After flirting with the aloof prince, the concubine ran away pregnant.

Afu nodded, and was about to speak when Yunxi stepped forward and naturally took the cloak draped over her arm. "I'll help you carry it, sister."

With such keen insight, he must be able to master the craft very quickly.

Afu led Yunxi to the side room where Baizhi lived and settled her there.

Bai Zhi smiled as soon as she saw the girl: "Oh, what a pretty little girl."

She reached out to pull Yunxi, examining her closely. "Her eyebrows and eyes do resemble her sister's somewhat."

Upon hearing this, Afu's gaze lingered on her face for a moment before she realized that the familiarity stemmed from the resemblance between them.

The Ci'an Temple is quite selective in choosing its staff.

When Yunxi saw Baizhi coming over, she didn't hesitate and stood up, saying to Baizhi, "Hello, Sister Zhi. It's my blessing to look like Sister Afu."

Bai Zhi exclaimed, "Oh my, this little mouth is so sweet!"

In the following days, Afu taught Yunxi how to serve Xie Xun.

As it turned out, her judgment was correct; Yunxi learned things extremely quickly.

She taught her how to scald the cups and brew tea, demonstrating only twice before Yunxi was able to do it herself.

She remembered the exact arc of the water droplets, the distance between the cup wall and the spout, and the speed at which the tea leaves tumbled at the bottom of the cup.

"The tea leaves shouldn't be filled too full," Afu squatted down beside her, pointing to the rim of the cup. "Seven-tenths full, leaving three-tenths is a courtesy, and also to let the tea breathe."

Yunxi nodded, poured out half of the tea from the cup, refilled it to about seven-tenths full, and handed it to Afu. Her movements were clean and efficient.

Afu took a sip; the temperature was off, but the technique was flawless.

"Have you studied this before?" she asked.

Yunxi shook her head: "My family taught me."

Afu nodded, holding her teacup, deciding not to waste too much time on this.

A few days later, she changed her approach and taught us how to dilute the mugwort water for disinfection, how to use charcoal ash to absorb moisture and odors in the clean room, and what order to fold clothes in the closet for the most convenient access.

She broke these things down and taught them to Yunxi bit by bit. The child was eager to learn, and when Afu turned her head, she found that her eyes were full of the words "I've memorized it."

"There's one more thing," Afu called Yunxi to her side and pointed towards the main room, "You have to learn to read his expression."

Yunxi looked up at her.

"When the young master is in a good mood, he will rest his right hand on his knee with his fingers slightly bent, like this."

Afu demonstrated, "When he's in a bad mood, he'll turn the ring on his thumb, and if his brow furrows slightly, there's no need to say anything more. If he suddenly smiles—"

She paused, thought for a moment, and said, "He rarely smiles. You should be careful when he does smile."

Yunxi watched her movements intently, her lips moving slightly as if she were memorizing them.

Afu looked into her bright black eyes and suddenly smiled softly.

It's great to be young; your eyes are full of energy.

Unlike her, who only had one thing on her mind: to save as much money as possible and then leave.

Thinking of this, she continued, "You smelled blood on him, which means he just came back from being interrogated at the Dali Temple. At that time, he probably wouldn't want to talk to anyone, so remember to light some mugwort incense in the bathroom."

……

In the evening, inside the main room, Xie Xun lay on a soft couch with his eyes closed.

For the past two weeks, he has spent almost all his time at the Xishan hunting grounds. The youngest son of the Prime Minister, Song Yu, who had just recovered from his illness, went missing in Xishan a few days ago.

The Dali Temple and the Imperial Guards searched the entire mountain before finding the person, who was already a corpse with a gruesome death. The case remains unsolved to this day.

He carried a faint scent of blood, mixed with the dampness of the mountain dew, which didn't dissipate even after he entered the main room.

In the corner, in the bronze incense burner, the incense was burning, and thin, white smoke spread silently.

Afu gently massaged his temples with her fingertips, then pushed them back along his forehead with just the right amount of pressure.

Xie Xun didn't open his eyes, but let out a very soft hum, somewhat dissatisfied.

"Heavier."

Afu responded with a "yes," and increased the pressure on her hand, pressing her fingertips into the veins of his temples, slowly grinding along the bone crevices.

Xie Xun's brows relaxed a little, and his breathing became a bit deeper.

Afu pressed her fingers together and tentatively began to speak: "The little maid that Granny Cui brought is named Yunxi, and she is very clever."

Xie Xun remained silent.

"She learns quickly and has a keen eye," she paused, her fingertips moving from his temple to the back of his neck, gently massaging the stiff muscle there, "How about letting her try serving the young master first?"

Xie Xun's eyelids twitched, and after a moment he spoke: "You decide what to do."

Afu waited a moment, and seeing that he had no other instructions, she was about to continue pressing the button when he added, "Don't let her into the room yet."

She responded, her fingers continuing to move.

Xie Xun's breathing gradually calmed down, and his tense shoulders and back slowly relaxed. The person on the bed seemed to have finally fallen asleep.

Afu massaged him for a little while longer, making sure his breathing was completely even before she stopped.

She gently moved the soft stool back to its original position, then glanced at the person on the couch. The candlelight flickered in the night breeze. Xie Xun's face was turned to the side, buried in the pillow, but his brow remained furrowed.

She quietly slipped out, lifting the hem of her skirt, the door closing behind her, letting in only a sliver of moonlight through the corridor.

At this moment, however, one of the quilts in the side room of the corner courtyard was empty.

Yunxi lay in the shadows until Baizhi's breathing had completely settled before stepping barefoot onto the floor tiles without making a sound.

As a servant born into the household, she was already familiar with the roads of the Marquis's residence. She walked along the wall, through the moon gate, and turned into the back wall of Luoqi Garden.

The lights were still on in Taoyao's house, and the air was filled with the bitter smell of Chinese medicine and incense ash.

Yunxi knelt outside the curtain, her voice extremely low: "Reporting to Miss, today I taught you the techniques for making tea and how to remove odors from the room."

From behind the curtain came Tao Yao's lazy voice: "Have you learned everything?"

Yunxi paused for a moment, then said, "I've learned half of it."

"What about your other half?"

"That girl said," Yunxi said at the same pace, "that she would teach me again in a few days."

There was a moment of silence behind the curtain, then Tao Yao hummed in agreement, seemingly satisfied with the progress.

Then, she handed a small yellow medicine packet from behind the curtain to Yunxi.

"When you go to clean the study tomorrow, put this incense ash into the Crown Prince's incense burner."

Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried a light, confident tone: "Not much, just the size of a fingernail is enough."

Yunxi opened the yellow paper. Inside was incense ash, but it emitted a very faint, strange fragrance. The scent was so strong that it made one feel slightly dizzy. Her hand holding the yellow paper package trembled slightly.

"I won't be alone in the study tomorrow," she paused, "Afu and the two mute servants will also be there, so I can't make a move."

Tao Yao's smile faded for a moment, but her tone became even softer: "It's fine if you don't release her, but your mother's medicine will be discontinued tomorrow."

Yunxi's eyelashes trembled. She lowered her head and said in a muffled voice, "This servant understands."

Tao Yao smiled contentedly and waved her hand.

Yunxi turned and walked out, clutching the packet of incense ash tightly in her palm.

The curtain fell, leaving only Tao Yao in the room. Granny Wen came out from the back.

Granny Wen frowned, looking at her determined daughter: "That incense ash from the Taoist physician... can it really make the young master infatuated with you?"