Chapter 2

Chapter 2

In outsiders’ eyes, Third Master Lu was a noble, refined man of consequence.

But to me, he was an out-and-out bastard.

It wasn’t as if I had been born a servant girl.

I had transmigrated into this world before I was even born, and my family was fairly well-off.

My parents ran a medicine shop, and I had an older brother.

They treated me very well. I had never suffered a day in my life.

But then Third Master took a fancy to me.

All because of one rainy day.

He was standing under the eaves of my family’s house, taking shelter from the rain.

Seeing how pale he looked, with that gloomy expression on his face, I offered him a candied hawthorn skewer.

I comforted him, saying, “If your heart feels bitter, eating something sweet will help.”

At the time, he stared at me for a while, then slapped the candied hawthorn out of my hand and walked back into the rain.

I thought he was completely baffling. A lunatic.

The very next day, someone came to my parents and said they wanted to bring me to the Duke’s Mansion to enjoy a life of luxury.

Only then did I learn that he was actually the most favored Third Master of the Duke’s Mansion.

On my first day in the Duke’s Mansion, Third Master said, “From now on, you need not call yourself this servant. You need not kneel or bow. Just stay by my side freely.”

He treated me like a young lady of noble birth, doting on me and spoiling me.

Third Master wanted me to be a servant girl, but he did not want me to be only a servant girl.

Third Master was always saying, “Maomao, you’re different from the others. If you become the same as them, I won’t like you anymore. Do you understand?”

I understood. If he stopped liking me, my whole family would have no peace.

So my status was that of a servant girl, but I could not behave too much like one.

During those six years, in that vast Duke’s Mansion, I was terribly lonely.

The maids did not dare come near me.

The other young masters and young ladies looked down on me.

I had only Third Master.

He kept me company, and I kept him company.

When Third Master was away, all I could do was sit there dryly and wait for him.

Only when he came back did I have someone to talk to.

Once, a newly hired gardener did not understand the situation.

Blushing, he handed me a pot of little daisies. “The other day, I heard Miss Miao praise these daisies for being well tended. Why not keep this pot in your room and enjoy them?”

I did not take it. I only thanked him.

When Third Master found out, he had that gardener summoned.

With a gentle smile, he said, “If you’ve taken a liking to Miaomiao, I can make the decision and betroth her to you.”

The gardener was overjoyed and kowtowed. “This servant thanks Third Master for granting his wish.”

At that moment, I had no idea what possessed me.

I knelt down too and said, “Thank you, Third Master.”

Third Master’s face gave nothing away, but inside, his anger had turned dark and heavy.

He had every daisy in the entire Duke’s Mansion smashed to pieces and piled in the courtyard.

Then he made me walk over them barefoot.

The flower stems stabbed painfully into the soles of my feet, but I did not make a sound.

As long as Third Master did not speak, I kept walking over those flower stems.

After who knew how long, he came over and picked me up.

Third Master carried me to his hot spring pool and personally washed my feet.

The petals stuck to my feet were stained with blood, the red slowly blooming through the warm water bit by bit.

I sat silently on the edge and let him hold my foot.

His hands were always cold. I disliked that temperature, but I could only endure it.

My feet hurt so badly that I bit my lip and began to cry.

“I haven’t even said anything, yet you’re already crying,” Third Master said, glancing at me.

I lowered my head and said dully, “Even a clay figure has a temper. If Third Master didn’t want me to go with the gardener, you could have just said so. Why torment me like this?”

Third Master said nothing. Disgusted that the flower petals had dirtied him, he stepped into the pool to soak.

My foot was still clutched in his hand.

Third Master’s grip tightened more and more. Uncomfortable, I drew back a little.

With a sudden splash, he dragged me into the water.

Pressed so close together, I understood at once what was happening to him.

I was stunned.

All these years, there had never been anyone in Third Master’s room.

No one had ever dared mention it either.

I had suspected that he had ruined his body from taking medicine in his early years, so he could not perform.

How had he suddenly recovered?

Third Master did not speak, and I did not dare make a sound.

He lifted me up, set me on the edge of the pool, then covered me with his clothes.

Third Master’s warm, soft lips pressed against the top of my foot.

I clutched the clothes and did not dare say a single word.

After all that, it turned out he wasn’t incapable. His tastes were just strange.

A long while later, Third Master came out of the water.

He lay down on the ground and said, “If you dare tell anyone what happened today, I’ll strangle you to death.”