Unparalleled Beauty

Chapter C007

Wushuang went into the inner room and came out a moment later, handing Xiaohong several items.

They were a gold hairpin and several small silver ingots.

These few silver ingots were probably the only valuables that Wushuang could use, otherwise she would not have used her own jewelry. It was important to know that the jewelry of young ladies was counted, and if one piece was missing, it would be discovered.

“Miss, you……”

Apparently, Xiaohong did not expect the Third Miss to be so straightforward. Even though she was the Third Miss's maid, she was at best a rough maid in her yard. Although the servants in the Marquis's mansion each had their own master, there was only one master in the end, and that was the Marquis's wife and the Old Madam.

Nanny Zhao was the Old Madam's person, and Bailu was obviously the same. How could the Third Miss be so bold as to make such a request of her? Wasn't she afraid that she would tell Nanny Zhao in private?

But then Xiaohong thought again, the Third Miss really didn't need to be afraid.

Because no matter what, the Third Miss was a young lady, while she was just a rough servant girl. Her position in the Third Miss's courtyard was such that anyone could order her around.

The servants who had a little bit of power and influence in the mansion would not go to the Third Miss's courtyard to serve. Those who came were either arranged by someone behind the scenes or were those who had no backing or support.

Xiaohong was obviously the latter, otherwise she would not have been doing the hardest and most tiring work all the time, and she would always be bullied.

In particular, she and the Third Miss had a secret between just the two of them—they had eavesdropped on a conversation between Nanny Zhao and Bailu.

Therefore, Wushuang was certain that Xiaohong would not inform on her, and would instead help her.

Since Xiaohong had no way out, even if she went to inform on them, it was very likely that nothing would come of it. On the contrary, she might be disposed of because she had accidentally overheard these private matters of the Marquis's mansion.

She could only turn to Wushuang to protect herself.

Undoubtedly, Xiaohong was very clever.

It was also possible that she had already thought through all the entanglements on her way here, so although she was surprised by Wushuang's straightforwardness, she was not surprised that she would let her do things.

That was exactly what had been making her uneasy all along, because Xiaohong had never wanted to get involved in the Marquis's mansion's affairs. Obviously, something unexpected had happened now.

"Don't refuse me. I can only turn to you for help. Please try your best to think of a way to help me. If you help me, I won't treat you badly in the future."

At that time, Xiaohong didn't know what Wushuang's promise meant. She felt helpless and nothing but frustration.

"Miss, it's not that this servant won't help you, but this servant is also not familiar with this manor. This servant..."

At that moment, the door was suddenly pushed open.

The mistress and servant looked towards the door subconsciously. A maid carrying a bucket of water came in.

She looked to be about sixteen or seventeen years old, with two large braids and slightly dark skin. She seemed very strong. The water bucket was large and filled with water, and even men had difficulty carrying it, but she didn't seem to struggle.

Wushuang blinked in surprise after seeing the other person's face. Before she could speak, Xiaohong had already spoken.

“You girl, why didn’t you knock before coming in? Do you have any manners?”

Normally, Xiaohong wouldn’t be so aggressive, but she was in the middle of a ‘conspiracy’ with her Miss, and she lost her composure when someone suddenly barged in.

“I…”

Just as Wushuang was about to call out to Xiaohong, the commotion here had already attracted others.

Steward Chen's wife hurried in and said, "Miss, please don't be angry. I specially found this girl to serve you. I thought that you only brought two maids with you, which might not be enough, so I found a maid to help you with some chores. She is a country girl, clumsy and not very knowledgeable about the rules. I thought that you would be covered in dust after your journey, so I specially asked this girl to bring you some water for bathing."

It was obvious that Bailu's previous attitude had cast a great shadow over her. She explained anxiously while smiling apologetically.

At this moment, Xiaohong also realized that she had lost her composure. She was about to say something when Wushuang said, "I'm not angry. Let her take the water into the inner room."

Steward Chen's wife quickly scolded the servant girl a few times, telling her to hurry up and take the water in, and to be careful not to make the young lady angry with her clumsiness.

***

Not only did the maid bring a bucket of water, she also moved a bathtub.

She moved the large bathtub all by herself, and then she brought a large bucket of warm water, which was enough for Wushuang to bathe with.

Since Bailu was not around, Xiaohong served Wushuang in her bath, and Wushuang also kept that servant girl by her side to wait on her.

When the wife of Steward Chen saw that Wushuang was really not angry, she showed a relieved expression. She hurriedly went downstairs and, before leaving, instructed the servant girl to serve Wushuang well.

Wushuang took off her clothes and stepped into the bathtub.

When she entered the water, her hair was already tied up, and her thick bangs were combed up. Seeing Wushuang's unobstructed little face, Xiaohong couldn't help but be dazzled.

This was the first time she had seen the Third Miss's entire face clearly. At this moment, she finally understood why the Third Miss kept her bangs so thick and why the mansion had invited someone like Master Qin to be her tutor, and only her tutor.

Her heart was pounding, and her hands were trembling.

It wasn't just because of that face, but also a subconscious sense of fear after she had become aware of the Marquis's mansion's secrets. However, the Third Miss's calm eyes looking at her also made her realize that she really had no way out.

The Third Miss might not be as stupid and harmless as she appeared on the surface. She might know everything, and the Third Miss revealing her face in front of her was both a confession, telling her own situation, and a threat.

