Mysteries of the Great Zhou Dynasty

Chapter 77 Extra Daily Drama

Although the nights in Fengxian County are still cool as summer begins, it is already a bit hot during the day. The cicadas in the trees in the courtyard of the county government office have begun to call early.

Yan Mingzhang was overwhelmed by the handover and felt a little annoyed. Changfeng came in from outside, bringing a gust of hot air: "Sir, this is a letter from the capital."

Yan Mingzhang took the letter, opened it and read it carefully. Yan Mingzhang slapped the letter on the table and sighed softly.

Changfeng glanced at the letter and asked in confusion, "What happened, sir? Why are you sighing?"

Yan Mingzhang quickly put the letter away and said, "Ah, did I sigh? It's nothing. The Rong Mansion just sent a letter saying that they have sent Young Master Rong to take Miss Rong back home. He will arrive in about a month."

Chang Feng said with regret: "Ah, doesn't that mean we have to separate from Miss Rong? If Miss Rong knew that we secretly wrote letters to the Rong family, would she be unhappy? With her personality, she would definitely lose her temper..."

Yan Mingzhang frowned slightly, feeling a little worried. He pushed open the study door and walked out: "Changfeng, you go and do your work. I'll just walk around the courtyard. I still have a lot of paperwork to deal with later."

Changfeng responded and retreated.

Yan Mingzhang stood in a corner of the courtyard, taking a breath. The thought of Rong Wanyin's irritated expression gave him a headache. The rockery in the courtyard completely blocked his view. Suddenly, he heard the family's maid, Aunt Liu, quietly scolding a young servant: "Although the master is kind and menstruation is not something to be ashamed of, you still have to be careful. After all, there are so many men in the family. If this bloodstained clothing were seen by others, it would be bad. Go and clean it up quickly! Remember to drink some brown sugar water or make some red bean porridge, and eat less cold foods."

Yan Mingzhang understood what had happened. He thought it must be a maid who had her period and hadn't noticed and soiled her clothes. He watched the maid approaching, and there was nowhere to hide. The maid was young and shy, and if she saw him, she would be mortified. Fortunately, behind the rockery was a small door that led to the market. Yan Mingzhang had no choice but to quietly open the door a crack and squeeze out.

The market was bustling with activity, and Yan Mingzhang thought that since he was too upset to do anything, he might as well go for a walk.

There were many exquisite hairpins on a stall, sparkling in the sun. Yan Mingzhang couldn't help but take a few more glances.

The stall owner greeted enthusiastically, "Young Master, please buy a hairpin for the young lady!"

The word "young lady" reminded Yan Mingzhang of Rong Wanyin. Yan Mingzhang blushed immediately, wondering why he would think of her. He quickly waved his hand and said, "Oh, no, no..."

The stall owner looked at his worried face and said, "Did the young man make the young lady angry? Buy her her favorite thing and make her happy!"

Yan Mingzhang listened to the stall owner talking about young ladies on both sides, his face flushed so red it felt like blood was dripping out, and he hurried away. As he walked, Yan Mingzhang thought about what the stall owner had said: buy her something she loved most to make her happy. Perhaps when she knew that he had written a letter to the Rong family, she would be less angry.

"Snowflakes, snowflakes, delicious snowflakes, come and buy some!" a vendor shouted enthusiastically, "This is the latest candy, and it's only available here, there's no other store!"

Yan Mingzhang couldn't help but walk forward a few steps. He saw that the snow candy was a small ball, white and furry, looking very cute.

Yan Mingzhang took out a few copper coins and handed them over: "Give me a pack..."

The stall owner neatly packed a bag and handed it to him, saying, "Little man, remember to eat it quickly! It melts so easily!"

However, there were too many people in front of the stall and it was too noisy. In addition, Yan Mingzhang was preoccupied and did not hear anything at all. He thought about it and was afraid that the bag of candy would be seen by others, so he stuffed it into his arms.

Yan Mingzhang had almost finished his stroll and slowly walked back to the government office. He entered the gate and walked around the courtyard, intending to find Rong Wanyin. At this moment, Yan Mingzhang happened to see Mo Yun escorting Doctor Yan out. Yan Mingzhang bowed to Doctor Yan and asked, "Doctor Yan, why are you here again today?"

