But when she played the flute the next day, Mo An interrupted her in a panic, leading her to kneel and pay her respects. The one playing was none other than Rong Yue, the future master of the Rong family! Rong Yue looked down at Shen Mo with an arrogant and noble gaze, a gaze Shen Mo caught and couldn't look away from. It was so similar to Rong Yue's, that she even began to reassess Rong Yue's significance. So when Rong Yue said to take the flute and follow him, she followed without hesitation, just like the first time she was at the orphanage.
"Play the tune you just played again." Rong Yue entered the room and sat down, picking up a book from the table. He glanced at her every now and then. This was the first time Rong Yue had spoken to Shen Mo alone, but his goal was clear: he wanted her unique flute music, not her.
I thought I had a basic understanding of his preferences after observing him for a few days, but I didn't even know that he was a huge fan of music.
"Yes," Shen Mo responded softly and began to play.
The sunlight outside the window tried desperately to squeeze in, but it was ultimately blocked by the curtains. Only a little light shone through, but it was enough to brighten Rong Yue's brocade robe. Shen Mo stared blankly at the translucent robe until the last note was played, and then she realized that the performance was over.
"Tell me the score." The command was cold and direct, without any hesitation.
Shen Mo found this very unpleasant. If we're talking about discrepancies, this is the third one. With a courage she didn't know where it came from, she replied, "I don't know either!" He couldn't possibly understand musical notation. No matter how sharp Rong Yue's eyes were, she still stubbornly shook her head.
After a long standoff, Rong Yue finally spoke, "You blow once, and I'll blow once in response."
Is this... a compromise? But this is the Rong family mansion after all, and she ultimately dared not ask.
Even Rong Yue, who has a high talent for vocal music, would need to learn this method for a very long time. So when Rong Yue finished learning a song and asked the servants to make him tea, Shen Mo was not surprised at all. However, the young master was indeed a young master. He didn't like people getting close to him when he was playing vocal music. When his instinctive physiological reaction of thirst came and he couldn't resist it, he completely forgot about it.
Shen Mo glanced at Rong Yue, who was resting with his eyes closed, and silently took two pieces of fruit into the kitchen. A moment later, she returned with a bowl of bright orange juice. Seeing Rong Yue frown, take a sip, and then finish the entire bowl, she rubbed her aching hands and smiled like a proud fool. Even Rong Yue, who despised servants, would one day drink from her dirty hands. Yes, not washing her hands—she did it on purpose.
Mo An panicked because Young Master Rong had spoken. Shen Mo was to be kept at Wu Xuan Residence to serve him. However, although she had come to the side of the most precious Young Master Rong, she had become the lowest-ranking maid. She could only enter and leave the main hall when Young Master Rong was in the mood to learn a new song or drink juice.
According to the Rong family's rules, young maids kept in the manor only needed to take care of themselves before the age of eight and were not required to serve their masters. Mo An thought she could redeem her A-Mo by following this rule, but she had little contact with Rong Yue and underestimated the young master's domineering nature. He would never change his direction or decisions, whether towards people, matters, or even the future of the world. He made Shen Mo a slave at six, so she couldn't delay until she was eight.
"Chen Mo, go chop this firewood. We have guests coming to the manor today, so we need to increase the amount of food." The head chef, Fatty Li, casually gave this order before going back to continue practicing his knife skills.
Shen Mo stared wide-eyed at the bundle of firewood ten times her size, and heard a delicate voice say, "Brother Li, you're so annoying, but... you really do have a way." After saying that, she was glared at fiercely by a woman.
Shen Mo knew that as the only servant summoned by Young Master Rong, she was the target of jealousy, especially from the maids who dreamed of rising in rank. She couldn't help but smile; the battlefield here was thicker and more childish than the one in the orphanage.
Soon, while Chef Li was anxiously searching for a knife, Shen Mo was leisurely chopping firewood in a corner, a smile playing on her lips. The kitchen couldn't operate without a knife, so she wasn't worried about not finishing her work.
In the end, they were late. The steward dragged the two kitchen managers into the courtyard and gave them a severe scolding. Shen Mo, who was chopping wood nearby, began to cheer. In her mind, she had already transformed into the fierce steward. Actually, she could have hidden away like the others in the kitchen, but she didn't want to. She wanted to prove her ability to protect herself, because it was a promise she made to Mo An.
However, being small in stature and of low status, one is bound to be bullied from time to time.
A few days later, as Shen Mo was struggling with a clump of dry firewood, she suddenly felt something wet behind her. A sudden force made her lean forward. When she got up, she saw Liu Da Niang behind her, who was carrying a basin and had a fierce look on her face. All the water in the basin had been poured over her.
