"With you here, I'll be fine," Xia Yunting said, draining a cup of tea as if he were drunk. The flush on his face subsided a little.
"I want to see Xing Jiahui's reaction to that maid. It seems she doesn't know the maid's background."
Rong Zhi asked doubtfully, "You said these four maids were arranged by the steward. What does that have to do with Xing Jiahui? Could it be that the steward and Xing Jiahui are also working together?"
Xia Yunting nodded. "The reason Xing Jie could become Prime Minister was due to the Grand Tutor's support."
"Are you saying that Xing Jiahui, like the steward and Dong Mei, were all sent by the Grand Tutor's mansion to spy on you?"
"Precisely."
Rong Zhi still couldn't understand. "If it's for surveillance, why hire so many people? Wouldn't that easily expose them?"
"I precisely want to test their intentions."
Rong Zhi recalled the scene at the dinner table and understood a little. "You want to create conflict between Xing Jiahui and Dong Mei to find out their ulterior motives?"
Xia Yunting smiled slightly. It was clear that Rong Zhi had guessed correctly.
"Xiao Mo, I'm counting on you for this."
"That's not difficult," Rong Zhi said confidently. "Leave it to me."
When Rong Zhi returned, she saw Dong Mei looking dejected. She deliberately asked, "Dong Mei, how did it go when you served at the banquet?"
Dong Mei was dispirited. She just shook her head and pulled up the covers to sleep, showing no intention of explaining to Rong Zhi.
Rong Zhi thought that this girl did have some tricks up her sleeve, but they were limited. If she were to genuinely compete with Xing Jiahui, she would likely have no chance of winning.
The next day, Rong Zhi approached Xing Jiahui's courtyard and heard a stream of complaints from inside.
"What bad luck, something like this happens right after entering the mansion. I'm afraid I'll never get anywhere from now on."
Another voice, that of wet nurse Gu, said, "Miss, you must hurry and win the General's heart. I see that the vixen in the back courtyard is not being honest. If she gets an opportunity, she'll be stepping all over us."
"I already got medicine from the little doctor in the mansion, but the General isn't coming. What can we do..."
"Miss, the General's affairs can wait. We need to deal with that little tramp first."
"How do we deal with her?"
The voices that followed were very low, but Rong Zhi heard them clearly. Without alerting anyone, she quietly retreated.
Dong Mei was not dressed up or wearing makeup today. She was sweeping the courtyard with a broom, looking dispirited.
The sisters Xia Qiu were watching the fire in the kitchen, far from here.
Before Rong Zhi could speak, Dong Mei suddenly looked up and stared directly at her. "Chun Tao, I've made up my mind. I'm not going to pursue the General anymore. I'm going to follow the Madam."
Rong Zhi was surprised. "Why do you suddenly think like this?"
Dong Mei sighed. "Yesterday, I went to serve the General food, but the General had no interest in me. Moreover, the Madam seems to already resent me. If this continues, let alone becoming a concubine, my life might be in danger. I think I'm destined to be a maid. I've given up on that idea."
These words caught Rong Zhi off guard. Yesterday, Xia Yunting had asked her to watch Dong Mei and investigate her intentions. Today, Dong Mei said she had given up. Was this a joke?
"Have you really made up your mind?"
"Yes, I have. The General is clearly a cold-hearted and unfeeling person. He doesn't even glance at us normally. But if I can become the Madam's personal maid, and accompany her in and out, the General will have to bring the Madam along, and then I'll have a chance to be noticed by him."
Rong Zhi understood. So, she planned to take a circuitous route.
She was quite clever.
"Dong Mei, you should stay away from the Madam."
"Why?" Dong Mei asked, confused.
"Yesterday, I saw you were dispirited and worried something might happen, so I quietly listened outside the Madam's courtyard. I heard the Madam and wet nurse Gu planning to kill you."
"What?" Dong Mei was so frightened by these words that her face turned pale.
This sound also attracted Xia He and Qiu Ju. They ran over to see Dong Mei's pale face and asked what was wrong.
"The Madam wants to kill me," Dong Mei said, her eyes filled with fear.
"It's alright. The steward said that as long as we come in, he can guarantee our safety," Xia He said, patting Dong Mei's shoulder to comfort her.
"Do you still believe the steward? The steward also said we could become concubines, but look what happened," Qiu Ju said angrily.
Although she didn't want to be a concubine, she didn't like being played for a fool.
"I've suspected the steward for a long time. Why would we four ordinary maids be brought into the General's mansion, and told we could become concubines? Don't you find it strange?"
"I find it strange too," Xia He agreed. This was also why they had been behaving themselves since entering the mansion.
Rong Zhi gathered from this that they had no idea why they were brought in.
"Regardless, the steward brought us in for a reason. Since we haven't done anything yet, the steward probably won't let us die so quickly. Dong Mei, why don't we go and ask the steward if he can help us think of a solution?"
At this point, this was the only option. Dong Mei nodded.
When night fell, and the other servants were asleep, Rong Zhi followed Dong Mei and the other two to a spacious room. This was the steward's bedroom.
The courtyard was lit, and Xia Jin was standing at the door, clearly waiting for them intentionally.
"Steward, save me! The Madam wants to kill me!" Dong Mei knelt on the ground as soon as she arrived, her eyes full of helplessness. Rong Zhi, Xia He, and Qiu Ju also knelt down.
