Linlang guessed that after this, he would be only too eager to set her down and put some distance between them.

She was just preparing to add another dose of irksome banter when Situ Sheng suddenly turned his head toward her.

Linlang had been talking with great enthusiasm and hadn’t expected him to turn around.

They were far too close. Her lips barely grazed the man’s cheek — she came perilously close to touching his lips…

Linlang felt as though she had been struck by lightning. She immediately pulled her face away in embarrassment, regretting that she had chosen to tease this man.

Now she had accidentally taken liberties with the master of the house — however was this going to end?

Fortunately, Situ Sheng still said nothing, only turning his head slowly and continuing to carry her steadily on his back as he strode into the bedroom.

When he set Chu Linlang down in front of the dressing table, Chu Linlang didn’t dare look at him. She quickly picked up the fine-toothed comb and hastily tidied her hair in the bronze mirror.

Situ Sheng leaned against the edge of the dressing table, now free to watch the woman as she groomed herself.

Though she was not very tall, she more than made up for it with her slender and delicate limbs. When her wrists lifted lightly, her nimble long fingers grasped and gathered her dark hair in spinning loops, the black tresses swirling and dazzling the eye.

Though her arms looked slender, Situ Sheng knew perfectly well that the places that ought not to be slender were not slender at all.

This Chu Niangzi was not only fair-skinned — even her shapely figure was like trembling silken bean curd, soft and tender indeed.

These past few days, he had been carrying her — with her injured foot — here and there constantly. Every time she draped herself across his back, it was as though freshly made fragrant soft bean curd had spread itself across his spine, and it took the full force of his willpower to suppress the impulse to scoop that entire puddle of bean curd into his arms…

Chu Linlang had no idea that someone was quietly craving bean curd on her account.

She finished combing her hair and looked up, only to find that Situ Sheng had been half-perched on the edge of the dressing table all this while, arms folded, watching intently as she groomed herself in the mirror.

His eyelashes were really quite long. When he fixed his gaze on someone, his eyes were like the still waters of an autumn pool — calm and unruffled, yet capable of making a person’s heart flutter faintly with unease.

Chu Linlang cleared her throat and asked politely: “My lord, do you need something?”

She was prepared to pretend that what had happened just now was purely accidental. As long as neither of them brought it up, there was no need for it to be awkward.

But Situ Sheng was not inclined to let it go. He tilted his head, pointed at his handsome face, and asked with civil politeness: “You took liberties with me. What is to be done if my future wife hears of it?”

Chu Linlang had always cared about her appearance. It was already a hardship to force herself to wear those dowdy, old-fashioned skirts every day. If she couldn’t even put on a bit of makeup, life would be utterly joyless — so every day she dotted her lips with a touch of rouge the color of maple leaves.

And now, on one side of Situ Sheng’s face, there was an ambiguous red imprint…

This was a disaster — how had she left such damning evidence? She hurriedly pulled out her handkerchief to wipe it away, but her hand was covered by his large palm.

His palm was scorching, like the coal brazier she had stepped on that day, hot enough to set one’s heart fluttering with alarm.

Situ Sheng gripped her hand, his face slowly drawing closer. Only when it was nearly touching hers did he say: “If my future wife had a temper like yours, she’d probably come after me with a kitchen knife, wouldn’t she?”

Afraid of pressing against his face again, Linlang’s slender waist involuntarily arched backward — but unwilling to lose the verbal exchange, she held her ground with her words: “You… you go find yourself a wife first and then we’ll talk… What’s this, your health has improved lately and you’ve started thinking about women?”

Those words were practically a challenge to the limits of what a man could endure, and Linlang regretted them the moment they left her mouth.

She remembered that she had once mocked him before about having a hidden ailment. At the time, his retort had been vicious — that she would never have the chance to find out for herself in this lifetime.

This time, she had no idea how he would retaliate with that sharp tongue of his. Then again, she had been the one to poke at him first, so she supposed she would just have to take whatever came.

Situ Sheng reached out to steady her shoulder as she nearly toppled backward, and breathed softly into her ear: “If you’re that curious — would you like to find out for yourself?”

