4 - Bullied

Chapter 4 – Bullied

Time rolled back to two years ago when the Jiangnan Salt Administration had been corrupted for some time. It is said that heroes are created out of critical situations and opportunities are always hidden in crises. The corrupted Salt Administration, the collusion between officials and merchants, the secret surge of forces in the imperial court……..the Emperor had long wanted to rectify all these but plans had laid dormant for some time.

When the Daxing Dynasty’s secret constables scattered all over the country were dispatched, she was already prepared.

She, Shangguan Yan, had her eyes focused on the largest salt merchant in the north of the Yangtze River……. the Qin Family.

Old Master Qin and Lord Yan Zheng were very close friends and she believed that they must have secret transactions between them. As Old Master Qin is a very cautious and cunning man, he would definitely keep something like a name list or an account book detailing the transactions with Lord Yan Zheng. In case something happens in the future, it could be used as a bargaining chip. As long as she could find the evidence of bribing, she would be able to nail Lord Yan Zheng.

To work undercover in the Qin Family, she disguised herself as a slave and let herself be sold as a maid into the family. Due to the pockmarks on her face, everyone called her Ma’er, and she was sent to work in the firewood shed.

The pockmarks on her face were not a disguise but she had consumed a kind of medicine that caused pockmarks to emerge on her face and it was more convenient than a disguise.

With a strong foundation of martial arts, it was not difficult for her to handle rough work, and coupled with her appearance and her low status, no one paid her attention. Therefore, it gave her a lot of convenience and opportunities in carrying out investigations in the Qin Mansion.

Every day the idlest time for the servants would be lunchtime and she would make use of this time to walk around the Qin Mansion to search for the things she wanted and at the same time, she would avoid the guards’ courtyard.

After spending two months as an undercover agent in the Qin Mansion, she had searched all the study rooms, bedrooms, halls, and guest rooms of various sizes located in the different courtyards.

On this day, she quietly came to the prayer hall and it was the only place left that she had not searched.

She carefully searched every nook and corner of the place including the secret compartments and secret rooms, and she had even searched the windows sills and the roof beams. She had also searched every piece of roof tiles and cornices but all her efforts came to naught.

While she was searching the Buddha statue, she suddenly heard a voice outside the door.

“Brother Di, this way please…….”

Their arrival was too sudden and there was no time for her to escape. Since there were no cabinets for her to hide, in a state of urgency, she dived under the altar table in the prayer hall. Fortunately, there was a tablecloth covering the table and the length of it was just enough to cover her body.

As soon as she dived under the table, the people outside stepped into the hall.

“This time, I’ve to trouble Brother Di to help me put in a good word in front of Lord Tan.”

“Brother Qin is too polite. Di Mou will definitely find a way to appease Lord Tan.”

“If Father knows about this, he will surely kill me. Ai, the blame should be on me for drinking and offending him. That Lord Tan is truly a narrow-minded person.”

“In my opinion, Lord Tan is not a stubborn man, so why not treat him to a feast as an apology?”

“Of course, treating him to a feast is not a problem since our Qin Family does not lack money. I’m only afraid that he won’t show appreciation and deliberately goes against our Qin Family.”

“Brother Qin, don’t worry. Since I’ve agreed, I’ll try my best to make it happen.”

“Thank you very much, Brother Di. This little brother is very grateful to you and once everything is settled, I’ll show deep appreciation.”

The bored Shangguan Yan, who was hiding under the altar table, listened to the two men talked. She recognized one of the voices belonged to the Eldest Son of the Qin Family, Qin Jikang. As for the other man with the surname Di, she did not know him.

She was feeling bored when suddenly there was a sound of something falling. Following that, she immediately saw something rolling under the altar table and it stopped right at her feet. Upon a closer look, it was a man’s thumb ring.

Not good!

While she was having this thought, the next moment, the tablecloth was suddenly lifted and a man squatted in front of her……..their eyes met………

Shangguan Yan was stunned and so was the other person. Both of them stared at each other in shock.

Finally, she got to see the face of the man surnamed Di. His facial features were like a painting with deep eyes and distinctive features. He looked gentle and elegant, a handsome and charming man but it was a pity that the other party was so shocked that he forgot to close his mouth.

She made a hand gesture of silence to the other party then casually picked up the thumb ring to put it in his hand and then winked at him mischievously.

Be obedient, don’t disrupt this sister’s business! If you dare to make a sound, you’ll be knocked unconscious!

Di Jing did not expect to find a maid hiding under the altar table in the prayer hall and on top of that, she was very courageous. After being discovered, she did not panic at all and even asked him to keep silent. Her eyes even winked naughtily at him and teased him.

With a glance, Di Jing could feel that this girl was bold and steady. Even when she was discovered hiding sneakily under the table, she remained calm.

Interesting……..

He raised his eyebrows and fixed his eyes on her.

“Brother Di, can you find it?”

Qin Jikang wondered why Di Jing took so long to pick up the fallen ring and thought that he could not find it. Just as he was about to come forward to help, Di Jing immediately lowered the tablecloth and stood up. “Found it.”

Di Jing put the ring back on his thumb and pulled Qin Jikang aside, deliberately walking a distance away from the altar table.

“As for Lord Tan’s matter, I have an idea. Let’s go out to discuss this.” As he spoke, he led Qin Jikang away from the prayer hall very naturally.

