A Misty Night, With A Crystal-Clear Moon - Chapter 6

Chapter 6: The Rescue and the Calculation

Life continued in a difficult cycle of mutual calculation, making Linglong feel incredibly weary. She often wanted to go out for a walk but was afraid of giving people cause for gossip, being accused of spending money without earning any. She consciously restrained herself, curbing her own personality, and trying her best not to argue with Lü Qiao. She refused to waste energy on such fruitless matters, and even more, she wouldn’t compromise her own status for such a person. She looked down on everyone in the residence, including her aunt.

One day, she was reading in her room when Cui Xin rushed over in a panic, saying, “Miss, there’s another good show to watch!”

“What kind of show? Is Lü Qiao starring in it?”

Cui Xin laughed. “Isn’t she?”

Linglong lost interest. “I’m already tired of her performances. Her tricks are not even as sharp as Uncle Zhang’s.”

“Hehe, Miss, this time is different! It’s been taken all the way to the Master!”

“Oh? What’s the matter?”

“I heard that the new maid stole her jade hairpin.”

“Hmph, I thought it was something new. It’s nothing more than her own doing.”

“Isn’t Miss going to take a look? I heard the Master is there too. That Lü Qiao is so furious; she insists the Master must punish the maid according to the law.”

“Well then, I’ll go take a look.”

The two walked to the main hall, where a thin, weak maid was kneeling. Lü Qiao’s sharp voice still dominated the room.

“This maid is the one who stole it! Since Qiao’er left, she’s the only one who cleans my room. Who else could it be?” Lü Qiao looked like she wanted to skin the maid alive.

The maid cried, “Master, Madam, I truly didn’t steal it. Although I come from poverty, my mother always instructed me not to steal. I would never do such a thing.”

“Still not admitting it? Guards! Search her room!”

Uncle Zhang followed the order and ran off with a few servants. They returned shortly, and Uncle Zhang handed a jade hairpin to Lü Qiao. Lü Qiao’s face broke into a smirk. She waved the hairpin in front of the maid. “Hmph, still denying it? What is this?”

The maid’s face turned pale when she saw it. Trembling, she kowtowed and said, “It truly wasn’t me! Not me! Master, Madam, it really wasn’t me!”

“If it wasn’t you, how did it end up in your room? Are you suggesting I deliberately framed you?”

With that, Lü Qiao harshly pinched the maid, her eyes filled with malice.

Yes, malice. Others hadn’t noticed it, but Yu Linglong did. She looked closely at the maid. Though young, the girl was pretty, with fair skin and red lips, exuding a fresh, vibrant air. Linglong then looked at Lang Qiyou and noticed a faint reluctance in his eyes.

Linglong chuckled to herself. It’s nothing more than trouble caused by jealousy. This Lü Qiao really couldn’t put on a subtle show.

“Maid, tell me, did you take it or not?” Lang Qiyou finally spoke. He used the word take (拿, ná), not steal (偷, tōu). The one-word difference was vast.

“Master, I swear to heaven, I truly did not take it.”

“Hmph, still arguing? Master, if you don’t arrest her and deal with her severely, how can this residence maintain any rules in the future?”

Yu Tianmei sighed deeply. “My child, how could you do such a thing? It would be better if you just admitted it to avoid a painful beating.”

The maid only cried, saying, “I truly don’t know how this jade hairpin got into my room, but I swear to heaven, I did not steal this hairpin.”

In that moment, Yu Linglong seemed to see something familiar on the maid’s face. Both of them were without parents or kin. Though the maid’s status was lower, strip away that social layer, and weren’t they both the same?

The thought of helping her arose, yet Linglong also did not want the girl to remain by Lang Qiyou’s side. She absolutely could not allow another Lü Qiao to appear near her aunt, even if this girl seemed different from Lü Qiao.

“Cui Xin, look what you’ve done. You’ve caused the Second Madam to wrongly accuse an innocent person.”

Cui Xin was utterly bewildered, staring blankly at Yu Linglong. Linglong looked at her and continued, “I found this jade hairpin in the courtyard yesterday. Knowing it belonged to the Second Madam, I told Cui Xin to return it to the Second Madam’s maid. However, since the maid wasn’t in her room, Cui Xin just left it there. She must have forgotten to tell the maid, which is what led to this scandal.” After saying this, she glanced at Lü Qiao.

“Oh? So that’s what happened,” Lang Qiyou said.

How could Lü Qiao accept this? She quickly said, “Master—”

“Second Madam,” Linglong interrupted before Lü Qiao could finish. She walked up to her and whispered, “Forgive and forget where you can. Don’t forget to accrue virtue for your twin children.”

Lü Qiao flinched, her face turning green. She stared at Linglong in astonishment. “What did you say?”

“The performance is sufficient; there’s no need to care so much about the outcome. It’s merely a small drama caused by jealousy. Why easily lower your own status over it?”

Lü Qiao glared at her fiercely, a knot of resentment stuck in her chest. “Hmph! Even so, we shouldn’t let this wench off easy.”

“Then just dismiss her. It’s not worth making it public knowledge because of a servant,” Linglong suggested.

Yu Tianmei nodded and looked at Lang Qiyou. Lang Qiyou thought for a moment, then waved his hand. “Fine. Give her some silver and let her go.”

“She hasn’t been here long. Why give her silver?” Lü Qiao refused to yield an inch.

The maid’s tears had stained the floor, yet not a single person looked at her with pity.

“Enough, enough. Everyone disperse. If anyone dares to do such a thing again in the future, they will be severely punished,” Lang Qiyou said before walking away.

Lü Qiao glanced at the maid, then glared at Linglong, and walked off, swaying and shaking. Yu Tianmei sighed and only said, “Take care of yourself from now on.”

After everyone had left, the maid, exhausted from crying, slowly stood up and turned around, meeting Linglong’s eyes.

“Miss?”

Linglong pulled a few silver dollars from her sleeve and took off a necklace from her neck, handing them to the maid. “Take these. I only have this much on me. You can pawn the necklace, and it should be enough for you to find a new place to go.”

The maid knelt before Linglong, tears streaming down her face. “Thank you, Miss. I will remember your immense kindness for the rest of my life. If I ever see you again someday, I will willingly work for you like an ox or a horse.”

“Don’t say such things. I don’t need you to work like an ox or a horse for me. Just remember to live well.”

The maid nodded and slowly walked out of the Lang residence.

“Miss, why did you help her?” Cui Xin asked, confused.

Yu Linglong sighed. “You think I’m that kind?”