After Madam Wei fainted, the servants hurriedly tried to revive her by pressing the centre of her philtrum and rubbing her back to try an loosen her airways. The residence was in chaos again. This wasn’t Lou Jing’s problem, and he didn’t really care how Lou Jianyu dealt with the situation, so he went straight back to Zhuque Hall.
Two of the Anguo Gong’s guards were standing guard outside Zhuque Hall. Lou Jing dismissed them immediately and replaced them with his Eastern Palace guards.
The Zhuque Hall’s servants’ expenses were previously paid out of the main residence’s accounts, and after Lou Jing was married off, Madam Wei used this as an excuse to get some of the Zhuque Hall servants over to work at the main residence.
“Bring all of them back,” Lou Jing said, sitting in the main hall of Zhuque Hall. His instruction was directed at the head maidservant. He wanted all his original servants back, from the senior staff all the way down to the menial labourers.
At this time, the main residence was still in a mess, and no one had the presence of mind to stop these servants from going back to Zhuque Hall. Xunxia gave a small cheer, then pestered Lou Jing to let her go and look for the maids she was close to previously. Lou Jing allowed this with a wave of his hand.
Other than Xunxia and Yingqiu, Lou Jing’s residence had two second-ranked maids and four maids in charge of menial chores. Madam Wei had not dared to touch the second-ranked maids, but she’d taken all four of the menial chore maids. Xunxia asked around and discovered that the four young maids had been sent to the laundry department!
The Anguo Gong residence had many servants who were bonded to serve the Anguo Gong family their entire lives – so many, in fact, that there wasn’t enough work to go around. Some of these servants were even just idling around. There was no way the Anguo Gong residence would have a situation in which there was insufficient manpower such that they would need to call upon the servants from Zhuque Hall to help out. However, Madam Wei had still taken Lou Jing’s menial chore maids and stuck them in the laundry department, which was the most tiring of the lot. It was obvious that she didn’t have good intentions in doing so. When Xunxia heard about this, she was so angry that she could feel steam coming out of her ears, and she immediately headed off to the laundry department.
The laundry room was situated in the Northeastern corner of the Anguo Gong residence. The personal items of the masters of the house were not washed here – that was taken care of by the personal maidservants attached to the relevant master. This laundry department took care of washing large items like the window curtains, bedcurtains, and tablecloths, and it was very tiring work. On top of that, the pay was bad. Sending servants to the laundry department was actually a common way of punishing servants in the Anguo Gong household.
“What kind of rubbish work is this? Why can’t you do anything right?” a thickset old woman with coarse features scolded. She was holding a bamboo cane in her hands, and as she spoke, she hit out at a few young maids.
“Mama , please stop the beating, Xiao Tao is having a fever today and doesn’t have much energy to do work,” one of the young maids begged, crying as she pleaded with the old woman.
The laundry department’s usual servants all had wooden expressions on their faces. They didn’t say a word even as they watched the Mama hit out with her bamboo cane, and continued with their work as if nothing had happened, squeezing and rubbing the fabric, tamping down on them with large wooden pestles, wringing them out and then hanging them up to dry. The only sign that they were even aware of what was happening were their furtive glances every now and then in the direction of the noise.
“Mama, furen sent us here to help out, not to be beaten! If Shizi ye finds out about this, you’ll definitely suffer as well!” Xiao Tao said angrily, glaring so hard at the old woman that the whites of her eyes were showing. She might have been sick, but the beating had fired up her temper.
“Hmph! You’re already in a place like this. Did you think you’d still be treated as the precious maidservants of the Shizi ye’s household?” that old lady jeered, laughing coldly. “Shizi ye returned to the residence today, but I don’t see anyone coming to take you back!”
“Shizi ye has returned?” Xiao Tao said in surprise. As a servant of the lowest rank, she did not get any information about the happenings in the Anguo Gong residence. All she did every day from daybreak to sunset was the work of the laundry department, and she naturally didn’t know that the Shizi had returned.
“Even if the Shizi returned, he wouldn’t think to remember a little hussy like you! Just do your work!” the old lady snapped irritably. She raised the bamboo cane again, preparing to hit Xiao Tao.
