By now, the snow was falling heavily. Wan Tang wanted to return to her room to add another layer of clothing but was scolded into staying by Song Zhiyun.
Although she had an umbrella, by the time she reached Meiyuan, quite a bit of snow had already blown into her collar.
As soon as she entered the room, the snow in her collar melted before she could shake it off, as did the snow on her shoes.
Zhao Fu, grateful for her earlier help with measuring, quickly pulled her inside to warm up and had someone bring her a bowl of ginger soup: “We happened to have made this to ward off the cold—have a bowl. It’s already noon, why were you in such a hurry to come here?”
Wan Tang gulped it down in a few swallows, and her stiff, chilled body began to warm up slightly.
After thanking him, she forced a helpless smile: “Daye has been punished to kneel in the Ancestral Hall, and the Eldest Mistress ordered me to think of a way to plead for leniency. How could I possibly have a way? All I know how to do is massage my master’s shoulders.”
Zhao Fu’s mouth twitched. Although he felt the Eldest Mistress was deliberately making things difficult for her, he didn’t want to gossip about his masters behind their backs, so he just pursed his lips and said, “The Marquis is in low spirits—he didn’t eat much at lunch.”
Wan Tang nodded. She had been busy until now without eating, but fortunately, she had managed to grab a few bites of pastry earlier while working.
Zhao Fu guessed she hadn’t eaten yet and smiled, “Those lads are roasting sweet potatoes. I’ll save a couple for you later. The Marquis is in the inner study—you can go in.”
In the inner study, Xiao Zhi was resting with his eyes closed, propping his chin on one hand.
The study door was open. When Wan Tang approached and saw this, she didn’t dare enter and disturb him, so she stood waiting under the eaves. Snowflakes drifted down, landing on her head and slipping into her collar. The warmth she had just regained began to fade as she shivered again.
She retreated to a corner where she could still see Xiao Zhi, glancing over from time to time.
Before long, Xiao Zhi’s voice came through: “Have you lost your mind? Standing there in the wind.”
Wan Tang shivered and looked up, then hurried into the inner study to pay her respects: “This servant has come to give the Marquis a massage.”
The skin around her eyes and the bridge of her nose were red from the cold, making her look utterly pitiful. She was still wearing the same clothes from the Purple Bamboo Grove, and the collar was already damp from melted snow. Her originally fair neck had been roughened by the wind and snow into a peachy pink.
Xiao Zhi felt a surge of irritation at the sight: “Change out of those wet clothes before coming over.”
Wan Tang looked up hesitantly: “This servant isn’t cold…” Before she could finish, hearing Xiao Zhi’s cold laugh, she could only obediently agree.
There was absolutely no way she could return to Jinxiu Garden to change—Song Zhiyun would never believe that the Marquis had told her to go back and change clothes. So, she had no choice but to borrow a clean set of clothes from one of the junior maids in Meiyuan.
When she returned to the inner study, Xiao Zhi glanced at her expressionlessly.
She was wearing the uniform of a junior maid—the length fit, but the chest and waist measurements were all wrong. The junior maid had a slender figure, while Wan Tang’s chest was rather full, so the top was stretched tight across her bosom.
She instinctively hunched her shoulders slightly to make it less conspicuous.
It wasn’t that Wan Tang was deliberately trying to be provocative—it was just that the junior maids in Meiyuan were all quite young, and most of their clothes would have had the same effect on her. After that earlier incident of misreading the situation, she didn’t dare be careless again.
Xiao Zhi’s gaze darkened slightly, and his fingers resting on the desk unconsciously twitched.
The soft, yielding sensation from that day seemed to linger.
Wan Tang kept her head lowered and didn’t notice this: “This servant will massage the Marquis’s shoulders.”
This time was different from before. She somewhat clumsily felt around Xiao Zhi’s shoulders for the acupoints, pressing and kneading as Xu Xing had instructed. Though separated by clothing, when her fingers lightly brushed over them, Xiao Zhi’s eyes still trembled slightly.
He took a deep breath and slowly closed his eyes.
A pleasant, soft fragrance wafted over, and Xiao Zhi frowned again, opening his eyes to casually ask, “Where is your home? What do your parents do for a living?”
