11 - Search

Chapter 11 – Search

At this time, Shuang’er walked in from the outside and Zhaolu hurriedly nudged her butt slightly to the side of the seat to make room and waved her over.

“Shuang’er, we’re waiting for you! Young Miss rewarded us with a melon! Hurry up and thank Young Miss!”

As soon as Shuang’er came near, she saw a huge slice of melon, and she repeatedly exclaimed in surprise. After listening to Zhaolu’s explanation, it turned out that Young Miss had obtained the melon from outside the royal mansion.

Shuang’er quickly saluted their Young Miss with a bow to thank her then sat down and picked up the melon to take a bite with a happy expression. She could not help but sigh. “It’s better to follow Young Miss. Unlike the other courtyards that quarreled over a cold-melon yesterday.”

“Oh? What happened?” On hearing that there is gossip, Bai Yuxiao’s eyes lit up instantly.

Not only is she busy with her business, but the two maids are also busy as well. Zhaolu is busy changing her appearance to look like Young Miss and holding fort in the courtyard while Shuang’er is responsible for gathering information about all kinds of gossips in the royal mansion and listens in on the process of the Ji concubines’ schemes and plans as they fought among themselves which is also one of the pastimes in the inner courtyards.

“Shuang’er, hurry up and tell Young Miss about it.” Zhaolu was also very curious, so Shuang’er who is good at gathering information and telling stories, started to narrate.

While the three people, mistress and servants, were eating melon and gossiping about the melon incident, on the other side, Si Liujing was currently in a bad mood.

The Steward and servants serving in the main courtyard of the royal mansion knew that the Wangye was in a bad mood these days. Everyone thought the Wangye was upset over government affairs but no one knew that Ling Wang was upset because he could not find any trace of Shui’er in the past two months.

The spies he sent out were all skilled in tracking and tracing but they were unable to find any sign of the woman. Shui’er seemed to have sunk into the sea and they could not even find any clue relating to her.

With a very ugly expression, Si Liujing looked at the guilt-ridden subordinates who were kneeling on the ground. After searching for two months, they could not even find a single clue nor could they locate Old Man Zhao.

“She is only but a woman and she can’t be found after searching for two months? Is the time given by Benwang not enough or had this woman sprouted wings and flown away?”

The spies knelt on the ground with their heads bowed and no one dared to say a word.

But the clues that Wangye gave them were actually too few. Without a name nor a description of her looks, they were only told that her nickname is Shui’er. She has good cooking skills, with a straightforward and magnanimous personality and her laughter is sweet and pleasant to the ear. They had searched within the radius of a hundred li , and as long as the girl has good cooking skills and suited the conditions, and even if their ages were not within the right range, they were all brought before the Wangye . However, none of them was the one the Wangye was looking for.

Sitting on the main seat, Si Liujing glared at them, and in the end, he let the spies leave to receive their punishment. After receiving their punishment, they still had to continue with the search. Si Liujing did not believe he would not be able to find the woman and even if he had to dig three feet*, he will find her.

(Digging three feet describes the determination to conduct a wide and intensive search for something.)

After dismissing the spies, he remained in the study alone feeling depressed. The more he could not find Shui’er, the more he wanted to look for her. He did not know why but whenever he thought of the woman, Shui’er, there would be an itchy feeling in his heart and his body would heat up. He had nowhere to vent and the discomfort he felt increased day by day.

It is only just about a woman, does he need to feel so troubled?

To extinguish the fire, he went to the bedchambers of several concubines. He thought he would feel better but when he was hugging those concubines, no matter how he tossed them around, he still felt disappointed.

The women in the inner courtyards respected him, feared him, adored him, and served him whole-heartedly but their bodies were soft and lacked strength which dampened his interest. In the past, he used to think that women just need to be obedient but now he feels that obedient women are uninteresting.

What happened to him? Can it be a demon had risen in his heart?

It was especially so when he went to the bedchamber of Liu Ji yesterday. When he saw her delicate boneless appearance as she lay limply on the bed, it irritated him so much that the lusty feeling in his body instantly diminished. Therefore, he ordered her to rest, and ignoring Liu Ji ’s astonishment, he turned around and left.

Even now as he sat in the study with an invitation letter in his hand that was sent by his subordinate, he was unable to concentrate nor absorb the contents into his mind.

After looking at it for a while, he threw down the invitation with irritation and got up. Then he strode out of the study and walked towards the rear garden of the mansion.

He just wanted to walk for a while to calm his heart but not long after he reached the rear garden, he noticed a few concubines loitering in the rear garden from a distance. He turned around in annoyance and walked in another direction to avoid them as he did not want the women to bother him. After taking several twists and turns, he walked to the most remote part of the mansion.

