Sang Wan secretly felt puzzled. Previously, she had thought Shi Yui was just being polite for the sake of it, and of course, she dared not take it seriously, rely brushing it off with laughter. However, observing further, it didn’t seem the case; Shi Yui truly appeared as if she was bothered by her presence and was insistent on shooing her out the door.
Left with no choice and indeed having so matters to deal with, Sang Wan smoothly excused herself, instructing Xingzhi to take good care of Grand Aunt, then left with an apologetic smile.
With a tea cup in her hand, Shi Yui smiled and scrutinized Xingzhi from top to bottom: well-proportioned, with shoulders like cut jade, an oval face, a cute nose bridge, and a pair of watery, apricot-like eyes—her features were indeed sharp and clever at first glance. She resonated cleverness tinged with an honest and steady deanor, unlike those frivolous ones.
No wonder out of so many people, Master chose her without hesitation—indeed, she was an excellent choice!
The more Shi Yui looked at Xingzhi, the deeper the smile grew on her face, and she nodded slightly in approval.
Standing there with her fingers twisted together, Xingzhi didn’t dare to lift her head under Shi Yui’s intense gaze. She felt uneasy inside, wondering what exactly the grand aunt was plotting.
"Is there sothing dirty on my face or body that bothers Grand Aunt?" Xingzhi felt uncomfortable and couldn’t help but force herself to smile and speak.
"Hehe, no, not at all!" Shi Yui realized she had been staring too hard and waved at her with a smile: "Co, have a seat! Let’s have a good chat!"
"Grand Aunt, where would a slave sit in front of you?" Xingzhi felt even more uneasy, laughed awkwardly, and said: "Whatever instructions Grand Aunt has, just say them. I, I..."
Xingzhi suddenly lanted inside with an "oh no!"—could it be, Grand Aunt wants to pry into the mistress’s affairs? Does she want to be her eyes on the mistress from now on? That would be—
Shocked, Xingzhi’s face inadvertently shifted in color as Shi Yui observed her mix of amusent and irritation, stretching out her hand to pull her down to sit, smilingly said: "You, girl, are really too timid. Just sit when I ask you to; there’s no need to be so formal! You know , I’m easy to get along with!"
"Then I thank Grand Aunt!" Xingzhi, having no choice, reluctantly sat down with a sideway lean, her heart pounding nervously. The mistress is a good person, who has taught her to read and treated her kindly. No matter what, she couldn’t bring herself to harm the mistress. If it cos to it, she might as well plead for rcy and just marry off to get away from this place, wouldn’t that solve everything?
Given her parents’ and siblings’ status in the Shi family, Xingzhi felt sowhat reassured by this fallback plan.
With the worst plan set, Xingzhi felt a bit more composed inside.
"That’s better!" Shi Yui smiled in satisfaction and began to make idle conversation with Xingzhi, casually asking about her age, hobbies, how good she is at embroidery, what she primarily does around mistress, how many siblings she has, and what they do.
The more they talked, the more certain Xingzhi beca about Shi Yui’s intentions, and thus she refrained from giving detailed responses. Out of three sentences, two were void of substantial content, vicariously suggesting things like "I do whatever the mistress commands, I don’t have hobbies, I rest in my room or go ho to do dostic chores when I’m not on duty, my needlework isn’t good, and I seldom engage in it..."
However, Shi Yui’s inquiries were rely to lighten the mood of the conversation, showing no real concern for Xingzhi’s responses, thus disregarding her evasive replies entirely. The conversation miraculously flowed smoothly as questions were casually asked, and answers were carelessly given.
"By the way, I heard that your mistress is also teaching you to read, right? Is that true?" Shi Yui suddenly asked with a smile.
Xingzhi stiffened, managing a smile: "Yes, that’s true... but unfortunately, I am slow and haven’t learned many characters, far behind Liu Ya and Hong Ye! Even the mistress said it’s tough teaching !"
"Your mistress, well, she’s a talented lady; in her eyes, who isn’t slow?" Shi Yui spoke half-seriously and half-jokingly, then said: "To , really, whether a woman can read or not doesn’t matter at all! The most important thing is to marry a good husband and have support for life!"
Upon hearing this, Xingzhi’s face flushed, and she couldn’t help but lower her head in silence, feeling awkward and embarrassed, thinking to herself why Grand Aunt was bringing up this topic so suddenly when they weren’t even that acquainted.
"Silly girl, there’s no need to be shy!" Seeing her shy deanor, Shi Yui felt more pleased and couldn’t resist taking her hand, laughing: "Every woman thinks about these things! We are all won here; no need to feel embarrassed! You’re not that young anymore, have you been promised to soone yet?"
Xingzhi’s face reddened further, her head hanging lower. She stiffly shook her head and softly withdrew her hand.
"That’s great then! Clearly, it’s fate!" Shi Yui didn’t mind at all and clapped her hands in laughter, asking: "So, would you be willing to go with ?"
"Grand Aunt?" Xingzhi, surprised, widened her eyes and lifted her head: "I don’t understand what Grand Aunt ans by this?"
Shi Yui brushed off the slight wrinkles in her clothes, smiling: "I think you are wise and have inner beauty; I liked you at first sight, so I’ll speak plainly! You know, the grand uncle is currently studying hard for the imperial examination. However, not having a clever person to serve by his side may affect his dedication, so I’ve been considering picking a capable maid from the house to attend on him, and after looking around, you seem most suitable! Hehe, after all, you are born into our Shi family, not like the others. Once grand uncle places first in the exams, you’ll be a proper concubine, and even Cui Zhu couldn’t compare to you! I’ve never been one to begrudge others, and your grand uncle has a good temperant; he will definitely not mistreat you! In the future, when you bear a son, won’t you have everything? Tell , isn’t this your good fortune arriving? Which maid in the house wouldn’t envy you, and who could compare to you in the future!"
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