Chapter 5

Chapter 5

I didn’t dare disturb them. With my head lowered, I took out the food and set it on the table, secretly regretting that I hadn’t brought it in a food box. Who knew how long Eldest Young Master would be gone? The dishes were almost cold.

The thought had only just flashed through my mind when I heard Jianru cry out in alarm. I turned around and saw Eldest Young Master’s knees buckle. He toppled straight down, dragging Jianru with him, and the two of them fell to the floor in a sorry heap. A vase on the nearby shelf was knocked over and came crashing down over their heads.

I was frozen with fright, then instinctively ran toward them.

Eldest Young Master was the first to shout, “Careful.”

Only then did I see the many small shards of porcelain scattered across the floor.

Jianru’s forehead had been cut by a flying fragment of the vase, leaving a small gash at his temple. Eldest Young Master looked unharmed, but he still had great difficulty getting up. Jianru and I had to support him between us.

I deliberately shook out the hem of his robe and made sure no shards were clinging to him before letting Jianru help him sit down.

After all that commotion, the blood from Jianru’s forehead had already trickled down to his jaw.

Eldest Young Master ordered him to go have it treated.

I picked up the broom and dustpan on my own and bent down to sweep up the shattered vase.

The sunlight was bright, and the porcelain shards scattered on the floor reflected it in tiny, dazzling glints. My eyes blurred for a moment, and then I saw that there was blood on my skirt too.

My first thought was that it was Jianru’s blood.

But on second thought, Jianru’s blood hadn’t even dirtied his own clothes. How could it have dirtied mine?

So I thought, It must be my blood. I just don’t know where I’m hurt.

I carefully searched my upper body. Nothing.

Then I looked lower, but with Eldest Young Master right there, I couldn’t very well lift my skirt to check.

Eldest Young Master noticed something was wrong with me. He asked, “What are you looking for?”

I lifted the soiled corner of my skirt for him to see. “This servant seems to have gotten hurt just now. But it’s strange. I don’t feel pain anywhere.”

Our eyes met. Eldest Young Master, who had shown hardly any expression even when Madam left, now had the tips of his ears turning red for some reason.

He coughed once and asked, “How old are you now?”

“Thirteen.”

My lower belly suddenly clenched, and another red blossom slowly spread across my skirt.

The air went frighteningly still. Then I heard Eldest Young Master lower his voice and say, “You are… probably… having your monthly courses.”

I was probably having my monthly courses.

My mind roared. Embarrassed and at a loss, I stood there staring blankly at Eldest Young Master and said helplessly, “Ah. Then… what should I do?”

My wise, mighty, all-knowing Eldest Young Master, who had placed first in all three imperial examinations at nineteen, was now just as lost as I was. He looked at me and actually stammered a little. “This… Did your-did your mother never tell you?”

“My mother passed away early. She didn’t have the chance.”

My stepmother had mentioned monthly courses, but all she ever calculated was how, once mine arrived, she would find a way to send me to Squire Wang’s household for him to have a look at me.

She had never taught me how to use a menstrual cloth either.

Besides, I didn’t have one on hand.

I had never even thought to prepare such a thing.

Madam and Sister Zhu’er had both left. There wasn’t a single woman in the manor.

The dull ache in my lower belly suddenly turned burning hot, as if a stone were dragging down inside me. In all my thirteen years, I had never felt more helpless than I did then. I blinked twice, and a red rim slowly welled up around my eyes.

Biting my lip, I was about to excuse myself and go change my clothes first, then find some scraps of cloth to pad with. But all at once, my vision went dark. A scent of pine resin descended over my head, and fabric shook open around me. It was Eldest Young Master’s outer robe, still carrying the warmth of his body.

I looked up. Eldest Young Master coughed again.

He turned his eyes away. “You-you put this on first.”

Jianru had stopped the bleeding on his forehead and pushed the door open just in time to see this scene-

Eldest Young Master was wearing only his inner robe, the tips of his ears bright red.

I had his outer robe draped over me, tears in my eyes.

Jianru raised a hand and rubbed his eyes, his face full of disbelief. Covering his forehead, he muttered to himself, “Did I… hit my head that badly?”

A vein throbbed at Eldest Young Master’s temple. He coughed once, then again, coughing so hard he was practically out of breath.

He waved Jianru out first.

I watched Jianru leave, his steps almost floating, as if he were walking through a dream.

Then Eldest Young Master sat in his wheelchair and told me to push him out.

I asked, “Where to?”

“The kitchen.”

“If there’s anything in the kitchen, Eldest Young Master can simply order this servant to do it… Wait… wait for this servant to go back and change first…”

Eldest Young Master had already regained his composure. His voice was very calm, as if he were merely discussing the weather, and after hearing it, I didn’t feel quite so panicked either.

“Go to the kitchen and find some plant ash. Then go to Zhu’er’s room.”

“Did Sister Zhu’er leave something behind?”

“…Go see whether there are any… in her room. She shouldn’t have taken them all… Use one as a pattern and make one for yourself first.”

My face flushed crimson. My hands tightened again and again on the handles of Eldest Young Master’s wheelchair. After a long while, I answered him in a tiny voice:

“…Oh.”