Chapter 2: The Knave (1/2)
Chapter 2: The Knave
A cold and clear sky hung high beyond the silk screens A few stars sparsely dotted its vastness, looking exceedingly lonely
Chen Rong looked away froht sky She watched it unblinkingly for a ti her eyes as she quietly waited for time to pass
For the past several days, she would sit until dawn each tiht nor was it because her hatred was too strong Rather, she simply liked to sit there in quietude to watch the sky and to relish in the wonder of being reborn again
Slowly, a ed across the landscape And slowly, a voice or two rang out in the fresh an as one or two and eventually turned rohen radually joined in
Footsteps sounded The gentle and concerned voice of the , are you awake?”
“I a from bed
The wo wash”
The doora basin The older wo to help her comb her hair
This wo features showed kindness She carefully regarded Chen Rong before saying: “The servants have made preparations We can set out at any ti her cal, this place isn’t good anymore, we must move south Compared to other major clans, the House of Chen is still much better At least, we have clans throated another reply
Because she agreed so blithely, and her expression also did not seeo, the wo? You won’t have night nodded
At this ti, our luggage has been prepared When e leave?”
Listening to this fa suddenly asked, “What day is today?”
Taken aback, the man then replied, “It’s the day of the ox (1)”
They are using a 60-day cycle made up of stems and branches similar to the 60-year cycle This day is called the 辛丑xin chou day, xin being the ste the branch
The day of the ox? Chen Rong stood up The day of the ox! That’s right, onher first calaht in bewilderment, she slowly sat down “Are you Uncle Wu?”
The ave a loud reply: “Yes, I’?” At his last word, he went straight toward the door and pushed it open A thin and pale face with a few sparse whiskers on the chin appeared before Chen Rong’s eyes
Chen Rong ashi+ng her mouth at this time It was rather ill-mannered for a man as old as he to open her door
She looked up at thefor the second time, she could only now see the wickedness hidden behind his seeentle and benevolent face
The man in front of her was a scholar her father had saved while he was traveling All along, her father had treated him as a friend He respectfully kept him at the estate and even asked her and all the servants to call him ‘uncle’
But it was this very ht before they left for the south, the house was broken into and robbed of all its wealth
If her father hadn’t secretly hid soo to the south She would long have begged on the street!
Chen Rong stared at Uncle Wu and unhurriedly stated, “We’ll depart this afternoon!”
“What? Departing this afternoon? Ah Rong, why not wait a fewquietly sneered before hardening her face “I said we’re leaving this afternoon,” she repeated loudly