“Vabq!” Weczlj rtbeafv. Vtf tjv pera jgglnfv lc atf ijecvgs vfqjgawfca ab rff atlr rmfcf. Vtf kjr rb jcugs atja rtf mbeivc’a yf ybatfgfv ab yf mbegafber jcs wbgf, jcv rtf wbnfv obgkjgv delmxis ab qert atja biv kbwjc jrlvf.
“Clsb! Qtlmt ilaaif ylam…” Ktf biv kbwjc rajgafv ab megrf jcuglis jr rtf rajuufgfv ogbw atf qert, yea jr rtf aegcfv jgbecv tjiokjs, rtf rjk ktb atf lcagevfg kjr jcv rabqqfv tfgrfio lwwfvljafis. Vtf lwwfvljafis qijrafgfv j rwlif bc tfg ojmf. “Qts tfiib, lrc’a atlr Zlrr Weczlj?”
Xunxia ignored her. She pulled the young maids behind her, then slowly raised her head, her expression cold as she spoke. “Wang Mama, I’m here on Shizi ye’s orders to take back the servants from Zhuque Hall.”
Wang Mama’s expression changed, and she smiled in a derisive manner. “Shizi ye is truly a nostalgic person. However, I’m not the one who can make a decision about this. You have to go and report this to the furen.”
Xunxia took out her handkerchief and wiped the tears off Xiao Tao’s face.
“Jiejie…” A few of the young maids were still scared. If Xunxia left them here to go and report to the furen, they might have to wait for quite some time, and they didn’t know what would happen to them during that period. They didn’t want to stay here a moment longer.
“Shizi ye is waiting. I’ll bring them with me first. Mama, you can go and report to the furen,” Xunxia said decisively. She wasn’t going to do as that old woman said; she was the kind of person who would take a mile once you gave an inch.
Wang Mama was seething with rage, but she didn’t dare to say anything as she watched Xunxia take the young maids with her. She could only stamp her foot in frustration, then turn to go to the main residence and complain to the furen.
“Jiejie, can we really go back to Zhuque Hall?” Xiao Tao asked, her eyes widening in excitement and happiness.
“Yes,” Xunxia said, patting her cheek. These young maids were only around eleven to twelve years old, and they had really suffered a lot. “In future, Shizi ye will protect us, and no one can take you away.”
“Boohoo…” The four young maids looked at each other and couldn’t help crying with relief.
Lou Jing frowned slightly as he looked at the four maids that Xunxia brought back with her. They all looked pale and tired. “Xunxia, bring them with you to go and rest. They don’t need to work for the next two days,” he said.
Cheng Xiuru brought the Zhuque Hall account books over. “The dowry and betrothal gifts are all silver ingots, antiques, precious gems and bolts of silk, and they’ve all been kept in the storehouse. There are no crop fields, country estates or shops. I’ll have people send the silver over to Baofeng House for safekeeping.”
Lou Jing nodded. “In future, all of Zhuque Hall’s expenses will be paid out of my personal accounts,” he said.
Zhuque Hall would now be completely separate from the main Anguo Gong residence. The former manager of the household was promoted to become the head butler, and his monthly salary increased accordingly. He was very pleased about this, and diligently looked for a good construction craftsman to change the Zhuque Hall’s side entrance into a main gate. In future, visitors need not go through the main gate of the Anguo Gong residence to enter Zhuque Hall.
The day was thus spent in this frenzied manner. Lou Jing also did not need to go to the Northern Barracks as it was his day off, so he focused on getting his household matters in order.
After washing up in the evening, Lou Jing flopped down on the bed. He’d slept in this bed for many years, but somehow, it didn’t feel all that comfortable tonight. He got up and pulled out the Crown Prince’s pillow from the chest, hugged it tightly and sniffed it. The smell of Xiao Chengjun’s shampoo still lingered on it. Lou Jing buried his face in the pillow and rolled around the bed dolefully.
The Min Wang residence had already been prepared well in advance. On the day Xiao Chengjun moved in, he met with all his servants. Chang En was put in charge of household matters, and one of his former Eastern Palace officials was put in charge of official business. The former head of the Eastern Palace guards, Lu Zhao, was given the responsibility of arranging the security detail for the mansion.
