High-class maid

“Then I’ll go and bring your father breakfast first. Young Master Wu’s mother has also gone. He’s in this state, so who will take care of his funeral arrangements?” Madam Wang asked worriedly.

"Shan Tao went to the human scalper to rent people. She'll rent an old woman to help take care of Young Master Wu for now. We'll have to wait until he wakes up to find someone else," Shen Xing'er said.

Wang nodded. The neighbor had already done more than enough. The rest depended on whether Wu Xunzhi could stand up for himself.

"Then when Shan Tao comes back, you should go back to the shop as soon as possible. I don't know how you want to decorate it," Wang Shi instructed.

"Okay, I understand. Mother, go and take Father's food." Shen Xing'er said.

Wang went to the shop, still worried. Shen Xing'er had nothing to do and didn't dare touch anything belonging to the Wu family. After thinking for a while, she decided to make some millet porridge for Wu Xunzhi.

She went into the kitchen, where there was only half a jar of millet and some green vegetables, but not even any eggs. Although the family was poor, Wu Xunzhi's mother kept the kitchen spotless, and even the firewood was neatly arranged against the wall.

Shen Xing'er was filled with sorrow. Although she was not very familiar with Wu Xunzhi's mother, an old woman who had suffered for her son for half her life and was about to see the light at the end of the tunnel suddenly died at home. Even passersby would probably feel sad for her.

"This young master is the one you need to take care of. All you need to do is feed him his medicine and feed him when he wakes up. If there is anything else, go to the second house at the end of the alley to find me."

The sound of mountain peaches came from outside.

"Shantao, is this her?" Shen Xing'er put the pot lid on and went out, asking.

“That’s right. I explained the situation to the human dealer beforehand, and only this lady dared to come with me,” Shan Tao said with a wry smile.

Shen Xing'er looked at the eldest sister in the courtyard. Her hair was neatly tied up, and although her clothes had many patches, they were clean. The eldest sister met her gaze without flinching, and simply smiled generously.

"Thank you for your trouble, ma'am. In addition to the rent, we will give you extra reward money after this young master wakes up and is able to take care of himself. You just need to take good care of him," Shen Xing'er said again.

"Don't worry, ladies, my job used to be taking care of patients." The older woman didn't say much.

"Alright, this young master is yours to leave. We'll come back tonight."

Shen Xing'er looked up at the sky. It was getting late. There was still some finishing work to be done at the shop, and she had to keep an eye on it.

Shan Tao went back inside to look at Wu Xunzhi again, and finally followed Shen Xing'er away, turning back every few steps.

She longed to stay and take care of Brother Wu, but she was unmarried and he was unmarried, so the two of them, a lonely man and a lonely woman, could not stay together. Fortunately, their families lived close by, so she could visit him more often.

"Xing'er, I'm sorry." Shan Tao suddenly apologized to Shen Xing'er after calming down.

"What's wrong? Why do you need to apologize?" Shen Xing'er asked, puzzled.

"My aunt died a violent death at home. It would have been fine if I had been the only one to witness it, but I even dragged you into it. Why have I only caused you trouble?" Shan Tao was extremely annoyed.

Last night I was so focused on saving people that I didn't think too much about it. Now that I've calmed down and thought about it carefully, haven't I dragged Xing'er into this mess? What if the bad guys retaliate?

"It's alright, we're neighbors. I'm sure all the neighbors in the alley know about this today. Everyone will go to Brother Wu's house to help out. Do you think the bad guys will take revenge on each and every one of us?" Shen Xing'er comforted her.

She wasn't afraid. If she wasn't mistaken, that person was seeking revenge against Wu Xunzhi for the imperial examination. Now that the news had spread, he wouldn't dare to do it a second time.

Shantao was still not very happy. She touched the silver in her purse and thought that she should take some time to ask about houses in the city.

"Xing'er, Shantao, if you don't mind, come and lie down in my room for a while. I'll call you if I need anything."

The two entered the shop, and Shen Kun looked at the dark circles under their eyes and said...

"No need," Shen Xing'er declined. "I'm not in the mood to sleep after this incident. I'll go and oversee the renovations."

"Thank you for your kindness, Uncle, but I won't sleep. When I close my eyes, I see Aunt lying on the floor. I'll go upstairs and continue embroidering," Shan Tao politely declined.

"Alright then, I'll go see Xunzhi when I get home tonight. The child is quite pitiful," Shen Kun said.

Everyone in the alley knew about Wu Xun and her son's situation. Now that they had finally gotten over their hardships, this incident had happened, and Shen Kun was also feeling bad.

He was only sad for a moment before he went to supervise the workers installing the signboard. The shop was about to close, and there couldn't be any accidents.

Prince's Mansion.

"Your Highness, the man has died as you ordered." The advisor made a throat-cutting gesture.

"What?! When did this happen?" The Crown Prince's eyes widened. He hadn't even given the order not to kill Wu Xunzhi yet, who knew his men would act so quickly.

"We killed him last night, but his mother saw our men, so we had to let her go to the underworld with her son," the aide said proudly.

The expected praise did not come, and the crown prince held his head in frustration.

"Dead? My father will be even angrier than before, what am I going to do!"

"What? The Emperor knows?" The advisor was also startled. If the Emperor knew, how could he possibly survive?

"Is there any way to remedy this situation?" the Crown Prince asked his advisors for help.

If he had known, he wouldn't have been so impulsive. His father was still observing, but if Wu Xunzhi died, wouldn't that have further confirmed his guilty conscience?

"The best course of action for Your Highness now is to bide your time and remain unchanged in the face of all changes."

"I finally managed to get involved in the imperial examinations, but now the Gao family has been thrown into a dungeon and they've even implicated me. Does this mean all my hard work over the years has been wasted?"

The prince was so angry that he smashed a teacup.

"Your Highness, please calm down. You are the heir apparent and the emperor's legitimate son. It is only natural for a father to scold his son when he makes a mistake! The fact that the emperor has not made a fuss about this matter shows that he wants to downplay it."

The staff offered words of comfort.

"Indeed, I am the only legitimate son of the Great Qin. No matter how good the second son's reputation is, or how favored the fourth son is, they are all born out of wedlock. No one can surpass me."

His Highness the Crown Prince was relieved and stopped worrying about the matter. He turned around and went back to his room to sleep.

The advisor wiped the sweat from his brow. Serving a king is truly like walking on thin ice! He could no longer stay by the Crown Prince's side; he'd better find a way out for himself as soon as possible!

Song House.

"Is Xiaotong here? Please let me know, I need to speak with him." Shen Xing'er came to the Song residence under the pretext of buying groceries. She gave the gatekeeper a purse and said sweetly.

Seeing how cooperative she was, the old woman at the gate spat out the sunflower seed shells in her mouth, looked at the little girl standing in front of her, and thought, "Hmm, she's really pretty."

"Girl, what do you want with Xiaotong? Who are you to him?" the old woman asked gossipy.

"Grandma, please don't make fun of me. Could you... could you please pass on the message?" Shen Xing'er asked with a forced shy smile.

The old woman at the gate, with an expression that said "I know what's going on," smiled and went back inside to summon someone.

There's more gossip today.