“Congratulations, Host. You’ve received 2 Green Hat Value points and 1 Heartthrob Value point this time.”
The system suddenly rang out in her mind.
“Both are from Pei Shilin.”
Xie Yushu’s hand paused as she was picking up a dish.
Two Green Hat Value points—looks like Song Jie’s carriage has come by again?
He probably couldn’t hold back his illness any longer.
For those who are suffering too much, even a spider’s thread will be treated as a lifeline.
She picked up some sliced fish and passed it to Xizhi Mammy.
“Have a taste before it’s no longer fresh.”
Xizhi Mammy sat on pins and needles, her eyes rimmed red.
No master ever treated a servant this well—ordering the finest dishes, allowing the servants to dine at the same table as the mistress…
There was no other young lady in the world as kind as Miss Yushu.
Yet such a good girl still had to be bullied.
She put the fish in her mouth, both happy and on the verge of tears.
“Did it taste so good you cried?”
Xie Yushu saw her reddened eyes and teased on purpose, “Jin Ye and Yin Ya both cried from how good the food was when we ate at Fanlou this morning.”
Jin Ye blushed at the table, but Yin Ya said, “I cried out of gratitude. Even my own mother never treated me as well as Missus does. At home, all the rice was saved for my brother. They never let me have any.”
Looking at the two girls’ thin frames, Xie Yushu pushed the meat dishes toward them.
“As long as you’re of one mind with me, I promise you’ll never go hungry as long as I have food to eat.”
Jin Ye looked at her with shining eyes, also tearing up.
Xie Yushu couldn’t handle the scene, so she waved her hand, telling them to eat more and feel less moved.
A shadow flickered outside the curtain.
Her new bodyguard, Wang An, reported from outside, “Madam, the beggar boy we bought has woken up. Should I bring him in?”
Xie Yushu hadn’t had a good look at this beggar boy she could potentially recruit, but she told Wang An to bring him inside.
The curtain lifted, and Wang An nearly dragged the beggar boy in.
The boy’s leg was injured, so he couldn’t walk properly; he hobbled in with Wang An’s support, his thin body swaying.
“Didn’t expect him to be so tall.”
Xie Yushu turned to look at the freshly cleaned beggar boy.
She had thought he’d be a scrawny child like Jin Ye or Yin Ya, but this beggar boy was nearly as tall as the burly Wang An.
“That’s right, Madam,” Wang An said.
“Don’t be fooled by how thin he looks—he’s got a lot of strength. Almost knocked me over when I was washing him.”
Then he told Xie Yushu, “The doctor said his hand and foot tendons were broken. He’ll need proper treatment, or he’ll end up disabled.”
His hand and foot tendons were broken?
That sort of thing usually only happened to martial artists who were being punished by enemies.
Could this beggar boy know martial arts?
Xie Yushu looked at the boy standing a few steps away, head lowered, and suddenly asked, “Do you know martial arts?”
The beggar boy visibly froze, then looked up at Xie Yushu from under his messy black hair, wary.
Those were very dark eyes, wild and alert like a feral animal, ready to attack at any moment.
So he really does know martial arts.
Who exactly is he?
Xie Yushu didn’t pursue the question, but instead asked, “What’s your name? How old are you?”
His gaze shifted from her to the table.
Though he looked down quickly, Xie Yushu noticed him swallow—he must not have eaten in a long time.
“Help him over here,” Xie Yushu instructed Wang An.
Wang An brought the beggar boy to the table.
Xie Yushu pulled a plate of beef in front of him and asked, “Do you want to eat?”
The beggar boy didn’t answer, but his stomach growled loudly enough for everyone to hear.
Xie Yushu was amused, fanning herself as she said to him, “If you want to eat my food, you have to listen to me and answer my questions.”
He was truly starving.
His black eyes fixed on the beef, and he nodded.
“What’s your name?”
Xie Yushu patiently asked.
“How old are you?”
He moved his lips and managed a hoarse, strained voice: “Sixteen…No name. People call me Xiao Dao.”
