Chapter 121.1
Editor: Sahloknir
When Jiang Bieyu was brought before the little master once more, he was having his hands cleaned again. The same four maidservants a.s.sisted him. While they wiped, Shi Qing’s gaze settled on the newly cleaned man whose hair was still wet. He was dressed in the robes of a servant.
Shi Qing couldn’t help but frown. He asked, “Why give him these clothes?”
The maidservant who brought Jiang Bieyu in was startled. She hurried to curtsy and replied, “Young master, didn’t you say that you wanted to keep him in the manor? That’s why we found a set of servant clothes for him.”
They had a.s.sumed that Shi Qing meant to keep him as a servant after he said Jiang Liye gave Jiang Bieyu to him. He had also told the man to sign an indenturement contract, so their confusion was not unfounded.
“No, no.” The little master continued to lazily recline on his bed, letting the final maidservant apply hand cream to his hands. He looked at the dull and plain clothes on Jiang Bieyu’s body with dissatisfaction.
“How can a person born with features like his possibly wear clothing like that?”
Shi Qing inclined his chin. “Bring ink and paper over.”
His words were unmistakably a demand. The maidservant in charge of stationery immediately placed them on the table and started grinding ink herself.
The little master got down from his bed and placed his bare feet on the carpet. Soon after, many of the maidservants attempted to softly dissuade him.
“Qing-er, what are you doing? Why don’t you put on some socks first? You just recovered from your sickness not long ago…”
“Quickly put on this cloak. The window was opened not long ago and you might catch a chill…”
“Qing-er, slow down…”
The overlapping voices of the maidservants made the atmosphere of the room heat up.
But the bustle did not involve Jiang Bieyu. He silently watched as the little master stalked towards him angrily, still barefoot, with several maidservants chasing after him.
When Shi Qing reached him, he casually took Jiang Bieyu’s wrist and pulled him to the table.
Shi Qing had never lifted anything heavy in his life. Thus, it was no surprise that he had little strength in his arms. Luckily, Jiang Bieyu chose to cooperate.
When the maidservant grinding ink saw Jiang Bieyu come over as well, her dainty face immediately paled a few shades. She tensed as she took in this fierce-looking man who seemed even taller after getting up. Fear filled her eyes.
“Qing, Qing-er…”
Naturally, Shi Qing also noticed the apprehension in the maidservant’s expression. He seemed pleased with himself for ‘not fearing what everyone else did’ as he rudely teased her.
“You women are all so cowardly. He’s one of my people now, so what is there to be afraid of?”
“Whatever. Scootch over and let Jiang Bieyu grind ink for me.”
“Understood.”
The maidservant grasped at his words like they were life saving straws. She curtsied respectfully before retreating.
The little master sat down first. He glanced at the paper on the table and brushed it with a pleased expression.
Then he noticed that Jiang Bieyu hadn’t moved.
But he didn’t get angry. Instead, he used the soft voice he had inherited from his mother to speak to the man.
“Did you not hear what I just said? I told you to come over here and grind ink for me.”
The words were clearly a reprimand, but their aggression was neutralized due to Shi Qing’s lilting voice. It almost made him seem good-mannered.
Jiang Bieyu didn’t believe it for a second.
Shi Qing had made quite a name for himself in Crane City. The only son of the Shi family who was spoiled rotten. He roamed the streets in search of amus.e.m.e.nt everyday and fought with people often. Because no other person his age could match his wealth, he spoke to everyone with his nose in the air.
The people around him had to sing his praises. Otherwise, he would definitely not give them any face.
Before he met this little master, Jiang Bieyu had only heard of Shi Qing’s name from Jiang Liye. Every time Shi Qing was brought up, his elder brother, whose authority was almost unmatched in the manor, would grit his teeth with an unpleasant expression.
He always spoke about how Shi Qing either bought the thing that he wanted or disrespected him outside.
Due to that, Jiang Bieyu had an idea of the little master’s overbearing att.i.tude long ago.
But even he didn’t imagine that their first meeting would be when Shi Qing whipped him a hundred times.
This person might be able to team up with his mother to fool his father regarding that incident, but he wouldn’t be able to fool the other person involved, Jiang Bieyu.
And now, this little master was treating him quite leniently for some reason.
Jiang Bieyu didn’t say anything. He silently approached and started grinding ink.
His motions were quite practiced. After all, he didn’t have any servants following him around back in the Jiang family like Jiang Liye did. If he wanted to write, he would have to buy and prepare the supplies himself.
The man sat with a very upright posture. He could feel the little master’s gaze on him as he ground the ink, but he didn’t respond.
Even though he was trying to deduce why Shi Qing was looking at him like that inside, he appeared on the surface to be single-mindedly focused on his a.s.signed task.
Shi Qing was sizing up Jiang Bieyu’s body measurements.
He grew more excited the longer he looked.
As expected of the protagonist. Even though he grew up being neglected in every way, tormented by his siblings, he can still become this tall and strong as an adult.
Broad shoulders, slim waist and long legs. He might not have any visible abs right now, but that could be worked on later.
Shi Qing was getting more and more hyped. He couldn’t help but lean over and pat Jiang Bieyu on the shoulder. “Turn around.”
Jiang Bieyu’s hands paused. His light-coloured eyes gazed deeply at the obviously excited little master.
What was he so happy for all of a sudden?
The man was wary because he didn’t know, but he obediently turned all the same.
