Hearing Ye Jinghua tell him to sit, Zhao Baozhu froze. His eyes darted around in a quick circle. Seeing that everyone else in the room remained standing, hesitation crossed his face.
Yet Ye Jinghua’s hand resting on the chair back did not withdraw. He merely looked at him quietly.
Catching Zhao Baozhu’s expression, Fang Qin also felt it inappropriate, but seeing the wound on his forehead, he could not say much.
“If Young Master tells you to sit, then sit.”
Only then did Zhao Baozhu slowly sit down. His posture was stiff and restrained, both hands pressed flat against his thighs. Lowering his head, he cautiously glanced at Ye Jinghua. Sitting this close to such a person, he could not stop his face from heating up, a faint blush spreading across his cheeks.
Ye Jinghua had already withdrawn his hand, but seeing his appearance, the corners of his lips curved slightly.
“There’s no need to be nervous. I summoned a physician to treat your wound. He should arrive shortly.”
Zhao Baozhu quickly raised his head.
“How could I trouble Young Master so much? My injury is nothing serious. Fang Gege already cleaned it for me earlier, it’s much better now.”
Seeing his face from such close proximity, Ye Jinghua’s expression paused slightly. Zhao Baozhu’s eyes appeared even larger up close, his dark pupils flickering brightly like stars in the night. After a brief pause, he said: “It’s a head injury. Better to be careful.”
Seeing Ye Jinghua’s mood improve somewhat, Yuqi also stepped forward teasingly. Her beautiful eyes swept over Zhao Baozhu up and down.
“Young Master is right. Such a pretty little young man, what would happen if his face were ruined?”
As she spoke, she glanced toward Fang Li, who stood dejected behind Fang Qin.
“Otherwise we’d only have these ugly, clumsy things left to look at!”
Hearing this, Fang Li’s brows twitched. How could he not know Yuqi was taking a jab at him?
Zhao Baozhu’s eyes shifted. Realizing Yuqi’s words were not directed at him, he wisely stayed silent, merely watching Fang Li’s defeated expression with secretly amused lips.
Ye Jinghua took in his expression, and his brows relaxed slightly.
A clever one indeed. Though he looked timid and restrained on the surface, those glass-bead-like eyes gave everything away.
At that moment, an elderly man in a gray robe entered carrying a medicine box over his shoulder. It was the Ye household physician.
After bowing to Ye Jinghua, he went to inspect Zhao Baozhu’s wound. Brushing aside the hair at his forehead, he took a brief look and said: “It’s nothing serious. It should heal on its own in a few days.”
Hearing this, Fang Li, standing behind Fang Qin, quietly released a breath. Earlier, when he had entered the courtyard and seen Zhao Baozhu collapsed on the ground with blood beneath his head, he had truly panicked for a moment.
Fang Qin also relaxed visibly. Seeing Zhao Baozhu was fine, he was just about to tell him to return to the rear courtyard when Ye Jinghua suddenly interrupted: “Will it leave a scar?”
The physician blinked in surprise.
“A scar… there likely will be one.” Seeing Zhao Baozhu dressed as a servant, he had not even considered that concern. Now that Ye Jinghua brought it up, he added, “If you want it to heal better, I can apply some medicinal powder.”
Leaning back against the chair, Ye Jinghua nodded.
The physician then took out medicine powder and ointment and carefully applied it to the wound on Zhao Baozhu’s forehead.
Watching from the side, Fang Qin’s expression shifted slightly. His mouth opened, then closed again. Yet before he could speak, Ye Jinghua rose from his seat and said calmly: “Please continue treating him, Physician.”
Then he turned and walked toward the inner room.
Fang Qin inwardly sighed in relief and immediately followed after him. Before leaving, however, he cast one final glance toward Zhao Baozhu from the corner of his eye.
With medicine spread over his forehead, Zhao Baozhu narrowed his eyes slightly at the cool sting of the ointment. Watching the moon-white robes disappear behind the screen, he blinked.
He sighed inwardly. Once he returned to the rear courtyard, who knew when he would next see that immortal-like young master again.
***
The next day, the servants of the rear courtyard had indeed vanished completely. The side rooms that had once been packed full now stood empty, not a single belonging left behind. At noon, only Qi Mama and Zhao Baozhu sat at the dining table. Looking around at the empty tables and chairs, Zhao Baozhu felt somewhat melancholy.
With so many people suddenly gone, how was the inn supposed to operate? They would probably have to suspend business for several days to reorganize. How much silver would that cost them?
Seeing his low spirits, Qi Mama assumed he pitied the servants who had been driven away and frowned as she advised him:
“You needn’t feel sorry for them. Those lazy parasites should’ve been thrown out long ago!”
As she spoke, she brushed aside the hair at Zhao Baozhu’s forehead again.
“And they even caused you to injure your head like this… Did you change the medicine this morning? Don’t let it scar.”
Zhao Baozhu huffed.
“I’m a man. Why would I care about scars?”
Qi Mama laughed at his childish words.
