Chapter 232: Defending the servant
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
The horsekeeper Elderly Zhang was an ideal servant. He was loyal, trustworthy and tight-lipped. He would only acknowledge Shangguan Nu as his master. His only love in life was caring for the horses and he never made any friends.
It was such a person who actually attracted the Mistress' attention. He gladly did anything for her. Whenever he saw her, his heart would beat wildly and his face become flushed with teenage embarrassment.
Elderly Zhang was a lonely man. After contemplating for some time, Gu Shenwei could understand why he acted in the way he did. However, he could not understand Luo Ningcha's actions. Even though she had not punished Elderly Zhang, letting him go was akin to showing mercy to a killer. This was unprecedented.
Gu Shenwei returned the wooden board and passed it to Maid Lotus. The two shared such a close bond that they needed no words to understand each other. Maid Lotus took her leave. On the surface, it seemed as if she was going to return the wooden board. However, she was going to copy the inscriptions on the board and keep it later. She would never give it to Lady Meng or Shangguan Ru.
The Golden Roc Fort experienced some turbulent times. This piece of wooden board could save one's life. It was an important bargaining chip; they had to hold on firmly to it.
Luo Ningcha was not in a stable condition. Gu Shenwei was quiet that night. After Maid Lotus had returned, she claimed that Lady Meng was in happy spirits and that Miss would not need to doubt her personal safety. Luo Ningcha was relieved but he gave a strange order. Maid Lotus was to stay outside. Slave Huan would have to stay in the house.
Gu Shenwei was embarrassed; he was not a child anymore. He was already 17 years old. If he were to stay in his lady master's room the whole night, it would invite much criticism. It would not be good for Luo Ningcha's current situation.
Luo Ningcha did not care about all of this. In her eyes, men, women and children were all the same. Since Gu Shenwei was a servant, he would have to listen to her orders. She had already treated Slave Huan as a substitute for Mama Xue. She would be relying on him to protect her in the most dangerous situations.
That night, Gu Shenwei stayed because of this very reason. Miss and Maid Cui laid on the bed, with the front of the bed acting as a screen. The killers first left and then returned secretly. They did this in order to keep themselves from being seen or heard by other people. They stood in the corner of the room all night, protecting their master.
He started to understand that being a maid of the Miss must be a terrible experience. Luo Ningcha woke up several times in the night and Maid Cui practically kept her eyes open the whole time. She was prepared to help her master arrange the corners of her blanket, massage her waist and bring tea at any time. It was pitch-dark in the house but Maid Cui seemed to move with ease.
Gu Shenwei was not spared from the uncomfortable experience either. Luo Ningcha would wake up in shock at random times, calling: "Are you there?" Following which, she would only go back to sleep when Slave Huan replied in the affirmative.
The next day, Gu Shenwei had not mentioned his own plan. Luo Ningcha seemed to be in a confused state of mind. She would agree to everything that Gu Shenwei said. However, Gu Shenwei would rather wait for the situation to stabilize--when Luo Ningcha had understood the conditions facing her--before trying to persuade her.
He wanted not a hasty act but a decisive course of action that would end the battle. Moreover, the Eighth Young Master had only been forgotten temporarily. He would have to deal with attacks that would come at anytime.
In the afternoon, Lady Meng sent one of her men asking Slave Huan to meet her.
Luo Ningcha would have preferred Slave Huan to stay by her side and not go anywhere else. However, she was terrified of Lady Meng. Before leaving, she ordered: "Go tell Lady Meng that I am extremely saddened by my father's death. When I am feeling better, I will pay my respects to her at the Inner Residence personally. Slave Huan, you are best at reading people's expressions. You must find out what the Lady is thinking. Does she want to take revenge against me? I have already returned the wooden board..."
After listening to the Miss' rantings, Gu Shenwei went to meet Lady Meng. At the moment he entered the Inner Residence, Shangguan Ru came up to him. She greeted him with a smile and later said in a small voice: "Follow me closely. Don't fall behind."
That time when the Supreme King was gripped by a killing desire, Shangguan Ru also reminded him in this manner. Gu Shenwei thus understood that Lady Meng did not have simple intentions in asking to meet him.
Lady Meng stopped pretending to be friendly. She told the killer that she had known everything. Shangguan Fei had written a letter to her explaining everything. This included how Slave Huan had played a two-handed game between Shangguan Fei and his sister. Moreover, Lady Meng was angry with Slave Huan for not killing the Eighth Young Mistress when news of Bighead Kingpin's death came.
"I thought you were a smarter than that." Lady Meng started. She did not ask Shangguan Ru to leave. She had decided to expose Slave Huan's true intentions in front of her daughter. "I trusted you and gave you a chance. I entrusted my dearest daughter to you but you have let me down."
Gu Shenwei sat quietly on the floor. He knew that arguing with Lady Meng would be useless. This woman was not Luo Ningcha and would not be swayed by a few words. However, if Gu Shenwei was so willing, he could have killed everyone in the house. He did not do this. Instead, he chose to seek Shangguan Ru's protection.
Before meeting Lady Meng, Gu Shenwei simply went up to Shangguan Ru admitting that he had once betrayed her. He confessed that before the negotiations with the Horned Dragon Society he had pledged loyalty to Shangguan Fei and asked him for his help in killing Ye Silang at the place of negotiations.
