Before the sun came up Bai Chun had already left to go hunting. In the room his desk was already pulled out with a clean brush and a few scrolls he got from Huang Hao.
Quickly the sun started rising showing the covered figures of Tao Chun and Li Bai. The two both had gotten cloth and wrapped their hair and half their faces up before picking up two baskets of clothes to wash at the river.
"Make sure not to take too long while out since Zhangfu should be back at around midday got it?" Tao Fang said while holding a broom. Tao Chun rolled her eyes and nodded.
"Yes, Sister Qizi." She said, sounding annoyed. Li bai also nodded her head on the side.
With that they left with the gate shutting behind them. They headed to the river quietly.
Once there they picked a spot near some married women that was good for washing and sat down. All around them were many women from unmarried girls to older mothers washing clothes. There were the sounds of young children running around playing along with the shouts of mothers scolding their child for being naughty. Women scrubbed the clothes and beat them on rocks to get stains and dirt out of them before placing them in their baskets.
Tao Chun kneeled while grasping some clothes and scrubbed it in the water together, wrang it out before scrubbing it again. Li Bai grabbed the clothes when she was done and beat in on a wet rock to get it completely clean.
A woman named Mrs. Wang is the village gossip who got close to Tao Chun with a smile as she scrubbed clothes as well.
"Oh my look at the happy lady!" She said loudly with a smile. Tao Chun looked up and beamed at her.
"So… Has any of the women in the house's stomach started moving yet?" Mrs. Wang asked with a smile of curiosity sparkling in her eyes. Other women looked over at her words without stopping their movements. Tao Chun sighed at those words.
"No, not yet sadly." The woman quickly started giving her tips on how to get pregnant quickly.
"Oh, have you tried staying on your back after the deed?"
"Oh, I know for sure holding your legs in the air will definitely help that's how I got pregnant with my eldest son."
As everyone chatted Li Bai stood to the side beating the clothes on the rock quietly. A girl who is obviously not married yet approached her with a smile.
"How come you're not talking with the other married women?" She asked her.
"I ran away and became Zhangfu's concubine so they don't like me." Li Bai answered calmly. Hearing the girl nodded and quickly avoided the conversation by changing the topic.
"Well I would love to join the gossip but since I am unmarried I will only get scolded away since it's not my place to talk about such things." She sighed while scrubbing some clothes in hand that she had long finished. Li Bai trades the clothes in her hand out while giving her a smile and nod.
"Well my name is Lu Wu I am the village head's sister's daughter." She said with a smile trying to keep the conversation light. Li Bai paused and glanced at her with a frown looking guarded.
"Look I'm not trying to scheme against you or anything." Lu Wu said with a sigh. After glancing around she lowered her voice a bit to speak.
"My aunt came over last night some time after dinner and spoke with my mother. They plan on making me a maid of your house in the future with the thought of getting me to be a concubine." Hearing this Li Bai glanced around then traded the clothes in her hands out before speaking quietly to Lu Wu.
"Why are you telling me this? If such a thing happened wouldn't it be better to team up with them?" She indicated Tao Chun with her eyes. Lu Wu shook her head softly.
"No, I don't wish to enter there and run after those two cousins of mine. Even when I become a concubine I will be lower ranked than them since I was a maid before and they will run me until I faint." She was annoyed at just the thought.
"I can't refuse what my parents want me to do but after that I can control what happens so I wish for you to help me. So I can avoid such a bleak future." She said eagerly with bright eyes.
Li Bai changes the clothes in her hand out before getting back to work.
"Why ask me? I'm not the current favorite." She said calmly. Lu Wu giggled softly and glanced around before saying.
"I hear you're gaining favor and from the sounds of it you have a lot." Li Bai smiled and looked down at her.
"Funny." She rolled her eyes and slammed the clothes down to hide a smile.
"Well, if they go through with that plan I will help you become a concubine faster and avoid the two harassing you too much. As long as you help me when needed and don't betray me because I can always figure out a way to ruin you." Li Bai said with a soft smile.
"No need to worry too much, we don't need to think about it too much for another two months. I'm not sixteen yet." Lu Wu said with a smile.
As they finished their conversation a shout came from behind. Looking back a heavy set woman approached with a frown and grabbed Lu Wu by the ear and after glaring at Li Bai scolded Lu Wu while dragging her away.
"You terrible girl over here slacking off from doing laundry by talking to this wild woman. Such a woman will teach you bad habits and no man will want you. Now be good and never talk to her again and go wash clothes." The woman now known as Lu Wu's mother scolded and took her to where their clothes were.
Tao Chun looked over and gave Li Bai a smug smirk when seeing her be isolated.