Volume 3, Chapter 268 – Was It All for Chi Xiyan?

She could not disappoint the little fox miss. She absolutely could not drag her down either.

Bu Lianshuang, remember what you came here to do!

Bu Lianshuang drew in a slow breath and quietly steeled her resolve.

Luluo had no idea what was going through Bu Lianshuang’s head. She looked at the girl standing before her, listening with obvious attentiveness, and felt a small measure of satisfaction rise in her chest.

When it came to breaking in new servants, the most tiresome thing was dealing with those who refused to be managed.

Especially young girls who had some cultivation to their name. A few of them, emboldened by whatever modest talent they possessed, carried an air of arrogance even after becoming servants. They seemed to think that talent alone was enough to change their circumstances.

Those were always the worst to deal with.

Luluo was aware that Lan Shuang’s cultivation was no small thing. To be at the Third Realm at her age already put her above the vast majority of servants in the Chi Residence, and even above some of the useless young masters from the branch families who had made no such progress.

Because of that, Luluo had been quietly worried beforehand that Lan Shuang might give her trouble.

Looking at her now, though, this girl called Lan Shuang did seem to carry the kind of pride common to talented people, but she was not unreasonable about it.

From the very first moment Luluo had laid eyes on her, she had noticed something. Even when standing beside the Chi family’s eldest young lady, this girl’s gaze had held not the slightest trace of deference.

She was technically a servant, yet she had looked at Chi Xiyan as though they were equals.

It was only when her eyes turned toward the Second Young Lady that any warmth entered them at all.

Luluo had grown up at Chi Xiyan’s side and had seen plenty of young ladies from great families over the years. She knew how to read people.

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The most important qualities in a personal maidservant were attentiveness and loyalty. On the matter of loyalty, at least, the Lan Shuang before her seemed to pass.

“Miss Shuang, follow me.” Luluo said. “I’ll give you an introduction to the Chi Residence first, and then go over the duties expected of us maidservants in more detail.”

“Yes!” Bu Lianshuang nodded eagerly. This was exactly the kind of information she needed most right now.

And so, Luluo led Bu Lianshuang on a full circuit of the Chi Residence.

As they walked, she explained the purpose of each courtyard and the rules one had to observe while moving through the estate. She patiently pointed out which areas were permitted and which were strictly off-limits.

By the time they had finished, two full hours had passed.

As a senior, Luluo was nothing if not thorough.

As for Bu Lianshuang, after that single lap of the grounds, she felt as though her head might split open.

So this was the estate of Beihe Commandery’s wealthiest merchant family.

The layout of these courtyards was at least ten times more complicated than the wolf clan’s royal court.

Having grown up in the bleak hardship of the northern ice plains, Bu Lianshuang had never encountered anything like this in her life.

Still, she was a Fifth Realm cultivator, and by leaning on the wolf clan’s innate sensitivity to scent, she managed to piece together a rough mental map of the residence’s major sections.

The off-limits areas she took special care to memorize.

Thinking of how the little fox miss had come to the Chi Residence with a purpose of her own, Bu Lianshuang figured this information might prove useful to her.

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After their tour, Bu Lianshuang dragged her tired body back to the courtyard, but Luluo had no intention of letting her rest. She pulled her along further still and went through a long list of things to keep in mind while attending a young lady.

Bu Lianshuang gritted her teeth and committed each item to memory one by one.

She thought privately that the strange rules of the Chi Residence were even more long-winded than the wolf clan’s high priest.

Take for instance the peculiar tradition that the divine maiden’s true face must not be sullied by outsiders. That bizarre rule had been established by the wolf clan’s high priest in ancient times.

These humans, bound up every single day in all their tedious formalities. Did it not exhaust them?

Bu Lianshuang complained silently in her heart, though she still memorized everything Luluo taught her all the same.

Some time later, Luluo glanced at the sky.

“It’s almost time for the evening meal.”

“That’s enough for today’s lesson.”

“The family head and the Eldest Young Lady have reached a high level in their cultivation, so they don’t pay much attention to food.”

“But the Second Young Lady has no cultivation at all. She is mortal through and through, which means her diet requires extra care.”

“You are her personal maidservant. Looking after her meals and daily life is your responsibility. If something goes wrong with the Second Young Lady’s health, you will be the first one the family head holds accountable.”

Bu Lianshuang considered this. “So I should taste her food for poison before she eats every day?”

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“Better safe than sorry.” Luluo said. “The chances are small, but in a household like this, no one can say for certain what might happen.”

“If something truly did go wrong, it would be too late for regrets. A mortal without any cultivation is simply far too fragile.”

‘The little fox miss is no ordinary mortal without cultivation. Her level is at least Sixth Realm, maybe even Seventh.’

Bu Lianshuang thought to herself.

“Come to think of it, the Second Young Lady has been very reluctant to let any of us maidservants come near her.” Luluo said. “Once, a few of the younger girls tried to help her undress, and she nearly scratched them. I wonder whether you, as her personal maidservant, might be different.”

“Hm?” Bu Lianshuang’s gaze sharpened slightly. “Undress? What do you mean? What happened?”

“Well, I probably shouldn’t say too much.” Luluo said. “But since you’re her personal maidservant, I think you ought to know.”

“The Second Young Lady seems to have some kind of ailment of the heart. Anyone coming near her frightens her.”

“Anyone except the Eldest Young Lady.”

“So for this whole period, it has been the Eldest Young Lady who has been looking after the Second Young Lady’s daily life.”

“Helping her dress and wash up. Helping her bathe and wipe down.”

Bu Lianshuang’s expression went very still.

Crack.

A sharp pop rang out from her knuckles.

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Luluo blinked. “What was that sound?”

“Probably a stray cat snapping a dead branch.” Bu Lianshuang said. “You were saying, the Eldest Young Lady has been the one caring for the Second Young Lady this whole time, and the Second Young Lady refuses to let anyone else come near her?”

“That’s right.” Luluo said. “But what kind of person is the Eldest Young Lady? She shouldn’t be doing the work of a servant. Once or twice is one thing, but doing it every single day, what kind of state would that be?”

“We’ve all been worried about just how long the Eldest Young Lady would have to keep this up.”

Bu Lianshuang fell into silence.

She suddenly understood exactly where her feeling of dread had been coming from.

The little fox miss had some condition that kept her from letting anyone near her?

Nonsense.

She had no such condition. Not even close.

She had been performing.

And what reason would the little fox miss have to do something like that?

For Chi Xiyan.

Bu Lianshuang felt as though the air had left her lungs.