Chapter 82: Chapter 49: He Likes Her for Being a Master of Arguments?
’According to the laws of book transmigration, chances are, people who summon you like this have bad intentions. To avoid falling into a trap, of course I can’t go!’
Song Yunzhao immediately adopted a fiery attitude, glaring at the woman and demanding, "Acting on orders? On whose orders? If you’re here to summon me, do you have a written directive? I am just a lowly concubine. Now that I’m in Zhichun Palace, I must abide by its rules. If you insist on taking me away, fine. But you must produce a written order stating our destination, and then I will report to the Housekeeper before I go with you. Does that sound acceptable?"
’They want to drag me away without a single word of explanation? If I get taken advantage of, who am I supposed to cry to?’
’Trying to make me suffer in silence? Not a chance in hell. I refuse to be taken for a fool, no matter what.’
The Housekeeper’s face darkened as she listened to Song Yunzhao’s long tirade. She had assumed this was just some naive girl who hadn’t seen the world. With a father who was merely a Sixth-rank Official, she should have been easy to scare and take away. Never did she expect such a fiery personality.
The Housekeeper sensed things were going south and quickly said, "Miss Song, our master merely heard you were injured and wished to show some concern. If you’re ungrateful, then so be it..."
"Listen to yourself. You make it sound as if I’m ungrateful, trying to pin that accusation on me. But you haven’t answered a single one of my questions. Since you refuse to say where you’re from, how am I to know if you mean me well or ill? I can’t even tell if you’re a good person or a bad one, so how could I possibly dare to go with you?"
As she spoke, Song Yunzhao’s face went pale. Feigning terror, she backed away a few steps, then turned and bolted, yelling as she ran, "Nanny, help me...!"
The Housekeeper: ...
’She’d been in the palace for decades and had never seen anything so absurd!’
The Housekeeper didn’t dare linger. She turned and fled. She had botched the errand and had no idea how she would explain this when she returned. What a complete disaster!
Song Yunzhao let out one shout and took off, falling silent the moment she rounded the corner. She stopped and cautiously peeked out, just in time to see the Housekeeper’s retreating figure hurrying away.
"Hmph! Trying to trick me? I’m not some sweet, naive fool." Song Yunzhao scoffed. ’Trying to scare me with someone whose name they don’t even dare to speak. Do they really think I was born yesterday?’
’It’s a good thing for them I’m just a little maid. If I had any real status or power, I would have blown this incident wide open and taught her a lesson she’d never forget.’
’If you’re going to mess with people, you’d better be prepared to get hurt.’
Song Yunzhao turned to head back, a smug little expression on her face. ’Hmph, this opponent has no fight in her. She ran off after just a few words. How boring.’ She lifted her gaze and jumped, startled to see someone standing there.
"Miss Song, I hope I didn’t startle you," Zhang Maoquan said with a broad smile, giving a slight bow.
"You?" Song Yunzhao stared at him in surprise. ’No wonder his voice sounded familiar the other day. I can’t believe Chief Steward Zhang, the one who was speaking with the Housekeeper, is actually from Mr. Zhe Shan’s group.’
"It is indeed this servant. I heard you were injured, miss. Are you feeling better now?" Zhang Maoquan asked, slightly raising his voice as the corners of his eyes discreetly glanced toward the deeper part of the woods.
"You must be Chief Steward Zhang, right? I was inside my room the other day when I heard you asking Nanny Zhang about me. Thank you for your concern. I’m all better now." Song Yunzhao offered a naive smile, her expression full of gratitude.
’If he hadn’t just witnessed that whole scene with his own eyes, Zhang Maoquan would have truly believed this Miss Song was a simple, naive girl.’ "That’s good to hear. In that case, this servant won’t disturb you any longer. After you, miss."
Song Yunzhao nodded. "Then I’ll be on my way."
She said her piece and walked away, but the more she thought about it, the more something felt wrong. ’Could Mr. Zhe Shan have asked him to keep an eye on me?’
’But that can’t be right. Mr. Zhe Shan and I have only met a few times; we hardly know each other.’
’But other than that possibility, she couldn’t imagine why this Chief Steward Zhang would pay her so much attention.’
’In any case, it would be wise to keep my distance from him in the future. Since I’m not destined to have any connection with Mr. Zhe Shan, I shouldn’t do anything that might create a misunderstanding.’
After Song Yunzhao departed, Feng Yi slowly emerged from the dense foliage. He recalled her shout for help just now—he’d thought something was actually wrong, but it turned out she was just trying to scare the woman off.
He knew Song Yunzhao was incredibly bold and had a sharp tongue, but he never thought she would show zero intention of reining herself in after entering the palace. She had actually managed to frighten the woman away.
He didn’t know whether to call her brave and cunning or just plain reckless.
Zhang Maoquan stood to the side, cautiously observing His Majesty’s expression. He saw no trace of displeasure on the emperor’s face; in fact, he wore an amused smile. ’See?’ Zhang Maoquan thought. ’I knew it. His Majesty has certainly taken a liking to Miss Song.’
"Your Majesty, shall this servant go and investigate?" Zhang Maoquan immediately asked.