“…”

That day, when Situ Sheng strolled out of the estate manager’s room looking refreshed and composed, a fine-toothed comb, a cosmetic box, and two plump socks came flying out behind him in rapid succession.

Dongxue happened to be walking by carrying a bowl of fruit broth and nearly bumped into Lord Situ as she passed.

She stared in astonishment at the objects flung across the floor, then hurried inside and asked: “What… what happened here? Did the master mistreat you?”

She found her young mistress sitting on a stool, both cheeks flushed bright red, her two stockings nowhere to be seen, and her pearly white bare toes curling up and knotting together in indignation.

At that moment, Chu Linlang was scanning her surroundings for anything else she could throw. Seeing Dongxue come in, she reached out and took the fruit broth, drinking two great gulps, then demanded: “Why isn’t this cold? You should have chilled it in ice water!”

Dongxue said in a small voice: “Have you forgotten, Young Mistress? The day before yesterday, when the master invited the imperial physician from the palace to examine your foot, the physician took your pulse and said you had a cold constitution and your blood and vital energy had been depleted. Lord Situ told me and Xia He that from now on we were not to give you anything cold to eat or drink. If he saw us doing so, he would dock our monthly wages.”

Chu Linlang said nothing. She drank another mouthful of the fruit broth and let her anger cool down a little before saying: “I had a small argument with the master over penmanship just now — it’s nothing… Go pick up those things and put them back.”

Dongxue had no reason to doubt this. After all, Lord Situ could indeed be quite infuriating to talk to at times. Besides, she thought it was perfectly fine for the young mistress to lose her temper and throw things.

When the young mistress had lived at the Zhou household, she had been so well-mannered that she never threw a single thing. But she had swallowed so many grievances that she’d had no way to vent, relying on cold drinks to keep her going, until in the end it had damaged her health.

It was truly rare for Chu Linlang to be rendered speechless — which was why it had taken being driven to throwing things to express her frustration.

Now that she had calmed down, she felt vexed: how had she been stumped by someone who still had the flower on his head — a fresh-faced young man who hadn’t even fully ripened?

She should have thrown back a “Go ahead and try” just now. If he had dared to undo his belt in her room, she would have given him credit for being a real man!

But the verbal battle had already been lost, and being vexed about it was useless. She just hoped her foot would heal quickly. Having him carry her everywhere like this was no way to go on.

After nursing herself for several days, Chu Linlang was finally able to walk again.

Perhaps because he had seen how inconvenient things were for the female estate manager, over the past few days Situ Sheng had, through a colleague’s recommendation, hired a skilled cook, found a general-purpose manservant who doubled as a coachman, purchased a secondhand carriage, and taken on a horse.

This made getting around far more convenient. They no longer needed to spend money hiring carriages, and Chu Linlang no longer had to waste her time on household chores.

By Situ Sheng’s usual habits, he would never have hired so many people for himself. Yet now he had hired them all so thoroughly — it seemed almost as though he was doing it to lighten Chu Linlang’s burden.

The carriage in particular was something Situ Sheng had absolutely no use for himself. He always used the official carriages provided by the government offices.

Even Guanqi remarked that the master had gotten all this — what for? It was practically just to give Chu Niangzi a comfortable setup.

The lingering resentment left over from losing that verbal duel was once again largely dissolved by the way Situ Sheng showed his contrition through action.

And so Dongxue and the others noticed that the young mistress, who had refused to acknowledge Lord Situ for three days straight, seemed to have been won over by the master. The two of them could sometimes be seen standing beneath a tree in the inner courtyard’s practice ground, talking.

The master would bow his head and give a faint smile — no one knew what provoking thing he had said this time — while the young mistress leaned against the freshly bloomed plum blossoms, her large eyes slanting sideways at the master in a glare, yet the corners of her mouth blossoming into a smile even more radiant than the plum flowers…

With the once-frugal Deputy Minister’s residence now spending at this rate, the monthly expenditures had grown considerably. Though Chu Linlang no longer had to struggle over three meals a day, she still had to budget carefully and keep a firm hand on the master’s purse strings.

Beyond the household expenses, there were also many costs associated with social engagements outside the Situ residence.

