"The visitor is a matron who accompanied the Lady from Jiangnan. However, she didn't serve directly under the Lady in the Yu family but was an elderly servant from the Lady's elder aunt's courtyard."
Pu Qing was Xiao Chu's personal attendant, spending most of his time either on the road or in military camps with his master. Previously, he hadn't paid much attention to household affairs. But now that there was a Lady Yu in the residence, and fearing she might harbor ill intentions, he began monitoring even the trivial matters within the estate.
Especially the comings and goings around Mi Yao.
"The Lady dislikes this Mama Luo. She sent her away to a distant post shortly after arriving at the residence. Today, when the servants came to pay respects, Mama Luo was absent. The Lady likely intends to use this as pretext to punish her."
Hearing how naturally Pu Qing referred to her as "the Lady," Xiao Chu grew curious about the size of the red envelope Mi Yao had given him.
It had apparently changed his attitude, making him less guarded toward Mi Yao.
Having set down his chopsticks, Xiao Chu had no intention of resuming his meal.
"Let her in."
Hearing his master's command, Pu Qing became more convinced of Lady Yu's special status. In the past, his master would have been most annoyed by such clamorous women, yet today he was willing to receive Mama Luo.
Mama Luo had finally managed to escape the servants guarding her, but just as she was about to reach Xiao Chu, she was stopped again by guards who seemed to appear out of nowhere.
These stern-faced guards carried swords at their waists, clearly different from ordinary household servants. Their deadly aura alone made her tremble with fear without anyone needing to physically restrain her.
But realizing that if she failed to see Xiao Chu today, she might truly be forced by Mi Yao to perform menial labor, she gathered her courage upon noticing the guards showed no intention of striking her, and began pleading her case.
When she learned Xiao Chu was willing to see her, her face lit up with joy. She dusted off her clothes, wiped her tears, and entered the room.
"Town Envoy, you must save this old servant! I've been wronged!"
Unlike Mama Fan who had heard of Xiao Chu's methods and feared his imposing presence, Mama Luo wasn't too intimidated to speak. The moment she entered, she began wailing loudly, pleading her injustice and accusing Mi Yao of acting recklessly.
"You old crone, bursting in here shouting and making noise with no sense of propriety! It seems you deserve a beating first!"
At Pu Qing's angry rebuke, Mama Luo immediately fell silent.
Kneeling on the floor, she cautiously stole glances at Xiao Chu's expression. Seeing his calm demeanor showed no intention of sending her away, she wiped her tears and spoke properly: "This old servant isn't without manners, it's just that I've been terribly wronged! Town Envoy, I was specially assigned by the Yu family elders to be the Lady's matron, to teach her how to properly serve you. But the Lady found me meddlesome, ignored my guidance, and drove me away from her side… I've been wronged!"
"Teach her how to serve me?"
Xiao Chu took a sip of fragrant tea. Hearing this, he knew this old servant had indeed proven useless.
"Yes, my duty was to instruct the Lady in serving elders and attending to your needs. When I heard you slept in separate rooms from the Lady on your second day of marriage, I felt I had failed the family's trust!"
Having been driven away by Mi Yao, Mama Luo had initially been fearful. But seeing Xiao Chu clearly disliked Mi Yao and refused to share a bedroom with her, she regained her spirit. "The Lady has been spoiled by her beauty since childhood and has developed quite a temper. I remember once at a poetry banquet hosted by the Prefect's wife, some arrangement didn't suit her fancy, and she overturned the table right then, showing no regard for the occasion or the Prefect's wife's dignity, nearly causing conflict between the Yu family and the Prefectural Residence."
"Oh."
When the scout wrote this report, he felt it didn't seem like something Mi Yao would do. While her temper wasn't exactly docile, she wasn't that foolish either. However, after witnessing her attitude toward Pan, he thought there was nothing she wouldn't do.
She was like a Persian hound who bullies others relying on its master's power – barking recklessly at anyone she disliked based entirely on how much backing she had.
Though foolish, paired with her striking appearance, it wasn't too repulsive.
"I don't know what offense Madam committed to anger the Town Envoy, but wrongdoing deserves punishment. Since the Town Envoy hesitates to speak out due to consideration for the Yu family, this old servant can be of use!"
