Xie Changxi's transfer was imminent, so he visited the old madam more frequently. On the two occasions he happened to run into Lady Cui, he only exchanged pleasantries and said nothing more.
The old madam knew that mother and son had grown apart, so she told Lady Cui she need not come to pay her respects for the next few days.
The old madam had urged him several times about marriage, but Xie Changxi had deflected each time, saying that with his official career not yet established, there was no rush to take a wife.
Hearing this, the old madam could not press further. The Yingchuan Marquis household would ultimately have to rely on Xie Changxi to rise again, so the old madam had no choice but to let the matter drop.
By now, Shi Jun's knees had mostly healed, leaving only faint bruises.
The twenty-fourth year of Dasheng, the fifth day of the fourth month.
Jiangling Prefecture was situated along the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, girded by rivers and lakes, with a dense network of waterways.
To the south of the city stood Wangjiang Tower, where one could gaze upon the great river flowing eastward; to the north was Zhangtai Temple, surrounded by ancient brambles and dense bamboo groves.
Streets and alleys crisscrossed the city—Dugong Lane, Dazhai Lane, Qingyang Lane, and other old lanes were quiet and secluded, with ancient residences lining them, their gray bricks and dark tiles and horse-head walls rising and falling in varied heights.
Having just arrived in Jiangling, Shi Jun found the local customs and scenery quite different from those of Bianjing, and she looked about with some curiosity.
The Jiangling residence was a four-courtyard compound. The household employed only a very few maidservants and matrons, and she was the only maidservant who had followed from Bianjing.
On this matter, Shi Jun felt a measure of confusion—a mix of bewilderment and relief intertwined in her heart.
Xie Changxi had entrusted all household affairs to Shi Jun's management.
But in the past, she had only been responsible for tending flowers and plants—where would she have learned to manage a household? Faced with the task, she had no choice but to steel herself and arrange the duties of the maidservants and matrons.
Fortunately, her monthly wages had also increased.
That night, in the study.
Xie Changxi had returned late that day and was writing something at his desk. Shi Jun stood to one side, head bowed, grinding ink.
Over the past few days, Shi Jun had come to understand Xie Changxi's daily routine and preferences.
They were almost exactly as she had imagined—ancient gentlemen seemed to be precisely like this: disciplined in self-restraint, not indulging in sleep, not discussing food, busy with official duties every day.
"Would you like to rest, my lord?" Shi Jun asked with concern when she saw Xie Changxi set down his brush.
Xie Changxi's hand paused as he set down the brush. He rarely heard Shi Jun speak unprompted.
His gaze shifted toward Shi Jun.
Moonlight flowed, warm candlelight flickered, casting light upon Shi Jun's plain and clean features. Without a trace of makeup, she was nonetheless exquisitely beautiful, as if she could truly reflect a hint of moonlight.
Xie Changxi noticed her lowered eyelids and asked in a gentle voice, "Are you tired?"
Shi Jun was momentarily startled. In the past, she had probably stayed up no fewer nights than Xie Changxi.
She wasn't sleepy, just a little hungry. When staying up late, how could one go without eating? And since Xie Changxi was handling official matters, wouldn't that be even more mentally draining?
"No," Shi Jun replied softly.
Xie Changxi rose and walked to the window, gazing at the moon now at its zenith. After a long moment, he said, "Tomorrow, go to the hiring agency and select two more maidservants to keep by your side."
Shi Jun nodded.
"Prepare my bath and change of clothes." Xie Changxi turned back to look at Shi Jun.
Hearing this, Shi Jun stepped forward slowly. She recalled the day they first arrived at the Jiangling residence, when Xie Changxi had also called for her to help him change.
But her hands had been clumsy then, and it had taken her a long while. In the end, Xie Changxi had grown impatient and dismissed her.
Fortunately, she had made a point of studying the matter these past two days.
Shi Jun carefully drew close to Xie Changxi. He was tall and large-framed; she only reached his chest.
She raised her arms around his back, her body leaning slightly forward.
The moonlight was faint, and a gentle breeze drifted into the room.
