Cleaned and dressed, Jennie called Lisa in.
It was already getting dark outside, and no lamps were lit inside the west house, leaving the room dim with the color of night.
Entering the room, the rippling light in the wooden tub flared in Lisa's vision for a moment, then she saw Jennie.
Like a hibiscus from clear waters, a natural beauty carved by nature.
Having just bathed, Jennie carried a faint air of moisture on her, and her skin seemed more tender than usual.
The coarse quality of her clothes did not diminish her natural beauty and presence at all.
Without the regal clothes, without any additional powders and paint, her beauty could still overthrow cities and kingdoms.
Dazed, Lisa stood in front of the wooden tub, staring blankly at Jennie without hiding the amazement in her eyes.
Jennie noticed Lisa's gaze on her, for that gaze was like a flame. It glimmered with light in the darkened room, glowing in Jennie's eyes.
Jennie could not bring herself to hate such a gaze from Lisa, because she did not find any trace of desire or messy thoughts from Lisa's eyes.
All that she could read from Lisa's eyes were amazement, appreciation, and admiration...
No woman could remain unaffected under such a gaze.
Especially a gaze like Lisa's that did not carry any evil intent, a gaze of appreciation and admiration.
All women loved beauty, and they longed to be appreciated in the same way.
Jennie was no exception.
"Li... Liam, I'm done bathing. I'll trouble you to pour out the water now."
Jennie sat down slowly on the warm brick bed, carrying a faint flush on her cheeks.
"Ah... Oh, oh, okay, I'll go right now."
At that reminder, Lisa finally snapped back to her senses.
She scooped a full bucket of water from the wooden barrel with ease, then she hauled it out deftly.
Moving quickly, the big tub was soon emptied of water in just a few trips.
Hugging an empty barrel, Lisa said to Jennie: "Jen, you should go to sleep first, I'll go and wash up too, I'll be back in a bit."
With that said, Lisa left the west house with the wooden barrel.
Jennie looked back at the brick bed.
The heated brick platform was not small; it was enough space for at least five or six adults to lie on.
However, the blanket and pillow... made only one bed.
This troubled Jennie. How should I sleep?
***
LISA
I walked out the room and decided to take a bath as well.
I did not actually have a habit of bathing every day.
Living in a military camp where battles could start at any moment, surrounded by rugged men who knew nothing about the concept of privacy, any girl who once cared about cleanliness would eventually succumb to her environment over time.
Even now, I still felt that it wasn't safe to bathe due to my current identity.
But the urge to bathe grew fiercely in my heart when I thought about how I was about to share a room with Her Highness.
Especially since earlier, when I was guarding the door.
As I listened to the sound of water coming from inside the house, I could not resist taking a whiff of my own body.
Sure enough, it was that usual scent.
I furrowed my brows. Such a smell permeated the entire military camp, but now I felt uneasy about my odor.
I did not want the Princess to smell my sweat, or to see me being so unkempt.
Particularly when I saw what she was like after a bath, I began to feel even more self-conscious about my dirty state.
Fortunately, when I was putting away the chopped firewood in the woodshed, I found that it had an empty area with more than enough space for a wooden barrel.
I gave the old couple a notice beforehand, and Her Highness would certainly not come to the woodshed.
I took a bath as quickly as I could, then sneaked a change of clothes from the donkey carriage.
Once that was all done, I raised up my arm to take a careful sniff.
I finally let out a satisfied smile.
Refreshed and relaxed, I returned to the west house.
***
Jennie had yet to lay down in the west house. She was still sitting prim and properly on the brick bed.
Lisa took a look past Jennie, then she immediately understood the problem.
There was only one blanket and pillow.
Saying nothing, Lisa gave Jennie a quick smile, then she went back to the donkey carriage to pick up a wrapped bundle before returning to the west house.
Lisa placed the bundle on the furthest side of the brick bed, then she said: "Jen, due to the circumstances, you'll have to put up with these conditions tonight, but this brick bed seems pretty large to me, so I'll sleep at the foot of the bed. You can sleep at the front, is that alright?"
Seeing Jennie nod, Lisa proceeded to take off her own shoes, then she jumped up onto the bed.
Lisa rested her head on the bundle while she lay on her side, leaving the rest of the bed to Jennie.
Jennie was thankful for Lisa's considerations. However, she had never tried falling asleep within sight of an 'unfamiliar' man before.
Taking a glance at Lisa's back, Jennie set her pillow properly, then she got onto the brick bed slowly. She laid down and covered herself up with the blanket.
"Liam... are you alright without a blanket?"
Lisa could tell from Jennie's voice that she had already laid down, so she turned over from her side.
Lying face-up on the brick bed, she answered: "It's no problem. This brick bed can be heated until sunrise, and it's really much more comfortable than our military camp's wooden bed. I'd be fine even without a blanket."
.
.
.
.
.
"Jen, go to sleep. We have another day of travelling tomorrow."
"Mm."
Hearing Jennie's voice, Lisa gave a quiet smile, then she closed her eyes.
