The Night Watcher of Great Jing - Chapter 15

Zhao Li did not know whether the guard had been stationed there specifically to block her from approaching the study.

She did not care. Nor did she plan to involve herself in the dangers of factional politics. She had only struck at the Zhao family because the opportunity presented itself.

Making money and living a stable life were her true goals.

The guard led her back to the courtyard.

Zhao Li stopped when she saw the plaque hanging over the gate.

Pear Garden Courtyard?

Had the courtyard where she slept last night even possessed a plaque? She was sure it had not been called that.

Then she entered and froze again.

In less than a day, the place had transformed.

Many exotic flowers and plants had been added to the garden, their roots surrounded by freshly turned earth.

Ink-patterned gauze lanterns with dangling pearls and jade now hung from the lintels and covered walkways.

Several maids hurried back and forth.

Yesterday, the courtyard had been elegant but lifeless. Now it felt entirely different.

A kindly looking middle-aged woman came forward with a warm smile and bowed.

“Miss A-Li, you have returned?”

Her tone and manner were natural, practiced, and intimate.

Such immediate familiarity made Zhao Li slow to respond.

Had she failed to receive all the original owner’s memories and forgotten an acquaintance?

Seeing her hesitation, the woman smiled.

“My surname is Wan. You may call me Matron Wan. I serve in this courtyard. If you need anything, please tell me.”

Then she added, “A meal is waiting in the hall. You must be hungry.”

After wiping her face and hands with a warm cloth, Zhao Li followed Matron Wan to the table.

The meal was simple: two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes.

There were cold-dressed cucumber, stir-fried sword beans, and a plate of roast duck with the bones removed. In the center sat a glossy red dish of braised ribs garnished with a few tender scallions.

Zhao Li’s eyes lit up.

Matron Wan, who had been watching her, smiled.

She served Zhao Li a heaping bowl of red-grained rice.

A maid in a blue satin jacket stepped forward to place food in Zhao Li’s bowl.

Zhao Li rejected the pointless ceremony.

Better to rely on one’s own hands. She picked up a still-warm rib.

The ribs had been braised in a clay pot until they soaked up the salty, savory sauce and fell tenderly from the bone.

Placed on white rice, every bite filled her with satisfaction.

The maid holding the serving chopsticks paused.

She looked at Zhao Li’s dusty jacket, its surface snagged and fuzzed by the thorns on Mount Jin. Her lips curled, and contempt flashed through her eyes.

Rumor said this Miss Zhao had been raised in a military family in a Liaodong border town. Looking at her now, she truly lacked the bearing of a noble young lady.

The maid set down her chopsticks heavily and retreated one step.

When Zhao Li continued eating in great mouthfuls, the maid’s contempt deepened.

A country bumpkin, indeed.

Zhao Li noticed but had no time to care.

Rules, deportment, reputation—when she crawled out of the Zhao estate, she had crumpled them all together and thrown them in the trash.

Anyone who wanted those rules could follow them. For Zhao Li, food in her mouth was what healed the heart.

Under the horrified gazes of the surrounding maids, she finished every dish on the table with her rice.

At last, she set down her bowl with a satisfied sigh.

Then she looked at Matron Wan.

“I eat quite a lot. I hope I did not embarrass myself.”

“Not at all. At your age, you should eat properly.”

Matron Wan was being sincere.

Zhao Li had an enormous appetite, but her table manners were good.

She neither smacked her lips nor spilled soup and food everywhere.

Her cheeks puffed as she earnestly ate every grain of rice, inspiring a strange happiness in those who watched.

Zhao Li did not know she had just won herself a fan of her one-woman eating show.

She smiled.

“Matron Wan, you said I could give you instructions if I needed anything, correct?”

“Then please get rid of her.”

Zhao Li pointed at the maid in the blue satin jacket.

“Do not let her appear before me again.”

The maid froze, then stepped aside resentfully.

“This servant does not know how she offended you, miss. Please be magnanimous and forgive me.”

“No.” Zhao Li smiled and shook her head. “I am petty, and I hold grudges.”

The maid had not expected such an answer.

“But this servant belongs to the Shen residence. You cannot dispose of me with a single sentence.”

“Naturally, I have no authority to punish a servant of Lord Shen’s household.”

“But I’m not asking anyone to beat, kill, or sell you.” Zhao Li shrugged. “I just don’t want to look at you. Surely I’m allowed that much, right, Matron Wan?”

Amusement entered Matron Wan’s eyes.

She had also seen the maid’s improper behavior.

She had already intended to deal with someone so incapable of understanding her place.

She had not expected Miss A-Li to be so decisive, truly refusing to leave any grudge overnight.

“Whatever do you mean, miss?”

Matron Wan handed Zhao Li jasmine tea to cleanse her palate.

“For fear you might not feel comfortable using them, the indenture contracts of every maid and manservant here were transferred from the Shen residence. They all belong to you, and naturally, you may dispose of them as you see fit.”

The information in her words stunned everyone present.

The maid’s mouth fell open in disbelief.

Her arrogance had rested entirely on the belief that she remained a servant of the Shen residence.

Even a prime minister’s gatekeeper was said to rank as a seventh-grade official. The Shen family possessed towering power, and its servants naturally carried a little more pride.

But she had never imagined…

Zhao Li had not imagined it either.

At present, she hardly had an identity that would inspire complete trust. Sending a steward and servants to monitor her would have been perfectly normal.

The fact that her future superior cared whether she felt safe with them was a good sign.

“Then I’ll leave her to you, Matron Wan. Send her far, far away.”

Zhao Li happily became a hands-off master.

Matron Wan surely had far more experience dealing with such matters.

As for what would happen to the maid?

Zhao Li had no heart to spare and could not care.

Well fed, she turned toward her room. She intended to organize her belongings and, if possible, take a bath.

“Rest assured.”

Matron Wan watched her leave. Only then did she turn, her warm smile settling on the maid in blue satin.

“Matron, save me!” The maid threw herself at Matron Wan’s feet. “Send me back to the Shen residence, Matron.”

Matron Wan’s kindly smile did not change. She stroked the maid’s hair.

“A servant must understand her own station.”

Hearing the admonishment, the maid believed she had grasped a lifeline and meekly rested her head against Matron Wan’s leg.

“I understand! Save me this once, Matron, and I will honor you like my own mother.”

“What a good child. How thoughtful.”

Matron Wan stroked her shoulders and back as though petting a dog.

But her next words plunged the maid into an abyss of ice.

“A servant must also obey. Whatever the master says, you carry it out properly.”

“Matron!”

“Do not worry. The young lady said she does not want you beaten or killed.”

Matron Wan summoned several guards to drag the maid away.

She was only being sent to pound rice in the remote border countryside she despised.

After the cries faded, Matron Wan folded her hands inside her sleeves and swept her gaze across the remaining servants, who stood silent as winter cicadas.

“Do you remember how a servant should perform her duty?”

Every maid answered in a trembling voice.

Matron Wan looked toward the direction Zhao Li had gone and covered a smile with her hand.