"Are you dead? What are you doing piling up firewood at the door? How are people supposed to pass by?!"
Water dripped down his body, making him feel uncomfortable despite it being summer. Looking at the pile of firewood still quite a distance from the doorway, Chen Mo bit his lower lip tightly and glared fiercely at the woman's shoes.
"Oh, isn't this Aunt Xia?"
Clearly, someone worth currying favor with had arrived in the courtyard. The woman in front of her immediately ignored Shen Mo, and even the head chef inside came out to greet them, showering them with concern.
"What brings you here, sir?"
"Yes, Aunt Xia, is there something Madam wants to eat? You could have just sent someone to let us know, why bother coming all the way here yourself, ha..."
"What nonsense are you talking about!" Aunt Liu glared at the head chef. "With Aunt Xia's superb cooking skills, why would she come here to help Madam find food?"
Shen Mo understood immediately. These were the old men who served Madam Rong's meals. They were indeed a group of snobbish people. Shen Mo scoffed, raised his hand to smell the water droplets on his body, and suddenly pulled it open. It smelled so bad!
"Alright, stop flattering me. I'm here to deliver a maid's name. Which one of you is named Shen Mo?"
The courtyard fell silent. Shen Mo slowly turned his head and saw Liu Da Niang's surprised look first, and then the unfamiliar old woman.
Although she didn't know why she was looking for her, Shen Mo suddenly realized that this was also an opportunity to rebel against Aunt Liu, so she bowed gracefully to Aunt Xia and said, "This servant is you."
Seeing that she was soaking wet, Aunt Xia frowned and looked at Aunt Liu, "How did you get the child like this?"
“This…” Aunt Liu turned her head slightly away, but Shen Mo could clearly feel the sharp sword shooting from her eyes.
"Alright, child, come here quickly, change your clothes and come with me. Madam is waiting to see you!"
"Yes." Shen Mo bowed obediently and followed her away.
"Hmph, only that stinky woman Mo An could raise such a little fox." Aunt Liu's low curse drifted into her ears. Aunt Xia in front of her paused, clearly having heard it, but immediately composed herself and walked forward, not wanting to bother with such trivial matters.
Originally, Shen Mo could have endured it, and had to endure it, but upon hearing these words and seeing this scene, she suddenly didn't want to endure it anymore. She had something on her mind, so when she was first taken to Madam Rong's room, facing the simple and gentle Madam Rong with incense burning and holding Buddhist beads, she was distracted.
"Amo!"
Seeing Mo An's anxious face beside her, she snapped out of her reverie. Her gaze shifted, finally settling on Madam Rong, who sat regally before her. Madam Rong was indeed beautiful, with delicate, arched eyebrows, smooth, radiant skin, a touch of red veil on her forehead, and a gentle smile playing on her lips. She never understood why, with such a beauty before her, she could still picture the fierce and menacing Granny Liu. It wasn't until much later that she found the answer: it was those withered, indifferent eyes that made her presence so faint, so insignificant.
"Greetings, Madam." Shen Mo bowed obediently, and then slowly approached as Madam Rong beckoned.
Shen Mo stared at her hand as she listened to her talk about Dong Yun. It wasn't that she was afraid to look directly at Madam Rong; she also wanted to see this beautiful woman again. However, Mo An had instructed her not to look directly at her, nor was it allowed to.
The slender, green fingers slowly approached, and a strong sandalwood scent wafted towards Shen Mo. She narrowed her eyes, feeling an indescribable discomfort, as if she could smell... loneliness.
"Your name is Shen Mo?" Madam Rong stroked Shen Mo's small hair bun.
"Yes." Seeing that she looked slightly thoughtful, Shen Mo added, "Replying to Madam, it's the 'Mo' in 'flowers blooming on the path'."
Upon hearing this, Madam Rong's eyes flickered, and she immediately smiled. She couldn't help but say to Mo An beside her, "What method can be used to teach a little girl to be so well-behaved? Tell me so I can learn it too."
Mo An hurriedly stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Is Madam teasing me? Young Master Rong is such a handsome young man, skilled in both literature and martial arts, he doesn't need any further instruction. Madam can simply sit back and enjoy her retirement."
Madam Rong shook her head, stroked Shen Mo's soft hair and said with a smile, "Men are too fierce, they value military strategy and swordsmanship more than I do. They are not as considerate as maids."
Seeing the tenderness in Madam Rong's eyes, Mo An quickly seized the opportunity to kneel down and said, "Madam, Mo An has something to ask of you."
