Chapter 172: Xin’er, You’re Truly Too Beautiful
After saying this, Fu Jing turned around and strode toward the palace gate. After showing his waist token, he entered the palace.
“Young Lady, without the Young Master leading us, how are we going to get in?” Fu Qing’s maid saw Fu Jing walk away without looking back, while her own young lady stood motionless by the horse carriage with a twisted expression on her face, and asked anxiously.
Fu Qing swung her hand and slapped her across the face with her palm. “What are you shouting for? Do you think you and I haven’t lost enough face? Help me onto the carriage quickly!”
“Yes, Young Lady.” The little maid lowered her head. A burning pain spread across her face, and a salty, bloody taste surged into her mouth from the corner of her lips. She suppressed the resentment in her heart and carefully helped Fu Qing onto the horse carriage.
After returning home, Fu Qing thought of Mo Ziyuan’s treatment of her as if she were worn-out shoes, feeling as if a ball of fire was burning in her heart. She couldn’t suppress the malice all over her body. The maid who had been slapped on the ear was terrified. When she accidentally spilled a few drops of tea water onto Fu Qing’s hand while pouring tea, she was so scared that she immediately knelt down, kowtowing nonstop while begging for mercy.
However, Fu Qing, who had finally found an outlet for her anger, would not let her off easily. She kicked her to the ground and picked up the whip full of barbs, starting to lash it onto the maid.
The shrill screams reached the courtyard. The servants walked with extreme caution, fearing they would make any noise that might disturb the one in the room and bring a lashing upon themselves.
After about the time it takes to burn one incense stick, the increasingly weak screams in the room finally stopped, followed immediately by Fu Qing’s voice: “Someone come.”
The servants looked at each other, and with their gazes they selected four unlucky ones who tremblingly walked into the room. Soon, two of them carried out the little maid, who was a bloody mess of flesh, with fresh blood still dripping onto the ground as they walked. Everyone closed their eyes unwillingly, and no one dared to make a sound.
“Lock that cheap maid in the wood shed. No one is allowed to care for her.” From inside the room, Fu Qing’s voice sounded again. The two carrying the little maid turned their steps toward the wood shed.
The room was cleaned up, the windows were opened for ventilation, and incense was lit. The bloody smell was soon mostly dispelled. Fu Qing sat sullenly in the chair, fondling a teacup in her hand, lost in thought.
Mo Ziyuan arrived at the house granted to Lin Xin by the Emperor. Looking at the heavy wooden door, he thought for a moment and did not go knock. Instead, he went around to the back door and flipped over the wall.
“Eh? Big Brother Mo, how did you get in?” Lin Nan spotted him first, his little mouth opening wide as he asked.
“I was afraid you wouldn’t hear if I knocked, so I flipped over the wall,” Mo Ziyuan told the truth. He looked around and saw only Lin Nan, so he asked, “Where’s your sister?”
“I’m here.” Lin Xin poked her head out from the small kitchen. “You’re here!”
“Mm, I’m here.” Mo Ziyuan walked over and saw Lin Xin tying an old piece of clothing around her as she tidied the stove. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Don’t bother with it. How could you possibly finish it all by yourself? I’ll take you to buy some servants! And your house is too big. I didn’t even dare knock when I arrived and just flipped over the wall.”
Lin Xin was amused by him. She put down the rag in her hand and said, “Alright, then wait for me to change clothes and we’ll go!”
She didn’t like fussing with these things. Back in the village, she had no choice, and there weren’t many people or much space. Now with such a big house, if she really had to clean it herself, she figured she’d eventually go on strike.
“Alright, think about how many people you roughly need.”
“It doesn’t need to be too many! Just three or five to take responsibility for cleaning the courtyard, and one to take responsibility for cooking would be enough.” Lin Xin thought for a moment and said.
Mo Ziyuan rubbed her head and withdrew his hand before she glared at him, smiling as he said to her, “That’s not enough.” Then he counted on his fingers for her: “First, you need a gatekeeper, otherwise you won’t hear people knocking. Then there’s the ones you mentioned for cleaning, for the kitchen, for washing clothes, plus ones to serve you and Nan Nan, and guards. All added up, it’ll be at least thirty or fifty.”
“Ah? That many?” Lin Xin subconsciously didn’t want so many people at home.
“This is just the beginning. I don’t know what reward Your Majesty will give you, but it’s sure to elevate your status a bit. At that time, he’ll probably grant you a few capable people as well.”
“And also to monitor me?” Thinking of the novels she had read, Lin Xin instantly felt it was bad, even having the thought of fleeing back to the village.
“What are you thinking about in that little head of yours all day? Why would a perfectly fine Your Majesty monitor you?” Mo Ziyuan gently knocked her forehead.
“Then why would he perfectly fine give me people?”
“Once Little Highness’s identity is announced, you’ll naturally appear in everyone’s sight. At that time, you’ll have to deal with the ladies in the capital city. The people Your Majesty gives you will help you integrate with them faster, and they can also tell you about some taboos in the capital city, so you don’t unintentionally offend people.”
“No way, I have to deal with those women who scheme and plot all day and speak in twists and turns? Can’t I just live my own quiet life? How about I go back to the village!” Lin Xin suddenly felt life was hopeless.
Mo Ziyuan shrugged, pinpointing her weak spot precisely: “But can you feel at ease leaving Tao Tao alone in the palace?”
“I…” Lin Xin was speechless. She really wasn’t at ease. Although the new Emperor’s imperial harem didn’t have many people yet, once the mourning period for the late Emperor passed, new people would enter one after another. At that time, a legitimate son of the former Empress would be a living target.
“Alright, stop thinking. Hurry up! Once you select the people early, you can free up time to pay more attention to Tao Tao.”
“Fine, anyway you’re the local expert. I’ll just listen to you.” Lin Xin said despairingly. She always felt that the laid-back days she yearned for were getting farther and farther away, and the culprit behind all this was the fox-like smiling Mo Ziyuan right in front of her!
“Hmph!” Lin Xin huffed in annoyance and turned to go into the room to change clothes.
“What’s up with your sister?” Mo Ziyuan, baffled by the huff, lowered his head to ask Lin Nan.
“Probably you made her angry.” Lin Nan answered very maturely.
“Me? Made her angry?” Mo Ziyuan was baffled. “No!”
Lin Nan shook his head helplessly. “Then I don’t know. You have to figure that out yourself.”
Mo Ziyuan: “…” For some reason, he felt like you were gloating.
Lin Xin took a quick battle shower in the space, blow-dried her hair, and came out in a water-red dress. Her lotus-emerging-from-water-like delicate beauty left Mo Ziyuan stunned.
“What are you looking at? Let’s go!” Lin Xin rolled her eyes arrogantly.
“Let’s go, let’s go, right away.” Mo Ziyuan agreed verbally, but his gaze never left her body. “Xin’er, you’re really too beautiful.”
“Hmph hmph…”
