Chapter 12

During Da Yue’s New Year, the Zhuo residence was especially busy. For He Xiu, however, it was instead a rare holiday.

Because the beautiful older sister was busy with social visits and entertaining guests, she did not have much time to assign homework.

Most of He Xiu’s time was spent carving little trinkets. If they looked nice, she could give them away as New Year gifts.

In the morning, Feng Sanniang had just finished her punishment confinement, and her mood was not very good. With a dark face, she inspected matters inside and outside the residence.

In spring, Madam Zhuo would be coming to Da Yue’s imperial capital. No mistakes could be allowed.

Unexpectedly, she happened to see He Xiu smiling brightly. Feng Sanniang raised her brows and said, “Are you going to bother Miss Zhuo again?”

“No. I actually wanted to give you a small gift. Wishing you peace and health in the New Year!” Seeing Feng Sanniang, who had not appeared for some time, He Xiu cleverly shook her head in denial and raised a hand to take out a small cloth bag.

Although Feng Sanniang had a bad temper, He Xiu knew she cared about the beautiful older sister, so she did not fuss too much over what had happened last time.

As the saying went, one did not slap a smiling face. Feng Sanniang hesitated, then bailiantales.com accepted the little cloth bag. Her gaze swept over He Xiu’s fair, delicate face, and when she smelled the fragrance coming toward her, she said in disgust, “What fragrance did you put on?”

“This is the balm Sister Zhuo gave me. Da Yue’s winter weather is both cold and dry, so skincare is important.”

“Hah. You care about your face even more than a little girl.”

He Xiu did not hear the mockery in Feng Sanniang’s words and said very seriously, “Skincare should start early. Auntie also needs to pay attention to maintenance. That way, you’ll look younger. I won’t disturb you while you work.”

After saying this, He Xiu cleverly went around Feng Sanniang and quickly entered the east courtyard, swiftly making her escape.

Feng Sanniang’s expression turned strange. She touched her own face, then turned her head, only to find that He Xiu had already vanished from sight. Raising her hand, she opened the small cloth bag. Inside was a slightly plump little wooden doll standing with its hands on its hips, full of spirit. It actually looked somewhat like her.

But did she really look that much like a bully?

On the other side, He Xiu’s eyes curved with her smile as she walked lightly through the east courtyard corridor, finding it hard to imagine what expression Feng Sanniang would make when she saw the little wooden doll.

At this time, the banquet in the front hall was very lively. The east courtyard, by contrast, seemed quiet. Familiar with the way, He Xiu passed through the long corridor toward the study.

On the way, she passed by the underground storehouse. Its door was tightly shut, and there was not even anyone guarding it. stolen content However, He Xiu noticed that the study was very close to the underground storehouse.

When He Xiu lifted the heavy curtain outside the study, warmth rushed toward her face, making her feel comfortable. She faintly heard voices talking by her ear, and her footsteps slowed.

Usually, when there was a banquet in the front hall, the beautiful older sister would be in the main hall with the guests. She rarely brought anyone to the study.

“When Madam Zhuo comes to Da Yue’s imperial capital in spring, I’m afraid every noble in Da Yue with any status will come to pay a visit. It really makes one envious.”

“At your wedding banquet last time, you were able to invite the First Prince as a guest. The Shen family was glorious enough. There is no need to envy me.”

Listening to the familiar voice, He Xiu had already guessed that it was Shen Ruoyan. After all, among the beautiful older sister’s friends, Shen Ruoyan visited the most often.

Shen Ruoyan chatted and laughed with Zhuo Mingke. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a figure, and the smile on her face faded slightly. She said, “How could our Shen family compare to the glory of your Zhuo family? Speaking of which, has Madam Zhuo not urged you about marriage?”

He Xiu stood beside the desk and pretended to tidy things up. Silently, she pricked up her ears, somewhat curious about this topic.

Zhuo Mingke drank her tea, her expression calm. “As for marriage, Mother has her own arrangements.”

“That makes sense.” The smile [read the original at bailiantales.com]on Shen Ruoyan’s face stiffened slightly, and she answered awkwardly, not mentioning the matter further.

For Madam Zhuo to have built her business so grandly as a woman and become famous throughout the world, it was clear how forceful and formidable her methods were.

Shen Ruoyan lowered her eyes and drank tea. The only thing she could be certain of was that Madam Zhuo would arrange a marriage where the husband married into the Zhuo family for Zhuo Mingke.

After all, Zhuo Mingke’s birth father was a lesson from the past. Madam Zhuo would certainly not allow another mistake like that to happen.

In the silence, He Xiu did not manage to hear any more news and felt somewhat regretful. Obediently, she drank the warm, rich milk, thinking that this was much better than tea.

Because He Xiu had once mentioned that drinking more milk could help one grow taller, the beautiful older sister had someone prepare a small cup of warm milk for her every day.

“Pour tea.” Zhuo Mingke noticed the young girl’s completely undisguised gaze and slowly spoke.

