His Rui

The maids who were busy doing some other work in the courtyard looked at her with pity. 

A few of them remember being envious of the same maid at some point in their life. Perhaps it was when they had entered Li Na’s courtyard. After all, being the personal maidservant of a Lady of a noble family was also a great benefit that they also wanted to have. The personal maidservant of the Lady had better food than other servants or maids. She could easily get rewarded by her mistress whenever the mistress was happy or was in a mood of becoming generous.   

However, they soon got to know about the reality. 

In Li Na’s courtyard, the thing that made anyone lucky was not to be Li Na’s personal maidservant. 

At least now they thought so seeing her maidservant having one or other wound on her body after every passing day. 

The maidservant felt their gazes and lowered her head cowardly. Her eyes were filled with tears and no matter how much she tried to stop herself, a sniff would escape her lips every few moments.

When she stepped out of Li Na’s courtyard, she ran towards the small garden and then hid behind the bushes. 

There she cried like a child as she touched her forehead. She remembered her mother, her father, her siblings for whom she was working here even after going through such abusing. 

”Crying over your fate is easier than trying to change it, isn’t it?”

The maid was startled to hear an unfamiliar voice suddenly and stopped crying immediately. 

This place was her territory where she would cry her heart out whenever she wished for so many years so she couldn’t help but feel surprised to hear someone’s voice here.

She raised her head swiftly and she was scared to see a man standing in front of her. A man whom she had never seen before in Li Manor. 

The maid couldn’t help but wonder if the man was an invader and she felt more scared while thinking so.

”You….You…who are you?”

She asked while stuttering in fear. 

The man however ignored her question and stepped closer as he sat down on the ground near the maid. 

Looking at the bruise on her temple, he said again.

”You didn’t answer my question.” 

The maid was already very scared and she felt very intimidated when the man sat down near her. Fearing the man would get angry because she was not answering his question, she nodded her head and said 

”Y…Yes, you are right.”

An Si’s lips twitched as he heard the maid’s words. She was too timid. 

It had been perhaps too long since he saw a timid woman. Madam Xi, the wife of his master, was also a very brave and strong lady. 

Another face flashed inside his mind and his eyes flashed with amusement remembering An Ju’s scowling face. 

He didn’t know but that expression on that girl’s face, he liked it a lot. 

An Si shook his head to come out of his thoughts and put his attention back on the maid. 

”But you can change your fate. Why are you working here? For the money, right? What if I give you a huge amount of money that can help you in sustaining your whole life with your family without doing any work.”

The maid’s eyes widened as An Si really took out a small bag from his robe and then took out a few gold tales from the bag. 

Gold coins…

She had never touched a gold coin in her life. The maid thought as she took one from An Si’s hand. 

Li Na never let her touch a single gold coin because, in her eyes, she was nothing but a slave and even her touch could make those coins dirty. 

And Second Lady Li never touched dirty things.

Ha! Even when her mistress harmed her physically, she would just throw those cups or something else on her but she would never touch her physically as if she was something dirty. 

The maid smiled bitterly as she thought this. 

An Si smiled seeing this. He could feel that everything will be very easy after this. He threw the small bag of gold coins in the maid’s lap and said 

”Go To Lady Yu and tell her about Li Na’s deeds. I will give you twice this amount after you finish your work.”

The maid’s eyes widened. 

Her shock had two reasons. The amount that An Si was offering and the work that he was asking her to do. 

”But …I…that would be going against My Lady. If she came to know about this…”

The maid shivered in fear when she thought this. 

”I assure you that she won’t be able to harm you.”

An Si said firmly and the maid couldn’t help but forget his fear when he said 

”If you will do what I have asked you to do then you will be my responsibility.”

”But…how can I believe you? I don’t even know. Who are you?”

”I am a shadow guard.”

An Si told the maid truthfully. 

”Whenever you wish to meet me, after doing the work, come here and shout my name, An Si. I will be here and then you will get the rest of the money.” 

Perhaps it was the desperation of freeing herself from the abuse she was going through in Li Na’s courtyard, the maid decided to trust An Si. 

And even if An Si was lying, she still had that small bag of gold coins. 

Even that amount was enough for her and her family if they leave the Imperial City and go back to their village.

The maid was sure that she will be living a very good life with her family with that amount and if she got more then also she will be in profit.  Hence she was not losing anything. 

She clutched the small bag of gold coins and said to him 

”Then I will do what you said just now.”

”I will go to see Lady Yu this evening only.” 

  An Si nodded his head in satisfaction and with a smirk on his lips, he left from there. 

Half of the work he was assigned was already done. 

Li Na’s doom was near.