“Wang ye, the security has already been taken care of,” Lu Zhao said. Lu Zhao’s courtesy name was Mingyuan, and he was of noble birth. When Xiao Chengjun was deposed as Crown Prince, he could have easily stayed on in the palace to be the head of a detachment of palace guards, but surprisingly, he refused to leave Xiao Chengjun’s service. He was a man of few words ordinarily, and wasn’t particularly close to Xiao Chengjun, so his insistence on staying was quite unexpected. According to Lu Zhao, his reason for staying was that a military man never served two masters.
Xiao Chengjun looked at Lu Zhao’s expressionless face, then nodded slightly. “If a person flips over the wall, don’t attack immediately. Ascertain who it is first before taking action,” he instructed.
“This subordinate understands. The Shizi will not be harmed,” Lu Zhao said confidently.
Min Wang stared blankly at him for a while, then coughed lightly before waving a hand to dismiss him. This Lu Zhao was perhaps a little too straightforward; tact did not seem to be a weapon in his arsenal.
Living in a Qinwang mansion offered much more freedom than in the Eastern Palace. There was no need to get up at a specific time, and there was no need to do the morning and evening greetings to the Emperor and Empress. The study was also right in the mansion and within walking distance, which was much more convenient; in the Eastern Palace, he had to sit on a palanquin to get from his sleeping quarters to his study in Chongren Chambers. This mansion felt much more like a home. It was only…
Xiao Chengjun took out a painting from a large porcelain pot. The white-clad beauty on it had a ravishing smile, and he couldn’t help but feel melancholy. He didn’t have a wife any more, and without a wife, this house would not truly be a home, no matter how warm it was.
Lying in the large, empty bed at night made Xiao Chengjun’s heart also feel empty. He rubbed his face against the blankets, then sighed and closed his eyes.
The next morning, sunlight shone down on the light blue bedcurtains, and Xiao Chengjun woke up, his eyes bleary with sleep. He found that there was something warm right next to him, and his eyes immediately flew open. An exquisitely handsome face like no other was right in front of his eyes, and that face was smiling faintly at him.
“Zhuoyu?” Xiao Chengjun said, unable to believe his eyes.
“Good morning, Dianxia,” Lou Jing said, his lips curving into a real smile. He moved closer, then planted a light kiss on Xiao Chengjun’s slightly parted lips.
After Madam Wei fainted, the servants hurriedly tried to revive her by pressing the centre of her philtrum and rubbing her back to try an loosen her airways. The residence was in chaos again. This wasn’t Lou Jing’s problem, and he didn’t really care how Lou Jianyu dealt with the situation, so he went straight back to Zhuque Hall.
Two of the Anguo Gong’s guards were standing guard outside Zhuque Hall. Lou Jing dismissed them immediately and replaced them with his Eastern Palace guards.
The Zhuque Hall’s servants’ expenses were previously paid out of the main residence’s accounts, and after Lou Jing was married off, Madam Wei used this as an excuse to get some of the Zhuque Hall servants over to work at the main residence.
“Bring all of them back,” Lou Jing said, sitting in the main hall of Zhuque Hall. His instruction was directed at the head maidservant. He wanted all his original servants back, from the senior staff all the way down to the menial labourers.
At this time, the main residence was still in a mess, and no one had the presence of mind to stop these servants from going back to Zhuque Hall. Xunxia gave a small cheer, then pestered Lou Jing to let her go and look for the maids she was close to previously. Lou Jing allowed this with a wave of his hand.
Other than Xunxia and Yingqiu, Lou Jing’s residence had two second-ranked maids and four maids in charge of menial chores. Madam Wei had not dared to touch the second-ranked maids, but she’d taken all four of the menial chore maids. Xunxia asked around and discovered that the four young maids had been sent to the laundry department!
The Anguo Gong residence had many servants who were bonded to serve the Anguo Gong family their entire lives – so many, in fact, that there wasn’t enough work to go around. Some of these servants were even just idling around. There was no way the Anguo Gong residence would have a situation in which there was insufficient manpower such that they would need to call upon the servants from Zhuque Hall to help out. However, Madam Wei had still taken Lou Jing’s menial chore maids and stuck them in the laundry department, which was the most tiring of the lot. It was obvious that she didn’t have good intentions in doing so. When Xunxia heard about this, she was so angry that she could feel steam coming out of her ears, and she immediately headed off to the laundry department.
