“Really?” Huaiyu swallowed a few mouthfuls of red bean porridge, feeling that her recent days seemed a bit too comfortable. It should have been a tumultuous time, yet everything was calm here, and even Qingxian’s daily reports of city affairs had dwindled.
“Living like this every day isn’t bad,” she muttered softly.
The person beside her reached out to stroke her hair, his eyes exceptionally gentle.
She had been exhausted for eight years, during which he knew nothing and hadn’t helped her much, often opposing her instead. Now that he stood by her side, it was time to make amends.
With the bowl of red bean porridge finished, Jiang Xuanjin set it aside, called Qi Jin to check her pulse, and then accompanied her for a walk in the courtyard. The two of them seemed as leisurely as if they had retired to the mountains.
“Master,” Chengxu approached after a while, whispering a few words in his ear.
Jiang Xuanjin listened calmly and then said to Li Huaiyu, “Lü Qing has sent some documents. I’ll go to the study to take a look. You go chat with Miss Xu for a while.”
“Alright.” His expression was so composed that Huaiyu didn’t suspect a thing and followed Qingsi to Xu Chuniang’s place.
Jiang Xuanjin watched her leave through the moon gate before his face darkened. He turned and asked, “Where are they fighting?”
Chengxu bowed, “Twenty miles outside the East City Gate.”
Jiu Wu’s men and the reinforcements from Pingling met in the eastern canyon. They initially intended to persuade the reinforcements to retreat, as Li Fangwu had agreed to just put on a show. However, some unexpected events led to a battle, resulting in significant casualties on both sides.
Such a fight would inevitably alarm the surrounding areas, and the charge of rebellion against Yixian City might be confirmed.
Jiang Xuanjin pondered, repeatedly rubbing his sleeve, his dark eyes revealing no light.
When Huaiyu entered Xu Chuniang’s room, she saw a large pile of silk threads on a square table. Xu Chuniang was focused on making a complex knot. Hearing the sound, she looked up and smiled, “What brings Your Highness here?”
“Just came to see you.” Huaiyu curiously picked up a few silk threads. “What are you making?”
“Something,” Xu Chuniang replied, looking down. “The design is quite novel. I haven’t seen a knot like this before.”
Knots are usually made to hold things, with simple patterns. But the pattern she got from the shop was very intricate, depicting a pair of dragons and phoenixes on the knot. It was so large that it could probably hold a person.
Chuniang estimated that it might take a month to complete.
“This pattern…” Huaiyu murmured, looking at the design, “Why does it seem familiar?”
Chuniang didn’t hear her and instead asked, “Where did the Ziyang Lord go?”
“To the study.” Unable to recall where she had seen the design, Huaiyu let it go, sitting beside Chuniang and watching her nimble fingers. “You’re skillful.”
Chuniang smiled, “I don’t have much else to do, so I just play with these.”
Thinking of Jiang Shen, Huaiyu suddenly remembered, “I almost forgot. The Ziyang Lord said that when Second Young Master Jiang left, he left a message for you. He didn’t have time to come over, so he asked me to tell you.”
Chuniang paused in her knot-making, lowering her eyes. “What did he say?”
“It was just one sentence,” Huaiyu recalled Jiang Xuanjin’s words and repeated, “There are plenty of fish in the sea.”
Chuniang was taken aback, then laughed softly, “Makes sense.”
She had wondered what he would say, but it turned out to be just that. Indeed, someone as carefree as Second Young Master Jiang would have no shortage of women. To him, she was just a regret.
She had felt a bit troubled before, but hearing this, Xu Chuniang felt completely relieved.
She and Jiang Shen were destined to be apart. It was a mistake that had passed. Since he had let go, she didn’t need to dwell on it. A second marriage for a woman was not easy, and she didn’t want one. Once the matters in Yixian City were settled, she would return to the main city of Danyang to spend her remaining years with her elders.
A new maid entered the room to pour tea, listened to their conversation for a bit, then pursed her lips and left.
A few maids gathered in a corner, whispering, “Everyone says Miss Xu is good, but I don’t see what’s so good about her. She’s plain-looking and a discarded woman. What does Lord Chijin see in her?”
“Exactly, I can’t stand her weak and pitiful demeanor, pretending to be pitiful to gain sympathy. That master must be blind to keep someone like her.”
“Don’t say that. Our master isn’t a good person either.”
“What do you mean?”
Looking around, a maid whispered, “Look at how many men are around her. The Ziyang Lord is said to be the father of her child, but I’ve heard she has a close relationship with Shopkeeper Lu too. And those other lords, aren’t they all fawning over her? A woman can only marry one man, and even after marriage, she’s surrounded by so many men. It’s a good thing the Ziyang Lord has a good temper.”