Xiao Dao?
Xie Yushu vaguely remembered that, near the end of the original story, Song Jie forced the Old Emperor to death and said his final words before the dragon bed: “Your Majesty, do you know who the assassin Xiao Xiaodao, whom you just ordered shot with arrows, really is? He is your son…”
Then the Old Emperor coughed up blood and died.
Because Xie Yushu, as the female supporting character, had exited the story early, she only knew a little about Song Jie’s non-romantic plotlines, and wasn’t clear on this faceless “assassin Xiao Xiaodao.”
Could this beggar boy really be Xiao Xiaodao?
The Old Emperor’s son??
Xie Yushu was overjoyed inside.
If she’d really picked up the Old Emperor’s son, couldn’t she then hold the Emperor hostage to command the nobles and become the Regent King herself?
“…Host, your mission is just to complete Xie Yushu’s Happy Life,” the system reminded her quietly.
“The male lead, Xiao Zhen, who is now the Crown Prince, will be the future Emperor. The female lead, Xie Jia Ning, is supposed to become Empress with him. You can’t change the original ending, or this world will collapse…”
Tsk.
Xie Yushu showed her displeasure and was about to ask the beggar boy more when a commotion sounded outside.
It seemed her other bodyguard had stopped Pei Shilin at the courtyard gate, and now he and his mother were shouting.
Just the pair she’d been waiting for.
Xie Yushu lifted her chin and told Wang An to bring them in, then said to Xiao Dao, “Eat.”
Xiao Dao was truly famished; he ignored everything else and grabbed the beef, stuffing it into his mouth.
“Sit and eat.”
Xie Yushu tapped a chair with her fan, and when she saw him obediently sit down while still wolfing down beef, she said with satisfaction, “There’s plenty of delicacies and fine food. Follow me and you’ll never go hungry.”
The door curtain was flung open with great force.
Pei Shilin stormed in, furious that Xie Yushu had, without a word, hired a man to block his way at the Pei Mansion.
Then, to his shock, he saw the servants eating at the same table!
And there was a wild-looking man sitting beside Xie Yushu!
What kind of decorum was this?
It was utter chaos!
“Xie Yushu, shouldn’t you tell me who those two men outside are?”
Pei Shilin, face dark, pointed at the man who’d stopped him at the door, then at the man eating at the table.
“And who is he?!”
“My new servant,”
Xie Yushu replied as if deliberately provoking him, gently pushing aside the hair covering the eating man’s face with her fan.
Pei Shilin, enraged, stepped forward to grab Xie Yushu, but a greasy hand suddenly seized his wrist with great force.
He looked down and met the wolfish eyes of the wild-haired man, making Pei Shilin’s heart quiver.
Who was this wild man, defending Xie Yushu so fiercely?
“Congratulations, Host, you’ve gained 1 Green Hat Value point,” the system reported in real time.
Xie Yushu glanced at Xiao Dao, surprised and pleased—she hadn’t expected him to be so grateful.
“Shilin, Shilin!”
Li Huixian rushed in, hurriedly stopping him, her face still streaked with tears as she whispered, “Save Shibin first. For your brother’s sake, endure it, just endure…”
Pei Shilin looked at his mother’s tear-stained face.
All his rage had to be swallowed down.
He shook off the wild man’s hand and gritted out, “Song Prime Minister invites you to the Prime Minister’s Residence for a talk.”
“Not going.”
Xie Yushu leaned back in her chair, refusing without hesitation.
Li Huixian panicked, rushing forward to plead with Xie Yushu, “You must go, Yushu! If you don’t, Shibin might be beaten to death in prison…”
“Then let them beat him to death,” Xie Yushu said, looking at Li Huixian.
“If the Pei Family is wiped out, it’s none of my business. I’ll just remarry.”
Li Huixian was choked speechless by her venomous words, staring at her in shock.
“What will it take for you to go?”
Pei Shilin no longer wished to waste words with her and got straight to the point.
“One thousand taels.”
Xie Yushu laughed, looking at Pei Shilin.