Mama Luo sought to make Xiao Chu perceive her as being on his side through tattling. If he would grant her authority, she would severely discipline Mi Yao, molding her into an obedient and submissive wife for him.
But after speaking at length until her mouth was parched, she received no commitment from Xiao Chu. Sneaking a glance upward, she saw he still wore that indifferent expression.
"Town Envoy, if no one supervises Madam's temperament, it will only grow increasingly unseemly. She knowingly acts against your dislike of people getting too close to the Little young master and young ladies – not only keeping the young lady by her side but now becoming quite intimate with the Second young master as well. If this continues, the Second young master will only become less masculine, weeping and wailing, growing into the very disposition the Town Envoy most detests."
Mama Luo hadn't been idle these past few days at Xiao Manor.
Using her status, she gathered information everywhere. Xiao Chu's coldness toward his three children was no secret, and Mi Yao's actions completely crossed his boundaries.
Even as their blood relative, Xiao Chu rarely bothered with the children – how could he like an outsider woman being affectionate with them?
She even suspected the reason they occupied separate rooms right after their wedding night was because Mi Yao overstepped and meddled unnecessarily.
Indeed, when she mentioned Xiao Shan and the others, Xiao Chu finally showed some reaction. His gaze sharp as a blade, his lips pressed tightly together.
But for her future prospects, she clenched her hands and continued relentlessly: "Madam must be throwing a tantrum, deliberately angering the Town Envoy by approaching the Little young master and young lady. If no one guides and admonishes her, this prolonged behavior bodes ill…"
Mama Luo rambled to this point.
She didn't refute, merely lightened her steps and crossed the threshold.
Pu Qing looked toward her.
Meeting Xiao Chu's cold stare, Mi Yao flashed him a silent smile.
Completely unaware that the subject of her slander stood behind her, Mama Luo, sensing that mentioning the children provoked Xiao Chu's reaction, kept harping on them.
"By defending the Second young master, Madam makes him think he can look down on others relying on family status! Won't the Second young master become a good-for-nothing wastrel then!"
Xiao Chu had long grown weary of Mama Luo's nagging. He refrained from immediately dismissing her only because he wanted to see what Mi Yao would do when she arrived. Now seeing her enter without uttering a word, clearly she intended to do nothing.
"If you can't adapt to life in Yi Zhou, return to Jiangnan."
"Town Envoy!"
Mama Luo couldn't believe her ears. After all her talking, instead of disciplining Mi Yao, Xiao Chu was sending her away?!
She refused to believe Xiao Chu could be that tolerant. Then it occurred to her – his words might not refer to her. Prostrating on the floor, she wailed: "The Town Envoy forged a marital alliance with the Yu family! After the Yus sent their daughter a thousand miles to Yi Zhou for this marriage, how can it be broken off so casually? However angered the Town Envoy might be, you can't send the young lady back to Jiangnan!"
"When did I say I would send Lady Yu back?"
Mama Luo froze.
"You are the Yu Family Head's subordinate. Though it's troublesome, I'm willing to give the Town Envoy some face by sending you back the way you came."
Without giving Mama Luo another chance to speak, Xiao Chu had Pu Qing step forward to gag her and drag her out directly.
"What a pity to lose a menial laborer."
As Mama Luo was being dragged away by Pu Qing, Mi Yao noticed her wide-eyed stare as if seeing a ghost and chuckled, "The young master had someone retrieve this old slave's deed of sale from my place and return it to my uncle along with her."
After speaking, she approached Xiao Chu. Catching a glimpse of the dishes on the table from the corner of her eye, she seemed to have guessed part of the reason why Xiao Chu had agreed to see Mama Luo.
Before coming here, she never imagined Mama Luo would actually get to see Xiao Chu.
Xiao Chu clearly avoided women's quarrels whenever possible. Knowing full well that Mama Luo sought an audience to complain and make trouble, why would he agree to see her?
Her specific purpose in coming was recalling Xiao Chu's warning about properly managing the inner household or facing military discipline.
She thought she might as well come over after eating, with nothing better to do, to play coy.
Little did she expect to witness such an unexpected scene. Since Xiao Chu had received Mama Luo, she didn't want to take responsibility herself, preferring to see how Xiao Chu would handle Mama Luo.
