It was currently in the middle of a scorching summer. Her husband, He Sanlang, had suddenly traipsed off to the borders to join the army just a few days after their marriage, so everyone in the Jing’an Estate took pity on her.
In the afternoon, Matriarch He sent one of her personal maidservants over with half a basin of ice. Seeing that Chu Lian was still sleeping in the bedroom, the maidservant instructed Senior Servant Gui to place the ice inside to alleviate the heat.
There weren’t many ice cellars in the capital, and they hadn’t stored a lot of ice last year. Most of the ice had been sent to the palace. Even if there was extra, it would be sent to the estates of the other members of the imperial family. Most of the nobility wouldn’t be able to get their hands on enough ice to use.
Thus, it was extraordinary that Matriarch He had actually sent a basin of ice over to Third Young Madam.
Senior Servant Gui escorted Muxiang, the maidservant who had sent over the ice, out of the courtyard. Rather than being happy over the unexpected gift, she looked sad as she sighed. Anyone could see that the ice was merely some form of compensation for Third Young Madam.
Third Young Master was already gone. What kind of compensation could make up for not having your husband by your side?
Perhaps the ice had really made the room cooler; Chu Lian slept exceptionally well that afternoon. She didn’t even get up when Fuyan came in to call her for lunch.
It was already late afternoon by the time she woke up. Chu Lian felt the refreshing coolness the moment she sat up on the bed, rather dazed from sleep.
She stood up and pushed the curtains of the bed aside. There was a wooden bucket filled with ice set down right beside the bed.
Chu Lian let out a gasp of surprise. She didn’t even spare the time to put on her embroidered shoes before she was rushing forward, peering into the ice bucket. There was still a piece of ice about as large as her head floating inside.
Xiyan was working on some embroidery as she remained on standby in the outer chamber. When she heard Chu Lian’s gasp, she hurriedly ran in. “Third Young Madam, did anything happen?”
Chu Lian pointed at the bucket. Her eyes were wide as she asked, “Where did all this ice come from?”
The corners of Xiyan’s mouth pulled downwards grimly. Although the ice was a great gift, it was meant to act as consolation for He Sanlang’s leaving. She held mixed feelings towards it.
“The matriarch ordered someone to send it over to Third Young Madam in order to relieve the summer heat.”
Chu Lian instantly realised why Matriarch He had sent over the ice, despite it being so valuable. The Jing’an Estate wouldn’t normally get any to use for themselves.
However, she wasn’t thinking as deeply as Senior Servant Gui and the rest were. Since Matriarch He had given it to her, she was going to happily make use of it!
Otherwise, it would go to waste!
“Quick, get me a small cotton blanket,” Chu Lian said. Though her expression hardly changed, there was a degree of excitement to her manner.
Xiyan, still in the midst of her bout of sadness, wasn’t expecting that. She let out a soft ‘ah?’ and looked up at Chu Lian in confusion.
“Quickly, quickly. What are you standing there blanking out for?”
Xiyan wiped at the corners of her eyes. “But… but… Third Young Madam, what do you want a cotton blanket for?”
Chu Lian flicked Xiyan on the forehead. “What else is it for? To make all this ice melt slower. I want to use them to make desserts with shaved ice!”
“Shaved… shaved ice…” The thought was enough to completely distract Xiyan from her earlier gloominess. The hurt on her face also disappeared.
“Yeah! Shaved ice is delicious and helps relieve the heat. Go on, quickly!”
Thus, Xiyan was driven out to find a cotton blanket for Chu Lian.
When Xiyan returned, blanket in hand, she watched as Third Young Madam used it to cover up the wooden bucket. She didn’t seem to know whether to laugh or cry as a strange expression overtook her previously downcast face.
“Get me a change of clothes. I want to see what we have in the kitchen that I can use to make shaved ice with!”
Finally, Senior Servant Gui and Xiyan went along with her to the kitchen.
