Chapter 031
Chapter 31: The Second Household’s Three Young Ladies Form an Observation Team
Carrying a bowl of inky bruise-relief soup like it might explode at any second, Xiao Man walked into the meditation room. The thick, bitter smell shot straight to her head and made her dizzy.
She set each step as light as a cat and kept her eyes straight ahead. She placed the bowl at the farthest corner of Lin Qing Xuan’s desk, then spun to leave. The whole move was done in one go, and she did not dare spare even a glance at the chair behind the desk. To be honest, serving Lin Qing Xuan at Auspicious Cloud Residence was easy on the body. No sweeping courtyards, no dusting furniture, no washing a dozen jars and bottles.
But the strain on her heart… it was worse than staying up back to back in her past life to grind out a slideshow. She had to guard at all times against Mind Reading, against Shared Dreaming Art, and against those ambushes behind closed doors, like handing over towels and wiping his back. This was not service. This was a mental survival challenge at the limit.
Back in her little “fortress of virtue,” Xiao Man’s first act was to solemnly take up the poster labeled Chastity Defense Countdown. She struck out the “209” with a firm stroke of charcoal and wrote a brand-new, hopeful “208” beside it.
[One more day endured. Safe and sound. Oh yeah.]
She cheered in her heart, small and proud. Still, the thought of sleep made her nervous. What if he launched another Shared Dreaming attack in the middle of the night?
Her gaze slid to the thin door, and a dangerous idea popped up: [Should I add a strong bar to the door?]
[Or put a basin of water on top of the bar?]
[If not that, then scatter some nails outside the door. If he dares sneak in at night…] [Should I make him hop around, yelping from the nails? Or dump cold water over his head?]
She pictured Lin Qing Xuan blundering into every trap, and the corner of her mouth curled in a satisfied smile.
[Wait.]
[I forgot again. He can hear me.]
Her smile froze. She smacked her forehead in regret. Any trap plan was a live broadcast to the next room. Useless. Worse, the one to suffer might be her, when she got up half-asleep to visit the latrine and stepped on her own nails.
She flopped onto the bed and stared at the canopy: [Forget it. If soldiers come, we block them; if water comes, we pile up earth. Sleep first. Even if the sky falls, sleep comes first.]
Maybe it was the tiredness after days of tense nerves, or a brief decision to let things go. For two nights, she slept deep and sweet.
On the third morning, bright sunlight woke her. She sat up, still drowsy, and noticed the yard was quiet. She pushed open the window and saw no sign of Lin Qing Xuan or Shi Tou.
It looked like another day of the Buddha’s Chosen expounding at Fahua Temple, which meant her rest day had been renewed. Cheerful, Xiao Man washed up at leisure. She had just finished combing her hair when a crisp voice with a showy lilt floated in from the gate: “Elder Cousin, are you in? I am Yu Ning, here to borrow a few scrolls to study.”
Xiao Man hurried to greet her. The goose-yellow dress from yesterday made the visitor easy to recognize. Third Miss Lin Yu Ning stood at the gate with her hands behind her back. Her lively eyes roved all over the yard, clearly hunting for something other than scripture.
Xiao Man bowed: “Greetings, Third Miss. Eldest Grandson Young Master went to Fahua Temple early to expound the Dharma. He is not in. If you know the book titles, I can help you find them.”
Yu Ning’s gaze locked on Xiao Man and swept her from head to toe like a searchlight, full of frank curiosity and judgment, as if appraising a new item: “Oh, he isn’t here…”
She drew out the words, disappointed, then perked up at once: “No matter, no matter. I will ask Elder Cousin next time I see him.” She waved, then suddenly pivoted and asked, eyes fixed on Xiao Man: “What is your name?”
“Yao Xiao Man,” Xiao Man answered with careful respect.
“Yao… Xiao… Man…” Yu Ning tasted each syllable, brow knitting as she weighed the “quality” of the name, then gave her blunt review: “Hmm. Pretty common.”
After another look or two, she added like a reluctant stamp of approval: “But you seem easy to get along with, and your looks are… passable.”
Xiao Man could only hold a polite, awkward smile. This Third Miss was frank to the point of being cute, or maybe to the point of asking for trouble.
Yu Ning finished her “observation,” nodded with satisfaction, and skipped off. A few steps past the gate, she spun back and called: “Hey, Xiao Man! I’ll come play with you next time!”
Without waiting for a reply, she took off like a happy little bird.
Watching her go, Xiao Man gave a helpless smile. This Little Ancestor was truly full of energy.
General’s Manor · Back Garden
Yu Ning rushed into the pavilion, grabbed the tea in front of her eldest sister, gulped it down, then wiped her mouth and delivered her report: “Elder Cousin wasn’t there. The maid’s name is Yao Xiao Man. So tacky! But she seems decent and honest. Her looks… are just so-so, barely passable.”
“Smack.” “Ow!” Lin Yu Wan and Lin Yu Jiao both reached out and flicked their little sister’s forehead at the same time.
“We sent you to observe, not to judge her name and face,” Lin Yu Wan scolded.
“Exactly. That’s nothing like a proper young lady,” Lin Yu Jiao added.
Holding her head, Yu Ning pouted: “But I told the truth! And, big sister, what you said yesterday doesn’t match what I saw. You said she might be special, but I found her very ordinary.”
Lin Yu Wan paused, thinking of her own guess from yesterday and feeling less sure. Lin Yu Jiao’s eyes turned as she decided briskly: “Little sister has a point. Hearing is false, seeing is true. To be safe, and to be fair and just, we three will go together. We will meet this Yao Xiao Man with our own eyes and see what kind of girl could make our Buddha’s Chosen Elder Cousin ‘wake up’.”
Lin Yu Wan had wanted to object, but seeing her second sister keen and her little sister eager, and recalling Mother’s order to enjoy the fun, she could only sigh: “Fine. But mind your manners. Do not lose our dignity.”
So, without Xiao Man knowing it, an “observation team” formed by the three young ladies of the Second Household set out in force for Auspicious Cloud Residence, ready to give her a full threefold review.
At that very moment, Lin Qing Xuan, who should have been at Fahua Temple, finished expounding earlier than expected and turned back toward home.
Behind the thin door of Auspicious Cloud Residence, the gears of fate began to mesh in silence.