Liu Hanyun clutched her handkerchief and seemed to have made a big resolution. “I was thinking. There aren’t many people here to serve the marquis anymore. Originally, Qing-er was available to help out with serving the marquis, but her health has been poor lately. She’s recuperating from her illness, so there’s only this servant left. This servant also has Xi-er to care for, and the marquis doesn’t come to Linghan Courtyard often either. Since Wen Wan has lost her memories, how about letting her out to serve the marquis? This way, the marquis won’t stay out so often.”
Ji Man was bewildered after hearing these words. Liu Hanyun was being so magnanimous, ah. It was already pretty good that she wasn’t holding a grudge against Wen Wan for switching her son back then. But now, she was thinking of helping Wen Wan by letting her out and giving her the chance to serve the marquis again?
“Madam, you’re this family’s matriarch. Why are you asking this one this type of question?” Ji Man pursed her lips and said, “However, this one wants to offer Madam some advice. A person’s heart is unpredictable. Even if you treat her well, she might not appreciate your kindness.”
Liu Hanyun looked away. “I’m just worried that the marquis will bring other women home. At the very least, he once liked Wan-er. Now that she lost her memories, she’s like a completely new person. If its possible, this servant wants to try it out.”
What was that saying again? Even a prairie fire can’t completely destroy the grass. Once the wind blows, the grass will sprout up again. Ji Man thought; Ning Yuxuan had once loved Wen Wan, and the tenderness he felt for her was out of the ordinary.
“Madam, you can decide this matter yourself. You don’t need to ask this one.”
Breakfast was brought over, and Ji Man picked up a bowl of congee and finished drinking it. Looking at the rays from the morning sun, Ji Man smiled and said, “Since this one happens to be here, Madam, can you bring this one to see Mistress Wan? We’ve known each other for so long after all.”
“Sure.” Liu Hanyun nodded, stood up, and led Ji Man towards Qiangwei Courtyard.
—
There were still flowers blooming in Qiangwei Courtyard. Wen Wan was sitting at the stone table in the outside courtyard and slightly smiling as she embroidered. When Ji Man stepped into the courtyard, Wen Wan turned her head. There was unfamiliarly in her eyes, but her gaze was very gentle.
“Madam?” Wen Wan put down her needle and thread and walked over to Liu Hanyun. Full of obeisance, she saluted, “This servant greets Madam.”
After Liu Hanyun acknowledged Wen Wan’s greeting and led Ji Man further into the courtyard, Ji Man stopped by the stone table and carefully looked at Wen Wan.
Wen Wan seemed to have changed into a new person after her failed attempt at hanging herself and losing her memory. Although she still looked weak enough that a gust of wind might blow her away, she was smiling very gently. She was wearing a white dress with a sleeveless yellow vest over it, and a rosy, red cloak was draped over her shoulders. She looked fresh and refined and had the appeal of a girl next door.
Ji Man had to admit that she was the one that destroyed Miss Wen’s appearance back then. Wen Wan originally had a beautiful face, but it had been filled with resentment day after day, so it naturally got uglier and uglier. Right now, it seemed as if Wen Wan had let go of everything, so she was very comfortable to look at.
“This young master is?” Wen Wan looked at Ji Man with a doubtful gaze.
Liu Hanyun said, “This is the marquis’s close friend, Mister Ji.”
Wen Wan curtsied. Her eyes sparkled when she looked at Ji Man. “Is there a reason why Mister Ji has come over here?”
Ji Man looked directly into her eyes and slightly smiled. “It’s nothing. This one just came over to look because it was on the way. This one will be leaving soon.”
Not quite understanding, Wen Wan simply nodded.
Letting Wen Wan serve Ning Yuxuan again? Ji Man thought that Liu Hanyun’s way of thinking was truly very unique. Wen Wan was the female lead that was still alive after looking death in the eye. What would it take for Wen Wan to die?
On the way out of the estate, Ji Man quietly said to Liu Hanyun, “Madam, excuse this one for speaking out of turn. Being kind to your rival is the same as being cruel to yourself. If you want to save a snake, be careful that the snake doesn’t bite you. Right now, it seems like she genuinely lost her memories and won’t be a threat to this one’s life, so this one has nothing to say. If this one discovers that she’s pretending, then, in order to preserve this one’s life, this one won’t allow her to stay no matter what.”
Liu Hanyun was slightly stunned. Soon after, she said, “I understand.”
—
After Ji Man returned to the rice store and sat down, an injured Yan Buba came to see her.
“What happened?” Ji Man was at a loss. She hadn’t known that Yan Buba had been arrested.
“A constable arrested this one yesterday, and this one was punished with three lashes of a whip and five hits by a plank.” Yan Buba was calculating something on his abacus as he said, “Later on, they apologized, said it was a misunderstanding, and released this one. This one struck the drum that’s outside the government office and complained about the unjust treatment. This one received twenty silver taels as compensation. After deducting medical expenses, there’s a net profit of nineteen silver taels.”
Ji Man didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. As it turned out, her actions had implicated Yan Buba. He was a rare person that was able to focus on calculating how much money he had earned.
“In addition, all of Liu Store and Rong Store’s tenant farmer contracts had been sent over here in the early morning.” Yan Buba put away his abacus and said, “This one has already asked them. They’re giving you those contracts for free and only ask that they be put under your protection. This one isn’t sure what’s going on.”
Ji Man slowly got up. “Where are the contracts?”
Yan Buba brought over a box. There was a thick stack of contracts inside. Ji Man did a rough count. There were at least 500 agreements.
Had the rice shopkeepers gone crazy? How could they simply give her all of these contracts? Ji Man was at a loss for moment before she remembered what happened yesterday and smacked her head.
Those old men had tried to use the minister of revenue to suppress her, but they ended up losing their wits in fright by the group that consisted of members of the imperial family and high-ranking court officials. The rice shopkeepers were probably scared of her seeking revenge by seizing their rice shops in one swoop, so they had directly sent over all of the tenant farmer contracts to appease her anger.
The rice shopkeepers were overthinking things. Those people had just come over here for a meal and ended up scaring those shopkeepers with their mere presence, but they wouldn’t actually help her with anything.
