Volume One, Chapter 22: Learning a Few Skills to Serve Others

"This..."

The few thugs looked left and right. They were merely carrying out orders; they were in no position to make such a call.

"What? Is the Crown Prince's Consort not even allowed to purchase a servant?" Xie Shu said in a low, stern voice. She emphasized the title "Crown Prince's Consort" slightly, projecting both grace and authority.

Green Willow glanced at Xie Shu. Seeing that her mistress had already swept the carriage curtain to the side, she immediately leaned down to bring over the footstool and extended a hand toward Xie Shu, saying, "Your Highness, please be careful; the road is slippery."

Green Willow’s respectful demeanor made the thugs even less daring to act recklessly. However, they had to bring this person back! If they failed, they would be the ones skinned and dismantled.

"My ignorance has offended the Crown Prince's Consort. But... but we are only acting under orders. We implore the Consort to show mercy and let us take him back." The one-eared man knocked his head against the ground several times, begging repeatedly. "Besides, he is nothing but a dirty, worthless piece of trash—why would you let him soil your sight?"

Hearing this, Xie Shu did not change her expression; she only furrowed her brows with a somber face.

Worthless? A dirty thing? In her previous life, had Ning Rongsheng not petitioned the Emperor to marry her, she likely would have been sent to a place like Yuechun Pavilion herself. If given a choice, who would ever want to enter such a place?

Seeing Xie Shu remain silent and completely unwilling to acknowledge them, the kneeling one-eared man hurriedly pushed his companions. Realizing the situation, the others followed suit, knocking their heads against the ground to plead, "We beg the Crown Prince's Consort to show mercy."

"We beg the Crown Prince's Consort to show mercy."

The sound of their foreheads hitting the ground grew louder each time. Every time they looked up, one could see their foreheads beginning to swell.

The slush on the ground was cold and murky. Lianyu had been kneeling for a long time; his thin clothes were already soaked through, and his knees were numb from the frost. Even the dull ache of the whip lashes on his back was something he had no energy to notice. At this moment, he only prayed that the woman before him would help him once. Just once—to pull him out of that living hell.

He knew he was dirty. After being broken in at such a place for three months, no one could expect to escape clean and untainted. Listening to the thugs, he trembled with terror. He struggled to crawl forward a few inches, clinging to his last shred of willpower to beg for survival: "Please, I beg you, save me... I beg you."

"Either name a price, and I will buy him. Or, I will have your legs broken, and then I will buy him," Xie Shu threatened chillingly. Every word dripped with utter disdain, as if she would crush them on the spot should they dare utter a single word of refusal.

"Five hundred taels!" The one-eared leader’s eyes darted around. He immediately raised his hand, spreading five fingers.

"Big brother, we can't do this! When we return..." the thin man on the left began to speak, only to be slapped by the leader.

The one-eared man glared fiercely at the thin man. "Shut your mouth. It’s not your place to speak."

The thin man took the blow, stifling his pain, and obediently lowered his head, falling silent.

"Green Willow, pay them." Xie Shu didn't even blink, ordering Green Willow to hand over the bank notes.

Five hundred taels was a fortune. Yet, money was the one thing Xie Shu did not lack.

Before her mother passed away, she had prepared a dowry for her elder sister that could rival the wealth of a nation, fearing that Xie Ying, with her tomboyish nature, would never marry. In the end, Xie Ying had left the entirety of that dowry to Xie Shu. In her past life, she had poured all that wealth into the Marquis of Chengen’s estate. In this life, she was determined to spend every bit of it on herself.

The one-eared man took the bank notes, his eyes filled with glee, his mouth stretching into a wide grin. He had heard from Manager Zhang that this man had been bought for a mere fifty taels. He was an amnesiac fool found by a mountain hunter who, seeing his good looks, had tricked him and brought him here to sell. The hunter was a gambler who had taken the money straight to the gambling den.

"I will send someone to collect his deed of sale and slave registry before sunset today. You had better have them ready," Xie Shu said with a cold snort. Since she had bought him, she had to do things thoroughly.

"Help him onto the carriage." Xie Shu lowered her gaze to look at the man, who looked as if he were about to faint.

Green Willow agreed and crouched down to help him up, only to find that even with effort, she couldn't budge him.

