Chapter 530
Chapter 530: Chapter 524_1 Chapter 530: Chapter 524_1 The village chief also understood Zhao Erhu’s meaning, “Of course, of course, Erhu, you’re willing to take them in out of your sense of benevolence. If anyone still causes trouble with no gratitude, not only will you have my backing in kicking them out, but I won’t forgive them either.”
“With your words, I have no more worries.” After seeing off the village chief, such a trivial matter didn’t require his personal attention. Zhao Erhu handed the task over to Manager Liu Aniu and didn’t bother with it anymore. His wife was right, the household had servants to take care of these minor things. There was no need for him to do everything himself; as the household’s affairs increased, it would be impossible to manage everything. He needed to learn how to utilize his people.
Thinking this, Zhao Erhu turned back towards the inner courtyard. He had just reached the entrance when a maid dressed in green collided with him headlong. Fortunately, his quick reflexes allowed him to dodge; the maid had rushed at him so quickly that she ended up falling to the ground.
Apart from his own wife, Zhao Erhu had little sympathy for other women. The maid on the ground, expecting Zhao Erhu to help her up, was met with indifference, as he simply acted as if he hadn’t seen her, furrowing his brow in evident annoyance at her clumsiness.
“Master, I’ve hurt my foot and can’t get up. Could you please help me?” The maid’s eyes brimmed with tears, and she looked at Zhao Erhu with hopeful eyes, a picture of vulnerability. Upon closer inspection, the face of the maid was none other than Lun Qin from the embroidery room. He wasn’t sure how she had ended up there; the embroidery room wasn’t in this vicinity, and maids like her weren’t allowed to just wander into the inner courtyard. It was likely that she bumped into Zhao Erhu at the courtyard gate for this reason.
Hearing Lun Qin’s plea, Zhao Erhu’s frown deepened. No matter what the maid’s intentions were, it was clear that she wouldn’t be easy to deal with. Displeased, Zhao Erhu scolded her in a stern voice, “Which room’s maid are you, to be so unruly and reckless?”
“Master, I am Lun Qin, from the embroidery room. Don’t you remember me, Master? I even passed on a message to Manager Liu in the front courtyard for you last time, and the time before that, I served you tea,” Lun Qin said, hoping Zhao Erhu would remember her, looking at him earnestly, as if trying to evoke his memory.
No matter what Lun Qin said, Zhao Erhu had no recollection of her, and his tone remained harsh, “Regardless of which room you serve in, go back and relearn the rules. The inner courtyard is not a place for just anyone to enter. If I catch you being this unruly again, I will have Madam Xu sell you off.”
Lun Qin’s heart shattered like glass. She had fantasized about what it would be like to meet the master and had thought that a man who doted on his wife as he did must be compassionate. She never expected reality to be so cruel; Lun Qin couldn’t accept that the master would be so heartless towards her.
“Master, Master, how can you treat your servant this way? My heart is completely devoted to you, Master. Can’t you show a little pity? I don’t long for a title; I just wish to be by your side quietly. Please, Master, take me in,” she pleaded.
Zhao Erhu had long seen through Lun Qin’s intentions, but was simply too lazy to care. He hadn’t expected Lun Qin to be so shameless as to blurt it out so brazenly. Her affectation of deep affection made Zhao Erhu feel sick to his stomach.
Lun Qin saw Zhao Erhu falling silent and thought he harbored some feelings for her, yet he was merely constrained by his wife’s presence. “Master, please keep me,” she implored. “The mistress is a virtuous woman; she won’t say anything. Since ancient times, it’s been common for a man to have multiple wives and concubines. There’s no one like you, Master, who has only one mistress. Otherwise, the unknowing might think the mistress is jealous, which would reflect poorly on your reputation! Servant has heard the servants gossiping, saying that Master is henpecked. But Servant believes that a man as capable as Master could never be henpecked. If you let Servant stay, then all this idle chatter would prove to be baseless. Besides, there’s only the mistress in the back house. When the mistress feels unwell, who will attend to you, Master? Please let Servant remain by your side.”
Lun Qin’s arguments seemed coherent and increasingly sensible to her. She had not originally harbored such intentions, but the way the mistress favored others over her was just too unfair. Among all the maids, she had the best embroidery skills, yet the mistress deliberately chose Lan Fang and Dong Xue, those two dullards, over her. It was clear that the mistress was biased.
Lun Qin even felt that the mistress disliked her because she was beautiful, believing herself to be of higher birth than the others and very adept at understanding the thoughts of ladies and mistresses. Surely the mistress was afraid that the Master would take a fancy to her. Did the mistress think she could keep her at bay like this? Lun Qin was determined to make the Master notice her. As long as the Master liked her, who would care about mastering embroidery skills? Even if one excelled at it, one would still be nothing more than an embroiderer. If she took good care of the Master, she wouldn’t have to worry about securing a bright future.
At the end of the day, Lun Qin genuinely looked down on Lin Yue’s background, which was why she felt such satisfaction, believing that Lin Yue was inferior to her in status and was simply luckier. The incident involving Lan Fang and Dong Xue had deepened her resentment. Seeing Zhao Erhu’s handsome and commanding appearance had stirred her affections, and she had tried to get close to him on several occasions, but he had never paid her any attention, leading to the farce that unfolded today.
Zhao Erhu had always looked down on Lun Qin and couldn’t be bothered with her. It was only when he heard Lun Qin scheming against Lin Yue that he erupted in anger, “Scoundrel, utterly ridiculous! The thing I despise the most in my life is a woman like you, fickle in love. You talk about not seeking status, about love and affection, but you clearly covet wealth and wish to climb into a man’s bed under a pretext. Only if I were mad would I keep a woman like you around. Get out at once—we have no use for such Servants in our household.”
Zhao Erhu, a robust man, had no desire to entangle with Lun Qin, but after what happened today, she could no longer stay. He planned to return to the inner courtyard and discuss the matter with Lin Yue before sending Lun Qin away. Realizing that the Master intended to dismiss her, Lun Qin knew she had to succeed that day or perish trying.
“Master, how can you treat Servant this way? Servant won’t leave.” As Lun Qin spoke, she grabbed Zhao Erhu’s leg with an agility that belied any injury, clearly feigning it to deceive others.
Zhao Erhu was caught off guard when Lun Qin suddenly clung to his leg, and after scolding her several times to no avail, she still held on stubbornly. Unable to shake her off, he no longer cared that she was a woman and kicked out forcefully, sending Lun Qin tumbling to the ground. Then he strode towards the inner courtyard, truly furious at having such a shameless maid in his home. In the future, he would need to instruct Madam Xu to be more vigilant when selecting servants. This time it was Lun Qin contemplating such shameless acts, but if another Servant were to harbor ill intentions next time, there was no telling what kind of trouble it could cause.