After learning so much, if she did not seek refuge with the Third Miss, the consequences awaiting her would certainly not be good.

***

Just by looking at Xiaohong's expression, Wushuang knew that the other party had thought too much.

In fact, she was not as formidable as Xiaohong thought. Otherwise, she would not have been played around with in her previous life, and it was only after she suffered such a great loss that she came to a realization.

She had no memory of anything before the age of five. She only remembered that when she was little, her grandmother would occasionally smile when she saw her. However, as she grew older and more developed, her grandmother stopped smiling at her.

Then Master Qin came.

Master Qin taught her to read the "Four Books for Women" and the "Analects for Women", and asked her not only to memorize them, but also to keep them in mind at all times.

Day after day, she began to feel that a woman with beauty was a disaster, bringing misfortune to herself and her family. She sincerely believed that women with charming looks were born with original sin.

So she hid her face, and under Master Qin's urging, she corrected her posture, her gaze, and her tone of voice, making herself cautious and reserved, a woman who was so rigid that she was almost wooden.

It was him, that person, who had forced her to reveal her true nature, bit by bit. It was also him...

She could not think about it anymore!

Wushuang shook her head, shifting her gaze from Xiaohong to the servant girl beside her.

“What is your name?”

The maid was taken aback, as if she had not expected Wushuang to ask her name. She said, "My name is, my name is Meifang."

"I would like to see the great aunt. Can you help me?"

Xiaohong wanted to stop Wushuang. The third Miss was losing her mind. Why would she ask anyone she met to help her see her great aunt? Was she really crazy, or was she planning to go all out? Even if she was going all out, she shouldn't hurt her!

Who would have thought that the reaction of the maid named Meifang would make Xiaohong realize that things were not that simple?

Meifang looked at Wushuang in surprise, with a very strange expression on her face.

Then, she nodded and said, "Okay."

***

Meifang was obviously very familiar with this place.

Xiaohong was still a little worried, but seeing that the young lady had a strange trust in this Meifang, she could only listen to her and let them do whatever they wanted.

After Wushuang finished bathing, Bailu also came back after finishing her meal.

She didn't care whether Xiaohong had dinner or not, and she didn't suspect Meifang either. She heard that Steward Chen's wife had arranged for her to serve Wushuang, and she felt a sense of satisfaction. After she handed over the task of serving Wushuang to bed and keeping the night watch to Xiaohong and Meifang, she went to sleep on the pretext of having a sore back and waist.

This girl had always been lazy and loved to shirk her duties. If she could get away with being lazy, she would never pass up the opportunity.

All of this was within Wushuang's expectations, so after the lights were out, she easily left the house under Meifang's cover.

As the night deepened, Wushuang wrapped herself in a dark cloak and lead Xiaohong, following behind Meifang.

At this time, most of the people in the manor had gone to sleep, and it was pitch black outside. Fortunately, Meifang had somehow gotten a lantern, so they were not afraid of not having anything to light their way.

Meifang was not only familiar with the mansion, but also with the area outside. She led Wushuang the two of them to the small courtyard with ease. However, before they reached the place, they vaguely saw someone in the courtyard.

There were two servants from the Marquis's mansion standing in the courtyard with lanterns. Wushuang recognized them as the ones who had followed Nanny Zhao on this trip.

Why did Nanny Zhao come to see Great Aunt at this time?

Wushuang glanced at Meifang.

In the darkness, she could not see the other person's expression, but Meifang reacted quickly. She lowered her body and went to the side. Wushuang quickly followed with Xiaohong.

Meifang led the two of them around in a circle, and through the unbolted back door of the small courtyard, she led the two of them into the small courtyard.

The entire small courtyard consisted of a row of three main rooms. The backyard seemed to be a vegetable plot, but it had now fallen into disuse. Meifang led them through a series of twists and turns, and the three of them arrived at a window.

Yellowish light shone on the window paper, and voices could be faintly heard coming from inside.

Wushuang was eager to find out if Nanny Zhao was inside and wanted to find something to poke a hole in the window paper. Meifang stopped her, moistened her finger in her mouth, and poked a small hole in the window paper.

Through the small hole, they could vaguely see the situation in the room.

A person was standing in the room, it was Nanny Zhao.

From Wushuang's position, she could only see Nanny Zhao smiling and facing the bed with her body sideways.

“You’ve had it hard all these years, and you’ve been worried sick about the Third Miss. But look at her now. Thanks to the Old Madam and the Marquis’s loving care, she’s no worse off than any of the other young ladies in the mansion. She has everything they have, and more. She’s grown up safe and sound, and she’s about to get married.”

No one said anything. From Wushuang’s position, she couldn’t see the bed or the Great Aunt’s expression.

When Great Aunt ignored her, she couldn't help but feel a little uneasy, after all, it involved Wushuang, whom she had always cared about. 

Nanny Zhao smiled and said, "You shouldn't be resentful. Back then, you were a concubine, but you suppressed the wife our Old Madam for so many years. Later, when your Lord died in battle and the Old Marquis who supported you passed away, the Old Madam finally turned the tables."

"Even with these old grudges, after the Third Miss was sent back from the border, the Old Madam didn't mistreat her. Didn't she still raise her as her own granddaughter? You said you wanted to see the Third Miss once a year, and the mansion remembered to send her over every time. It's the Third Miss who doesn't want to see you. You can't blame others for this, can you, Great Aunt?"