The atmosphere in the room felt off. As soon as Wan Tang approached Xiao Zhi, she sensed a chilling severity around him that made it hard to breathe.
Xiao Zhi glanced at her sideways. “Are the two of you close?”
Wan Tang performed a proper greeting before carefully choosing her words. “Is the Marquis asking about this servant and Zhao Fu? Not particularly close—we’ve only crossed paths a few times.”
She worried that Xiao Zhi suspected her of deliberately getting close to those around him, so she cautiously distanced herself.
Xiao Zhi let out a cold laugh.
Not close, yet chatting so happily—even a cold wouldn’t recover as quickly as those two.
Wan Tang didn’t understand the situation and awkwardly asked if she could begin the massage. Seeing Xiao Zhi silently close his eyes, she moved behind him and started kneading.
After just a few moments, Xiao Zhi suddenly spoke. “Have you washed your hands?”
He caught the scent of Zhao Fu lingering on Wan Tang—that rascal’s smell wasn’t pleasant.
Wan Tang looked at her hands in confusion. They weren’t dirty, but since the Marquis had asked, she promptly went out to wash them before returning to continue the massage.
A short while later, Xiao Zhi spoke again. “Haven’t you eaten?”
Wan Tang didn’t react immediately and obediently replied, “Reporting to the Marquis, this servant has eaten.”
Xiao Zhi gave a half-smile and let out a soft “heh.”
Wan Tang suddenly realized that Xiao Zhi was complaining about her light pressure. Her face flushed red with embarrassment, and she immediately increased the strength of her fingers. “Marquis, is this pressure suitable?”
Xiao Zhi glanced at her flushed face from the corner of his eye, closed his eyes, and began to rest. “Hmm.”
But it was Wan Tang who suffered.
The harder she pressed and the longer the massage lasted, the more her fingers ached.
After pressing for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, sweat began to bead on her temples. However, Xiao Zhi was in a bad mood today, so she didn’t dare stop abruptly.
After another cup of tea’s worth of time, Wan Tang glanced hopefully at Xiao Zhi. Usually, he would tell her to stop and rest for a moment by now, but today he didn’t. He seemed to have fallen asleep, his closed eyes never opening.
Her fingers were nearly numb with soreness, the pain in her fingertips turning to tingling numbness. The aching spread upward, and soon her entire palm felt sore and painful.
Fortunately, having endured Song Zhiyun’s torment since childhood, Wan Tang’s tolerance was extraordinary.
She quietly reduced the pressure, giving her aching fingers a slight respite, while keeping her eyes fixed on Xiao Zhi’s profile, observing his reaction. The moment his thick brows showed any sign of furrowing, Wan Tang quickly resumed her original pressure and continued kneading.
Today, she massaged for a full two hours before Xiao Zhi opened his eyes and told her to stop.
Compared to his refreshed state, Wan Tang was exhausted, overheated, covered in fine sweat, and her lips had turned pale.
On her way back to Jinxiu Garden, Wan Tang’s mind felt sluggish. She carefully reviewed her words and actions from the day but couldn’t figure out what had gone wrong. Shaking her head, she decided not to dwell on it further.
The maids in Jinxiu Garden were bustling about, barely touching the ground with their feet.
Xiao Yujue was hosting an elegant gathering at Houfu the next day. This had been decided over half a month ago and had already been approved by the Old Marquis and his wife. Xiao Zhi had raised no objections at the time. With the previous minor conflicts resolved, Xiao Yujue didn’t believe he needed to be so cautious as to cancel an elegant gathering.
Before being adopted into Wu’an Marquisate, his biological father had been an obscure figure in the Xiao clan. If not for his own academic achievements, the wealth and prestige of Wu’an Marquisate would never have fallen to him.
After living in Houfu for two years, who wouldn’t respectfully address him as “Master” now?
The invitations had long been sent out. Asking him to cancel the gathering now would be a blow to his pride.
This was Xiao Yujue’s first time hosting friends at the Houfu after his marriage. Laofuren had entrusted Song Zhiyun with full responsibility for the arrangements, and Song Zhiyun took the matter very seriously, having begun preparations for the elegant gathering several days prior. As Song Zhiyun’s chief maid, Wan Tang was assigned tasks immediately upon her return, without even a moment to drink water.
