Chapter 363 Back Door
The servant occasionally ran errands, but spent most of his time in the front yard.
The four maids were Mo Hua and Si Qin, while Xue Lian and Zhu Qing were rough maids who worked outside. Only Si Qin and Mo Hua had access to Jiang Mi's room, but they were very busy and didn't have much time to tidy up for Jiang Mi. Sometimes, when none of them were around, it was hard to tell who would come in.
Although her secret recipe couldn't be stolen, she still felt uncomfortable if someone entered her room.
She looked around. The people from before were all found with Huo Ran's help, so there couldn't be any problems. Otherwise, Huo Ran would have found out long ago with his abilities. The reason there were problems among these people was probably because the butler hadn't investigated properly.
She didn't blame the housekeeper, after all, his abilities were limited.
"Is anyone watching over here now?" Jiang Mi asked the servant who walked over. This servant usually worked in Jiang Mi's courtyard and did odd jobs. There wasn't much work to do in Jiang Mi's courtyard; at most, he would lend a hand to the aunties who made soap.
The servant was very young, and when Jiang Mi actually asked him a question, he became nervous and stammered, "This...this door is usually locked and no one is watching it. Apart from the few aunties who make soap, no one goes in or out."
This small door was just a back door, and usually no one paid much attention to it. She went up and took a look.
Who has the key here?
The servant scratched the back of his head: "I think it's the steward. One of those aunties has one too, and it seems like the girls in the backyard have one as well, but I'm not really sure."
Jiang Mi remembered that she had given the key to the housekeeper. She usually didn't use the side door, she always used the main door, so it seemed she would have to be more careful.
"Okay, I understand. You can go ahead and get back to work."
The servant looked on blankly, and seeing that Jiang Mi really had nothing to ask, he scratched his head and left.
"Miss, what are you doing here? Are you going out?"
When Qingzhu came out to pour water, she saw Jiang Mi standing there alone, without Mo Hua and Si Qin following her.
Jiang Mi shook her head: "I'm not going out. Do you usually go out through this door?"
Qingzhu shook her head: "No, the steward said that this door is for the aunts to use, and we are not allowed to come and go as we please, but Miss can go out from here."
Seeing that Zhu Qing didn't seem like a cunning person, Jiang Mi asked in a low voice, "It's quite convenient to go to the market from here. The cook should go out from here, right?"
Zhu Qing blurted out, "Uncle Cook doesn't go out from here. Xue Lian occasionally goes out to play from here, but she always comes back quickly."
After saying that, she seemed to realize something was wrong and quickly covered her mouth, looking at Jiang Mi with fear, afraid that she would lose her temper.
"So she leaves from here? When does she leave?" Jiang Mi asked calmly, seemingly oblivious to her reaction. It seemed that this Snow Lotus was indeed suspicious, but they hadn't noticed it before.
"Well... I'm not really sure either. I only saw it once. Sister Xuelian said it was convenient for her to go out from here to buy things, and she came back quickly. Miss, did I say something wrong? It's not right to go out from here, is it?"
Seeing that she was timid and hesitant, Jiang Mi saw Xue Lian heading towards the front yard from another direction before she left, tidying her hair at her temples and wearing a shy smile on her face.
What is she going to do?
Their location was behind a large tree, and Xue Lian didn't notice them, nor did she expect that someone would be at the back door at this time.
Qingzhu also looked puzzled: "This servant doesn't know either. It's mealtime right now, and Sister Xuelian is resting in her room. Maybe she has something to do in the front yard."
Jiang Mi felt that things weren't that simple, so she quietly followed her. She saw that Xue Lian had gone to the vicinity of Jiang Xuan's room, just as Jiang Xuan was about to go out and ran into her.
"Second Young Master."
Jiang Xuan looked at her curiously, then suddenly remembered: "Are you Honey's maid?"
Xue Lian nodded: "Yes, Second Young Master has a good memory. I am unworthy of such praise."
Jiang Xuan understood: "Does Honey need something from me?"
Xue Lian paused for a moment, then said in a low voice, "It's nothing. I was just on my way out to buy something for Miss. I was passing by, so I just wanted to pay my respects to the Second Young Master."
Jiang Xuan nodded: "What does Honey want to buy? I can bring it back for her when I come back later."
Xue Lian was surprised that Jiang Xuan doted on Jiang Mi so much, and fearing that her lie would be exposed, she quickly said, "No need, Miss needs it urgently, this servant will buy it for Miss now."
Jiang Xuan became even more curious. He wouldn't ask too many questions about other people's affairs, but he was concerned about his own little sister's affairs, so he would ask questions to find out the details.
"It's...it's rouge. Miss ran out of rouge, so she asked me to go and buy some."
Jiang Xuan frowned, feeling that something was amiss: his honey never used rouge, so why was he sending a maid to buy it? It would be more likely she was going to buy food.
"Then go ahead." Jiang Xuan didn't think much of it. Maybe Jiang Mi suddenly wanted to dress up. After all, she was a girl who was about to get married, so it was normal for her to want to dress up.
Jiang Xuan smiled and shook her head, sighing that daughters grow up and leave home, before heading out.
Xue Lian breathed a sigh of relief, but looked at Jiang Xuan's back with longing. At this moment, Liang Lan also came out of the room.
"Is there something you need?"
Xue Lian looked down on Liang Lan, whom she considered just a country woman who was lucky enough to marry the top scholar in the imperial examination. She believed that the scholar was kind-hearted and would have abandoned her long ago.
"It's nothing, I was just passing by."
Liang Lan nodded, not paying much attention. She walked towards Jiang's mother's room. With nothing to do, she spent her days either chatting with Jiang's mother or playing with Su Yindi's son.
Xue Lian looked disdainful and muttered under her breath, "So what if she knows how to suck up to her mother-in-law? Pshaw." After saying that, she turned around and went back to the backyard, looking unwilling.
"With my looks and beauty, it's a real waste for me to be a lowly maid. I need to find an opportunity to change my life."
Jiang Mi saw through her little tricks. It seemed she had left a bad apple in the house and needed to find a chance to kick her out. But before kicking her out, she had to find the person behind her.
"Don't tell anyone about what happened today. Just pretend you didn't see or hear anything, understand?"
When Qingzhu saw this, she had already lowered her head. It seemed that Xuelian was not just bad-tempered, but truly harbored evil intentions.
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