Chapter 580 - 180 Nan Batian: Chen 94, you, how dare you! (Request for monthly votes, everyone cast your monthly votes!)

White Tiger Hall, study room.

Chen Jie’s study room was quite simple, without many of the Four Books and Five Classics, just a few books for show. The rest were internal guild reports and some plans he had made.

At that time, Miss Hongyan, Han He, was sitting in the study, with the maid, Cuiju, standing beside her.

Yin Hongmei and Cuiju were currently the two housekeeping maids in Chen Jie’s inner courtyard. However, Yin Hongmei was considered the close personal maid of the guild leader’s wife, which positioned her above Cuiju. But in terms of handling practical matters, and receiving some external guests, it was Cuiju’s responsibility.

She came from a family of officials and had more experience with protocols and welcoming or sending off guests.

Then she served Han He a cup of tea and immediately stood in front of Han He with a tray, wearing a smile.

"You can give me your orders now."

Han He glanced at her, well aware that this was Chen Jiusi’s important study room, possibly containing secrets; hence, leaving someone alone here was unwise, so they assigned someone to watch over her.

Han He didn’t care much. What could there be in Chen Jiusi’s room that was worth her peeping?

After spending a little while, the noise outside ceased, and Han He expected Chen Jiusi to arrive soon.

As expected, Chen Jie soon entered and greeted Han He with a bow, "Miss Hongyan, you have been waiting long."

When others were present, Chen Jie usually referred to Han He as Miss Hongyan, to maintain a distance and avoid suspicion.

Han He smiled slightly and said, "It is quite lively today, I heard that Master Chen stole Nan Batian’s guild leader’s wife?"

"Cough cough..."

As Han He spoke, Cuiju at her side choked and started coughing. Chen Jie glanced at her and signaled for her to leave.

"Yes."

Cuiju fled as if escaping. Good heavens, were these things meant for her ears?

Cuiju hurried out, still shaken, and calmed herself down before heading towards the inner courtyard. However, on her way, she encountered a staff member who did odd jobs around the courtyard.

She knew him and called him Zhuzi, a simple and honest young man.

At that moment, he saw Cuiju and said, "Sister Cuiju."

Cuiju turned her head and said, "Shush, keep your voice down. The lady might hear. Did you want something?"

Zhuzi smiled naïvely and said, "Sister Cuiju, see, the rouge from Shenghong Workshop you mentioned last time, here it is for you."

Cuiju’s eyes lit up as she took it and saw that it indeed was rouge from Shenghong Workshop, which she had longed for but never had the chance to obtain. Unexpectedly, today a staff member had brought it back for her.

This box of rouge was not cheap, costing four maces of silver—half of this young man’s monthly salary.

Why would he bring me rouge? Could he be trying to court me?

That was unacceptable. Cuiju intended to marry well, definitely not someone lowly. With this in mind, Cuiju eyed him and said, "Zhuzi, why would you buy such an expensive rouge for me? Look, I have three maces of silver here, I’ll give you the remaining one mace tonight."

"Ah, Sister Cuiju, what are you doing? I bought you the rouge with sincere intentions, and you giving me money is an insult. I don’t want it."

"Are you out of your mind? That four maces of silver could easily have bought you and your mother meat for half a month. Why buy me rouge?"

Cuiju was greedy but not bad-hearted; she wanted to climb up in status, not stoop to snagging poor men.

Zhuzi replied to Cuiju’s comment, "Sister, you misunderstand. I wasn’t intending to pursue you. With how I am, how could I match up to you? I simply wanted to repay you. I’ve been sweeping at Chen Residence for two or three months now, and you’ve helped me out several times. My mother always said to repay kindness, so that’s why I bought the rouge for you, absolutely no other intention. Rest assured!"

"Really?"

Cuiju eyed Zhuzi, who nodded, "Yes, Sister. I absolutely have no intention of pursuing you. I’m way beneath you. How could someone as honored as you ever look twice at a poor guy like me?"

Cuiju considered his words and said, "Well, that’s acceptable, but don’t buy such expensive things in the future. Also, I’ll mention to Si Xi, the manager, about getting you a different job."

"Hehe, thank you, Sister Cuiju."

Zhuzi immediately smiled genuinely. Cuiju asked, "Is there anything else? If not, I’m leaving."

"Wait, Sister, there is one more thing. I’m just curious, with all the turmoil outside today, they said the guild leader’s wife was brought into Chen Residence. That’s nonsense, right? I just bet two maces of silver with a few people, claiming it didn’t happen. You don’t think I’ll lose, do you?"

Hmm?

Cuiju paused and looked at Zhuzi, who instantly panicked, "Sister, it was just small talk, don’t take it seriously."

Cuiju squinted and scolded, "Zhuzi, why are you gambling at such a young age? Earning money isn’t easy. Don’t gamble foolishly. What would your mother do if you lost?"

"Ah, Sister, I was just playing, I won’t play anymore. I’ll listen to you."

Zhuzi sighed in relief, and Cuiju reassured him, "Don’t worry, no one entered our residence today; you won’t lose. Now, go back to work."

"Yes, yes."

Zhuzi immediately started sweeping the floor while Cuiju walked away, a trace of suspicion in her eyes. That kid might be trouble, she thought. I need to report this to the lady.

Thinking so, Cuiju quickly headed towards Su Yunjin’s courtyard.

Having come from an official’s family, Cuiju understood the intricacies of the mansion and was highly vigilant. That’s why, despite her allure to the master—an action that could have gotten her expelled—her alertness preserved her position.