But just as Zhan Qingrou began undoing the buttons of her clothes, she froze again.
Embarrassed, she said, “Sister-in-law, could you go outside first…?”
Cheng Yao smiled. “I need to watch you two bathe, so you don’t mix up the different kinds of water.”
A woman’s private parts were delicate. The warm bathwater was mild and caused little irritation, but shampoo would leave them red, swollen, and itchy, which would be terribly uncomfortable.
Madam Zhan obediently began removing her clothes herself.
“Qingrou, your sister-in-law is a woman just like us. There’s no need to be shy.”
Yet the moment she caught Cheng Yao openly looking her up and down, she still flushed with embarrassment.
“Yao’er, stop staring!”
Her voice held a trace of coquettish reproach, and her eyes were filled with bashfulness.
Cheng Yao quickly looked away and gave an awkward smile. “Mother, you’re beautiful.”
Her body was slender and fair, without a trace of extra flesh, with delicate, graceful curves. She looked absolutely stunning.
What a pity her father-in-law had died so young…
Wait!
At the end of the novel, after Shao Yutong had drained Zhan Haoting of all his value, he was barely clinging to life when he received a clue from a spy. He went completely mad with desperation and immediately dragged his battered, crippled body to the Glass Kingdom.
Cheng Yao had stopped reading because she found the story boring, but she had skimmed through the comments section. Everyone said that Zhan Haoting’s father, Zhan Beishan, had not actually died. He had merely been imprisoned by the Glass Kingdom, where they held him hostage to negotiate with the emperor for benefits.
But the heartless emperor had ignored their demands. He concealed the truth from all the officials and even blamed Zhan Beishan for “recklessly seeking glory and causing the deaths of a hundred thousand soldiers.”
When Zhan Haoting found out, he was naturally devastated.
Perhaps he even knew that the spy’s information was a trap, but in order to save his father, he still went without hesitation.
In the end, he died in a foreign land, leaving no trace of his remains.
Thinking of this, Cheng Yao’s expression grew solemn.
Her arrival had changed the plot.
Zhan Haoting would no longer be manipulated by Shao Yutong, and his father would be saved.
But how was she supposed to tell Zhan Haoting? Should she claim that she could predict the future?
“Yao’er?”
Cheng Yao had been lost in thought. Madam Zhan called her several times before she finally came to her senses.
She looked up and saw that Madam Zhan and her daughter had both removed their clothes and were undoing their hair, preparing to wash.
She hurried over to help them.
“Your hair is too long. You should wash it before taking off your clothes. Otherwise, you’ll catch cold easily.”
Cheng Yao had the mother and daughter bend over and lower their heads, then used a wooden ladle to pour water over their hair.
“Close your eyes, or the shampoo will get in and sting.”
The mother and daughter obediently shut their eyes.
Cheng Yao applied shampoo to their hair and had them scrub it themselves.
As the fine foam carried away the grime from their hair and the light fragrance replaced the sour stench clinging to their bodies, Madam Zhan and Zhan Qingrou were both stunned.
This stuff was truly miraculous! Its cleansing power far surpassed the cleansing beans and Chinese herbs they had used before, and it smelled wonderfully fragrant as well.
“Yao’er, what… what is this?” Madam Zhan asked in a low voice, unable to contain her astonishment.
Cheng Yao lowered her voice and said mysteriously, “Mother, a few master craftsmen at my maternal grandmother’s trading house recently developed this ‘scented paste’ and ‘perfume’ based on an ancient formula from overseas. They haven’t even started selling it yet, but they gave me some to try. Please keep this to yourselves. In times like these, flaunting wealth only brings trouble.”
Madam Zhan and Zhan Qingrou immediately understood. They nodded repeatedly, both grateful and cautious.
One bucket of water was not enough to wash their hair clean.
The ancients were such a hassle. Their hair was incredibly long; once undone, it could hang all the way to their feet.
Cheng Yao secretly grumbled to herself, then carried the bucket outside. Zhan Haochen very naturally took it from her and carried the water over.
After that, Cheng Yao stayed outside the cloth enclosure to keep watch, while Zhan Haochen made trip after trip to fetch water.
