Nightmares conceal a deeper side.

Judging by the time, Uncle Ban arrived with his servants to clean up the leftovers. Ah Chou lowered his head to wipe the crumbs from the corner of his mouth and obediently stood in the corner to avoid attracting attention.

He was supposed to serve Jiang Yan Hui his meals, but instead, Jiang Yan Hui ended up feeding him, and he ate until his belly was round and full without even realizing his place.

Ah Chou guiltily looked up and met Uncle Ban's gaze. For some reason, he felt that Uncle Ban saw through everything, and he felt even more guilty, so he licked his lips, which still tasted sweet.

Jiang Yan leaned back against the soft pillows, a pleasant smile playing on her lips. Her long, strong fingers were immersed in the light brown medicine. She asked, "Where is Dou Yu?"

Uncle Ban rolled up his sleeves, turned to the side and took a porcelain bottle from the tray, poured two pinches of dried and ground medicinal herbs into the water, and said, “Your Majesty, Young Master Dou has finished his dinner and retired for the night. He said he will come to see you tomorrow when the snow stops.”

Jiang Yan raised her hand, water droplets sliding down her slender fingertips, and said, "Let him rest well. The wind and snow in Lingzhou are harsh and tiring; I hope he doesn't catch a cold in my residence."

Uncle Ban responded, glanced at Ah Chou who was curling up in a dark corner, and whispered, "Ah Chou, serve the King to wash his hands."

Ah Chou seemed to wake from a dream and hurried over, picking up a handkerchief to wipe her hands and kneeling down respectfully. She blinked rapidly, but inside she was so annoyed she wanted to disappear into a crack in the ground.

Uncle Ban taught him many things about serving the king, and A Chou carefully remembered and learned them. However, no matter how meticulous and perfect the plan was, it couldn't withstand Jiang Yan Hui's unpredictable behavior, which disturbed A Chou so much that he completely forgot what he was supposed to do.

Evening was the time for Uncle Ban to report on the work in the manor. Ah Chou consciously followed the other servants and withdrew. The cold wind that came his way made him shiver, and his boots made a crunching sound on the snowy ground.

Suddenly, he realized that the warmth inside the house had made him overlook the bitter cold of the impending blizzard, and he even had the leisure to appreciate the magnificent grandeur of nature.

"These are the receipts for last month's purchases." Uncle Ban took out two thin sheets of paper from his sleeve. "This year is much colder than usual, and the amount allocated to the servants according to tradition may not be enough."

Jiang Yan glanced at the list and rubbed her sore eyes. "It's cold, we can't do without the life-saving charcoal. Just order as much as we need."

The servants of the Jiangbei Prince's Mansion in Lingzhou were all locally purchased, and later, many more pitiful people were bought in succession. Jiang Yan bought them back to serve him, not to kill them, so their food, clothing, and daily necessities were naturally not treated too harshly.

Uncle Ban carefully put away the receipt, noticing Wang Zun's exhaustion, and said in a low voice, "Wang Zun, A Chou will keep watch tonight."

The candle flickered, and Jiang Yanhui opened her eyes wearily, instructing, "Prepare an extra mattress for the floor in the outer room."

The night was completely silent, with the wind howling past carrying heavy snowflakes. Just listening to the wind made me worry about how I would get through the days to come.

The stove in the inner room was burning brightly, so Ah Chou in the outer room didn't feel cold. He sat with his knees drawn up to his chest on the soft mattress, his pointed chin buried in the fluffy blanket, his big, watery eyes taking in the room's decorations.

The Jiangbei Prince's Mansion was renovated to exude royal luxury and nobility, and Jiang Yanhui's bedroom was particularly dazzling. Ah Chou didn't recognize many of the utensils and ornaments, but he could tell that they were exquisite and unique, so the things that Jiang Yanhui could display in her room must not be ordinary items.

As Ah Chou watched, his eyelids gradually grew heavy, and his head bobbed up and down like a chick pecking at rice. Just as he was about to fall asleep, his ear twitched, and he suddenly opened his eyes.

She turned around quietly, craned her neck to look into the inner room, and her heart skipped a beat.

The flickering candlelight cast a hazy, dreamlike glow on the layers of sheer curtains. Jiang Yan, sitting up with her long hair cascading over her shoulders, covered half her face, her chest heaving violently, revealing that the dream she had just had was far from pleasant.

Even though she was outside, Ah Chou could keenly sense Jiang Yan Hui's bad mood. She swallowed hard and did a lot of mental preparation before slowly getting up to pour a glass of warm water and bring it over.

