Xiao Chu was true to his word. Before dinner, he had Shuang Hua and the cook brought to the small residence, allowing Mi Yao to enjoy the most delicious meal she had eaten in days. She was also able to complete her full skincare routine, including steaming her eyes, and thoroughly cleanse her face.
"Sister, did you know that Wu Nao, after seeing how much Brother-in-law values you, scrubbed off layers of dirt while heating water? I overheard her daughter-in-law exclaiming that she hadn't touched water in over half a year. Now, to curry favor with the noble lady, she's even risking her life—daring to soak in water to scrub off grime in this season."
"That old woman may not necessarily be trying to please you, Madam. She might just be putting on a show for Commander Xiao."
Having heard about Wu Nao's troublesome nature, Shuang Hua thought her bathing might indicate genuine fear of Mi Yao, but more likely, it was a ploy to gain sympathy from Xiao Chu and portray Mi Yao as domineering.
Mi Yao wasn't surprised by Shuang Hua's speculation but rather by her willingness to voice it aloud.
Since transmigrating into the original host's body, she had rarely spoken with the original host's maids. It wasn't out of fear that they might notice the differences but simply because she couldn't be bothered to engage with them too deeply.
Only when people don't communicate can they comfortably treat each other as NPCs. Once there's too much involvement and understanding of each other's thoughts, it becomes impossible to see them as mere textual settings from a book.
Thus, she had never regarded those around her as living, breathing individuals.
She usually didn't converse much with Shuang Hua and the others, and they, in turn, obediently went about their tasks quietly.
Now, Shuang Hua was probably like Yu Xiu—startled by her disappearance and reappearance—and sought to establish a closer connection, hence her increased chatter.
Mi Yao couldn't decide whether to feel pleased or annoyed by this. She studied Shuang Hua's familiar yet unfamiliar face, much as she had with Yu Xiu, and said, "It doesn't matter what she thinks. We're only staying here for a few days. A servant isn't worth the trouble. I won't tolerate any disrespect, and neither should you."
"This servant understands."
Grasping Mi Yao's meaning, Shuang Hua tidied the room's utensils and went to demand from Wu Nao all the necessities for their stay.
Seeing her assertiveness, Wu Nao, though aware she was just a maid, didn't dare argue and respectfully arranged everything.
"Do you have something to say?"
Shuang Hua had brought Mi Yao a few of her usual leisure books. Mi Yao had planned to retire early and read, but noticing Yu Xiu standing to the side, hesitating to speak, she glanced at her.
"Sister, you're right. I'm afraid of the road ahead, so I entertained the thought that without you, I might be more valued. Coupled with remembering what you used to say, I also had the idea of fulfilling you and Cousin. I truly deserve to die. Sister, please forgive Xiu'er this time. From now on, Xiu'er will wholeheartedly serve you and Brother-in-law."
Yu Xiu knelt on the ground, no longer making excuses but pleading for mercy honestly.
She knew that Mi Yao hadn't held it against her earlier because she had no one else to rely on. But now, with Shuang Hua here, she had become dispensable.
"Sister, beat me or scold me, but I beg you, don't send me back to Jiangnan. If I'm sent back, I won't survive."
Being sent back wouldn't necessarily mean execution, but without Mi Yao's protection, as an unattractive and overlooked concubine-born daughter in the Yu family, her life would be worse than death.
The room fell silent for a moment. Mi Yao looked down at Yu Xiu's trembling form. She understood what Yu Xiu feared and knew exactly what fate awaited her if she were returned to the Yu family.
A single sentence could determine a person's fate, and she had no desire to bear such responsibility.
"Just serve me."
After a long silence, Mi Yao finally spoke, "The purpose of a concubine is to secure favor. Do you think you can secure what even I cannot retain?"
"Sister…"
"If you ever choose to climb Xiao Chu's branch in the future, you'd better pray you succeed on the first attempt, because I won't allow a betrayer to return to my side."
Hearing Mi Yao's warning, Yu Xiu felt both joy and fear: "Sister, rest assured. From now on, I will only think of you, only serve you."
"If you previously thought I was unreliable, today you've seen how I behave in front of Xiao Chu. I value my life—if nothing else, supporting you for a few years won't be difficult."
So just behave for a few years, and don't talk about serving your brother-in-law before you come of age.
Mi Yao silently grumbled to herself.
She truly didn't want to meddle in others' affairs, but she was genuinely afraid of Yu Xiu.
