10. Front Courtyard

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When Ye Jinghua told him to sit, Zhao Baozhuo was taken aback, his eyes darting around. Seeing that everyone else in the room was standing, he hesitated.

Ye Jinghua’s hand remained resting on the back of the chair. He simply watched him in silence.

Fang Qin noticed the uncertainty on Zhao Baozhuo’s face. Though he felt it somewhat improper, the wound on the boy’s forehead made him reluctant to say much. In a low voice, he said, “Since the young master has told you to sit, then sit.”

Only then did Zhao Baozhuo slowly lower himself into the chair. He sat stiffly, both hands pressed against his thighs, his head bowed as he stole a cautious glance at Ye Jinghua. Being so close to someone of his stature made his face burn, and a faint flush spread across his cheeks.

Ye Jinghua had just withdrawn his hand, but upon seeing him like this, the corners of his lips lifted slightly. In a gentle voice, he said, “There is no need to be so tense. I have sent for a physician to examine your injury. He should be here shortly.”

Zhao Baozhuo raised his head at once. “How could I trouble you so, Young Master? My injury is nothing serious. Brother Fang just cleaned it for me, and it already feels much better.”

Seeing his face at such close range, Ye Jinghua paused ever so slightly. Zhao Baozhuo’s eyes seemed even larger than usual, his dark pupils flickering like bright stars in the night. It took Ye Jinghua half a moment to respond.

“Since the injury is on your head, it is best to be cautious.”

Seeing Ye Jinghua’s expression relax a little, Yuqi came over to tease him. Her beautiful eyes swept up and down Zhao Baozhuo’s slender figure.

“The young master is right. What a pretty little fellow he is. What would we do if his face were disfigured?”

As she spoke, she cast a glance at Fang Li, who stood drooping behind Fang Qin.

“Then we would be left with nothing but these clumsy, ugly creatures to look at!”

Fang Li’s brows twitched. How could he not know that Yuqi was deliberately taking a jab at him?

Zhao Baozhuo’s eyes turned, and he realized that Yuqi’s words were not aimed at him. He therefore said nothing, merely watching Fang Li’s crestfallen appearance with the faintest curl at the corner of his mouth.

Ye Jinghua caught the expression and his finely arched brows relaxed slightly.

Clever enough. Though he wore a guarded expression, those bead-like eyes of his revealed everything.

At that moment, an old man in a gray robe entered, a medicine chest slung over his shoulder. He was the physician of the Ye household.

After saluting Ye Jinghua, he went to examine the wound on Zhao Baozhuo’s head. He brushed back the hair from the boy’s forehead and took a brief look.

“It is nothing serious. It should heal on its own in a few days.”

At this, Fang Li, standing behind Fang Qin, silently let out a breath of relief. When he had entered the courtyard earlier and seen Zhao Baozhuo lying on the ground with a pool of blood beneath his head, he had truly panicked for a moment.

Fang Qin’s expression also eased. Seeing that Zhao Baozhuo was not seriously hurt, he was about to tell him to return to the rear courtyard. Before he could speak, however, Ye Jinghua’s voice interrupted him.

“Will it leave a scar?”

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The physician was startled. “A scar… It should leave one.”

Seeing that Zhao Baozhuo was dressed as a servant, he had not thought in that direction. Now that Ye Jinghua had raised the matter, he added, “If you would like it to heal better, I can apply some medicinal powder.”

Ye Jinghua leaned back in his chair and nodded. The physician took out the powder, mixed it with ointment, and spread it over the wound on Zhao Baozhuo’s forehead.

Fang Qin watched from the side, his expression shifting. His mouth opened, then closed again.

The next moment, Ye Jinghua rose from his seat and said in an indifferent voice, “Please see to his treatment, Doctor.”

He then turned and walked toward the inner room.

Fang Qin breathed a sigh of relief and immediately followed. Before leaving, he cast a glance at Zhao Baozhuo from the corner of his eye.

With medicine spread over his temple, Zhao Baozhuo narrowed his eyes against the cool, stinging sensation of the wound. He watched the pale moon-colored robes billow as their owner disappeared behind the screen, then blinked.

He sighed inwardly. Once he returned to the rear courtyard, who knew when he would see that young master, who looked like an immortal descended from heaven, again?

The following day, just as expected, every servant in the rear courtyard had vanished without a trace. The side rooms, once packed to overflowing, stood completely empty, not a single item left behind.

At noon, only Nanny Qi and Zhao Baozhuo sat at the dining table. Looking at the empty chairs and vacant spaces around him, Zhao Baozhuo felt somewhat melancholy and sighed. With so many people gone all at once, how was the inn supposed to function? It would probably have to close for several days to make arrangements. How much money would they lose?

Seeing that he seemed dispirited, Nanny Qi assumed he was feeling sorry for the servants who had been driven away. She frowned and advised him, “You need not pity them. Those lazy parasites should have been thrown out long ago!”

Then she reached over and brushed back the hair from his forehead.

“They even caused you to injure yourself. Did you change the dressing this morning? Be careful not to let it scar.”

Zhao Baozhuo gave a little snort. “I am a man. What is there to fear about a scar?”

His childish remark amused Nanny Qi, and she laughed.

“There is no need to worry about ugly men, but a handsome one must take better care of himself.” She tapped him lightly on the forehead. “When you reach marriageable age and take a wife, you will understand how important one’s looks are!”

