Chapter 12
The lamp in the room was extinguished early. Unable to read, Fang Yu simply crawled onto the soft couch for a nap. Lulled by the warmth, he actually fell asleep. By the time he woke up, more than an hour had passed. He hurriedly opened the door to let the servant waiting outside in.
"Master, let this servant go attend to the young master's washing."
Siyu had brought water at the designated time and waited, but she had stood outside for two ke (28.8 minutes) without any summons from inside the room, and the water she brought had turned cold.
[1 ke =14.4 minutes]
The cold water was a minor issue; she was primarily worried about her young master's health. His injury and illness were not yet healed, how could he endure being troubled for so long? Only when Fang Yu opened the door did she feel slightly relieved.
"No need. Just bring the hot water into the room. I will take care of him."
Siyu knitted her brows, feeling even more concerned: "But this servant is accustomed to attending to the young master, I'm afraid..."
Fang Yu maintained his patience: "He is tired. You entering will disturb him. I have already spoken with him earlier. If you don't believe me, you can call for him."
"Young master..." Siyu called out cautiously towards the room.
"You go back and rest. There's no need to attend to me anymore."
Hearing the slightly sleepy reply, Siyu finally set her mind at ease. Her worry turned to joy. After quietly and efficiently delivering the hot water, she bowed to Fang Yu and left.
The room returned to tranquility. Qiao Hezhi lifted the bed curtain to peek.
Fang Yu was standing at the door of the bed chamber. Seeing the large bucket of hot water, and thinking it a waste not to use it, he took off his shoes intending to soak his feet. As he turned his head, he saw Qiao Hezhi's head peeking out from the bed curtain.
"Are your feet cold? Do you want to come over and soak your feet?"
Qiao Hezhi hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded.
Fang Yu carried the water bucket over. He saw Qiao Hezhi emerge from the bed curtain dressed in plain white sleepwear, his dark hair cascading down his back with a few strands falling over his chest, as pure and elegant as a night-blooming cereus.
"There's only one bucket in the room. Let's make do and share."
"The bucket is a bit small. Then I'll soak later."
Qiao Hezhi sat on a small stool. Watching Fang Yu stuff his large feet into the bucket, he saw there was no extra space for another pair of feet. Moreover, the water was still steaming, and he was somewhat afraid of the heat.
"Step on the tops of my feet. The water will get cold soon."
Qiao Hezhi glanced at Fang Yu with a mixture of doubt and belief.
"Come on quickly." Fang Yu felt that Qiao Hezhi, stripped of his heavy winter outer garments, looked very small, even more like a child who hadn't grown up.
Qiao Hezhi rolled up his trouser legs and carefully placed his feet into the water, resting them lightly on top of Fang Yu's. The contact of skin against skin caused him to furrow his brow slightly.
The next day, before dawn had broken, a misty rain enveloped the world outside. A fine drizzle shrouded the entire county town in a gray, heavy gloom.
Having shaken off the lethargy of the past few days spent convalescing, Fang Yu rose early.
He changed quietly into the clothes Xuezhu had delivered the previous night: the Hande Academy's uniform, a rice-white robe with a black collar. Then he sat in front of the bronze mirror to put up his hair. Later, when going out, he would add the black scholar cap, completing the standard scholar's appearance.
[瀚德 (Hàndé): Vast virtue.]
However, putting up his hair was truly a bit laborious. Holding his arms up and head down, he struggled for a long while at the desk but couldn't manage it. His originally fairly smooth hair was tousled until it resembled a lion dog.
Just as he was hesitating whether to call Xuezhu in to help manage his hair, a figure appeared in the bronze mirror before him: "You're trying too hard."
Fang Yu turned his head, surprised to find that Qiao Hezhi had gotten up without him noticing. "Allow me," Qiao Hezhi said.
Fang Yu obediently handed the wooden comb to the technical expert. In the bronze mirror, that not-very-clear face gently and meticulously combed his hair. The strands that were difficult to control and strayed everywhere in his hands seemed to obey Qiao Hezhi very well. In just a few strokes, they were neatly gathered above the back of his head.
"Is the bun too tight?"
Fang Yu shook his head from side to side, satisfied: "It's just right."
Qiao Hezhi smiled: "The academy robe is too thin, Master. Please wear another layer underneath."
Fang Yu stood up: "No need for the trouble. Layering more clothes isn't as warm as heating with fire or wearing down-padded clothing. Wearing too much just makes one bulky and inconvenient."
Qiao Hezhi wanted to persuade him further, but seeing Fang Yu's determined expression, he withdrew his words.
"I won't delay any longer. I'll go pay my respects to mother and then head to the academy. It's still early now. You should sleep a while longer and get up when you wake naturally. Anyway, these next few days you don't need to go pay respects to mother."
Qiao Hezhi nodded.
"Quick, go back to bed and lie down. The charcoal in the brazier has burned out, the room has cooled down. Don't catch a cold dressed so lightly."
Only after making certain the other had returned to bed did Fang Yu open the door slightly and step out, coming face-to-face with Xue Zhu, who had just arrived with his washing water.
"Master, you're already dressed!" Xuezhu exclaimed in surprise, then immediately smiled with understanding.
Fang Yu paid no mind to the servant's thoughts: "I'll wash up over at the study. Later, you go into the room and add some charcoal to the brazier."
"Yes."
When Fang Yu left for the academy, it was three ke before chenshi (7-9 AM). He did not take a sedan chair, but walked to the academy. The Fang residence was in the east of the city, the academy in the north. Skirting nearly half the county town, even walking briskly took him nearly two ke (~29 minutes).
Seeing that the bell was about to ring, many scholars, carrying blue cloth bags slung across their bodies, were still filing into the academy through the main gate.
Fang Yu secretly congratulated himself for not being the latest. Taking the book box from Xuezhu, he hurriedly slipped through the main gate and headed towards his classroom.
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