Doctor Yan said angrily, "Can't you take good care of Rong girl? The girl is young and ignorant. Aren't you ignorant too? How many times has this happened? Don't you know that she has a stomachache? Don't always let her eat cold things! Let her drink some porridge or something like that these two days." Doctor Yan said a few words without thinking, flicked his sleeves and left.

Yan Mingzhang was a little puzzled, so he went to the backyard to look for Rong Wanyin. Yan Mingzhang waited in her room for a long time, but she didn't show up. As soon as Yan Mingzhang went out and looked up, he saw Rong Wanyin coming from the rockery, holding a bag of clothes. When Rong Wanyin saw Yan Mingzhang, she suddenly felt a little flustered and embarrassed. She wanted to hide the bag of clothes behind her, but she had already seen it, and hiding it would only make it more obvious. Rong Wanyin gritted her teeth, bowed reluctantly, and said "Sir" as a greeting.

Yan Mingzhang's face flushed red as he watched the red liquid slowly seeping out of the bag. He recalled Aunt Liu's words scolding the maid, and immediately understood what it was. Yan Mingzhang's face flushed red, and he turned and walked away without saying a word.

Rong Wanyin was bewildered. What was wrong with this person? Remembering what she had in her arms, she hurried back to the house, closed the door, and opened her bag. Rong Wanyin looked at the melted candied haws with regret, muttering to herself, "Although I bought them before the market closed, the weather was still too hot. They melted like this in just a short time. However, since Doctor Yan said that you shouldn't eat cold things when you have indigestion, then melted candied haws shouldn't be considered cold! Hawthorn can help with digestion! Fortunately, the adults didn't see it just now, otherwise they would have scolded me again."

Rong Wanyin reluctantly stuffed the half-melted candied haws into her mouth.

Meanwhile, Yan Mingzhang had calmed down, his face no longer red. He wanted to ask Aunt Liu to prepare some red bean porridge, but after thinking about it, he felt too embarrassed to ask. He went to the kitchen to make some porridge himself, but it turned out to be so difficult to cook. Not only that, he couldn't even light the stove.

Yan Mingzhang had no choice but to give up and found some hot water to make a bowl of brown sugar water.

Yan Mingzhang stood at the door of Rong Wanyin's room, cleared his throat, hesitated for a long time, and finally knocked on the door.

Rong Wanyin quickly wiped her mouth, anxiously stuffed the clothes and bamboo sticks into the closet, and hurriedly closed the closet door.

Rong Wanyin pretended to be calm as she opened the door, but her heart was pounding. If Yan Mingzhang knew that she had been eating secretly again, he would probably give her a scolding.

"Here, drink this." Yan Mingzhang put down the covered bowl of hot brown sugar water and took out the oil-paper package containing snow candy from his arms and placed it on the table. Yan Mingzhang immediately noticed the clothes sticking out from the gap in the wardrobe, his face flushed, and he stood up to leave.

"Why are you acting so weird today?" Rong Wanyin asked in confusion as she saw that he was acting nervously today.

"If you...if you feel sick...just go to bed early..." Yan Mingzhang stammered, "If you don't understand anything, you can ask Aunt Liu."

Yan Mingzhang left in a hurry after he finished speaking.

Rong Wanyin said with a puzzled look, "Strange..."

Rong Wanyin opened the lid of the noodle bowl and saw a bowl full of brown sugar water. The bowl was as big as Rong Wanyin's face.

Rong Wanyin's mind went blank for a moment. What did this mean? Wait... a stomachache, suspicious clothing oozing with red liquid, this small basin of brown sugar water... Could it be that he thought...

Rong Wanyin went crazy instantly. Did he think... Ah! How should I explain? If he didn't ask, I would be completely speechless!

Her face turned pale and she looked at the oil paper bag on the table. What was this?
Rong Wanyin opened the oil paper package and saw a sticky yellowish sugar liquid. It was extremely sticky and her hands were easily stained with it.

She instantly exploded and quickly took her hand away: "What is this? Does he hate me so much now? You bastard!"

Yan Mingzhang, who was sorting out official business in the study, suddenly felt a little cold and sneezed.