"Young master." Ru An silently looked on.
"Hm"
"Did you meet... Ruan Wang?" She wanted to use a word that was more intimate, but in the end, she decided that it was not her place to do so.
The house stayed silent. She could tell that the young master had no intention of saying anything. But her question had already been answered by this silence.
She had also wanted to say that there would never be a time he would sit in an isolated place and drink just to have a drink. He would usually have a drink with company, or just to get in the mood.
The silence between them did not last very long as Lin Qinghui asked "Where did Miss Yun go." though it was quite disrespectful to call Feng Yun a 'miss' considering how she had watched him grow up and how his mother treated her as a close sister, he could never bring it to himself to call her by aunt.
"Lady Feng Yun went to deal with some business, who knows how long it may take, it is a task that Madam put her up to, I think she should get a break after so long."
"En." Lin Qinghui seemed to have agreed and understood how things were going and decided to put his head down on the wooden table, quietly closing his eyes, prepared to doze off for a bit.
Ru An was quite surprised to see that the young master had been prepared to fall asleep here. In the usual flow of things, he could never fall asleep so abruptly. Perhaps today's events had really worn him down so.
She also placed her head down and looked across to Lin Qinghui's serene face that was peaceful sleeping.
She had a slightly shy expression as she was prepared to reach out her hand to touch his face. As her hand was nearing, she suddenly paused in midair as her face changed into a shade of red. Within the dark lighting that only glowed by the breath of candles, it was hard to tell, but not impossible.
She felt her heart beating faster at the thoughts that bombard her mind. There was no way of slowing them down.
Just, how could she ever think of touching the young master who stood so lofty above all?
Perhaps he had never noticed such an insignificant person like her. Or he had just picked her up all those years ago to merit a good deed to build good karma.
Right, he was a person who loved to travel within the borders of different kingdoms, and he would do good deeds to offset the murderous trail that was behind him. It was strange as he had never held onto any true beliefs, and would do as he wished.
At first glance, one would believe him to be a frivolous young master, yet after some time you would find that he was not such a person who enjoyed the luxuries of life. But there were so many who made an impending judgment just based on a single meeting, it was unfair to him, yet he never placed any mind to it.
After some time she waited until her heart had stopped its uneven beating and the burning sensation on her face to cool before she got up to leave.
As she was leaving, Lin Qinghui's eyes opened and watched her figure walk further and further away. The drunkenness in his eyes had faded away, leaving them full of clarity as he watched Ru An's small figure disappear into the night.
She did somewhat resemble a helpless little fox as she made her way into the night. Yet he seemed to have forgotten that she was no longer that timid little girl that he had picked up along the way all those years ago.
There was a satisfaction as he watched her shadow disappear. Once Ru An had left, Lin Qinghui felt himself at loss at what to do.
It was at this certain moment that he evert felt lost in his lifetime.
"Ru An, where have you been?" Madam Lin asked as Ru An entered through the back door.
Ru An was startled as she carefully closed the door behind her. Just why would Madam be at the back entrance of the servant's quarters? Was there no one guarding this manor, or was it because she had purposely evaded the guards tonight, and now there was no one left to watch.
"I went to buy some food." Ru An said nervously as she brought a basket from behind her skirts into the moonlight.
Madam Lin looked down to see a bamboo basket that was covered with a white cloth. The basket was quite old and did not seem to be something that could be from the manor.
"Did you buy the basket as well?" Madam Lin seemed unconvinced.
Ru An nodded, "It was dark so the vendor wanted to sell everything quickly, and I got the basket as well."
"Very well. I will see if you got a good deal." Madam Lin said as she lifted the cloth from the basket to reveal some roasted chestnuts that had already gone cold. With a crack, the chestnut was easily opened to reveal the tender part of the nut. Madam Lin took a bite and her eyes lit up. Though the nut was slightly cold it was still quite sweet. After some time, Madam Lin said: "You got a very good deal."
Nodding, the entire basket of roasted chestnuts was taken away from Ru An who was simply standing there amazed. Truth be told, she had really expected to be questioned thoroughly, and now Madam Lin had taken her basket of chestnuts like a trophy.