Chapter 066
Chapter 66: The Maternal Family’s Sick-Visit Group
The news that Lin Qing Xuan got his head split and bleeding was like a bolt from the blue.
It sprouted wings, flew straight into the House of Wang, and turned their calm pond upside down.
In the House of Wang’s back courtyard, the aunt and several Cousin Misses were so shocked that their teacups almost slipped.
One cried out, her voice shaking: “What? Cousin, the Buddha’s Chosen, had his head cracked open?!”
Another gasped, eyes wide: “Is that even true? Cousin is the Heavenborn Buddha’s Chosen with a body hard as diamond, how could a mere girl hurt him?”
A third waved her hand and decided: “No way a human did it, it must be a demon. Storybooks say when demons want to eat a real Buddha’s Chosen, they knock the head first!”
The youngest sister loved storybooks the most.
She tugged her elder sister’s sleeve and whispered with bright eyes: “Eldest Sister, didn’t you say last time that Cousin had his eye on a junior maid? We didn’t believe you and thought you were joking!”
The Misses chirped like a flock of sparrows, faces full of the words I want gossip.
Visiting a sick person was just an excuse; they really came to watch the show.
They wanted to see with their own eyes what kind of three-headed, six-armed super siren this maid named Yao Xiao Man was, the one bold enough to drag the pure, otherworldly Heavenborn Buddha’s Chosen down from his altar.
At one command, the House of Wang sent out a grand procession. Carriages rolled, horses snorted, and servants marched in a long line straight to Lin Manor.
Xiao Man had just come out of the kitchen with a bowl of pitch-black medicine. The bitter smell made her frown.
She looked up and nearly jumped.
A whole row of richly dressed women crowded the courtyard, jewels flashing.
They craned their necks and stared like X-rays, sweeping her from head to toe and inside to out.
Their eyes were not looking at a person, but pricing a rare antique.
Someone pointed and announced: “There, that’s her, Yao Xiao Man.”
Another sniffed and judged: “Her looks are just so-so, not as pretty as my second-class maid.”
A third clicked her tongue and said: “You can’t judge by looks. I heard she’s the one who smashed Cousin’s head, and instead of punishing her, Cousin protected her like a treasure.”
Someone else countered with a secret tone: “My maid said Cousin took some messy medicine, fainted, and hit the table edge.”
A Cousin Miss tugged her friend’s sleeve and bragged: “Your maid is useless and wrong. I paid two taels of silver for my news!”
Their voices were not loud, but every word drilled into Xiao Man’s ears like pins.
Xiao Man’s scalp tingled.
Holding the medicine bowl, stuck between going and staying, she had no choice but to step forward and curtsy: “This maid greets the Madams and Misses.”
Wang Yao stood in front. She wore a soft yellow long dress that made her look fresher than flowers.
She walked up smiling and warmly took Xiao Man’s hand, but her eyes spun and measured every part of Xiao Man.
She asked in a friendly tone: “Sister Xiao Man, don’t be so distant. Is my Cousin’s injury better now?”
Xiao Man felt awkward under such false warmth and forced a dry smile: “Thanks to Miss, much, much better…”
[Help! Are they here to visit the sick, or to hold a struggle session on me?]
Inside the study, Lin Qing Xuan reclined on the couch with his eyes closed.
A thin scab had formed at his temple, but because he had lost a lot of blood, his face was still pale and weak.
Hearing the rising clamor in the courtyard, his fine brows drew tight at once.
He asked, voice cool: “Who is here?”
Chen Shi bent low and reported: “Young Master, the aunt from the House of Wang and several Cousin Misses have arrived. They say… they have come to visit.”
Lin Qing Xuan’s face sank at once, impatience flooding his eyes.
He ordered, tone light but leaving no room to argue: “Send them back.”
Chen Shi broke into a sweat and looked troubled: “Young Master, the First Madam has already welcomed them in. They are in the courtyard now.”
Lin Qing Xuan shut his eyes and forced down the surge of annoyance.
When he opened them again, his tone was calm and even colder: “Let Xiao Man come in and attend.”
He added without warmth: “Stop everyone else outside.”
In the courtyard, Wang Yao’s little sister Wang Ying was the most impatient.
She had a naturally bossy look and stared at Xiao Man with challenge and disdain.
Seizing a chance when others looked away, she lunged forward and yanked Xiao Man’s wrist.
She pulled so hard the medicine bowl trembled.
She raised her sharp voice so all could hear: “Sister Xiao Man, I heard Cousin treats you differently, is it true?”
Startled, Xiao Man tried to pull her hand back and said in a hurry: “Miss, you joke. I am only a maid who serves the Young Master. I do not dare think of anything else.”
Wang Ying refused to let go and pressed on: “Only a maid? If you are only a maid, how did you split his head?”
She shot the next words like arrows: “Why didn’t he punish you? What fox tricks did you use to seduce him!”
The words were so nasty that Xiao Man’s face flamed red.
She racked her brain for some excuse, but her thoughts were a mess.
Just then, the inner door creaked open.
Lin Qing Xuan stood in white robes at the threshold, face blank. The wound at his temple added a fierce, keep-away air.
His icy gaze swept the crowd and stopped on Xiao Man’s wrist in Wang Ying’s grip.
He asked, voice flat: “What is the noise?”
Silence fell at once.
Even the air turned stiff.
