Chapter 50: Miss Wan Jing
The next morning, not long after Li Xuedong went to school, Wan Jing came to the door.
Li Yin Zhu followed to the courtyard entrance. Without stepping over the threshold, she stretched her neck to watch Li Xiao Nan follow Wan Jing around the alley entrance. Once they were out of sight, she closed the courtyard gate and went to work in the backyard.
Li Xiao Nan followed Wan Jing to the entrance of the tea house. Wan Jing stopped, and Li Xiao Nan continued forward, almost bumping into Gu Yan.
“Little girl, what are you looking at over there?” Gu Yan blocked her with his folding fan against Li Xiao Nan’s shoulder.
“I’m not looking at anything.” Li Xiao Nan walked around Gu Yan and headed for their usual seat.
“Where are you going!” Gu Yan quickly stepped back, using his folding fan to block Li Xiao Nan’s shoulder.
“To class.” Li Xiao Nan pointed to their usual table.
“Let’s change our class location today.” Gu Yan used his folding fan to push Li Xiao Nan to turn towards him. “Have you been to the Beixing Wharf?”
Li Xiao Nan shook her head.
“That flow calculation you mentioned last time, it should be applicable to the wharf, right?
“The Beixing Wharf is always very crowded. When ships arrive at the wharf, they have to wait one or two days, or even three or four days, to get in line to unload cargo. Yesterday, I replaced the person directing the wharf unloading with a young man. How about we have today’s class at the Beixing Wharf? You can help me see if the young man’s dispatching is effective.” Gu Yan said with a smile.
“Calculating wharf unloading is very complex; it’s not something you can figure out just by looking.” Li Xiao Nan paused. “Let’s go take a look first, and it won’t count as class.”
“Whether it counts as class or not, you decide.” Gu Yan turned his folding fan, unfurled it, and led the way out of the tea house.
Gu Yan got on his horse. Li Xiao Nan and Wan Jing were in a cart. The cart left the tea house, paused briefly, and then slowly headed towards the Beixing Wharf.
Wan Jing knelt with her knees bent in a corner at the front of the cart. Li Xiao Nan watched her and tried to kneel in the same way, but gave up after a moment; it was too uncomfortable.
Li Xiao Nan tried a few positions, none of which were comfortable. Finally, she bent her legs, pulled her skirt down to cover them, hugged her legs, and smiled at Wan Jing, who had been watching her.
Wan Jing averted her gaze and looked at the closed cart door.
Li Xiao Nan rested her hands, one on top of the other, on her knees, her chin on the back of her hands, and carefully observed Wan Jing.
“What are you looking at!” Wan Jing became agitated by Li Xiao Nan’s gaze.
“You manage clothes for your master, do you manage everything from the outside to the inside? How do you manage? Do you have to, you know, change his clothes and things every day?” Li Xiao Nan asked with a smile.
She was simply too curious.
Was this Miss Wan Jing like Xi Ren, who served Bao Yu in “Dream of the Red Chamber”?
“What nonsense are you talking about!” Wan Jing’s eyebrows shot up.
“Huh? You manage clothes, that’s what Shi Gun said. You didn’t say it wasn’t true then!” Li Xiao Nan’s eyebrows also rose.
“Shi Gun said I manage the fabric storeroom, referring to a task. What did you mean by what you just said? And ‘you know, you know,’ what did you mean by that!” Wan Jing glared at Li Xiao Nan.
“I didn’t mean anything.” Li Xiao Nan’s eyebrows lowered, and she shrunk her neck.
Her intended meaning was indeed too obvious.
“I just meant…”
“Just what! I didn’t expect you to be so vulgar!” Wan Jing seemed furious.
“How am I vulgar?” Li Xiao Nan straightened her neck. “I just asked how you manage clothes. ‘You know, you know’ is because I didn’t know how to say it. Where did your mind go? You’re the one who’s vulgar! And yes, your master is so handsome!”
“You!” Wan Jing was so angry her finger was pointing.
“Shh!” Li Xiao Nan put a finger to her lips, signaling Wan Jing to be quiet. “If people outside hear us arguing, will you be in trouble?”
“Of course, I’ll be in trouble!” Wan Jing’s voice immediately lowered. “Our manor has very strict rules.”
“Strict or not, it depends on the person. Your master…”
Meeting Wan Jing’s angry gaze, Li Xiao Nan immediately changed her words. “I mean that master, he seems to treat you very well.”
