Chapter 487 — An Outcry
Purple Streets of Chang'an · Page 3 of 4
Liu Zhang came running in to report: "The Second Madam has been in the rear servants' quarters all this while. She said she sat there waiting in vain until she fell asleep and you returned. There was no one to take charge and announce her coming. As for the two maids the Second Madam brought into the household, one is named Ji Hong and the other Liu Hong. Neither of them wandered about; they stayed in the rear quarters attending the Second Madam the whole time."
Liu Hong?
Miao Zhi had brought her out to social functions again.
Song Han truly spared no effort in belittling Miao Zhi!
Dou Chi was reassured. He said quietly to Chen Yanzhou, "Have Duan Bing go and see whether the Miao woman and her two maids, and Du Ruo as well, are still in the rear quarters. Best to set someone to watch their movements. The heir's martial skill is no mean thing, and Lu Ming is hidden in the shadows besides. That does not frighten me; what I fear is that they will strike where we are most likely to overlook."
Earlier Chen Yanzhou had felt fully confident. Now, having heard Dou Zhiwei's analysis, he too felt somewhat uncertain. He rose hurriedly and left.
Seeing that he was the eldest among the few of them, Duan Bing gave Lu Ming a silent signal, handed the matter over to him, and went himself to pry up the tiles of the rear quarters.
In the small room, by the light of a single bean-sized copper oil lamp, three pretty maids sat quietly around the only canopy bed in the room, knotting cords. The bed curtains hung low, and what lay within could not be clearly seen.
It appeared the Miao woman was resting inside the curtains.
Even so, since Dou Yan had given instructions, it was best to take a look with his own eyes.
Duan Bing thought it over. Fearing to alert the men under Guard Chang, he crushed a tile fragment in his hand and flicked it with a "clack" against the lattice of the window in the wing opposite.
"Who's there?" The maid lodging opposite rose to look.
The noise roused Du Ruo in the rear quarters.
She came out holding a lamp to look: "What is it?"
The maid said, somewhat frightened, "I heard someone knocking at my door, over and over."
The courtyard was utterly still; there was not a soul in sight. A single great red lantern hung beneath the eaves, swaying forlornly in the wind.
Both of them shivered.
The maid's voice changed: "Sister Du Ruo, it isn't a ghost, is it? Let me sleep with you tonight?" She turned and bolted toward Du Ruo.
Du Ruo said quickly, "No, the Second Madam is resting in my room!"
"Then let me serve the Second Madam too?" The maid clung trembling to Du Ruo's hand and would not let go.
"That is not for me to decide!" Du Ruo was at a loss.
Ji Hong, hearing the commotion, came out and asked gently, "What is the matter here?"
The maid seized Ji Hong as though clutching a last straw, begging her to agree to let her serve Miao Zhi as well.
Song Han did not treat Miao Zhi as a person, and Ji Hong dared even less to offend a maid of the Osmanthus Fragrance Courtyard. Moreover, she recalled that this maid, like Du Ruo, was one of the Lord Guardian of the State's people, so she smiled and said, "Then mind you keep quiet."
The maid thanked her again and again. Du Ruo accompanied her back to her room to dress properly, and then she and Ji Hong and the others sat before the bed knotting cords.
He had not drawn anyone away; instead he had added one more pair of meddling hands. Duan Bing regretted it deeply, and was just casting about for some other way to lure the maids off when the one called Liu Hong stood up, stretched, and said, "I must go to the privy."
Du Ruo smiled and said, "It is pitch dark outside—why not use the chamber pot in the room, sister? I will empty it for you."
Liu Hong glanced at her sidelong and said, "Our Second Madam is resting in your room. How could I use the chamber pot there?"
Du Ruo flushed and said quickly, "Then let me go with you to the privy? So you do not lose your way."