Zhao Baozhuo ignored the latter part of her words. At the mention of a handsome man, the jade-like face of that young master naturally rose before his mind’s eye. In all his years, he had never seen a man so extraordinarily beautiful and elegant. If a cut had marred that face, it truly would have been a great pity.

Just then, the curtain at the entrance to the side room stirred, and someone lifted it and stepped inside.

Zhao Baozhuo looked up. It was an elderly man in a dark blue robe. Seeing the two of them seated at the table, he gave an astonished little exclamation.

“So you must be Nanny Qi.”

With a broad smile, he came forward. Nanny Qi rubbed her hands against her apron and rose.

“And you are—”

The old man chuckled. “You do not remember me? My surname is Li. A few years ago, when I accompanied the master and madam to the farmstead, we met once.”

Nanny Qi blinked several times before finally recognizing him.

“Oh! You are Steward Li, who served at Madam’s side. Goodness, I am an old woman now, my eyesight has grown dim. I failed to recognize you at all.”

“It is nothing, nothing.” Steward Li laughingly helped her sit down. Then he glanced at the empty tables and chairs around them, frowned, and spat viciously to one side.

“If it were not for our young master’s quick wits, we would all still be kept in the dark. When Madam heard what had happened, she was so furious that she wiped away tears. Those black-hearted wretches were all dismissed last night. Early this morning, Madam ordered me to bring new people here.”

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With that, he lifted the curtain. A group of young male and female servants stood in neat rows in the courtyard. The men wore short blue garments, while the women wore pale yellow skirts. Every one of them stood with his or her head lowered respectfully.

“Madam personally inspected every one of them,” Steward Li said with a smile, gesturing toward the courtyard. “You may look them over one by one today as well. If any of them displeases you, send them straight back.”

Nanny Qi narrowed her eyes as she surveyed them, then nodded.

“They all look good to me. Those chosen by Madam herself cannot be at fault.”

Steward Li turned to her with a beaming smile.

“You may rest easy, Nanny Qi. Those sly, shifty-eyed people from before put you through quite enough hardship. Now that I have come to keep watch over these new ones, I will make certain none of them can cause trouble.”

Nanny Qi repeatedly agreed that it was good to hear. She knew Steward Li well. Among all the stewards of the main household, he was the one Madam trusted most. Their mistress truly had not forgotten the young master. The moment she heard that something had gone wrong here, she had sent her most capable steward.

Thinking of this, Nanny Qi sighed.

“It is this old woman who has been useless, forcing Madam to worry over us as well.”

She sighed again and said helplessly, “If only the young master would bring home a young mistress, none of these matters would require Madam’s attention. But that young master of ours… alas.”

She shook her head as she sighed. Steward Li gave a sympathetic “alas” of his own and consoled her.

“How could we possibly understand what goes on in the young master’s heart? Let the master and madam worry about it themselves.”

He turned his eyes away, then suddenly spotted Baozhuo standing beside Nanny Qi. His eyes lit up at once. He went over, took both of the boy’s hands, and drew him closer.

“You must be Baozhuo. Come, let me have a look at you.”

With a smile in his eyes, Steward Li examined the slightly dazed young man from head to toe.

“What a refined and handsome child. You truly are as precious as your name suggests, like a jewel or a piece of jade. Who gave you such a name?”

Flustered by the praise, Zhao Baozhuo’s cheeks flushed pink. He smiled shyly.

“You are too kind. My father knows little of poetry or the classics. He simply picked two characters at random.”

Steward Li gave a thoughtful little sound, his eyes flickering. Seeing that Baozhuo was well-mannered and spoke with ease, he liked him even more.

“It is a fine name, a fine name.”

Smiling, he released the boy’s hands, took a jade token from within his robe, and held it out to Zhao Baozhuo.

“I know you suffered a grievance yesterday. From now on, you need not concern yourself with matters in the rear courtyard. Beginning tomorrow, you will serve in the front courtyard.”

Zhao Baozhuo stared at him in astonishment.

Nanny Qi was likewise stunned.

“This…”

She cared deeply for Baozhuo and naturally wished for him to have a better life. But what sort of person was Ye Jinghua? The servants in the front courtyard were all long-serving members of the Ye household, each one carefully selected. Those who attended the young master personally were especially exacting—more particular than the sons of ordinary families.

She feared that if Zhao Baozhuo suddenly went to the front courtyard, he would be bullied.

Before she could finish hesitating, however, Zhao Baozhuo said, “That could not be better! I will go to the front courtyard tomorrow.”

Nanny Qi faltered and swallowed the words she had been about to say, turning to look at him.

Seeing that he was so direct and cheerful, Steward Li laughed and praised him several times.

“When you arrive tomorrow, simply find Fang Qin. He will tell you where you are to serve.”

Fang Qin.

A handsome, refined face, bearing some resemblance to Fang Li’s, surfaced in Zhao Baozhuo’s mind. For some reason, he always felt that there had been something strange in the way Fang Qin looked at him the previous day.

Still, he did not give it much thought. Zhao Baozhuo’s lips curved faintly. Though he was somewhat reluctant to leave the little chickens and ducklings behind, he was happy at the prospect of working in the front courtyard.

Once there, perhaps he would occasionally catch sight of that young master who resembled a celestial being. The man had rescued him, given him food, and summoned a physician for him. Such a good person deserved his thanks in person, as courtesy demanded.