Shen Li seemed extremely delighted at the arrival of Shen Miao and Shen Zhen, showing no sign of the previous unpleasantness with Shen Miao.
Shen Miao also quite appropriately told Shen Li about some recent happenings in the Shen Mansion. Shen Li responded accordingly, while Shen Zhen sat quietly beside them, looking obedient.
After talking for a while, Shen Miao felt thirsty. She glanced around the hall and found no servants except for Jiao Yue.
"Sister, why are there no servants here? We've been here for so long, and no one has even served us tea."
"Oh! It's all my fault for not explaining it clearly to you two younger sisters. Although the Night Ghost Division looks like a grand mansion like our Shen Mansion, there are actually no servants here at all."
Shen Li said somewhat distressedly, "Everyone in the Night Ghost Division has to be self - reliant. There are no servants to wait on us. If you want to do something, you have to do it yourself. As you can see, apart from Jiao Yue, the other two maids by my side also have their own tasks to do."
Upon hearing this, both Shen Miao and Shen Zhen showed surprised expressions.
"Self - reliant?" Shen Miao repeated in a low voice, still finding it hard to imagine.
"Yes. Look, do you see this cut on my hand? I accidentally got it while chopping firewood the other day. A lot of blood flowed out at that time. But there was no other way. If I didn't chop firewood, I couldn't cook, and I'd have to go hungry."
"Chopping firewood and cooking by yourself?" Shen Miao exclaimed, unable to believe it at all. But looking at the long cut on Shen Li's hand, it didn't seem to be fake.
"Of course. The people in the Night Ghost Division serve the emperor, and the things they do are all matters of great importance to the common people. Where do they have the time and energy to focus on these trivial and unimportant things like serving others?"
"Then... why not hire some servants to help with the work? That way, big sister, you wouldn't get hurt." Shen Zhen said hesitantly, looking at the wound on Shen Li's hand.
"How can outsiders be trusted? There are confidential matters hidden everywhere in the Night Ghost Division. If those servants found out and leaked them, it would be a huge problem!"
Shen Miao had sharp ears. When she heard the word "confidential", she unconsciously pricked up her ears, hoping to hear more useful information. But she found that Shen Li stopped talking.
Shen Miao wanted to ask, but was afraid of arousing Shen Li's suspicion, so she held back.
"Sister, there's still Jiao Yue. Why do you have to do things yourself? You can just leave them to her!" Shen Miao pointed at Jiao Yue behind Shen Li.
"Alas! Jiao Yue has been busy ever since she came here. How can I let her do everything alone? This doesn't conform to the rules of the Night Ghost Division. I can't break the rules set by the Night Ghost Division over the past thousands of years just for my own selfish desires."
Shen Li's righteous attitude made Shen Miao swallow the words she wanted to say about bringing in her own maids.
"Big sister, since life here is so hard, why don't you go back to the Shen Mansion with us? At least there are maids and servants in the mansion to take care of you, and you don't have to do everything by yourself." Shen Zhen's voice was soft, but her attitude was sincere this time.
Although Shen Zhen had lived in the rural estate for so many years, she was still the eldest miss of the Shen Mansion. There was a maid serving her all year round, and all the rough and tiring work was done by the servants in the estate. So even though she wasn't raised in the Shen Mansion, she had never done things like chopping firewood or cooking.
Now she couldn't imagine at all that the delicate Shen Li, a young girl, had to do such work.
"Alas, Zhen sister, I can't go back for now. Recently, my elder brother has been extremely busy with his affairs. He's a man and has no one considerate and caring around him. I have to stay here to take care of him."
"I see! Can't we invite elder brother to live in the mansion? There are so many empty yards in our mansion. We can just vacate one for elder brother to live in. Am I right, second sister?"
After Shen Zhen finished speaking, she suddenly remembered her status and realized that she wasn't in a position to invite Shen Yi back to the mansion. So she asked Shen Miao.
Shen Miao glanced at Shen Zhen's innocent eyes. Although she was extremely reluctant, she still reluctantly said, "Yes! There are so many empty yards in the mansion. Elder brother can just go back and live there."
"I thank you two younger sisters on behalf of my elder brother for your kind intentions. It's just... the things my elder brother deals with on a daily basis are all confidential matters of the court. There are too many people and too many eyes in the mansion. It's not as safe as living here. Moreover, my elder brother likes peace and doesn't like lively places."
"He definitely won't be able to stay in such a lively place as our Shen Mansion."
Since Shen Li had said so, Shen Zhen didn't insist anymore.
Shen Miao started talking to Shen Li again. But since it was hot today and she had talked so much, she felt even thirstier. "Sister, do you have any tea here? I'm a bit thirsty. Can I have some water?"
Shen Li showed a suddenly - realized expression. "Sister, you're thirsty? Why didn't you say so earlier? I don't have any hot water ready in the house now. If I go to boil some now, it will take at least a quarter of an hour!"
"I wonder if sister can wait?"
Shen Miao unconsciously licked her dry lips. "I can wait!"
After she said that, she looked at Jiao Yue. She saw that Jiao Yue was just standing behind Shen Li, looking at her with Shen Li, and didn't move.
"Sister, go out from here, turn left and go straight for about two hundred steps, then turn right, and then go straight for another five or six hundred steps. You'll see an arched garden gate. Go in and go straight for four or five hundred steps. On your right - hand side, there's the kitchen!"
After Shen Li finished speaking in one breath, Shen Miao was a bit confused and didn't understand what Shen Li meant.
"Sister, aren't you thirsty? Why are you still sitting here in a daze? Hurry up and go boil some water! I've already told you where the kitchen is. As soon as you enter the door, you'll see a big iron pot beside a black stove. You can use that to boil water."
"Sister, do you mean for me to do it myself?"
Shen Li nodded sincerely. "The kitchen isn't far away. You can go there without worry. Moreover, there's firewood I chopped yesterday in the kitchen. You can use it first."
"Go quickly and come back quickly. Don't waste any more time. And since it's your first time boiling water, you may be a bit clumsy at first. But I believe that after doing it a few times, you'll learn. It's not that difficult."