“Ugly men naturally don’t need to care. But handsome men should still be careful.” She tapped Zhao Baozhu lightly on the forehead. “When you’re older and looking for a wife, you’ll understand how important appearance is!”
Zhao Baozhu ignored the latter half of her sentence. Hearing the words “handsome man,” the jade-like face of Ye Jinghua naturally surfaced in his mind. In all his life, he had never seen a man so beautiful and elegant. If someone like that scarred his face, it truly would be a pity.
Just then, the curtain at the doorway stirred, and someone lifted it and walked in.
Zhao Baozhu looked up and saw an elderly man in a dark blue robe. Upon seeing them seated at the table, the man let out a cheerful “Oh!”
“So this must be Qi Mama.”
His face piled with smiles, he approached them. Qi Mama rubbed her hands against her apron and stood up.
“This is…?”
The old man chuckled.
“You don’t remember? My surname is Li. Years ago, when I accompanied Master and Madam down to the farmstead, we met once.”
Qi Mama widened her eyes before finally recognizing him.
“Oh! Isn’t this Steward Li from Madam’s side? Ah, this old woman truly is getting on in years, my eyes have gone dim, I didn’t recognize you at all.”
“It’s no matter, no matter.” Steward Li smiled as he helped Qi Momo up. Then he turned to look at the empty tables and chairs around them, frowned, and spat fiercely: “If not for our young master being clever, we would all still be kept in the dark. When Madam heard of this, she was so angry she wiped away tears. Those black-hearted wretches were all dismissed overnight. Early this morning, Madam ordered me to bring in new people.”
After speaking, he lifted the door curtain. In the courtyard stood a neat row of young servants and maids, the men in blue short robes, the women in goose-yellow dresses, all standing with their heads lowered cautiously.
“These were all personally selected by Madam one by one,” Steward Li said with a smile, pointing to the courtyard. “Today you can also look them over one by one. If any do not please you, send them back immediately.”
Qi Momo lowered her gaze and looked over them, then nodded: “They all look good to me. Since Madam chose them herself, there can be no mistake!”
Steward Li turned back with a smile: “Qi Momo, you may feel rest assured. Those shifty, rat-faced ones before made you suffer quite a bit. Now that I’m here to oversee them, I’ll make sure they can’t stir up any trouble.”
Qi Momo nodded repeatedly, saying “good.” She knew Steward Li, among all the stewards in the main household, he was the most trusted by Madam. As expected, Madam still cared for the young master. As soon as she heard about the trouble here, she sent over her most capable person.
Thinking this, Qi Momo sighed and said to Steward Li: “It’s this old woman’s incompetence that troubled Madam.”
After speaking, she sighed again and said helplessly: “If only the young master had taken a wife, none of this would have required Madam’s involvement. But this young master… sigh…”
She shook her head as she sighed. Steward Li also sighed and comforted her: “The young master’s thoughts are not something we can understand. Let the master and madam worry about it!”
After saying that, he turned his eyes and suddenly noticed Baozhu standing beside Qi Momo. His eyes lit up at once, and he hurried over, taking Baozhu’s hands and pulling him forward: “You must be Baozhu, let me have a look—” Steward Li smiled as he carefully looked him up and down, then praised: “What a delicate child. Just like your name, you are truly as precious as jade. Who gave you this name?”
Zhao Baozhu was dazed by the praise. A blush flew onto his cheeks, and he smiled shyly: “Thank you for your compliment. My father is not versed in literature, he just picked two characters at random.”
Steward Li made an “oh” sound, his eyes flickering slightly. Seeing Baozhu’s proper manners and clear speech, he liked him even more: “A good name, a good name.”
Smiling, he withdrew his hand, took out a jade token from his sleeve, and handed it to Zhao Baozhu, saying: “I know you suffered some grievance yesterday. Now you no longer need to worry about the affairs of the back courtyard. Starting tomorrow, you will serve in the front courtyard.”
Hearing this, Zhao Baozhu was stunned. Qi Momo also froze, then said: “This…” She liked Baozhu and naturally hoped he would do well. But what kind of person was Ye Jinghua? Those who served in the front courtyard were all long-time servants of the Ye family, each carefully selected, especially those attending closely, whose standards were even stricter than ordinary families’ sons. She feared that if Baozhu suddenly went there, he might be bullied.
But before she could finish, Zhao Baozhu said: “That couldn’t be better! I’ll go to the front courtyard tomorrow.”
Qi Momo choked, swallowing her words and looking at him. Steward Li saw that he was straightforward and repeatedly said “good,” smiling: “When you go tomorrow, just look for Fang Qin. He’ll tell you where to serve.”
Fang Qin. Zhao Baozhu’s mind conjured the refined face somewhat similar to Fang Li’s. For some reason, he felt that the way Fang Qin looked at him yesterday had been a bit strange.
But he didn’t mind much. Zhao Baozhu curved his lips slightly. Though he would miss the chicks and ducklings, he was still happy to work in the front courtyard. There, he might occasionally see that immortal-like young master. That person had taken him in, fed him, even called a doctor for him, such a good person. By proper etiquette, he ought to thank him in person.
