Rong Zhi touched her face and smiled a little unnaturally, "The former Medicine King Valley Master passed away twenty years ago. I didn't expect you to still remember her appearance."
"I met her once, and it's unforgettable."
Rong Zhi felt as if her whole body was burning. "Then your memory is quite good."
Xia Yun Ting chuckled lightly and turned to sort through the pile of gifts.
Rong Zhi felt a heavy stone lift off her body, and she let out a sigh of relief. This man had a sharp eye, but this also proved that her appearance was indeed easy to expose now. It seemed she still needed to find an opportunity to get a mask to cover herself.
As she was thinking this, a hand suddenly appeared before her, holding a thing as thin as a cicada's wing in its palm.
"What is this?" Rong Zhi picked it up curiously and found the texture to be like a young girl's skin, with features drawn on it, lifelike. It was the mask she had just been thinking about.
"I had someone make it for me. Though it's not as good as yours, it can be used for now and serve to mislead people."
This was truly a timely rain.
Rong Zhi smiled and accepted it, not being polite at all. "Then thank you very much." She found a mirror and put it on, and suddenly realized that this face was somewhat familiar. It was the face of Chun Tao, the persona she had previously impersonated.
She turned back in surprise, looking at Xia Yun Ting with a questioning gaze, "What's going on?"
Xia Yun Ting came behind Rong Zhi, his hands placed against Rong Zhi's face, checking if the mask was properly fitted. The warmth of his palms was a little scorching.
"Those few maids were deliberately placed here by Xia Jin."
"Xia Jin, your steward?" Rong Zhi recalled the middle-aged man with his nostrils pointing to the sky.
"Yes. He was originally from the Grand Tutor's mansion. After I established my residence, the Grand Tutor arranged for a steward to be sent to me, citing my lack of people to look after me at home."
Rong Zhi recalled the rumors she had heard. It was said that the Grand Tutor had a past kindness towards Xia Yun Ting, and Xia Yun Ting respected the Grand Tutor's mansion greatly. However, seeing Xia Yun Ting's wary expression when mentioning the Grand Tutor's mansion, could there be some hidden story behind this?
"You want me to impersonate a maid and act as an inside informant?"
"Precisely." Xia Yun Ting smiled, not expecting her to understand his intentions so quickly.
"Xia Yun Ting, I've already done too much for you. You still owe me too many favors." Rong Zhi chuckled and let down her long hair, tying it into a bun. "Never mind, I'll help you out while I'm at it. When I return to Medicine King Valley, you'll have to give me a thousand taels of gold for my travel expenses."
"I'm deeply grateful."
Now that Zhang Can's condition had improved considerably and he no longer required constant personal care, and even if medication was needed, Rong Zhi only needed to be consulted. Thus, Rong Zhi returned to being the maid Chun Tao.
When she returned to their quarters, her three sisters, Xia Qiu, Xia Dong, and Xia Mei, thought they had seen a ghost.
"Chun... Chun Tao, why have you returned? Didn't you die?"
The sisters Xia Qiu hugged each other, trembling, their voices quivering. Only Dong Mei showed more surprise, but no fear.
"Who told you I died?"
Xia He pointed outside and said, "The servants and maids outside are all saying so. We even cried for several days."
Rong Zhi said, "I was just confined for a few days, I didn't die."
Dong Mei asked, "Chun Tao, why were you confined?"
"I went out to use the privy that night and got lost. I was searching around the manor. The General must have suspected me of suspicious behavior and ill intentions, so he had me arrested and interrogated for several days. It seems the truth has been revealed now, and I've been released."
The remaining people listened, still feeling lingering fear.
Xia He said, "That was truly terrifying. I've never heard of a household having so many guards in their courtyard."
Qiu Ju said with some worry, "I heard that the General is not like others. Assassins often enter the General's mansion, so we must be careful. We might be accidentally injured by assassins."
"Stop talking. It's too late, let's go to sleep. We have to get up and work tomorrow."
The women made space for Rong Zhi, right next to Dong Mei. As they were about to sleep, Rong Zhi noticed many scars on Dong Mei's back, which looked like they were inflicted by a whip.
"Dong Mei, what happened to you?"
"It's nothing. Old Madam Gu hit me," Dong Mei said with an awkward smile.
Xia He advised her, "Dong Mei, I think you should give up on the General. Madam is so formidable. Seeing you appear on the General's usual path, she beat you like this. It shows she's ruthless. We can't compete with her."
"Yes, I know." Dong Mei nodded obediently, but there was still a hint of unwillingness in her eyes.
Nothing happened overnight. The next morning, Xia Qiu, Xia Dong, and Xia Mei were already up early. The rustling sounds made Rong Zhi wake up instantly.
"Why are you up so early? It's not even dawn yet." Rong Zhi looked at the dark sky outside, a little confused. She remembered that the maids didn't have to get up so early in the beginning.
"You don't know, Old Madam Gu is very strict. If she sees us a little late, she'll hit us." Xia He urged her while getting dressed, "You should get up quickly too. You just returned yesterday and don't know the rules, but Old Madam Gu won't listen to your explanations."
Rong Zhi had no choice but to get up and dress, thinking to herself that Old Madam Gu probably wouldn't be in the mood to make things difficult for them now.
As expected, the four of them didn't see Old Madam Gu until noon.
"What's going on? Old Madam Gu usually comes to watch us." Qiu Ju craned her neck towards Xing Jiahui's courtyard but couldn't see anything.
