8 A Most un Welcome History Lesson (2/2)

”Yes, JieJie” she mumbled, giving Sam a side glance ”This servant is sorry for startling Young Miss” she repeated ”This Servant won't do it again”.

And here we go with the ”third person” phrases. Weird. All too weird.

”Hum... Never mind. It was just a misunderstanding...” she frowned, trying not to stare at the blood still dripping slightly over her fair face, pooling inside the white colar of her dress ”Eh... Maybe you should go and see a doctor about your head... It's still bleeding” she added, fidgeting under the shocked stares of the two girls.

'Really, this people... And why are they still here like that!?'

”So... You should probably go now”, she mumbled, sitting on the bed once more and closing her eyes. There was no mistaking that ponding on her temples, the first sign of a nasty headache coming her way.

”This servant takes her leave”.

'Finally!' she internally cried out in relief, didn't even bother to open her eyes and show the direction of the door. ”How did it turn out like this...?” she asked herself in a thoughtful voice, going over the few words she had said to An'er before all went downhill.

Before she had time to complete that thought, a small, nervous voice sounded from somewhere in from of her.

”Wu XiaoJie, just earlier, Third Young Miss instructed all the Deep Serenity Pavilion servants to be very careful and let you sleep to heal yourself. Eldest Young Master specifically told us not to disturbe you”.

”Ah... Okay” Sam said, just to fill the silence. She didn't know this Eldest Young Master, but if eyes could speak, the expression on the maid's face would talk about a very fierce person.

'So it wasn't me she was afraid after all...' She looked herself over once more, with loose, long dark hair and messed up white pajamas. Not her definition of scary. 'Yeah, this actually makes more sense'.

”Is there anything else Young Miss wants?” the girl asked in a submissive voice, her hands tightly clasped in front of her.

Sam sighed, noticing that she didn't even manage to ask An'er what she had planned to ask in the first place.

”I just wanted to know where the hell am I” she mumbled, fulminating the dark wood floor as if doing so she could open a tunnel back to her apartment.

The servant didn't even blink to answer, apparently relieved by a question that she actually could answer easily.

”Wu Xiaojie, you are on the Jiang Household on the Imperial City of Zao Kingdom”.

Her head lifted so fast that it felt like her neck would snap in two.

”I am WHERE?!”

The girl repeated the same words again, her respectful town tinged with curiosity.

”Oh... Zao Kingdom...” Sam said skeptically ”And what exactly is that supposed to mean?”.

And just like that, the girl started on a very long, very boring, and very FICTIONAL tale of the ”south lands” and the unification war and mythical martial artists that sounded all to good to be true.

”My gosh, you talk” she breathed when it seemed to have come to an end. ”And here I thought I'd left history classes behind after graduating high school”.

”This servant talked too much. May Wu XiaoJie please forgive me”. the maid shoot the words quickly, falling to her knees once again as if in fear of her reaction.

Sam rolled her eyes.

”All right, all right, I understand. You are sorry. Got it. Now can you please stop with all the apologizing?” she asked, massaging her temples ”Just get up now... The floor is cold”.

The servant girl kept quite, feeling more and more anxious as she stood up again. She should apologize for apologizing to much, but at the same time, doing it would be against the Miss words! Aya, why couldn't her life be easier?! At the end, she opted to mumble something like ”This servant will obey”before rushing to take her leave.

Sam barely acknowledged her words, clearly busy mulling over something on her head.

The girl breathed deeply trying to calm her heart. This young miss was not simple...

Before she had crossed the trash hold, however, a voice stopped her on her tracks.

”Ah... Hey, excuse me!” Sam called, crossing her legs over the bed covers ”I just wanted to ask... How did you learn all this stuff about kingdoms and wars and all?”.

The servant looked back, blinking her eyes slowly in a completely emotionless expression.

”Hum...” she didn't know what to answer. To be fair, she wasn't even sure she had heard right ”Young Miss... You mean, the Nam Region history?”.

”Yes, yes, just what you said” she agreed quickly ”So?”.

”Answering Wu Xiaojie... Some is common knowledge between the commoners, and some my mother told me when I was still very young”.

”Oh... I see” she nodded with a thoughtful expression, before continuing ”Are there any books about it around here?”.

The servant blinked. Then nodded with her head.

”Thank God!” she breathed in relief ”Could you bring it to me?”

The dumbstruck girl tittered an agreement before tripping out of the door with a haunted look.

'Could it be that Fifth Young Miss has really gone crazy?' she asked herself. In all those years as a inside maid that Deep Serenity Pavilion, she had never seen the young miss reading anything denser than chip romances and ocasional poetry.

Also, she would never let herself be seen in such a disheveled state. If it had been ten days earlier, An'er would probably be still banging her head on the floor pleading for forgiveness. Li Mei herself wouldn't have escaped punishment for for showing her face at the door...

It was all very weird indeed.

'Maybe she is not crazy' she though, remembering their weird conversation 'But this girl, whoever she is, is not the same Wu XiaoJie of barely a week before'.