Healing
Mei Sheng stood with her head bowed, glancing out of the corner of her eye at Pei Jue sitting upright at the sandalwood desk. A wave of fear washed over her; she had made the right choice.
Pei Jue put down the military manual in his hand, took out a small white jade bottle from his sleeve, placed it on the table, and sighed softly, "How did you manage to make yourself look like this while I was away?"
At this point, he said with deep affection, "Don't worry, I will stand up for you against anyone who has bullied you in this courtyard."
Mei Sheng nodded obediently, tugging at the handkerchief in her hand: "Master, you don't blame me for leaving the manor without permission yesterday?"
Pei Jue glanced at her, smiled faintly, and said meaningfully, "You left the manor to find my childhood sweetheart, didn't you? Since you care about me, how could I blame you?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Mei Sheng frowned. Sure enough, he had sent someone to secretly watch her, and he knew everything about even these trivial matters that she mentioned casually.
She dared not bring up the matter again. Taking advantage of Pei Jue's still relatively good mood, she picked up the medicine bottle and took the opportunity to express her gratitude.
"Thank you for your generous gift, sir."
"Hmm, go and apply some medicine in this side room." Pei Jue pointed to that spot out of nowhere, then picked up the book again, completely ignoring Mei Sheng.
Mei Sheng scratched at the bottle with her fingernails. Well, her knee still hurt terribly. If she didn't take good care of it, she was afraid that she would have a hard time doing her work in the next few days.
Finding a couch, Mei Sheng lifted her coarse cloth skirt, revealing a particularly glaring scar on her jade-like skin. She gritted her teeth and gently applied a white, fragrant ointment to it. A cool and comfortable sensation washed over her, as if soothing some of the stinging pain.
The medicine was the same as the one from that night. Mei Sheng couldn't help but look at the wound on her hand, her mind racing.
Even though the nearby sounds were barely audible, Pei Jue still subconsciously focused his gaze on the screen. The screen was an old object, carved with auspicious clouds and mythical beasts all over, with lotus vines hidden in the dark red lacquer, and peacock feathers outlined in gold thread. When the candlelight shone obliquely, it instantly became dazzling.
Behind the screen, a graceful figure was reflected on it, the shadow indistinct and unsettling.
Too thin, Pei Jue thought to himself.
Every move the woman made, whether it was the soft humming while applying the medicine or the gentle exhalation, inevitably stirred Pei Jue's heart.
After carefully applying the medicine, Mei Sheng casually stuffed the remaining medicine into her sleeve, walked slowly to a distance from Pei Jue, and bowed her head to ask, "Does Your Excellency have any further instructions?"
Pei Jue glanced at her, his breath quickening slightly, his brows and eyes appearing stern in the candlelight: "Ahem, since you're injured, you should go and rest."
Upon hearing this, Mei Sheng took small steps out of the room, her tense heart easing considerably, but some doubts still lingered in her mind.
Han Zhou, with a cold expression, stood guard outside the door as usual. Mei Sheng greeted him and prepared to leave to return to her own residence.
Unexpectedly, Han Zhou, who was usually not very talkative, stopped her. Before she could ask anything, he stepped aside, and a little maid appeared, giving her a sweet smile. She looked quite lively.
“Miss, we’ll be living in the West Garden from now on. I’ve packed all your luggage for you.”
Mei Sheng glanced at the familiar bundle hanging on the maid's wrist, and her lips twitched: "This one..."
The young maid pushed Han Zhou aside, stepped forward, took her hand, and said with shining eyes, "My name is Tang Yun. From now on, you can order me around as you please. Miss, you are so beautiful."
Mei Sheng had never received such direct enthusiasm since arriving here, so she couldn't help but smile awkwardly and tentatively ask, "Why did you send me to the West Garden, Master?"
Pei Jue's courtyard was very large, and the West Garden was very close to the study and other main halls. Therefore, Mei Sheng felt uneasy and apprehensive.
The beauty smiled, revealing her red lips and white teeth, leaving Tang Yun momentarily stunned.
"Since the master said he has returned, you should go back to serve here. You don't need to go to the kitchen anymore." Han Zhou replied without looking to the side, and continued to guard the door.
Mei Sheng was in a state of complicated emotions. As Pei Jue's maid, she should have thought of this. However, on the day she entered the manor, he treated her casually, like an object that could be pushed aside at will, making her feel as if she were standing on the edge of an abyss.
"Miss, I'll take you inside." Tang Yun chattered away as they walked along the path, occasionally sharing information about the road conditions and flowers in the courtyard.
Mei Sheng followed her for a few steps before realizing what she meant and blurted out, "You just said you could order me around as you please? So what is our relationship...?"
Tang Yun smiled happily: "Naturally, it's my responsibility to take care of the young lady."
What? Mei Sheng paused, instinctively refusing: "But I'm just a maid like you, I don't need to be taken care of."
Tang Yun scratched her head, tilted it, and muttered, "The girl is different."
Mei Sheng didn't hear clearly, so she leaned closer to listen, only to find that Tang Yun in front of her had wide eyes and a wandering gaze: "Master saw that the young lady was injured, so he asked me to take care of her for a few days. I will leave naturally once the young lady has recovered."
Tang Yun patted her chest to assure them, but she didn't even dare to look Mei Sheng in the eye.
Mei Sheng said "oh" and stopped asking. She decided not to make things difficult for her, who was also a working-class person.
Besides the orders given by Pei Jue, who else could it be?
For several days, Mei Sheng stayed in this room to recuperate. Her leg injury was not that serious to begin with; she only felt a slight stiffness when walking.