Rong Zhi said casually, as if unintentionally, "I heard that Madam and Old Madam Gu made a mistake, and the General has placed them under house arrest."
"House arrest?" The few of them were a little surprised.
Dong Mei's eyes lit up. She said nothing, but her mind began to work.
After lunch, as usual, they had to go to the backyard to boil water. Dong Mei clutched her stomach, her face contorted in pain. "Oh, my stomach hurts. You guys go ahead and work. I'm going to use the privy."
With that, she left.
The sisters Xia Qiu exchanged glances. Xia He said, "The food we ate at noon was fresh. How could your stomach hurt?"
Rong Zhi thought to herself that it probably wasn't a stomachache, but the wickedness in her belly starting to churn again.
As expected, Dong Mei was gone for a long time.
"I'll go check."
Since the water had already boiled, Rong Zhi asked the remaining two to stay and went directly to Xia Yun Ting's study.
The weather was clear today, and Xia Yun Ting didn't have to attend court. He was reading in his study. As Rong Zhi approached, she could hear a deliberately gentle voice from afar.
"General, the tea is getting cold. Have some tea."
Finally, Xia Yun Ting's flat voice was heard, "Xia Jin."
Xia Jin, who was not far from the door, heard the call and went in. After a short while, he came out carrying Dong Mei, scolding her as he walked.
"Don't you have any sense? Can't you see the General is reading?"
Although the tone was stern, there was no intention of punishment. He simply instructed her to "work hard" and was about to let her go.
"This General's mansion has no rules at all. The General's Madam has only been back for a few days, and already these vixen can't sit still."
Suddenly, a clear voice came. Xiao Yao walked closer and pinched Dong Mei's cheek, her eyes full of disdain. "What, now that the General's Madam is under house arrest, all sorts of ghosts and monsters dare to come out and wander around? You have the nerve to be an eyesore with that face."
Dong Mei's eyes reddened, but she didn't dare to say a word.
Xia Jin also chimed in, "Exactly. Don't you even know what you are? Hurry up and go work."
With that, he kicked her away. Dong Mei, wiping away tears, ran off. On her way back, she happened to run into Rong Zhi.
"Dong Mei, what's wrong?"
Dong Mei didn't respond, but ran even faster.
Rong Zhi hid behind the wall and watched Xia Jin respectfully curry favor with Xiao Yao. "County Princess, why have you come?"
"Can't I come to see my friend? Is Xia Yun Ting not allowed to let others visit him just because he's confined her?"
There was a gunpowder smell in her words. Xia Jin knew the visitor was not here to be pleasant and became even more polite.
"What are you saying? I'll take you there right away."
"No need, I can walk myself."
Xiao Yao deliberately spoke loudly, as if to be heard by the people in the study.
Rong Zhi took the opportunity to sneak back. Her guess was correct. Since Xing Jiahui was under house arrest, Xiao Yao, her close friend, would surely come to her defense.
She hadn't expected her to come so soon.
When she returned, Dong Mei said nothing, silently sweeping the courtyard.
Although Xia Yun Ting said that these four girls were deliberately placed by Xia Jin, they were still doing menial tasks like sweeping, and were far from Xia Yun Ting's sleeping quarters and study. It seemed Xia Yun Ting was intentionally keeping them at bay.
"Chun Tao." With Xia Qiu and Xia Dong not around, Dong Mei sidled over, her red eyes carrying a hint of hostility.
"Why were you outside the study just now?"
"I saw you were gone for a long time, so I went to look for you. I heard your voice outside the study, but I didn't dare to get too close."
"You have the same intentions as me, but your looks are far inferior to mine. You should give up on this idea!"
Rong Zhi, attacked for her looks without reason: "..."
She said with a fawning smile, "You are indeed better looking than me. Since we are all here to work, it's just to make a living and live better. We are sisters. If you live well, we can naturally live well too. If you truly intend to go down this path, I will wholeheartedly help you."
"Really?" Hearing that Rong Zhi had no intention of competing with her, Dong Mei's defensiveness gradually receded.
"Of course. Among the four of us, you have the best appearance. Those two are too timid and can't accomplish great things. I'll be counting on you in the future."
Rong Zhi spoke with an air of pouring out her heart, which left the other party stunned.
"You have good taste. If I become a concubine in the future, I certainly won't mistreat you."
Dong Mei felt flattered and comfortable, her eyes were no longer red, and she happily went to tidy up the flower bushes in the corner.
Meanwhile, Rong Zhi was a little puzzled. If the Grand Tutor's mansion wanted to monitor Xia Yun Ting's movements, why didn't they send people directly as concubines? Instead, they sent a few maids. If these maids couldn't get close to Xia Yun Ting, wouldn't it be a waste of effort?
As she was thinking, she suddenly heard a scream from the corner of the wall. A sharp figure landed and kicked towards Dong Mei.
Dong Mei fell to the ground, and when she saw the person before her, fear appeared on her face.
It was none other than Xiao Yao.
"I didn't expect you to be so dishonest. I'll teach you a good lesson on behalf of Madam today."
With that, she was about to swing her palm.
"Wait a moment!" Rong Zhi quickly stopped her.
"There needs to be a reason to hit someone. We haven't done anything wrong, why are you attacking us?"
Rong Zhi went over and helped the person up.
Xiao Yao sized up Rong Zhi. Seeing a thin young girl with not much beauty, she was probably not the "seductive" person Xing Jiahui had described. Therefore, she impatiently said to her, "What business is it of yours if I, a County Princess, am disciplining someone? Get lost!"