Xu Erya felt stifled by how this year had turned out. True, she did save Lu Ze. But the moment she volunteered to serve as a maid for Mrs. Lu, she placed herself at a lower status. At first, Mrs. Lu seemed willing to take care of her. But it didn’t take long before Mrs. Lu started ordering her around, and soon after, the incident of saving Lu Ze was forgotten, and she was treated no different from any other maid. The Lu Family was a prominent household, and naturally, their New Year celebrations were quite lively. However, the festivities belonged to the masters of the house, while the maids actually had an especially tough time during the New Year. In the twelfth lunar month, the maids of the Lu Family began their busy work. All sorts of cleaning, tidying up rooms, and countless trivial tasks were for the maids to handle. It was the same with Mrs. Lu’s quarters—her maids were busy as can be. Xu Erya was no exception. Mrs. Lu did remember that Xu Erya could read and write, so she had her help with the accounts and also tasked her with keeping records. However, Xu Erya was only familiar with simplified characters. Though she could make out most traditional characters and could read them well enough, writing them was another story. She could not write brush calligraphy, much less traditional characters. After just one attempt at recording something, Mrs. Lu’s face darkened. Indeed, Xu Erya’s handwriting was atrocious, like the scrawls of a dog’s paw, with limbs missing to boot, which brought shame upon Mrs. Lu. Mrs. Lu thus speculated that Xu Erya’s background might not be as respectable as she’d claimed, and started to look down on her even more. Not only did she look down on her, but Mrs. Lu also became wary of her. Mrs. Lu was afraid that she might be a spy from another family, or one of those women intent on climbing the social ladder. In any case, she didn’t allow Xu Erya to see Lu Ze, and kept her under close watch every day. On the first day of the lunar new year, the Lu Family had even more to do, and Xu Erya was on her feet the entire day, without a moment’s rest. In the evening, while the masters dined, as a maid, she could only stand aside and serve. Watching a table full of delicious dishes while others sat and ate and she could only look on, Xu Erya felt an imbalance in her heart. It was not until late at night, when the masters had all gone to bed, that Xu Erya could finally get a bite of warm food. But by then, she was too exhausted to care about enjoying the meal, and after hastily stuffing a few bites, she hurried to bed. The second day was not as busy as the first, but with the married daughters of the household returning to their maiden home for a visit, the maids couldn’t relax either. Xu Erya was ordered about all day and even faced ostracism from several families with children, fueling her indignation. When she returned to her room, she couldn’t help but curse a few times. If it weren’t for her current state of poverty, aside from what the masters occasionally gave her, leaving her with not a penny to her name, she might have thrown things in a fit of anger. After changing her clothes, Xu Erya was about to go to bed when she heard some noise outside. She opened the door, and a dark figure stumbled into her room. Xu Erya was taken aback and didn’t dare to make any sound, quickly checking on the figure. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ 𝗇𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗅•𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾•𝗇𝖾𝗍 Upon closer inspection, Xu Erya was both shocked and delighted. She was shocked that the man who had tumbled in was a man. And delighted because the man was dressed in fine fabric and the workmanship was meticulous, indicating he came from a wealthy family. Moreover, this man was exceptionally handsome. Xu Erya had never seen such an attractive man in ancient times before. She scrutinized him carefully, and seeing that the man had passed out, she dragged him into her room and lit a candle to get a better look. She noticed that the man had particularly fair skin and sharp features. Even unconscious, one could tell he was an extraordinary and dashing figure. After seeing him clearly, Xu Erya couldn’t help but laugh. She thought to herself that perhaps all the previous hardships were just a trial. And now, perhaps heaven was starting to make it up to her. Here she was, sitting in a room, and a man fell from the sky. Judging by this man’s looks and attire, he might very well be the male lead, though, of course, he could also be the loyal male sidekick. Erya stroked her chin, certain that she must be the destined heroine sent by the heavens. She thought back to those time-travel stories she had read before, where most often the heroine would save the hero, and mutual feelings would develop. Of course, the hero would be a man of noble status, chaste and aloof to anyone but the heroine, bestowing all his tenderness upon her alone. The depth of emotion in "Though I may possess the world, my eyes only see you" moved people’s hearts. Erya fantasized that the man who stumbled into her room might just be such a person. She chuckled to herself for quite some time before she started to look for where this man might be wounded, or what else might have befallen him. Just as Erya was about to undress the man, she heard a commotion outside the door. Then she heard Lu Ze’s voice: "Gentlemen, there truly is no stranger that has entered our home." Erya was startled. She looked at the man on the ground, bit her lip, and with all her might, dragged the man onto the bed and covered him with a quilt. After cleaning up traces both inside and outside the room, she took off her shoes and slipped into the bed. As soon as Erya got under the covers, she heard a knock on the door. Then it was the voice of Hong Mei, a maid from Lu Ze’s side: "Fang Fei, open the door." Erya responded and then frantically thought about how to properly hide the person under the quilt so that no flaw would be visible. However, before she could make a move, the door was kicked open. Several burly men in armor entered the room. These men looked fierce, and the aura of blood and murder conveyed that they had taken lives before. Erya’s heart nearly leapt out of her chest in fear. She pretended to be panicked and tugged at the quilt: "Gentlemen... I, I have already gone to bed, what is this..." After searching the room, one of the men approached Erya’s bed, and at this point, Lu Ze seemed unable to stand by any longer: "Gentlemen, we of the Lu Family are reputable people, and we will not be bullied so easily." The men turned to Lu Ze with a smile and then quickly exited Erya’s room. "Young Master, who were they?" Erya asked Lu Ze, her face pale with fear. Lu Ze waved his hand: "Pretend nothing happened today, go rest." As he left, he thoughtfully closed the door for Erya. Erya then heard the sounds of them searching other rooms. She had just breathed a sigh of relief when she felt something wrap around her waist. The third day of the lunar new year Anning awoke early in the morning. First, she paid her respects to the Old Madam and the old master, and then had Liu Bao’s family prepare some fine dishes. After eating, Anning took the children out to play. Once they had finished their studies, she told them stories, making them exceedingly happy. Especially Xu Minchang, who had been lonely since Xu Minruo moved to the main house and often found himself playing alone, barely having anyone to talk to at home. These past few days, he had been staying in the main house, enjoying good food and clothing, not being bullied, having playmates, and listening to Anning’s delightful stories. Xu Minchang was as happy as a rat in a rice barn and truly did not want to go home. Unfortunately, happy times are always fleeting. They had not enjoyed themselves for long when Mrs. Feng’s family carried her over. Mrs. Feng had been frozen all night and had developed a fever early this morning. The Feng Family wasn’t going to treat Mrs. Feng’s illness and instead carried her to the Xu Family home. "Xu Zhiyong, you coward, you spineless turtle." Arriving at Xu Zhiyong’s doorstep, Feng Bao began cursing loudly outside: "Are you even human? My sister bore you children and endured hardships with you for so many years. Yet, you sent her back to her parents’ home when she’s seriously ill. What kind of person are you?" Xu Zhiyong had been unsettled all night and had no appetite to prepare breakfast. He had intended to wash up and visit the main house, but before he could step out, he encountered this mess. Xu Zhiyong did not open the door or respond. Knowing his own inability to argue effectively, and that he couldn’t out-talk Feng Bao, he would surely be at a disadvantage in a quarrel. So he pretended not to hear her, hoping that the clansmen would hurry to inform the main house and the third branch. He would then emerge when the family members gathered.