The assassin incident caused a huge commotion that continued until daybreak the next day. Manager Zhu had lost a hand, suffering a terrible loss, and in his rage ordered Jin Si to be beaten to death. Jin Si had already been injured previously, and under such severe punishment, in less than an hour, her life was extinguished. She was wrapped in a straw mat and thrown on the back mountain, becoming food for the fish in Pavilion Lake.
Zhuge Yue preferred tranquility and had a solitary personality. Originally, only Jin Zhu and Jin Si served in his residence, but they had died one after the other within a few days. Now only Chu Qiao remained in the inner chambers. She was young, not yet eight years old, with a childish appearance. Her voice still carried a hint of childish softness when she spoke. No matter how capable she was, it seemed somewhat bizarre in the eyes of outsiders. Within half a day, the entire household was secretly spreading rumors: the Fourth Young Master of the manor had followed in the Old Master’s footsteps and had begun to develop an interest in young girls who hadn’t grown up yet.
As a result, everyone’s attitude toward Chu Qiao became even more respectful.
In the afternoon, Chu Qiao wore a newly made white crabapple cotton dress with white camel hair ankle boots and two emerald flower jade hairpins in her hair. She was skipping along the lake in the back garden, looking adorable and innocent. She had just gone to the outer manor to collect newly delivered sinking-water incense. As she passed through a bamboo grove, a figure suddenly jumped in front of her. The person laughed heartily and said, “I knew I would find you!”
The young lord wore a sapphire blue robe today, embroidered with colorful birds, splendidly ornate and vibrant. He was swinging a small whip in his hand with smug satisfaction, looking Chu Qiao up and down with a smile, saying, “Where are you going? The weather is so nice today, let’s go bird hunting.”
Chu Qiao frowned, looking at the young lord’s excited appearance, and shook her head saying, “I’m not as free as you are. I still have things to do, so I won’t be able to accompany you.” With that, she turned to leave.
“Hey, hey, don’t go, don’t go.” The young lord quickly ran in front of her, spreading his arms to block her way, and hurriedly said, “I’ve been looking for you all morning in this garden. How about this, tell me your name and which courtyard you’re from, and I’ll go to Zhuge Huai to request for you to come with me. What do you say?”
Chu Qiao raised an eyebrow, turned around, and looked up, saying, “Do you want to take me away?”
The young lord nodded solemnly, “Yes, among all the maids and servants, I like you the most. I’ll appoint you as my chief gate guardian general. How does that sound?”
Chu Qiao smiled and nodded, “Very well then, I’ll tell you my name. But whether you can get me from the First Young Master depends on your abilities.”
“Don’t worry!” The young lord patted his chest and said loudly, “Not just one small maid, even if it’s ten or eight, Zhuge Huai will have to give them to me.”
“Alright then, listen carefully. My name is Zi Xu, I live in Wu You Courtyard, and I’m a little maid under Madam Dou. My daily job is to make clay figurines for the young masters and misses to play with. Remember that, okay?”
The young lord’s eyes lit up, “You can make clay figurines too?”
“Yes,” Chu Qiao held back her laughter. Seeing how adorable this child was, she couldn’t help but stand on her tiptoes and reached out to pinch his cheek firmly, saying with a smile, “I have many more skills. I’ll show you one by one in the future. I have things to do, so I must go now. Remember to find the First Young Master!”
“Yes, don’t worry,” the young lord nodded and smiled innocently, “You should go back and pack your things first. I’ll come to pick you up in a while.”
Chu Qiao walked far away, and when she looked back, she could still see the young lord standing on a large rock, waving vigorously at her. Chu Qiao held back her laughter, turned around the bamboo grove, and headed towards Green Mountain Courtyard carrying the sinking-water incense.
“Zi Xu’s name, is Wu You Courtyard, a little maid under Madam Dou who makes clay figurines for play. How clever of you to come up with that.”
A clear, resonant male voice suddenly sounded from above. Chu Qiao was startled and looked up to see Yan Xun in his flowing green robe, with bright eyes and a handsome face, sitting on the branch of a tall pine tree, looking at her with a slight smile at the corner of his mouth.
Chu Qiao had revealed her true nature to him more than once or twice before, so she no longer pretended. She gave him a cold look and said harshly, “Climbing so high, aren’t you afraid of falling to your death?”
