Chapter 26: The Man-Eating Tiger

Qingmei led Yang Can out of the flower hall, her small wooden clogs clicking against the flagstone floor like a carefree little hen.

Suddenly, a scene flashed through her mind: that day in the rain, Yang Can standing by the window, his gaze fixed upon her back.

Little Qingmei felt a sudden sensation of being watched by a hawk circling high above. Her back itched, her hips itched, and she didn't even know how to properly place one foot in front of the other.

"Ahem, well... you walk in front," Qingmei finally stammered, darting to the side of the path.

Yang Can raised an eyebrow in confusion. Qingmei tightened her face and said, "I... I told you, I have to give you face when we're in the outer courtyard."

Yang Can was somewhat skeptical of this explanation, as a peach-blossom flush had spread across her cheeks—a color peculiar to a young girl’s shyness. He didn't know what the little girl was thinking, but he followed her suggestion all the same.

And so, it became Qingmei’s turn to steal glances at him from behind.

*Hmm, he is quite tall. If someone were to lean into his embrace, would their mouth only reach his chest? His shoulders look so broad, yet his waist is so narrow—is this what the nannies call a "greyhound waist"? They say men with such waists have great stamina. Perhaps it’s true? After all, even when the gatekeepers were exhausted, he was still inside busying himself...*

At this thought, Qingmei’s pretty face flushed red again.

"Ouch!"

As she walked and daydreamed, Yang Can suddenly stopped. Qingmei couldn't brake in time and bumped straight into his back.

Yang Can quickly turned around and asked, "Are you alright?"

"Ugh, it's all your fault for stopping suddenly without a word." Qingmei rubbed her nose and glared at him, her almond-shaped eyes misty and quite alluring. She looked past Yang Can and asked, "Where is this?"

Before them stood a small courtyard nestled in greenery. With its blue bricks and dark tiles, the gate appeared humble, but the view inside revealed a world of its own.

"This is the residence of Chief Steward Li," Yang Can said.

Qingmei had not been with the Yu family for long and was not very familiar with the outer courtyard. Yang Can, having served as an advisor to Yu Chengye for over half a year, had been to Li Youcai’s home before.

Yang Can led Qingmei into Li Youcai's courtyard. As the chief steward of the eldest branch, Li Youcai had a small compound—not large, just three main rooms and two side rooms.

As they entered, they saw two boys, about eleven or twelve, happily crouching in the corridor playing "sheep knucklebones." The game, played with the joint bones of a sheep's hind leg, was similar to tossing jacks.

Yang Can called out, "Laixi, Wangcai, is Chief Steward Li at home?"

Laixi and Wangcai were the two young servants in Chief Steward Li’s house. Their names sounded a bit vulgar, but in this era, those in servitude often bore lowly names. In the world Yang Can had originally come from, servants in wealthy households also bore crude names at first; it was only during the Ming and Qing dynasties that those who could afford servants began to affect refinement with names like Inkstone, Wine-Server, Xiren, or Dequan.

Laixi looked up and beamed. "Master Yang!"

He recognized the young master's advisor and scrambled to his feet. "Master Yang, my master is home. Master! Master Yang is here!"

Laixi stretched his neck and shouted toward the house. Following his voice, Li Youcai emerged. He was a tall man in his early fifties, dressed in a round-collared casual robe, with a mustache curled like a hook. His face was full and his eyes sharp, giving an impression of gentleness and generosity.

He naturally recognized Yang Can. As for the young girl standing beside him—petite, pretty, with large eyes and a small, naturally sweet mouth—he recognized her as well. Wasn't this Qingmei, the personal maid of the young mistress? Since Su Chanzhi had moved into the eldest branch’s residence, Li Youcai had paid his respects to the mistress and had thus met Qingmei.

Li Youcai was slightly surprised. He quickly lifted his robes, hurried down the stone steps, and bowed with a smile. "Miss Qingmei, Master Yang, what brings you here? Please, come in."

Li Youcai ushered them into the guest room, and Laixi and Wangcai brought in a tea tray. The boys were nimble enough, but Qingmei glanced at their hands; they hadn't washed them before brewing the tea, having just been crouching on the ground playing with the bones. Qingmei felt a twinge of disgust and decided she wouldn't touch the tea.

She cleared her throat and got straight to the point. "Chief Steward Li, I am here on the orders of the young mistress to bring Master Yang to see you."

"Oh?" Li Youcai clearly did not yet know that Yang Can was to be appointed the second steward of the eldest branch. He looked at Yang Can with slight bewilderment.

Qingmei continued, "By the order of the Clan Head, Master Yang is henceforth the second steward of the eldest branch. The young mistress has consented, so she sent me to bring him here."

"Ah? Is that so?" Li Youcai stood up, pleasantly surprised. "When Master Yang was an advisor to the young master, we got along quite well. It is wonderful that we shall now manage the affairs of the eldest branch together."

Yang Can stood and smiled. "I am young and lack experience. I am honored by the Clan Head's trust, and I hope for your guidance, Chief Steward."

Li Youcai stroked his hook-shaped mustache and smiled. "Master Yang is too modest. We shall discuss the affairs of the eldest branch as brothers. In short, let us simply ensure we do not disappoint the Clan Head."

