Chapter 1021: I Am Still a Child
Zu An’s grab smashed a screen to pieces; he found himself gripping a petite figure by the throat. He frowned. He hadn’t expected it to be a little girl who was hiding here. He coldly asked, “Who are you?”
The girl’s face was entirely red. She frantically patted his hand to indicate that he was gripping her too tightly. Zu An didn’t sense any ki fluctuations from her body. She was probably just a normal person. However, he didn’t lower his guard and only loosened his hand slightly, barking, “Speak!”
“I… I am Hong Zao,” the little girl said while sobbing.
“Hong Zao?” Zu An frowned. What kind of stupid name was this?[1]
When she saw him frown, the little girl immediately panicked. She quickly explained, “I am… I am the young lady’s maid.”
Zu An stared blankly for a moment, then remembered that Pei Mianman had mentioned a little maid before. He harrumphed and asked, “Then why are you hiding here all secretively?”
The little maid whimpered, “I… I wasn’t hiding… I was helping the young miss clean the room, but then I waited… I waited for the young miss to come back, but she never came back, so I ended up falling asleep. Then… Then…” She trailed off. She wasn’t able to say anything even after a long time.
“You saw me and your young miss return, so you didn’t dare to come out?” Zu An was sharp and quickly guessed what had happened.
The maid was probably scared when she saw Pei Mianman return with a stranger; furthermore, the two seemed extremely close, and so she didn’t dare to talk about what she had seen. In the end, it was because Zu AN had been careless. He had been so immersed in flirting with Pei Mianman that he hadn’t expected someone else to be in the room.
“I didn’t see anything… I didn’t hear anything… Don’t kill me… Sniff…” Hong Zao began to sob.
Zu An’s forehead darkened. You dumb maid, aren’t you basically saying that you saw and heard everything?
Things really were quite tricky now. If she had been male, then he could just use Daji to change her memory. But she was a little girl, so there wasn’t much he could do. He usually wouldn’t really care, but it was related to Pei Mianman’s reputation.
Even though this world was more open-minded than ancient China, there was still a limit. If a girl from a wealthy family like Pei Mianman was secretly contacting a man outside, and news of it got out, it would cause a huge scandal.
Furthermore, discussions of marriage with King Qi’s heir were underway. In order to prevent the clan from being shamed, there would even be a chance that they would punish her with the highest level of severity.
While he was hesitating, a nervous voice said, “She’s one of my own people. Ah Zu, let her go.” Pei Mianman had just returned from downstairs, her footsteps echoing.
“But she was hiding over here just now. She saw and heard everything,” Zu An said worriedly.
“Sob…” Hong Zao felt incredibly wronged. Are my lies that easy to see through?
Even though that was what Zu An said, he still released his grip. Hong Zao quickly hid behind Pei Mianman. She held her neck and coughed while sneaking fearful looks at Zu An. Pei Mianman held her, gently patting her back and speaking some words of comfort. Then, she said to Zu An, “Hong Zao and I depended on each other for survival. We grew up together. She wouldn’t do anything to let me down. I trust her.”
They were master and servant in name, but in reality, they were more like sisters.
Zu An chuckled and said, “That’s good then. I was feeling a bit troubled.”
“Look at how badly you scared her.” Pei Mianman gave him a playful pout.
Zu An felt a bit embarrassed when he saw that the girl was so scared she didn’t even dare to look at him. After thinking to himself for a moment, he took out a hairpin from his Brilliant Glass Bead, saying, “I’m sorry for scaring you earlier. I’ll give you this as an apology gift.”
He had gotten many head ornaments of that sort from the dragon’s cave. They were all shiny and pretty, as the red dragon had really liked that kind of thing.
“This is too precious! I can’t take such a thing…” Hong Zao’s hands quickly moved back and forth, and she shook her head just as rapidly.
“Who gives a girl a hairpin as soon as they meet?” Pei Mianman gave Zu An a glare. However, she still consoled Hong Zao and said, “Since he gave it to you, you should just take it.”
Only after hearing her master tell her that did Hong Zao receive the hairpin with trembling hands. She didn’t dare to look Zu An in the eyes the entire time. But when she received the hairpin and saw its elegant and gorgeous design, she suddenly froze up. A hairpin this pretty is really mine? I’m just a servant!
Could it be that something this precious is my… betrothal gift?
It wasn’t her fault for thinking that way. She was a servant girl who would follow her master. Whomever her master married, she would follow. Not only did she have to serve the young lady, when the young miss wasn’t ready, she would have to serve the husband in her place. She would also be fighting for the husband’s favor with her master among the other wives.
She finally couldn't help but raise her head and sneak Zu An a look when she thought of that. The man was most likely the husband of her young miss, and therefore her master. Her young lady’s instincts forced her to at least take a look at his appearance.
His white clothes were purer than snow, his eyebrows were dark and sharp, his eyes were prettier than gemstones…
Hong Zao blushed as she stared at him. She thought to herself, This man is even a bit more handsome than King Qi’s heir! There was an indescribable calmness and confidence coming from the man. It made him seem more mature than King Qi’s heir. It gave her a greater sense of safety.
“Hong Zao, is there something wrong?” Pei Mianman noticed that the little maid was acting strange.
“Huh? No, it’s nothing…” Hong Zao said, panicking. She lowered her head to look at her toes. However, she seemed to have gotten a bit chubbier recently and couldn't even see the tips of her toes.
