Chapter 436: 442: Delighting in Others' Misfortune

Qi Luo and Shu Lan were following Su Wenyue’s orders to guide Chen Li, but they couldn’t stand Chen Li’s arrogance. Coveting their lady’s husband was one thing, but to brazenly come knocking at their door was quite another! Did she think their mistress was easy to bully? So they decided to teach Chen Li a lesson, to let her know that not only their mistress, but even the servant girls around her were not to be trifed with. If anything, Chen Li should scale back her audacity. Should the master cast blame, they themselves would take the punishment; it wouldn’t fall on their lady.

Hearing that Chen Li had barged all the way to the Back Garden, Qi Luo and Shu Lan came up with an idea. They snuffed out their lantern and quietly crept over, hiding in a dark spot, only to hear Chen Li muttering something. Listening closely, they were astonished to find she was speaking ill of their master—but among her words, there also seemed to be praise for their lady. Had they heard wrong?

Qi Luo and Shu Lan exchanged a look. Seeing the surprise in each other’s eyes, they knew they hadn’t misheard. They simply could not comprehend this woman’s thinking. Hadn’t she got it backwards? If they understood correctly, since Chen Li fancied the master, she should be singing his praises and disparaging the lady. But for a woman who defied convention like Chen Li, it was normal for them to be puzzled by her actions.

Seeing that Chen Li continued to prattle on, Qi Luo and Shu Lan were in no rush. They wanted to hear what else Chen Li might say, soon realizing all she uttered were complaints about the master.

It turned out that Chen Li indeed had been brought in by the master, but evidently, his attitude towards her was less than favorable. How else could she speak of him so vilely? Even they felt the master’s behavior was rather excessive—at the end of the day, Chen Li was still a weak woman, and the master seemed to lack the understanding to cherish and protect beauty. However, as they listened, they both caught the humor in each other’s eyes, taking delight in the misfortune. Since the master held such an attitude, they no longer worried about facing retribution for toying with Chen Li.

“Serves you right for coveting our lady’s husband!” Shu Lan’s eyes glittered with triumph. Their master wouldn’t spare other women a second glance; his heart and soul were devoted to his wife. Besides, judging by Chen Li’s looks, which were merely above average, she was no threat at all.

Just as Shu Lan harbored this thought, Chen Li began boasting about herself. When she uttered the phrase “a delicate and pretty beauty,” Shu Lan couldn’t help but burst into sniggering laughter, and Qi Luo too struggled to containing her mirth. Chen Li had to be joking, for everything she said was downright amusing.

The sounds from Shu Lan were enough to frighten Chen Li, but her reaction was even more comical. Now they knew what it looked like to confront a ghost. They had heard of threatening humans but never ghosts; this was truly a first. Shu Lan broke into irrepressible laughter at the sight of an enraged Chen Li who seemed ready to battle a ghost, which only amused her more.

Qi Luo, being more composed than Shu Lan, knew they shouldn’t take things too far, and she emerged from their hiding spot with Shu Lan by her side.

Chen Li had braced herself for ‘battle’, but instead of a ghost, what appeared were two delicate beauties—one exuding an icy elegance, the other brimming with vivacity.

“So it’s just people! You should have made yourselves known earlier and saved me the fright!” Chen Li, relieved to see Qi Luo and Shu Lan, wasn’t angry and spoke carelessly. Having lost interest in Han Yu, she dropped all pretenses and revealed her true self in front of the Han Mansion’s servants.

Shu Lan smiled slightly, warming up a bit to Chen Li. Although unconventional and even flirtatious, Chen Li didn’t seem petty. Any other woman might have made a scene, but Chen Li’s attitude throughout had been quite admirable.

“Miss Chen, our lady heard you got lost in the backyard and sent us to bring you over. Would you like to go to the master or our lady?” Qi Luo, following Su Wenyue’s instructions, respected Chen Li’s preferences and inquired about her wishes, rather than taking her directly to Su Wenyue.

“Of course, I’m going to your lady. We came here to see her but I got lost on the way, ending up in this ghostly garden. I was lost for what felt like half a day, and it’s incredibly unlucky. Thanks to your arrival, otherwise, I might have had to spend the night here and who knows, might have been frightened to death,” Chen Li replied without hesitation, not concealing her initial intentions.

“Miss Chen, do you have business with our lady?” Ordinarily, Shu Lan would never be so bold as to inquire about a guest’s purpose in seeing the lady, but this was Chen Li—they couldn’t help feeling uneasy. It was better to clarify her intentions; who knew what shocking things Miss Chen might do? Although Chen Li had amused them earlier, they feared she might also frighten their lady.

Though Su Wenyue herself felt she was tough and resilient, others saw her as a pampered girl, cherished and indulged by the master since youth. They instinctively felt she needed protection, and even without explicit orders from Su Wenyue, they felt compelled to act protectively.

Another mistress might be offended by Shu Lan’s forward question, possibly storming off in a huff.

But Chen Li, a modern person infused with contemporary thoughts, wasn’t taken aback. Even though she had acclimated to ancient ways, her essence hadn’t changed. Finding Shu Lan’s inquiry to be refreshingly bold—for Qi Luo and Shu Lan did not fawn or cower like other mansion’s servants, nor did they secretly speak ill of others—Chen Li was impressed.

“Well, I have something to discuss with your lady. Also, there seems to be some misunderstanding between her and me from before. I’ve come to explain. I have no designs on your master, so she needn’t worry. Who knows, maybe your lady and I could become good sisters in the future,” Chen Li said with an open and straightforward smile, sharing her intentions.

Of course, Chen Li’s friendly demeanor toward Shu Lan was partly because she regarded Shu Lan not as a common servant but as someone close to Su Wenyue, thus speaking to her as if to a friend.

However, to Qi Luo and Shu Lan—servant girls of ancient times—such favor did not catch them off guard. They simply sensed Chen Li’s distinctiveness and oddity even more. This Miss Chen truly originated from a merchant family, devoid of proper upbringing—bold enough to speak so casually with a servant from another household.

Technically, Su Wenyue also hailed from a merchant background. Yet aside from those unaware of the full picture, no one treated Su Wenyue as a mere merchant’s daughter, given that the Second branch of the Su Family originated from the Marquis Mansion—an entirely different pedigree. Thus, the servants naturally never thought of their mistress in this way.