After Pei Xiaoyuan left, Xuyu sat alone in the room for a while, and finally felt tired.
She hadn't slept for two nights in a row. She got up and went into the house to take a nap. When she woke up, it seemed like it was afternoon. It was quiet all around, except for a few chirping birds in the distance, there was no other sound in her ears.
She did not get up immediately. She closed her eyes and sorted out the many unexpected things that had happened in the past few days, one by one, in her mind.
Suddenly, she thought of Wei Yiniang.
She hadn't seen her since Pei Xiaoyuan searched Pingkangfang at night. Her father had interrogated everyone around her to find out her background, including Chengping, Yuwenzhi, and even Qingtou, an insignificant servant. For some reason, she suddenly had a feeling that perhaps, after that night of search, Wei Yinniang had also entered the father's sight. If it was really as she thought, maybe Wei Yinniang had also been interrogated by the father.
Thinking of this, she immediately got up, dressed, walked out of the courtyard, opened the door, and was about to ask the Hu woman to bring some water for washing, when she was startled.
Standing outside the door were seven or eight girls of about the same age as Zhu'er from the Ganliang County Magistrate's Mansion. They were all pretty and respectful, and they were obviously well-trained maids. Not only that, the eunuch Yang Zaien, who used to serve in the West Hall of Ziyun Palace, was also there. However, he had changed his usual palace eunuch attire and wore a round-necked robe that was neither blue nor green, tied with a belt, and the only thing missing was a beard glued on his face, so he looked like a steward in a wealthy family. He and his maids seemed to have been waiting here for some time, but he was meticulous and showed no impatience. When he saw Xuyu unexpectedly pause after opening the door, he walked to her with a smile and bowed, "Young Master, are you up? His Majesty likes the painting of the Queen Mother of the West that you made, so he specially granted eight maids for you to use. In addition, His Majesty knew that the mansion previously granted to Pei Erlang still needed to be repaired, so he sent me to supervise this matter, so that Pei Erlang would not have to be disturbed by such trivial matters and could work for the court with peace of mind."
As he spoke, the maids came forward and lined up to salute her.
Xuyu understood immediately. The emperor was going to send Yang Zai'en to her side. It was hard to say whether he was under surveillance or not, but if he saw something, he would definitely pass on the message to the palace. As far as she knew, Yang Zai'en was Zhao Zhongfang's apprentice, and now he was also a high-ranking eunuch in the palace. If he was sent to serve her as a court painter, he would surely be suspected. If he stayed here under this name, not only would it avoid suspicion, but it would also show that His Majesty the Emperor was particularly kind to Pei Xiaoyuan.
Xuyu was a princess in a royal palace when she was young. She was used to living with a group of servants. But after growing up with her grandfather for so many years, she was used to doing everything by herself. Now she doesn't need so many people to serve her. She was speechless for a moment, then she reacted and said, "I don't need to send anyone here. Pei Langjun should not need Yang Neishi to repair his room. You should take the people back."
But how could Yang Zai'en be sent away so easily? If he hadn't been concerned about these maids, Xuyu saw that he would have almost knelt down and begged her, saying that he came on the orders of His Majesty and could not return to the palace until he had finished his work.
How could she not know that her father, the emperor, was not a tolerant person. An old man like Zhao Zhongfang who had been with her for many years was driven away just by his words. Yang Zaien was just a palace supervisor, so it was not easy to embarrass him. She could only give up for the time being. After she hurriedly washed and dressed, she came out again, only to find that she had underestimated the people sent. In addition to the maids, there were also kitchen staff, gardeners, and maids. Even the guards originally arranged by Pei Xiaoyuan in the house had changed their faces. The leader was a middle-aged guard officer named Zhang Dunyi, who was personally selected by Jinwu General Han Kerang.