His Peasant Wife : Yao Ling

Without Yao Ying or Yao Ling needed to say it out loud, Xiu knew the gravity of his answers. "After the master gave this servant to Young Master, of course, this servant’s loyalty fully belongs to Young Master Yao Ying," Xiu answered truthfully.

"Did Father know about this beforehand?"

"Yes, Young Master. This is an order given by Master. As long as this servant lives, this servant’s life will be solely given to Young Master and Young Mistress."

"After you are serving me, have you ever tell Father about my movement?" Yao Ying asked bluntly whether Xiu was a spy or not and whether he was still bounded by his loyalty to Wang Luo Hai.

Xiu hesitantly said, but he chose to answer with the truth. "This servant never tells Master about Young Master’s movement or daily life, but once... the master asked me how was Young Master stay in this house and also about Young Master’s personalities, this servant answered him truthfully. Other than that, Master never asks about anything else."

"Oh? So how did you answer those questions?" Yao Ling asked curiously. At least, Xiu was able to answer their questions truthfully – so far.

"Young Master adjusts perfectly in this household and this servant told Master the truth about how Young Master treats this servant kindly and how diligent Young Master learning from General Lin," Xiu said.

"Only that?" Yao Ying smirked.

"Er --- Young Master is also hardworking?" The last part turned into a question. Xiu didn’t know what else he could add. As a hidden guard, he was used to keeping to himself and be quiet. It was changed when he was suddenly given a task as Young Master Yao Ying’s personal servant. He had to deal with a lot of people and talk to his young master on daily basis.

Yao Ling laughed out loud. "Don’t joke around, Husband. And no need to praise him more, Xiu. Otherwise, your young master’s head certainly will get bigger and bigger until his head won’t fit the door."

Xiu looked down in embarrassment and finally realized that he was being teased.

"I remember that you say you need our help. What is it about?" Yao Ying asked.

"Will Young Master agree to help this servant?" Xiu asked anxiously.

"Well... for one, I believe in you, but in the future... you also need to be loyal only to me and my wife. Once you betray us, we will also abandon you," Yao Ying explained the main point in which Xiu nodded in agreement. Xiu knew after this he had to absolutely loyal to the couple and he was voluntarily doing so.

"This servant understands."

"Now... will you tell me what kind of problem that you have encountered?"

"It’s actually about Xiao Yu," Xiu said.

Yao Ling’s gaze suddenly became so sharp and asked him seriously, "What happened to Xiao Yu? Did it have something to do with her swollen face?"

Xiu looked up and nodded. He never thought that Young Mistress’ intuition and perception was really sharp. It seemed that she noticed the swollen cheek even though Xiao Yu had done a lot of things trying to cover it up. However, he also knew, if the young mistress didn’t care for Xiao Yu at all, the wound would go unnoticed. Most masters probably wouldn’t be able to notice, especially because Xiu saw firsthand how good the coverage was.

"Yes, it’s about Xiao Yu."

"She’s being blackmailed," Xiu answered in a clipped tone.

Yao Ling gasped in surprise. "How?"

"Her younger brother was kidnapped and she was forced to become a spy," Xiu answered truthfully. He didn’t have a way with words, so he straightly said the point.

Yao Ling’s face slightly changed. ’Xiao Yu... is really a spy?’ She couldn’t help but feel her heart broken. Yao Ling always thought of her as her own people from the first time she served her and when you heard other people said that she was a spy, the first thing that came to mind and heart was the pain of being betrayed.

Xiu saw the young mistress’ change of expression and quickly interjected, "But this servant needs Young Mistress to hear me out first and then decide whether she really betrays you or not after that. Can Young Mistress do that?" Xiu knew that woman tended to make a decision with her heart, but in this case, he needed Young Mistress to think about this matter with a clear head.

Yao Ying, as a man, understood Xiu’s logic. He patted Yao Ling’s shoulder, trying to encourage her. "Xiu is right. You have to listen to him first. There’s probably more to the story."

Yao Ling closed her eyes, trying to calm herself down. Yao Ying was right. She needed to listen first. If Xiao Yu really betrayed her, then why Xiu, who was just proclaiming his loyalty to them, was eager to seek their help?

"Tell me, then." Yao Ling decided to listen to the story.

"This servant accidentally saw her walk in a hurry and it piqued this servant’s curiosity. This servant decided to follow her and had seen something that shouldn’t be seen." Xiu explained.

"That evil woman gave Xiao Yu the proof that she indeed kidnapped her brother and it made Xiao Yu went crazy. She wanted to scratch that evil woman, but that evil woman held both of her hands and slapped her. This servant never saw any woman with such a twisted mind!" Xiu continued explaining what he had seen.

"What else?" Yao Ling still calmly asked. She needed to know the whole story. So far, it would only gain her pity. There was no proof of Xiao Yu’s loyalty. She didn’t know why that she turned herself cold just like this. Although she didn’t want Xiao Yu to be hurt, she didn’t have the heart to feel sympathize if Xiao Yu indeed betrayed her.

Yao Ling realized even though she treated Xiao Yu like a sister, but she had put a barrier inside her heart just in case Xiao Yu was the spy. Yao Ling knew that she could truly treat Xiao Yu as her own, once she was sure that she had Xiao Yu’s loyalty. This barrier was made by her to ensure herself from being brokenhearted. However, it was just a silly thought. That barrier was there, but when she heard Xiao Yu was the spy, she still felt breathless and brokenhearted.

Knowing her for only a few days didn’t matter, because personally, Xiao Yu was the closest girl that she had. As a personal maid, she was also her confidante. She was the first person to serve her and it meant that she was emotionally tied to Xiao Yu. She stayed by herself every day for God’s sake! That was why Xiao Yu became an important person to her, hence her chaos feeling at the moment.

Xiu answered her young mistress’ question, "The evil woman asked her what Young Mistress did this morning."

’Here it is! Xiao Yu’s answer will also give her an answer about Xiao Yu’s loyalty,’ Yao Ling thought to herself. She dreaded what would come next, but she knew that she had to face it sooner or later.

Yao Ling asked, "What was her answer?"

Xiu also didn’t know what the young mistress did this morning and he also just hoped that Xiao Yu really didn’t betray their masters. This was all that he could do to help her. "She said that Young Mistress was sick and stayed inside the bedroom all the time."

Yao Ling felt herself sigh in relief. Xiao Yu didn’t betray her! Yao Ling tried to maintain her calm demeanor in front of Xiu and asked, "Anything else?"

"The woman asked about what Young Mistress did the previous day. Why didn’t Young Mistress go to Fu Rong straight away? Xiao Yu answered that Young Mistress wanted to buy snacks and helped poor people," Xiu answered.

Yao Ling nodded in understanding. Xiao Yu had to mix the truth with lies in order to gain the enemy’s trust. She is really a clever girl!

"Young Master, Young Mistress, it seems like there’s another spy in this courtyard. The evil woman made sure that Xiao Yu knew that someone confirmed that Young Mistress was inside the room all the time," Xiu said.