6 - Courageous Ma’er

Chapter 6 – Courageous Ma’er

“Since Gongzi is bothered by the entanglement of the ladies in the Qin Family, why then does Gongzi remain in the residence? Wouldn’t Gongzi have more peace to live in an inn outside?”

This sharp-tongued girl did not answer him and instead, threw questions back at him. Di Jing did not get angry because of her boldness but just stared at her for a while and saw that her eyes were still not avoiding nor hiding, as she sneered fearlessly.

“Starting from tonight, you’re transferred to the inner courtyard.”

“Ah?” Shangguan Yan was stunned.

“In the future, you will replace Ah Fu. You are to bring water and make up the bed, wait on me when I change, and clean up.”

Shangguan Yan’s eyes widened.

This guy is sick! After eating a full meal, he has nothing to do but give her trouble!

However, it’s a pity that he is a distinguished guest while she is only a maid. In front of him, she can at best only play some tricks but she still has to do what she is supposed to do…….

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Because of Di Jing’s words, Shangguan Yan who was initially a cleaning maid was transferred to the inner courtyard to serve him.

If it was another maid, she would be ecstatically happy but Shangguan Yan found it troublesome.

How can the work inside the house be more relaxed than the work outside the house?

Whenever the work outside the house is completed, and as long as the master did not call for her, she can do whatever she wants. However, inside the house, she has to assist the master with bringing in water, hand out towels, and help him wash his feet,

She also has to sleep on a small couch outside his room to carry out night duty. If the master wants to drink water in the middle of the night, she has to get up to serve him and she must wake up earlier than the master in the morning.

This guy is doing this on purpose!

It was in vain for her to help him drive away all those ladies of the Qin Family who were harassing him. Even if he is not grateful, he should not have messed with her! She did not come to the Qin Mansion to serve him! Besides, she is the Qin Mansion’s maid, not his!

She wants to protest!

“Why does Gongzi want this servant to serve? This servant is so ugly that she is an eyesore. Why not get a beautiful maid so it will feel more satisfying to look at her?”

He glanced at her. “Seeing you busy with work makes me feel more satisfying.”

Since it was useless to fawn over him, she no longer showed him any politeness. Pointing her finger to the roof, she said frankly to him.

“Since you have a secret guard, why not ask him to serve you?”

Di Jing was stunned.

She turned out to be better than he thought and she could even detect the secret guard beside him. He had indeed underestimated her!

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“If you continue to be picky, this Gongzi will send you to clean the night bucket.”

As she walked to the door, she beamed a smile but it was a sinister smile. “Is Gongzi thirsty? This servant will bring some herbal tea for Gongzi to relieve the heat.”

A person who understands a current situation is a wise man……. if she fights with him then she is an idiot!

( A person who understands a current situation is a wise man means a person who can see through a situation and makes the right decisions is smart and outstanding.)

On seeing that she had fled, the corners of Di Jing’s mouth lifted and they each continued with their work.

As the day passed, she carried on with her undercover job and he carried on with his plan. Both of them got along tacitly and no longer queried each other.

The next day, Di Jing called his secret guard.

“Qiu Dan.”

Immediately, a figure appeared in the room, and clasping a hand over his fist in obeisance, he said. “My Lord.”

“Send this letter……..” He suddenly broke off in the middle of the sentence and stared at Qiu Dan’s face.

“What’s wrong with your face?”

Qiu Dan’s handsome face had sprouted a lot of pimples.

“This subordinate was poisoned but it’s fine.”

“How did you get poisoned? Who did it?”

“Ma’er.”

“What?”

“Last night, she challenged this subordinate to a fight.”

Di Jing knew the level of Qiu Dan’s skill and he asked incredulously. “You lost?”

“Qiu Dan won but I was poisoned by her. This morning, the pimples emerged on my face but won’t get in the way. The poison doesn’t hurt my internal energy.”

However, it hurts his looks! The corner of Di Jing’s lips twitched.

That girl is indeed fearless! She did not dare to cause him trouble, so she turned to his secret guard and challenged him. She is truly competent!

So, without any surprise, Shangguan Yan was punished with cleaning the night bucket.

She snorted.

It is only cleaning the night bucket, she will do it! Who is afraid of whom? Not only will she not cry, but she will also smile while she cleans the night bucket and after cleaning the bucket, she will go and look for Qiu Dan. She will stare at his acne face and laugh at him. Since she cannot beat him, she can still make fun of him!

Qiu Dan was just like his master and the corners of his lips twitched when facing this Ma’er. To prevent her from making fun of him, he worked hard to purge the poison from his body. Fortunately, his internal energy was strong and it took him only three days for the pimples on his face to disappear.

Shangguan Yan had to clean the night bucket for three consecutive days. It was only after Qiu Dan’s acne face had recovered that the punishment stopped and she returned to the house to continue serving Di Jing.

Di Jing who was sitting at the study table reading a book noticed Ma’er was staring at him with a smile. He threw her a glance and asked coldly. “Why are you smiling?”

“I know why you don’t want the other maids to wait on you and I know why you didn’t want to deal with those Young Misses.” She smiled wickedly.

Di Jing narrowed his eyes slightly and put down the book. “Oh? Why?”

“Don’t worry, you don’t have to say anything. I understand.”

She suddenly threw out this inexplicable sentence and smiled very ambiguously. Di Jing thought for a moment and suddenly he understood.

