novelraw Chapter 82: Zhang Shaoyao Hired for the Job
Chapter 82: Zhang Shaoyao Hired for the Job
"The person you mentioned, did he die inside this courtyard? Perhaps the family simply felt it was bad luck to have a death on the property..."
"Of course not. Before the case even came to light, he had already killed two women in the back courtyard. The family didn't find it unlucky at all back then. But you can rest easy. I've dealt with both of those female ghosts as well."
"There were female ghosts too?"
Li Qiuchen looked around in alarm.
Tu Feiyun said, puzzled, "Your boss keeps so many ghosts around him that he's even fathered a ghost child. What are you afraid of?"
Is that really the same thing?
Rakshasa ghosts breathe. And there's clearly no reproductive barrier between the species.
Li Qiuchen's face went pale. He asked quietly, "General... are there any other problems with the place?"
"No, that's all."
Tu Feiyun gave him a glance, turned and headed for the door, tossing back one final remark, "I'll bring that woman over later. Even if your boss isn't satisfied with her, he still needs to give her a gift of money. Put it on my account."Li Qiuchen saw this gentleman respectfully to the front gate and listened as the sound of hoofbeats gradually faded into the distance. Only then did he raise his head, and the expression of alarm on his face vanished entirely.
He wasn't sure whether his performance this time had been convincing enough.
Wulala, for her part, hadn't noticed any of Li Qiuchen's inner turmoil. She stood to the side and offered a breezy, carefree remark, "That big brother is such a good person!"
"You think being treated to flatbread and mutton makes someone a good person?"
"He walked us home too!"
Wulala's thinking was fairly straightforward. In her worldview, a person who was kind to her was a good person.
Li Qiuchen studied the guileless and innocent expression on Wulala's face with great care, and resolved firmly in his heart that he would learn from her example going forward.
At dusk, Tu Feiyun arrived with a woman carrying a cloth bundle.
Boss Tang had just returned from the commercial district at that moment, and when he saw Tu Feiyun standing there, he was completely bewildered.
Li Qiuchen quickly explained the situation to him. Upon hearing it, Boss Tang barely managed to keep his composure.
"Such a small household matter, how could I presume to trouble the General to concern himself with it."
"It's rather bold of you, letting two children run off to the labor market to hire workers..."
"Young Master Tu has never been one to speak like a normal person. Please don't take offense."
Before Tu Feiyun could finish, the woman standing to the side suddenly cut in and interrupted him.
Sister, you are genuinely brave!
Li Qiuchen pressed his lips together with great effort, thinking to himself that someone had finally said out loud what he had been thinking all along.
This woman appeared to be in her early thirties. From her hair ornaments and clothing, she seemed to be a widow. Her features were even and pleasant, her complexion fair and smooth. One look told you she came from a prominent household. Her bearing was entirely different from that of an ordinary village woman, and even in Tu Feiyun's presence she showed not the slightest trace of deference.
"Young Master Tu, I can handle things from here on my own. Please don't stay and add to the confusion."
"Fine!"
Tu Feiyun didn't stand on ceremony with her either. He gave a nod, turned, and left, which made Li Qiuchen place a question mark over his initial guess about the nature of their relationship.
Not romantically involved? Childhood sweethearts? A treasured memory from the past?
That reaction was a bit too cold for any of those possibilities.
Only after Tu Feiyun had gone did the woman turn to Boss Tang and Li Qiuchen and give a respectful bow, saying, "This one's family name is Zhang, given name Shaoyao. I present my greetings to the master of the house."
Boss Tang quickly gestured for her to rise and said, "Sister Zhang need not stand on such ceremony. We are a merchant household, not one given to many formalities. Please, let us come inside and speak."
He still hadn't worked out what background this Madam Zhang came from, and wasn't sure how to address her.
The woman herself, however, was composed and at ease, not the least bit reserved. Once through the door, she introduced herself without prompting.
"Master need not overthink things. Young Master Tu has always been this way, speaking without consideration, showing no human warmth, and doing nothing in a human manner. It is a trait passed down through his family. It is not aimed specifically at you. He is the same with everyone."
Sister, you have spoken absolute truth!
Both Boss Tang and Li Qiuchen couldn't help but break into expressions of deep and heartfelt agreement.
"This one was born into the household of a marquis's residence in the capital, a servant girl who served the old matriarch until she came of age, then was matched to a household guard of the residence. Later, my late husband was exiled to the frontier on a criminal charge, and I came along with him. After my husband passed, I have lived as a widow at home."
Sister Zhang covered what could have been two hundred thousand words of backstory in three simple sentences.
Li Qiuchen thought to himself that this was a woman with a great deal of history.
A senior handmaid who had served at the side of the old matriarch of a noble family, such a background was more than sufficient to instruct a wild girl from the Border Wilds. In fact, it could even be said that this was using a great talent for a small purpose.
Boss Tang arrived at the same thought, and felt a measure of unease.
"If I may ask, what is your relationship with General Tu?"
"There is no relationship to speak of. As for Young Master Tu, you may not be very familiar with that family name. Let me explain briefly. His family are hereditary hunting dogs of the imperial court, ruthless and merciless, with a fearsome reputation."
At this point, Sister Zhang glanced reflexively toward the doorway.
"When my husband was convicted and sent to the northern frontier, that case was personally handled by Young Master Tu. So strictly speaking, there is no goodwill between us, only grievance. Later, for reasons I don't know, this young master ended up here as well. After my husband died in the line of duty, he came to the door and said something about having an obligation to care for the widow of a colleague. You both have some sense of what sort of person he is."
Yes, yes, exactly, we understand completely!
Li Qiuchen nodded firmly. That self-righteous quality of saying whatever he pleased without regard for how others felt, that was precisely it.
Though Sister Zhang, in those few sentences just now, did you also quietly skip over roughly a hundred thousand more words of backstory?
"I mention all of this only so that the master of the house need have no suspicion of me. Young Master Tu sees no good in anyone. In his eyes, my standing is no different from yours. Your young miss needs instruction, and I happen to need work that can support me. Let us think of it simply, and not concern ourselves with what that troubled mind of his is thinking."
Boss Tang nodded and said with a smile, "Sister Zhang is right. We are all ordinary people. There is no point in provoking those of eccentric temperament among the nobility. All that matters is living our own lives well. Here, Manager Li, please go and bring Xiaoxue out. I will give Sister Zhang a brief introduction to our household situation."
Wulala had actually been crouched behind them the whole time, eavesdropping on everything happening outside. Li Qiuchen pulled her out from behind a pillar, and she fixed her gaze on Sister Zhang with the look of a child burning with curiosity, examining her from head to toe.
"What a striking child. They say Rakshasa ghost women are beauties without equal. Today I finally see it for myself."
Sister Zhang gave Wulala a gentle smile, then turned to Boss Tang and said, "The master's intention, if I understand correctly, is for the young miss to learn the etiquette and written language of the Chu people, and to attend school for proper study going forward. Those matters are manageable enough. But may I ask what plans the master has for the young miss's future?"
Boss Tang looked puzzled, "What do you mean by that?"
"What I mean is, do you hope the young miss will one day find a match of suitable standing here in the south, or do you intend for her to return north to inherit the family enterprise you have there? Or perhaps, since you are doing business in the county seat, do you need the young miss to build connections and friendships here? Depending on your specific intentions, I would teach the young miss a different set of subjects."
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