“If it was this morning, I might have considered helping your Pei Family for a thousand taels. But not now. Your Pei Family can’t use me and bully me at the same time.”
Her gaze turned icy, her tone sharp and biting.
“Your mother smashed my people’s things today just to show me who’s boss, didn’t she? What’s wrong? Did she forget she’d need my help later when she was smashing things?”
Li Huixian naturally knew what she was angry about and immediately apologized, “I’m sorry, it was foolish of me. I lost my head and smashed those dishes in a fit of anger. What will it take to make you forgive me?”
Madam Lianxiang also came over and knelt, admitting it was all her idea.
They could really bow and scrape when it came to saving their son.
“All the things are smashed—what’s the use of an apology?”
Xie Yushu wasn’t buying it.
“If you want me to forgive you, it’s simple. You smashed up my courtyard, so I’m going to smash up yours.”
Li Huixian was stunned.
What daughter-in-law would dare do such a thing!
But Xie Yushu put her fan down on the table, making it clear there was no room for negotiation.
“It’s up to you.”
“Xie Yushu, do you have any sense of propriety?”
Pei Shilin shouted in anger.
Li Huixian, remembering her younger son’s bloodstained clothes, was torn apart inside.
She grabbed Pei Shilin and, swallowing her pride, said, “Smash it! Let her smash it! As long as she’ll save Shibin!”
Xie Yushu was in no mood to be polite.
She took all her attendants and maids and headed straight for Li Huixian’s quarters.
Zhao Feng brought over a chair for her, helping her sit.
Xie Yushu pointed at several of Li Huixian’s rooms.
“Jin Ye, Yin Ya, help Xizhi Mammy go in and smash things.”
“Yes, Missus!”
Yin Ya straightened her back and, together with Jin Ye supporting Xizhi Mammy, charged in, smashing the teacups and incense burners on the tables first.
Xizhi Mammy’s heart pounded with fear, but when she looked back and saw Xie Yushu sitting calmly in the courtyard, with the Pei mother and son crying and raging, yet Xie Yushu remained composed, she felt emboldened by the nod Xie Yushu gave her—telling her to smash with all her might.
All of a sudden, Xizhi Mammy burst into tears.
The once-cautious Miss Yushu seemed like a different person—now, no one could bully her!
The crashing and banging inside sounded like it was pounding on Li Huixian’s heart and face.
She could only cry, not dare to curse out loud.
She had to save Shibin first.
Once he was saved, she’d make sure to torment Xie Yushu to death!
“Are you done yet, Xie Yushu?”
Pei Shilin was utterly exhausted, barely able to recognize the woman before him in the night.
Was this still the meek and shy Xie Yushu?
The old Xie Yushu never dared say a harsh word, but now she was sharp-tongued, vengeful, and had thrown the Pei Mansion into chaos.
“Are you satisfied now?”
Pei Shilin just wanted to resolve Shibin’s matter quickly and divorce her.
“Can you save my brother now?”
Xie Yushu looked at Xizhi Mammy and the others, panting as they came out, and stood up.
“Do you have the one thousand tael banknote ready?”
Li Huixian was so stunned by her crying that she was numb.
How could she demand money after smashing her courtyard?
One thousand taels yesterday, another thousand today!
The Count’s Mansion would be emptied out at this rate!
Pei Shilin, however, laughed.
His pale face wore a weary smile as he said to Xie Yushu, “Xie Yushu, I really misjudged you. It wasn’t you marrying up to the Pei Mansion. It’s that our Pei Mansion is too small to house a Buddha like you.”
“I’m only taking two thousand taels, which is already merciful. You should be grateful.”
Xie Yushu looked every bit the villain.
“Don’t provoke me again.”
With that, she took her people and returned to her own courtyard.
As soon as they entered the room, Yin Ya’s eyes widened.
“Heavens, it’s all gone?”
Just while they were smashing things, the whole table of food had been eaten clean by Xiao Dao, who was now nowhere to be seen.
