Madam Li!

Judging by the voice, Chunlan was probably standing outside the shop's main entrance, knocking on the door and calling out.

Xie An hurried into the shop through the back door of the pawnshop, then went to open the front door.

Snow still lay piled along the street outside. Chunlan stood in it wearing a brand-new padded jacket, her little face flushed bright red from the cold. She kept rubbing her hands together and holding them to her mouth, huffing warm air onto them to keep warm.

"Miss Chunlan, what brings you here? Come in quickly."

But Chunlan did not enter. Instead, she said anxiously, "There isn't enough time. I won't come in."

A bad feeling rose in Xie An's heart.

Could something have changed with my redemption?

Before Xie An could think any further, Chunlan leaned closer and said, "Master Xie, it's because of your redemption fee. Madam Li quarreled with the master. They had a terrible fight. Madam Li is coming to see you in a moment, so be careful what you say. Don't ruin things. I have to hurry back. It'll be bad if Madam finds out."

Xie An understood.

Chunlan had braved the ice and snow and run over alone to warn him.

Seeing Chunlan stamping her feet in the snow and huffing warm air onto her hands, her cheeks flushed red from the cold, Xie An was deeply moved.

Though he was a servant, there were still people who cared about him.

Living in such troubled times as a servant, being cared about was truly a rare blessing.

Xie An felt that keenly.

"Thank you, Miss Chunlan. By the way, do you know exactly what Madam and the master were arguing about?"

Chunlan glanced around as she explained.

It turned out that Madam Li insisted on accepting only twenty taels as Xie An's redemption fee, but Li Shaoyun had privately told Li Ru that they should demand two hundred taels. His reason was that practicing martial arts now cost Li Shaoyun a great deal, and during the New Year he had also sent a lavish gift to Zhang Biao of Tiger Wolf Gate. Li Ru found this reasoning entirely convincing and refused to yield. He had even charged Xie An for the two-hundred-tael shortfall Zhang Bing had caused before.

That was where the two hundred taels had come from.

Later, Madam Li refused to accept it, and the two sides began arguing. In the end, Li Ru was willing to erase only twenty taels, clinging to the remaining one hundred and eighty and refusing to budge.

Li Shaoyun...

"Thank you for telling me, Miss Chunlan."

"Be careful what you say later. Madam Li is in a terrible mood." Chunlan urged him repeatedly before turning and leaving.

Xie An stood at the pawnshop entrance and watched Chunlan walk away. Once she had gone, the smile on his face slowly froze.

According to the going rate in town for redeeming a pawnshop clerk's indenture, twenty or thirty taels was the usual price.

Li Ru had demanded two hundred taels!

Now that was asking for the moon.

He had known Li Ru was petty and miserly, but he had not expected him to go this far.

What surprised Xie An, however, was Madam Li.

She had actually quarreled with Li Ru over his redemption fee.

In Xie An's impression, Madam Li had once been a maid from a wealthy family in the county town. She had learned to read and write from childhood and was kind to others, but she could hardly be said to have any particular friendship with Xie An.

The most that had happened was that when Li Ru married, Xie An had still been a young man. He had gone to welcome the bride, carried Madam Li's sedan chair, and lit the brazier for her.

But surely that was not enough for Madam Li to go this far?

Just as Xie An stood there dazed, footsteps sounded outside.

"Old Xie."

Xie An looked up and saw Madam Li standing in the snow, dressed in a brown fur robe. She was over forty, with white showing at her temples, yet she possessed an air of grace and the dignified elegance of a household's mistress.

Xie An hurriedly clasped his hands and welcomed Madam Li inside.

"In this icy weather, how could I let Madam Li make the trip herself?"

"Staying in the manor too long made me restless, so I thought I would come out for a walk." Madam Li entered the pawnshop and sat on the chair provided for visiting guests. She also placed an exquisite box on the small table.

"I thought it was the New Year, yet I had nothing to give you. So I bought some pastries from Wufangzhai. Old Xie, have a taste."

Wufangzhai's pastries were unrivaled throughout Wuqiao Town and exceedingly expensive.

They were something Xie An had once never even dared dream of.

Faced with Madam Li's sudden kindness, Xie An felt deeply uneasy. He did not reach for them, but instead said, "I'm just a rotten old man. How could I let Madam go to such expense?"

The Great Qian still heavily favored men over women. The daughters of ordinary wealthy households were raised deep within their inner chambers, never venturing beyond the first gate or the second. Even the women who managed the household rarely showed their faces in public.

For Madam Li to come personally to the pawnshop to visit him was already exceedingly rare.

Yet Madam Li had Chunlan open the exquisite packaging, then unwrap the mulberry paper inside, revealing sweet-scented osmanthus cakes.

When Xie An saw the osmanthus cakes, it was as if he remembered something.

Madam Li said, "When I first married into the Li Household, I especially loved osmanthus cakes. Unfortunately, Wufangzhai had not yet opened in town. I remember that you, Old Xie, went all the way to the county town and bought them for me. It was also snowing heavily that day. In the blink of an eye, more than twenty years have passed."

Xie An's thoughts raced, and emotion welled in his heart.

"Yes, more than twenty years have passed in the blink of an eye."

Madam Li picked up a piece of osmanthus cake and slowly chewed it after putting it in her mouth. "But the taste is still exactly the same."

Xie An no longer declined. He picked up an osmanthus cake and began eating. "Thank you, Madam."

Madam Li could say that the taste was still the same as before.

But Xie An could not say that.

Back then, he had only been responsible for running the errand to buy them; he had never had the fortune to taste one.

Unexpectedly, he was finally getting to now.

Perhaps because they had both eaten osmanthus cakes, the awkward distance between them no longer seemed quite so far.

Madam Li seemed to recall the past and sighed softly. "I was once a maid too, but I was lucky. I met a good mistress. She taught me to read and write and even let me redeem my indenture. Only then did I have the chance to become the wife of the Li Household. On the day I married, my mistress told me that once I became a household's mistress, I had to treat others kindly and accumulate virtue for blessings.

"When I married, Old Xie carried my sedan chair and lit the brazier for me. He even walked dozens of miles over the mountain roads to buy osmanthus cakes. I remember it all. For these thirty years, Old Xie has managed the shops of my Li Household, working diligently and never making a mistake. I have seen it all.

"The master was born into wealth and grew up with a golden key in his mouth. Naturally, he cannot understand the suffering of servants. But in these troubled times, servants' lives are cheap. Still, servants are people too. Who doesn't want to live a good life?

"Old Xie has worked himself to the bone for my Li Household all his life. If I, as his mistress, cannot let him meet his end in peace, I truly cannot rest easy."

After saying this, Madam Li took out a cloth pouch and slowly handed it to Xie An.

"The master insists on collecting one hundred and eighty taels as your redemption fee. I could not prevail against him, and I know his temperament. This is my private money. Old Xie, take it. Come to my Li Household later and pay the redemption fee."