Frightened out of her wits, Wang Ying dropped Xiao Man’s hand, stumbled back two steps, and stammered: “Cousin… we, we came to see you…”
Lin Qing Xuan did not look at her. His eyes stayed on Xiao Man as he said two words: “Come in.”
Saved, Xiao Man almost wanted to kneel in thanks on the spot.
Hugging the medicine bowl, she slipped into the room like a puff of smoke.
High on the rafters, a thin strand of black mist coiled and twisted with glee.
It giggled and hissed: “Hee hee, perfect timing! These fools from the House of Wang are ready-made fun!”
Silent as a shadow, it slid down and slipped into Wang Ying’s ear, whispering poison in the cruelest voice: “See that? Your Immortal-like Cousin shamed you in public for a low maid.”
It prodded and burned: “Are you willing to take that?”
It sneered: “In what way are you worse than that girl?”
Wang Ying’s eyes darkened. Jealousy flared hot in her chest.
She clenched her silk handkerchief until her knuckles went white.
She leaned toward her sister Wang Yao and muttered sourly: “Sister, you saw that? She’s not some three-headed, six-armed enchantress. So why can she hook our godlike Cousin?”
She lifted her chin and pressed: “Sister, look at me. Am I not a hundred times prettier than that Xiao Man?”
Wang Yao stared at her muddled little sister and almost seethed. She gave a cold laugh and said: “I advise you to forget it.”
She spoke low, each word hitting home: “If there was any chance for you, would it have waited until today? When has Cousin ever looked at us?”
She reminded hard: “And do not forget why you came. You came to visit the sick. Put away those shameful thoughts and stop making a scene here.”
After being scolded head-on, Wang Ying’s jealousy-dazed mind finally cleared a little.
Pouting with grievance, she dared not argue, drooped like a defeated hen, and followed Wang Yao into the room.
Inside, Lin Qing Xuan reclined again. The white bandage at his temple made his pallor even colder.
Wang Yao led the Cousins forward to curtsy and asked with proper care: “Cousin, is your injury better? Mother had us bring some tonics…”
Without lifting his eyelids, Lin Qing Xuan said faintly: “Set them down.”
Unwilling to give up, Wang Ying pinched her voice sweet and leaned in: “Cousin, that girl is clumsy. Let me serve you instead…”
Lin Qing Xuan raised his eyes at once. His gaze was like an ice blade: “Wang Ying, the maids of my manor are not for you to judge.”
The room went still.
Wang Yao yanked her little sister’s sleeve and laughed weakly: “Cousin, please don’t be angry. Ying is young and speaks without a filter…”
“Young?” Lin Qing Xuan gave a cold smile and said: “Then let her learn the rules. If I hear even half a sentence of gossip again…”
He turned the rim of his teacup between his fingers. His voice was light as falling snow and cut like a knife: “The reputation of the daughters of the House of Wang may not stand up to scrutiny.”
Wang Ying turned pale. Wang Yao broke into a cold sweat.
[This is a warning. If they dare touch Xiao Man, he will destroy the daughters’ names of the House of Wang.]
Wang Yao forced smiles and hurried the group out.
The instant they stepped past the gate, her smile vanished, heavy as stormwater.
She grabbed Wang Ying’s arm so hard her nails almost dug in and hissed, every word sharp with scorn: “You blind, brainless fool.”
Catching several Lin Manor maids peeking from the corridor, Wang Yao’s eyes flashed.
She took a breath, suddenly let go, and changed to a pained, disappointed look. Then she raised her voice just enough for half the courtyard to hear: “At home I told you over and over. Cousin may be the Buddha’s Chosen, pure and quiet, but he is not a man without temper.”
She spoke to the air and the eavesdroppers: “Miss Xiao Man is now Cousin’s dearest. And you, you challenged her in public again and again.”
She flicked a finger hard against Wang Ying’s forehead and snapped: “Do you think your face is bigger than the sky, or are you dull as a pig?”
Red-eyed, Wang Ying dared not talk back. She twisted her handkerchief and lowered her head.
Wang Yao swept her gaze over the other timid little sisters and raised her voice like a proper eldest daughter: “And the rest of you.”
She commanded with force: “Put away all thoughts you should not have.”
She added orders briskly: “When we return, copy the Heart Sutra eighty-one times to offer a blessing rite for Cousin.”
She finished with a clear warning: “And when you see Miss Xiao Man in the future, be even more respectful than when you see me. Do you hear me?”
All this scolding looked like teaching her sisters, but every sentence was for the people listening in the courtyard.
Especially for the Buddha’s Chosen whose hearing was very sharp.
[Cousin, do you see? We admit our fault. We won’t step out of line again.]
Wang Yao knew perfectly well that if she didn’t perform this scene to the end, once the story reached Lin Qing Xuan’s ears, none of the House of Wang’s Misses would have a good outcome.
Catching more peeking maids under the corridor, she added one more line on purpose: “If I learn that anyone is whispering in secret again, the family rules will deal with you.”
The black mist rolled on a treetop and laughed until it shook.
“Tsk, tsk, this eldest Miss of the House of Wang acts better than a star on stage.”
It darted into Wang Ying’s ear again and whispered coldly: “Your sister is using you as a stepping stone to curry favor with the Buddha’s Chosen. Are you willing to let that happen?”
Wang Ying clenched her handkerchief. Thick hatred flashed in her eyes.