Xie Yushu ignored him and told Jin Ye to bring out the new clothes she’d bought that afternoon—she wanted to change.
“Are you wearing a Daoist Robe?”
Jin Ye, though puzzled, obediently fetched it and helped Xie Yushu change.
It was a blue Daoist Robe, not just worn by those in the Daoguan—many people wore them as everyday attire.
Xizhi Mammy helped Xie Yushu style her hair in a Daoist bun, pinned it with a Jade Hairpin, and watched as she finished her makeup in the mirror—this time, not even applying lip rouge.
Her brows and eyes looked light and bare, as if she wasn’t wearing any makeup, yet her appearance was distinctly different from before—she now looked much more like Miss Jia Ning.
Xie Yushu was pleased with the look.
She stood and only called Jin Ye to go to the Prime Minister’s Residence with her.
Just as she stepped out, supporting Jin Ye, she saw a man under the moonlight waiting at the bottom of the stone steps, leaning on a cane.
“Xiao Dao?”
Jin Ye was startled. Xiao Dao, who had been wild-haired earlier, had now tied up his hair, revealing a surprisingly handsome face.
Handsome was an understatement.
Even now, though thin and haggard, he couldn’t hide his beauty.
Once he grew up, he’d surely have the looks of a main character.
Xie Yushu was reassured at the sight.
With looks like that, he couldn’t possibly be just a minor character.
“I’ll go with you.”
Xiao Dao’s voice was hoarse, still a bit strained as if he wasn’t used to speaking after a long time.
“I ate your food, so I’ll help you.”
Xie Yushu walked up to him and, smiling, reached out to ruffle his messy hair.
“Looks like a chicken nest. Take it down and have Xizhi Mammy comb it out for you.”
He was unused to being touched and turned slightly to the side.
Xie Yushu withdrew her hand and said, “Focus on recovering. Get your leg healed before you come out with me.”
He smelled a faint fragrance, lingering from her wrist, her sleeve, and the patch of night she walked through.
Even after she was far away, he could still smell it.
Xiao Dao couldn’t help grabbing the ends of his hair and sniffing.
He found that even the part she’d touched now carried her scent.
For some reason, his ears grew hot and a sense of inferiority welled up inside him.
Someone as lame and dirty as him really wasn’t worthy of following behind her.
“Host, you’ve gained 1 Heartthrob Value point,” the system said, a bit surprised.
“From Xiao Dao.”
Xie Yushu hadn’t expected to gain Heartthrob Value from Xiao Dao so soon.
As she walked to the back door, she saw her husband Pei Shilin, his face as pale as a ghost.
The system’s voice sounded again: “Host, you’ve gained another Green Hat Value point, from Pei Shilin.”
Xie Yushu couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
She could even rack up points like this?
Pei Shilin was stung by her laughter.
As she passed him, he asked in a low voice, “Madam, you’ve dressed up so carefully, making yourself look even more like a counterfeit Xie Jia Ning. Is it to help the Pei Family, or to climb up to Song Jie?”
Without even looking at him, Xie Yushu replied, “If I could climb up to Song Prime Minister, I’d have to thank my dear husband for matchmaking. I won’t forget your matchmaker’s fee.”
Pei Shilin choked, his head spinning, his body swaying.
“Host, you’ve gained another Green Hat Value point,” the system exclaimed.
Xie Yushu didn’t even need to ask—she knew it was from her dear husband.
How many Green Hat and Heartthrob Value points had she accumulated today?
The system popped up the interface and told her, “You now have 6 Green Hat Value points and 3 Heartthrob Value points.”
So many already.
Now she was actually worried about Pei Shilin’s health.
Such a fine golden leek—she’d better not let him die of anger.
Stepping out the back door, Cang Shu immediately came up to greet her, but his eyes clearly lingered, stunned.
Under the moonlight, Xie Yushu in a Daoist Robe looked too much like the Miss Jia Ning who used to summer in the Daoguan…
Even Cang Shu could hardly help but wonder—how much did Miss Xie know about Miss Jia Ning and the Prime Minister’s past?