newbobooks Chapter 114 Someone is spying
Chapter 114 Someone is spying
Chapter 114 Someone is spying
At the back gate of the Marquis's mansion, Yue'er waited there with a package covered in patches on her back. She was still wearing the same plain mourning clothes she had worn before. Perhaps because she had been in the cowshed, a faint stench wafted from her, making the guards at the gate look rather unpleasant.
After a moment, she heard footsteps coming from inside the door. Knowing that the person who was supposed to guide her had arrived, Yue'er immediately straightened her posture and looked expectantly at the closed door in front of her.
The wooden door creaked open slowly, and a pretty maid with her hair styled in double buns and wearing a floral dress appeared inside.
The maidservant glanced at Yue'er, showing no surprise or disgust. Instead, she smiled kindly and asked:
"Excuse me, are you Miss Moon?"
Yue'er nodded and said, "Yes."
"I am Lingyi, a maid in the young lady's room. The young lady asked me to come and bring you into the manor. Please come in with me."
Yue'er lifted the bundle in her hand and followed Lingyi lightly into the room.
Behind the gate was the backyard, where the Marquis's stables, storerooms, woodsheds, and laundry quarters were all located, making the whole place look very spacious. It seemed that this was the first time Yue'er had come to such a grand mansion. She kept her eyes wide open, curiously observing the scenery of the Marquis's mansion, revealing a touch of innocent charm that made people smile.
Lingyi observed her actions and felt a growing affection for her. She smiled and asked, "Has Miss Yue'er already buried your father?"
Yue'er came to her senses, nodded, and said, "The burial has been completed. Thank you for your concern, sister."
"Where is your father buried? Is it far from the Marquis's residence?" Lingyi asked.
He was buried in a cemetery in the southern suburbs.
"Oh, it's not too far. It'll be more convenient to go out and offer sacrifices during Qingming Festival," Lingyi said. "Judging from your accent, Sister Yue'er isn't from the capital, is she? How did you end up in the capital? Do you have any other relatives in this world?"
“My mother died when I was very young, leaving my father and me to depend on each other. Now that my father is dead, I have no relatives left in this world.” Yue’er’s eyes reddened, and she said in a muffled voice, “My father raised me with great difficulty, hoping for a good harvest this year so he could save some money to find me a good family. But since May, not a drop of rain has fallen in Sichuan. All the crops we planted have withered and died. We were desperate and decided to go out and find some livelihood. So we headed north. On the way, my father caught a cold. We had no money for treatment, and my father’s health deteriorated day by day. We had only just arrived in the capital when…”
Seeing her face covered in tears, Lingyi felt extremely guilty and quickly said, "Alright, now that you're in the Marquis's mansion, you have a place to go. Miss and Madam are kind-hearted people and won't mistreat you. Live well in the mansion and treat us all as your family. Your father in heaven will be comforted."
"Mmm." Yue'er smiled through her tears, wiping them away haphazardly. "Sister Lingyi, you're so kind. You and Miss are both good people. Yue'er likes you both."
Lingyi blushed slightly, but without any disgust, she took Yue'er's hand and said, "I'll take you to greet Steward Ye first, and then I'll take you to bathe and change your clothes. After you're clean, you can come back to Miss's side with me."
"Thank you, Sister Lingyi," Yue'er said obediently, secretly relieved. If the maid continued to press her, she wouldn't be able to keep up the lie.
After registering her name in the servants' register of the Marquis's mansion, Yue'er took a careful bath, styled her hair into a double bun like Lingyi, changed into a floral silk skirt, and then followed Lingyi to Lanxin Courtyard.
The moment Yue'er stepped into Lanxin Courtyard, a refreshing and pleasant fragrance wafted towards her, instantly invigorating her and making her realize that this place was different from others. Passing a painted wall, Yue'er looked up and saw Ye Pianran sitting on a stone bench in the courtyard, waiting. Without waiting for Lingyi's signal, she stepped forward, gracefully bowed, and respectfully said:
"This servant, Yue'er, greets Miss."
"Get up," Ye Pianran said, looking at the refreshed Yue'er with a light smile. "I almost didn't recognize you dressed like this."
Yue'er straightened up and lowered her head shyly: "Miss is joking."
Ye Pianran straightened her expression and said, "Lingyi, you have already met her. This lady beside me is Lingshu. The two of them have served me since childhood and are very familiar with the Marquis's residence. You are new here and do not know many of the rules. You should get along well with them and ask them for advice."
"Yes," Yue'er replied with a curtsy.
Picking up the small porcelain bottle from the stone table, Ye Pianran handed it to the wound, saying, "This is a medicine I made myself. Apply it to your wound, and it will heal in a few days."
Yue'er gripped the porcelain bottle tightly in her hand and said gratefully, "Thank you, Miss!"
It was commonplace for wealthy families to add or remove maids, and Yue'er's arrival caused no stir. She settled into the Marquis's residence just like that. In the days that followed, she indeed took the initiative to get close to Lingyi and Lingshu, asking them for advice on how to be a good maid.
She was clever and quick-witted, and soon won the favor of Lingyi and Lingshu. However, remembering Ye Pianran's instructions, the two of them did not assign Yue'er any important tasks. Every day, they would send her to fetch water and run errands, or feed rabbits and dry books. She was practically idle.
The first two days were alright, but after four or five days of this, Yue'er realized that she was being guarded against and hadn't truly gained anyone's trust. However, for her, successfully entering the Marquis's residence and staying in Lanxin Courtyard was already considered a completed mission; as for the rest—there would be plenty of time in the future.
That day, Ye Pianran went to the Jishi Medical Clinic to study medicine with Liu Luluo, leaving only Ling Shu and Yue'er in her courtyard. With nothing to do, Yue'er strolled around the yard with Ye Pianran's rabbit. She was beaming with delight as she watched the two round bodies rolling on the grass when she suddenly heard a soft sound. Her smile remained unchanged, but she quietly pinched a fallen leaf in her hand and shot it at the rabbit. Startled by the sudden attack, the rabbit trembled, immediately perked up its ears, and hurriedly turned and ran towards a stone archway connecting to the main house of Lanxin Courtyard.
"Oh dear!" Yue'er exclaimed, jumping off the stone table to chase the two rabbits. She was fast, reaching the stone archway in just a few steps. Sure enough, she heard hurried footsteps coming from behind the archway. Her eyes turned cold, and she rushed out of the archway. However, the person was also very quick. She didn't see a single person when she rushed out, only knowing that the footsteps disappeared in the direction of Gongsun Yuan's main house.
With her eyes slightly narrowed, Yue'er bent down, picked up the two trembling rabbits, and turned back to Ye Pianran's courtyard.
That night, as Yue'er, Ling Shu, and Ling Yi were preparing bathwater for Ye Pianran, she casually asked, "Sister Ling Yi, do Madam and Miss not get along well?"
"Why would you ask that? Madam dotes on Miss the most, how could their relationship be bad?" Lingyi frowned and said strangely, "Did you run into someone in the manor, or did you hear some gossip?"
"No, no, no, it wasn't that." Yue'er quickly shook her head. "It was when I was playing with those two little rabbits in the yard today. They got scared of something and suddenly started running away. I was afraid something might happen to the rabbits and the young master would be sad, so I quickly chased after them. But when I got to the gate, I found someone hiding behind the archway, spying on the young lady's yard. She was afraid I would find her, so she ran away in a hurry. I heard the footsteps disappear, and it seemed like they were heading towards the madam, so that's why I had this idea."
Lingyi was startled, her expression instantly turning serious: "Is this true?"