"Get up and we'll talk about it later, don't frighten the child." Madam Rong scolded her and tried to help her up.
“Madam, please listen to me first,” Mo An insisted on not getting up. “Amo is only six years old. A few days ago, the young master summoned her to Wuxuan Residence. I am afraid that she is too young and clumsy and might offend the young master. Madam, do you think we can keep her by my side for another two years? I will do my best to be loyal and dutiful.”
Madam Rong sighed upon hearing this, "I heard that Rong Yue transferred a girl who was not yet eight years old a few days ago. I didn't expect it to be this child. It must have been difficult for her. However, Rong Yue's temperament..." She then shook her head.
"Madam..." Mo An was getting anxious.
Madam Rong's eyes flickered, as if she had thought of something, "How about this..."
"Madam!" Shen Mo's sudden interruption drew all attention to her. Shen Mo twisted the hem of her clothes. She hadn't wanted to be so presumptuous, but before coming, she'd heard that Madam Rong planned to reside permanently at a temple in a few days. She was timid; she feared Madam Rong would ask her to come with her. She wasn't ready to leave Mo An, and she didn't have the courage to leave Rong Yue.
"Actually, A-Mo isn't suffering or tired, it's just... I just miss Aunt An. Madam, could you let A-Mo go back and sleep with Aunt An every night?" With a touch of girlish shyness and cuteness, Shen Mo's act was flawless.
So she wasn't surprised when she made Madam Rong laugh and agree in one go, but when she saw Mo An's disappointed eyes, she felt a pang of guilt.
That night, no matter how much Shen Mo called for Aunt An, Mo An ignored her.
The next day, Shen Mo returned to the kitchen in a sullen mood and continued chopping firewood in a sullen mood. He didn't even feel happy when he heard the rumors that Aunt Liu, who was so old, had wet the bed the night before.
"Chen Mo!"
The wood-chopping knife hovered in mid-air. The dry firewood that had been standing upright seemed to have caught Shen Mo's lack of concentration, and was startled by the shout and fell to the ground. However, with no support when the knife fell, people in a moment of panic often fail to calculate the loss and gain. Just like Shen Mo now, he actually tried to stop the wood-chopping knife from falling to the ground with his hands. His four fingertips were cut hard and blood gushed out. However, what he got in return was the wood-chopping knife hitting the ground with a cold thud and an even louder shout.
Turning around, Shen Mo saw Aunt Liu, whose face was flushed and waiting to vent. He had a strange feeling that she was a dog about to jump over the wall!
"You're so clumsy, you can't even hold a knife properly. Is your body really that weak?" He said, poking Shen Mo's shoulder hard until she took a few steps back before he stopped.
Shen Mo clenched his fist, finger by finger, behind his back, and stared straight at Aunt Liu without saying a word. Perhaps it was just because of his height, but he could clearly see that Aunt Liu had raised her chin.
"Didn't that bitch Mo An teach you to bow your head when you make a mistake?" With that, she swung a slap full of force. However, she didn't expect Shen Mo to dare to dodge, nor did she expect her to be able to dodge. She staggered a few steps and turned around angrily before remembering the real reason she had come to find her. "Tell me, did you spill water on my bed last night?"
Shen Mo, however, simply extended his fist towards the chef who was watching the show from the sidelines, without any expression. "My hand is injured. Could you arrange something else for me to do?"
The onlookers stared intently at her fist, momentarily forgetting the answer Li Da Niang wanted. Her clenched fist was stained red, with drops of blood occasionally disappearing into the dust. The child before them, however, had an eerie, calm and serene expression. They wondered if they should still acknowledge that this was a six-year-old child. How could a child be so oblivious to pain?
Afterwards, a rumor circulated among the servants and in the backyard of the Rong family that Mo An's adopted daughter, Shen Mo, was a demon who had fallen to the mortal realm. She was said to have been born to bring misfortune to her father and mother, never cried when she was born, opened her mouth at the age of five, and felt no pain when she bled—all of this seemed to fit perfectly.
Li Pangzi even embellished the story, saying that he had given her extra tasks and that her kitchen knife had mysteriously disappeared, resulting in a severe scolding from the steward. Liu Da Niang added fuel to the fire, claiming that she had accidentally spilled water on the firewood she was carrying, causing her bed to flood at night. Perhaps under Madam Rong's influence, the Rong family became demonized, or perhaps it was because the leaders, Li Pangzi and Liu Da Niang, wanted to save face. In any case, many people believed it.