They were all brought in by the steward, and their lives were tied to him. Even if they didn't trust him, they could only rely on him.
Xia Jin was not surprised by this situation. Instead, he said with a hint of blame, "I told you, you were too hasty. You revealed your intentions in front of the Madam, so who else can she blame but you?"
"But you told me to do it!"
Dong Mei felt very wronged. If it weren't for the steward's instructions, how would she dare to brazenly flaunt herself in front of Xia Yunting?
"I did tell you, but you also have to act according to the situation. Directly competing with the Madam for someone, how can that work?"
"Then what should I do now?"
"Alas, since I brought you four in, I'll go and plead with them for you. Go back and wait. Everything will be fine."
He waved his hand, and Dong Mei had no choice but to return with the others.
Dong Mei could not sleep that night. Rong Zhi quietly said to her, "I'll go and eavesdrop on what the steward and the Madam are saying."
Dong Mei said, "I'll go too."
"You stay here. It's easy to be discovered if there are too many people. I'll come back and tell you what I hear. I promised before that I would definitely help you."
Rong Zhi gave her a reassuring look, and Dong Mei no longer objected.
"Thank you, Chun Tao."
Seeing Rong Zhi leave the room, the worry on Dong Mei's face subsided slightly. Fortunately, there was still this naive fool helping her.
Rong Zhi left the room and used her qinggong to quickly reach Xing Jiahui's courtyard.
There were hidden guards patrolling the General's mansion. However, Xia Yunting had probably informed them of Rong Zhi's existence, so even though some sensed Rong Zhi moving within the courtyard, they did not come out to stop her.
When she entered the courtyard, Rong Zhi could still see candlelight flickering inside, casting three shadows.
Xia Jin's voice came from within.
"Madam, please behave yourself. A person like the General naturally wouldn't have only one woman. There will naturally be better women to serve the General later. As for you, don't worry about this anymore."
"Xia Jin, what do you mean? The Madam was granted to the General by the Emperor! Don't think you can threaten the Madam just because you've brought in a few vixen."
Wet nurse Gu's voice was not loud, but it was clear she was very angry as she said this.
Xia Jin laughed. "Wet nurse Gu, don't get angry either. You can see the General's attitude towards the Madam now. Who knows what the future holds? Besides, the Madam's beauty is not top-tier in the mansion. Any maid would be better than you."
"Get out!" A series of clattering sounds followed, and Xia Jin was driven out in a sorry state.
Rong Zhi could see through the crack in the door that Xing Jiahui was sitting in the room, furious, while wet nurse Gu was trying to calm her down.
Didn't Xia Jin come to gather information and plead for mercy? Why was he instigating trouble? Based on his tone just now, Dong Mei was surely doomed.
Could it be that he just wanted to create opposition between Dong Mei and Xing Jiahui?
Rong Zhi thought it unlikely. Given Dong Mei's status, it would be too easy for Xing Jiahui to deal with her. If he really wanted someone to oppose Xing Jiahui, there was no need to find someone of such low status. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
Shortly after Xia Jin left, Rong Zhi returned to the room. Dong Mei was still awake and grabbed her as soon as she entered.
"How was it? Did you hear anything?"
"Don't worry, the steward has already pleaded for you. The Madam won't do anything to you."
"That's good." Dong Mei finally relaxed and let out a long sigh.
Rong Zhi, however, couldn't sleep. She couldn't figure out why Xia Jin had brought the four of them in.
Everything seemed to be without a clue, but before Rong Zhi could figure it out, something happened the next day.
Around dawn, Rong Zhi had just fallen into a daze of sleep when she was suddenly shaken awake. "Chun Tao, hurry up and get up! Dong Mei has been captured."
Rong Zhi immediately sobered up, quickly put on her clothes, and went out. She found Xia He and Qiu Ju already dressed.
"Dong Mei was taken to the Madam's courtyard. The Madam looks very angry. I don't know if Dong Mei will be beaten to death!" Xia He said anxiously.
"Let's go and see."
Rong Zhi ran towards Xing Jiahui's courtyard with them.
Before they got close, they heard extremely miserable cries from inside, as well as the dull thuds of a board striking flesh.
Servants were guarding the entrance. They seemed to have expected someone to come, so as soon as they saw Rong Zhi and the others, they blocked them more tightly, showing no intention of letting them approach.
Xia He said, "Dong Mei didn't do anything. How can the Madam just hit people like this? I'll go and reason with them!"
"Wait a moment," Rong Zhi stopped her. Rushing in like this was too reckless. Rong Zhi saw that the two servants behind them were holding sticks. If they forced their way through, someone would inevitably get hurt.
She thought for a moment. "You two go back first. I'll go around from the back and take a look. If the Madam is truly determined to beat Dong Mei to death, our going there will just be sending our lives away for nothing."
Xia He looked at Rong Zhi strangely. Unbeknownst to her, she seemed to no longer recognize this young sister. Clearly, she wasn't that brave at the beginning.
However, it was also possible that she had developed feelings for Dong Mei after spending time with her. Xia He and Qiu Ju did not refuse and went back, looking back repeatedly.
Seeing that the servants at the door were keeping a tight watch, Rong Zhi pretended to walk back. When they couldn't see her, she used her qinggong to jump onto the roof and easily entered the courtyard.