Liu Ming'an slept deeply and sweetly, only awakening to the sound of a rooster's crow. As he groggily opened his eyes, the warmth of the bed was so inviting that he felt his entire body melt into it.
"Are you awake?" A cool female voice suddenly sounded nearby. Liu Ming'an lifted his head at the sound, his eyes meeting Jiang Ning's frost-covered, icy gaze.
The chill in Jiang Ning's eyes was like a bucket of cold water poured over Liu Ming'an's head. The drowsiness and confusion of just waking up vanished instantly as he realized they had shared the same bed.
What was even more alarming was that he distinctly remembered them sleeping far apart when they went to bed. How had they ended up so close together?
Even worse, why was his head resting on Jiang Ning's shoulder, and why was he holding her hand in his arms?
Liu Ming'an felt his brain buzzing, certain that something he couldn't remember must have happened.
Seeing that he was awake, Jiang Ning extracted her arm that had been held all night, not forgetting to quip, "You're a terrible sleeper."
"I'm sorry," Liu Ming'an apologized quickly, simultaneously using his hands and feet to scramble out of the other side of the bed.
As soon as Jiang Ning spoke, Liu Ming'an immediately guessed what had transpired - he must have accidentally offended her. Feeling awkward just standing there, he got dressed and tidied himself up, then made to head for the kitchen.
"Where are you going?" Jiang Ning called out to him, also getting out of bed. She ran her hand through her hair on her shoulder, reminding him, "Didn't you say yesterday that you'd help me with my hair from now on?"
Liu Ming'an remembered and quickly halted his steps. "I'll help you," he replied, letting Jiang Ning sit on a stool as he began carefully combing her hair.
"Someone came by earlier," Jiang Ning suddenly said, turning her head slightly to look out the window.
Liu Ming'an's hand holding the comb paused, and he nervously asked, "Who?"
"I'm not sure. I only heard footsteps. They walked into the courtyard and then left," Jiang Ning answered.
It was probably about half an hour before dawn when Jiang Ning had been awakened from her sleep by a faint noise outside. She had wanted to investigate, but Liu Ming'an was holding her hand tightly. Moreover, the person only lingered for a moment before leaving without any further disturbance, so Jiang Ning had let it be.
But from the sound of the footsteps, it seemed to be a woman.
As Jiang Ning pondered this, she felt Liu Ming'an's movements stop. She urged him, "Don't stop. It won't take much longer. We'll go outside together in a bit. I have a feeling that person left something behind."
The more Jiang Ning spoke, the more uneasy Liu Ming'an felt. After quickly finishing her long hair into a neat style, Liu Ming'an said, "Jiang Ning, your hair is done. Shall we go take a look?"
Jiang Ning reached up to feel her hair, noting it was the same hairstyle as yesterday.
The two of them went outside together and found that something had indeed been left at the door.
Liu Ming'an stared at the pile of fresh vegetables, several large eggs, a piece of cured meat, and two links of sausage on the ground, feeling deeply puzzled. "This..."
Jiang Ning crouched down to examine the items. The vegetables were very fresh - the radishes still had dirt on them, and the lettuce leaves were covered in morning dew. They had clearly just been picked from the garden.
"Do you have any idea about this?" Jiang Ning stood up and asked Liu Ming'an.
Liu Ming'an shook his head honestly, completely baffled. "Usually when people give me things, they want something from me. I haven't helped anyone recently, and even if I had, why would they need to give so much? And why sneak around in the middle of the night to deliver it?"
Jiang Ning didn't respond immediately. She stared at the pile of goods for a moment before asking, "There's a mute woman in this village, isn't there?"
Liu Ming'an replied, "Yes, she's He Zhao's wife. She couldn't speak when she was bought, so everyone calls her 'Mute Woman.'" He then quickly asked, "How do you know about her? You haven't met, have you?"
Even if Jiang Ning had gone out yesterday, everyone had been waiting by the pond for the officials at that time. There was no way Jiang Ning could have met the Mute Woman.
Liu Ming'an was utterly perplexed, but Jiang Ning clearly didn't want to explain.
"She was bought too? What a coincidence," Jiang Ning mused, remembering the woman's half-tongue. Without answering Liu Ming'an's question, she stated confidently, "These vegetables were all brought by her, including the sweet potatoes you ate yesterday."
Liu Ming'an's mouth opened in surprise, about to say something, but Jiang Ning cut him off: "Don't ask any more questions. Let's bring the things inside. I'll make breakfast."
Liu Ming'an first stared blankly, then chuckled silently.
"What are you laughing at?" Jiang Ning asked, confused.
"Nothing," Liu Ming'an replied, his eyes filled with deep amusement. Under Jiang Ning's bewildered gaze, he picked up all the items from the ground and carried them into the kitchen.
Jiang Ning didn't understand, but Liu Ming'an had laughed at that moment because of her. It seemed that since her recovery, the domineering and cold aspects of her personality had become unmistakable. She often made Liu Ming'an feel as if this was her territory and he was the outsider.
In just one day, she had gone from politely calling him "Young Master Liu" to dropping all pretense and ordering him around.
This contrast didn't make Liu Ming'an feel annoyed; rather, he found it quite interesting.
This strong-willed and cool-tempered person was willing to stay by his side, cook for him every day, accompany him in reading and grinding ink, and even, out of concern for his discomfort sleeping at the table, allow him to share her bed despite the potential damage to her reputation as a woman.
She truly was a contradictory girl.
After entering the kitchen, Jiang Ning selected a large radish, washed it clean, and cut it into quarters. Then, with a swift series of knife movements, accompanied by a rhythmic "thud, thud, thud," she uniformly sliced the entire white radish into thin pieces about two millimeters thick. She placed them in a bowl, sprinkled a generous amount of salt over them, and left them to release their water content.
Next, Jiang Ning washed some rice and put it in the pot. Planning to make a vegetable porridge, she only used half a bowl of rice with a lot of water, nearly a four-to-one ratio of water to rice.
After adding both water and rice to the pot, Jiang Ning placed a bamboo steaming rack in the pot and set a plate on top of it. She put a section of washed sausage on the plate and covered the pot with a lid, efficiently cooking the porridge and steaming the sausage at the same time.
Strong fire makes fragrant rice, so Jiang Ning added more firewood to the stove. Red flames licked the bottom of the black pot, and the water inside made soft bubbling sounds.
About ten minutes later, Jiang Ning picked up the bowl of radish slices. By now, a large amount of water had been drawn out by the salt, and the spicy flavor had mellowed considerably. Jiang Ning rinsed them several times with clean water to remove the excess salt, then squeezed out the water with her hands. She added sliced chili peppers, shredded ginger, and minced garlic to the bowl, then poured in a few spoonfuls of soy sauce and vinegar. After mixing everything thoroughly, a dish of sour and spicy crispy radish was ready.
By this time, the sausage was also done steaming. Jiang Ning lifted the pot lid, and a wave of hot steam rushed out. She quickly dipped her hand in cold water, then swiftly reached into the pot to remove the scalding plate and place it on the stove top. She then used chopsticks to take out the steaming rack.
While the sausage cooled, Jiang Ning took a head of lettuce, washed it clean, and chopped it finely. She tossed it into the pot to mix with the now-thick rice porridge, sprinkled in a pinch of salt, and then ladled it into bowls.
After a few minutes, when the sausage was no longer too hot to handle, Jiang Ning sliced it thinly at an angle and placed the slices in a bowl.
Breakfast was ready.