Rumors and gossip, when pieced together, seemed to become facts. The young maids spoke with enthusiasm, quickly condemning the two, each wearing a disdainful expression, afraid of being seen as one of them.
Someone whispered, “Did our master do something wrong?”
The person next to her immediately glared, “Even if they did something wrong, would we know? Look at how many people outside are criticizing her. If so many people are saying it, there must be something wrong. Everyone can’t be wrong!”
That made sense. The more people, the more justice. If everyone thought someone was bad, they must be bad!
Thus, the maids with higher status were less respectful to Xu Chuniang, occasionally talking back and unwilling to serve her.
One maid showed her attitude, and the others secretly watched, silently cheering. Xu Chuniang, being good-tempered, wouldn’t punish anyone, so the maids in her courtyard grew bolder. After talking back, they would return to the servants’ quarters and be praised by the other maids, becoming even more arrogant.
The maids in the main courtyard noticed and wanted to imitate. So, when serving dinner, one maid didn’t hold the soup bowl properly, spilling it all over the table and splashing Huaiyu.
Li Huaiyu looked up at her.
“This servant deserves to die,” the maid said, “I didn’t hold it steady.”
She admitted her mistake, but her attitude was far from apologetic, her expression proud as if she had done a good deed.
Smirking, Huaiyu stood up, took off her wet clothes, and asked, “When did you enter the residence?”
The maid glanced at her, pursing her lips, “Three days ago.”
Three days, no wonder. The blind aren’t afraid of heights. Huaiyu smiled, “It’s fine, just an accident.”
The maid was delighted, ready to leave and boast. But then she heard Huaiyu’s next words, “Wash these clothes and return them within an hour.”
In the cold outside, with the well almost frozen, she was to wash clothes. The maid was shocked, thinking, and said, “I’ll send them to be washed.”
After all, there were farm women outside willing to wash clothes in winter to make a living.
“That won’t do.” Leaning on the table, smiling at her, Li Huaiyu gestured, and Qingsi stepped forward, expressionless.
“You spilled the soup, so you should wash it. Sister Qingsi will accompany you and fetch water for you. You wash.”
The maid’s face turned blue, thinking this master was petty, making a fuss over a bowl of soup.
But there was no choice. Under the eaves, she had to comply. Holding the clothes, and biting her lip, she reluctantly left.
“Madam,” Qi Jin whispered beside her, “there’s been a lot of gossip in the residence lately. Be careful.”
Li Huaiyu sneered, “In my own nest… I mean, my residence, there’s never been such nonsense. Gossip? I think they’re living too comfortably.”
Even in the most difficult times, there were no traitors in Feiyun Palace. These young maids probably hadn’t figured out why.
Indeed, they didn’t know. The maid forced to wash clothes had her hands frostbitten, cried in the servants’ quarters, and the others were indignant, thinking the master was harsh. They were plotting to strike or feign illness. The maids in Xu Chuniang’s courtyard even fetched cold water for their master, thinking of venting their anger.
However, at midnight that night, all the maids in the residence were dragged out of bed and expelled from the Princess’s residence.
“What’s going on?” someone cried, clutching a blanket, “What did we do wrong?”
Qingsi stood at the door, saying coldly, “You think too highly of yourselves.”
“What’s the evidence?” the most respected maid stepped forward, “We didn’t say anything!”
“Exactly, kicking us out for no reason. If it were daytime, fine, but in the middle of the night, where are we supposed to go in this cold?”
Chattering complaints filled the air. Qingsi listened calmly, waiting for them to quiet down before saying, “The master instructed that anyone who can reveal the person spreading rumors can return, with double the monthly pay.”
As soon as she said this, someone immediately spoke up, “The one who spoke ill of the master and Miss Xu was Sister Qiongtai, nothing to do with me!”
Named, Qiongtai retorted coldly, “You didn’t say anything? You were more enthusiastic than anyone!”
“That was Xunmei and Qiushui who were the worst!”
“Yes, and Wangmei!”
They had been united just moments ago, but now they turned on each other, arguing loudly at the door.
Li Huaiyu watched with Xu Chuniang, sighing, “See? You can’t be too kind to those with bad roots. If you give them an inch, they’ll take a mile. It’s better to save your kindness for good people.”
Xu Chuniang sighed, “They’re not wrong. My reputation isn’t great. After all, I was divorced and didn’t return home. It’s normal to be talked about.”
“Why should it be?” Huaiyu glared at her, “You didn’t steal, didn’t rob, didn’t do anything wrong. Why should you suffer for meeting the wrong person? I’m telling you if you don’t fight back, people will think you’re at fault. Human nature is inherently evil. If you can’t save the world, at least save yourself.”
Silence is never a good thing. Rather than waiting for justice after a hundred years, she preferred to see good people stand up and defend themselves. That’s the true way of the world.