Shortly after, the sound of her breathing turned deep and even.
However, Jennie could not sleep at all.
This was such a hard bed; Jennie had never slept in a bed so solid before in her life.
She felt that her whole back was turning numb just by laying on it.
But since she was staying with a 'man' in one room, she did not dare to make any movements.
Jennie quietly turned to her side once she heard Lisa's slow and steady breathing.
The day was now completely dark.
Despite being so close together, Jennie could not see Lisa's face clearly without any source of light in the room.
However, she could still hear Lisa's faint sounds of breathing.
Jennie felt a little envious.
This person truly isn't picky, and he's unafraid of hardships. He could thrive in any environment at all.
He had no pillow, no blanket, yet he could still sleep so soundly on such a solid bed.
Jennie laughed soundlessly at the thought.
She did not know when she fell asleep, but it was not a restful sleep.
Jennie felt sore all over by the time Lisa woke her up gently, and she had a slight headache too. She was even more tired than she would be if she had just stayed awake overnight.
Lisa could also see the weariness on Jennie's face, and so she knew that she could not adjust to such an environment at all.
Lisa could not help but feel a rush of protectiveness in her heart.
She helped Jennie up from the brick bed, then she bid her to sit for a while first. She turned to leave, then she came back with a basin of water.
Lisa soaked a towel in the basin, then she squeezed it until it was mostly dry.
She handed it to Jennie after folding it neatly: "Jen, you should wipe your face first."
Jennie received the wet cloth from Lisa. It felt a little warm in her hands. After applying it on her face, she felt much better all at once.
"Thank you." Jennie said sincerely to Lisa, feeling warmth in her heart.
"I'll go and bring breakfast in for you. We'll be setting off once we're done eating."
"Okay."
A short while later, Lisa carried the food in.
There was a bowl of white porridge, a bowl of wild vegetables soup just like yesterday's, two pieces of dumpling, and a small plate of seasoned vegetables.
This was much more extravagant than the rations from the previous night!
Lisa moved the bed table over, naturally placing the white porridge before Jennie: "Jen, you should eat this bowl of porridge. Mrs. Ruby made it specially for you."
Once she said that, Lisa grabbed up a piece of dumpling and started eating it heartily with the wild vegetable soup.
***
In the north house.
The old couple began to have breakfast too.
When two bowls of white rice porridge appeared on the table, Leo stared at them with wide eyes: "Where did this grain come from?"
"That young lad who stayed the night, he bought it from the village when he went to fetch water yesterday. He bought a full ladle! He had me cook it into porridge this morning. A bowl for his wife, and the rest is for us to eat."
"Tsk tsk, this young lad. He's good with chores, and he's thoughtful, I've got nothing to say."
Leo was very happy to have grains to eat.
The two old seniors were gaining in years, and their only son had already died in battle.
As time passed, they eventually lost the ability to work in the fields.
Each day was poorer than the last.
For their daily meals, they simply cooked up some wild vegetables with a pinch of salt, along with some coarse flour for dumpling.
Who would've thought?
Just by letting a pair of husband and wife stay the night out of kindness, they could have a solid meal of fine grains too.
Both seniors revealed happy smiles on their faces.
Leo ate a few mouthfuls of porridge, then he suddenly scooped a 'solid thing'.
He picked it up with bamboo chopsticks for a look, then his eyes bulged out instantly, and he exclaimed: "There's a boiled chicken egg in here too?"
"It's also all thanks to that young lad. He bought four eggs, one for us each."
"Tsk tsk, white rice porridge with boiled chicken eggs. We're living a landlord's life."
***
A bowl of plain, tasteless white porridge, with two boiled eggs.
This was the most crude and simple breakfast Jennie had ever eaten, but it warmed her stomach.
But Jennie was no fool.
The old couple did not raise any chickens at all.
Even if they did, they would not be willing to give away eggs for two strangers to eat.
This had to be the doing of the person in front of her.
Jennie had wanted to share one of the eggs with Lisa, but Lisa refused it obstinately.
She justified it by saying that she had eaten Jennie's dumpling, so it was very fair for Jennie to eat her egg.
In the end, she even 'supervised' Jennie until she finished the bowl of porridge and two eggs, then she finally revealed a satisfied smile.
After breakfast, Lisa and Jennie were ready to continue their journey.
Having had a hearty breakfast thanks to Lisa, the two seniors came out to send them off when they saw that they were about to leave.
Ruby held Jennie's hand cordially as she said with a beaming smile: "Young lady, your husband is truly a good partner to have in life, strong, efficient and thoughtful, your life together will surely be lively and prosperous!"
Hearing this, Jennie let out a mild smile.
Leo seemed to have really taken a shine to Lisa.
Once they reached the gates, he patted Lisa's shoulder and said: "Young lad, once you've settled down in Lian city, come back and visit once in a while."
Lisa felt a little saddened hearing this from the old man, but she still nodded in the end.
She turned around to help Jennie up the donkey carriage carefully.
She gave the two old seniors a bow, then she untied the rope and led the donkey carriage away.
==========================