The Reticent Blade-Chapter 80 - Paper Window

The capital of the Ruen Dynasty is divided into two distinct cities. The inner city is the imperial palace, which is the core of the country. The outer city contains the districts where the common people live and work peacefully.

Although referred to as a street, Hulu Street was actually a respectable alley. It was neither too close nor too far from the inner city. If it were any closer, it would no longer be a place where ordinary people could live, it would be among the residences of the nobles and ministers.

Fuzhao Courtyard was a traditional four-courtyard residence. Three households lived there, and with Ye Beizhi and Chi Nanwei moving in, the courtyard was full.

Ye Beizhi looked at the place and nodded. Ye Fan was a perceptive person, and found such a place knowing exactly what Ye Beizhi intended to do.

There was already someone waiting in front of Fuzhao Courtyard. When they saw Ye Beizhi and his companion arriving, they came over to ask, "Are you Young Master Ye?"

Ye Beizhi assessed the person and nodded. "It's me."

"My master instructed me to wait here." The person bowed. "Please follow me, Young Master Ye."

"This will be your residence." The person led Ye Beizhi and Chi Nanwei to one of the buildings within the courtyard. The house had two rooms and a small vegetable garden outside that needed to be thoroughly weeded.

Ye Beizhi nodded to the person, opened the door, and walked in. The interior had clearly been cleaned in advance, and the interior was organized and well-furnished.

The servant then came over and took out a thick stack of silver notes from his pocket, handing them to Chi Nanwei.

"This is what my master asked me to give to Young Master Ye, one thousand silver taels. My master said if it’s not enough, he will send more."

Chi Nanwei accepted the money with both hands and politely expressed her gratitude: "That's enough. Please thank your master on my behalf."

"Then I shall take my leave." The servant bowed slightly and left, closing the door behind him.

"Tsk tsk..." Chi Nanwei looked around the room, "Ye Fan is so generous, giving us a house and this money... How much does he actually owe you?"

"He owes me a life." Ye Beizhi placed the bundle on the bed and began neatly unpacking the clothes inside.

Chi Nanwei looked at Ye Beizhi, who was sitting on the bed. For some reason, her face suddenly turned red.

"... Let me do it." Chi Nanwei took over the unpacking duty from Ye Beizhi.

Ye Beizhi handed her the clothes and stood up to walk outside into the shared courtyard.

The house next door opened its door, and an elderly lady in a floral cotton-padded jacket came out. She was their neighbor.

The old lady was struggling to move a recliner and looked up to see Ye Beizhi. She smiled and nodded at him.

Ye Beizhi blinked and moved over to help the old lady move her recliner.

"Where are you moving it to?" Ye Beizhi asked.

"Haha. Young man, you're really kind." The old lady smiled. "Just put it in the yard."

Ye Beizhi set the recliner where the old lady wanted it. She sank into it, yawning contentedly. "Thank you, young man. Hehe, when you’re old, all you want to do is bask in the sun."

"Mmm." Ye Beizhi nodded.

"Dummy, we need to go buy—" Chi Nanwei came out and, seeing the old lady in the yard, was momentarily stunned. "Huh? Who is this?"

"Oh what a pretty young lady." The old lady laughed. "I wasn’t as beautiful as you when I was young."

Chi Nanwei blushed from the compliment. "Auntie, you must be kidding." She tugged on Ye Beizhi’s sleeve and asked, "Who is this?"

Ye Beizhi shook his head. "Don’t know."

"I wanted to ask." The old lady pointed towards their house. "Did you just move in?"

"Yes, we just moved in," Chi Nanwei answered.

"I also just moved here not long ago," the old lady revealed, "My son brought me to live here."

Ye Beizhi turned to Chi Nanwei. "Were you looking for me?"

"Ah, yes, yes," Chi Nanwei finally remembered and said quickly, "We need to go buy some food, or we’ll have nothing to eat tonight."

Before Ye Beizhi could respond, the old lady quickly interjected, "Don’t worry about it. Come over to my place for dinner tonight. You can try my cooking."

Ye Beizhi glanced at the old lady.

Chi Nanwei waved her hand, "It’s not appropriate, Auntie... Is it convenient for you?"

"Oh? What’s inconvenient about it?" The old lady waved her hand. "I’m eating by myself anyway. Food tastes better with more people!"

"By yourself?" Chi Nanwei asked, "Isn’t your son here too?"

"Hmph, he’s busy with his ministerial duties," the old lady grumbled, though she seemed to be secretly pleased. "Never mind him, we’ll eat by ourselves."

Chi Nanwei understood what the old lady was suggesting. "Your son is... a minister?"

The old lady nodded with a wide smile. "Yes, my son, my son was actually the top scholar!"

"How impressive!" Chi Nanwei remarked with surprise, she didn’t expect their neighbor's son to be a top scholar and a minister. "Auntie, may I ask, what is your surname?"

"Me? My surname is Yu." The old lady looked at them. "And you?"

"My name is Chi Nanwei, and he is Ye Beizhi." Chi Nanwei pointed to Ye Beizhi. "He doesn’t like to talk, so you can ignore him."

"Oh hehe... very good, very good." The old lady beamed. "What are you two lovebirds doing in the capital?"

Cough cough— Ye Beizhi choked on his saliva.

Chi Nanwei’s face turned bright red. "Auntie Yu, you’re mistaken... we are not..."

"Uh?" The old lady opened her mouth in surprise, covering her mouth and saying, "Oh! Excuse me, it was my old mouth running too much."

A cold wind blew by and the old lady rubbed her hands. "Brr, it’s really cold... I’ll go back inside."

The old lady walked back inside, leaving Ye Beizhi and Chi Nanwei standing in the yard, feeling somewhat awkward.

"How about you sleep in the inner room tonight?" Ye Beizhi looked at Chi Nanwei, whose face was still red. "I’ll sleep outside."

Chi Nanwei nodded furtively, not daring to look at him.

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"I... I’ll go out for a while." Ye Beizhi said as he hurried out of the Fuzhao Courtyard. He also felt that the atmosphere was getting strange.

Chi Nanwei watched Ye Beizhi’s figure escape into the sunlight, and felt a bit dazed.

In her heart, there was something like a paper window that had been unintentionally pierced through and light was shining through.