The laundry room was situated in the Northeastern corner of the Anguo Gong residence. The personal items of the masters of the house were not washed here – that was taken care of by the personal maidservants attached to the relevant master. This laundry department took care of washing large items like the window curtains, bedcurtains, and tablecloths, and it was very tiring work. On top of that, the pay was bad. Sending servants to the laundry department was actually a common way of punishing servants in the Anguo Gong household.
“What kind of rubbish work is this? Why can’t you do anything right?” a thickset old woman with coarse features scolded. She was holding a bamboo cane in her hands, and as she spoke, she hit out at a few young maids.
“Mama , please stop the beating, Xiao Tao is having a fever today and doesn’t have much energy to do work,” one of the young maids begged, crying as she pleaded with the old woman.
The laundry department’s usual servants all had wooden expressions on their faces. They didn’t say a word even as they watched the Mama hit out with her bamboo cane, and continued with their work as if nothing had happened, squeezing and rubbing the fabric, tamping down on them with large wooden pestles, wringing them out and then hanging them up to dry. The only sign that they were even aware of what was happening were their furtive glances every now and then in the direction of the noise.
“Mama, furen sent us here to help out, not to be beaten! If Shizi ye finds out about this, you’ll definitely suffer as well!” Xiao Tao said angrily, glaring so hard at the old woman that the whites of her eyes were showing. She might have been sick, but the beating had fired up her temper.
“Hmph! You’re already in a place like this. Did you think you’d still be treated as the precious maidservants of the Shizi ye’s household?” that old lady jeered, laughing coldly. “Shizi ye returned to the residence today, but I don’t see anyone coming to take you back!”
“Shizi ye has returned?” Xiao Tao said in surprise. As a servant of the lowest rank, she did not get any information about the happenings in the Anguo Gong residence. All she did every day from daybreak to sunset was the work of the laundry department, and she naturally didn’t know that the Shizi had returned.
“Even if the Shizi returned, he wouldn’t think to remember a little hussy like you! Just do your work!” the old lady snapped irritably. She raised the bamboo cane again, preparing to hit Xiao Tao.
“Vabq!” Weczlj rtbeafv. Vtf tjv pera jgglnfv lc atf ijecvgs vfqjgawfca ab rff atlr rmfcf. Vtf kjr rb jcugs atja rtf mbeivc’a yf ybatfgfv ab yf mbegafber jcs wbgf, jcv rtf wbnfv obgkjgv delmxis ab qert atja biv kbwjc jrlvf.
“Clsb! Qtlmt ilaaif ylam…” Ktf biv kbwjc rajgafv ab megrf jcuglis jr rtf rajuufgfv ogbw atf qert, yea jr rtf aegcfv jgbecv tjiokjs, rtf rjk ktb atf lcagevfg kjr jcv rabqqfv tfgrfio lwwfvljafis. Vtf lwwfvljafis qijrafgfv j rwlif bc tfg ojmf. “Qts tfiib, lrc’a atlr Zlrr Weczlj?”
Xunxia ignored her. She pulled the young maids behind her, then slowly raised her head, her expression cold as she spoke. “Wang Mama, I’m here on Shizi ye’s orders to take back the servants from Zhuque Hall.”
Wang Mama’s expression changed, and she smiled in a derisive manner. “Shizi ye is truly a nostalgic person. However, I’m not the one who can make a decision about this. You have to go and report this to the furen.”
Xunxia took out her handkerchief and wiped the tears off Xiao Tao’s face.
“Jiejie…” A few of the young maids were still scared. If Xunxia left them here to go and report to the furen, they might have to wait for quite some time, and they didn’t know what would happen to them during that period. They didn’t want to stay here a moment longer.
“Shizi ye is waiting. I’ll bring them with me first. Mama, you can go and report to the furen,” Xunxia said decisively. She wasn’t going to do as that old woman said; she was the kind of person who would take a mile once you gave an inch.
Wang Mama was seething with rage, but she didn’t dare to say anything as she watched Xunxia take the young maids with her. She could only stamp her foot in frustration, then turn to go to the main residence and complain to the furen.
“Jiejie, can we really go back to Zhuque Hall?” Xiao Tao asked, her eyes widening in excitement and happiness.
“Yes,” Xunxia said, patting her cheek. These young maids were only around eleven to twelve years old, and they had really suffered a lot. “In future, Shizi ye will protect us, and no one can take you away.”
