“…Oh, right. I’m a very loyal person…”
“…I’ll come back tonight and help you copy this book. But—…”
“…Remember to leave the door open for me…”
It felt as though a piece of Ning Xuan’s chest had suddenly been hollowed out, leaving an empty space behind. He could not call it anger, only disappointment—yet he felt he had no right even to be disappointed. Yi Hua had merely tossed out the words like a joke. It had neither been a promise nor an agreement, and Ning Xuan had not accepted at the time. If their positions were reversed, he would not have come either. The one at fault was Ning Xuan for taking it seriously.
A gust of night wind made Ning Xuan shiver violently. He raised a hand and instinctively pressed it to his empty stomach. He really should have eaten more that evening. He was now so hungry that his stomach cramped in waves, yet he could not even muster the desire to detour through the rear kitchen and replenish his energy.
He drifted back to the room like a wandering ghost, pulled the blanket over his head, and went to sleep. Unexpectedly, although he had not felt the slightest bit sleepy before, he fell asleep the instant his head touched the bed.
Another endlessly repetitive day began. These empty, tedious, yet utterly exhausting days had gradually worn away even Ning Xuan’s hopes for the future. He secretly cursed himself for adapting so easily to a servant’s mentality, but he could neither explain how to escape it nor say what freedom would even look like.
Ning Xuan climbed out of bed yawning endlessly. Because he had slept so late, his eyelids continued fighting to close even after he forced himself upright. He had only recently figured out the general method of wearing ancient clothing and tying its complicated fastenings. He dressed quickly, only for Mo Qi to shoot him a sharp look upon seeing the bulky mess gathered beneath the lower front of his robe. Mo Qi sighed that he had no idea how Ning Xuan had survived to his present age when he could not even manage his own basic daily needs. A servant was supposed to attend his master. If a steward caught Ning Xuan dressing his master in the same disordered fashion, he would undoubtedly skin Ning Xuan alive and swallow him whole.
It took Ning Xuan a long while merely to leave the room. He had never known his influence could be so tremendous. He had only placed one foot outside while the other remained indoors, yet the servants passing outside, who had been chatting with great enthusiasm moments earlier, instantly fell silent. Even their footsteps stopped. Every one of them stared at him with the curiosity of explorers discovering an unknown continent, raising goose bumps all over Ning Xuan’s body.
Under the weight of everyone’s attention, Ning Xuan had nowhere to hide. Even the joints of the leg he was about to move through the doorway seemed to stiffen. Mo Qi, however, behaved as though nothing were happening, completely immune to the curious, admiring, disgusted, and investigative gazes directed toward them.
Ning Xuan instinctively hunched his shoulders and walked stiffly beneath the attention of countless eyes. Unable to resist, he tilted his head toward Mo Qi and whispered beside his ear, “What is wrong with them?” Everything he had done since entering the residence flashed rapidly through his mind, and he confirmed that he had committed no atrocity so terrible that Heaven and Earth could not tolerate it.
“It’s nothing,” Mo Qi replied unconcernedly. “You’ll grow accustomed to it.” After thinking for a moment, he turned toward Ning Xuan and added earnestly, “Perhaps with a little effort, they’ll be scrambling to flatter you within a few days.”
A chill passed through Ning Xuan at those words. Flatter him… all these people? What earth-shattering, ghost-terrifying feat would he have to accomplish for that to happen?
The moment Ning Xuan and Mo Qi walked away, the servants behind them, who had collectively frozen and directed every imaginable sort of gaze at them, immediately came back to life and began whispering among themselves. Ning Xuan smiled bitterly. Did they truly think he was dead? He had barely passed the final person in the group, yet their behavior had changed so dramatically. Did they dislike him that much, or did they simply believe he could not hear them?
All the way to the library, the same sequence repeated itself in waves: everyone abruptly froze and stared, then instantly revived and began whispering. Ning Xuan did not know whether to laugh or cry. Had he become one of the Four Pests?
The most ridiculous were several servants who had entered the residence shortly after him. They looked considerably younger than Ning Xuan and spent each day carrying this and lifting that, performing heavy labor. Sometimes Ning Xuan thought they looked more like the objects being carried than the people carrying them. When the two boys saw Ning Xuan and Mo Qi approaching, they dropped the bronze basin in their hands. They hurriedly crouched to gather everything, yet continued sneaking glances upward as Ning Xuan passed. Whenever their gazes accidentally met his, they immediately lowered their heads—only to repeat the same mistake moments later. Ning Xuan did not know whether to laugh or cry. What in the world was happening?
While Ning Xuan was still puzzling over the matter, Qing Zhu hurried over from another corridor with a triumphant grin. He immediately slapped Ning Xuan on the shoulder so hard that tears sprang into Ning Xuan’s eyes. “As expected of our Ning Xuan! You’ve made us proud—truly proud! Look at how those people usually form cliques and strut around with their noses in the air, all because they caught a distant glimpse of some favored master or became slightly involved in one of their affairs. They become unbearably pleased with themselves! Meanwhile, we spend all day buried in this sunless library. We never receive any rewards, yet whenever something goes wrong, people can find a mountain of faults with us. They constantly sneer at us and flaunt whatever little things they have. Who would have thought fortune would turn in our favor so quickly? Brother, you’ve made us proud! Truly proud!”
Ning Xuan was utterly bewildered and sent Mo Qi a pleading look, but that bastard was not even looking in his direction.
Qing Zhu continued speaking so enthusiastically that spit flew from his mouth, looking deeply satisfied. “You remember Xiao Jiu and Hexiang, don’t you?”
Xiao Jiu and Hexiang? The mere mention of those two made Ning Xuan uneasy. Although they had been sold into servitude, not only had the roots of obedience failed to take hold, but they were also outrageously fond of gossip. Whenever they had nothing to do, they gathered together to discuss everyone’s affairs, from the Zhang family’s quarrels to the Li family’s scandals. If someone stood a little closer to a master or received even slightly more reward than they did, their eyes turned as red as rabbits’. Toward servants who failed to earn a master’s approval, they spoke with biting contempt and strutted around as though they owned the place.
What Ning Xuan found most intolerable was that, although he had never believed people should be divided into superior and inferior ranks, this era already functioned that way, and he could not change it. Since he was forced to accept the system, there was little else he could do. But even the least favored master was still a master. To put it bluntly, someone who lacked favor today might rise again tomorrow. Prince Rong’s thoughts were not something servants could predict. Why involve themselves in the struggles among the various madams and young gentlemen competing for favor when the servants were always the ones who suffered in the end? Yet people like Xiao Jiu and Hexiang still fought for the opportunity to charge into battle on behalf of whichever madam or young gentleman currently enjoyed favor, rushing to serve them at every turn.
Having completed his private assessment, Ning Xuan continued listening to Qing Zhu’s endless chatter.
“You should have seen their faces when I met them early this morning.” Qing Zhu looked ready to roll across the ground from sheer satisfaction. “Their expressions were so bitter, and their faces were practically green. Even when I was about to leave, they still refused to give up and came over to ask whether the rumor was true. Hahaha! You should have seen how frightened they looked, as though they wished they could start their lives all over again.”
“Rumor?” Ning Xuan froze. Completely confused, he turned toward Qing Zhu. “What rumor?”