Qingmei rose and said, "Discuss it as you may, but never forget that you must seek the young mistress's instruction in all things. If you cannot manage the affairs of the eldest branch well, then even if the Clan Head agrees, our young mistress will not."

Li Youcai beamed. "That is only natural. It is our duty, Miss Qingmei, please rest assured."

Qingmei replied with a forced smile, "Whether I am assured is of no consequence. What matters is that you must ensure the young mistress is assured."

Qingmei played the part of a loyal servant well. Between these two stewards—Li Youcai, a veteran of the eldest branch, and Yang Can, who was deeply detested by the Su family—it was only natural for Qingmei to be sharp-tongued.

"Well then," Qingmei said, "I have things to attend to in the inner residence. The person has been delivered, so I shall return now."

Li Youcai and Yang Can hurriedly saw her out of the main hall. Standing on the steps, they watched Qingmei click away out of the courtyard.

Li Youcai stroked his mustache and clicked his tongue in praise. "Tsk, the way she sways her waist—quite something, isn't it?"

Yang Can felt a bit uncomfortable, as if a dish on his own plate were being eyed by another. He coughed and said, "Looking is enough; no need to praise her. Be careful your wife hears you and gets angry."

Though they hadn't had a private friendship before, one having been the young master’s advisor and the other his chief steward, they were well-acquainted.

Li Youcai chuckled. "The day I stop bothering to look at a beauty is the day my wife will get angry at me. Hahaha, let us go back."

They returned to the hall, and Li Youcai called out, "Xiaowan! Xiaowan! Master Yang is here."

The mistress had already known of the guest's arrival. After all, the house was only three rooms deep, and she was in the left side chamber; how could she not have known? At Li Youcai’s call, a curtain was lifted, and a beautiful, slightly mature woman with vermilion lips and phoenix eyes emerged.

She wore a lotus-pink spring gown tied with a deep red silk skirt. Her hair was loosely coiled, her cheeks delicately flushed, and her phoenix eyes tilted slightly upward, giving her a "spicy" look. Her name was Pan Xiaowan. She appeared to be about twenty-four or twenty-five—younger than Li Youcai by a full half, young enough to be his daughter.

"So, Master Yang has come." Pan Xiaowan saw Yang Can, and her red lips curled in a hint of disdain. "It has been quite a while since I last saw you, Master."

She offered a perfunctory bow. Li Youcai quickly turned his back to Yang Can and glared at her. He knew his young wife looked down on Yang Can, but one had to maintain appearances; she shouldn't be so blunt, especially since they would be working together.

Yang Can bowed. "Greetings, Mistress. I had just gone to Jincheng with the young master after the New Year, and I have only recently returned."

Pan Xiaowan let out a snort of laughter. Just as she was about to speak, Li Youcai, fearing she would say something unpleasant, hurriedly said with feigned impatience, "Enough, enough! I have matters to discuss with Master Yang. Go and brew two cups of good tea."

He glanced outside and scolded, "Those two clumsy fools, Laixi and Wangcai, can’t even brew a proper cup of tea. How are we to treat a guest?"

Pan Xiaowan shot Li Youcai a look. "They are just half-grown boys; naturally, they are careless. They are never as attentive as a young maid would be."

Li Youcai’s face lit up. "That makes sense. Tomorrow, I shall find a slave trader and pick out two suitable maids."

Pan Xiaowan laughed lightly. She turned to Yang Can and said, "Master Yang, look at this. My husband is so thoughtful. He lets his own tea go cold three times over, yet he always worries there is no one to serve an honored guest."

Her phoenix eyes flickered like willow-leaf throwing knives as she glanced at Li Youcai, smiling yet not smiling. "Master, if you want to add more servants, that is for the family's prestige, and I cannot object. But as the one who manages the household, I am worried. Our coin box is becoming lighter than my vanity case. If you buy two more maids, I fear our rice jar will hit bottom, and it would be the new girls who suffer."

As the chief steward of the Yu clan's eldest branch, how could he be so poor that he couldn't afford a few servants? Li Youcai realized his wife was mocking him for being unable to feed himself while still thinking of "adding mouths to feed," and his old face turned red.

Pan Xiaowan was not finished. She continued with a caustic tone, "Oh, and Master, remember to have the poultry and egg farm send some fertilizer. The small vegetable patch in our corner is so barren. My goodness, the leeks are growing thin and dry. If we were to sow more seeds now, I fear the old sprouts and new shoots alike would all wither away."

Li Youcai was flushed with embarrassment, terrified that Yang Can would catch her double entendre. He rushed out, saying, "I know, I know! Look at you—a guest is here, and instead of serving tea, you go on about this and that. Forget it, I'll brew the tea myself."

He hurried out toward the side pantry. Pan Xiaowan snorted, watching him leave with a stern face. But when she turned back to look at Yang Can’s handsome face, the disdain and irritation suddenly dissolved into a roomful of soft, tender light.

Yang Can kept his eyes lowered, seeing a deep red skirt flutter before him and a pair of exquisite embroidered shoes appearing beneath it. As Pan Xiaowan drew near, a pleasant scent of "Lingling fragrance" reached his nose.

Beside his ear, a giggle sounded, and she whispered, "Master Yang, why are you afraid to look at me? I am not a man-eating tiger."