"In Biyun Pavilion, as long as someone is truly dedicated to working for me, I naturally won't treat them poorly."
After giving a few more simple instructions, Wu Weiwei waved her two maids away. Although she still held the status of a concubine to the Heir, she was now entitled to the benefits and provisions of a concubine, which meant she no longer had to perform any manual labor. She let out a yawn; after being thoroughly exhausted by that brute of a man all night, she could finally take advantage of her new status to catch up on some sleep.
Wu Weiwei slept until nightfall. By the time she woke up, Lingfu had already brought back her dinner from the kitchens. Looking at the sumptuous meal of three dishes and a soup, Wu Weiwei didn't feel particularly hungry, yet her body was screaming for food. The original owner had eaten so poorly while working as a menial maid that her stomach was accustomed to nothing but thin, watery gruel, devoid of any substance. Now, faced with such exquisite food, her body was sending out desperate hunger signals.
*Fine, I’ll focus on nursing this body back to health for now.* As a flight attendant who had spent years maintaining a strict diet and workout regimen, she realized she was even thinner than the original owner. Being too thin was counterproductive; she feared she might be blown away by a strong gust of wind.
However, no matter how much she wanted to nourish herself, her stomach, worn down by years of mistreatment, couldn't hold much. After eating only half a small bowl of rice and taking a few bites of the dishes, Wu Weiwei was full.
"Clear it away."
Seeing that the meal was almost untouched, Lingfu and Chunrou exchanged confused glances. Wasn't it said that Concubine Wu had been promoted from a menial maid? By all logic, someone of such a background should have never tasted such delicious food and should have been devouring it ravenously. Even if she couldn't finish all three dishes, it shouldn't have remained nearly intact.
Watching Lingfu clear the table, Chunrou felt even more contempt. This Wu Weiwei was clearly putting on airs, thinking that becoming the Heir’s concubine made her superior to everyone else. She couldn't understand how the Marquis's Lady had picked her in the first place; such a pretentious person, yet she had somehow caught the Heir's eye and won his favor.
"Miss, since you've just finished eating, why don't you let me take you for a walk in the garden to help with digestion?" Chunrou suggested with a fawning smile.
Wu Weiwei glanced at her. She hadn't missed the expression on Chunrou's face just a moment ago. *Interesting. I wonder what her motive is for volunteering to serve me.*
"Since you’re familiar with this place, Chunrou, lead the way."
The mistress and her maid walked toward the Marquis's Estate garden. After they had walked for a while, Chunrou suddenly stopped in her tracks.
"Miss, I think I hear a woman crying?"
Wu Weiwei frowned. *Wait a minute.* She recalled a scene from the plot. After the Rose Pavilion was burned down, the Heir would often visit to mourn the heroine. By chance, he would discover a metal box of the heroine's that hadn't been destroyed in the fire, which would lead him to unravel the clues and start doubting the theory that the heroine had set the fire and committed suicide. Now that she had transmigrated into this world, the male lead had only just regained his composure, so he surely hadn't realized all of that yet. It was possible that the metal box had not yet been discovered by him.
She looked at Chunrou. *Did she deliberately suggest this walk to bring me here? Is she trying to engineer a chance encounter with the Heir?* Regardless of her true intentions, Wu Weiwei knew she had to enter the Rose Pavilion today.
Moving past Chunrou, Wu Weiwei walked a little further until she reached the entrance of the Rose Pavilion. Listening carefully, she could indeed hear a faint sound coming from the courtyard ahead. She turned to Chunrou, who was a step behind, and said, "Stay here and wait for me. I’m going inside to take a look."
"Miss, please don't! The crying we heard must be the cousin Miss. She died with such deep grievances; what if we summon her?" Chunrou was trembling with fear, doing her best to dissuade Wu Weiwei—she truly believed there were ghosts!
"There are no ghosts in this world. Even if there were, I’d like to see if she dares to show herself." Others might not know, but as someone who had read the book, she knew full well the cousin Miss wasn't dead.
"Mi-Miss, please don't..."
Watching Wu Weiwei head inside, Chunrou looked as though she wanted to follow but was too afraid, eventually settling for keeping watch outside.
Wu Weiwei pushed open the courtyard gate and stepped inside with light footsteps. Just as she was cautiously moving toward the source of the whimpering, a panicked figure suddenly stumbled out through a side gate and fled. Wu Weiwei gave chase, but by the time she reached a crumbling wall, she could only barely make out the figure of a woman wearing a windbreaker and a hood. Seeing the paper money still burning in the corner, she vaguely understood. This must be someone who felt guilty toward the heroine and was trying to seek forgiveness by burning offerings after her supposed death. As for who it was, she wasn't very interested. After all, the heroine's faked death was a conspiracy in itself; one only had to look at who benefited from it to know the truth. The Marquis's Lady was certainly involved—otherwise, she wouldn't have propped her up as a replacement.
The novel didn't specify exactly where the heroine's metal box was, so Wu Weiwei searched the entire courtyard. Just as she was losing patience and preparing to give up, her foot kicked something hard.
"Haha... I didn't come looking for you, yet you delivered yourself to me."
Wu Weiwei crouched down, preparing to pick up the item, which had been scorched black. At that exact moment, she heard the courtyard gate creak open, and a cold, imposing figure stepped inside. Hiding behind a pillar, Wu Weiwei felt she was truly cursed—meeting two fools here in one night, both coming to mourn a dead person. The key was that the person they thought was dead was actually alive and well.
"Who's there?"
Wu Weiwei had only moved her foot out of impatience, but Lu Hanting had already spotted her. *As expected of someone trained in martial arts; his senses are sharper than the average person.*
"Heir, it's me." She walked out slowly.
"What are you doing here?"
"Er, I ate a bit too much at dinner, so I came out for a stroll to help with digestion." Facing the man's icy gaze, Wu Weiwei offered a gentle smile.
"This is not a place you should be. Go back and rest early."
As she looked at the loose soil where he was standing, Wu Weiwei prayed, *Heaven help me, don't let him discover the "evidence" the heroine left behind.*
"Heir, I came in here without thinking. Now that I’m inside, it feels so cold and eerie, and I’m quite scared. Could you see me back?"
At her words, Lu Hanting’s expression darkened immediately. However, he saw her face was pale, and beads of sweat were forming on her forehead—she didn't seem to be faking it.
"Troublesome."
With that, he turned and headed toward the gate. Seeing this, the corners of Wu Weiwei's lips curled upward. She took a glance at the spot where the Heir had been standing, thinking she would find a time tomorrow to come back and retrieve it.
She heard the cold voice of the man ahead, "Are you coming or not?"
"Coming."
She took small, elegant steps to catch up. The two of them left the Rose Pavilion, one following behind the other. The Heir escorted her all the way back to Biyun Pavilion.
"Thank you, Heir." Wu Weiwei flashed him a charming smile.
Watching her enchanting expression, although Lu Hanting’s face remained cold, Wu Weiwei, having followed him all the way back, could sense a shift in his mood. It wasn't much, but it was there. Even the icebergs of the North Pole melted eventually, let alone when faced with beauty.
Seeing that the Heir did not head back in the direction of the Rose Pavilion, Wu Weiwei breathed a sigh of relief. She turned and headed toward her courtyard. Just then, a figure stumbled out from behind her. "Miss, why did you come back first!"
"Chunrou?"
*Very well.* She had been wondering why she hadn't seen Chunrou guarding outside. It turned out the girl had abandoned her post to slack off. If she were ever in danger in the future, let alone saving her, there was no telling if this girl would even push her into harm's way! *No, I cannot keep a maid like this by my side.*