Chapter 506: Snitch (1)
Over at a side entrance to Songtao Court, an anxious figure was pacing around in the cold wind beneath the dim lantern light.
Finally, after a long period of waiting, a light rapping sounded from the other side of the door. The shadowy figure stiffened before swiftly moving to open it.
The person outside handed over a letter and made two hand gestures. They left as quickly as they had come.
One side of Fuyan’s face came to light under the lanterns, the wavering shadows blurring her expression and contorting her features.
She hastily stuffed the letter into her clothes and looked around the side entrance once again. After a few more furtive glances about and confirming that no one had noticed her actions, she quickly departed from the scene.
It was around this time that Chu Lian and He Sanlang returned to Songtao Court. Senior Servant Gui’s eyes widened a little when she saw the young couple entering separately, one after the other. Her heart leaped into her throat.
Senior Servant Gui knew that something was wrong when she saw Chu Lian entering the bathroom without saying a word to Third Young Master.
Taking the chance when He Changdi left for the study, she pulled Xiyan aside for some questioning.
“What happened? Wasn’t Third Young Madam fine when she went out this morning?”
Xiyan didn’t have much in the way of an explanation as she was still confused by the chain of events. “Momo, I’m not really sure either. It seems like Third Young Madam and Master fought on the road back. Also, we ran into Second Master on the way…”
Xiyan’s face was also filled with worry. Her heart was still quaking from the showdown in Countess Jing’an’s courtyard!
Senior Servant Gui showed an expression of deep thought. She sternly ordered, “Give me more details.”
Of Chu Lian’s four handmaids, it was Xiyan and Wenlan who were on the late night shift tonight. As the hour was late, handmaids who weren’t on night duty could return to their room to rest.
He Changdi was seated at the desk in the study. The tranquil night was especially quiet, strangely so. Only the occasional crackling from the lanterns broke the silence.
He Changdi’s dark eyes stared into the emptiness before him. He propped his head on his hand as if he was thinking about something. No one would have been able to guess that his mind was filled with Chu Lian’s figure.
Her conversation with Chu Qizheng inside the carriage. Their agreement behind the screen at the entrance. Her indifference towards him. Also, when she addressed herself as ‘Honoured Lady Jinyi’ while arguing with Aunt.
He Changdi suddenly felt an impending sense of crisis. He didn’t want to continue playing out this farce any longer.
This was obviously torture for him.
The hand that He Sanlang had rested on top of the desk suddenly clenched into a tight fist. The veins on the back of his hand bulged out from the tension in his limb.
He abruptly stood up, wanting to leave the study. However, at this time, someone knocked on the door.
He Changdi paused for a second before narrowing his dark eyes.
Perhaps due to the lack of response from within the room, his late night visitor knocked on the door once more. This time, the knocking was accompanied by a woman’s dulcet tones.
“Third Young Master, this servant has come to serve you some tea.”
It was Fuyan’s voice.
A corner of He Changdi’s lips curled up in a mocking smirk.
“Enter.”
The door to the study was opened with a creak from the outside.
Over at the parlour, Chu Lian was drinking a bowl of white fungus lotus seed soup when Baicha came in to report.
“Third Young Madam, this servant saw it in person. It’s Fuyan.”
At this moment, the people around Chu Lian were all her most trusted servants. Xiyan, Wenlan, and Senior Servant Gui all had shocked expressions on their faces.
Fuyan! To think it was actually Fuyan!
Baicha was so frightened that her face turned deathly pale. After she had been promoted to a second-class maidservant in Songtao Court, she had always been nothing but respectful towards the first-class handmaids. She never expected that a servant so close to their master, like Fuyan, would possess this kind of ulterior motive.
Chu Lian’s face was calm, as if she had already known about this matter.
“Third Young Madam, this old servant will lead some servants over to catch that slut Fuyan,” Senior Servant Gui said, gnashing her teeth.
If it had been Mingyan or Jingyan who committed that sort of betrayal, it wouldn’t have been so bad. They wouldn’t expect loyalty from them since they were just some outside servants who had been randomly picked by Second Madam’s senior servant right before Chu Lian’s wedding. However, it was different for Fuyan and Xiyan. They had been serving Chu Lian ever since House Ying, and they shared several years of friendship with her.
Chu Lian raised her hand to halt Senior Servant Gui’s action.
“Third Young Madam…” Senior Servant Gui protested anxiously.
“There’s no need to go.”
Chu Lian’s voice was calm. If her relationship with He Changdi could be shaken with just a few words from Fuyan, then it would just mean that she had misjudged He Changdi as a person.
There were so many maidservants in Songtao Court as well as the Jing’an Estate. There would be no end to it if she had to keep a constant guard up day and night.
“But what if Fuyan harms your relationship with Third Young Master…”
“Momo, don’t worry. I have my own plans.” Chu Lian patted Senior Servant Gui’s hand.
Senior Servant Gui couldn’t do anything since Chu Lian had given her an order. She couldn’t disobey her master.
“Momo, have an early rest. It’s already pretty late, so I’m going to rest as well. It’ll be enough with just Wenlan coming in to serve me.”
Chu Lian headed back into the bedroom. She let Wenlan prepare her for bed as she sunk into the warm and soft blankets.
Wenlan couldn’t let go of her worries as she was letting down the bed curtains, so she asked, “Third Young Madam, should this servant send someone to monitor the situation in the study?”
“No need. Do you think your Third Young Master is a fool? He probably knows that Baicha came over to report. There’s no need for these useless actions. Go take a rest. I’ll call you if I need anything.”
Wenlan was astonished. A moment later, she nodded and quietly left after putting down the curtains.
