"You're hurt?" Indigo was about to set her down to check where she was injured.
Aenwyn clung to his neck, refusing to come down. "Go, go, hurry." She was incredibly embarrassed. These people were still gathered around her, insisting she see a doctor.
Young Master Zhou's face looked terrible. He suspected one of the flying cups or bowls from earlier had hit him.
Suddenly, she felt another rush of blood gush out. The air was thick with the scent of blood.
Oh my god, she was hemorrhaging. Her face turned pale.
She hadn't gotten her period once since arriving here. Now it all came in one massive wave.
Indigo already felt the dampness spreading on his arm.
His eyes filled with panic. "Aenwyn."
Ludovic said, "To the clinic, now."
Yes, yes. Indigo snapped back to his senses.
"No, I'm not going." Aenwyn screamed.
She was so anxious her stomach started to hurt.
Ludovic's face darkened. "You can't avoid treatment because of shame."
Young Master Zhou tried to take her from Indigo's arms. He was slow and hesitant, but from the amount of blood, it looked serious.
"No, take me home first." She looked at Indigo. Sweat formed on her forehead. Her eyes were filled with seriousness and pleading. The young man looked at her deeply and decided to respect her wishes.
"Let go of her," Indigo said coldly to Young Master Zhou. Young Master Zhou wouldn't let go, but only reluctantly released her when Ludovic pulled him away.
He simply didn't like this guy. No reason, just disliked him from the first glance. If Aenwyn knew what he was thinking, she would praise his instincts.
Wasn't it normal to dislike him? The wound on his body that hadn't healed yet was still one Indigo had inflicted.
The two watched Indigo carry Aenwyn away with long strides.
Once they got back to the inn, Indigo looked at her helplessly. "Where are you hurt?"
Aenwyn buried herself under the blanket. She wished she could just die. Her stomach started to cramp badly. What did women use in ancient times during their periods? Ash? Scraps of cloth?
She hadn't had her period since arriving here. She thought maybe time travel had affected her biology. Turns out it was just delayed.
And it hurt like hell this time.
She couldn't help but let out a muffled cry.
Seeing her like an ostrich hiding in the blanket made Indigo furious. He pulled the blanket back and tried to take her to the clinic.
Under the covers, her hair was soaked like it had just been washed. Her whole body trembled.
"I'm fine," she said weakly. "It's just my period."
Period?
"The thing women get every month," Aenwyn snapped impatiently.
Indigo looked completely confused.
These ancient men knew nothing about biology. Hadn't he seen plenty of erotic art books? How did he not know this?
And now he wanted to take her to the clinic? That would be a disaster. She cried inside. It hurt so much. She just wanted to go home.
Even after Aenwyn explained, Indigo still didn't understand why women bled every month. With so few women in recent decades, men generally had no idea about such private matters.
But seeing she had the strength to yell calmed him a bit.
"Are you really okay?" So much blood. He held her hand sadly.
"I'm fine, it's just waste blood." Seeing how scared and pitiful he looked, like she was dying, softened her heart.
She began telling him to get clean cloth, hot water, and ginger syrup. Then she kicked him out. What kind of punishment was this? She even had to make her own pads here.
After washing up and changing clothes, Aenwyn finally felt alive again.
"You can come in now," she said, opening the door.
Indigo immediately pulled her into his arms. "Don't scare me like that again."
"I'm okay, no need to worry." She patted him gently.
"You should go change too." Aenwyn thought about how his clothes were covered in her menstrual blood and felt so embarrassed her toes could dig a hole in the ground.
After Indigo also changed, Aenwyn started explaining how women's monthly cycles worked. Luckily, people had been fighting when it happened, so the chances of her being exposed were low. Everyone just assumed she was injured.
"We're not going tomorrow, right?" Indigo frowned.
"No way. That's ten thousand gold." Quitting halfway was not her style.
If she missed this chance, when would she have another shot at making money? What, sell herself again? Aenwyn remembered that unpleasant experience.
"I'll go with you," he said.
…
The Huashu Gathering, held once every two years, took place in the outskirts of the city, in a vast and sparsely populated area. The real crowd-puller wasn't the gathering itself but the following selection of the female performers.
It was a rare chance to see all kinds of beauties for free. Men swarmed to the event.
Aenwyn's chest was sore today, but she still tightened the band around it mercilessly. She also prepared two thick homemade pads, ready to change at any time.
Since this was a national event, carriages rolled toward the outskirts from dawn. When they arrived, they almost couldn't squeeze in.
Fortunately, participants had special access through a separate entrance.
There, for the first time, she got a close look at the women from this place.
They were all petite and wore veils covering their faces completely.
Aenwyn stared for a few seconds too long, drawing the sharp stares of the men nearby. It felt like if she kept looking, they'd gouge out her eyes.