She also wanted to sound out how Xiao Chu viewed her closeness with Xiao Shan and the others.
"The Town Envoy treats me so well, solving a major problem for me."
Mi Yao settled onto Xiao Chu's lap, wrapping her arms around his neck as she gazed at him with seductive, silken eyes.
"Let go."
"But why? There's no one else here."
Pu Qing, who didn't know whether he counted as "someone else," paused his foot at the doorway. Having delegated the task of disposing of Mama Luo, he had hurried back hoping to see how his master would reprimand Lady Yu. He never expected that in just moments, Lady Yu would end up sitting on his master's lap.
Seeing that although his master told her to let go, Lady Yu didn't comply, and he showed no intention of throwing her off, Pu Qing silently retreated, abandoning his plan to enter the room.
Xiao Chu possessed extraordinary hearing. While Mi Yao remained unaware, he detected his subordinate's advance and retreat.
He frowned, "Have you no bones of your own?"
Unable to sit properly by herself, she insisted on clinging to his embrace.
"My bones turn to jelly at the sight of the Town Envoy. Otherwise, how could I be called a delicate wife?"
Hearing her use a different term today—no longer "delicate flower" but "delicate wife"—though it still grated on his ears, it was slightly better than her constantly using his own words as a shield.
Mi Yao hadn't expected to accidentally voice aloud what she usually muttered to herself internally about being a delicate wife.
Noticing Xiao Chu's tightened lips, her fingers itched to stroke the raised embroidery on his collar as she cooed, "I am the Town Envoy's little delicate wife."
Finding this immensely amusing, she buried her face in Xiao Chu's neck with muffled laughter. After composing herself, she continued, "So the Town Envoy must protect me, dote on me, and always stand by my side when encountering such insolent servants in the future."
Surrounded by the woman's warm fragrance, Xiao Chu felt the dampness on his neck was entirely her saliva. He pressed a finger against her forehead to push her further away.
"What are you laughing at?"
Mi Yao's face brimmed with laughter. Beyond coquettishness, she was clearly amused by something else, but he couldn't comprehend the source of her mirth.
"I laugh from happiness at being doted on by the Town Envoy."
"Stop playing the fool. You know full well why I expelled that old crone."
He held not the slightest intention of doting on her. By specifically mentioning the Yu Family Head before expelling Mama Luo, he meant to warn the Yu family against overreaching by planting people in the Xiao household.
Having made it so clear and explicit, he refused to believe she didn't understand.
"Xiao Lang is truly wonderful. If it were anyone else, they would gladly accept credit without having done anything to earn a beauty's favor. But you, Xiao Lang, even after acting, still refuse to take credit. Such duplicity makes my heart ache."
Xiao Chu lowered his gaze to glance at her chest. With so much flesh in between, it probably wouldn't ache easily.
"Xiao Lang did this for me! Since you've been so thoughtful toward me, I'll be thoughtful toward you too."
Originally, she wasn't skilled at acting coy. Due to her looks and poverty, she avoided speaking with men in the real world, afraid that saying just a few words would make them think she was flirting. As everyone knows, a beautiful woman with a good temper but no money is the perfect prey for men.
But after transmigrating into this book, she discovered the joy of teasing men through Xiao Chu.
Even though they had been intimate during their wedding night, and Xiao Chu was utterly improper when kissing and touching her, once off the bed, his aloof demeanor made her experience the pleasure of a woman acting coy toward a man.
Mi Yao batted her eyes: "Young master, comfort me. Say you have me in your heart."
Mi Yao shook Xiao Chu's arm, but he didn't indulge her. He stood up, carried her to the stool farthest from him, then returned to his seat.
"How much of that old woman's words did you hear?"
"Only the part where you said you saw me."
Knowing Xiao Chu wanted to have a serious conversation with her, but sitting on the cushionless chair made Mi Yao feel uncomfortable all over. So while speaking, she stood up again and sat on one of his parted thighs.
Initially planning to sit properly in his lap and keep her hands well-behaved to avoid annoying him, but meeting Xiao Chu's cold gaze made her fear he would push her away. So she softly wrapped her arms around his neck instead.
