The doors of Zhengchun Pavilion closed. Taohua reclined on the comfortable soft couch, glancing sideways at the little maid kneeling below. “Do you know why you’ve ended up in this situation today?” she asked.
“This servant acknowledges her mistake. This servant shouldn’t have betrayed her mistress,” the maid replied.
“That’s not it.” Taohua shook her head gently. “It’s natural for people to seek advancement. Your choice wasn’t wrong, and although stepping on me to get ahead wasn’t very ethical, that’s not your biggest mistake.”
Taohua thought for a moment, then nodded with a smile. “As long as Nanny is in the right, I’m willing to help.”
Of course, she was in the right; all she lacked was someone of status to back her up. Hearing Taohua’s words, Steward Xu felt slightly relieved and said, wringing her hands, “The story began a year and a half ago.”
A year and a half ago, there weren’t as many people in the rear courtyard of the Prime Minister’s mansion, but Qin Jieyu reigned supreme. Indulged by the Prime Minister, she was allowed to do as she pleased in the rear courtyard, and she made life difficult for other women who had been favored by Shen Zaiye. At that time, there was a bedwarmer who had served the Prime Minister for two consecutive days and was quite liked by him. When Qin Jieyu found out, she summoned her to Haitang Pavilion and inflicted invisible punishment on her.
This bedwarmer was Steward Xu’s daughter, named Zhuyue. Though of humble origin, which is why she was only a bedwarmer, she was gentle and considerate. Shen Zaiye had intended to promote her to a personal maid. However, after Qin Jieyu’s punishment, Shen Zaiye never favored Zhuyue again and turned his attention to others.
Someone must have whispered in Qin Jieyu’s ear that Zhuyue had complained, so the Prime Minister stopped visiting Haitang Pavilion altogether. Qin Jieyu was furious upon hearing this and punished Zhuyue again. This time, however, she might have gone too far, and Zhuyue died in Haitang Pavilion.
A death was naturally a big deal, but the powerful Qin family quickly sent people to handle Zhuyue’s funeral arrangements and suppressed the news, forbidding anyone from mentioning it again. Steward Xu was filled with hatred, wanting nothing more than to rush into Haitang Pavilion and kill Qin Jieyu to avenge Zhuyue! But she was powerless, unable to get close to Qin Jieyu, and the Prime Minister seemed to want to downplay the incident. After comforting her briefly, he considered the matter closed.
More than a year had passed, and no one remembered the deceased Zhuyue except for Steward Xu, her mother, who lived each day in the agony of being unable to avenge her daughter. But now, an opportunity had finally arrived.
“If the lady can protect this old servant and persuade the Prime Minister on my behalf, this old servant is willing to be at your service for the rest of her life!” Steward Xu kowtowed, her voice slightly choked. “The only reason this old servant is still alive is to see the murderer’s downfall!”
Taohua listened with sympathy, got up to help her to her feet, and said softly, “Since Nanny is willing to trust me, I will certainly help. However, the Prime Minister’s thoughts are hard to fathom, and the Qin family is still one of the nine noble families. Even though Qin Jieyu is now just a bedwarmer, a lean camel is still larger than a horse. So you must be patient and not rush. Do you understand?”
Steward Xu was taken aback, nodded, and said with a bitter smile, “How could this old servant not know that the Prime Minister’s thoughts are hard to fathom? He used to favor Zhuyue so much, but when she was killed, he could turn a blind eye and let the murderer go free.”
Isn’t this Shen Zaiye’s usual style? Taohua pursed her lips. He could be deeply affectionate when in love, but just as cold-hearted when things went wrong. Look at Gu Huairou and Qin Jieyu, including herself – they were called “wives” when spoken of kindly but were merely pawns when not.
If she hadn’t occasionally laid her head on his chest and heard his heartbeat, she would have thought Shen Zaiye was a heartless person.
“Nanny, come and serve in my Zhengchun Pavilion for now,” Taohua said. “It’s noisy and chaotic outside. It’s better to trim flowers here with me.”
“Thank you, my lady!” Steward Xu gratefully bowed and followed Qing Taito pack her things and move in, taking shelter under Taohua’s wing.
At Linwu Court.
Shen Zaiye was lost in thought, holding the list of crimes written by Steward Xu when Zhanlu suddenly entered from outside and respectfully said, “Master, Lady Jiang has arrived.”
“Since when does she properly announce her arrival?” Shen Zaiye came back to his senses and smiled. “Let her in.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a little Jiang rabbit bounced in from behind Zhanlu, hopping a few steps to his front. Her eyes curved like crescent moons, her face full of eagerness: “Master, would you like some rose cakes?”
Glancing at what she was holding, Shen Zaiye pursed his lips: “Aren’t they peach blossom cakes?”
“If Master says they should be rose cakes, then they must be rose cakes!” Taohua wagged her tail and said, “This concubine has decided to rename them!”
“Enough.” Shen Zaiye covered her face with his hand, unable to bear it anymore. “What do you want from me? Just say it directly.”
Taohua pouted, pulling down his hand, and said pitifully, “Am I the kind of person who only comes to you when I need something?”
Shen Zaiye looked at her silently, his eyes writing a big word – Yes!
“Hehe, I really can’t hide anything from you, Master.” Taohua laughed and squatted down to massage his legs. “This concubine just came to ask, about the recent uproar in the mansion, how do you plan to handle it?”
Glancing at her sideways, Shen Zaiye said, “What does this have to do with you?”
“It’s precisely because it doesn’t concern me that I’m asking for fun,” Taohua said, squeezing his thigh. “After all, I heard it’s a big deal involving a death.”
