"Miss, I don"t think Shuiyun had any good intentions in requesting to see you. You"d better not go." Jin Ling reminded Wei Yuewu apprehensively while she helped combing Wei Yuewu"s hair.
They had just arrived at the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang, a totally strange place to them. Jin Ling felt that it was better not to act rashly for the time being!
Wei Yuewu glanced at Jin Ling in the mirror with approval. This maid was indeed smart, and she was able to recognize the plot that was going on behind the scene.
"This note was not written by Shuiyun." Wei Yuewu looked sideways at the note, a trace of mockery flashing in her eyes.
Even though the characters were deliberately written in a slightly skewed manner, it was still discernable that the note was not written by an ordinary person. This could be judged by the strength that was applied when writing with the brush not only an entire character but also each stroke that formed the character.
The overall style of the characters seen together seemed to be from a maid. However, on closer inspection, one would wonder how it was possible for a maid"s handwriting to be so superior, with each single stroke so well completed. Moreover, the note lacked something essential—the humility that should be a.s.sumed by a maid.
More absurdly, why would a maid who had been scared out of wits by her dare to offer to see her deep at night?
"Miss, what should we do then?" Jin Ling looked out of the window and asked in a low voice, "Are we going?"
"Yes, why not? They"ve specially sent the note. We shall go and see what is exactly going on." Wei Yuewu said lightly. She then turned around to Jin Ling, narrowed her eyes slightly and leisurely asked, "I figure you know martial arts?"
Since Wei Yuewu wanted to keep this maid around her, she naturally didn"t wish Jin Ling to hide anything from her.
"Yes, I learned martial arts for a few years." Jin Ling was determined to follow Wei Yuewu wholeheartedly, and therefore she answered every question without reservation.
"Good." Wei Yuewu smiled faintly, her eyes displaying a hint of satisfaction: Jin Ling"s straightforward reply proved her loyalty.
And what she needed right now was precisely such an a.s.sistant…
It started to snow late in the afternoon. Snowflakes fell down one after one.
In winter, darkness fell earlier than usual. A busy scene could be seen in the kitchen of the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang before the sky darkened slightly as the cooks and servants were preparing dinner for the yards. It was a rule in the mansion that servants must not gossip about the masters and mistresses in private. However, the mistress who had just arrived today had indeed made too big a scene.
The maids and old maidservants just couldn"t help but talk about her in private.
In fact, no one had really cared about the Sixth Young Lady, a new comer at the mansion. But successive astonishing news reached them: the most beloved Second Lady and Second Young Lady were reprimanded by the Madam Dowager, the courtyard that was originally prepared for the Second Young Lady was now occupied by the Sixth Young Lady, and the most trusted servants the Second Lady had arranged for her daughter in the courtyard were beaten and kicked out.
Those stories were spread out one after another in such a manner as a gale sweeping through the back courtyard of the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang.
Every single servant felt the shock so great that none of them dared to look down on the Sixth Young Lady who had just made her aggressive debut.
Servants in the kitchen were also worried when they considered that the Sixth Young Lady appeared to be so aggressive on the first day of her arrival. They wondered whether the mistress would punish them if she was unsatisfied with the food.
However, none of them knew what the mistress liked eating, and for a moment, they just couldn"t decide what dishes to make for her.
In the end, a head maidservant suggested asking the mistress herself, and all the servants in the kitchen agreed. After all, they didn"t want the Sixth Young Lady to find fault with them on the first day.
The head maidservant made fast steps to the Lotus Courtyard, which was not far from the kitchen. It was getting darker, and snow was still floating in the sky. She really couldn"t see the ground in some places clearly, so she narrowed her eyes. Suddenly she felt a black shadow flitting in front of her. She was so frightened that she fell to the ground.
Fortunately, the snow on the ground was thick, and she did not find anything eerie around either. Though she was still panicking, she thought maybe it was because her eyes were dazzled. She used her hand to soothe her pounding heart and told herself not to be afraid. Since she had never heard anybody die in the mansion, there should be no ominous things here.
However, she heard a miserable scream after walking only a few steps. The sound immediately spread creepy coldness and terror in the silent snowfield.
Too frightened to continue going forward, the woman turned around to look behind her. Everything was shrouded in the dark. The more she observed it, the spookier she felt the gloomy weather was.
An inexplicable fright rose in her heart.
However, the gate of the Lotus Courtyard was not far ahead, which made her a little more courageous. She got up and took several quick steps to the gate and slapped against the knocker. "Open the door, open the door."
An old menial maidservant opened the door and asked with a gloomy face, "What"s the matter?"
Of course, anyone who had to go out in cold winter evenings after being beaten up and open the door for someone else would be in a bad mood.
"What does the Sixth Young Lady want for dinner?" The head maidservant from the kitchen felt relaxed when she saw someone come out. She wiped away the cold sweat that had just emerged on her forehead and gasped out the question.
"I"ll go and ask." This female doorkeeper did not dare to make any random decisions. Those servants who were beaten and kicked out of the courtyard today were all previously influential servants in the mansion. Considering the fate of her follow servants, how dared she, a merely low-ranking servant doing menial work, make decisions for the mistress?