When he exposed his back, which could be considered a weak point, to Shi Qing, the eyes that Jiang Bieyu used to observe his surroundings and avoid danger were rendered useless. His body couldn’t help but tense.
This kind of vulnerable position made him very uncomfortable.
It reminded him of a time in his childhood when Jiang Liye had put a blindfold on him and told him they were playing Find the Kitty. But when Jiang Bieyu put both arms in front of him to try and find the others, his older brother snuck behind him and kicked him into the fake mountain in their garden.
Jiang Bieyu wasn’t afraid of getting hurt. He just found it irritating to not be able to see danger approaching.
Take the incident on the boat for example. When Jiang Bieyu heard that soaked and furious little master say that he was going to whip him a hundred times, he was glad to know what was coming,
That way, during the punishment Jiang Bieyu could only lie on the floor and tightly clench his fists as he counted down to that final blow.
At least that time was better than right now. He was ordered to turn his back, so he couldn’t see what was happening behind him anymore. He didn’t know what Shi Qing was doing back there, or what he planned on doing.
Even though they had interacted very little, Jiang Bieyu could tell that Shi Qing’s moods tended to change very quickly, perhaps due to his spoiled upbringing. He changed faces on the flip of a coin. The same person who angrily beat him before could now joyfully touch his eyes.
Shi family’s little master was quite the unusual person.
His unpredictability made Jiang Bieyu err on the side of caution and think the worst of him.
Since Shi Qing could smile at him after beating him, he could do the same after killing him.
While Jiang Bieyu was thinking things like that, he suddenly felt a soft hand land on his back. Like it was measuring something, it slid from his left to his right.
The sudden motion made the man’s body stiffen.
The little master’s voice came from behind. He seemed to find this fun. “Your muscles are so hard and st.u.r.dy.”
Saying that, he patted them a few times.
Jiang Bieyu’s only been this close with his aunt. The soft little hand made his body stiffen a few fractions more.
He stood there, ramrod straight like a frozen popsicle as the little master behind him scrutinized every part of his body. He even stopped to take notes each time he finished an area.
Finally, Shi Qing’s soft yet haughty voice could be heard again, “Okay, you can turn around now.”
The man silently obeyed.
When he turned around, he casually glanced at the tabletop. The paper there did seem to have something written down.
The little master could care less about where he was looking. He patted the man’s chest. “What a strong body you have.”
This was Jiang Bieyu’s first time being genuinely praised for his body.
He awkwardly avoided the little master’s gaze. Lowering his eyes, he struggled to remain calm on the surface.
Shi Qing could care less that the man wouldn’t look at him. He was busy trying to put a hand on his shoulder. He spoke with some grievance, “Lower your body a bit. I can’t reach like this.”
He wasn’t lying. Shi Qing wasn’t exactly short when compared to his peers, but he was only sixteen. How tall do you think a sixteen year old could be in this era?
On the other hand, Jiang Bieyu was eighteen, but he was taller by a large margin than other people his age. It could be overlooked when he was still kneeling, but Shi Qing noticed how Jiang Bieyu was about two heads taller than him now that the man was standing.
What a terrible and cruel height difference, ah.
With such a disparity, what if we can’t cooperate when doing certain harmonious activities later on?
Thank goodness he was only sixteen this year. There was still time to grow.
While he was thinking about exercising some more and drinking plenty of milk, Shi Qing gave the man who was obediently lowering himself slightly a displeased look.
“You’re still too tall.”
Jiang Bieyu didn’t understand why Shi Qing was so upset with his height all of a sudden. He lowered his head tentatively.
As expected, the little master was pleased.
He reached out and played with the man’s face like it was a toy, squishing and pulling it this way and that.
Shi Qing only let go when he fulfilled his aesthetics quota. He tenderly patted Jiang Bieyu on the shoulder.
“Don’t worry. I’ll definitely design a set of clothes that suit someone as good looking as you.”
Looking quite pleased with himself, the little master let Jiang Bieyu have a look at the drawing on the table.
“I personally drew this sketch for you. Your clothing will definitely make you the most valiant looking person around.”
Then Shi Qing turned to the maidservants in the room. “You guys wait here. When I’m finished with my drawing, go make it for me.”
The maidservants, “…”
“But Qing-er, you’ve never drawn anything before, ah.”
“That’s right. Besides, designing clothing is the job of a tailor. How can someone as precious as our Qing-er do such a thing?”
“Please don’t get us blamed. Furen told us to look after you so you would study and rest more.”
But the little master turned a deaf ear. “How is studying restful? And who said I never drew before? I’ve done that hundreds of times in my dreams! All of you should stop trying to get in my way. I’m going to personally dress him up—no matter what!”
What were the maidservants supposed to say to that? They didn’t dare to stop him anymore, no matter how much they doubted Shi Qing’s drawing abilities.
But when they thought about how Qing-er intended to have Jiang Bieyu wait on him in the future, they all shuddered and worried on his behalf.
If a set of clothes were really commissioned for Jiang Bieyu based on Qing-er’s drawing, then wouldn’t their little master have a strangely dressed fellow following him around from now on?
Just think about how much people outside will laugh at Qing-er.
All things aside, these maidservants were loyal to the Shi family. Since they couldn’t stop Shi Qing from drawing, they all made a decision in their hearts. If he asked them to go make the clothes after, they would definitely make them more normal looking in secret.