Steward Li raised his head at this question, thinking that their Miss Su had always been the sharpest among all the sisters before marrying out, and now she truly hadn’t lost any of her edge. Her eyes were viciously perceptive, upon arriving, she had immediately noticed the important figure.
He explained slowly, “That’s Baozhu. Madam hasn’t met him before. The young master picked him up.”
Madam Ye immediately arched her brows high. “Picked him up?”
So Steward Li recounted from beginning to end how Zhao Baozhu had fainted outside the Ye residence and happened to run into Ye Jinghua while the latter was going out.
Madam Ye frowned after hearing it and muttered: “This matter… is a little too coincidental. Has his background been investigated?”
It was not strange for Madam Ye to be suspicious. At present, among the noble and prestigious families in the capital, the Ye family’s influence was at its peak. Over the years, countless people had tried every possible means to establish ties with the Ye residence. Some merely sought favor, while others harbored malicious intentions.
Madam Ye had managed the Ye household with extreme caution over the years, keeping it as impenetrable as an iron barrel. But the rules at this separate estate were somewhat looser, and she feared that if someone could not find an opportunity at the main residence, they might turn their attention toward Ye Jinghua instead.
“Madam may feel rest assured.” Steward Li smiled. “On the very first day this old servant arrived, I already sent people to investigate. The child truly did come all the way from the south and fainted outside the gates on his first day entering the capital. He says he’s from Yizhou. Most likely there was flooding there, and he could no longer survive, so he fled to the capital as a refugee.”
Madam Ye nodded. She trusted Steward Li’s competence.
“What a pitiful child,” she sighed. Then, somewhat pleased, she added, “I truly didn’t expect Qing’er to possess such kindness.”
Knowing that Madam Ye feared most that Ye Jinghua’s temperament was too detached and that immortals would someday reclaim him, Steward Li smiled flatteringly.
“Indeed. Not to mention Second Young Master, even this old servant’s heart softened into a puddle upon seeing that pitiful little appearance!”
Madam Ye smiled faintly.
“That little glutton is quite good-looking. Fair and tender too, he doesn’t resemble an ordinary refugee.”
The moment she entered the room, although her attention had been entirely fixed on Ye Jinghua, she had still noticed a delicate and handsome youth standing behind her son. At once she had seen his cheeks puffed out roundly. Later, while mother and son were speaking, he had kept his head lowered, his fair cheeks moving slightly as he chewed, exactly like a greedy little cat sneaking food!
“I’ve long heard that Yizhou produces beauties. It seems the rumors are true,” Madam Ye sighed.
Smiling faintly, she said to Steward Li, “Since Qing’er likes him, then let him stay. Bring him to see me tomorrow.”
Steward Li immediately nodded.
“Yes, Madam.”
***
Meanwhile, Zhao Baozhu had no idea that every step of his journey from Yizhou to the capital had already been thoroughly investigated.
At this moment, he followed behind Deng Yun with his head lowered, his expression dazed.
By this point, no matter how inexperienced he was, he had gradually realized that Ye Jinghua was probably not the wealthy young master who ran an inn, as Zhao Baozhu had originally assumed.
Deng Yun held Zhao Baozhu with one hand and noticed the person behind him stumbling awkwardly. Turning back and seeing Zhao Baozhu looking completely absent-minded, he frowned and barked: “What are you doing? Did your soul wander off? Hurry up and keep moving!”
Zhao Baozhu trembled and looked up, his cat-like eyes misty.
Deng Yun paused in surprise, and his tone unconsciously softened a little. “What’s wrong with you now?”
Zhao Baozhu’s eyelashes fluttered twice as he looked at Deng Yun and whispered softly: “Yun Gege… can you tell me… where exactly is this place?”
At first Deng Yun was stunned by the words “Yun Gege.” Then he looked Zhao Baozhu up and down twice, thinking the child might truly have lost his soul somewhere.
Out loud he said, “What do you mean where? This is the Ye residence.”
Zhao Baozhu’s lips trembled.
“This… isn’t an inn?”
Deng Yun’s thick brows immediately shot upward. He raised his hand as though to smack Zhao Baozhu on the head, but seeing the boy’s pale little face, he ultimately changed the gesture into flicking him lightly on the forehead instead.