Her foot had barely finished scabbing over when the daughter born to one of the Fourth Imperial Prince’s concubines was holding a full-month celebration banquet.

An invitation had arrived from the Fourth Imperial Prince’s residence, inviting Situ Sheng to attend the celebratory drinking.

The Fourth Imperial Prince’s mother consort had emerged from the Cold Palace and regained her imperial favor, and his household was at the height of its popularity.

However, since it was the child of a concubine, this was not the sort of social engagement Situ Sheng cared to attend. He had been going to the Director’s residence frequently to play chess lately and had no time to drink at the Fourth Prince’s residence.

Yet the household had no female family member to handle this sort of joyous occasion of a new addition.

Chu Linlang had no choice but to step in, preparing to bring the maids along with a congratulatory gift and fulfill the social obligations on everyone’s behalf.

The last time she had gone to the Director’s residence, she had almost been driven out. She figured that while she was unlikely to be snubbed by the Fourth Prince himself, if she ran into managers and servants from other households, trouble might easily arise. So she planned to simply drop off the gift and leave.

What she hadn’t anticipated was that the Fourth Prince’s estate manager, the moment he heard she was the female manager of the Deputy Minister’s residence, would beam with delight and insist that Chu Linlang stay for a drink.

Unable to refuse such warm hospitality, Chu Linlang thanked him and prepared to stay just long enough to have one cup and then go.

In a household of an imperial prince, the male and female guests naturally dined in the front hall.

The head managers of the various noble households would, after seeing their masters settled and leaving maids and servants behind to attend to them, make their way to the outer courtyard, where drinks were also served for their reception.

However, even this spread was tiered by rank. The managers of households whose masters held lower positions would mostly receive a red envelope of gift money. Those with closer ties to the royal household might receive a large food box to take home. Only the managers of the most prestigious and powerful households in the capital could claim a seat at the three tables laid with eight dishes and two soups.

When Chu Linlang was shown to a seat, she felt a faint twinge of discomfort.

Looking around, it seemed her master held the lowest rank among everyone at all three tables. The rest were managers from the Crown Prince’s residence, various dukes, and royal princes’ households.

And apart from Chu Linlang, every single person at this table was a man.

She was such a young woman — what business did she have drinking with this whole crowd of seasoned old foxes?

The Fourth Prince’s estate manager only realized his blunder at this point and could only manage an awkward smile. There was nothing to be done — there truly wasn’t a female estate manager in any other proper great household!

Sure enough, she stood out as the single flower among the group, attracting everyone’s gaze. All eyes turned toward Chu Linlang, and every person watching was waiting for something entertaining to happen.

The first to open his mouth was Chief Manager Cui from the Crown Prince’s residence — a eunuch, and one who spoke with deliberate, measured ease: “I had long heard that the Deputy Minister’s residence had a capable female estate manager. Seeing her today, those rumors of a beauty who could make fish sink and geese fall from the sky are no exaggeration… Only, one wonders when exactly Lord Deputy Minister grew so close to the Fourth Highness? The Lord Deputy Minister’s discernment is truly remarkable — shoveling coal into a cold stove so early in the season.”

Since this touched on the rivalry between imperial princes, no one dared to take up that thread of conversation. They all buried their heads in their cups, stealing glances at the unfolding drama.

Chu Linlang understood perfectly well that the Crown Prince was the last person who would want to see the Fourth Imperial Prince rise from the dead and regain imperial favor.

And she, as the manager of the Deputy Minister’s residence, had been treated with such exceptional honor at the Fourth Prince’s residence — even being invited to sit at the table — which made it clear to everyone present that Situ Sheng’s connection to the Fourth Prince was no ordinary one.

Everyone must be thinking: now that the Fourth Highness had regained imperial favor and was bathed in imperial grace, this Situ Sheng had truly known how to play his cards — he had latched onto the Fourth Prince’s docking post early. What a shrewd operator he was!

Chief Manager Cui wasn’t bothering to conceal his sharp words. He was openly accusing the Deputy Minister of the Court of Judicial Review of siding with the Fourth Highness — wasn’t this tantamount to working against the heir to the throne?

No wonder the Fourth Prince’s chief manager had insisted on inviting her here. This was the whole scheme.

