Xuanqing Guard-Chapter 48: Idle Talk

The guests had left, and Shen Hao felt like his face was about to freeze from smiling too much.

Leaning back in the bathtub, the feeling of warm water enveloping his whole body was very pleasant, but at the same time, his mind kept replaying the words Tang Qingyuan said before he left.

Was Tang Qingyuan deliberately creating obstacles with those words?

Or was he sincerely giving a reminder?

He mentioned Chen Yiyun was coming. To be honest, Shen Hao didn’t know much about his new superior.

What kind of person was Chen Yiyun? What was his background? Was he competent? What did he like? ...Shen Hao didn’t know any of it. Just as Tang Qingyuan said at the end, Shen Hao really should make some connections in Fengri City.

But if he wanted connections, he’d need someone to introduce him, right? And for that, Shen Hao still had some choices.

Should he ask Tang Qingyuan to help introduce him? Tang Qingyuan would certainly not refuse, but then everyone Shen Hao met would almost certainly all be from Tang’s circle.

He could also directly ask Chen Yiyun to help make introductions, and most likely wouldn’t get refused either, but then the people he got to know would all be from Chen Yiyun’s camp.

Basically, it was a matter of choosing sides. Shen Hao just hadn’t expected it to come so soon.

"That must’ve been a deliberate hint from Tang Qingyuan. Tsk tsk, this is pushing me to pick a side fast. But it’s odd, just who is this Chen Yiyun, to make Tang Qingyuan so nervous?"

Just as Shen Hao was mulling all this over with his eyes closed, the door was pushed open. He could tell from the footsteps it was Xia Nu.

"Master, let me massage your shoulders for you."

"Alright. Add some hot water first."

"Got it, Master."

Ever since experiencing Xia Nu’s massage skills, Shen Hao had her give his shoulders a rub every time he took a bath.

At these times, Shen Hao always closed his eyes to enjoy it, while Xia Nu, smiling cheerfully, would babble away to herself. As she put it, she felt closest to her master in this household, and there were many things she only confided to him.

At first, Shen Hao found it annoying—thought to himself, why does this slave talk so much, like a complete chatterbox? But after a few failed attempts to silence her, he gave up, and simply treated the little fox girl’s rambling as pleasant background noise to the massage.

Today was no different. As Xia Nu happily worked at massaging Shen Hao’s shoulders and back, she eagerly shared her little tidbits from the past few days.

"Master, guess who I ran into this morning? Hee hee, I bet you couldn’t guess. I’ll just tell you—I met Lin Xin’Er! Haha, bet you didn’t expect that?"

"Lin Xin’Er?" Shen Hao honestly hadn’t expected this foolish slave to mention a name he recognized. If he recalled correctly, she was the first brick he knocked out of the huge Li Family back then?

"Yes, yes, her! She doesn’t work at the brokerage anymore, she’s been cleared! Now she’s opened a garment shop over on Willow Street, selling those pretty silk dresses, says business is booming... Oh, and when she heard my master is the Black Banner Camp Commander, she was so shocked—and just kept saying master is the Lin Family’s great benefactor..."

Great benefactor? Shen Hao smiled. He truly was a great benefactor to many people, and to be honest, this was the thing he felt most proud of deep down.

Punishing evil is promoting good, and Shen Hao liked to do good things.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. At tonight’s dinner, the little fox girl was wearing a cute and elegant long dress made of silk—pretty and tasteful, surprisingly appropriate. Logically, this silly slave couldn’t have such perception, and more to the point, she’d never be willing to spend money on something that expensive.

"That dress you wore today—it was a gift from Lin Xin’Er, wasn’t it?"

"Ah! Master, h-how did you know?!" The silly slave was startled; her hands stilled for a moment and she lowered her head in a guilty posture.

"I’m sorry, I was wrong, Master. I shouldn’t have taken Lin Xin’Er’s dress, but—but it was so pretty I couldn’t resist..."

Xia Nu had never worn such a beautiful dress before—smooth as silk and so bright. When she saw it, she was rooted to the spot and totally forgot Housekeeper Hu’s rule about not receiving others’ property. Now the more she thought about it, the more flustered she became, even her voice took on a teary note.

Shen Hao frowned—this silly slave is whimpering again? How annoying!

He turned around, grabbed the little fox girl’s pointed ear and gave it a hard twist, then said in a grim tone, "Isn’t your monthly wage three taels of silver? You couldn’t afford that dress?"

"I want to save up my money, though."

"What does a slave need savings for?"

"In case—just in case one day Master runs out of money, I—I can take it out to help you..."

Hearing this, Shen Hao lay back down and snorted, "Tomorrow, go to Housekeeper Hu and get ten taels of silver. Go pay for the dress, and with whatever’s left, you can buy two more dresses. Remember, if you want something, just tell me directly. When others give you gifts, it’s not always out of goodwill—they might be trying to hurt you, or hurt me. Understand?"

"Understood, Master."

Xia Nu brightened again. She knew that once Master twisted her ear, he usually wouldn’t punish her further, so she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

But Xia Nu decided that after paying for the dress tomorrow, she wouldn’t buy another. She wanted to save the rest—just in case Master ever needed money, she could help and not be caught off guard.

...

The next morning, Shen Hao went out early. Before he left, he called Housekeeper Hu Tian over and told him to increase Xia Nu’s monthly allowance by five taels of silver, plus give her another ten taels today.

Hu Tian was an old hand at this—there was a flash of amusement in his eyes, but he only nodded to show he understood, not saying anything more. Internally, though, he sighed at the fox girl’s good fortune; she’d really found herself a strong branch to cling to.

After Shen Hao left, Hu Tian sought out Xia Nu and, as instructed, adjusted her monthly wage.

But when he saw how scatterbrained Xia Nu looked, he couldn’t help but give her a few extra words of advice: "Listen, Xia Nu, you need to be more careful! Now, Mr. Shen is one of the hottest figures in Li City, and his status is delicate. You can’t give people anything to use against him. For everything big and small in our house, you need to keep your eyes open so you don’t get Master in trouble, understood?"

Don’t ever accept things from others again! Hear me?

And one more thing—Mr. Shen is kind to you, but don’t let that make you arrogant. Don’t go spreading family matters around, even if people ask—keep your mouth shut, got it?"

Xia Nu half-understood, but she knew Housekeeper Hu meant well, so she nodded like a chicken pecking grain, and made up her mind never to take gifts from others or gossip about family matters with outsiders again.

After breakfast, Xia Nu told Housekeeper Hu she was going out—she needed to pay for the dress and pick up some soapberries on her way back.

She bounced her way toward Willow Street.

Every time Xia Nu went out, she was excited—she loved the bustle of people on the streets, thought everything was new and interesting. Even a stray dog on the roadside would get her to crouch down and play for a bit.

Strangely enough, no matter how fierce, dogs never bared their teeth at Xia Nu. It was as if they knew she meant them no harm.

"Here we are!"

Standing at the door of a garment shop, Xia Nu beamed as she walked in.

"Lin Caiyi" was the garment shop that Lin Xin’Er had just opened.