"If I don't hold Xiao Lang, it's like I've forgotten how to sit. How clumsy of me." Mi Yao pretended to knock her head with a fist.
"With that little strength, you won't knock out the water in your brain."
Xiao Chu caught Mi Yao's fist and suddenly exerted force, startling her into shrinking against his chest, afraid he might smash her brains out with one blow.
"Xiao Lang's hands are so big."
Mi Yao loosened her fist, turned her palm, and slipped her fingers between Xiao Chu's, interlocking them.
"Just like that part of me."
Xiao Chu shifted his leg, causing Mi Yao's bottom to tilt inward, her flesh pressing through the fabric against that heating, gradually hardening object.
Mi Yao: "…"
The fun in teasing came from her provoking while he avoided. If he readily accepted her advances and turned crude, it would disgust her.
Seeing Mi Yao release his hand and retreat to sit on the adjacent chair, Xiao Chu scoffed.
He had found a way to cure her antics, though this method harmed himself as much as it disciplined her.
"What that old woman could see, you should know without my reminder. You only need to manage household affairs. There's no need to keep Xiao Shan by your side."
"Does managing Tingsong Courtyard not count as household affairs?"
"I'm not telling you to neglect Tingsong Courtyard, but you don't need to curry favor with them or pretend to be some doting mother."
Hearing Xiao Chu's words, she should have been delighted and acted coy, saying how Xiao Chu made things easier for her and treated her well.
But memories of Xiao Shan's wailing and Xiao Liang's trusting eyes surfaced in her mind. Mi Yao restrained her smile: "I've never been a doting mother, nor do I know what a doting mother should act like. The young lady just took a liking to me, and I don't reject her."
"You needn't pity them. There's nothing about them that warrants your pity."
"With a father as wonderful as the Town Envoy, why would they need pity?"
Noticing that she refuted him at every turn, Mi Yao maintained her composure well, but her tone carried a subtle undercurrent of anger.
Xiao Chu felt not only impatient but also a rising sense of brutality.
The Xiao family's children had nothing to do with her—why was she so angry?
"Since you understand, then gauge your own limits—know what to meddle in and what not to. Xiao Shan cries because she finds it effective. If you render her tears useless, she won't sneak into the inner rooms anymore."
"Why should a three-year-old girl with a backer be made to understand that crying is futile?"
Mi Yao knew the children were Xiao Chu's, and his refusal to let her intervene actually spared her trouble. Yet, a fire smoldered in her heart, and she couldn't resist arguing with him.
Her delicate, lotus-like face flushed with a faint rosy hue, making her exceptionally captivating.
Xiao Chu thought Mi Yao ought to be grateful for that face of hers. Men always had a bit more patience with beautiful women, and even knowing she was foolish, shallow, and dishonest, he was no exception to this common weakness.
Had it been anyone else, he wouldn't have bothered debating right and wrong—he'd have simply locked them up until they learned obedience.
After staring at her for a long moment and seeing her unwilling to yield, Xiao Chu said coolly, "Regardless of her age, crying is useless. How long can you pity her—a day? Two days? Once she gains your favor and is no longer pitiable, you'll grow weary of her sooner or later. Then she'll still end up crying."
He shouldn't have said these things to Mi Yao, but since he had started, he finished with one last remark. "As for a backer—what reliability is there in a warrior who licks blood from blades?"
His pale, narrow eyes were filled with sharp icicles. Sensing that Xiao Chu was revealing genuine emotion in front of her, Mi Yao was taken aback.
Xiao Chu spoke the truth. Her care for Xiao Liang and Xiao Shan largely stemmed from pity. If one day they no longer seemed so pitiable, she didn't know if she would remain close to them.
She knew Xiao Chu was the male lead—his status as a backer wouldn't crumble. But to Xiao Chu, even with an official post now, he was still a blade directed by Zhao Tianhe, striking wherever pointed.
With him speaking like this, what more could she say?
If she claimed the little ones were pitiful, from the moment she met them, they had never lacked food or clothing. It was just that those around them were neglectful, and Xiao Chu refused to shield them or dote on them like an ordinary father.
This was Xiao Chu's own approach to parenting, devised by himself. What right did she, an outsider, have to interfere?