After lying in bed for a while, Xiang Wan got up and walked towards the door by candlelight.
"Miss, just tell me what you need." I was startled by this voice as soon as I opened the door.
There were two maids guarding the door. When they saw Xiang Wan was about to go out, the two maids, who were sitting on the veranda by the door, got up and walked towards her.
"Hehe!" Xiang Wan said awkwardly, "I drank too much, and now I feel like I need to go to the toilet."
The two maids exchanged a glance, and one of them said, "Please come with me."
Xiang Wan followed her to the back of the courtyard. When she turned around, she saw another maid still guarding the door, and she felt a little puzzled.
"Do you usually keep watch at night?" Xiang Wan asked the maid as they walked.
"Madam was worried that you two might need to get up at night, so she instructed us to wait here."
"I'm a heavy sleeper and won't get up tonight. Why don't you all go back and rest later?"
"We've arrived." The maid didn't answer. When they reached the latrine door, she took out a candle, lit it, and placed it on the windowsill, gesturing for Xiang Wan to go in.
After crouching down in the evening, Xiang Wan looked around and saw that there was only one window, which opened into the yard. She immediately abandoned the idea of climbing out the window. Besides, it was nighttime, and she couldn't run far anyway. She might as well rest and make plans when it got light.
As evening approached and I pondered, I seemed to see a figure flash past the window at lightning speed.
"Miss, are you done yet?" The maid asked, peeking in to urge Xiang Wan on as she had been inside for a while.
"Alright, alright."
After using the toilet in the evening, I felt completely relaxed, although my legs were a little numb from squatting. At that moment, I missed modern toilets terribly.
While the maid returned to her room, Xiang Wan, by the moonlight, seemed to see one of the guards she had seen before standing guard at the main gate, and the other standing in the corridor not far from their room.
The candlelight in the hall had not been extinguished, and faint shadows were cast on the windows.
"Is Madam still not resting?" Xiang Wan asked.
"Madam is very busy," the maid replied, then quickly added, seeing that Xiang Wan seemed about to ask more questions, "Miss, it's best not to inquire too much."
As the two reached the door of the guest room, the maid said again, "If you have nothing to do tonight, it would be best if you didn't leave this room."
As she spoke, seeing Xiang Wan leaning against the door looking at her, she stopped talking, turned her back, and stood by the door.
Xiang Wan closed the door, blew out the candle, and lay down on the bed.
There's something strange about the Liu family's courtyard. On the surface, it's just a widowed woman with maids and guards, but the maids don't act like maids, and the guards are strong and sturdy, as if they often do heavy physical labor.
Upon arriving at the courtyard, we didn't see Madam Liu doing any business. If what she said was true—that Master Liu's business was not going well and he died of illness, leaving behind a widow—why were there no incense, candles, memorial tablets, or other such items?
When I went out just now, the maid said she was on the orders of the madam to keep watch for them at night. But what maid would willingly keep watch for strangers she had just met? It was probably more about surveillance and precautions. Moreover, the guards' positions were all along the only way out of the courtyard, probably to prevent them from escaping.
Madam Liu, the mistress of the house, doesn't sleep at night; she's probably plotting something, and it must be about the two sisters.
Now that they're inside this courtyard, with people guarding everywhere and Xiang Xia drunk, Xiang Wan herself might not even be able to find a chance to get out, let alone abandon Xiang Xia and escape alone.
At this moment, everything seemed wrong to Xiang Wan, and suddenly a wave of sweat surged up her back and beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.
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