Wan Tang didn’t know why Xiao Zhi was asking these questions, a bitter smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. “This servant is an orphan.”
The topic came to an abrupt end.
Xiao Zhi had no choice but to pick up a book at random and flip through it absentmindedly.
After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, he waved his hand to signal Wan Tang to stop. “You may leave.”
Wan Tang felt that Xiao Zhi was acting a bit strange today, but she couldn’t guess what was on his mind. Remembering the Eldest Mistress’s instructions, she steeled herself and walked to Xiao Zhi’s side. “I beg the Marquis to forgive Daye. Daye hasn’t done anything wrong; it’s all this servant’s fault for not standing steadily…”
Xiao Zhi sneered, “Do I look like someone who’s easily fooled?”
He had sought justice for her, yet she had the audacity to plead for that scoundrel Xiao Yujue here? Truly ungrateful!
Wan Tang: “…”
Her face flushed with embarrassment, and she quickly lowered her head.
Xiao Zhi glared at her displeasedly but inadvertently caught a glimpse of her chest, which was heaving intensely due to nervousness—like rolling hills, it held a unique charm.
He gritted his teeth. “Get out!”
Wan Tang didn’t dare speak up for Xiao Yujue again. In fact, she had never intended to plead for him in the first place and had long prepared herself to face punishment upon returning. If she had truly wanted to beg for leniency, she would never have phrased it that way.
Before she could even leave Meiyuan, Zhao Fu called out to her.
He held a dark blue cloak, his gaze subtly drifting toward Wan Tang’s chest. “It’s not quite proper for you to walk around Houfu like this. If someone were to lay hands on you again, you’d have a hard time explaining yourself. Put this on.”
Was he implying she was dressed provocatively?
Wan Tang felt a bit wronged upon hearing this, but the clothes were what Xiao Zhi had demanded she change into. How could she complain?
She didn’t argue and quickly draped the cloak over herself, covering her figure completely. “Thank you, Brother Zhao. I’ll wash it clean and return it to you another day.”
The cloak was a bit too large, dragging a section on the ground, and its scent smelled somewhat familiar.
Zhao Fu stuffed two roasted sweet potatoes into her hands. “Where would I get such a fine cloak? This was one the Marquis was going to throw away because he no longer wears it. It’s freezing out, hurry back.”
“Thank you, Brother Zhao. I’ll walk slowly. Since I failed to plead for Daye’s forgiveness, I’ll be punished when I return anyway.” Wan Tang’s spirits sank, and she shuffled away step by step.
Zhao Fu watched her retreating figure and sighed deeply.
Why did a maid have to be so beautiful? The male masters coveted her, the female masters envied her—what a curse.
When he returned to attend to Xiao Zhi and saw that his expression was still dark, Zhao Fu spoke eloquently, “Marquis, please calm your anger. The Eldest Mistress and Daye share a deep affection—what a wonderful thing that is. Daye’s only mistake was misjudging people, befriending those who lose their composure after drinking. Our Daye is nothing like them. I’ve asked around—though Daye had been drinking, he maintained a gentleman’s decorum throughout.”
Xiao Zhi sneered, “What, are you pleading for him too?”
Upon hearing this, Zhao Fu understood why Xiao Zhi was upset and said, “This servant has no such intention. It must be that girl Wan Tang who doesn’t know how to speak properly. Marquis, don’t be angry. The Eldest Mistress will teach her a good lesson.”
Xiao Zhi furrowed his brows even more tightly upon hearing this.
Meanwhile, Wan Tang dawdled for nearly half an hour before returning to Jinxiu Garden.
Just as she changed out of the maid’s clothes, she heard Song Zhiyun calling for her. She sighed, hurriedly put away her cloak, and went to report.
“How did it go? Did Father agree not to punish Daye?” Song Zhiyun stared at Wan Tang with hopeful eyes.
Wan Tang hung her head low. “This servant was useless.”
Song Zhiyun’s last shred of hope vanished. Though she had already guessed this outcome, she still vented her pent-up frustration on Wan Tang.
The snow fell heavier and heavier. Wan Tang was punished to sweep the snow in the courtyard.
Amid the vast expanse of white, a solitary figure with a broom trembled together under the relentless assault of the wind and snow.