Shen Zaiye pursed his lips, thought for a moment, and then reached out to pick her up and place her in his arms. He then showed her what he was holding.
“If Steward Xu’s document were to reach the magistrate’s office, the Qin family would face legal trouble. However, Steward Xu still wouldn’t get the result she wants.”
Taohua looked at it and smiled, “Steward Xu is just a servant of the Prime Minister’s mansion, while the other party is the daughter of the current Minister of Justice. Naturally, there won’t be any fair judgment. So Steward Xu gave the document to you. What do you plan to do?”
Rubbing his brow, Shen Zaiye tiredly rested his chin on her shoulder, hugging her from behind, and said flatly, “Even if I handle it, it might not make much difference. Even if Qin Jieyu is demoted, she’s still the daughter of Minister Qin.”
“Are you afraid of offending Minister Qin?” Taohua raised an eyebrow.
“It’s not fear.” Shen Zaiye said, “It’s unnecessary to sever the relationship between the Prime Minister’s mansion and the Minister of Justice’s household over such a matter.”
Taohua’s body stiffened, her eyes dimming slightly, “If it were me who died, would you say the same thing?”
“You’re overthinking.” Shen Zaiye shook his head, “If you died, it would be an issue between Zhao and Great Wei. It wouldn’t be up to me to speak.”
Then why did he want to kill her so badly before? Taohua puffed her cheeks, looking at Zhuyue’s name on the document, she couldn’t help but say, “Doesn’t Master care about her life? After all, she was your woman.”
Woman? Shen Zaiye chuckled lightly and said indifferently, “Zhuyue’s death wasn’t in vain. Her life brought Minister Qin’s loyalty for over a year, saving many more lives. As for Steward Xu, I’ve compensated her well.”
Not in vain?
Taohua was stunned. After carefully digesting his words, she suddenly felt a chill all over her body.
She remembered the fat figure entering and leaving Linwu Court late at night when Gu Huairou had her incident. She also recalled the news of the entire Meng family being imprisoned after Lady Meng was divorced. She even thought of Prince Jing waiting at the North Gate Pavilion when she got into the carriage.
This man, Shen Zaiye, his favor and affection all came with a price. You had to exchange something for the chance to live. Once you lost your usefulness, what awaited might be abandonment and death.
It was truly exhausting to have to greet such a person with a smile every day.
“What’s wrong?”
Noticing her unusual behavior, Shen Zaiye frowned slightly, “Why have your hands gone cold?”
“It’s nothing.” Taohua forced a smile and asked quietly, “So this time, Master also plans to ignore it and suppress the matter, right?”
Shen Zaiye looked at her deeply and nodded.
“I see.” Taohua stood up, leaving his embrace, and smiled sweetly as she bowed, “Then this concubine will take her leave first.”
He does discard people after using them, Shen Zaiye thought, watching her leave without hesitation. He reached for a peach blossom cake on the table to taste. After eating for a while, his eyes narrowed, suddenly feeling that Jiang Taohua’s expression just now was indeed quite off.
“Zhanlu.”
“This servant is here.”
“Go see what’s happening at Zhengchun Pavilion, and if Steward Xu has gone there.”
“Yes.”
Lowering his eyes slightly, Shen Zaiye looked at the ledger in front of him. After a long while, he let out a deep sigh.
Returning to Zhengchun Pavilion, Taohua didn’t give Steward Xu any bad news, only saying that the Master was in a bad mood today and couldn’t say much.
“This old servant is not in a hurry,” Steward Xu said, lowering her head. “This old servant is already extremely grateful that the lady has given me a place to stay. As long as I’m alive, I can always wait.”
Looking at the stubborn and determined expression on her face, Taohua felt a tightness in her chest. She managed a smile and then lay down on the soft couch.
She didn’t know why she felt so upset. She could have guessed what kind of person Shen Zaiye was. But truly understanding it left her feeling a gap she could hardly bear.
How strange, could it be that she had some expectations of him? They were just using each other. She only needed to care about the power in his hands. Why care about anything else? Even if he was a cold-hearted person, even if he was a cold-hearted pig, she still had to be with him.
Having figured this out, Taohua felt much better. She would eat when it was time to eat and sleep when it was time to sleep.
“My lady!” Just as she was about to have dinner, Gu Huairou came over. Taohua added an extra set of bowls and chopsticks, looked at her, and said, “You didn’t come specifically because you knew I had a feast here, did you?”
Gu Huairou frowned, “How could I be in the mood to eat? Haven’t you heard the news? We’re going to have another lady in our mansion!”
Slightly startled, Taohua remembered that Shen Zaiye had mentioned a few days ago that a new person would be coming to the mansion, and he had asked her to take care of them.
“Whose daughter is it?”
“Who else could it be? The second young lady of the Qin family, Qin Huaiyu!”
What? She almost dropped her chopsticks. Taohua stared at her in disbelief, “Someone from the Qin family?”
Had Shen Zaiye’s head been caught in a door or something? How could he ask her to take care of them? Qin Jieyu probably wanted to curse her with voodoo dolls every day now, right? How could she possibly hand over her own younger sister to her?
“I’ve been thinking for a long time,” Gu Huairou said with a serious face. “The Qin family probably thinks Qin Jieyu is useless now, so they sent another daughter. I heard that the young lady has a personality opposite to Qin Jieyu’s, very innocent and lovable. I wonder if she’ll be to the Master’s liking.”
Shen Zaiye wasn’t picky, was he? All the women in this courtyard, as long as they met his needs, were to his liking!
After silently criticizing him, Taohua still patted Gu Huairou’s hand to comfort her, “We’ve lost two ladies in the courtyard, so it’s only natural for some new people to come. Why are you so anxious?”
(End of chapter)