They never imagined that just going to get a meal would result in such an unexpected disaster.
They were newcomers and hadn't even gotten the lay of the land, let alone figured out who all the masters in the residence were. How could they have known that helping their young master just once would be such a grave mistake?
Even Zhu Yuan could no longer muster any optimism. She bit her lower lip, her face etched with anxiety.
Shen Qing's thoughts were still with Yu Zihan. She glanced in the direction he had gone before saying, "Worrying about it now is pointless. Let's eat first."
'Besides, I never planned on being a Maid in this residence forever anyway.
'I just need to find out everything I want to know before my identity is exposed or I can no longer stay here.
'If things get too dire, I'm still the official lady of this house, after all. Regardless of whether Yu Jiuqing and I have a future together, I won't let myself be bullied in my own home.'
...
Meanwhile, after returning to his courtyard, Yu Zihan shot Zhou Hui a glare of extreme dissatisfaction before striding inside.
Qian Zhao Sheng followed behind him with a grin. "Young master, you're always insisting you're not a child, but that glare you just gave Guard Zhou? If that wasn't childish, I don't know what is."
"You're the child! Your whole family are children!"
Frustrated by his failed escape and for dragging three innocent Maids into trouble, Yu Zihan was in a foul mood. He returned to his room, brooded for a moment, then turned to leave again.
Xiang Qiao, quick as a flash, blocked his path. "Young master, where are you off to now?"
Yu Zihan pressed his lips together. His clear, pleasant, adolescent voice was tinged with reluctance and restraint. "I'm going to see my father."
'Before Zhou Hui tells Father about those three Maids, I have to go talk to him.
'I can't let any more innocent people suffer because of me.
'Besides, I can't bear the thought of that particular Maid getting hurt...
'Even if it means I have to seek out the one person I want to see least right now... my father...'
Xiang Qiao was taken aback. In recent years, the relationship between the young master and the Lord had deteriorated sharply. It was one thing for the young master to never seek out the Lord, but he would often throw a tantrum and refuse to see him even when the Lord came to visit.
She had arrived too late to hear the conversation between the young master and Zhou Hui, so she couldn't guess why he suddenly wanted to see the Lord. But after the recent incident, it didn't take a genius to know that he wasn't going for a pleasant, father-son chat.
Perhaps the shock of seeing the Maid who resembled the Lady had left her feeling utterly drained. Sighing to herself, she said, "Young master, you must be exhausted after that commotion. You should rest first. Besides, the Lord shouldn't be back at this hour."
Yu Zihan paused. He lowered his long eyelashes and said in a stuffy, muffled voice, "You're right. Father never comes home until it's time to put out the lamps."
Xiang Qiao had watched this boy grow up. How could she fail to hear the loneliness and resentment in his voice? She murmured, "Young master..."
"Forget it. When Father comes back is none of my business."
Yu Zihan turned on his heel and walked back into the inner chamber, apparently having given up on the idea of finding his father.
Xiang Qiao's heart ached for him, but she felt helpless and powerless to do anything.
But her own mind was in turmoil, and she couldn't summon the energy to comfort her charge. After telling Qian Zhao Sheng to keep an eye on the young master, she took the rare opportunity to step away from his affairs and go rest.
The somber, resentful mood that had settled over the courtyard didn't seem to affect Qian Zhao Sheng in the slightest. After agreeing to Xiang Qiao's request, he entered the inner chamber with his usual light-footed gait. He was just about to crack a few jokes with his young master—to get him to stop looking like someone owed him ten thousand taels of Silver—when he was startled by the sight before him. The young master was in the process of turning the entire room upside down.
He froze, then carefully picked his way through the wreckage on the floor. "Young master, what's gotten into you?" he asked. "Even if you're trying to give Aunt Xiangqiao a headache, you don't need to trash your own bedroom to do it."
'You're just making more trouble for yourself!'