The Fourth Prince’s residence was deliberately putting on a show for the Crown Prince’s people, making it plain that Lord Situ and the Fourth Prince were close as brothers.

Chu Linlang cursed inwardly at the cunning manipulation of it all — these schemes truly left one no room to guard against them.

But she had no desire to wade into the murky waters of the princes’ rivalry.

She pretended not to understand, gave a shy smile, raised her cup to toast Chief Manager Cui, drank two small sips, then rose to bid farewell to the assembled managers and chiefs.

But Chief Manager Cui had clearly come to make trouble for the Fourth Prince’s household. Seeing Chu Linlang about to leave, he added in a sour, insinuating tone: “Oh my, already can’t sit still? Could it be that because the chief manager of the Sixth Highness’s residence is at this table, Lady Chu feels it’s a thorn in her side? And understandably so — I’ve heard that the Sixth Princess Consort’s younger sister snatched your husband, reducing you from a proper official’s wife to a servant woman… Dear me, in a gathering like this, you might even run into your former husband. No wonder you’re in such a hurry to leave.”

Those words were truly vicious, simultaneously striking a blow at three households at once. Only the arrogant and overbearing chief manager of the Crown Prince’s residence would dare to say such things so recklessly.

The Sixth Highness’s chief manager didn’t dare respond to any of it. He simply picked up the basin-sized soup bowl, buried his face in it, and gulped loudly, pretending he had heard nothing at all.

But a few hangers-on from the Crown Prince’s faction chimed in with laughter, deliberately guffawing, intending to watch the young woman’s face contort with humiliation and fury.

What kind of estate manager was this? In all of the capital, no one had ever seen a woman serving in this role! Even if some household had a senior female housekeeper, she did no more than manage the inner maids and watch over the mistress’s few vanity trunks. Who had ever seen an inner-courtyard matron appear at a social gathering like this?

A divorced woman, trading on a few looks to go live in a bachelor official’s house and show off, then wearing the title of estate manager as a badge of respectability to show up at the same table as them? When the Deputy Minister eventually took a proper mistress, the first person to be sold off would surely be this seductive female manager of his!

Seeing the flames of conflict ignited, those who had previously been quietly drinking with their heads bowed now all looked up with great interest, their eyes bright and eager as they watched the gossip unfold, every one of them waiting to see the fun.

Chu Linlang had no wish to clash with the Crown Prince’s people. If she let herself speak her mind, wouldn’t that bring trouble down on Situ Sheng?

So she continued to pretend she hadn’t heard, and rose to leave.

But just as she turned, she saw the Fourth Princess Consort leading the Sixth Princess Consort, accompanied by a retinue of maids and nannies, approaching in a swirl of embroidered silks and jeweled finery.

Chu Linlang still remembered the grudge she had formed with the Xie family. Catching sight of the Sixth Princess Consort, she immediately lowered her head, intending to slip away quietly without drawing attention.

But the Fourth Princess Consort had been informed of the scene Chu Niangzi had made at the Xie family’s second daughter’s wedding. Acting on the Fourth Imperial Prince’s instructions, she had specifically asked her manager to keep Chu Linlang behind for drinks.

And now, using the pretext of admiring flowers from the greenhouse, she had also brought the Sixth Princess Consort along — with her own ulterior motives.

The Fourth Imperial Prince, guided by Situ Sheng’s counsel, had finally helped his mother consort make a triumphant comeback. He valued Situ Sheng enormously and was determined to secure his loyalty.

Unfortunately, the Sixth Prince was being rather oblivious, still hoping to reconcile with his former teacher. Was he not blatantly trying to compete with him for the man’s allegiance?

The Fourth Imperial Prince didn’t consider this a problem. He could simply work on those close to Situ Sheng — let the Sixth Princess Consort offend the Situ residence’s manager. That Chu Niangzi was such a beauty, quite possibly the soft breeze at Situ Sheng’s pillow side!

Now that Chu Niangzi and the Xie family were at such deep odds — the timing was perfect to exploit it! The Fourth Princess Consort could then step in to save the situation and earn the female manager’s gratitude, planting a useful informant inside the Situ residence for the future.