The wounds on my hands had already scabbed over, leaving my skin smooth; the medicine was indeed effective.
For some reason, Mei Sheng thought of Ling Dang. That day, the old lady ordered her to slap her mouth. Her life was not in danger, but her face was swollen badly. She just hoped that the medicine would help her recover faster.
Since Pei Jue returned, he has used both kindness and severity to thoroughly clean up the Pei residence and its surroundings with swift and decisive measures. In particular, the Mozhu Pavilion where Pei Jue resides has been filled with people he brought from the south, and Tang Yun is also a girl from the south.
That day, some were sold off, some were killed, and everyone here changed their appearance, just like the old woman in front of me.
With a fawning face and every move she made, Granny Liu from the kitchen said, "This old servant has heard that Miss has taken an interest in plum wine these past few days? Well, here are all the ingredients Miss wanted."
After saying this, Granny Liu sent everyone outside, and before leaving, she specifically told them to call her anytime if they needed anything.
Inside the kitchen, all the ingredients Mei Sheng had requested were neatly arranged on a jade plate. Mei Sheng turned to look at Tang Yun; she had only told her the recipe for the plum wine during casual conversation.
Tang Yun was overjoyed and bowed to her in gratitude: "Miss, you have told me your private recipe for plum wine. This is nothing to mention."
Mei Sheng realized something. In this dynasty, such prescriptions were carefully hidden and not easily revealed to others.
Then, Mei Sheng followed the recipe from memory, completing each step one by one. When it came time to seal the wine, Mei Sheng felt a pang of sadness; her technique had indeed become rusty.
Before she could even sigh, Tang Yun exclaimed in surprise and praised her highly: "Miss, you've succeeded so well on your first attempt at brewing wine! Is there anything you can't do?"
Mei Sheng was slightly taken aback, and after a moment of silence, she replied seriously, "Cook."
After speaking, Tang Yun blinked, her eyes full of joy: "Don't worry, miss, I'm best at making pastries. Do you have any favorite foods? I have a complete guide to pastries, and I'll let you take a look at it another day."
Mei Sheng shook her head. She didn't have any particular preference when it came to food; she just wanted to be full.
After the two buried the body under a tree in the West Garden, a servant hurriedly stepped forward and told Mei Sheng to go to the side hall of the West Garden.
Mei Sheng hurried to the side hall, where she saw a middle-aged woman standing there. Upon seeing Mei Sheng, the woman approached her with a cheerful smile and said, "Greetings, young lady."
As soon as she finished speaking, she turned to the side, revealing a pile of clothes of all colors and types.
"I am Xu Xiuniang from a clothing shop in the southern part of Yanjing. I am here on behalf of the master to help the young lady choose clothes." Xu Xiuniang was elegant and had the shrewdness of a merchant.
Mei Sheng looked at the pile of clothes and frowned: "No need, just send them all back."
The clothes hung on the wooden rack, piled high with various colorful garments: vermilion, crimson, and light red...
The clothes were all woven with gold thread, and whenever they were worn, the room would be filled with light and brilliance. These clothes were obviously too expensive and seemed to be for the old lady of the house.
Mei Sheng frowned. What did Pei Jue mean?
When Xu Xiuniang first saw the girl, who was simply dressed but had an exceptionally outstanding appearance, she was momentarily stunned. When she came to her senses, she realized that the clothes she had brought were not suitable for the girl's age.
She quickly apologized, "Miss, the master only said he would send some clothes, so I picked out some suitable and elegant clothes from the shop. But when I saw them, I realized they didn't suit you. Perhaps we could take your measurements again and make some suitable clothes for you tomorrow."
Mei Sheng didn't ask anything, and continued, "Thank you for your trouble."
"As for the materials, it's best to keep it simple. Choose some fine cotton fabric, something plain and comfortable. You can decide on the rest." Mei Sheng thought to herself that it must be because she wore the kitchen clothes a few days ago that offended Pei Jue's eyes. Indeed, the clothes of Pei Jue's maids and servants inside and outside his house were not bad.
When taking her measurements, Xu Xiuniang made no attempt to hide her praise: "Girl, I've rarely seen such measurements before. They're excellent. You have the appearance of someone destined for great wealth and honor."
Mei Sheng smiled faintly. This man must say the same thing to every female customer: "If you have any leftover scraps of fabric when you're sewing clothes, please pack them up for me."
Hearing this, Xu Xiuniang's expression softened, and her enthusiasm waned somewhat: "Alright, Miss."
These clothes, even if they were changed to plain ones, wouldn't make much money anyway, and now they're even taking these scraps. Xu Xiuniang thought to herself, "Even in the mansion of such an important person, there are such stingy people. You really can't judge a book by its cover."
However, she understood the ways of business and immediately smiled warmly, saying, "You are truly a genuine person."
Mei Sheng didn't care about Xu Xiuniang's emotional changes. He took out some small coins from his purse and handed them to her as payment for delivering the scraps.
Xu Xiuniang politely declined but then readily accepted the gift, her displeasure vanishing and her face lighting up with a smile: "You're so generous, Miss. You'll surely get what you want."
Mei Sheng looked bitter. Had she gotten what she wanted?
She glanced towards the study and sighed softly.
After Xu Xiuniang left and disappeared from sight, Tang Yun, who had been waiting outside, entered the house: "Miss, the master wants you to go to the study."
Mei Sheng knew she couldn't escape it, and since her illness had greatly improved, she should continue working as that person's maid.
When the boss shouts, who can disobey?
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