High-class maid

"This...isn't that inappropriate? It wouldn't be good to disturb the guests," Shen Xing'er said.

"It's alright, Young Master Song is here too, please come in," Uncle Jiao said.

Just then, Shen Xing'er wanted to discuss with the steward about letting Wu Xunzhi stay here, so she hesitated for a moment, then nodded and walked in.

"Brother Song, are you feeling better?" Shen Xing'er asked as she entered the courtyard and saw Song Wenyang reclining on a chair.

Song Wenyang froze for a moment, then turned and saw the person he had been longing for day and night. He thought he was dreaming. He was about to stand up when he tripped. The stinging pain in his foot felt so real. It turned out she really had come.

"Miss Shen, what brings you here? What's this all about?" After exchanging pleasantries, Song Wenyang saw Wu Xunzhi and his mother standing behind Shen Xing'er and asked.

“Oh, these are our neighbors from the capital. They’ve come all the way to Jinling to study, but all the inns in the city are now rented out by people from other places. So I thought I’d bring them here to ask around, but this is such an unfortunate coincidence.”

"May I ask how I should address this gentleman, and where are you going to study?" Song Wenyang looked at Wu Xunzhi in front of him. He was gentle and refined, and his male intuition told him that this man was not the kind of unreliable person.

"My name is Wu Xunzhi, courtesy name Yangwu. I am here to study at Ouyang Academy. Is the collection of poems by Mr. Ouyang that you are looking at?" Wu Xunzhi asked.

"Indeed, I'm also at that academy, but I haven't been feeling well lately and am studying at home," Song Wenyang said.

"That's such a wonderful coincidence! We're both from the capital, and we're both at Ouyang Academy. We might even be classmates!" Wu Xunzhi said with delight.

Heaven knows he was going crazy on the way here. He didn't understand many of the questions in the book and longed to have someone to discuss them with. Now that he had met Song Wenyang, who was also from the same hometown, he couldn't help but get excited.

"That's wonderful! Please have a seat, I'll get you some chairs." Butler Jiao was even more excited than Wu Xunzhi to see his young master talking to someone, so he hurriedly went to get chairs and make tea, afraid that Wu Xunzhi would run away.

"Uncle Jiao, could you spare a room? Money is no object; they'll only stay for one or two nights," Shen Xing'er asked after everyone was seated.

"This..." Butler Jiao looked at Song Wenyang with difficulty. He also wanted the two of them to stay here, but he still had to ask the young master to speak!

"It's alright. If it's really difficult, then so be it. Even if this young master has no objections, if the other guests have objections, then this uncle will be in a difficult position."

Seeing the troubled look on Steward Jiao's face, Wu Xunzhi quickly spoke up.

"Xiao Tong, you'll sleep in my room for the next few days. Give your room to Brother Wu and his mother," Song Wenyang said.

"This... thank you very much, Brother Song. I'm new to Jinling City and really have nowhere to stay," Wu Xunzhi said without any pretense.

“Brother Wu, you don’t need to be so polite. It’s just that there aren’t enough rooms, otherwise, we wouldn’t have let you share a room with your aunt,” Song Wenyang said.

“It’s alright, it’s alright, as long as we have a room to sleep in, there’s no need for so many requests,” Wu Xunzhi’s mother said.

"Thank you both so much, otherwise my mother and I would have had to sleep on the streets tonight." Wu Xunzhi felt relieved that the accommodation problem had been solved and turned to thank Shen Xing'er and Shan Tao.

"Brother Wu, please don't be so polite. If it weren't for you getting Xing'er and me out of that predicament, we would probably have been arguing with each other at that restaurant," Shan Tao said.

"What's wrong with you? What happened?" Song Wenyang asked hurriedly.

So Shen Xing'er recounted how the two of them had forgotten to bring money at the restaurant.

"I see. It's probably because that little thief saw that you two were only focused on watching the acrobatics that he dared to do so."

"Yes, we've been living in the manor all year round and have never seen acrobatics before. We were completely mesmerized," Shan Tao replied.

Shen Xing'er looked up at the sky and bid them farewell, saying, "Brother Song, Brother Wu, Aunt, Shan Tao and I have been out all day and are heading back to the manor. If we can come out again in a few days, we'll come to see you again."

Then he said to Song Wenyang, "Brother Song, my purse was stolen. Otherwise, I wouldn't have come empty-handed. I'm really sorry."

Song Wenyang looked at the woman in front of him. She seemed to have grown taller after not seeing her for many days. Although she was only fourteen years old, she looked like she was sixteen or seventeen. Her cheeks were slightly red, with a hint of embarrassment.

"It's alright, I have everything I need here, you can go back without worry."

"Oh, right," Shen Xing'er suddenly leaned closer, and Song Wenyang's heart raced. "I'll give you the rent for Brother Wu and his mother next time I leave the manor."

Song Wenyang wanted to say no, but then he thought he could take this opportunity to see her, so he nodded and remained silent.

After they finished speaking, Shen Xing'er and Shan Tao hurried back.

Meanwhile, at the manor outside the city, the masters were having dinner together, while Shen Kun and Wang Shi were reporting the results of their investigation that day to them.

"Reporting to the old lady, among the remaining people, different amounts of silver were found in their rooms, all of which were embezzled from the estate." After Shen Kun finished speaking, he handed a list to the old lady.

After reading the list, the old lady handed it to the first wife and then asked, "How did these servants manage to embezzle so much silver? If I hadn't seen this list, I wouldn't have believed it."

"Reporting to the old lady, these servants and farmhands sold the vegetables, fruits, and dead fish from the estate to merchants in the city at low prices. It was only after accumulating over time that they had so much," Wang replied.

"Hmph! How dare they! Report this to the authorities!" Xiao Yi'an said angrily.

"There are more than a dozen servants in the manor, and not a single one of them is good. They are all a den of snakes and rats. How ironic!" The old lady said weakly, looking at the number of people on the list.

"Grandma, there are still good ones. The old woman who guards the gate, and the child who was late today, what's his name, Er Mao, they are both good. Besides the two of them, there are also two farmhands who haven't embezzled any of the farm's silver."

Wang said

"Hmm, has Steward Liu returned yet?" the First Madam asked.

"No, this servant dares to guess, perhaps someone tipped him off, and he dares not return?" Shen Kun said.

“What you say makes sense. Have someone draw his portrait, and I will send people to capture him,” the First Madam instructed.

"Yes."

"You two must be tired after a long day. Go back and rest. I'll have the kitchen prepare some meat dishes for you," the First Madam said with a smile.

"Yes, thank you, Master." Shen Kun and Madam Wang thanked each other and walked out side by side.

As the two walked along the veranda of the manor, Shen Kun suddenly spoke.

"My lady, do you know who didn't embezzle the silver from the estate today?"

"Who?"

"There is one person you recognize."

"Husband, stop being so mysterious, just tell me!" Madam Wang asked impatiently.

"Jiang Huang".

"Him? Is he that good? He won't even take the money that's right in front of him," Wang asked.

"Yes, his mother was punished by the madam for embezzlement. I never thought her son would be so different from her."