“Boohoo…” The four young maids looked at each other and couldn’t help crying with relief.
Lou Jing frowned slightly as he looked at the four maids that Xunxia brought back with her. They all looked pale and tired. “Xunxia, bring them with you to go and rest. They don’t need to work for the next two days,” he said.
Cheng Xiuru brought the Zhuque Hall account books over. “The dowry and betrothal gifts are all silver ingots, antiques, precious gems and bolts of silk, and they’ve all been kept in the storehouse. There are no crop fields, country estates or shops. I’ll have people send the silver over to Baofeng House for safekeeping.”
Lou Jing nodded. “In future, all of Zhuque Hall’s expenses will be paid out of my personal accounts,” he said.
Zhuque Hall would now be completely separate from the main Anguo Gong residence. The former manager of the household was promoted to become the head butler, and his monthly salary increased accordingly. He was very pleased about this, and diligently looked for a good construction craftsman to change the Zhuque Hall’s side entrance into a main gate. In future, visitors need not go through the main gate of the Anguo Gong residence to enter Zhuque Hall.
The day was thus spent in this frenzied manner. Lou Jing also did not need to go to the Northern Barracks as it was his day off, so he focused on getting his household matters in order.
After washing up in the evening, Lou Jing flopped down on the bed. He’d slept in this bed for many years, but somehow, it didn’t feel all that comfortable tonight. He got up and pulled out the Crown Prince’s pillow from the chest, hugged it tightly and sniffed it. The smell of Xiao Chengjun’s shampoo still lingered on it. Lou Jing buried his face in the pillow and rolled around the bed dolefully.
The Min Wang residence had already been prepared well in advance. On the day Xiao Chengjun moved in, he met with all his servants. Chang En was put in charge of household matters, and one of his former Eastern Palace officials was put in charge of official business. The former head of the Eastern Palace guards, Lu Zhao, was given the responsibility of arranging the security detail for the mansion.
“Wang ye, the security has already been taken care of,” Lu Zhao said. Lu Zhao’s courtesy name was Mingyuan, and he was of noble birth. When Xiao Chengjun was deposed as Crown Prince, he could have easily stayed on in the palace to be the head of a detachment of palace guards, but surprisingly, he refused to leave Xiao Chengjun’s service. He was a man of few words ordinarily, and wasn’t particularly close to Xiao Chengjun, so his insistence on staying was quite unexpected. According to Lu Zhao, his reason for staying was that a military man never served two masters.
Xiao Chengjun looked at Lu Zhao’s expressionless face, then nodded slightly. “If a person flips over the wall, don’t attack immediately. Ascertain who it is first before taking action,” he instructed.
“This subordinate understands. The Shizi will not be harmed,” Lu Zhao said confidently.
Min Wang stared blankly at him for a while, then coughed lightly before waving a hand to dismiss him. This Lu Zhao was perhaps a little too straightforward; tact did not seem to be a weapon in his arsenal.
Living in a Qinwang mansion offered much more freedom than in the Eastern Palace. There was no need to get up at a specific time, and there was no need to do the morning and evening greetings to the Emperor and Empress. The study was also right in the mansion and within walking distance, which was much more convenient; in the Eastern Palace, he had to sit on a palanquin to get from his sleeping quarters to his study in Chongren Chambers. This mansion felt much more like a home. It was only…
Xiao Chengjun took out a painting from a large porcelain pot. The white-clad beauty on it had a ravishing smile, and he couldn’t help but feel melancholy. He didn’t have a wife any more, and without a wife, this house would not truly be a home, no matter how warm it was.
Lying in the large, empty bed at night made Xiao Chengjun’s heart also feel empty. He rubbed his face against the blankets, then sighed and closed his eyes.
The next morning, sunlight shone down on the light blue bedcurtains, and Xiao Chengjun woke up, his eyes bleary with sleep. He found that there was something warm right next to him, and his eyes immediately flew open. An exquisitely handsome face like no other was right in front of his eyes, and that face was smiling faintly at him.
“Zhuoyu?” Xiao Chengjun said, unable to believe his eyes.
“Good morning, Dianxia,” Lou Jing said, his lips curving into a real smile. He moved closer, then planted a light kiss on Xiao Chengjun’s slightly parted lips.
