Sang Wan secretly felt puzzled. Previously, she had thought Shi Yumei was just being polite for the sake of it, and of course, she dared not take it seriously, merely brushing it off with laughter. However, observing further, it didn’t seem the case; Shi Yumei 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 some 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 Yumei 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 demeanor, 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 Yumei 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 Yumei’s intense gaze. She felt uneasy inside, wondering what exactly the grand aunt was plotting.
"Is there something 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 Yumei realized she had been staring too hard and waved at her with a smile: "Come, 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 lamented inside with an "oh no!"—could it be, Grand Aunt wants to pry into the mistress’s affairs? Does she want me to be her eyes on the mistress from now on? That would be—
Shocked, Xingzhi’s face inadvertently shifted in color as Shi Yumei observed her mix of amusement 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 me, 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 comes to it, she might as well plead for mercy 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 somewhat reassured by this fallback plan.
With the worst plan set, Xingzhi felt a bit more composed inside.
"That’s better!" Shi Yumei 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 became about Shi Yumei’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 home to do domestic chores when I’m not on duty, my needlework isn’t good, and I seldom engage in it..."
However, Shi Yumei’s inquiries were merely 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 Yumei 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 me!"
"Your mistress, well, she’s a talented lady; in her eyes, who isn’t slow?" Shi Yumei spoke half-seriously and half-jokingly, then said: "To me, 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 demeanor, Shi Yumei felt more pleased and couldn’t resist taking her hand, laughing: "Every woman thinks about these things! We are all women here; no need to feel embarrassed! You’re not that young anymore, have you been promised to someone 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 Yumei didn’t mind at all and clapped her hands in laughter, asking: "So, would you be willing to go with me?"
"Grand Aunt?" Xingzhi, surprised, widened her eyes and lifted her head: "I don’t understand what Grand Aunt means by this?"
Shi Yumei 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 temperament; he will definitely not mistreat you! In the future, when you bear a son, won’t you have everything? Tell me, 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!"