“Did fever burn your brain silly? What inn? This is the separate estate of the Ye family’s second young master! Open your eyes and look properly, which inn in the capital would dare be built like this? They’d be dragged out and beheaded on the spot!”
Zhao Baozhu was flicked on the forehead; it didn’t hurt much. He raised a hand to cover his forehead, his expression still dazed, and said in a low voice, “Ye Residence… this is the Ye Residence?”
Seeing that he had completely lost his usual cleverness, Deng Yun truly grew a bit worried this time. Just as he was about to ask again, he heard Ye Jinghua’s voice: “Baozhu.”
Zhao Baozhu snapped back to his senses. Looking up, he saw Ye Jinghua standing at the end of the corridor, beckoning to him: “Come here quickly.”
Deng Yun hurriedly brought Zhao Baozhu over. When they got close, Ye Jinghua’s gaze fell on Zhao Baozhu’s face, and he lightly frowned. At this moment, Fang Qin lifted the curtain and led Ye Jinghua and the others into a side chamber.
Ye Jinghua sat in the main seat, and immediately a maid floated forward to pour tea. Before the tea was even finished being poured, he raised his eyes toward Zhao Baozhu. Seeing that half his body was hiding behind Deng Yun, his brows furrowed more tightly. Ye Jinghua looked at him steadily for a while, then lowered his gaze, picked up the tea on the table, took a sip, and said calmly: “Baozhu, come here.”
Zhao Baozhu was startled, lifted his eyes to glance at Ye Jinghua, and walked over slowly. Ye Jinghua set down the teacup, looked up at Zhao Baozhu, and seeing the gloom on his face, frowned.
“Are you hungry?” Having said that, he immediately turned his head and called out, “Bring another spread of dishes.”
The maids all answered in unison. Zhao Baozhu widened his eyes and quickly said, “No need.” At this moment, how could he have any appetite?
Hearing this, Ye Jinghua turned back, frowning as he looked at Zhao Baozhu. “If you’re not hungry, then what’s wrong?”
Zhao Baozhu stood before Ye Jinghua and looked back at him. Seeing the young master before him with slightly furrowed brows, a jade-like face carrying a trace of coolness from the frown, a green jade hook at his waist and a multicolored silk sash, his entire bearing was that of a refined noble son.
Yes, how could someone like this be merely a wealthy young master? Zhao Baozhu’s thoughts churned. For a moment he saw Ye Jinghua’s fine handwriting, for another his faint smile. His expression grew dazed, and he stammered, unable to speak: “I… I…”
Seeing his distracted look, as if his soul had left him, Ye Jinghua reached out and took Zhao Baozhu’s right hand hanging at his side. It felt cold to the touch. After thinking for a moment, he looked up and said, “Were you frightened just now?”
He thought it was Madam Ye’s earlier scene of crying and wailing that had scared him, and he felt a bit regretful for not sending Zhao Baozhu away at the time. Zhao Baozhu was young and had seen little of the world, and not knowing that Madam Ye put on such scenes from time to time, seeing that kind of situation must have frightened him badly.
Ye Jinghua exerted a bit of force with his hand and pulled him closer, looking him over from top to bottom, softly coaxing, “Don’t be afraid. Mother only says things; she won’t do anything to me.”
But what Zhao Baozhu was worried about was not this. Hearing that, he nodded blankly, still looking dazed. Ye Jinghua frowned slightly. Seeing that three parts of his soul were gone and seven parts scattered, unable to take in anything now, he turned his head to Fang Qin and said: “Take him away first.”
Fang Qin, whose brows were also tightly knit, nodded in acknowledgment and immediately reached out to pull Zhao Baozhu away. But Ye Jinghua stopped him, took out a small brocade pouch from his sleeve, and placed it into Zhao Baozhu’s hand.
Seeing that pouch, Fang Qin’s brow twitched, and he hesitated as he looked at Ye Jinghua. “…Young master, this–”
Ye Jinghua glanced at him and made a gesture to stop him, saying, “Take him away.”
Seeing this, Fang Qin swallowed the rest of his words, softly said “Yes,” and led Zhao Baozhu out. Zhao Baozhu was muddleheaded and didn’t even notice what Ye Jinghua had given him. Clutching the pouch in his hand, he followed Fang Qin back to his own courtyard.
