CH 18

// Transformed like a different person

As the captured servant recognized her, a strange look crossed his face. He forcefully pulled back his own sleeves and smirked, saying, “Lingxiu is working in the southern courtyard.”

“Southern courtyard? Working?” Huaiyu furrowed her brow, pondered for a moment, and deemed it normal. She asked for directions from the servant and started walking.

Inside the southern courtyard, the lanterns were sparingly lit, making it difficult for Lingxiu to clearly see the patterns. She squinted her eyes and carefully embroidered the design onto the dress.

Standing not far away were two old maids cracking melon seeds and whispering to each other.

“Our lady has been extremely kind to the Fourth Miss. They aren’t even blood-related, yet she has given her such exquisite materials. She’s not afraid of overshadowing the Second Miss in the Jiang residence.”

“No wonder she can be the mistress. Our lady is truly compassionate. But in my opinion, even if the Fourth Miss wears such clothes, she still can’t compare to the dazzling Second Miss. One is the legitimate daughter of the main wife, educated and sensible. The other was a madwoman for three years, and now that she’s awake, she still lacks manners. It would be good enough if she doesn’t embarrass herself.”

“That’s a reasonable point! You haven’t seen the Fourth Miss’s appearance today. She has no manners in front of His Highess. How can she be considered a noble young lady?”

“You’re right. The Jiang family is a family of etiquette. Does the Fourth Miss deserve it?”

“She doesn’t!” Someone at the back responded cheerfully.

Li Mama, who was cracking seeds, turned around with a smile, intending to praise the person for their insight. However, when she saw the person’s face, she was so startled that she dropped the melon seeds from her hand.

“Fourth… Fourth Miss?”

Li Huaiyu grinned and caught a few fallen melon seeds, cracking them crisply in her mouth. She blinked and said, “Why are you panicking? Everything you said is true ah.”

The two maids were dumbfounded, staring at her in shock. They watched as she walked toward Lingxiu, still cracking melon seeds, and lowered her head to ask, “What are you doing?”

As soon as she heard her mistress’s voice, Lingxiu finally looked up and squeezed out a smile uglier than crying. She replied, “I’m helping you finish the dress, my lady.”

Glancing at the object in her hand, it was a robe with a plain and unadorned silk surface. Such a robe would require a large number of intricate patterns to look good; otherwise, it would be unfit to wear. The piece Lingxiu held in her hand was only the size of a palm. If she were to embroider the entire thing, even if she didn’t eat or drink, it would take at least half a month.

Narrowing her eyes, Huaiyu asked, “Are you foolish? Do you really think you can finish embroidering it?”

Moving her stiff neck, Lingxiu held up the dress to show her. “Look, this fabric is excellent!”

“Even if it’s excellent, you won’t be able to finish embroidering it, and I won’t be able to wear it. If you have the time, why not have a meal and get some rest?”

Lingxiu was taken aback and somewhat at a loss. “But… but you don’t have any other clothes to wear. The Jiang residence’s birthday banquet is very important, especially for you. If you don’t manage to change people’s previous impression of you, it will affect the marriage…”

She truly was a worrying servant, foolish as she may be, but still adorable.

Huaiyu smiled and reached out to pull her up, rubbing the back of her neck. “If you insist on embroidering, I won’t stop you. Go back to our room and embroider there. However, it’s quite late now. Your young miss is starving, and you’re not taking care of that?”

Upon hearing this, Lingxiu finally remembered about eating, and her little face turned pale in an instant.

“I… I forgot!”

“It’s not too late to remember now. Let’s go.” Huaiyu picked up the nearby basket of needles and thread.

“Fourth Miss!” The two maids finally snapped back to reality and hurriedly approached. “Madam said that it’s best to embroider the dress here. If it gets stained or dusty elsewhere, it won’t be good.”

Huaiyu smiled at them. “This dress is meant to be worn by me. If I’m not afraid, why should you be?”

The two maids were momentarily speechless, and Huaiyu couldn’t be bothered to argue with them. She pulled Lingxiu along and left.

“Where is the kitchen?” she asked as they walked.

Lingxiu whispered, “The rules in the mansion are strict. The kitchen door is locked after the ninth hour, and we can’t enter.”

“Don’t worry about the rest, just show me the way,” Huaiyu confidently replied.

And so, after a stick of incense, Lingxiu found herself holding four steamed buns and half a roasted chicken in her arms, staring in disbelief at the person walking ahead of her.

“Miss… you… you’re stealing!”

Not only stealing, but also climbing walls and crossing windows. If the master were to find out, he would surely beat her to death!

Biting into her steamed bun, Li Huaiyu mumbled with her mouth full, “If you don’t tell, and I don’t tell, who will know?”

“But… but…” Lingxiu’s mouth hung wide open in shock.

How could the young miss behave like this? Even during her foolish moments, at most, she would babble and throw things around. Now she appeared to be normal, but her demeanor was even more carefree and unrestrained than before.

It was as if she had become a different person.

Stopping in her tracks, Huaiyu reached out and took the steamed bun from Lingxiu’s arms, stuffing it into her mouth with a smile. Then she said, “Listen carefully. Your young miss here suddenly had a revelation about the world and realized that in life, there’s no need to be shackled by empty fame. When our stomachs are hungry, we eat what we have. Let’s not dwell on other things, understand?”

Lingxiu blinked her watery eyes, her mouth filled with the steamed bun, unable to speak.

Huaiyu affectionately patted her head. “It’s good that you understand.”

No, she didn’t understand at all! Lingxiu shook her head. She had no idea what was going on! The Bai residence was strict with its rules, and everyone lived an honest life. How did the young miss come up with such remarks?

The person in front of her didn’t pay any attention to her shaking her head like a rattle drum. After returning to the West Courtyard, she opened the lotus leaf wrapping the roasted chicken and ate it together with Lingxiu, sharing the steamed buns. Once they were full, she lay down on the bed, seemingly ready to continue sleeping.

“Young miss,” Lingxiu’s voice buzzed like a mosquito, “May I ask where you went these past two days?”

That day, the room suddenly became empty, and she had searched for a long time. She even went to ask Madam to report to the authorities, but Madam didn’t pay any attention to her, leaving her sleepless all night.

Yawning, Huaiyu said, “I went out of the residence for a stroll.”

Seeing how agile she was when she sneaked into the kitchen earlier, Lingxiu felt there was no need to ask her how she managed to leave. But she couldn’t help but say, “Second Miss has been coveting your engagement. She’s just waiting for you to make a mistake so she can take your place. From now on, you can’t be so casual in your actions.”

“I know.” Turning to face her, Huaiyu half-closed her eyes and chuckled. “You, this little girl, talk too much.”

It was completely different from Qingsi.

Qingsi was a cold beauty who didn’t like to say a word. When she was with her, Lu Jingxing teased her, saying she was like a moving ice sculpture. No matter how much he tried to make her laugh, there wouldn’t be a hint of a smile on her face.

An image of Qingsi’s icy face flashed in her mind, and Huaiyu’s heart tightened as she let out a long sigh.

When she saw her, she must ask carefully. She had clearly sent her away from the capital, so why did she come back and ended up in Jiang Xuanjin’s hands?