Mu Aotie could not help but remind him, “Then you should not have exposed the affair between Zou Yunting and the Second Branch.”
Hearing this, Yu Qing also felt somewhat regretful. If he had known it would come to this, he would have just let that person beat him up. His momentary loss of composure had indeed left a hidden worry. He pondered and said, “If I do not speak of it, he probably would not dare to act recklessly.”
Turning to the practical problem they faced now, Nan Zhu said, “With matters like this, if they do not know an outsider is aware, it is not a big deal. But if they do know, that adulterous couple will likely find it hard to eat or sleep day and night, and who knows what they might do. Also, is it not possible that Wen Yan’an knows you? Once you go to the Jade Garden, would it not be easier to run into him?”
Yu Qing replied, “I have thought about this. Wen Yan’an probably will not visit the Jade Garden often. I will try my best to avoid him. As long as I endure until his leave to visit his hometown expires, he will have to return to the capital. The journey back and forth is not easy. Once he returns to the capital, I fear it might be years before he comes back again. By the time he appears again, Wen Xin will likely already be married. I probably will not have the chance to see him again in this lifetime.”
Nan Zhu hummed in agreement. “As long as you know what you are doing.”
The three martial brothers reached a consensus, and the matter was settled.
One purpose of reaching this agreement was to delay his entry into the Wenshu Pavilion. Fearing any accidents, they decided to stabilise the situation first. Their priority was for Yu Qing to become Wen Xin’s trusted aide and smoothly take charge of her dowry.
In truth, Yu Qing felt a nameless ache in his heart. Poverty truly shortens one’s ambitions.
After Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie left, Yu Qing tidied up a bit and dealt with some of his hidden belongings.
Not long after, Liu Gui arrived to handle the handover. The utility courtyard would temporarily fall back under Liu Gui’s concurrent management.
There was no other way. Registering items coming in and out required someone who could read and write.
Once the handover was complete, Liu Gui locked the door and accompanied Yu Qing to see Steward Feng.
Steward Feng was in no hurry. He had Liu Gui accompany Yu Qing to collect two sets of clothes, specifically two sets of cyan servant uniforms.
Being assigned to work in the Jade Garden was already a direct promotion, and his wages were raised as well.
Only after Yu Qing had collected and changed into the clothes did Steward Feng lead him to the destination.
Liu Gui watched them leave with eager eyes. Without permission, he was not yet qualified to visit the Jade Garden…
“Young Miss, A-Qing is here.”
At the gate of the Jade Garden, Xiao Hong, who frequently ran out to look around, saw Steward Feng bringing Yu Qing and immediately ran back inside, shouting loudly.
A few servants pruning branches or sweeping in the garden were somewhat confused.
When Xiao Hong reappeared accompanying Wen Xin, Steward Feng had also brought Yu Qing forward.
“Third Young Miss.”
At the bottom of the steps, Steward Feng and Yu Qing bowed together to Wen Xin, who stood on the steps above.
Having delivered the person and completed the handover, Steward Feng exchanged a few polite words, gave Yu Qing a brief warning, and then took his leave.
Yu Qing and Wen Xin met eyes, and both shared an inexplicable, knowing smile.
Suddenly, a discordant “woofing” sound rang out from a side room. It did not bark often, but when it did, it sounded utterly miserable.
Recognising the sound of the little puppy immediately, Yu Qing asked in suspicion, “What is wrong with Zilong?”
Xiao Hong sighed. “It refuses to eat and keeps making a fuss.”
Speaking of this, she lost all her energy. Raising that creature was exhausting, disturbing people day and night without peace.
Yu Qing offered proactively, “Should I go and take a look?”
“It would be good if you could make it stop fussing.”
Xiao Hong led him there, opened a nearby door, and the master and two servants all went inside.
Inside an iron cage in the room, the little puppy lay on its back, howling. Its eyes were already wet with tears, looking as pitiful as possible.
Hearing someone enter, it merely glanced up. But upon suddenly spotting Yu Qing, its howling stopped instantly. It immediately flipped over and wagged its tail at him with tearful eyes.
Yu Qing casually picked up a piece of “dog food” from a nearby plate, bent down, and held it out to tease it.
At the sight of the “dog food”, the little puppy clearly showed some resistance and backed away slightly. However, it soon licked it, snatched it in one bite, chewed a few times, and swallowed it with its head raised. It then wagged its tail vigorously at Yu Qing, repeatedly bumping its head against the cage lock, seemingly signalling for him to let it out.
It really only ate when this particular person fed it. Wen Xin and Xiao Hong were quite speechless. Suddenly, they probably somewhat understood Elder Fan Wuchou’s words. If it continued like this, it was hard to say whose spiritual pet it truly was. The master had become an outsider, and the outsider had practically become the master.
Xiao Hong had to remind him, “A-Qing, you must not feed it anymore. Letting it stay with you for feeding before was our mistake. Even Elder Fan got angry. Elder Fan said that from now on, Zilong must be fed personally by the Young Miss. No one else is allowed to interfere or help. Do you understand?”
Yu Qing was stunned. Was not this the very primary purpose of transferring him here?
“Xiao Hong, take A-Qing to settle in first,” Wen Xin instructed.
“Alright.” Xiao Hong immediately waved at Yu Qing. “Come, follow me.”
After the two left, Wen Xin squatted in front of the iron cage again, feeling a bit of a headache, hoping to communicate effectively with Zilong.
