When Fu Zhen arrived, Concubine Su was already sitting off to one side.
From the corner of her eye, Fu Zhen thought this woman was extremely well - behaved. Her clothes and jewelry were all dull and plain, not at all eye - catching.
She walked up to Lady Bai and curtsied gracefully. "Greetings, aunt."
Lady Bai pulled her over to sit beside her and said affectionately with a smile, "Zhenzhen, there's no need for such formalities. Just relax here with your aunt."
Then she explained the situation and said, "I plan to visit Luobing at the Baiyun Taoist Temple tomorrow. You can come along too. It'll be a good chance for you to meet your third younger sister."
How could Fu Zhen refuse? She smiled sweetly. "I wonder what the third younger sister likes. I'd like to prepare some gifts for our first meeting."
"You're so thoughtful. But Luobing is a Taoist nun. Her daily food, clothing, and daily necessities are all very simple. You can just prepare some handkerchiefs and tassels that she can use in daily life. There's no need to be too extravagant." As Lady Bai said this, she looked at Concubine Su. "You don't get to see Luobing very often in a year. Take this opportunity to pack up the clothes and silk socks you've saved up on weekdays and take them with you tomorrow."
Only then did Concubine Su raise her lowered head. She stood up and curtsied. Her voice was soft and gentle. "Thank you, madam."
Only then did Fu Zhen get a good look at her face. With an oval face and almond eyes, she was the typical beauty from the south. Maybe because of her age, there were a few fine lines at the corners of her eyes. She didn't look glamorous but rather gentle.
Lady Bai nodded and said indifferently, "You may go."
Fu Zhen keenly sensed that Lady Bai didn't really like this Concubine Su, but she wasn't overly disgusted either. It was more of a feeling of not caring.
After all, which mistress of a noble household would care about a concubine?
But when it came to Fu Zhen, Lady Bai smiled. "The weather has gotten even colder recently. Is there enough charcoal in your room? If not, don't keep it to yourself. Just send the maids over to get some."
The charcoal commonly used in the Marquis's Mansion was ordinary charcoal, but the palace would bestow a few baskets of silver - wire charcoal every year. Lady Bai was afraid that Fu Zhen's weak body couldn't stand the fumes of ordinary charcoal, so she had allocated some silver - wire charcoal from the main courtyard for her.
Fu Zhen smiled. "I still haven't used up all the charcoal you gave me before. The silver - wire charcoal lasts a long time. You don't need to worry, aunt."
Lady Bai nodded and ordered someone to bring a bowl of bird's nest. "Try this bird's nest. It was just bought by the servants below. If you think it tastes good, let Cuihuan take some back later and cook it for you every day."
Fu Zhen had never eaten such things before, so of course she couldn't tell how good it was. She just said, "This bird's nest tastes sweet."
Hearing this, Lady Bai immediately said, "Then let Cuihuan take some."
Cuihuan, who was standing beside them, curtsied and replied, "Yes."
After finishing the bowl of bird's nest, it started to snow heavily outside.
She bid farewell to Lady Bai. Biyu held an umbrella beside her, carefully shielding Fu Zhen from the snow. She was shorter than Fu Zhen, so she had to raise her hand high when holding the umbrella. After a while, her arms started to ache, and fine sweat broke out on her forehead.
A cold gust of wind blew, and she couldn't help shivering.
Fu Zhen turned to look at her. Biyu immediately stopped in her tracks. In her panic, her knees went weak, and she almost knelt in the snow.
Cuihuan quickly grabbed her and frowned, glaring at her.
"Second Miss, this servant..." Biyu shivered and was so flustered that she couldn't even speak clearly.
These days, because of Fu Zhen's estrangement, she had been on tenterhooks. She had been extremely cautious in doing things, not daring to make the slightest mistake.
Fu Zhen looked at her calmly. "Biyu, what are you afraid of?"
"Afraid that I'll beat you, scold you, or sell you because of a small mistake?"
Biyu's heart skipped a beat. Her knees "thumped" as she knelt in the snow. She stammered, unable to speak. "This servant, this servant..."
"Please forgive this servant, Second Miss!"
Suddenly, it became deathly quiet all around, only the rustling sound of the falling snow could be heard.
Biyu had never felt that time passed so slowly. It was so slow that she almost thought the world had stood still, leaving only her violent heartbeat and the indifferent look from above.
She didn't know what she was afraid of either. Maybe she wasn't afraid that Fu Zhen would scold or sell her... She just didn't know what she had done wrong, so she was always in a panic, like a headless fly.
After a long while, Fu Zhen finally said, "Biyu, you and Cuihuan are both my senior maids. You came to serve me around the same time. Although I do rely on Cuihuan more, I also value you."
"There are some things I don't want to hide from you."
There was no need to hide them either.
The warning of her tragic death in the dream reminded Fu Zhen again and again that she couldn't do without a trusted aide by her side. She needed helpers for what she wanted to do.
And they had to be loyal helpers.
"I did indeed fan the flames in the matter of Hemiao. But if it weren't for her greed, would my words have had any effect?" Fu Zhen slowly knelt down and placed her hand on Biyu's shoulder. Her calm eyes met Biyu's panicked ones. "Her mistake was that as a third - class maid in charge of sweeping the garden, she didn't recognize her own status, let alone her own master."
"Her master will always be the mistress of the Marquis's Mansion who is in charge of the inner courtyard, not the marquis or the heir in the mansion." Fu Zhen gently brushed away the snowflakes on Biyu's shoulder. Her voice was as gentle as her action. "You're so smart. I'm sure you can understand my words."
Biyu felt as if a thunderbolt had struck her from the top of her head, finally shattering her confusion. She immediately remembered her hesitation when she reported that day.
She had been so worried that the news of Hemiao wanting to be a concubine would damage the heir's reputation that she hadn't thought that her current master was the Second Miss at all. She also hadn't thought that this matter was something the Second Miss had asked her to investigate. All she should have done was to investigate and report back properly. Other things were naturally not for a senior maid like her who served the Second Miss to worry about!
After figuring it out, tears streamed down Biyu's face. "This servant understands... Thank you, Second Miss."
Seeing her crying so pitifully with a red nose, Fu Zhen couldn't help but sigh. She helped Biyu up from the ground. "If you can correct your mistakes, you'll still be my trusted senior maid. Biyu, don't let me down."
Biyu shook her head vigorously and wiped the tears on her face randomly. "No, Second Miss. This servant won't make the same mistake again. Please trust this servant!"
Only then did Fu Zhen smile gently. She took out a handkerchief and wiped Biyu's face. "Alright. It's so cold. You've been kneeling and crying. I'm sure you're not feeling comfortable. I'll give you a day off. Come back to serve me tomorrow."
"This servant isn't cold! This servant will help the Second Miss back to her room!" Biyu quickly brushed the snow off her body and walked to Fu Zhen's side to support her. The umbrella had already been taken by Cuihuan.
Seeing her insistence, Fu Zhen didn't say anything else. They walked back in silence.
After watching Fu Zhen enter the room, Biyu walked into her own room and threw herself on the bed, crying bitterly.
Cuihuan lifted the curtain and came in. Seeing her crying so sadly, she sighed and advised, "Stop crying. Change your clothes. You knelt in the snow. I couldn't even pull you up. Your clothes and pants are all wet. Don't catch a cold."
Biyu sobbed and raised her head. "You always advised me to be more careful before, but I didn't understand. Now I finally do."