With Si in tears and San trying to hold back her own fear, Xu Feng instantly felt horrible looking at the girls' faces.
"Don't sell us, young mistress!"
"Please don't get new servants!" Si followed desperately, "I promise I'll throw out all my old clothes!! I don't even need new clothes! I'll eat less meat, and I'll help the young mistress sew more clothes!"
*Thump
*Thump
One after the other, the girls plopped onto the floor on their hands and knees as they bowed, begging in a panic. They rushed to plead, not letting Xu Feng speak, as though the next words to leave his mouth would shatter their lives.
"Okay, get up from the ground," Looking at the ashen San, Xu Feng didn't have the heart to bring up the no bowing request he'd made, but he did have to say something about the kneeling, "Remember what we agreed about kneeling in winter?"
He wouldn't say anything about the bowing, but having two thin girls kneeling on the floor even in early winter wasn't good for their health.
The floors of Blooming Courtyard were heated, but they hadn't started heating the courtyard yet.
To top it all off, their current clothing which were in pretty colors, but it was clearly a muslin fabric that was breathable and light, best for summer.
Such materials were so thin that they wouldn't keep the cold out. It was a mystery how the girls hadn't fallen sick in the fall wearing these clothes.
The only other clothes he had seen Si and San wear were made from linen, which was a bit thicker than the muslin, but still wasn't appropriate for the season.
Even with all the bone broth soups and preventive medicine he made for the three young servants over the last few days, they could still easily catch a cold. Soup and Ancient Medicine weren't going to make them invincible.
Xu Feng sighed, not sure if he was more angry with himself, or Steward Wu's management of the Nanshan estate, or the older servants for not looking out for the younger ones, or…there were many people to take the blame here. Shifting the blame wouldn't solve anything though.
In modern times, a cold is a simple sickness that can usually be healed. In ancient times, any sickness, small or large, could take a life without warning.
The three young servants of Xu Feng's estate were all good kids, and he didn't want them to lose their lives in vain. Getting them healthy and practicing preventative medicine was key.
With the natural environment being so pure, if they used their resources in the mountains properly, their quality of life would be even better than in modern times. The knowledge of the future and the resources of the past would be used to live a gentle and worry-free life in Donghua.
"No kneeling on the ground, only bowing is okay and if we want, we can kneel when it's warmer," San parroted shakily.
Xu Feng nodded and rolled his eyes at San. She was trained very well and wouldn't agree to his request not to bow or kneel. So long as they followed the rules they agreed on, he wouldn't bother about that.
The girls had lightened up around him recently, even the very strict San was closer to him, but right now they looked so scared that it hurt his heart. Xu Feng needed to be more careful with his words. But this would be very difficult.
Xu Feng had always spoken his mind over the last 19 years, and it had gotten him into trouble many times in his past life.
Even with his parents, he would casually mention how he was adopted and joke about all the ways he wasn't like his adopted parents.
His adoptive parents were honest and kind working-class people with humble beginnings as farmer's children.
They made it in the city after starting a farm store business, selling fresh farm goods to city dwellers. They weren't book smart, but they were kind and hardworking.
Xu Feng, on the other hand, was always extremely good at school work, he wasn't a genius and still needed to study, but since he was a child, he could easily take one of the top three positions in very good city schools.
He also wasn't really hard-working, even now, he hadn't plotted with Lady Xuan's money because he wanted to become a millionaire in ancient times with future wisdom, he just wanted to be comfortable, and shop as he pleased.
Xu Feng was like a big, lazy cat who also happened to be smart, good-looking…and a bit perverted. But he was too lazy to really use these to his advantage. If not for his parents pushing him, Xu Feng probably wouldn't have gotten into such a good university.
Xu Feng was secretly insecure about how little emotion he showed compared to his parents. When he made jokes, putting himself down compared to his kind and humble parents, it was really him showing his insecurities.
Neither his mother nor father liked jokes like this. They would always get upset at him for saying such things.
Xu Feng missed his parents so much right now.
Even with all their differences, he missed them a lot. Even though this was a fake wedding, he would want them to be here.
Even though he wasn't more kind and humble like his parents, they were always proud of him. Whether they truly understood him or not, they loved him wholeheartedly.
Xu Feng sighed loudly once again, before reassuring the girls. Then his heart clenched, maybe he was a monster that deserved to be trapped in a loveless marriage? When Lady Xuan first proposed this contract marriage, he wasn't against it.
He was just scared to have a baby. Now that he knew he would basically be popping out an egg, he was even more okay with the idea.
Xu Feng felt like a monster. He should be full of passion like his parents, or even like Si and San, instead, he was always more quiet, aloof, and too cold.