However, upon seeing Yu Qing leave, the little puppy acted as if it had suffered a terrible injustice. It rolled and struggled on the spot, kicking its legs in the air continuously, and kept howling…
“Do not be nervous. There is actually not much to do here usually. Look, behind us is the main courtyard where the clan leader lives. The Young Miss grew up with the clan leader since childhood. Since she is not married, the household has not been divided. All the supplies, meals, cleaning, and such for our side are handled by the older women and maids from the main courtyard. We do not need to do much.
Also, we usually do not cook here. The Young Miss takes all three meals at the clan leader’s place, and the two of us must go there with her to eat.
If we want to eat something specific, we can just inform the next-door kitchen under the Young Miss’s name, and they will prepare and deliver it as soon as possible. Sister Pingping and I often do this. It is not us acting on our own authority. The Young Miss allows it.
Oh, you probably will not see Sister Pingping for a while. Some villain seriously injured her martial brother, so she has to take care of him.
Sister Pingping and Brother Zou are disciples of our Elder Fan, and also his youngest two disciples, cultivating alongside him. I heard that several of Sister Pingping’s senior martial brothers and sisters are also rushing from Qinglian Mountain to visit their junior brother, and likely want to seek revenge for him as well.
Actually, I think Sister Pingping really likes her martial brother, but I feel he does not seem to like her back. The Young Miss probably noticed it too, but she told me not to gossip. You must pretend you know nothing about it in the future.
From today on, the two of us will be the Young Miss’s right-hand aides. However, since men and women must keep their distance, you cannot easily enter the house where the Young Miss lives. She is not married yet, and we must protect her reputation. If anything comes up, just speak from outside the door.
Look, that small house there. Do you like it? It is currently storing cleaning supplies, but if you want to live there, I will have someone clean it out for you.
Over there, do you see that pavilion? There is also a room there. A bit of tidying up would make it liveable.
And that tall pavilion on the side outside the courtyard gate. If you like to climb high and look far, you can live there too. However, there are always several guards on duty day and night at the very top, with people constantly going up and down. I do not know if you can get used to that.”
Xiao Hong babbled on explaining a whole lot, but she was clearly very cheerful. The atmosphere of men and women working together without feeling tired was quite obvious.
After walking around, Yu Qing ultimately chose the pavilion near the water. It had a room and a terrace, and looked quite refreshing.
Xiao Hong immediately called over a few handy servants and had them clear out the small room in the pavilion right away.
Yu Qing thus settled in.
Afterwards, he set aside distracting thoughts and properly focused on being a good servant. He appeared respectful and submissive before Wen Xin, and completely obedient to Xiao Hong.
Actually, Wen Xin did not make him do this or that. It was Xiao Hong who gave him errands. Yu Qing had firmly decided to cling to Xiao Hong, so whatever she asked him to do, he immediately carried it out happily and promptly.
He was very clear that he was not yet Wen Xin’s trusted aide. Xiao Hong was. To gain Wen Xin’s approval, he had to win over Xiao Hong first, which was why he closely revolved around her.
When the night was deep and quiet, and the day was about to end once more, the lamp in the Jade Garden study room stayed lit for a long time.
Beside the writing desk, two sheets of paper with identical handwriting were placed side by side. Wen Xin silently studied them for a long time.
Several times, she had the urge to take the two papers over and ask Yu Qing, “Did you write this?”
No matter how she compared them, she felt the handwriting truly came from the same person.
She had lost count of how many times she compared them. However she looked at it, they resembled each other.
Thinking that the person from legend might be right beside her, working as her servant, her heart pounded relentlessly.
That was a person who could write, “Once entering the monarch’s hall, settling the reputation of life and afterlife!” Why would he abandon a brilliant future? Why would he give up a beautiful wife and fine family? Why would a renowned literary genius come to work as a servant? She deeply wanted to understand what kind of spiritual realm such a person possessed.
Or was she truly overthinking it?
On a chair nearby, Xiao Hong could not hold out any longer. Sitting there with her head tilted back and mouth slightly open, she had already fallen asleep…
Inside the small room of the pavilion, after a busy and active day, Yu Qing was neither cultivating nor asleep. He lay curled on his side on the bed, staring blankly with his eyes open, motionless. His face wore a look of desolate loneliness.
From the moment he decided to come for Wen Xin’s dowry, he had given up on himself regarding romance.
Whenever Wen Xin was nearby and the ripples in his heart were repeatedly stirred, he would think of Nan Zhu’s words, using them to mock himself. What right does a poor boy like you have to indulge in foolish fantasies?
Whenever he reminded himself that he was approaching Wen Xin solely for money, he felt everything he did was worthwhile, even if it meant bowing and scraping before Xiao Hong.
Just as Nan Zhu said, with money, cultivation resources, and strength, what beautiful women would he not have?
He comforted himself well during the day, but after lying down in the deep, quiet night, an inexplicable sense of loss and sorrow would endlessly breed within him. No matter what he did, he could not dispel it. He could only let it spread, like a dead dog.
Outside, the little puppy’s miserable howling sounded again, disturbing any peace…
Two days later in the Jade Garden, Xiao Hong cheered and laughed loudly. “It ate it, it ate it! A-Qing, Zilong ate it. It is willing to eat the food fed by the Young Miss now.”
Upon hearing the news, Yu Qing immediately went to see. When he reached the door, he did not go in. Xiao Hong would not let him enter, fearing the puppy would see him and throw a tantrum again. She told him to hide outside the door and watch quietly.
The little puppy in the cage was still whimpering, but it was already eating the “dog food” pellets Wen Xin handed to it one by one.
Xiao Hong chattered away, “Elder Fan and the others were right after all. Once it is hungry enough, it will naturally eat. Before this, the Young Miss simply could not bear to let it starve.”
What a spineless creature, Yu Qing thought with disdain. It only lasted three days of hunger before giving in.