“Okay.” Aside from writing homework in the study, He Xiu also did some chores. Very efficiently, she stepped forward to pour tea for the two of them.

Shen Ruoyan smelled a faint, rich fragrance. Her expression changed slightly, and she quietly raised her eyes to glance at the little servant.

Before long, Shen Ruoyan placed her teacup on the desk. Her smile remained as she said, “I still have matters to attend to, so bailiantales.comI won’t stay long. There is a gift in the carriage. Have this servant go with me to fetch it.”

Zhuo Mingke’s fingertips toyed with the bodhi flowing beads, her expression calm. “All right.”

When He Xiu heard this, she felt it was not very all right!

After Shen Ruoyan came out of the study, the bright smile from earlier was gone from her face. Her expression seemed somewhat cold. Her gaze swept over the fair and delicate little servant, and once again, she clearly smelled that faint, quiet fragrance. Confirming that it was extremely similar to the clear scent on Zhuo Mingke’s body, her mood turned very poor.

If it had come from something scented in the room, then once the servant left the study, it would quickly disperse. Yet that smell had not faded.

If the same balm was not being used, then it could only have been picked up through extremely intimate contact, enough to stain someone with such a strong scent.

“I hear you are the hostage sent by Da Liang. How did you enter the Zhuo residence as a slave?” Shen Ruoyan asked with a dark expression. Back then, she had spent quite some effort sending people to investigate the details before learning that this delicate-skinned servant was Da Liang’s hostage.

When two kingdoms went to war, the defeated side sending hostages along with treasures and goods as a show of goodwill and peace was not uncommon among the kingdoms.

Da Yue, in particular, often stirred up wars because of its abundant military strength, using this to obtain even more war reparations from the other kingdoms.

So Zhuo Mingke secretly keeping a Da Liang [Read on BaiLianTales]hostage with such an identity clearly meant she had some kind of plan.

Because of this, Shen Ruoyan had not mentioned a word of it all these years. But now, she suddenly felt uneasy.

“This was all thanks to Miss Zhuo’s great kindness in saving my life. Otherwise, I would have been exiled by the Imperial City Bureau to the desert and gobi.” He Xiu answered without mentioning any more details.

“So that is how it was.” This was no different from the information Shen Ruoyan had uncovered.

The conversation stopped, and the two had nothing more to say. He Xiu did not really understand Shen Ruoyan’s thoughts, so she honestly saw her out of the Zhuo residence and accepted the lacquered box, thinking that it was probably jewelry again.

Without changing expression, Shen Ruoyan said, “Why does your body carry the clear fragrance of the balm Miss Zhuo uses?”

He Xiu was startled. Her eyes widened, and she extremely clumsily pretended to be calm. “Th-this might be because I was tidying Miss Zhuo’s things and accidentally got some on me.”

Wow. Even Feng Sanniang might not necessarily be able to smell that she and the beautiful older sister were using the same balm.

But Shen Ruoyan could distinguish it precisely. Suddenly, He Xiu felt something strange and chilling, making her skin prickle!

Seeing this, Shen Ruoyan pressed her lips together and said nothing. She bent down and boarded the carriage. [stolen content]In an instant, her face turned cold as frost.

How could there be women’s balm and scented things in a study?

Before long, He Xiu carried the lacquered box back to the study in confusion. The beautiful older sister sat before the desk with her eyes closed in rest, her fingertips toying with the bodhi flowing beads. It did not look like she intended to go to the front hall to meet guests again.

He Xiu placed the lacquered box on the desk, then quietly sat down at the small table. Lowering her head, she sniffed her sleeve and thought, did the scent really smell that strong?

“Miss Shen asked you to fetch something. Did she say anything else?” Zhuo Mingke opened her lacquer-dark eyes and spoke slowly.

“Yes. Miss Shen knew about my hostage identity and even asked how I entered the Zhuo residence. I really don’t understand why she wanted to ask about me.” He Xiu drank her milk and muttered.

“Perhaps it is because you look pleasing, so she was curious about you.” Zhuo Mingke’s gaze fell on the young girl’s tender, rosy-white cheeks as she answered unhurriedly.

He Xiu nearly choked. She raised her eyes and looked at the beautiful older sister’s serious face, her own face growing warm. “How could that be? I think Miss Shen seemed more like she was investigating the people around Sister Zhuo.”

Zhuo Mingke’s expression remained calm as she toyed with the bodhi flowing beads. Her gaze landed on the milky-white stain at the corner of the young girl’s lips. Ripples rose in her lacquer-dark eyes, and she answered with a soft laugh, “What makes you say that?”

“I don’t know how to explain it. Miss Shen seems to care a lot about Sister Zhuo. She could even tell from the fragrance that ​bailiantales.com​Sister Zhuo and I use the same balm!”

“Perhaps you simply applied too much. Even I can smell the balm on you, mixed with a bit of milk fragrance.”

He Xiu blinked, her face warming in embarrassment. Silently, she looked at the gentle and tolerant beautiful older sister and thought, why did those words sound like she was laughing at her?!