Do you think so too?

"Just because they exchanged a few words, you dare claim you know all about them?"

A chunk of pastry came flying down. Liu Xiaobo looked up and saw a pair of beautiful phoenix eyes fixed on the people behind him. The blue-robed youth who had brought him and another youth in white dropped to their knees on either side of him.

The blue-robed youth hurried to explain, "Forgive me, young master. I'll bring someone else right away."

Liu Xiaobo straightened up and shuffled forward on his knees to the young master's feet. Wiping his hands on his clothes, he hugged the young master's boots.

Xubai kicked him away in anger. Liu Xiaobo toppled backward, then quickly scrambled up and knelt at his feet, knocking his forehead against the floor with loud thuds. "I live next door to her lover. Whatever you wish to ask, my lord, I can tell you."

"Lover?"

Liu Xiaobo shut his mouth. His tongue had run away with him, and he had blurted it out. He had originally meant to sound out this nobleman's attitude toward those three before deciding whether to mention it.

Then a thought turned over in his head. If this nobleman was an old friend of those three, why hadn't he simply gone to see them, or sent them some money and supplies?

By that reasoning, he wasn't on very good terms with those three.

"What lover?" Xubai crossed his long legs, resting one hand on his knee, and tipped Liu Xiaobo's chin up with his toe. "Explain exactly what you mean."

Liu Xiaobo steeled himself, ready to face death. "Everyone in our village knows about it. She's been involved with Li Yun, who lives next door to me, for two years. I heard she's going to marry him as her principal husband."

Juxin and Meixin exchanged a glance, nervously stealing looks at the expression of the man seated above them.

Unfortunately, they could make out nothing.

"Start from the beginning. Tell me everything."

Liu Xiaobo breathed a sigh of relief and began slowly, "The woman whose household those three government slaves went to came to our village two years ago. Back then, she had no money and nowhere to live. Even her clothes were in tatters, with her arms and legs showing."

"How miserable."

"Yes, yes. Who knows how she's making money now? She's even built a house."

Xubai listened impassively to the envy-laced words of the man below him. "Go on."

"Ever since she arrived, my neighbor has been throwing himself at her, bringing her one thing today and another tomorrow. From the way that Su woman acted, she meant to marry him too. Who could have expected three government slaves to suddenly turn up?"

"Those three and my neighbor are as far apart as heaven and earth, mud and white clouds."

As he spoke, he was about to mock Li Yun again when he suddenly remembered what he had come for and hastily steered back to the original subject. "My neighbor may be no match for those three newcomers, but I heard that Su woman promised him she would definitely marry him."

Xubai toyed with the jade pendant at his waist and cast Liu Xiaobo an indifferent glance. "How do you know? Did they tell you?"

"Well, no." Liu Xiaobo seemed to think of something. His earlier hesitation vanished, and he spoke decisively. "If she hadn't promised him, why would my neighbor be so eager to give her money and go to her house to cook for her family?"

"So eager to work like an ox or a horse for convict slaves? How generous of him."

Hearing the mockery in the voice above him, Liu Xiaobo grew even more animated. "Exactly! What unmarried man from a respectable family would rush to a woman's house to wash clothes and cook, carry firewood and deliver rice? But if he hadn't done all that, that Su woman might never have taken a fancy to him."

At this, Liu Xiaobo snorted twice. "After all, he's so big and burly. How could he please women like those men from the city?"

Something stirred in Xubai's mind, and his hand stopped playing with the jade pendant. "Is he very ugly?"

"Not really. He's passable, tall and brawny, and a hunter too. He certainly can't be as interesting as men from the city."

Xubai gave a cold snort and looked down at him. "Then it seems the city men still have a slight edge."

Only then did Liu Xiaobo remember that he was supposed to disparage those three from the city. The young master before him seemed deeply displeased with them, yet he kept talking himself over to their side.

He hurried to explain, "Not necessarily. Men from the city can't do much work, and they're delicate too. I heard that Su household spent quite a lot treating their illnesses. Who would be happy about that?"

"My neighbor's on a whole other level. He earned money building the granary, then eagerly took a wild boar he'd hunted over to Su Yuhe's place. Quite a few people went to buy wild boar meat that day, and it was one of the city men who collected the money." Liu Xiaobo slapped his forehead. "Su Yuhe is those three men's wife."

A low laugh came from above him. Though it sounded as lovely as jade striking stone, there was something sinister about it that inexplicably made his skin crawl.

Not a soul in the room dared make a sound.

Not until the laughter stopped.

"It seems Lady Su is blessed with quite the romantic fortune. A big, burly hunter to handle her household chores, and beautiful young men in her arms to warm her bed."

Unable to gauge the attitude of the man above him, Liu Xiaobo chimed in, "Yes, yes."

A piercing gaze fell upon the top of his head. "Do you think so too?"

He gave two sheepish chuckles. "Not really. Here in the countryside, marrying well is better than marrying many. One look at them tells you they'll cost a lot of money, and Lady Su doesn't look like someone who knows how to make it."