Untouchable Lovers

Chapter 66: Chapter 66: Originally Not a Wise Man

Night was halfway through.

A crescent moon hung high like a hook on the ink-blue firmament, casting a very faint glow, as a slender figure approached the firewood room. Glancing around to ensure no one was in sight, she took out the key hidden in her sleeve and unlocked the copper lock on the door.

The door to the firewood room creaked open.

This room was actually several large interconnected chambers, filled with stacks of dry firewood that were piled up almost to the beams. You Lan curled up in a corner, her slim body shivering slightly in the coolness of the early summer night, and hunger from a whole day left her utterly weak.

So hungry… You Lan’s head swam dizzyingly, she felt as if she were floating on soft, billowy clouds, yet the hard branches behind her dug into her shoulders and back.

You Lan tried to shift her body but didn’t have the strength to move. She had gone early that morning to deliver a message to Rong Zhi, missed lunch because she had to attend to the Princess, and then she was locked in the firewood room, hungry until now.

You Lan bore no resentment towards Chu Yu. She knew her place as a servant, and that she had angered the Princess. To be only starved for three days was already an act of extraordinary grace. She just hoped these three days would pass quickly.

Consciousness floated in and out of dimness. You Lan thought that if she fell asleep, she wouldn’t feel the hunger, so she was about to close her eyes when she heard noises outside the door.

The sound of unlocking, the sound of the door being pushed open.

The quiet magnified the sounds, which deeply penetrated You Lan’s ears.

Who could it be?

You Lan opened her eyes in a daze, it took her a while to clear her blurry vision. By the light barely coming in through the window, she saw a figure slip in like a cat—it was a girl about fourteen or fifteen years old, dressed in pink. After entering, the girl quickly closed the door behind her and placed the bamboo basket she had been carrying on the ground.

You Lan couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise at the name of the person who had come: “Xiao Dai?” The visitor was actually Fendai, the maid she was closest to. They had entered the Princess Mansion together, and before You Lan was favored by the Princess, they had shared meals and a bed, comforting each other when bullied by others in the mansion.

But after You Lan’s promotion by Chu Yu, she and Fendai had slowly drifted apart.

Fendai was frail, her whole being slight, her delicate hands and feet, and her face ending in a chin so pointed it seemed the bone would show. However, her eyes were large and bright, making her look pitifully lovely. The basket was big and looked heavy; she seemed to struggle with the weight as she set it down and took a deep breath before hurrying over to check on You Lan: “Xiao Lan, are you alright?”

A warm surge of gratitude flooded You Lan’s heart, and she asked anxiously, “What are you doing here?” For the moment, she forgot to question how Fendai had gotten the key to the firewood room.

Fendai smiled with her thin lips, whispering, “You must be very hungry by now, right? I’ve brought you something to eat.” As she spoke, she lifted the blue cloth covering the basket, taking out the bowls, dishes, and cups one by one, placing them on the ground. There were four flatbreads, a big bowl of rice mixed with meat soup, a small jar of pickles, two boiled eggs, and a large copper pot that appeared to be filled with water in the basket.

The food was not fancy, but there was plenty of it, enough for You Lan to eat for a day and then some.

You Lan was stunned, looking at Fendai and asking in disbelief, “Where did you get all these…?”

Fendai jumped at the volume of her voice and quickly ran to the door to peek through the crack to make sure no one was alerted before returning to You Lan’s side, saying softly, “I stole some leftovers. Don’t shout like that. If discovered, I wouldn’t be able to explain it away even with ten mouths.”

You Lan, filled with gratitude, looked at Fendai, “Xiao Dai, you’ve been so good to me. Quickly go, it’s too dangerous here. If you get caught…” You Lan finally understood that true friendship is seen in times of adversity, and felt ashamed for not having taken better care of Fendai in the recent past.

A flicker of discomfort briefly crossed Fendai’s expression, but she cut off You Lan, “Don’t say that, we are sisters… Eat quickly, and after eating, save some to hide. I’ll come to check on you again at this time tomorrow.” She placed the bowl of rice in You Lan’s feeble hands.

Gathering her strength, You Lan started to gobble up the rice. Fendai picked up a small jacket that had been lying on the stack of firewood and draped it over her shoulders, remarking, “Even though the summer wind isn’t cold, you should still be careful.”

You Lan was starving, and with the meat soup mixed into the rice being quite delicious, she buried her face into the bowl, repeatedly responding with a yes. Fendai watched her, a faint look of pity showing through her kindly bright eyes. Only after You Lan had almost eaten her fill did Fendai speak softly, “Actually, these things weren’t obtained by me.”

Surprised, You Lan lifted her head, her mouth still edged with a few grains of rice, only now remembering that the rice mixed with soup she had just consumed was warm. It was late at night by now; how could there still be warm leftover rice?

The grains were moist, sweet, and aromatic, how could they be leftovers? Clearly, they had just been made. You Lan reached out to touch the flatbread, which was also warm and soft.

Fendai bit her thin lips, taking a while before she slowly said, “Actually, earlier on, I had planned to sneak into the kitchen and steal some dry steamed buns for you, but I saw someone there. Guess who it was?”

You Lan blinked. She truly couldn’t think of anyone who, at this hour, would dare risk angering the Princess by finding her something to eat.

Fendai’s lips pressed close to You Lan’s ear, her voice very low, “It was the Princess.”

“Ah?!” You Lan exclaimed in shock.

Fendai put a finger to her lips, whispering, “I’m telling you this secretly; you mustn’t tell anyone else. The Princess is very fond of you. Today, she got angry because you acted on your own, and after punishing you, she felt somewhat regretful, but she couldn’t take back her words. So, she ordered me to bring you something to eat, and she also told me not to tell you.”@@novelbin@@

You Lan couldn’t help but want to cry out in surprise again, but remembering Fendai’s words, she quickly shut her mouth. The two girls whispered a little more, and then Fendai, carrying a much lighter basket, left and locked the door just as it had been.

After returning the basket to the kitchen, Fendai hurried to the East Upper Pavilion. Chu Yu was standing at the entrance of the East Upper Pavilion. Seeing her approaching, she asked, “Did you deliver it to her?”

“Yes,” Fendai replied softly, head lowered.

Chu Yu smiled, “You should go back to sleep too. No need to attend to me anymore.” She didn’t wait for Fendai to reply, turning around and walking back.

Her pace was swift, but she couldn’t help the self-mocking smile that appeared on her face.

If that person knew what she had done, he would surely look at her with that inscrutable gaze and make some vague remarks. He might even secretly mock her for being foolish, right?

Using such a convoluted method just to add a bit of loyalty to the heart of a little maid, she did seem foolish enough.

To be decisive in killing and choosing rationally is to be smart.

…Perhaps she would never be able to be a smart person in this lifetime.

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Running with tears… Today, by chance, when opening the message section under my author profile, I discovered a message the editor sent a few days ago. This was when I shockingly realized, I forgot to sign the contract~~ I collapsed on the spot~~~ and then raced to apologize to the editor~~ holding my head~~ I’m such an idiot, idiot, idiot~~~!!!!

These past few days I’ve been a bit absent-minded, feeling like I’d forgotten something, only to find out it was something this important~~ Tears like the Lushan Waterfall!!!!

Luckily I discovered it in time today, otherwise, once the PK ended, I wouldn’t even be able to get on the shelves~

Just dealing with the contract today took half a day; it’s quite a complicated thing~~ This is today’s basic update for the chapter, I’ll try my best with the extra 12,000-word update, see if I can write it out. If I can’t make it today, it will be released tomorrow.