After entering the room, Fang Qin had him sit down at the side and immediately frowned, saying, “Speak, what’s wrong with you?”
Zhao Baozhu sat on the edge of the bed and blankly raised his head to look at Fang Qin. Seeing him like this, Fang Qin lightly scolded, “Really scared out of your wits? Usually you seem quite bold, how come at the sight of Madam you’re like a cat with its tail stepped on?”
Only now, sitting in his own side room, did Zhao Baozhu slowly come back to himself. He lifted his eyes toward Fang Qin, his lashes trembling, and said, “…It’s not because of Madam.”
Fang Qin frowned. “Then what is it?”
Zhao Baozhu struggled inwardly for a moment, lightly biting his lower lip, then finally steeled himself and asked, “Young master… Young Master Ye, what kind of person is he exactly?” He paused, then added, “Just now I heard Madam mention the Emperor… and something about a Niang Niang. What is going on?”
Fang Qin was taken aback at first, then narrowed his eyes and muttered in annoyance, “That muddlehead, he didn’t even explain this to you clearly.” Zhao Baozhu knew he was scolding Fang Li. He pressed his lips together and stared at Fang Qin, faintly sensing that he was about to learn something extraordinary.
Fang Qin sighed softly, raised his head, and said seriously, “This is Fang Li’s fault. Since you are now part of the Ye Residence, I’ll explain it to you in detail. The master of our residence is the current Prime Minister, Master Ye. Madam has two sons and three daughters; our young master is the youngest, second among the sons. The eldest daughter born to Madam entered the palace years ago and is now His Majesty’s Consort Chen, and has borne the Fifth Prince. The young master’s elder brother entered official service six years ago and now serves in the Ministry of Justice, already holding the rank of a Fourth-Rank official.”
Fang Qin’s tone was calm. Words like “Prime Minister” and “His Majesty” came lightly from his lips, without any excitement or pride. But to Zhao Baozhu’s ears, this was like a thunderclap striking right beside him.
Ye Jinghua was the son of the current Prime Minister!
Zhao Baozhu suddenly recalled his own behavior during this time, practically reckless. He had actually thought Ye Jinghua was merely an ordinary wealthy young master, truly blind!
What should he do now? Not only had he barged into someone else’s home, he had even been taken in as a servant! Zhao Baozhu thought of the silver Ye Jinghua had previously sent him, and finally understood, it was clearly a servant’s monthly wages.
He bit his lower lip, his thoughts in chaos. On one hand, he marveled at how generous the Ye Residence’s wages were; on the other, he thought of how he was ultimately going to take the imperial examinations. He had originally planned to wait until he retrieved his name card before explaining things slowly, but now that Ye Jinghua was the son of the Prime Minister, those words were impossible to say.
Among scholars of the current dynasty, the most taboo thing was currying favor with the powerful before entering official service. Of course, there were also opportunistic students who, even in school, would follow the lead of officials’ sons, today calling one “senior brother,” tomorrow another “teacher.” But Zhao Baozhu had been taught since childhood by his father to be upright, and he could never do such things.
Seeing his pale face, silent, lashes trembling, his cat-like eyes dazed and unfocused, Fang Qin sighed inwardly. So he really was just from a small place, he thought his courage was great, but hearing a few words had frightened him like this. He secretly recalled how he had once been wary of Zhao Baozhu, thinking him someone glib and ingratiating, but hadn’t expected him to be so unable to withstand things.
But then again, Zhao Baozhu came from a humble background. If it were someone else, hearing the name of the Emperor might have already made them kneel on the ground. Fang Qin let out a small laugh, shook his head, and inwardly mocked himself for mistaking a little cat for a fierce tiger, truly a misjudgment.
Thinking this, the reservations in his heart toward Zhao Baozhu dissipated. Seeing him with his small pointed chin lowered, looking pitiful, he sighed, bent down, and gently comforted him: “You don’t need to be afraid. Although our young master was born into such a noble household, his temperament is the most gentle. He’s not like those other idle young nobles, he would never lightly beat or punish servants.”
At this point, he paused and glanced at Zhao Baozhu. He thought to himself that in these past days, everyone had seen clearly how Ye Jinghua treated Zhao Baozhu, not to mention beating or punishing him, he wouldn’t even let him stay too long in the sun.