Uncle Li slapped his thigh, realizing, "The weather is too cold; his body must be frozen stiff."

"Here, here, wear this coat first." Uncle Li took off his own cotton-padded coat and wrapped it around Lianyu. He sighed; he had once had a son, but the boy had been weak and hadn't survived the winter when he was two. If he had grown up, he would have been about the same age as Lianyu.

Lianyu stood up, shivering, and with the help of the two, managed to board the carriage.

Xie Shu sat by herself in the corner. She tossed the blanket she had been using toward him and said, "If you freeze and get sick, I won't pay for your medicine. It would be a waste of silver."

Lianyu was stunned, but the warmth inside the carriage caused his nerves to relax involuntarily. As he wrapped the blanket around himself, he couldn't help but shed tears of gratitude, whispering softly, "Thank you, Crown Prince's Consort."

Seeing his submissive manner, Xie Shu found it novel. She had never seen a man so docile, like a little lamb, allowing himself to be bullied.

"Uncle Li, go to the Zhilan Courtyard." Xie Shu rubbed her temples. She hadn't felt the pain when she bumped her head earlier, but now that she touched it, she felt a slight swelling. She looked toward Lianyu and asked, "What is your name?"

"This servant is called Lianyu." The hunter who sold him had said he found him under a cliff, covered in scrapes but with no broken bones or scarred face. However, Lianyu could not remember anything else; even the name "Lianyu" had been given to him by the manager of Yuechun Pavilion.

A faint, uniquely feminine fragrance wafted from the soft blanket, refreshing and soothing. Lianyu couldn't help but take a deep breath.

Is this... her scent? It smells so good.

Lianyu? The name was fitting. But had she spent five hundred taels just to buy a useless vase?

Xie Shu thought for a moment and asked again, "What skills do you have?"

Lianyu lowered his eyes, his long eyelashes trembling slightly. He whispered, "At Yuechun Pavilion, I only learned how to serve others."

The phrase "how to serve others" nearly caused Xie Shu to choke on her own saliva.

*Cough, cough, cough—*

Even if she had only thought about it in passing, the mere appearance of this face, full of hidden allure, was enough to set one’s heart racing!

How shameful! So shameful! What was she thinking about?

Seeing her coughing violently, Lianyu feared he had said the wrong thing. Fortunately, his body had warmed up enough for him to move. He hurriedly raised a hand to gently pat Xie Shu’s back, trying to help her catch her breath.

However, his legs were still stiff. As he moved, he stumbled and fell directly into Xie Shu’s arms.

The coat he was wearing was stepped on, and with the force of his movement, it slipped open.

A drop of blood fell from his nose.

Xie Shu abruptly raised her sleeve to cover her nose.

"Your Highness, are you alright?" Lianyu looked up, feeling even more guilty.

*Don't... get so... close!* Xie Shu screamed in her heart, but she felt incredibly humiliated. It was just a glance at his body—why this nosebleed?

It’s the heat! It must be the heat! She had been so infuriated by the Marquis of Chengen’s estate these past few days; it was all the fault of that pent-up frustration!

"Get away from me, you're filthy," Xie Shu shoved Lianyu’s hand away.

If Wen Ying were here, she would have seen through Xie Shu instantly—she was just "embarrassed into anger"! However, Lianyu had no idea what was going on in Xie Shu’s mind. Hearing her words, he immediately withdrew his hand timidly, wrapped himself tightly in the blanket, and curled up in the corner of the carriage, not daring to move again.

"I-I'm sorry."

Inside the carriage, the atmosphere turned heavy. Both of them sat in silence, with nothing to say to each other.

It wasn't until the carriage took a turn that they heard Uncle Li call out, "Your Highness, we have arrived."

Green Willow lifted the curtain. Seeing the two in the carriage looking strange, though she couldn't quite put her finger on why, she said nothing and only called out to Lianyu, "Get off. I will take you inside."

Xie Shu nodded. Green Willow could handle such trivial matters; as for her, she needed a good sleep.

Stepping into the Zhilan Courtyard, everything was quiet and fragrant. Although the orchids had already faded, the two plum trees in the courtyard were in full bloom.

"Sister Green Willow, you're here!" Someone came forward to greet them the moment Green Willow entered.