When the footsteps of the two men had faded away, Shangguan Yan lifted a corner of the tablecloth to peek out. After looking left and right, she finally crawled out from under the table.

This guy surnamed Di is indeed a good man and he had helped her without exposing her.

Well, when a person is lucky, nothing can block it and she could even overcome this obstacle safely.

She found the situation very amusing. Before leaving the prayer hall, she looked around again and then left quietly while no one was around. The prayer hall did not have any suspicious spots and today, she found nothing again.

While she was walking in the direction of the firewood shed, someone called out to stop her.

“Hey, stop!”

Shangguan Yan turned her head around and saw Guizhi, another maidservant. Guizhi’s face was twisted up as if she had nowhere to vent her anger and she must be looking for someone to vent her anger. Shangguan Yan turned around and greeted Guizhi with a smile.

“Sister Guizhi.”

“Come here!”

It would be weird if Shangguan Yan was to go over. Ever since she entered the Qin Mansion, Guizhi always liked to bully her. Now as she blinked her eyes, she pretended to be stupid and did not go over.

“Sister Guizhi, the Mama is looking for me. I’ve to hurry over. I’ll come back to look for you later.”

“Wait! I called you, do you dare not come over?!”

Guizhi was feeling angry and wanted to grab hold of Ma’er. Just now, she was scolded by the Chief Mama, and currently, her anger is boiling. When she saw Ma’er, immediately, she decided to use Ma’er as a punching bag.

“You’re getting bolder and bolder! I called you and you dare to run away?” When Guizhi saw her walking away faster and faster, Guizhi became angrier and angrier.

“Ma’er doesn’t dare.”

“If you don’t dare, why are you not coming over? You’re getting bolder!” She stretched out her hand and wanted to pinch Ma’er’s ear.

Earlier on, there was a maid by the name of Jiegeng whom she could bully, but ever since Jiegeng made a mistake and was sold by the master, she had no one else to bully. Fortunately, Ma’er came and this Ma’er was ugly. Initially, Guizhi was the ugliest girl in the Qin Mansion but now someone is uglier than her which made her feel very satisfied.

Shangguan Yan flashed away sharply and Guizhi’s hand turned up empty.

“Huh? You dare to avoid me? Stand right there!”

Guizhi wanted to pinch Ma’er’s ears but no matter how she could not touch them. Although this Ma’er looked stupid, her movements were slippery. Guizhi became very angry so she simply picked up the bamboo stick from the side and swung it down on her.

“Ah! Sister Guizhi have mercy!”

Shangguan Yan hugged her head and scurried around, hiding and running all over the place. She also fell and rolled on the ground and before long, her whole body looked dirty and miserable. When the other servants passed by and saw them, they broke into loud laughter.

This matter of Guizhi bullying Ma’er is not something that just happened recently. Everyone had long known about this and was not surprised. They loved to watch the excitement because Guizhi always could not catch Ma’er. Besides, Ma’er likes to run up and down, turning here and there, avoiding in a thrilling manner and it was all very exciting. After some time had passed, everyone had developed the habit of watching the comedic show and no one would come forward to help. They would only try to guess whether Guizhi would be successful in catching Ma’er this time.

In this Qin Mansion, it is common for the older servants to oppress the new servants. As long as they do not end up killing each other, the master would turn a blind eye.

When Di Jing was passing by, this was the scene he came across. Initially, he did not care and did not intend to be nosy, after all, he came to the residence as a guest. Anyway, he did not have the authority to discipline them but when he saw that girl, Ma’er, he immediately recognized her as the girl who hid under the altar table in the prayer hall.

“Ugly girl! Stop right there! Beware, I’ll peel off your skin!”

“ Wuuuuu ……..Sister Guizhi, have mercy!”

One girl was in front while the other girl was behind……one was chasing while the other was running away……….and while one was jumping, the other was rolling. As everyone was watching and laughing, no one noticed Di Jing approaching.

After observing for a while, Di Jing gradually saw through the situation. The girl appeared to be begging for mercy while falling and stumbling all over the place…….she might be able to deceive the other servants but could not deceive his eyes.

With a bow and a roll of her head, she just managed to avoid the bamboo stick that was swinging down on her.

Although she was shouting pitifully, why does he think that she is purposely playing with the other party?

Di Jing narrowed his eyes slightly.

This girl is indeed interesting and is not simple.

Shangguan Yan suddenly rolled to the left and then suddenly rolled to the right. She deliberately made herself look miserable and shameful. In fact, she was feeling bored and since Guizhi wanted to beat her, then she would make Guizhi feel exhausted.

She hugged her head and with her body lowered, she ran around the place. Finally, she came to a stop in front of a pair of blue shoes. Without lifting her head and just by looking at the shoes, she knew that the other party is somebody with status and not a servant.

Sure enough, the laughter all around had ceased and even Guizhi’s yelling and cursing had also stopped.

“Di Gongzi .” Guizhi’s panicked voice floated over.

Oh? Is it the guy with the surname Di that she met in the prayer hall?

Shangguan Yan looked up curiously and saw that good-looking face. When she looked around, all the servants were bowing to him in greeting and all the women were blushing.

She wondered about this man’s status in the Qin Family.

“Why is she being beaten?” It was a short question asked in a moderate tone that was gentle but with a trace of majesty.