“This servant is guilty and will accept any punishment from Old Madam. I only beg Old Madam to take care of your health and not become angry because of this servant.”
Old Madam looked at Xie Zhi kneeling before her, remaining silent while continuously turning the Shoushan stone prayer beads in her hand.
After a long while, she finally sighed and said:
“Enough, enough. It was my own confusion that misunderstood the situation and caused you distress. Rise.”
Xie Zhi lifted her skirt and stood up, her fair, porcelain-like face as calm as still water, revealing no thoughts, as if awaiting judgment.
“I originally thought you would eventually become Third Young Master’s person, so I didn’t hide it much from the people in the courtyard. The servants all respected you. But now that things have turned out this way, it’s not suitable for you to stay here any longer, lest the people in the courtyard look down on you.”
Old Madam looked into her eyes as she spoke.
Xie Zhi’s heart sank halfway, but she hurriedly replied,
“Yes, thank you for your grace, Old Madam.”
“Go and work at Guanxuelou in the front courtyard. It’s quiet there, usually only visited by the clan’s younger members who go to consult the books. There’s none of the outside disturbances—it’s the best place for you.”
Guanxuelou was Peifu’s library, standing three stories tall. Because of its towering height and open view, it was an excellent spot for admiring snow in winter, hence the name Guanxuelou.
However, apart from winter when people in the mansion would visit Guanxuelou to enjoy the scenery, it was usually quite peaceful.
Guanxuelou housed countless books, including many rare editions by famous authors. The clan’s younger members often went there to read.
Xie Zhi loved reading. Learning that her next assignment was Guanxuelou, rather than somewhere like County Mistress Yuyang’s courtyard, she couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
“This servant thanks Old Madam for your great kindness and grace. Even death would not be enough to repay it.”
…
After Xie Zhi left, Nanny Zhou still felt displeased and sighed, saying:
“Old Madam, you are too kind to this girl Li Chun. In my opinion, since she cannot win Shizi’s favor, she is a useless pawn and can be disposed of as you wish.”
Old Madam took another sip of tea, looked at her, and smiled:
“You old fool, you truly are confused!”
Nanny Zhou was taken aback and stepped forward to ask,
“What does Old Madam mean? This old servant doesn’t understand.”
“Just now, when Third Young Master was here, although he didn’t say anything, his eyes kept glancing toward Li Chun, and it didn’t seem like he disliked her.”
“But Shizi just explained that because it was his late mother’s memorial day that day, he remembered how charitable his mother had been when she was alive and wanted to accumulate blessings for her, so he casually saved her.”
Nanny Zhou repeated what Pei Du had just said.
“You don’t believe it? This old woman has never been wrong about people. Yangshantai is on the necessary path to Guanxuelou. Let’s wait and see.”
Nanny Zhou’s eyes widened slightly, her face full of surprise,
“So Old Madam had already planned this?”
“Third Young Master lost his mother at a young age. The princess couldn’t stand him, and his heartless father sent him to his maternal grandfather’s house. He stayed there for over ten years. Ah, if the princess didn’t only have one daughter, this child probably wouldn’t have returned to inherit the Shizi position.”
“His life has been hard. It’s rare that he brought back such a person half a year ago. If Li Chun proves capable and can stay by his side on my behalf, I won’t treat her poorly.”
“Old Madam, please don’t grieve. Our Shizi has achieved great success now. Having just served as Xingbu Shilang for two years, His Majesty has praised him repeatedly. I’m afraid it won’t be long before he surpasses the other masters in our mansion!”
Nanny Zhou quickly offered flattery, making Old Madam turn sorrow into laughter.
…
After Xie Zhi moved to Guanxuelou, her days passed without much turbulence. The place housed an extensive collection of books, and since few people usually visited, it was exceptionally quiet.
She often read in the library, jotting down notes whenever she encountered passages she didn’t understand.
Although she could no longer attend the family school, she found much enjoyment here.
On this day, as usual, she knelt by a low table near the window on the third floor of Guanxuelou, flipping through a copy of “Commentary on the Waterways Classic.” Sunlight streamed through the half-open lattice window, casting a soft glow on her profile.
Footsteps echoed from the staircase. Xie Zhi hurriedly set down the book and glanced toward the corner, meeting the gaze of the man who had arrived.
He carried an air of dignified grace, his eyes clear and cool. Beside him stood another gentleman, also the epitome of an elegant nobleman.
Xie Zhi quickly rose to bow.
“Greetings, my lord. Greetings, Wulang.”
The man beside him was named Pei Hong, born to the third branch and ranked fifth. Since Pei Hong often visited Chunhuiyuan to pay respects to Old Madam, Xie Zhi had seen him from a distance a few times.
“I thought the servants in this library were all old folks, but here comes such a beautiful young lady?” Before Pei Du could speak, Pei Hong was the first to tease.
Hearing this, Xie Zhi lowered her head further, afraid of drawing his attention.
“You flatter me, Wulang.”
This Wulang was famously dissolute in the capital. Though only eighteen, he already had four or five concubines in his household.
Because of this, despite the Peifu being a prominent family, no parents were willing to marry their daughters to him—a constant source of distress for the third branch couple.
“Enough chatter. Fetch the book.”
Pei Du spoke up at the right moment.
Pei Hong had come today for an ancient book in Guanxuelou titled “Classic of Sea Voyages.”
The third branch madam had always loved poetry and books. Confined to her sickbed these days and bored, she happened to recall this book and sent someone to retrieve it.
To show his filial piety and hoping she would agree to let one of his mistresses enter the household, Pei Hong came personally.
The page led Pei Hong to a distant section, while Pei Du lingered, walking over to the low table where Xie Zhi had just been sitting.
His tall frame nearly blocked the light streaming in from the window.
Xie Zhi felt the room suddenly darken. Seeing him gaze at the manuscript on the table, she hurried forward, flustered as she gathered the papers.
“This rice paper was given by Old Madam when I left—it wasn’t stolen… The ink, the ink was bought with my own silver, asked from a young servant in the outer courtyard who went to the market.”
As if afraid Pei Du might misunderstand, Xie Zhi hastily explained while clutching the manuscript tightly to her chest.
Hearing her repeatedly refer to herself as “this servant,” Pei Du suddenly recalled half a year ago, when she was demoted to slave status due to her father’s crimes. On their journey to Shangjing, whenever Changming occasionally called her “Li Chun,” she had shown clear resistance.
Now… had she grown accustomed to it?
Pei Du smirked inwardly. Indeed, people knew how to adapt.
She was clever enough.
Remembering the manuscript he had just seen—aside from the copied sentences, there were also strange scribbles he couldn’t decipher—Pei Du couldn’t help but ask,
“Earlier, you were reading…”
Xie Zhi instinctively followed his gaze to the desk, where the copy of “Commentary on the Waterways Classic” was still lying open unabashedly. A breeze swept through, and the thin pages turned on their own.
“Sir, Guanxuelou has no rule forbidding servants from borrowing books. I borrowed this one after registering with Registrar Tong downstairs.”
Changping Houfu balanced kindness with authority in its treatment of servants, but it was exceptionally lenient when it came to reading. Servants were also allowed to borrow books from the building.
Pei Du was momentarily speechless. He had only asked casually, yet he suddenly realized that after the previous incident, this maid seemed to harbor some animosity toward him.
Could it be that she truly hadn’t wanted to use Old Madam to climb her way to him before?