The scent of aloeswood from Xie Changxi's person lingered at the tip of Shi Jun's nose. Her movements were quick and nimble as she removed his robes, yet she felt as though something hung above her head—a gaze that was there and yet not there.
In the past few days, Xie Changxi had not required her to serve him at close quarters. Today was the first time.
Shi Jun's gaze faltered slightly, surprise flickering in her heart. But after a moment's thought, she reasoned that she was not the one at a disadvantage.
This sight overturned Shi Jun's understanding of Xie Changxi. She had only ever thought of him as a civil official, never expecting that once his robes were removed, his shoulders would be so broad, his lines carved like knife and axe.
The veins on his forearms were faintly visible, his wrists sturdy, his fingers long and powerful. His waist was lean, with not a trace of excess flesh at his abdomen and ribs.
Shi Jun's gaze lingered only a moment longer, but Xie Changxi seemed to sense it. He turned his head slightly, candlelight falling across his face, his expression gentle and composed.
His eyes fixed on Shi Jun, he said not a word.
Shi Jun naturally dared not look away, so she simply met his gaze directly. In the past, she had only ever seen such a physique in celebrity novels. Now that it was right before her eyes—since she had already looked, she might as well look her fill.
The next morning, Xie Changxi rose early to practice martial arts, while Shi Jun went to Jiangling's hiring agency to select maidservants as he had instructed.
Accompanying her was Mama Qin from the kitchen. Mama Qin was a local of Jiangling, and she took Shi Jun around to familiarize her with the local customs and culture.
Mama Qin lifted the curtain and peered out, raising an eyebrow. "Miss Yingyue, the hiring agency is crowded and chaotic. Those matchmakers have glib tongues—they can make even the worst sound wonderful. Let me pick two out for you."
Mama Qin knew Shi Jun had come from Bianjing and feared she might be deceived, so she wanted to handle the matter herself.
"No need, Mama. I'd still prefer to choose them myself." Shi Jun pressed her lips into a light smile, her watery, glistening eyes looking at Mama Qin.
That smile stirred an inexplicable fondness in Mama Qin's heart. She thought to herself that girls from Bianjing truly were different—so lovely to look at.
Mama Qin led Shi Jun into the broker's establishment. The moment they stepped down from the carriage, a sharp-eyed female broker hurried over, her smile slick with world-weariness.
"This lady has come to select staff—we've just received two young girls today. Take them home, train them a bit, and they'll serve you well." The broker twisted her barrel waist, pressing forward with fawning eagerness, one hand reaching out to take Shi Jun's.
Seeing this, Mama Qin raised her hand and slapped the broker's hand away.
"Don't touch my lady." Mama Qin shot her a glare.
The female brokers of Jiangling were not like those elsewhere. These women were bold, willing to dabble in the filthiest of trades, their hearts as black as soot scraped from a stove—no amount of washing could ever make them clean.
The broker, having lost face, showed no offense and only smiled apologetically. "This lady is of noble bearing. Please, follow me inside."
She led the two into a side chamber where five girls sat, ranging in age from twelve to fifteen.
The five girls were seated in two rows, their demeanors utterly distinct.
The two by the window kept their eyelids lowered, hands folded neatly atop their knees like two meticulously arranged porcelain dolls. Though their heads were bowed, one could see the slight upturn of their lips, their brows carrying a practiced, deliberate coyness.
The one in the middle still had tears at the corners of her eyes, her body trembling faintly, fingers death-gripping the hem of her clothes until her knuckles went white.
The two against the wall—one was sallow and gaunt, sitting in a daze, eyes hollow as if she had already resigned herself to fate.
The other had a round face, biting her lower lip, cheeks puffed full, eyes burning with defiance.
Shi Jun frowned slightly, a pang of melancholy stirring in her chest. She turned her head to glance at Mama Qin.
Mama Qin was squinting as she sized up the two by the window, the corners of her mouth pulling downward. She leaned close to Shi Jun's ear, her voice pressed to a near whisper: "Do you see, my lady? Those two—their walk, their posture, their eyes—all trained. That broker isn't raising them as maidservants. She's raising them as… playthings."
Shi Jun's fingertips tightened, her brow furrowing deeply.
