Chapter 223 (1/2)

Chapter 223: 223

Chapter 223 – The mysterious letters (2)

Gancao was working in Qian Lianxue's personal quarters . On a normal day, Qian Lianxue didn't avoid her . Instead, she treated Gancao very well and had her feeling that Mistress Xue was a very good person .

Still, when Dengxin came over and told her to find a chance to look at Mistress Xue's letters from her family, Gancao was still whole-heartedly loyal to Nie Sangyu and cautiously nodded before returning to the main rooms in the courtyard .

Soon after that, Danzhu returned to Xuesong Courtyard and was standing by Mistress Xue's side .

Qian Lianxue said, “Gancao, you've been working hard . You can leave first and go rest . ”

Gancao nodded, but after going past the doors, she went to go look for Dengxin . There had to be something strange with that letter . If it was just an ordinarily family letter, Mistress Xue wouldn't send her away first . If there really was something peculiar about this letter, then this letter would definitely be burned after Mistress Xue read it, and no one else would get the chance to see the contents of that letter . Gancao's plan was to have Dengxin cause a commotion so that she would have the chance to sneak into the room and steal the letter .

Dengxin agreed . After trying and failing to think of a good idea, she gritted her teeth and walked to the back area of Xuesong Courtyard . Taking advantage of no one being around, she took out flint and set the woodpiles in the woodshed on fire . The fire wasn't big enough, so she took some of the wine that was stored in the back area and poured it onto the fire .

Original translation is from fuyuneko dot org . If you're reading this elsewhere, this chapter has been stolen . Please stop supporting theft .

It was common to store random pieces of junk and jars of wine at the back of each courtyard . Once this fire got going, the people at the front of the courtyard would definitely have to come here . Dengxin dusted her hands clean, then she looked around to check if there was anyone nearby . After that, she stepped onto a random piece of junk and jumped over the wall .

Gancao was worried that Qian Lianxue would read the letter too quickly . And so, right after she spoke to Dengxin, she immediately ran back and knocked on Mistress Xue's doors .

Qian Lianxue had only finished reading half of the letter . After a pause, she raised her head and asked, “What's the matter?”

Gancao shook her head, pushed open the doors, and said with a smile, “This servant forgot to say this before leaving . Mistress Xue, your medicine was cooking on the stove . It's almost ready to drink . Mistress Xue, when will you be drinking it?”

As soon as the doors were opened, Qian Lianxue hurriedly put the letter away into her sleeve . After a moment, she thought that her action was too conspicuous . And so, she took the letter out, neatly folded it, and placed it on the table . “I'll drink that medicine later . Don't worry, Danzhu will get it for me . You can go rest . ”

As Gancao waited for Dengxin to start a commotion, she felt very unsure . But, she was afraid that Qian Lianxue would start suspecting her, so she could only nod and say, “Madam sent this servant over to take care of you, so this servant has to do a proper job . Older sister Danzhu is always so busy . How about this servant brings over the medicine while it's still hot…”

“Fire!” the servants outside suddenly shouted .

Gancao turned her head and saw thick smoke drifting outside . It was coming from a fire in the woodshed . She could see the glow of the fire through the paper windows .

Gancao turned her head and saw thick smoke drifting outside . It was coming from a fire in the woodshed . She could see the glow of the fire through the paper windows .

“Master! There's a fire!” A couple of servants ran inside and anxiously said, “Hurry and leave . There's a fire at the back of the courtyard . It won't take long before it consumes these rooms too!”

Qian Lianxue was startled, but her hand still went towards the table to grab the letter .

Seeing this, Gancao hurriedly went over, pulled Qian Lianxue away from the table, and pushed Danzhu towards the outside as well . “Don't just stand there and do nothing . Hurry, help you master leave!”

In ancient times, all buildings were made of wood, and it was especially easy for them to catch on fire .

With her eyebrows furrowed, Qian Lianxue looked back at Gancao, but her servants were already pus.h.i.+ng her out of the room . It was true that main rooms had caught on fire too, but it was just the smoke that was thick . The flames weren't close to engulfing it yet .