“Take a look! Take a look! Freshly steamed buns right here!”
“Step right in, guest! We’ve got fine wine and good dishes, every one! Hot meals and hot food, the aroma seeps through—a jug of old wine will drown all your worries! Right this way, guest!”
“Oh my, young friend, don’t leave! I see your brow is dark—disaster and bloodshed are headed your way! How about this: just buy this bottle of my family’s secret medicinal wine for falls and bruises, and it’ll keep you safe.”
Yep.
Xiang’an Town’s afternoon streets were at their liveliest.
After a morning of hard work, folks flooded the streets to stroll for fun, or seize the chance of the crowd to hawk their goods.
A tavern waiter, a cloth slung over his shoulder, bellowed out a rhythmic sales pitch. An old man at the street corner tugged at a young man, muttering mysteriously.
A peddler with a carrying pole shook a rattle drum as he cut through the street, while vendors’ cries rose and fell in waves. Cooking smoke mingled with the aroma of food, drifting through the entire street.
And Liu Yao sat at a small table by a tea stall, staring blankly at this scene with a deadpan expression.
As for why she was idling around here—it all started when she casually agreed to Zhao Yi’an’s request that day.
‘Why… did I agree to this stupid request?’
‘Was I too full back then? I remember I didn’t eat that much…’
She propped her chin on her hand, took a small sip of tea, and stared into space, thinking.
‘Help investigate the truth of what happened at the Wang Family that night… easy for him to say.’
‘The Wang Family are the biggest landowners in Xiang’an Town, and I’m just some outsider. I don’t know a soul in this crappy town. What can I dig up?’
The more Liu Yao thought about it, the more she felt she’d been too hasty taking this job.
But she’d already said yes, and that fool had looked at her with such hopeful eyes. She couldn’t just back out, could she?
‘Whatever. Promised is promised.’
‘Tch—Shouldn’t a master be lazing around, waiting for an apprentice to serve tea? Why am I not like that…’
The girl let out a sigh, breathing out all her worries, then downed her tea in one gulp and stood up to leave.
‘Ah, really. If my money weren’t running out so fast, I’d rather go have a drink at the tavern.’
As she walked, Liu Yao patted the money pouch at her waist, feeling its thinning form, and her heart sank with worry.
‘If only I could find a job that makes money and investigates the Wang Family at the same time…’
‘Hah… When has that ever happened?’
Just as Liu Yao was walking along, wallowing in self-pity, not far off, a girl from Dawn Spring Courtyard was holding onto a long-bearded, greasily smiling uncle as they approached from the opposite direction.
They passed by.
“Oh my~ Uncle Wang, you’ve finally graced us with your presence today? I’ve missed you so much~”
“Heh! If you’re thinking of me, little lady, then I’ve got to go visit you and sit a while.”
Uncle Wang?
Hearing the key word, the girl immediately looked up toward the source of the voice. Then, as if an idea struck her, she lowered her head again and nonchalantly continued walking.
‘Heh. Speak of the devil, and he appears. Just when I was dozing off, here comes a pillow.’
As the pair flirted past her, Liu Yao curled her lips, turned at a corner, and followed the path they had taken.
***
Let’s go back to when Wang Chengle stormed out of the study.
Wang Chengle carried his birdcage, his face grim, completely devoid of the grinning expression he’d had when he first entered the study.
“Bitch…”
He muttered a curse under his breath, kicking a pebble into the air.
“That little wench… has a sharp tongue, daring to bring up ‘Second Son’!” He clenched the slip of paper in his hand, his knuckles white. “If it weren’t for the money, I’d have taught her what respect for an elder means today!”
In the courtyard, many decorative items lay shattered by his fury.
Wang Chengle’s outburst grew more violent, shaking the birdcage so much that the bird inside hopped around and chirped frantically.
Finally, after venting all his anger, he took a deep breath, straightened his clothes, and stepped out of the courtyard.
Outside, several maids, who had been listening to the commotion, were huddled in a corner at the door, trembling. Wang Chengle caught sight of them as he left the courtyard.
He threw the slip of paper with the approval onto the ground at their feet, coldly ordering, “What are you standing around for? Take this approval slip to the storage room and get me the money!”
The maids were so scared they almost cried, but they still gritted their teeth and replied.
“Yes… Yes, Second Master!”
Watching the maids scurry away with the slip, Wang Chengle snorted coldly and said nothing.
He looked back at the study door in the courtyard, his heart full of resentment.
‘Little wench, don’t think I won’t touch you just because your father’s around. When he dies, you’ll be the first I mess with!’
‘You think you’re something, but without your father, you’re nothing.’
‘When I’m rolling in money, don’t you dare come begging to me!’
‘…Just wait. You’ll be begging me one day.’
As Wang Chengle continued cursing under his breath, a maid came running over with a slightly bulging money pouch.
“S-Second Master, the money you wanted is all here…”
She handed it over with trembling hands, her head lowered, her voice shaking with fear.
Wang Chengle paid no attention to the girl’s frightened state, snatched the pouch from her hand, weighed it in his palm, and curled his lip in disdain.
“This is all? Who can spend this little?”
‘This is enough for someone like me to live on for months…’ the maid thought to herself.
But she dared not say it aloud, afraid the courtyard’s vase decorations’ fate might befall her.
“…Damn it. The more I think about it, the angrier I get. I need to head to Dawn Spring Courtyard for a few drinks to cool off.”
With that, ignoring the servants around him, he picked up the still-chirping birdcage and walked toward the gate.
Just as Wang Chengle stepped out, the other two maids gathered around the first one, looking worried.
“Xiao Hua, are you okay? The Second Master didn’t give you a hard time, did he?”
The maid named Xiao Hua shook her head, forcing a smile.
“It’s fine, Xiao Ding. The Second Master is just a bit harsh. He wouldn’t go so far as to hit someone like me… probably.”
“Who says? I heard from Steward Tian that ever since the Second Master lost the family inheritance fight to the Elder Master, his temper’s been getting worse by the day. Now he even…”
“Hey! Keep your voice down!”
Xiao Hua covered the mouth of the maid who had just spoken, then glanced toward the direction Wang Chengle had left, making sure no one had noticed before letting go.
“Xiao Bing! I told you to watch your mouth! Say that again, and you’ll be out on the streets!”
Xiao Hua glared at Xiao Bing until the girl shrank back, then finally released her hand.
“O-okay, fine. Geez, Sister Xiao Hua, you’re so scary…”
“Alright, alright. Say less, Xiao Bing. Sister Xiao Hua’s just looking out for you. If you keep talking like that, you’ll land yourself in trouble.”
“Even you, Sister Xiao Ding…”
“Enough. Let’s go check on the kitchen and see if the Young Lady’s lunch is ready. If she goes hungry and no one’s running the Wang Family, then the Second Master taking over would be a real disaster.”
Xiao Hua sighed helplessly.
“Eek—I don’t want that!”
“Then get to work!”
The maids bickered and bantered as they left, bringing a little more life to the otherwise quiet courtyard.