The "beautiful maidservants" of the great households in Bianjing—nominally serving girls, yet most were concubines pressed upon sons and grandsons by their elders, or tools used to curry favor with young masters.
These young girls—they were already being molded from the broker's very door.
"I'll take these two." Shi Jun's fingertip slid from the tearful girl in the middle to the round-faced one.
Mama Qin nodded slightly, casting Shi Jun a look of approval.
The noble ladies who came to the Jiangling broker's establishment to select staff were mostly seeking to curry favor with their husbands. But the one Shi Jun had chosen was not yet trained.
If trouble arose later, how would that be handled?
The broker's smile froze for a moment, then quickly reassembled. "This lady has fine taste. These two are quick with their hands and feet—train them a few days and they'll be ready…"
"No training needed." Shi Jun cut her off. "What I want is precisely the untrained."
The broker fell silent, awkward.
These two girls had been sold together—two stubborn bones. Now that someone wanted them, it saved her the trouble of breaking them. Every girl who passed through her hands, no matter how hard the bone, she could gnaw through eventually. It would only take a few more days.
After Mama Qin finished the formalities with the broker, she brought the two young girls back to the residence.
Inside the carriage, Shi Jun asked their names. The round-faced, peach-cheeked girl said indignantly, "My parents sold me off—please, elder sister, grant me a new name."
The other girl, tall and thin, gazed at Shi Jun as if she had a thousand words to speak, but in the end, she only nodded.
Shi Jun looked at the two of them. They didn't seem merely twelve or thirteen, yet they had been abandoned by their own flesh and blood. She couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow.
Naming them was not too difficult a task for Shi Jun.
The round-faced, peach-cheeked girl henceforth had a name: Lanfang. The tall, reserved girl was called Lingxiang.
Lanfang had just turned twelve this year; Lingxiang was a year older. Neither had been willing to bow her head to the broker, and so both had suffered for it.
Shi Jun's heart ached for them. She only told them to rest for now—the business of serving could come later.
That evening, Shi Jun carried a plate of hibiscus cakes, crossing the covered walkway toward Xie Changxi's study.
The study door was half-ajar, a dim candlelight spilling through.
Shi Jun knocked softly.
"Come in." Xie Changxi's voice drifted out, tinged with a hint of languor.
She pushed the door open and saw him seated at the desk, brush in hand, writing something unknown. He wore a plain moon-white Daoist robe, collar slightly loosened, revealing a stretch of solid collarbone.
The candlelight fell across his face, his features half in light, half in shadow.
"Not yet had your evening meal?" Xie Changxi looked up at her, his gaze landing on the plate of pastries.
The hibiscus cakes were about an inch square, their surface a pale pink—the color of peach petals in March. They were studded with scattered bits of almond and golden osmanthus, falling like snowflakes.
"I learned to make hibiscus cakes from Mama Qin. You often work late into the night on official matters, my lord—better to have a bite than an empty stomach." Shi Jun set the plate at the corner of the desk and stood to the side, head bowed, saying nothing more.
Xie Changxi set down his brush, casually picked up a piece, and caught the sweet fragrance of osmanthus honey mingled with a faint rice aroma.
He took a bite. His brow twitched slightly.
Shi Jun lifted her eyes from beneath lowered lashes and saw him take another slow, deliberate bite.
Xie Changxi swallowed the pastry, picked up his teacup, and took a sip. Then he asked, "You went to the broker's today—did you find anyone?"
"Picked two," Shi Jun replied. "One is called Lingxiang, the other Lanfang, though they are still quite young."
Xie Changxi repeated the names to himself, then gave a slight nod.
"Did you name them?" he asked.
Shi Jun nodded. "Is there something wrong with them?"
"These two will be following you from now on. You may call them whatever you please."
Xie Changxi lifted his gaze, his eyes settling on her.
In the past, he had only thought of Shi Jun as someone pitiable, loyal and devoted.
But now that he spent time with her, he realized she possessed a certain flair, quite unlike other maidservants.
His gaze lingered, and suddenly he recalled the image of Shi Jun kneeling before him—she bore a resemblance to the orchids she kept.
Upright in stem and leaf, not easily broken.