“Treat me well, my foot!” Wan Jing gritted her teeth.
“He doesn’t treat you well? Then why did that master only bring you out?” Li Xiao Nan scratched her head a little.
From the first time they met, she felt that Wan Jing had a grievance.
“I don’t mean anything else. I’m not good at speaking, and I don’t understand the customs of your wealthy families. My family is very poor. Before my brother became a Xiucai scholar, we only ate meat once a year, at most twice.” Li Xiao Nan changed her approach.
“Our manor’s rules are that no maids serve the masters. Those who serve closely by our Young Lord’s side are all eunuchs.” Wan Jing also calmed down.
“Eunuchs?” Li Xiao Nan’s eyes widened.
Wan Jing glanced sideways at Li Xiao Nan and grunted through her nose.
“So, ‘you know, you know’?”
“Which ‘you know, you know’? They all came from the palace.” Wan Jing rolled her eyes at Li Xiao Nan.
“I can’t tell.” Li Xiao Nan thought carefully about the people around Gu Yan. She really couldn’t tell which ones were eunuchs and which weren’t.
“They haven’t taken off their clothes, so of course you can’t tell.” Wan Jing rolled her eyes at Li Xiao Nan again.
Li Xiao Nan chuckled. “That’s true. Is that master really royalty?”
Wan Jing gave Li Xiao Nan a big eye-roll. “What are you saying! Could that be fake? Our Young Lord grew up with the Crown Prince!”
“Wow!” Li Xiao Nan was genuinely impressed. This was truly impressive.
“I thought he was a swindler, but…” Li Xiao Nan looked at Wan Jing and frowned. Wan Jing was that Gu Yan’s person!
Wan Jing rolled her eyes upwards.
“Anyone who dares to impersonate the Heir of Prince Rui in Pingjiang City doesn’t want to live! Our manor has a villa in Pingjiang City.” Wan Jing rolled her eyes at Li Xiao Nan again.
“Let me ask you.” Li Xiao Nan moved forward, and forward again, until she was next to Wan Jing. She leaned forward, lowering her voice significantly. “How does your Young Lord know me? Do you know?”
Wan Jing shook her head.
“Then help me think, why would he know me? This is too strange, isn’t it?” Li Xiao Nan continued.
“Our Young Lord had a serious illness before the New Year. After he recovered.” Wan Jing paused, leaned her head towards the cart door, listened for a moment, and then continued: “Shi Gun said that after the Young Lord recovered, he would have fits from time to time.”
“Ah!” Li Xiao Nan forcefully controlled herself, finally managing not to cry out. “That, that, do you think Shi Gun is right?”
“He just has fits from time to time!” Wan Jing said indignantly. “Let me tell you, originally, the Young Lord’s fabric storeroom was managed by Aunt Cao. Aunt Cao managed it perfectly well. Before the Young Lord went south, he suddenly told Aunt Cao to go to the main storeroom and specifically asked me to take over. Tell me, isn’t that a fit!”
“You weren’t originally by your Young Lord’s side?” Li Xiao Nan propped up her chin.
“Of course not! I learned weaving and dyeing from my third aunt since I was young. I was supposed to become a weaving manager! I never intended to enter the manor to serve; it’s so annoying!” Wan Jing pressed her face with one hand.
“Is being a weaving manager better than managing your Young Lord’s fabric storeroom? Your Young Lord is so powerful, isn’t it better to be closer to him? That…” Li Xiao Nan’s subsequent words trailed off, not daring to ask.
In the few popular novels she had read, weren’t the greatest wishes of maids to get into their master’s bed, become a concubine, and have a son to complete their life?
“What’s good about being close? Tell me, what’s good about being close?” Wan Jing retorted to Li Xiao Nan, clearly annoyed.
“Well, your Young Lord is so handsome, with three wives and four concubines and all that.” Li Xiao Nan gave a dry laugh.
“Poor families like yours only think about becoming a rich man’s concubine!” Wan Jing retorted impolitely. “When I was young, I was also served by maids and old women, and my parents doted on me. If I don’t find a spouse of suitable match, why would I become someone’s concubine? Am I out of my mind?”
Li Xiao Nan leaned back from Wan Jing’s outburst.
The cart jolted and stopped. Gu Yan jumped down from the crossbar in front of the cart door, patted his long gown, and signaled Shi Gun.
Shi Gun quickly called out, “Miss Wan Jing, we’ve arrived.”
