all day, and I use up so much energy. I can’t get fat even if I want to.”

“If you didn’t use up so much energy, you would definitely get fat,” Li Changyu said.

Only then did Duanwu look up at her. “Does miss not like me to be fat?”

Li Changyu looked away. “I don’t care if you’re fat or not. As long as you can do your job well. But if you get so fat that you have to pant after just two steps, I’ll definitely force you to lose weight.”

Duanwu said with dissatisfaction, “You’re so harsh, miss.”

With that, she stuffed the last piece of pastry into her mouth. “I’m done, miss. Let’s go.”

Li Changyu looked at the apricot-colored figure, who seemed to be lowering her head and wiping her tears.

“It’s still raining. Let’s wait until the rain is a little lighter before we go.”

“Oh, alright.”

Duanwu turned and twisted her sore neck. She suddenly saw the little girl at the next table, looked at her a few times, and said in surprise, “Miss Xue, you’re here too—”

Xue Luan looked up, a hint of red at the corner of her eyes.

Her round little face had some pastry powder on it, and she was sniffing.

…a little pathetic.

Li Changyu wished she could knock on Duanwu’s head and see what was inside.

The other was clearly sad, and she still had to disturb her.

Xue Luan looked past Duanwu and saw Li Changyu beside her. She was instantly embarrassed, wiped her mouth, and stood up to greet her in a low voice, “Sister Changyu…”

Li Changyu pursed her lips and nodded at her.

Duanwu asked, “Is Miss Xue also trapped here by the rain?”

Xue Luan hesitated for a moment and replied, “Yes…”

Although Duanwu had talked back to Li Changyu, she didn’t dare to make the decision to take her back in the carriage for her master. Instead, she comforted her, “It’s alright. This rain doesn’t look like it will last for long. It will stop in a while.”

Xue Luan nodded and sat back down.

But she no longer had the decadent and sad posture she had had just now. She was like a startled little rabbit, sitting there with her back straight, not even daring to eat.

Only then did she feel that her stomach was bloated.

She felt that she had gained a circle of fat around her waist these few days, and a sense of defeat spread from the bottom of her heart in all directions. She was extremely dejected.

But she couldn’t show any expression in front of Li Changyu. She just hoped that they would leave quickly and didn’t want them to see her like this.

It felt like a long time before the master and servant finally got up to leave.

She forced a smile and bid them farewell.

She then watched the carriage leave the shop.

Then she stared at the large plate of lotus pastries before her, her chest tight.

It was getting dark, and she had to leave. She stood up and slowly walked out the door.

It was still raining lightly outside. She had brought an oil-paper umbrella and was walking along the street corner toward her home. Her mind was in a muddle, and on top of that, her decadent appearance had been seen by the jade-like Li Changyu. The sadness in her heart welled up in circles.

She didn’t pay attention to a puddle by her feet and accidentally stepped on it, splashing her skirt.

The umbrella in her hand rolled away. Just as she was about to run over to pick it up, a sharp pain came from her foot.

She had sprained her ankle.

Xue Luan’s sadness finally became overwhelming. She leaned against the corner of the wall and began to cry.

She remembered last night, when her grandmother and mother had said, “It’s not that I don’t dote on A’Luan. I’m more sad than anyone that she can’t have children in this life. Which family would be willing to marry a woman who can’t have children? Other than being a second wife and a stepmother, is there a better way?”

Her mother’s suppressed sobs came. “She’s just turned sixteen. She’s still a child herself. I can’t let her be a stepmother…”

A’Luan was not born unable to get pregnant. It was just that she had a blood disorder, which was why she would faint at the sight of blood. This condition was very likely to lead to uncontrollable postpartum hemorrhage, which would kill her.

But whether it was a wealthy family or a small household, who didn’t value their descendants?

How could Mrs. Xue not be in a dilemma?

“Can you support her for the rest of her life? If you can live longer than her, you can naturally support her. But you and Shanwen will eventually go before her,” the old lady said with a heartache.

“Then let her younger brother support her. Her younger brother can have a few more, and one can be adopted to her in the future!”

“Then you have to ask A’Luan if she agrees. What if she also wants to get married? And, is her younger brother willing?”

Mrs. Xue’s voice came intermittently. “She’s just reached the age of marriage. Let’s wait for another two years. Let her be happy for another two years. We can discuss it with her then… no matter what, I can’t agree now…”

“Sigh—”

Xue Luan squatted on the ground, letting the fine rain roll down her head and wet her clothes.

She didn’t want to get married. She didn’t like those men at all. She wanted to go and help at her father’s apothecary, but her problem of fainting at the sight of blood would often just cause more trouble.

Only then did she realize that without her parents, she couldn’t even support herself…

Just then, a pair of white boots entered her line of sight.

She looked up, and above the moon-white dress was a familiar face.

There was no maid beside her, just her, and she was not holding an umbrella.

Li Changyu looked at her. “Did you sprain your ankle?”

Xue Luan nodded with tears in her eyes.

Li Changyu helped her up and reached out, her thumb sliding under her eye, wiping away the tear.

“So you can’t take the pain?”

Xue Luan bit her lip and said nothing.

“Let’s go. Let’s go to the carriage. I’ll take a look at your foot.”

Li Changyu bent down, wanting to carry her.

But just as her arm touched her, Xue Luan suddenly pushed her wrist away and said in a panic, “I don’t want you to carry me…”

“What’s wrong? Didn’t I carry you once before?”

Xue Luan was very embarrassed, and tears fell again. “I don’t want you to carry me. I’ve gotten heavier these few days…”

Li Changyu turned her back. “Then I’ll carry you on my back. Is that alright?”

Xue Luan wanted to refuse, but it was already late, and she had no other choice. She had to lie on her back.

Only then did she realize that her feet and the hem of her skirt were covered in black sewage, and she stopped again.

Seeing no movement behind her, Li Changyu turned her head.

Xue Luan looked at her, her two eyes red, with a pitiful look.

“My shoes… my skirt are so dirty. They’ll get your clothes dirty…”

Li Changyu said, “If the clothes are dirty, we can just wash them. I’ve hired someone to wash my clothes. I don’t have to wash them myself.”

Her face showed no expression. Xue Luan was not very familiar with her personality, but she now knew that the other had a special status and did not dare to make her unhappy, so she did not dare to refuse again. This time, she obediently climbed onto her back.

Li Changyu held her two thighs and lifted her slightly, saying, “Hold on to my neck.”

Xue Luan wrapped her arms around her neck and asked softly, “…Sister Changyu… am I very heavy?”

Li Changyu chuckled. “Miss Xue is as light as a feather. How can she be heavy?”

The last time she had carried her, Li Changyu had also said the same thing. She didn’t know if she was deliberately teasing her. A wave of emotion surged in Xue Luan’s originally melancholy heart, and she let her carry her toward the carriage.