Yu Zihan didn't even spare him a glance. He was hunched over a waist-high chest, rummaging through it frantically. After a moment, his tense expression softened. He carefully lifted a long, rectangular box out of the chest, placed it on the floor, and opened it. From inside, he tenderly lifted out a scroll that had clearly been preserved with the utmost care, as if it were a precious treasure.
Having grown up with his young master, Qian Zhao Sheng instantly recognized it. He stared, stunned. "Isn't that... the Lady's portrait?"
The Lady—the young master's mother—had suddenly disappeared ten years ago without a trace.
This was the only portrait of the Lady that the young master possessed. Over the past decade, Qian Zhao Sheng had seen it countless times alongside his young master. He was so familiar with it that he felt he could trace it from memory, even though he couldn't draw a lick.
The young master treasured this portrait. He usually kept it hidden deep inside the chest for safekeeping, terrified it might be eaten by insects or stolen. He would only take it out for a brief look during holidays, or on days when he desperately missed his mother.
'Why is he suddenly pulling out the painting now?'
Yu Zihan paid him no mind. He stared at the scroll in his hands, carefully placed it on the floor, and unrolled it inch by inch.
A beautiful and dignified young woman with a radiant smile slowly came into view.
In the painting, she wore a water-green, high-waisted gown, draped with a moon-white, wide-sleeved outer robe patterned with begonias. She was casually, almost languidly, leaning against a waterside pavilion, cradling a cherubic little baby who looked to be only a few months old.
Perhaps because she was a new mother, her figure was pleasantly full. She seemed to radiate a gentle, inviting warmth. The way she held the infant was the very picture of tenderness and affection—a feeling so palpable it seemed to emanate from the thin sheet of paper itself.
According to Xiang Qiao, the Lord himself had painted it for mother and son on the young master's one-month celebration.
She said the Lord had smiled the entire time he was painting it.
'But whenever Qian Zhao Sheng pictured the Lord's face—as cold and imposing as a frozen wasteland—he couldn't help but think Aunt Xiangqiao had to be lying. Or maybe she just misremembered.
'A man like the Lord, smiling? He wouldn't dare imagine such a thing, not even in his wildest dreams!'
Still, the fact that a painting so full of tenderness came from the Lord's own hand was incredible enough on its own.
"Zao Sheng."
Yu Zihan's hand slowly brushed across the woman's face in the portrait. His expression was dazed. "Today," he said, "I saw my mother."
Qian Zhao Sheng was so startled by his young master that all other thoughts fled his mind. "What?!"
He blinked, then rushed forward and solemnly placed a hand on his young master's forehead before touching his own. "You don't have a fever," he mumbled.
Yu Zihan: "..."
'Any sentimentality he felt was being ruined by this clueless oaf.' Yu Zihan slapped his hand away, his voice thick with frustration. "You're the one with the fever. I mean I met someone... someone who looks just like my mother."
Qian Zhao Sheng stared at him, dumbfounded. He shook his head and groaned, "Oh no, oh no. Young master, I know you've been desperate to see the Lady again since you were a child, but it's a serious problem if you're starting to hallucinate..."
Yu Zihan tried to hold back, but finally snapped. He grabbed a nearby book and whacked the boy soundly on the head. "You're the one who's hallucinating!" he said, fuming. "At first, I thought I was imagining it, but..."
'Now, looking at this painting, I realize it's more than just a resemblance.
'Aside from a few minor differences, that Maid and the mother in this painting could have been cast from the same mold.
'It's not just her appearance. Even the feeling she gives off... it's the same.'
Qian Zhao Sheng clutched his aching forehead pitifully. But when he saw the distant, sorrowful look on the other boy's face, he froze. His eyes widened as the words finally sank in. "You mean... you were serious? There's really a woman... who looks like the Lady? Here? In this residence?"
Yu Zihan was done talking to him and simply shot him a withering look.
"In that case," Qian Zhao Sheng sensed his young master's disdain and quickly wracked his brain for something useful to say, something to redeem himself, "the Lord must absolutely not find out about this!"