Under the Bamboo Parasol

The sun shone in the sky like a glistening lump of gold as Madam Lin gazed at its reflection in the large lake. The water was on the verge of freezing because of the low temperatures, trapping the many fishes beneath the surface.

Though a layer of ice had formed on the surface of the water, it was still thin, thus it could not be trodden upon, even carefully.

Looking at the small and large group of fish nearing the surface, the only thing separating them a thin layer of ice, as though grasping for the air. Madam Lin's face formed an almost mocking smile.

"Do they not know the only thing keeping them under the water is a layer of paper thin ice?" Madam Lin asked, as though in a deep wonder. This was a question that she seemed to be asking herself.

Ru An, standing off to the side seemed to dare not answer. Her head lowered slightly.

"Do you think they're adorable?" Madam Lin asked Ru An.

Ru An nodded her head quietly, looking at her dress.

"A pity they can't survive above water. I don't even understand why they're kept as pets. All they do is eat what you give them if you give them too much, their bellies swell and they die." Madam Lin said, as though ridiculing all those who have ever kept fishes in their small ponds among the scenery of fake mountains.

"We have fish in the manor." Ru An quietly stated.

Madam Lin seemed to not have heard Ru An as she bent down, placing an pale hand over the thin ice. As though by instinct, the fish came in an instant, clamoring at the shadow that was above them, all fighting for the food they believed would soon descend into the water.

"If they're starved long enough, will they eat flesh and pick the bones clean?" Madam Lin suddenly spoke, again, it seemed as though she was speaking to herself once again.

Ru An: "..."

Madam Lin truly had her mood swings, she could be as kind as a goddess, or as cruel as the overseer of the underworld.

There was no seer who could predict which mood she would end up next, which has been a headache of the servants in the manor. Such a master was truly very difficult to serve.

"Ah… Ru An, say do you think we can fish here?" Madam Lin stared over the large lake and asked.

"We did not bring any bait or fishing poles, plus it is best to fish in the center during the freezing of the lake, but this ice can barely support a person's weight, it is best to wait until the ice gets thicker." Ru An answered tactfully.

"Fine." Madam Lin said as she walked around the lake to take a walk. Ru An silently following behind as a dutiful maidservant to this lady that very few people knew of, yet could silently pull the strings to bend everything at her will.

The rocky ground was barren, and the grass was yellow, in the process of turning into hay. The grass and weeds that were by the lake, had been frozen stiff. This place was mountainous, full of thin soil that could barely be held by the thin grass from being blown away.

Every footprint left in the soil would be blown away by a small breeze.

There was a small hut nearby, the kind that was used to be a storage place for medicinal herbs to be shipped to the merchant's emporium, but now as the weather turned frigid, it was left abandoned and empty as the only herbs left were too dry and distasteful to the eyes, and thus was left behind.

"They are leaving way too much valuable medicines here to rot." Madam Lin said as she smelled what was left behind. "This is a waste. When I get back, I must tell them to stop this practice!"

Ru An took a close look at the ugly plant that was full of yellow holes in them: "I don't think this would sell madam."

"But there is nothing wrong with it!" Madam Lin insisted.

Madam Lin's mood had changed yet again, leaving Ru An baffled at how to act. She remained the obedient and shy maidservant just to be on the safe side.

She silently watched Madam Lin pile up some firewood in the fireplace, as she prepared to light a small fire.

Within no time, there was a small crackling sound as a fresh new fire had begun to glow from beneath the wood. The hearth of the fires was a soft orange glow that brought a strange sense of warmth to this empty and abandoned hut.

Ru An meanwhile tried her best to tidy up the small place to the best of her ability. Sweeping up the dust with a straw broom.

As her gaze landed on madam Lin who was silently feeding the small sticks of firewood into the hearth almost mindlessly. Her heart felt tensed for an unknown reason.

Madam Lin could have gotten burned over and over again so many times, and if the fire got too large, and caught onto the wood that made up this hut, the entirety of this place and the trees and shrubs could have been burnt down to the ground, not even leaving a single hair behind.

Perhaps, Ru An felt some sympathy for Madam Lin, who in her entire life had never ceased thinking of a single man.