Under The Bamboo Parasol - Volume 1 Chapter 45 The Bath

“Oh, and later I will be needing your service.” Madam Lin paused, she was still chewing the chestnuts, so the command did not seem as severe as it should have been.

“Yes.” Ru An slightly tilted her head and silently retreated.

Holding a basket in her hands, Madam Lin silently smirked and went off into the night.

Ru An knew what service was needed. As Madam had been lying in bed and resting in the past days, she must have felt weary and wanted to draw up a warm bath.

Water was not much of a problem, there were plenty of wells within the manor, and Madam Lin not being the kind of person who specifically wanted water formed by the melting of thousand-year ice was easy to serve.

The water then needed to be heated up. Though hot water was not really considered any type of luxury, among the upper nor middle classes for that matter, to be able to bathe in heated water in the winter was a very comfortable occasion.

The water would then be poured into a large porcelain tub that was specifically made for the purpose. The tub was located in the bathing quarters specifically designed for this purpose. These quarters were located within the southern wing of the manor, and rarely had anyone else working there, it was quite an isolated place for one to be.

For the sake of having a clean scent, some light sandalwood incense was lighted to purify the air, it gave off a very light and a not overly heavy scent of fragrance.

Just as Ru An was pouring the last bucket of water to fill the tub to create the steam that floated around in the air, Madam Lin had already entered in her usual robes.

Upon seeing that Madam Lin had arrived. Ru An immediately took away the bucket and went to the other side of the folding screen. She greeted the woman who had just entered.

Madam Lin took in a deep breath and exhaled with a drunken smile. The fragrance was one that she especially used. Though it was not one that was particularly obvious and could not be smelled miles away, it was still noticeable in another way.

She slipped her robes off and her feet out of her embroidered shoes. Her dainty feet walked across the pathway of heated stones that led to the porcelain tub. She slowly slid herself in and made some small disturbances within the water as soon as she had her body submerged within the water.

Her delicate fingers grasped a bamboo ladle, scooping up the water, and pouring it on to her silky skin. This was a chore that should have been done by a servant, but Madam Lin who did not want anyone else to serve her was fine with doing it herself.

Her jade-like fingers caressed her back, as though rubbing away a full day of strain upon her shoulders. Her fingers were, for the most part, nearly healed, that the deep incisions once made into the skin by the strings of the qin were no longer deeply ingrained into the skin. Her fingertips were merely slightly swollen from that ordeal.

Her fingertips brushed part a scar that rested above her left b.r.e.a.s.t. The scar was no more than a finger’s length, but the scar had healed to be quite visible. One could only imagine the type of wound was inflicted upon the place where the scar once laid.

As her fingertips brushed by, the expression that rested on Madam Lin’s face became one of grimace, as though reliving a time when the scar had not healed but was a wound of open flesh and pouring blood.

Her chest heaved heavily and she could not calm down. It was only after jabbing herself in an acupoint to calm herself down did she fell her heartbeat slow down.

“Ru An.” Madam Lin beckoned and the young maidservant came with a set of neatly folded clothes, ready to be put on.

“Does madam have any orders?”

“It’s fine.” Madam Lin muttered, directly taking the set of clothes from her and put them on unceremoniously. Her actions confused the young maidservant, as Madam Lin’s actions seemed so well adjusted, as though she had always been putting on her own clothes without the help of those serving her.

Feng Yun had been the only person serving Madam Lin in the past decades, as to how she did it no one was certain since Feng Yun had left in such a hurry and did not leave word with anyone.

After Madam Lin was done putting on her clothes, she told Ru An to have a carriage prepared later as she would be going somewhere.

Ru An was not one who asked and her master was not one to speak about her personal matters, so the destination remained unknown.

Within a room, Madam Lin was standing there, seeming at loss of what to do. Resting on a jade table was a guqin and a handkerchief. Her eyes were on the seemingly old and worn instrument with a complicated gaze.

The kind of gaze that had moved from light into darkness, hidden beneath was many layers that had yet to show. As of now, she was not Madam Lin who enjoyed joking around any further, rather, she was a very calm and clear-headed person who took her responsibilities seriously.

This was the Madam Lin that occasionally peaked through as she was given the various reports. The head of the nameless manor and all those that worked for her.

But it was uncertain which was her true self, the joyful young lady who laughed and teased her servants, or the head of the nameless manor.

Perhaps with such a question posed, even the most powerful woman would not know.