"Who is this?" Fu Ning immediately saw the dirty big boy behind the butler.
He looked no older than twenty-two.
His face was so dirty that his facial features were indistinguishable.
Consort Ling glanced at him but paid him no mind.
"Your Highness, Miss Chu wishes to keep a servant in the courtyard," the butler explained immediately.
Consort Ling nodded and smiled, "As the young lady likes."
She seemed to have other matters, and added, "Miss, I need to go out for a while."
"Then I won't trouble Your Highness," Chu Qianli watched her leave, and looking at that retreating figure, she became even more certain that the person she saw last night must have been her.
Fu Ning whispered, "Miss, do you intend to take this young man into your service?"
Looking at him from any angle, he didn't seem like someone with any particular abilities.
Not only was he dirty, but he also appeared timid, constantly keeping his head down, afraid to speak or look at anyone.
Only occasionally would he secretly lift his eyes to glance at Chu Qianli, as if, among so many people here, Chu Qianli was the only one who caught his attention.
As if he had made up his mind.
"I don't know who he is. I rescued him from the market, and he might be a bad person."
Chu Qianli turned and walked away.
Fu Ning felt a little helpless; the young lady's guard was becoming heavier.
However, considering the young lady's position and the many times she had been framed and schemed against along the way, it was always right to be more cautious.
But despite her caution, she still had a soft heart.
Fu Ning brought the grey-clothed boy back to the Plum Garden where they were temporarily staying.
"What is your name? How old are you? Where is your home?"
The grey-clothed boy did not respond to any of these questions, merely looking at her timidly.
His expression conveyed a sense of resistance and distance.
Fu Ning soon realized that this grey-clothed boy was also very guarded, only willing to follow their young lady.
But the young lady had already gone into her room to rest.
"You must at least tell me your name. It's not good for me to call you 'hey' every time, is it? Also, you need to take a bath..."
She glanced at the boy's body... In fact, with such a tall and slender build, he could be considered a true man.
But he always kept his back slightly hunched, as if he were being cautious about everything, still appearing like a somewhat withdrawn young man.
"I'll go get you some clothes."
Fu Ning arranged a secluded guest room for him and prepared clothes for him to wash up. After much fuss, she finally discovered—
"Miss, he really is mute. When I deliberately startled him, he only showed panic and opened his mouth, but not a single sound came out."
Only a truly mute person would be like this.
Fu Ning felt a pang of regret. How could she have frightened him just to test him? It was too unkind!
"A true master, if they wanted to pretend, you would never find a flaw," Chu Qianli was reading a book, not even lifting her eyelids.
Fu Ning almost rolled her eyes at her, "Since you suspect he's a bad person, why did you bring him back?"
Chu Qianli glanced at her sideways, "You're meddling!"
"It's still your soft heart causing trouble, isn't it?" Fu Ning knew her too well. "You guard against people, yet you're afraid they'll be bullied and hurt... Oh dear, he has quite a few wounds on him. The one on his forehead is still bleeding. Miss, I'll have him come see you after he washes up, you wait for him..."
Before she could finish speaking, a faint, hesitant, and timid sound of footsteps came from outside.
Fu Ning recognized who it was upon hearing it.
"He's here."