At some point, Zhan Haoting had silently moved to a spot not far from the enclosure and sat down. Though he was weak, his eyes remained sharp, creating an invisible sense of protection.
Madam Zhan and her daughter went through three or four more buckets of water before they could barely rinse away the grime covering their bodies. Then they changed into the clean clothes Cheng Yao had given them.
Although they had washed with cold water, and their hair was dry and brittle and their faces haggard, they looked far fresher overall, as if they had shed a burden weighing a thousand pounds.
The faint fragrance clinging to their bodies was especially pleasant.
Cheng Yao then slipped into the cloth enclosure, took out some sanitary pads, and carefully taught them how to use them.
Madam Zhan held the cleverly designed, soft, body-hugging item in her hands, her mouth falling open in astonishment.
“What is this?”
Without batting an eye, Cheng Yao continued to make up an explanation. “This was also made by my maternal grandmother’s trading house. It’s called a ‘menstrual belt.’ It’s more convenient and hygienic than the bags of wood ash and plant fibers we usually use.”
Madam Zhan touched the soft, absorbent pad. Even by feel alone, she could tell how dry and comfortable it would be, and her eyes grew moist.
To have fallen into such dire straits and still be able to use something so thoughtful and considerate was truly…
She took Cheng Yao’s hand and choked out, “Yao’er, you’ve suffered so much! You can’t even bear to use such precious things yourself, yet you’ve saved them for us.”
Cheng Yao thought to herself that she was hardly that selfless. She simply had no need to use them herself and was giving them to someone else.
But without the slightest trace of guilt, she shook her head. “We’re family. There’s no need to say such things.”
Once Madam Zhan and her daughter emerged from the enclosure, refreshed and carrying a hint of shyness, Cheng Yao poured some shampoo and body wash into separate large pottery bowls.
She called out to the other women gathered downstream, watching with eager eyes. “Aunties and sisters, there’s still some cleansing paste and fragrant wash here. If you don’t mind, you can take turns freshening up inside. You may use the wooden tub as well. The brown porcelain bowl contains shampoo, and the white porcelain bowl contains body wash. There isn’t much, so please use it sparingly.”
The women could hardly believe their ears.
In circumstances like these, they could actually use such precious, wonderfully fragrant things to wash themselves?
Cheng Yao was truly… too kind!
They thanked her profusely, their eyes brimming with gratitude.
Then they formed an orderly line and entered the crude cloth enclosure one after another, looking forward to cleansing their bodies.
The atmosphere by the river became much livelier because of the clean water and this rare opportunity to wash.
Everyone was still hungry, but the feeling of being clean brought them a trace of long-lost dignity and comfort.
Constable Wang hated the mosquitoes by the river the most. Frowning, he ordered several people to gather firewood and collect mugwort, wormwood, and other herbs that could repel mosquitoes. They would burn them to create smoke.
Cheng Yao watched the busy people along the river, then glanced at the fish swimming through the water. Suddenly, an idea struck her.
She said to Constable Wang, “Constable, I saw fish in the river. Perhaps we can find a way to catch some. We may not catch anything, but it’s better than doing nothing.”
Constable Wang’s eyes lit up. “You know how to fish?”
Cheng Yao replied, “We can give it a try.”
She emptied the sundries from her back basket, then cut off a small piece of wild boar meat, sliced it into thin strips, and tied them inside the basket with blades of grass.
Then she found a section of the riverbank where the current was slower and the water plants were thick. She lowered the basket into the water, placed stones inside to weigh it down, and positioned the opening upward.
Her crude “trap” drew the curious attention of many people, though most of them did not hold out much hope.
Cheng Yao offered no explanation and simply waited patiently.
After roughly the time it took to burn a stick of incense, she decided it was ready. She walked over and slowly, carefully, lifted the basket from the water.
The moment it broke the surface, a chorus of startled cries rang out around her.
Inside the basket, water splashed everywhere. To everyone’s astonishment, four or five palm-sized fish were flopping about, struggling for life! They weren’t very big, but at least they were meat!
“There are fish! There really are fish!”
“Sister-in-law caught fish!”
“Wonderful! We have something to eat!”
Cheers instantly rang out along the riverbank.
Everyone looked at Cheng Yao with astonishment and disbelief.