He curled his lips and smiled at her. His handsome and deep eyes were fixed on her face and after a long while, she finally could not help but ask.

“What are you looking at?”

He waved at her and mysteriously ordered her. “Come over here.”

She walked towards him suspiciously and narrowed the distance between them. His gaze was wantonly looking at her face and the way he stared at her was direct and brazen.

If he was to stare at other women like this, the women would definitely feel uncomfortable and would not be able to tolerate it for long. However, she did not mind at all and let him stare without showing any signs of blushing. She even cooperated by blinking her eyes and showing an amorous look.

“Can it be that you like me?” She asked deliberately.

“What if I say yes?” Di Jing curled up a charming smile and he looked extremely handsome.

Shangguan Yan immediately lifted her index finger to represent the number ‘one’. “The betrothal price is ten thousand taels and I will be yours!”

His smile stiffened and he said gloomily. “Go outside to carry on with your daydreaming and guard the courtyard entrance. I’m going to take an afternoon nap and no one is allowed to disturb.”

When Shangguan Yan heard him sending her out with disgust, she immediately bowed and pandered to his wishes.

“Yes, Gongzi . This servant will guard the door like a door-god and will not allow any evildoers through. You can rest at ease.” Her humble posture of bending down was simply too exaggerated.

Looking at her bending posture, Di Jing could not help but feel it was a little ridiculous. He shook his head and a slight smile appeared at the corners of his lips. As to what he was smiling at, he was also unable to fathom.

Due to Ma’er’s presence, those women did not come to bother him anymore and it allowed him to enjoy several days of peace. However, they gradually appeared one by one again.

At first, Di Jing did not suspect anything and thought that since Ma’er was just a servant girl, it was a bit difficult for her to stop the mistresses from coming to the guest courtyard. Anyway, those tricks of causing sprains and diarrhea could not be used constantly. But when the frequency of those women coming to the guest courtyard increased, and they even managed to meet him wherever he went, he began to suspect a conspiracy.

Today, as he was passing by the garden after coming back from outside, he heard the voice of a Young Miss of the Qin Family and hurriedly hid behind the rockery. Not long after, he heard footsteps approaching.

“Not here yet? Did you see anyone?” It was the Third Young Miss who spoke.

“This servant didn’t see anyone. Maybe not here yet.”

“It’s all Eighth Sister’s fault for dirtying my clothes. If I can’t block Di Gongzi , I will certainly deal with her when I return!”

Di Jing frowned.

This Third Young Miss is actually here to block his way? That’s weird…..since he just came back from outside, how did she know? Even if the servants had informed her, it still could not happen so fast.

“Young Miss, you don’t have to worry. Since Ma’er told us to wait here, we will definitely be able to encounter Di Gongzi .”

“It better be, otherwise, the three taels I gave away would be for nothing.”

“Young Miss had given too much.” The maid’s tone sounded a little jealous. Three taels were equivalent to a month’s wages of a first-rank maid!

“Is it possible for me not to give? The other sisters have all given and what they gave was even more. Since everyone has the opportunity, so let’s compete with our abilities. As I am the best-looking among all the sisters, even if I can’t marry Di Gongzi and be his wife, I still can make him worship me. I am sure I can beat the rest of them.”

Neither the mistress nor the servant noticed that the figure hiding behind the rockery quietly made a detour and left via another path.

Di Jing carried on walking with a gloomy face.

This Ma’er is indeed courageous and even dares to scheme against him!

At this moment, voices sounded in front of him and he immediately hid.

This time, it was a group of servants.

“Which Young Miss are you planning to bet on?”

“I will bet on Third Young Miss. She is the most beautiful and men love beauties.”

“I bet on the Eldest Young Miss. She is the most skillful schemer and will certainly be able to subdue Di Gongzi ’s heart.”

“I feel that Di Gongzi will stay true to his wife. If he is so easily tempted by beauty, he would not be avoiding them deliberately, so I bet that no one will be successful.”

“Does anyone still want to bet? If not, I will collect the money and send it to Ma’er.”

Di Jing’s face turned ashen.

That girl’s skin must be itchy! Since she collected money from the Young Misses then does that not make him look like a male prostitute? What is even worse is that she had started to receive bets!

Since she is so idle and if he does not give her something to do, it will be a grievance to her.

As a result, Shangguan Yan was punished with copying Buddhist scriptures which she had to repeat ten times. She was also punished with cleaning the night bucket for three consecutive days in addition to the extra workload she was given. Di Jing completely treated her like a slave and oppressed her.

After completing her work in the day, in the evening, she had to continue to keep him cool with fanning until her arms became sore the next day.

However, Di Jing did not make her fan him the whole night. The next day, he allowed her to return to her room to rest but she still had to complete whatever work she was supposed to do.

He was sitting at the desk and writing with a brush as Ma’er stood at the side to wait on him. He noticed that the ink was already dry but the person who was supposed to grind the ink was not moving at all.

His stern eyes stared at her as he waited for her to feel ashamed and come forward. But then he realized that she did not feel the intensity of his stare and continued to stand there like a piece of wood.

He continued to stare at her but gradually he started to have a strange feeling. He got up and walked to stand face to face with her but she still did not react. When he stretched out his hand and shook it in front of her face, she was still indifferent.

She looked as though she was tapped on her acupuncture points which made him even more curious.

He slowly lowered his face to the same height as hers and studied her carefully. He could hear her steady breathing and only people who are asleep will breathe in this way.

She is asleep!