When Chu Linlang paid her respects to the two Princess Consorts, the Fourth Princess Consort, ever gracious and skilled at social maneuvering, said with a charming smile to the Sixth Princess Consort: “Sister-in-law, for my sake, please don’t make things difficult for Chu Niangzi today. She is a woman of hard fate. Our Fourth Highness has asked me to take good care of her.”

These words sounded conciliatory, but were in fact deliberately inflammatory. If she truly had good intentions, she would simply not have mentioned the wedding incident at all. By bringing up the Sixth Princess Consort’s family scandal in public like this — how was anyone supposed to respond?

By the Fourth Princess Consort’s calculations, her sister-in-law, who was not the sharpest blade, would surely be unable to keep her composure. She would face Chu Niangzi with cold displeasure, frost written all over her features — and might even let slip a cutting remark.

Then she herself would step in as the magnanimous one, offering warm words of defense, making the Fourth Prince’s residence shine all the brighter in contrast for its approachable warmth toward Chu Niangzi.

What she hadn’t expected was that the Sixth Princess Consort would draw in a sharp breath, plaster on a smile of maximum warmth and brightness, take Chu Linlang’s hand just as she was about to curtsy, and say cheerfully to the Fourth Princess Consort: “What kind of things is Fourth Imperial Sister-in-law saying? Anyone who didn’t know better would think you and Chu Niangzi were the old friends. It’s I who have known Chu Niangzi since our days in Jizhou with the Sixth Imperial Prince — the Sixth Highness and I even visited her home and ate dishes she cooked herself! We spent our days embroidering and chatting together — we felt like kindred spirits from the very first meeting!”

Then, turning to Chu Linlang with a smile, she said: “You’ve fed me at your home so many times, and the last time you came to my residence, I failed to be a proper host — I didn’t even keep you for a meal. Today is perfect — I’ll borrow Fourth Imperial Sister-in-law’s banquet to finally treat you to a proper drink!”

Chu Linlang had never in her wildest imagination expected this. The very princess consort who had accused her of ruining the Xie family’s reputation and refused to forgive her now spoke to her as though she had completely forgotten everything — with such gentle warmth and cordiality.

Even someone as sharp-witted as Chu Linlang couldn’t quite make the mental turn fast enough, and could only let the Sixth Princess Consort hold her hand, smiling awkwardly.

The Fourth Princess Consort was equally caught off guard.

Her carefully prepared conciliatory words were all stuck in her throat. She could only smile stiffly as she watched the Sixth Princess Consort, wondering what game this supposedly dim sister-in-law was playing today.

The onlookers from the various households were equally surprised.

Since the whole affair of Zhou Sui’an’s wedding had made such a stir, and the former wife had apparently engineered a dramatic scene to ruin the Sixth Princess Consort’s younger sister’s reputation — causing the Sixth Princess Consort, Xie Dongli, to lose face as well — everyone had assumed that Situ Sheng had sheltered this troublesome woman because he harbored a grudge against the Sixth Prince for insulting his former teacher. He had used her as a slap to the Sixth Prince’s face!

This was the sort of enmity that only ended in death!

Yet here was the Sixth Princess Consort, meeting Chu Linlang in public as though greeting a long-lost sister. What on earth were all the spectators supposed to do with that?

As for the Sixth Princess Consort herself — she had been scolded by the Sixth Highness and had long since worked out where the real interests lay.

Now that she was married to Liu Ling, she naturally put her husband’s interests first.

If her husband wanted to reconcile with his former teacher, then the female estate manager of the Situ residence was a closer friend than her own blood sister.

With this in mind, the Sixth Princess Consort single-handedly and cheerfully held the entire scene together: “Chu Niangzi, do you still remember the embroidery patterns you taught me back in Jizhou? I could still do them at the time, but since we’ve been apart and I haven’t practiced, I’ve forgotten most of them. You must tell me about the stitching methods when we drink together… Oh my, why are you sitting here drinking with all these men? Who arranged this? It’s so uncomfortable! Come on — follow me to the front hall for a proper drink!”