Pei Mianman just assumed Hong Zao had been scared badly and didn’t think too much about it. She said, “Help me prepare some hot water. Later, I’ll need to… Ahem, I’ll need to take a shower and change clothes.”
“Understood!” Hong Zao left in a hurry. But as she was going downstairs, she secretly turned around to sneak a look. She saw that the man seemed to be smiling toward her. Her heart rate sped up and she quickly turned back around. Then, she almost slipped and fell down the stairs.
“Look at you, going after my personal maid as soon as you meet her,” Pei Mianman said in annoyance. However, she didn’t really get mad. After all, Hong Zao was her personal maid, so why would she be jealous? “Are female household accessories like that hairpin something you should randomly give out?”
“I couldn't think of anything else to give her at the time,” Zu An explained. “I scared her quite badly just now, and I only did that so we would become closer. Otherwise, I might leave her with a bad impression.”
“She and I are like sisters. Why would you need to give her a gift to rope her in?” Pei Mianman harrumphed.
“That’s where you’re wrong. Her relationship with you is good, but she doesn’t know anything about me! What if I offend her and she ends up speaking ill of me at your side everyday? Public opinion can be powerful enough to melt metal, you know?” Zu An exclaimed.
He thought back to his previous world. There had been many bros who chased after girls, but because those girls’ close friends didn’t like them, constantly badmouthing them behind their backs, it would almost always fall through even if the guy and the girl liked each other. With so many predecessors as examples, he definitely didn’t want to make the same mistake.
“You’re worrying too much. I’ll just give her a good spanking if she dares to speak ill of you,” Pei Mianman raised her hand and said with a harrumph.
Zu An laughed and took her into his arms, saying, “It’s my Manman who is the best.”
Pei Mianman leaned gently into his embrace. The two were passionately in love, wishing they could be together constantly.
“Young miss…” Hong Zao began shyly. She looked at Zu An too and didn’t know what to call him.
Pei Mianman said with a smile, “You can just call him ‘young master’ in the future.”
“Yes, young… Young master!” Hong Zao stuttered. Master and madam don’t know anything, right? The young miss really is brave! The two of them seem to have already pledged to be married… She said, “I prepared the hot water already. I’ll help the young miss take a bath.”
“There’s no need. You just need to prepare the clothes, and then you can get some rest,” Pei Mianman said with a blush.
“Huh? Oh…” Hong Zao looked at the two of them with a strange expression. Are these two going to take a bath together?
When she left, Zu An couldn't help but laugh. He asked, “Why does this maid of yours seem a bit slow?”
“She is naturally timid, and her personality is weak. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been sent to me.” Pei Mianman’s expression carried a hint of pity as she said, “You’re not allowed to bully her anymore in the future.”
“Am I the kind of person who would bully others?” Zu An protested.
Pei Mianman retorted, “Don’t touch me and take a bath first.” Zu An was stunned. Pei Mianman continued, “You were just digging up graves in the cemetery. You’re not allowed to touch me before you wash yourself.”
“But I already washed up in that river before!” Zu An exclaimed.
“You didn’t wash your body,” Pei Mianman retorted.
“...”
Seeing that Pei Mianman had gone down first, Zu An suddenly realized something. Wasn’t taking a bath together great? What was he rejecting her for?
Soon afterward, the water’s surface rippled, and a mist wafted through the air. It was like a spring wind brushing through willow leaves…
Hong Zao didn’t go off to rest, but instead guarded the entrance. As the young miss’ personal maid, she naturally had to consider things from all angles for the young miss. If someone came and ran into the two of them by chance, the young miss would be finished. Thus, she guarded the entrance with 120% vigilance, keeping her eyes and ears wide open.
However, snow was in the air, and it was nighttime. Why would anyone from the manor pass by? The surroundings were quiet, to the extent that she could even hear the sound of snow falling. But what she heard more of was laughter behind the screen, accompanied by rising and falling emotions. Her face flushed red.
“Young miss… Why is the young miss…” She subconsciously wanted to cover her ears, but she was worried that she wouldn’t be able to hear anyone approaching if she did that. She could only grit her teeth and endure it.
“I am still a child…” Hong Zao muttered. Even though she was at the age of marriage, her way of thinking hadn’t completely reached that level yet. She quietly took out the golden hairpin Zu An had given her, and a blush spread across her pretty face. She felt as if her entire body had been bathed in a comfortable autumn wind.
After a long time had passed, though, she suddenly thought of something. She quickly ran to her room and took out a large case of food. King Qi’s heir had always been sending the young miss food over the past few days. The young miss hadn’t even given it a look before giving it all to her.
She had obviously eaten everything happily. When would she ever have a chance to eat so many expensive kinds of food otherwise? She even felt she had become a lot chubbier because of that. The front of her clothes was getting a bit tight.
But the young miss had already decided on this future young master. The young master had even given her such an expensive gift. He was handsome too, and his build was good…
Pah pah pah! What kind of nonsense am I thinking?
Since the young master has already been decided, I can’t take the gifts of other men!
She couldn't help but gulp her saliva down when she saw the pastries inside. There was a look of reluctance in her eyes. However, in the end, she bit her lip and threw away all of the food inside.
When she returned to the room and looked at the screen, she curled her small lips, thinking, Are they still not done?
I really want to take a bath too…
1. Reminder: ‘Hong Zao’ means ‘red dates’, also known as jujubes. ☜