She quickly looked away, deciding to study that Top Ten Noblewomen of the Capital picture book when she got back.
Eyes down, mind calm, she followed the team ahead. Then she and Indigo separated. He went to the audience area, and she entered the contestants' rest zone.
There, she ran into Scholar Li, the man she saw yesterday at Huashu Study Hall.
"About yesterday, I'm really sorry," he stammered.
"It's fine. When a fight breaks out, it makes sense to run far away." Aenwyn didn't think he had done anything wrong. They barely knew each other. Why would he risk himself for her? People are naturally selfish.
"As long as you don't blame me." Scholar Li smiled.
"There are more participants this time, so the rules might change," Scholar Li whispered. Seeing that she didn't understand, he explained, "In previous years, there were three rounds, each filtering people out, and each round had a painting theme."
"This year, because of the added cash prize and the Hua family's leader being present, the final round might be different," he told her.
"Thanks, Brother Li," Aenwyn replied.
Actually, for a first-timer like her, changing the rules didn't make much difference. If anything, it might work in her favor. No matter how the rules changed, in the world of painting and calligraphy, it all came down to skill.
Watching hundreds of people paint together felt like a modern art college entrance exam. The only difference was all the test-takers were men in traditional robes.
Aenwyn found it quite fascinating.
Waiting for the artists to finish was incredibly boring. The crowd below turned their attention to the private boxes where the female performers were gathered.
There were twenty-eight of them this time. Some were married, others not. One of them would be chosen as the top performer and added to the official register, making the competition fierce.
All twenty-eight were first-class performers from Danzhou, the best of the best.
Dongling Country had twenty-six provinces, vast and rich. Danzhou was in the westernmost remote region. In the entire province, only Danyang was somewhat wealthy. Other places, like Citong Town, barely had any women at all.
Let's not talk about that for now. Aenwyn took the topic in her hand.
"Spring"
The paintings here were all ink wash paintings, and the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone were sponsored by Hua Book House.
Spring in ink wash painting, this topic was too easy for Aenwyn. She spent more time observing the skill level of the other contestants.
At an angled corner, she spotted Ragnar.
Truly, enemies are bound to meet.
Halfway through the time, Ludovic appeared at the judges' table. His calm and elegant presence stood out in the crowd.
She also saw Mister Curtis.
Aenwyn lowered her head and painted a simple landscape. The layers created by dark ink, light ink, dry ink, wet ink, and scorched ink made the painting clear and full of depth. Though it was just water and ink, the feeling of spring came alive on the paper.
As soon as she put down her brush, the bell rang. Those who hadn't finished were not allowed to continue, and some people groaned in frustration.
The judges looked over each painting quickly, one by one.
Soon, it was Aenwyn's turn. Ludovic glanced at her painting, then subtly looked over her body before focusing on her slightly paler-than-usual face.
His gaze was discreet, and no one noticed.
In the Qianchu continent, ink wash painting had already reached a high level of mastery. Aenwyn stood out more because of her use of atmosphere and the contrast of light and dark.
But it had to be said, this was an exceptionally beautiful landscape painting. Several judges leaned in to praise it.
She easily won the first round. Scholar Li was also pleased to receive a badge for the next round. He did not hope to win first place, since the top twenty in the Hua Book Gathering would get close access to the female Ji candidates and join in the final selection.
This was quite a strong temptation.
The first contest ended quickly, eliminating more than half the people. Now only around forty or fifty remained.
At this moment, Ragnar noticed her. He looked a bit shocked. Yesterday, a servant reported that this person had been accidentally injured in a tavern and the injury was serious, yet here she was alive and well today.
Ragnar gave her a hateful glare.
After the first round, there was a break.
That was when Ludovic came over. Today, he was dressed very formally, clean and elegant, with a handsome and refined air. "How's your injury?"
"Cough cough, it's nothing." She wasn't injured at all.
Young Master Zhou waved to her from far below the stage. His bright smile was almost blinding.
Aenwyn raised a hand to block her eyes. Don't smile at her like that, Indigo would get jealous.
Just as she stepped off the stage with Ludovic, loud cheers erupted from below.
It turned out the female Ji selection was held at the same time as the Hua Book Gathering.
Aenwyn had to admit, the timing was well arranged, leaving no dull moments.
Twenty-eight female Ji candidates appeared. Indigo also somehow showed up.
Unlike earlier when their faces were covered, they now wore no veils. Each had a bright red cinnabar mark in the center of her forehead.
Aenwyn looked at them in shock.
At first, she had no idea why she had the ability to stir up so much trouble in Citong Town or why she had been auctioned for such a high price of forty thousand gold. Now she fully understood.
The girls here were not like her at all.