Rong Tan jerked his head up at her words, but before he could ask for details, he heard Wu Ciyun speak again: “You don’t need to arrange work for him. I have other things for him to do.”
The moment she said this, Rong Tan’s heart leapt into his throat. He wanted to press for more, but just as he was about to speak, he changed his approach.
He silently moved closer to Wu Ciyun and probed in a soft voice, “A Yun, the house in the Capital should be bigger, right?”
Wu Ciyun was already sleepy.
She gave a perfunctory reply, and Rong Tan gently tugged at her hair, speaking softly: “Then, when we get to the Capital, I’ll make proper arrangements. The place we’re living in now isn’t big enough for so many people anyway, so he’ll have to put up with it for a couple of days…”
Although Officials of the Imperial Court had their own Official Residences at their posts, Wu Ciyun had to handle matters in Ping Su and frequently run to the Pingnan Prince’s Residence.
All this coming and going meant late nights and early mornings, so she simply bought another house nearby.
Though this house wasn’t large, it was more than enough for one more person.
Rong Tan had his own motives—he only said this to sound out Wu Ciyun.
Wu Ciyun was a bit annoyed.
She rolled over in her quilt and replied offhandedly, “He’s just an ordinary servant. Just tidy up a clean room for him to stay in.”
Liar.
It wasn’t as if there weren’t already enough servants in the residence.
Why would she hire a new one just as they were about to move to the Capital?
Rong Tan felt a wave of jealousy bubbling up inside.
He wanted to ask a few more questions, but Wu Ciyun had already fallen asleep, leaving him alone to listen to the howling cold wind outside, unable to sleep all night.
As the saying goes, “illness comes like a landslide, but leaves like drawing silk.”
Rong Tan’s illness had almost recovered, but he was sensitive and prone to overthinking.
After a whole night of worry, his face looked even paler.
Wu Ciyun showed some concern when she got up in the morning, but Rong Tan brushed it off.
“I’m fine. I just didn’t sleep well last night.”
“Even so, you should let the Court Physician take a look, or eat some more tonic to help you recover.”
Wu Ciyun touched his cheek, her voice full of concern.
“Your illness just won’t get better. How can I not worry?”
This return to the Capital had come so suddenly.
Even though everything was kept simple, there was still a mountain of chores—organizing accounts, packing trunks, dismissing servants, and so on.
If Rong Tan fell ill now, she’d have even more to worry about.
The System cursed Fuyin silently in its heart, but dared not make a sound—afraid Wu Ciyun would hold a grudge, or worse, that it would be dragged off to work and have its own accounts tallied.
Rong Tan felt a little comforted by her words and replied gently, “A Yun, don’t worry. I’m really fine.”
He knew his problem was all in his heart.
The best medicine was right in front of him—no herbal tonic could compare to a soft word from Wu Ciyun.
To keep Wu Ciyun from worrying, Rong Tan forced himself to handle the household affairs.
He had just found a moment’s peace when the gatekeeper hurried over to report.
“Housekeeper Rong, there’s a Jia Gongzi outside. He says he’s here by the Lady’s order to work for the residence.”
“I don’t care about that. Go ask the Lady directly.”
Rong Tan’s grip tightened on the account book, wrinkling the pages, but his face betrayed nothing.
The gatekeeper was about to leave when Rong Tan called him back.
“Wait a moment.”
Rong Tan closed the account book in his hand and asked cautiously, “What does this Jia Gongzi look like?”
The gatekeeper was momentarily stunned.
His expression turned odd, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated, finally replying tactfully, “Jia Gongzi looks… like he has some skills.”
Rong Tan’s face grew cold at this.
He wanted to ask more, but just then, A Ming returned with the Wu Family siblings, so he had to let it go.
“Housekeeper Rong!”
Wu Mingzhu dragged Wu Liangyu over with hurried steps.
Rong Tan quickly steadied them.
“Slow down, be careful not to fall.”
“Housekeeper Rong, A Ming said we’re moving again. Are we not staying in Ning Prefecture anymore?”
“Mm, we’re moving to the Capital.”
Wu Mingzhu’s eyes lit up. She quickly asked, “Is the Capital more fun than Ning Prefecture? Is there more good food?”
Rong Tan shook his head helplessly and answered honestly, “I don’t know. I’ve never been there either. You’ll have to ask the Lady.”
In the past, Wu Ciyun was transferred every now and then, and Wu Liangyu and Wu Mingzhu moved with her.