As always, very few people walk on this path, thus there are only a few flowers and plants planted here but the trees lining the path are tall and lush, blocking the sun and offering shade. The place is shady and cool, suitable for meditation, and taking a stroll.

His footsteps gradually slowed down and with hands clasped behind his back, he walked leisurely. Suddenly, the sounds of women’s laughter and voices drifted over from the far end. His brows instantly furrowed and irritation rose once again. Just as he turned around and was about to leave, he suddenly stopped.

Why does this voice sound so familiar?

He shook his head.

Damn it! Now, just hearing women’s voices, he feels their voices are very similar to Shui’er’s voice! He is indeed bewitched!

“Although this cold-melon can quench thirst and ease irritation, if you eat too much, you will keep running to the latrine hut!”

“But this cold-melon is so delicious, I can’t stop eating!”

Cold-melon? Oh that’s right, the south made a tribute, and yesterday, Emperor Father had bestowed the melons. Ling Wang Mansion had also received some cold-melons but he did not taste them and ordered them to be distributed to the inner courtyards.

Now when he heard that cold-melon could help to relieve irritation, he wondered whether the irritation in him could also be resolved. He lifted his head and saw the plaque hanging over the courtyard entrance with the name ‘Wutong Courtyard’. Then he remembered the delicious bowl of fish soup sent over from Wutong Courtyard and also, the woman’s voice sounded very similar to Shui’er’s voice which inexplicably aroused his interest.

Thinking of this, he stepped into the most remote courtyard.

He deliberately concealed his breathing and kept his footsteps silent* as he just wanted to take a quiet look at the woman.

(Concealing breathing and silencing footsteps are martial arts skills to avoid detection.)

Unlike other courtyards, this Wutong Courtyard is planted with numerous wutong trees. The interior of the courtyard is covered with greenery, overlapping with deep and light green colors. Wherever he looked, he could not see a single flower and could only see plants and trees, small and big, with their leaves intertwined.

There was a fragrance of grass in the air and although it was not as strong as the fragrance of flowers, it gave a feeling of freshness and elegance and a sense of vitality and happiness.

He followed the sound of voices and then stopped behind the bushes. Looking through the gaps in the leaves, he saw three women.

Two of the women were dressed in maid’s attire while the other woman was dressed in a lake-blue skirt. With a glance, it could be deduced she is their mistress.

Si Liujing scrutinized the woman. She had a beautiful face and she was smiling and talking gently. She was wearing simple clothes without many hair accessories. Her hair was combed into a bun and it was held down with a hairpin. As she lay on the soft chair, she was talking and laughing with the two maids. That lazy appearance of hers looked rather charming.

The women sent to him as concubines naturally would be beauties but compared to the other twelve concubines, her looks were not considered as outstanding. However, what Si Liujing noticed was her vivid expressions while she was speaking and her unpretentious and hearty laughter.

Si Liujing did not have any impression of this woman thus it was not surprising he did not remember her. After all, he had only favored her once and so, this time, he had the opportunity to size her up again.

Si Liujing deliberately concealed his breathing so that Bai Yuxiao could not detect his presence. Besides, she has always been relaxed in this Wutong Courtyard without any alertness. Therefore, she did not notice someone was eavesdropping on them, and also at this time, her interest was stirred by Shuang’er’s report about the cold-melon incident.

It turned out that when the cold-melon was divided and distributed, all the courtyards received a portion. However, only Liu Ji’s courtyard did not receive any but the chief cook insisted that Liu Ji’s courtyard had received their share. However, Liu Ji’s maid, Li’er, insisted that she did not get it. After careful questioning, it was discovered an extra portion was given to Xie Ji. It turned out that in Xie Ji’s courtyard, there were two maids, Chuiyu and Tao’er, who went to the kitchen. It seemed one of the maids named Tao’er had served in Liu Ji ’s courtyard before. A while ago, Tao’er did something wrong and was chased out by Liu Ji , so she ran to Xie Ji and begged to be taken in. Then later, she became Xie Ji ’s maid.

The chief cook from the cold kitchen was unaware that Tao’er was no longer a maid in Liu Ji ’s courtyard. So, she continued to regard Tao’er as Liu Ji ’s maid and gave Tao’er the portion of Liu Ji ’s melon. It just so happened the maid, Li’er from Liu Ji ’s courtyard came late. After all the cold-melon had been taken away by others, she came to the kitchen and asked for it. By the time the chief cook realized she had given it to the wrong courtyard, the cold-melon was already inside Xie Ji’ s belly.

After listening, Zhaolu was surprised. “Is there really such a thing? Chief cook can’t be blamed for not knowing about it and Liu Ji can only blame herself for being unlucky.”