“That’s none of your concern. You vicious child should worry about yourself instead. I see dark clouds gathering on the horizon. Perhaps even in winter, lightning might strike and kill those who have done evil deeds.”
Chu Qiao stood beneath the tree, her small body looking up, and said coldly, “No matter how many evil deeds I’ve done, they can’t compare to you heartless scoundrels who kill without blinking an eye. You’re like beasts, not a single decent one among you.”
“You’re very bold.” His words were stern, but his tone carried a light laugh. The young man sat in the tree and said to the child below, “That day I deliberately shot my arrow off target, kindly sparing your life. To save you, I even gave up the prize of eight Western Region dancing girls offered by your First Young Master. Yet not only are you not grateful, but you also respond with harsh words. What kind of reasoning is this?”
“Reason is for people. What reason is there to talk to scoundrels like you? I warn you not to keep pestering me and don’t think about threatening to expose me. If you dare, you will surely regret it.”
With that, Chu Qiao turned and quickened her pace. But after just a few steps, she felt a sudden pain in her forehead. Looking down, she saw a pine cone still covered with snow. The girl immediately became angry, turned around, and looked at Yan Xun furiously, “Are you provoking me?”
“Wrong,” Yan Xun smiled slightly and said, “It’s not provocation. I’m just bullying you.”
Chu Qiao tilted her head as she stood under the tree, then suddenly turned and left without a word. Yan Xun, pretending to be profound with half-closed eyes, had expected the child to argue with him. Seeing her just walk away like that, he felt somewhat disgruntled. However, at that moment, a rock the size of a fist suddenly whistled through the air, heading straight for Yan Xun’s face. Fortunately, Yan Xun had trained in martial arts and had quick reflexes, managing to dodge by turning his head in time. Just as he was secretly feeling proud, he suddenly felt a chill on the back of his neck. Knowing something was wrong, he heard a rustling sound, and all the accumulated snow on the entire large tree, disturbed by the impact, showered down on him.
The young heir in his fine brocade robes jumped down from the large tree, covered in snow, a complete mess. Looking up, he saw the small girl standing on the snow-white ground, dusting off her hands. As she noticed him looking, she raised her right hand high, stuck up her middle finger in a gesture of defiance, smiled triumphantly, and then turned to leave.
Yan Xun frowned slightly, lowered his head in puzzlement, and also raised his middle finger. The thirteen-year-old noble heir of Yan Bei was utterly confused—what did this gesture mean?
The eleven-year-old pageboy Feng Mian ran up from the grove, waving his arms wildly and shouting, “Young Master, I’ll go catch her and let Young Master Huai properly punish this maid who doesn’t know her place.”
“You? Catch her?” Yan Xun snorted derisively, turning around with his middle finger still raised, “Feng Mian, what does this gesture mean?”
“This,” Feng Mian was briefly taken aback, but then asserted firmly, “It must be an apology. She knows what she did was outrageous, but being a child who doesn’t know better, she was too embarrassed to say it directly, so she used this gesture instead.”
“An apology?” Yan Xun frowned, “It doesn’t seem like it to me.”
“It is, Young Master, without a doubt.”
“Is that so?”
…
In the main hall of the Zhuge family’s Red Mountain Courtyard, Zhuge Huai, Zhao Che, and others all burst into laughter upon hearing the little lord’s words. Though young, Prince Jing was a clever little devil. He smiled and said, “Zhuge, you have such a witty maid in your household, I’d like to see her myself.”
Zhuge Huai shook his head and said, “The servant is ignorant, making everyone laugh at her expense.”
“What’s going on? What are you all laughing at?” The young lord’s face turned red as he asked anxiously.
Zhao Che laughed and said, “Zi Xu’s name, is Wu You Courtyard, a little maid under Madam Dou who makes clay figurines—isn’t that just ‘complete fiction’? She was teasing you. Thirteenth Brother, she was making fun of you.”
Zhao Song’s little face turned bright red. He stamped his foot angrily and ran out.
Today’s third update is a small outburst. The second update wishes Little Piggy Ting complete liberation after the college entrance examination ends. The third update wishes kx4587 a happy birthday and good health. Whew, there’s no fourth update, no matter who says it’s their sixtieth birthday.