They were long used to it and even volunteered to help pack.
Rong Tan worried they’d hurt themselves, so he patiently coaxed them to go play in the back courtyard.
The gatekeeper was still waiting for his instructions.
Restless and unable to focus on the account books, Rong Tan decided to go see this person for himself.
In the flower hall, a thin, dark-skinned man in fine clothes was pacing back and forth.
The maid kindly invited him to sit, but he seemed startled, apologized repeatedly, and quickly sat down.
When the maid brought him tea, he jumped up to take it, his hands shaking as he held the cup.
The Wu Residence seldom had unfamiliar visitors, and the maid had never seen such a strange guest.
She was at a loss as to what to do when she spotted Rong Tan approaching.
“Housekeeper Rong…”
Rong Tan had just stepped into the flower hall when the man on the chair suddenly dropped to his knees with a thud and knocked his head on the floor three times, his voice trembling: “This humble one, Jia Weizhen, greets the master!”
The maid was startled and quickly corrected him, “You’re mistaken. This is Housekeeper Rong, not the Lady.”
Jia Weizhen froze, then looked up at Rong Tan.
Seeing the person’s elegant features and noble air, noting that everything he wore was of exceptional quality, Jia Weizhen silently estimated their value in his mind and lowered his head in shock.
Even though the person before him wasn’t Wu Ciyun herself, he still didn’t dare rise and said in a low voice, “This humble one is foolish and failed to recognize a distinguished guest. Please forgive me.”
Rong Tan hesitated, sizing up the man before him, and asked, “You’re the… new servant the Lady mentioned?”
Jia Weizhen replied respectfully, “Yes, that is this humble one.”
Rong Tan stood there, almost unable to believe his eyes.
He had thought Wu Ciyun must have tired of him and brought in a young, handsome attendant—or perhaps a strong, dashing guard.
But this Jia Weizhen before him, with his sharp chin and shifty eyes, looked nothing like what he’d imagined.
He was so ugly it almost cured Rong Tan’s illness.
“…You may rise.”
Rong Tan asked gently, “You said the Lady invited you to work here. What kind of work?”
Jia Weizhen stiffened, stammering, “…Just some small crafts, nothing presentable.”
“From your accent, you don’t sound like you’re from Ning Prefecture?”
“To answer you, this humble one’s ancestral home is Chongzhou. Later, I moved with my parents to Lingzhou. Only in the past two years have I settled in Ning Prefecture.”
Rong Tan frowned almost imperceptibly.
Jia Weizhen’s words were evasive, and his shifty gaze made it clear he was hiding something.
But since Wu Ciyun had given orders, Rong Tan said nothing more and had someone take Jia Weizhen away to get settled.
Rong Tan’s attendant watched Jia Weizhen leave, then quickly lowered his voice and came forward to warn, “Your Highness, that man is an antique swindler.”
“What?”
Rong Tan was surprised.
“…Antique swindler?”
“No mistake, Your Highness. Do you remember when we passed through Lingzhou a few years ago? The city was chasing a wanted criminal named Jia Mao—that’s the same Jia Weizhen here today.”
The attendant added, “Their family has been in the antique business for generations, but they mix fakes with the real thing. Their forgeries are indistinguishable from the genuine articles, and they’ve cheated many high officials out of their money. That’s why they have to move every year or so.”
With Wu Ciyun’s personality, she couldn’t possibly be unaware of his identity. Inviting a known forger into the residence was clearly a scheme of some sort.
But Rong Tan wasn’t much concerned. In fact, he felt relieved.
The attendant, seeing his indifference, grumbled in a low voice, “Your Highness, if she’s keeping a forger in the house, it probably means she can’t bear to spend money and plans to use fakes to fob you off.”
Ever since Your Highness came to the Wu Residence, you’ve worked like a horse and even had to pay out of pocket.
Wu Ciyun’s annual salary is barely enough to buy even a Jade Pendant from Your Highness.
Last night, Wu Ciyun sent someone to Chu Mingyi to ask for a Bead String, and everyone was talking about it.
Who knows, maybe she wants a forger to make fake jade to pass off to Your Highness.
But Rong Tan looked confused and answered honestly, “She’s never given me a fake.”
“She hasn’t before, but that doesn’t mean she won’t in the future!”
“She wouldn’t.”
Rong Tan pursed his lips, a little aggrieved. “She hasn’t even given me a fake before.”