Even so, Shangguan Ru cared only about one thing. "Master Yu..."
"I knew nothing about that." Gu Shenwei denied immediately. He was speaking the truth. No one could have predicted Shangguan Fei's move. "I was Master Yu's archenemy, but I remembered my promise--I have never thought of killing him." However, this was a lie. He had never made a move because he hadn't had the right chance.
When Shangguan Yushi first tried to assassinate Slave Huan, Shangguan Ru had made the two swear never to fight each other again. The "promise" Gu Shenwei mentioned pointed to this matter.
"But he went back on her promise and tried to use Wildhorse and Meng Mingshi to kill you several times." Shangguan Ru said faintly. Without knowing it herself, she had excused Slave Huan. However, her heart ached terribly whenever she thought about Master Yu.
"So I could only have gone to seek the Ninth Young Master for help. I couldn't have let Master Yu know about my plan."
Shangguan Ru forgave Slave Huan. She started to trust him even more than before. She had lost Master Yu and Slave Huan was the only person left whom she felt she could trust. Hence, she treasured him greatly. She started finding reasons for Slave Huan's actions and was oblivious to the dubious nature his explanations.
Thus, when Lady Meng exposed Slave Huan's betrayal and dishonesty, her daughter defended him.
Gu Shenwei hung his head and felt slightly guilty. He had lied to Shangguan Ru and used her as a protective shield. However, he quickly quashed such thoughts. Compared to the years of torment and humiliation that he had suffered, Shangguan Ru's little sacrifice was nothing.
Lady Meng was livid. Her daughter actually stood up for Slave Huan. This was inexplicable to her. From her perspective, this act was also a form of betrayal. "Shangguan Ru, do you still regard me as your mother?"
"Mother," Shangguan Ru spoke in a soft but firm voice. "Let Slave Huan go. We have plenty of enemies around. Why would we still have to kill one of our own?"
"One of our own? If he was indeed one of ours, he wouldn't have tried to sow discord between you and Shangguan Fei; he wouldn't have pledged his loyalty to the second master; and he would already have brought the old Eighth daughter-in-law's head to me a few days ago."
Shangguan Ru stood beside Slave Huan. Her killing desire had vanished a long time ago and was almost non-existent. However, her temper was as quick as before. "Mother, brother hates me and that has nothing to do with other people. I know everything about what Slave Huan had done. He had simply followed my orders and had no will of his own. The Eighth Sister-in-law has had her bases destroyed completely, so why do you still have to kill her? Moreover, she is still holding on to something that we need. We can't kill her for this very reason."
"Outrageous." Lady Meng was not one to act on her emotions. She had already made preparations to eliminate Slave Huan. The only thing that she did not anticipate was how her daughter was actually standing in the way at that very moment. She was speaking up for an outsider and had not appreciated her mother's care for her.
The five masked killers got the hint and they appeared at the same time. The three surrounded Slave Huan and Shangguan Ru. The other two stood before Lady Meng to protect her from any harm.
Shangguan Ru's exploded in vehemence just like the time she and the others were trapped in Mister Guo's house. She would had rather died than fail to protect the ones whom she loved. She pulled out her saber in front of the killers and said: "Don't you dare to come any closer."
The killers did not dare to hurt the Tenth Young Master but neither did they want to be cut by her blade. They thus waited for Lady Meng's orders. As long as she gave her approval, there was no person whom they could not kill.
For the first time ever, Lady Meng softened and relented. "Ru'er, I'm aggrieved. How did you turn out to be like this? Is Shangguan Yushi really that important?"
Shangguan Ru wished that her mother had never mentioned this name. Shangguan Yushi mattered, yes, but what's more important was the fog that clouded her vision. Her love affair with Meng Mingshi and his feelings for her were all true to her. The opinions of the others were varied and only confused her.
Shangguan Ru then sent Slave Huan out of the Inner Residence personally, reminding him to be careful. "Let the Eighth Sister-in-law hide the best piece of the wooden board. Your life depends on it."
Gu Shenwei had just escaped from the Blademaster Shen Liang. Now, he had to confront an even stronger enemy. The longer he stayed in the Stone Castle, the harder it would be to keep his secret. He started to think of an escape plan. However, before that, he had to carry out his plan to assassinate the Supreme King.
There was only one such opportunity. He thought that as long as he was still alive, he would continue to hide.
Luo Ningcha waited impatiently. As soon as he had seen Slave Huan, he asked: "How are things? Will the Madam let me off?"
"No way, she even wanted to kill me."
"But...but I have already returned the board."
"The Lady is cruel and vengeful. I would advise Miss to not mention anything about the board from now onwards. Maid Lotus and I will ensure your safety."
"Can you really protect me? The Lady has all the killers at her disposal."
"Miss, you need not be too worried. Not everyone listens to Lady Meng. The Stone Castle belongs to the Lord and not to her. We still have a chance."
"A chance? The Bighead Kingpin is dead. What sort of a chance do I still have?" Luo Ningcha started to cry. She felt like a cornered rat. She was beseiged by pain and terror and she had no means of defending herself or escaping." Take me away then, Slave Huan. Take me away from this cold Stone Castle. I've never liked it. I have countless treasures. We can all escape."
Indeed, Gu Shenwei had plans to escape. However, now was not the time for escape.