The head maidservant of the kitchen stayed at the door waiting for news. Very soon, an exquisite-looking but not fully-grown little young lady and a maid came toward her. She knew that it was the Sixth Young Lady, and hastily went up to curtesy the mistress.
"Are you from the kitchen?" Dressed in light-colored clothes under an umbrella held by Jin Ling standing behind her, Wei Yuewu was possessed of an imposing aura despite her short stature.
"Yes, Sixth Young Lady, I"m from the kitchen. We don"t know what you would like to eat for dinner, so I was sent here to ask."
"I happen to go out and will pa.s.s the kitchen. We can go together." Wei Yuewu nodded gently and walked out of the door.
Going together? Did this mean that she wanted to go to the kitchen with me and see the ingredients?
The head maidservant did not understand why the young lady wanted to check the kitchen on the first day of her arrival. But she sealed her lips right away when she recalled the rumors that the Second Lady and Second Young Lady had lost to the new mistress. Anyway, she had no problem on her side if the young lady was willing to have a look at the kitchen. Unnecessary questions would only lead to trouble.
The head maidservant followed behind and walked out of the gate of the yard. Now she was less panicked because she had companions on the way.
After a few steps out of the courtyard, Jin Ling looked over her shoulder at the servant and asked, "Is there an octagonal pavilion in the back garden? Is it possible that there was something evil in the pavilion?"
Something evil in the Octagonal Pavilion in the back garden?
The woman was originally much relieved by the company of the mistress and the maid. However, Jin Ling"s question made her suddenly feel that the pavilion was very likely ominous.
The place did look gloomy and creepy in normal times…
"The Octagonal Pavilion in the back garden? Are you going there, Sixth Young Lady?" The woman subconsciously trembled at the thought. She shrunk her neck and remarked uneasily, "It"s getting late now. Sixth Young Lady, it"s not safe to go there now even if you just wanted to see the snow scene there. It"s safer to go there tomorrow."
She thought that Wei Yuewu was going to the pavilion because of the beautiful snow scene.
"We received a note earlier, saying that someone will be waiting for my mistress there. We don"t know the way, so would you please lead the way for us? It looks gloomy now, but I believe there won"t be anything evil there." Jin Ling explained with a smile.
It was the second time Jin Ling mentioned something evil. But for what she had encountered on her way to the Lotus Courtyard, the head maidservant of the kitchen would not take those words to heart. However, when she heard Jin Ling saying so, the black shadow and the clear miserable scream emerged in her mind. Cold sweat instantly appeared on her face.
She really didn"t want to go to the back garden now.
Was it true that no one died in this mansion? Absolutely not. How could there be no cases of death in such a large mansion? Thus it was very likely that they would b.u.mp into something evil if they went there at such a time.
The head maidservant became too scared to move an inch forward at this thought. She looked at the back of Wei Yuewu who was walking in front of her and said, "Sixth Young Lady, don"t be in a hurry. It"s very dark over there. I"ll call a few people to go with you. If there really is anything evil, you can have someone else for help."
In short, she was reluctant to accompany Wei Yuewu to the pavilion alone, so she had to find a few people to boost her courage.
Wei Yuewu stopped and turned around. She gazed at the maidservant and asked in surprise, "Is there anyone around who can go with me?"
"Yes…yes, the kitchen is not far ahead. Sixth Young Lady, please wait in the corridor for a moment. I will immediately find a few people to go with you." Seeing Wei Yuewu was tempted by her suggestion, the head maidservant promptly answered and pointed her finger in the direction of the kitchen.
They were now indeed very close to the kitchen. They could even smell the delicate fragrance of the dishes in the air from where they stood.
"Is it really unsafe ahead?" Wei Yuewu seemed unwilling to stop and wait.
"Sixth Young Lady, you are new here, so I"m afraid you are not aware that it has always been unsafe around the Octagonal Pavilion, especially at this time. If any careless servant rushed out from there and b.u.mps into you, that would be too bad. Besides, there were thieves who came out from there before."
In order to prevent Wei Yuewu from forcing her to go to the pavilion with them, the maidservant replied in such a vivid manner as if Wei Yuewu would definitely be hit by a thief if she insisted on going there right now.
"Then…Alright, you go and return quickly." Wei Yuewu said to the head maidservant as she walked into the corridor.
"Yes, yes. Sixth Young Lady, please wait a second. I will be right back." The head maidservant replied with many nods and bows, feeling cold sweat on her vest. As she didn"t dare to delay a single second, she hurriedly returned to the kitchen after leaving Wei Yuewu, and gathered five or six strong maids and middle-aged maidservants. She even asked them to bring sticks due to fear.
She claimed to be clearing the way for the Sixth Young Lady. But in fact, she was doing these only to play up her confidence and boost her courage.
With several stout maids and maidservants following her, each holding a wooden stick in their hand, the head maidservant truly felt much more at ease. Then she hurried back to where she had left with those helpers.