Wen Yining shut down the computer and was about to go downstairs for dinner. She had just stepped out of the study when someone suddenly appeared and startled her.
“Miss Wen.”
A servant who looked to be in her fifties stood outside the door. Who knew how long she’d been waiting there? “Mr. Pei asked me to see to your meals.”
“…”
See to them?
More like keep an eye on her.
“Auntie, what should I call you?”
Wen Yining asked as they walked.
“Just call me Nanny He, miss.”
Nanny He replied while secretly sizing up Miss Wen, trying to judge her mistress’s temperament from her words and mannerisms.
When they reached the dining room, Wen Yining realized that all the maids throughout the villa had been replaced by women around fifty.
“…”
Considering Pei Xiao’s looks, was fifty really old enough? Even eighty wouldn’t be old enough, would it?
What a pointless precaution.
Soon, more than a dozen dishes, each a feast for the eyes and nose as well as the palate, were brought to the table one after another—far more food than one person could finish.
“Nanny He, have you eaten? Would you like to join me?”
Wen Yining asked, chopsticks in hand.
Nanny He hurriedly waved her hands. “I couldn’t possibly, miss. Please eat by yourself.”
“…”
Wen Yining didn’t press her. She picked up her chopsticks and dug in, asking between bites, “Nanny He, how long have you been working in this line?”
At that, Nanny He gave an awkward smile. “I only started this year.”
“I see…”
Wen Yining’s curiosity faded.
She’d been thinking that people in domestic service tended to hear all sorts of things. Maybe Nanny He would know some of the Lu family’s juicy secrets—just the thing to make mealtime more entertaining.
Now it seemed there was no chance.
The room fell quiet. For a while, the only sound was the crisp clink of chopsticks against bowls.
Standing to one side, Nanny He watched the plate of stir-fried carrot strips gradually empty and couldn’t help asking, “Miss, do you like carrots?”
“…”
Uh…
Wen Yining was in a bind.
She couldn’t say she didn’t like them, or there wouldn’t be any next time. But saying she did like them would be an outright lie.
In the end, her fear of pregnancy won out. Guilt-stricken, Wen Yining lowered her head and said, “Yes.”
At her answer, a faint smile appeared on Nanny He’s slightly weathered face. “You’re just like my daughter, miss. She loved carrots too.”
“You have a daughter, Nanny He?”
Wen Yining engaged her with interest. “Then she must be quite a bit older than me.”
Anyone applying for a live-in maid position would surely have grown children—at least old enough to work and support themselves.
“I do. I’d guess she was about your age, miss. But she passed away at the beginning of the year.”
“…”
Wen Yining’s hand stiffened around her chopsticks.
Passed away…
Did she mean she was gone?
Wen Yining looked at Nanny He. Her face was perfectly calm, but a shadow of sadness lingered in her eyes.
“It’s all in the past,” Nanny He said with a bitter smile.
“…”
It felt as if an invisible force had seized Wen Yining’s heart and squeezed hard.
After a while, she said, “Nanny He, I’ll keep you company and chat this afternoon.”
She’d planned to start figuring out how to escape that afternoon, so she wouldn’t be violated by that man tonight. But guilt was making her hesitate…
If she escaped, what would happen to Nanny He? Would Pei Xiao kill an innocent person?
“Miss…”
Nanny He’s voice wavered, as if she hadn’t expected Wen Yining to be willing to chat with a servant. “Do you like flying kites?”
“…”
Kites? Was that code for going outside?
Wen Yining was taken aback. “Nanny He, didn’t the housekeeper tell you before you came that I’m not allowed to leave?”
Nanny He glanced out the window. The early-summer scenery was lush and full of life. She spoke slowly. “He did… but you can’t stay cooped up in the house forever, miss. You’ll go stir-crazy.”
“…”
Following Nanny He’s gaze to the freedom outside, Wen Yining suggested, “Then how about we sneak out while the housekeeper isn’t looking?”
If there was a chance to take Nanny He with her when she escaped, all the better.
“Oh, that’s exactly what I was thinking. As long as you’re not afraid, miss.”
Nanny He smiled warmly at her.
“…”
Wasn’t Nanny He a little too bold for a villa maid?
Good. She liked that.
Wen Yining put down her chopsticks and eagerly prepared to go upstairs to gather the essentials. Then she remembered something, turned around, and asked, “Nanny He, are there any kites here?”
Nanny He, who was clearing the dishes, looked up and replied, “Don’t worry. Nanny He can make one.”
“…”
She could make one?
Wen Yining hadn’t expected Nanny He to have that kind of skill. That settled it.
“Wonderful, Nanny He. Then let’s leave in five minutes,” Wen Yining said excitedly, turning and running up the stairs as an escape plan began to take shape in her mind.
Beside the dining table, Nanny He watched her disappearing figure on the stairs, lost in memory.
Miss was just like her Nannan: she liked carrots, liked flying kites, and had the same smooth, long black hair…
…
In Jiangcheng’s CBD, skyscrapers stretched into the clouds. Among them stood a glass building: Lu Pharmaceutical Group.
Ling Yi carried a folder into the president’s office, walked up to the desk, and set it down.
“Master Xiao, he’s confessed. Second Madam Yang Yahui was behind the assassination. Should we send him to Chairman Lu?”
“…”
Pei Xiao stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, his back to Ling Yi as he watched the traffic below. He gave a self-mocking laugh. “What does it matter if the son of a woman who betrayed him gets killed?”
Ling Yi knew he’d spoken out of turn. With a thud, he dropped to his knees. “Master Xiao, when we get back, I’ll punish myself with three lashes.”
How could he have been so stupid? If Chairman Lu truly valued Master Xiao as his son, how could he have handed Lu Pharmaceuticals over to him?
Of all the subsidiaries under Lu Corporation, Lu Pharmaceuticals had the lowest annual revenue. After all… how could a family that had spent centuries consolidating its power through bloodshed have any real foundation in pharmaceuticals?
“Enough. If you’re laid up afterward, who’ll take care of things for me?”
Pei Xiao turned around, opened the folder, and began skimming through the documents.
“Yes.”
Ling Yi got to his feet and waited to one side, silently praying that Master Xiao wouldn’t fly into a rage when he saw the report.
Five minutes later, Pei Xiao set down the folder and sat in his chair. In a casual tone, he said, “That’s all?”
“…”
Ling Yi was at a loss for words.
Fifty percent of the senior management at Lu Pharmaceuticals had been infiltrated by Second Madam, and another twenty percent by Third Madam. More than half the company wasn’t under Master Xiao’s control. And he was asking, “That’s… all?”
“Uh… yes.”
He bowed his head as he answered.
“…”
Pei Xiao rested one hand casually against his chin, tapping it slowly with his index finger.
After a long pause, he said thoughtfully, “Look into Yang Yahui’s son.”
That old fox was obsessed with profit. What could he possibly find harder to bear than a loss of money?
“Yes, Master Xiao.”
Ling Yi was about to leave the office when he heard the man’s voice behind him—
“What is she doing?”