"Sister, Xiu'er was wrong."
Yu Xiu knelt on the floor, sobbing, "Xiu'er didn't mean to distrust you…"
Mi Yao didn't care whether her regret was genuine or feigned, waving her hand dismissively, "I've recovered from my illness. You don't need to watch over me constantly. Tonight, go sleep with Shuang Hua."
After Yu Xiu left, Mi Yao picked up a storybook but found herself unable to focus. Though her eyes were on the pages, her mind kept wandering back to the words exchanged with Xiao Chu earlier.
Realizing this was futile, she extinguished the candles in the room, tossed the book aside, and closed her eyes to sleep.
A delicate wife's mind could be filled with nonsense or used for trivial pleasures, but it should never be used for serious thinking.
While Mi Yao slept, Xiao Chu had finished his preparations.
The cook who prepared his meal was Mi Yao's personal chef. With the first bite, he understood why she insisted on having her own cook. Even a simple bowl of meat noodles tasted more delicious than those from noodle shops, and it was worlds apart from Wu Nao's cooking.
When Wu Nao asked if she should wake Mi Yao to see him off,
Xiao Chu replied indifferently, "Why wake her when she's already asleep?"
If he upset her, he'd have to endure her complaints about him not knowing how to cherish flowers and deliberately tormenting her.
Who would have thought that his original sarcastic remark about her foolishly risking her life would be turned around so thoroughly by her? Now whenever she wanted to negotiate something, she'd use the analogy of nurturing precious flowers.
"Just follow her instructions. We're not married yet, but she will be your mistress sooner or later."
Glancing at Wu Nao's noticeably neater appearance, he originally thought an old servant's sloppiness didn't matter, but given the choice between clean servants and smelly ones fawning over him, anyone would prefer the former.
After giving brief instructions, Xiao Chu mounted his horse. Just as he rode out of the courtyard, Zhao De chuckled, "After I woke up, I heard Lady Yu talking with her sister. Guess what I heard, Town Envoy?"
Xiao Chu glanced at Zhao De: "Your sleeping quarters are separated from Lady Yu's by an entire courtyard. Unless you were sleepwalking on her roof, how could you hear her talking after waking up?"
Zhao De grinned: "Since you mentioned this Lady Yu might not be the real Yu family daughter, I wanted to take the opportunity to gather more information."
Without further suspense, Zhao De continued, "Lady Yu has quite a domineering personality. She scolded her half-sister for daring to aspire to you, saying that with her beauty, even if her sister became your concubine, she wouldn't catch your eye. She made the young girl cry."
If Zhao De had mentioned anyone else, Xiao Chu wouldn't have known who it was, but when he spoke of Mi Yao's younger sister, a slender girl who scurried about preparing items for Mi Yao surfaced in his mind.
"Lady Yu is right."
That little girl indeed should not harbor delusions about him.
He hadn't paid any mind to the matter of a concubine; to him, it was merely Mi Yao bringing along an additional maid to attend to her, not an extra woman he was obliged to sleep with.
"That little girl is still young and hasn't fully developed. Being Lady Yu's sister, she will surely grow into an elegant figure, no less captivating than her elder sister…"
"Zhao De, twenty strokes."
Xiao Chu coldly interrupted. Zhao De immediately wiped the smirk off his face, dismounted, and knelt on one knee, bowing his head to accept the punishment.
"What was your mistake?"
"This subordinate spoke inappropriately, jesting about a young girl."
Zhao De hadn't entertained any romantic intentions toward Yu Xiu, but upon seeing Xiao Chu's anger, he instantly realized his loose tongue had forgotten the rules of the Jiannan Army.
Commander Zhao Tianhe governed the army with strict discipline, establishing numerous regulations, one of which prohibited the violation or humiliation of women.
This rule was further subdivided into many detailed clauses. The Jiannan Army was the only camp in the Daxing military that did not permit army prostitutes. Beyond that, the Jiedushi did not concern himself with how the soldiers amused themselves outside the camp, but regardless of rank, any soldier under his command was forbidden from targeting young girls or boys.
When these military decrees fell into Xiao Chu's hands, he enforced them even more severely. There had been a soldier who forced himself upon a girl not yet of age; Xiao Chu ordered him beaten with military rods until he died.
With twenty strokes recorded against him, Zhao De remained much quieter for the rest of the journey.