Before her marriage, Song Zhiyun had also gathered with her close friends at Jingyang Houfu. Whenever Wan Tang was present to serve, those discerning young ladies from noble families rarely expressed dissatisfaction. If Wan Tang was absent, the other maids would often make oversights—such as mixing up which young lady preferred which tea or fruit.
When it came to attentiveness, Wan Tang was unmatched.
Therefore, the next day, Song Zhiyun did not send her to Meiyuan, instead having her assist in managing the Zizhulin elegant gathering.
Recalling Xiao Zhi’s sarcastic remarks from the previous day, Wan Tang uneasily said, “Eldest Mistress, I usually go to give Laofuren and the Marquis their massage. It might not be appropriate to suddenly skip it today.”
Song Zhiyun glared at her. “Are you telling me how to do things? I will arrange for someone to inform them.”
“I wouldn’t dare,” Wan Tang quickly lowered her head and apologized meekly.
Song Zhiyun had indeed forgotten about this matter, and it was only after Wan Tang’s reminder that she sent someone to notify Songhe Tang and Meiyuan.
Before the Zizhulin elegant gathering began, Song Zhiyun personally inspected the arrangements with her four chief maids. Apart from keeping Ziyan by her side for personal service and Mingyue in charge of tea and refreshments, Wan Tang was tasked with receiving the distinguished guests, while Cailian…
After hearing Song Zhiyun’s arrangements, Wan Tang’s face turned pale.
In her previous life, it had been the same. During the gathering, Xiao Yujue’s unsavory friends would often linger their lecherous gazes on her. Some, emboldened by alcohol, would directly pull her into their laps and take liberties with her.
Recalling her past life, this Zizhulin elegant gathering had marked the beginning of her misery. It was likely from this gathering that these men had begun to covet her. Later, to facilitate his own schemes, Xiao Yujue had repeatedly offered her to these men for their amusement.
After the maids dispersed to attend to their tasks, Wan Tang approached Song Zhiyun and whispered, “Eldest Mistress, I am feeling unwell and fear I may disrupt Daye’s elegant gathering.”
Seeing her pallid face, Song Zhiyun’s eyes immediately flared with anger. “Stop pretending! Pull yourself together!”
Wan Tang tried to recall the humiliations she had suffered at the hands of these men in her past life. An indescribable sense of nausea quickly spread like vines, gripping her body and mind, and her stomach churned violently.
Covering her mouth, she gagged a few times before finally vomiting for real, stumbling aside and retching until she felt faint.
Seeing that she wasn’t pretending, Song Zhiyun was furious but had no choice but to rearrange the assignments.
As Wan Tang withdrew, her face still pale, Song Zhiyun stared at her retreating figure for a long while. A startling suspicion arose in her mind: Could she be experiencing morning sickness?
Song Zhiyun trembled, her nails digging into her palms with hatred.
“Eldest Mistress, Daye says some distinguished guests have already arrived.”
Snapping back to reality, Song Zhiyun shot another venomous glare at Wan Tang’s retreating figure, deciding to thoroughly examine Wan Tang’s condition after the gathering…
Zizhulin was not far from Xiao Zhi’s study, separated only by a wall after passing through a corridor several zhang long.
The faint sounds of strings and bamboo instruments rose gracefully, while tall purple bamboo stretched over the wall, their emerald leaves rustling in the wind. Light snow began to fall from the sky, swirling like dancing willow catkins.
In contrast to the liveliness over there, the study remained silent.
After Xu Xing finished the acupuncture for Xiao Zhi, he removed the silver needles one by one and put them away: “Your shoulder needs careful recuperation. It doesn’t ache as much as before today, so it seems you’ve finally listened to me over this period.”
Xiao Zhi lowered his gaze to the tea by his hand—it was a cup of Pu’er.
Every time Wan Tang went to give him a massage, she would brew a pot of tea, each time with something new. She was delayed yesterday, so this Pu’er was still from the day before yesterday, but the taste was a bit off.
Xiao Zhi couldn’t quite pinpoint what was wrong, but in any case, it wasn’t as good as when she brewed it.
Xu Xing didn’t notice Xiao Zhi’s distraction. Seeing no one around, he lowered his voice and asked, “Have you made any progress in investigating the poisoning incident at the Flower Appreciation Banquet?”