The shoes made no sound as they stepped on the thick floor mat, but Jiang Yanhui glanced over the moment A Chou entered the inner room. His dark eyes were dull and lifeless, filled with an undisguised bloodlust, like a demon crawling out of purgatory.

Ah Chou paused, his fingertips gripping the cup trembling uncontrollably. This was a side of Jiang Yanhui he had never seen before, a side that was deeply hidden.

Under the watchful gaze of someone eyeing their prey, Ah Chou moved forward step by step, stopping in front of the gauze curtain. He could clearly feel Jiang Yan Hui's gaze roaming nakedly over his body, like a sticky, cold venomous snake, scrutinizing and assessing his level of danger.

A slender hand lifted the light veil, revealing a hazy face. Only then could one see the fine beads of sweat on Jiang Yanhui's long neck, clinging damply to a few strands of hair, giving her a somewhat disheveled appearance.

Ah Chou pursed her full lips, her fear turning into worry, and pushed the warm water forward.

Jiang Yan withdrew her gaze. "What time is it?"

He took the water and drank it all in one gulp, which relieved the dryness in his throat, and his mind gradually cleared.

Not receiving a reply, Jiang Yanhui remembered that Ah Chou was a mute who couldn't speak. Rubbing her throbbing temples, she waved her hand and said, "It's nothing, go down."

Ah Chou couldn't sleep well all night. With her eyes closed, Jiang Yan Hui's lonely figure kept appearing in her mind, so she secretly peeked at her several times.

Fortunately, Jiang Yan didn't have any more nightmares in the latter half of the night and slept relatively soundly.

As dawn broke, the rising sun illuminated the entire Lingzhou land, its golden rays dazzling the snow.

Even the servants in the Prince's mansion were divided into different ranks. The lowest rank was responsible for dirty and strenuous work such as washing chamber pots, which was usually done by convicted slaves. The better rank was assigned daily cleaning tasks by the stewards, while the most comfortable and pleasant were those who served their masters.

Unfortunately, the Jiangbei Prince's Mansion had no male head of the household. Even though Jiang Yanhui was a dashing and romantic man outside, he never brought a single flower or blade of grass into the mansion.

In their leisure time, people inevitably gossip when they gather together. Some say that Wang Zun is of noble status and will eventually return to the capital to marry a son from a prominent family of equal social standing. The male prostitutes in Lingzhou are just for fun.

Some people think that Lingzhou's geographical location is special, and not accepting people with unknown identities back is to prevent the theft of secrets. Amidst the various opinions, no one has been able to come up with a definite explanation.

The exact reason is probably only known to Jiang Yan Hui herself, but even if they had a hundred times the courage, no one would dare to ask.

Now, Ah Chou, who is Wang Zun's personal attendant, lives a much better life than before. She can stay in a warm house by serving Wang Zun and does light work. Jiang Yan also enjoys feeding him.

Although Ah Chou felt a little awkward, he tasted many delicious foods he had never tried before.

As the snow subsided around noon, the servants, having eaten and drunk their fill, walked in twos and threes toward their dormitories. Many of them shivered from the cold, hugging their arms and muttering curses about the fickle weather.

The two knocks startled the people in the dormitory, who looked at each other in bewilderment. Da Zhuang and the others were gathered around the table, chatting and eating sunflower seeds, and no one showed any intention of getting up to open the door. Only Xiao Le, who was out of place and unwilling to join in, sat alone on the kang (a heated brick bed), tidying up the bedding without saying a word.

Shunzi spat out the sunflower seed shells. "Hey, go open the door."

Xiao Le pretended not to hear and continued to straighten the blankets with her head down.

"Hey, one mute left, another deaf one came." Having lost face, Shunzi rolled up his sleeves, put one foot on the bench, and said arrogantly, "I'm calling you, Xiao Le, didn't you hear me?"

Xiao Le rolled her eyes. "Why should I open the door? Why don't you open it yourself?"

Yesterday, Uncle Ban announced that all outdoor work should be suspended due to the blizzard. By noon, the snow had lessened considerably; who knows if he was looking for people to shovel the snow.

On a cold day, everyone just wants to stay comfortably in their dorm room and relax, so when they hear a knock on the door, they feel uneasy and no one wants to be the first to open it.

Just as things were about to escalate, Dazhuang spoke up in time, pointing at Xiaole and saying, "Go open the door."

Dazhuang is the eldest in the dormitory and has been working in the government office longer than Xiaole. Xiaole dares to confront Shunzi, but he doesn't dare to have a direct conflict with Dazhuang.

She pursed her lips, reluctantly put on her shoes, and wrapped herself in a cotton-padded coat before opening the door.

A note from the author:

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Jiang Yanhui also placed A Chou in the bedroom, so A Chou...