However, for Shen Mo, the accidental injury to her hand only brought her two benefits: first, Mo An started to care about her, tenderly wrapping her hand around hers again and again, saying through tears, "Ah Mo, be good," "Ah Mo, it doesn't hurt"; second, no one in the kitchen would bully her anymore. Little did she know, there would be a third benefit.
It was a few days later, at noon. Shen Mo was cleaning the table she had used when she felt someone tugging at her braid. She turned around and saw a girl with an innocent face smiling at her. She said, "Hello, little sister. My name is Jiang Suyi."
Chapter Five: The Gap Between Three
"My sister is well. My name is Jiang Suyi."
Her lips were as red as silk, her teeth as white as jade, a touch of rosy cheeks on her forehead, and her waist was half-tied in a brocade dress. Shen Mo had never seen a girl so exquisitely dressed and beautiful. She stared at her blankly for a long time before she came to her senses. She took a few steps back and lowered her head slightly. "Greetings, Miss."
Ignoring everything else, Jiang Suying stepped forward and grabbed her hand, saying, "Why bother with all that formality! I finally found a girl, I don't care, you have to play with me." Only when she saw Shen Mo frown and slowly pull her hand away did she notice the injury on her hand, and she exclaimed in surprise, "Your hand is injured like this! Just now... just now you were washing the table? Aren't you afraid..."
"Miss Jiang!" Shen Mo took a few steps back, stopping her exclamation in time. "If Miss has no other instructions, I will get to work."
Inferiority complex had never existed in Shen Mo's life, even when she was lonely and miserable, even when she was slandered. However, she found that when she stood in front of Jiang Suyi, inferiority complex seemed unusually simple, so she would use the most formal distance to force her to leave.
But when Jiang Suying snatched the rag from her hand and she watched as Jiang clumsily splashed dirty water all over her face, she realized how wrong she was. This was not a simple rich girl, at least not now.
Jiang Suying started to chatter on and on. She told Shen Mo that she was the daughter of the Ningcheng Prefect. She said that she came to the Rong Mansion as a guest with her father and said that there was no interesting person in the Rong Mansion. However, when she talked about Rong Yue, the expression on Xiao Suying's face became particularly bright.
"Once I was almost bullied by a thug, but Brother Yue beat him down in no time. Isn't he amazing?"
"Also, I've seen Brother Yue play chess with others, and he's never lost."
"Many people say that Brother Yue is handsome," Jiang Suyi whispered in her ear when no one was around, and then blushed to the roots of her ears.
It was like listening to the most beautiful story in the world, much more vivid than peeking from the bushes. Shen Mo watched her without moving for a moment, without interrupting her.
"Why aren't you saying anything? What are you thinking about?" Su Yi finally stopped and noticed that something was wrong with her.
If they were her friends from a past life, she would tell them that Shen Yue had also rescued her from kidnappers, that Shen Yue had never lost to anyone in the business world, and that every woman who had met Shen Yue blushed and her heart raced. However, looking at Jiang Suying in front of her, Shen Mo smiled gently, "I was thinking, Miss, you really understand our young master."
Su Yi smiled immediately, revealing the shyness unique to girls, and twisted the hem of her clothes as she said, "Actually, I have a secret. Last time I heard Father say... Father said..."
"Miss! I've finally found you! You scared me to death!"
The sudden sound made Jiang Suying immediately stop talking.
A girl of about seventeen or eighteen years old came running up, panting. When she saw the stains on her young mistress's body, she naturally gave Shen Mo a look of disdain and disgust.
A bitter smile appeared on Shen Mo's lips. If Jiang Suying were not here, she would surely be branded as a traitor who bewitched her master.
Watching Jiang Suying's small figure turn back every few steps, Shen Mo patted his chest and slowly said to himself, "I think so too."
She spoke each word carefully, yet her heartbeat remained steady. She began to feel confused; why did those words Jiang Suying whispered in her ear, which made her blush, have no effect on her? At that time, she didn't know that this confusion would last a very long time, so long that it was almost irreversible, so long that it might even overturn the entire world.
She chuckled and lowered her head to finish what she hadn't done. It wasn't until dusk that she looked up and saw Granny Liu, who was leaning against a tree trunk cracking melon seeds, watching her leisurely.
Shen Mo checked himself and found nothing wrong, so he ignored her, left his things, and prepared to leave.
"Stop!" Aunt Liu shouted rudely.
Shen Mo stood still, but did not turn around or make a sound.
"Young Master summons you."
"What?" Shen Mo suddenly turned around.
"Could it be that you're deaf?" Aunt Liu gave her a resentful look. "I'm warning you, don't follow Mo An's example and have unrealistic dreams. Tsk tsk, what a waste of such a stunningly beautiful face."