Amid the surrounding silence, Xiao Chu's idle thoughts turned to Mi Yao.
Everyone who had seen Mi Yao described her differently to him than how he perceived her.
The scouts said she was aloof and arrogant, infatuated with her scholar cousin who resided with the Yu family. Wu Nao claimed she was domineering and demanding, cold and harsh. Zhao De described her as tyrannical and jealous, unwilling to allow any other woman near her future husband besides herself.
But in his eyes, Mi Yao was charming and delicate, with a somewhat spoiled temper. Yet when expressed in her soft, glutinous voice, it was nothing more than a cat's coquetry, hardly worthy of being called arrogance.
From this perspective, sending scouts to investigate Mi Yao's background was entirely redundant. The discrepancy between her true self and the rumors lay in her skill at acting and concealment, leading everyone to form different opinions of her.
After their first meeting, several days passed without Mi Yao seeing Xiao Chu again.
Five days later, presumably after Xiao Chu had settled his affairs, he sent someone to deliver all the servants she had brought from the Yu family to the small courtyard. A carriage was prepared to transport her to Yi Zhou.
The one assigned to escort her was Zhao De, whom Mi Yao had met once before.
Having taken on the task of escorting her, Zhao De expected Mi Yao to have many questions for him.
Such as why Xiao Chu wasn't seeing her off, or why he was the one escorting her. To his surprise, Mi Yao asked nothing.
Her silence was convenient, but escorting Mi Yao still proved troublesome.
The journey from Jingzhou to Yi Zhou, which should have taken ten days on fast horses, stretched to twenty-five days due to Mi Yao's demands. At one moment, she couldn't bear the jolting and insisted the carriage be refitted; at another, she demanded stops to rest and sample local delicacies at inns.
Initially, Zhao De suspected Mi Yao had devised another escape plan and was deliberately delaying the journey. After remaining vigilant for a long time, he realized she was simply self-indulgent and unable to endure the slightest hardship.
Even using Xiao Chu's pre-set schedule, which required arrival in Yi Zhou within half a month, failed to intimidate her.
She would retort that Xiao Lang would never let her suffer or endure hardship, nor would he force her to be transported like cargo, concerned only with speed and indifferent to her comfort.
Having served under Xiao Chu for several years, he never realized his superior was so tender toward the fairer sex. Yet Mi Yao, who had only met Xiao Chu a handful of times, seemed to have become a mind reader of his intentions.
"This assignment is more exhausting than being stationed at the border in Yi Zhou. The Town Envoy is in for quite the ordeal from now on."
After escorting Mi Yao into Xiao Manor, Zhao De clicked his tongue and sighed to his familiar colleague.
Meanwhile, upon arriving at the manor, Mi Yao first took a nap. Upon waking, she frowned at the three little turnips standing at her doorway. "What are you all doing here?"
"We've come to pay our respects to Mother."
The tallest turnip stepped forward half a pace, leading the two smaller turnips in a neat bow to Mi Yao.
However, only two of them opened their mouths to wish Mother well.
Mi Yao's gaze shifted to the smallest turnip—a little girl who had been staring at her without uttering a word.
Choosing to meet the small turnip's gaze was clearly a mistake.
Because when the small turnip noticed Mi Yao looking at her, her round eyes sparkled brightly. She opened her mouth, revealing a few rice-grain-sized white teeth, ran forward a few steps, and wrapped her arms around Mi Yao's leg.
"Shan'er!"
The big turnip and medium turnip, afraid Mi Yao would be angered, tried to pull the small turnip back. But Shan'er refused to let go. Not only did she cling tightly to Mi Yao, but her little arms also struggled to climb higher, clearly wanting Mi Yao to pick her up.
"Please don't blame our younger sister, Mother. She's young and doesn't know better. She hasn't learned to speak yet and doesn't understand manners."
The big turnip, unable to pull Shan'er away, noticed her whole face scrunching up. Worried she would start crying and further displease Mi Yao, she stiffly explained to Mi Yao.
"Shan'er, if you keep this up, you won't get any food!"
Compared to the big turnip, the medium turnip opted for direct threats. And his threat clearly struck a chord in the small turnip's heart.
Though Shan'er still didn't let go, she burst out crying with a loud "Waaah!"
Mi Yao: "…"
It must be because she hadn't slept well earlier. That's why, the moment she woke up, she was hallucinating—seeing three talking turnips holding a lively turnip convention right before her eyes.