The Sixth Princess Consort was a thoroughly practical person who had completely focused on one thing alone: her husband’s instruction to treat Chu Niangzi well. She hadn’t noticed at all that her words had just quietly put the Fourth Princess Consort in an impossible position — essentially implying that it was the Fourth Imperial Sister-in-law who had been remiss in her hospitality by deliberately leaving Chu Niangzi to drink in a table full of men.

The Fourth Princess Consort’s smile grew more and more rigid, and inwardly she was shocked: how had she never noticed before that this seemingly dim sister-in-law was actually a master at playing the fool to fool the wise?

In a moment of carelessness, she had been outmaneuvered by this supposed simpleton.

The Fourth Princess Consort, under the Fourth Prince’s instructions to win over the Deputy Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, naturally could not afford to fall behind. So she quickly adjusted her expression, smiled brightly, and declared that who wouldn’t love a beauty like Chu Niangzi at first sight? Even she herself had felt an instant warmth the first time they met, as though they had so much to talk about. So the Fourth Imperial Sister-in-law was absolutely right — they must let Chu Niangzi come to the front hall for drinks and a proper conversation.

With such a warm and lively scene of sworn sisterhood playing out, the various household managers sitting nearby had no way to join in.

Chief Manager Cui, who had been the most cutting in his mockery of Chu Linlang, now wore a wonderfully complicated expression — carrying a distinct flush of the humiliation of being left out in the cold.

Just moments ago he had been sneering that Chu Linlang didn’t dare face the Sixth Princess Consort’s people. Who could have imagined that this Chu Niangzi and the Sixth Princess Consort were on such intimate personal terms?

A feud over a stolen husband, a hatred over a sister’s dishonored name — all of it had apparently dissolved in an instant of women’s elegant laughter and gracious smiles.

The magnanimity these women had displayed made all those men who had been so eagerly gossiping look rather like they had nothing better to do with their full bellies!

And so Chu Linlang, who had initially intended to make a quiet exit, found herself — to the wide-eyed astonishment of all the assembled chief managers — elevated in the blink of an eye, as the Sixth Princess Consort’s old friend from Jizhou and the Fourth Princess Consort’s instant bosom companion, to a seat at the mistress’s table for the female guests.

Wearing a gracious smile, Chu Linlang handled the social pleasantries with composure. Inwardly, she was deeply vexed that she hadn’t consulted her divination shell before leaving home today.

What on earth was this situation? When she had been an official’s wife, she hadn’t been invited to banquets this grand!

Right now she was nothing more than a minor estate manager at the Deputy Minister’s residence, and yet here she sat, flanked on both sides by two royal consorts as though she were some kind of honored guest, wine cups being pressed upon her one after another.

Watching the crowd of elaborately dressed noblewomen gazing at her with puzzled expressions, Chu Linlang did nothing but smile graciously between sips of wine, quietly searching for a good excuse to make her escape as quickly as possible!

In that courtyard full of female guests, however, one other person was burning with fury, staring at all of this in utter disbelief — and that was Xie Youran, who had come with her husband to attend the banquet.

The last time she had seen Chu Linlang come and go from the Director’s residence, she had been furious, and had deliberately sent people to make trouble, intending for Chu Linlang to be publicly humiliated.

But this woman’s silver tongue had turned the tables on her instead, and had even managed to make a strong impression in front of the Director.

When her own sent nanny came limping back on one foot, Xie Youran truly regretted not going in person to tear that Chu woman apart in front of everyone.

Even though her father wouldn’t let her return to her parental home, she hadn’t been able to restrain herself — that very evening, she had dragged Zhou Sui’an back to her parents’ house.

Upon arriving, she had rushed to find her mother, wanting to ask why the authorities had been so slow in apprehending the ringleader who had ruined her reputation.

But after searching for a long time, she couldn’t find her mother. From a servant she learned that her mother had been confined by her father to the Buddhist hall as punishment, and could not receive visitors even for her own daughter’s return visit.

Xie Youran was dumbfounded. Not knowing what wrong her mother had committed, she was suddenly confronted by her father, who didn’t even look at her — just with an iron-dark expression summoned her husband Zhou Sui’an into the study.

When Zhou Sui’an came out, his face was ashen, as though he had received some terrible shock.