Si Liujing was listening in as he stood behind the bushes. He thought this Wutong Courtyard was different from the other courtyards and as this woman’s voice was very similar to Shui’er, he came over to take a look. Unexpectedly, he overheard the gossips of the inner courtyards. He has always dislike women who gossip and feeling annoyed, he did not want to listen anymore. He turned around and was just about to leave when the similar voice drifted over again.

“There is deceit involved. Someone must be playing tricks.”

Si Liujing stopped and because of this sentence, he turned his head around. After thinking for a while, he walked back to listen with curiosity.

Shuang’er and Zhaolu looked at their mistress simultaneously. “Someone is playing tricks?”

Bai Yuxiao was not surprised at this kind of scheme being played in the inner courtyards and at the same time, she also gave the two maids some advice.

“This cold-melon case has two important points. One is that Xie Ji has one more maid than the other courtyards to collect the melons and the other is that Liu Ji ’s maid was late. Only if these two conditions are met, then only can the cold-melon be successfully snatched away.”

Zhaolu made a guess first. “Was Xie Ji the one who schemed?”

“Xie Ji won’t snatch an extra portion of the melon just to appease her desire for the melon. She always placed importance on having face, so she won’t do this kind of thing. Guess again.”

Shuang’er made a guess. “That Tao’er deliberately took an extra portion without telling the chief cook to avenge her former mistress, Liu Ji .”

“No matter how brave a maidservant is, she will never dare to go to the kitchen to collect the melon without her mistress’s order.”

Zhaolu tried to guess again. “Then the chief cook is dissatisfied with Liu Ji and deliberately gave away her portion.”

“The chief cook is only a servant. What benefit will she get by going against a mistress?”

Every time Zhaolu and Shuang’er tried to make a guess, they were shot down by their mistress. They made guesses in every possible situation but they still could not get their mistress’s approval. Even Si Liujing who was standing behind the bushes could not help but wonder what the answer was as he listened quietly.

Shuang’er and Zhaolu could not guess the answer and were almost suffocated by the curiosity in their hearts, so they begged their mistress.

“Young Miss, these servants are unable to guess! Hurry up and tell us, we’re dying of curiosity!”

Bai Yuxiao took a bite of cold-melon and said. “It’s very simple. It was Liu Ji herself.”

“Ah? Liu Ji ?’

“How can it be her?”

Shuang’er and Zhaolu was even more puzzled and looked blankly at their mistress. Bai Yuxiao decided not to drag this matter and gave them a clear explanation.

“Think about this carefully. Although Liu Ji did not get to eat the cold-melon, she could get three benefits from it.

First, she made use of Xie Ji to teach a lesson to the maid, Tao’er, who abandoned her mistress to seek refuge with others. She must have played some tricks to make Tao’er think her new mistress did not get a portion and ordered her to go to the kitchen to collect the melon.

Second, it made others think that Xie Ji is greedy for small benefits and made her lose face.

Third, Liu Ji who did not get to eat the melon is now a victim therefore, there is a valid reason for her to complain to the Wangye . Since the Wangye has always placed importance on following rules, he would feel unhappy once he hears about this. Although it is only a cold-melon, it was bestowed by the Emperor after all. Wangye will definitely order someone to send Liu Ji a gift to pacify her. In this way, not only will she get to receive a gift from Wangye that no other person has and she can also make the Wangye remember her. Wouldn’t that be killing three birds with one stone?”

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Shuang’er and Zhaolu were amazed when they heard this. “Wa!……it turns out that one doesn’t have to be coquettish and one can still buy the Wangye’s pity with a cold-melon!”

Bai Yuxiao had seen many such cases of such scheming in the inner courtyards and after seeing too much of this kind of trick, it was easy to guess after thinking deeper into it. Moreover, Liu Ji and Xie Ji were originally not on good terms with each other, and after thinking deeper about their temperaments, it was easy to arrive at the answer.

“This is normal in the inner courtyards. Everyone would fight for favor with their skills and they fight without the other party being aware of it. The two of you have to learn, do you understand? Later, after you’re married, you can make use of this knowledge.”

Zhaolu and Shuang’er both protested in unison. Their mistress did not teach them good things and instead taught them all the bad things!

The three, mistress and servants, burst into laughter together.

On this breezy and sunny beautiful day, it was very relaxing and pleasant. Unfortunately, Bai Yuxiao was too negligent. As soon as she had returned to her courtyard, she let down her guard and did not notice someone approaching step by step.

“Is that true? It turned out Benwang ’s favor can be bought with cold-melons? Benwang really didn’t know about it .”