His Peasant Wife : Yao Ling

Xiao Yu grinned widely. "Of course, Young Mistress is the best! Young Mistress never demands too many weird things and never mistreats this servant. However, Young Mistress should let this servant serve you more! If Young Mistress was too independent, then there would be no job left for this servant to do." By the end of her sentences, Xiao Yu was already pouting.

Yao Ling looked at her helplessly. "It's hard not to be independent. I used to do everything by myself. Look! Even my hands aren't as pretty and smooth as other ladies." Yao Ling showed both of her hands to Xiao Yu without a shame. Her hands were a bit rough, but it didn't mean she should be embarrassed because of it.

Xiao Yu was admiring her young mistress. Her young mistress had a lot of good traits. One thing for sure, she didn't feel ashamed with her background at all! If poor persons suddenly became rich, generally they would taunt their new wealth and cover up their past. Their past usually deemed as an embarrassment and a taint to their new status. However, her young mistress was the opposite of that narrow-minded view.

Her young mistress never covered up her past and she almost proudly told her previous life stories. She didn't even feel ashamed with her rough hands. In her point of view, her young mistress treated her more like a friend than a subordinate.

"Young Mistress probably should try soaking your hands in rice water. It's really beneficial for skin," Xiao Yu gave a suggestion.

"Then, you can prepare it for me later."

"This servant will," Xiao Yu answered happily.

"How about Xiu?" Yao Ling continued her questions.

"What about him, Young Mistress?"

"What was his job before serving Young Master?"

"He served Master. He wasn't his personal servant, but he was serving in Master's inner circle. I think Master gave Xiu to Young Master because he's an honest person and can be trusted. Since Young Master is new in this household, he could give Young Master a few pointers to help Young Master adjusting with the household and environment faster." Xiao Yu explained.

Yao Ling pondered to herself. 'Does it mean Xiu can be trusted? Unless… he was given by Wang Luo Hai to pay attention to their movement? We won't do anything harmful to Wang Luo Hai, because we are in debt with his kindness. Then, having Xiu… isn't really harmful to them.' She should tell Yao Ying her thought later.

Yao Ling could only sigh inwardly. This distrustfulness really made her head feel an ache. She wasn't good in this kind of battle, but she had to learn nonetheless. She had to adapt to her current environment. Well… well… After this, she would deliberately let Xiao Yu know her plan. She just hoped Xiao Yu would keep this to herself. For the other servants, she would handle them later.

"I see. Are you close with Xiu?" Yao Ling asked mischievously. She deliberately teased Xiao Yu.

"Wha…what? No! How can Young Mistress get that conclusion?" Xiao Yu blushed in embarrassment.

"You seem to think highly of Xiu."

"I'm just stating the truth! Beside… he'd impregnated someone already," Xiao Yu mumbled the last part. Her face fell for a little bit, but Yao Ling managed to see it.

"Impregnated someone?" Yao Ling asked in awe. Inside her mind, Xiu's face flashed. That quiet man? Really? She didn't believe Xiu was someone like that.

Xiao Yu gasped and closed her mouth with both of her hands. Did she just accidentally divulge Xiu's secret? She felt guilty all of a sudden. "Young… Young Mistress… seems to hear me wrong."

"Really?" Yao Ling raised one of her eyebrows in disbelief. Her hearing was pretty good, so she didn't think that she'd misheard her last sentence.

"Really!" Xiao Yu said with a confident manner, trying to push down her guilty conscience.

"Then… what did you say just now?" Yao Ling teased her. She knew that Xiao Yu was trying to protect Xiu, so she didn't mind her little white lie. She just loved seeing Xiao Yu's panicked expression.

"I… I forget." That was the only answer that Xiao Yu could muster up. She knew Young Mistress caught onto her lie, but she could only say so. Inside her mind, she begged for Xiu's forgiveness. 'I'm sorry, Xiu. I didn't mean to sell you out.'

Yao Ling just shook her head and let her be. She could just ask Xiu directly or maybe ask Yao Ying later, so she didn't push Xiao Yu for an answer.

They walked to the opposite side of 'Fu Rong'. From 'Wang Fu', they had to turn left if they wanted to go to the bustling main street where 'Fu Rong' proudly stood. Instead, Yao Ling chose to turn right. The small house that previously provided by Wang Luo Hai was also on the left side. She already knew what was around that side. It was nothing major. After the bustling main street, there was only a big bamboo garden which the road was splitting into one big path and several small paths.

The big path led to the house of important nobles while the small path led to small houses – including theirs. Yao Ying and she used to go around that path, so she knew everything there. That was why she preferred to go to the right side. She wanted to explore the unknown part of the city to her.

"Xiao Yu, do you know what's on this street?" Yao Ling asked in advance.

"There are several places. The auction house, a gambling house, and that… kind of place," Xiao Yu said the last part in a small voice. "I don't think it's a good idea if we go that part with just the two of us."

Yao Ling furrowed her eyebrows. "That kind of place? What kind of place is that?" Yao Ling asked in confusion.

Xiao Yu could feel her face reddening. How could she say out loud the name of the place? That wasn't a good place, especially for women. It's a Hua Lou [1] for God's sake!

Yao Ling looked at Xiao Yu's blushing face in confusion. What kind of place was that exactly?

"If… if we pass by, Young Mistress will know. It's an inconvenience for this servant to say it out loud," Xiao Yu stuttered. "But… we can't go in there, okay?"

Yao Ling nodded. Was that a scary place? The more she thought about it, the more curious she became! 'It looks like visiting this place later is a must!' Yao Ling thought to herself.

[1]. Hua Lou is a brothel in ancient time.