Chapter 6: The Beauty Rolls Up Her Pearl Curtain, Sitting Deeply with a Frowning Brow

  I turned around to take a look, and indeed it was the thin and dry, imperious and overbearing Luo Mama, who I least wanted to see. [Note: This Luo Mama is the newly arrived housekeeper of the Smoke and Rain Pavilion, and she is extremely fierce and intimidating, no one dares to provoke her, not even the young ladies or the maids.]

  Although I was still in a state of shock, I had to stand up and say, "Don't joke, Mother Luo. How could Mei Cai dare to steal things? However, this little beast does seem a bit strange..."

  "What little beast?" Ma Luo frowned and said, "What nonsense are you talking about in broad daylight? What kind of little beast could be here?"

  I was startled and turned back to look, but that strange animal had indeed disappeared!

  "This this this...... just now clearly......"

  Old Mother Luo grabbed my wrist as quick as lightning: "Little girl, even if you're telling lies, you have to consider who you're dealing with. You're making false accusations against Judge Bao, aren't you asking for trouble?"

  "Old Mother Luo, what's wrong?" Mr. Mo, the accountant of the Smoke and Rain Pavilion, came over slowly while digging his ears: "What are you doing with the plum blossoms?"

  Old Mother Luo hastily shook off my wrist: "Oh dear, the old lady is so fond of seeing young girls that she can't help but take a closer look at their hands. Although Mei Cai is just a little servant girl, she's got delicate skin and tender flesh. The old lady can't help but examine her hand carefully. It looks like she might be a lucky one! Who knows, maybe the old lady will even get some good fortune from being with her in the future? Isn't that right, Mei Cai?"

  Mr. Mo frowned and looked at me, I thought to myself, anyway, every day in the Smoke Rain Pavilion, it's hard not to run into Mrs. Luo, my parents always told me that Mr. Mo took care of our family, so I didn't want to trouble him with trivial matters, so I just nodded slightly.

  "Hmm, is it done? Mei Cai, can you deliver the pastries now?" Mr. Mo asked.

  I hastily said, "Not yet, today is for delivering peach cream puffs to Crystal Girl."

  Mr. Mo nodded and said, "Today is the fifteenth day of the month, don't forget to prepare offerings for the Dragon God."

  I nodded hastily: "Alright, the dim sum has been prepared in advance, Mr. Mo can rest assured."

  Mr. Mo then called for Old Mother Luo to come and check the new clothes and ornaments of the sisters, and register them in a book.

  I finally breathed a sigh of relief and looked again at where the little beast had been, and indeed, both the peach kernel and the little beast were gone.

  The little beast must have seen a stranger and ran away quickly, I don't know where it went. Although I was a bit disappointed, I had the mission to deliver the pastries, so I took the basket and walked quickly into the Smoke Rain Pavilion.

  After I put away the peach pastry and went out, I heard several maids whispering in the corridor. I hurried to join in the fun and asked repeatedly: "Sisters, what's going on? Is there some news about the Smoke and Rain Pavilion again?"

  The maid, Pomegranate, who served the Crystal Maiden, pulled me over and said: "Mei Cai, you've come just in time. Go back and tell your parents that you don't need to bring night snacks for the next few evenings."

  "What's wrong?" I curiously asked: "Even if the Crystal Girl doesn't pay attention, shouldn't she have some guests? Or is it a matter of taste..."

  "No, no, no, it has nothing to do with the taste, but... " Pomegranate lowered her voice: "These days, Smoke and Rain Pavilion is haunted, you're just a little girl, even if it's for the family business, how can you still go out at night?"

  "Ghost?" I was startled: "Really?"

  "Absolutely true!" Luan'er looked around and said: "At first, it was Yu Xi's maid Xiaonu who saw it, and everyone teased her that she must have secretly drunk the leftover wine of the guests and got dizzy. But slowly, more and more people saw it, including the rough-handed servants...

  "What does the ghost look like?" I recalled yesterday's strange encounter and couldn't help but feel a few degrees of tension in my heart.

  "This...," Pomegranate frowned and said: "They say it's a woman in red clothes."

  "Could it be that one of the sisters came out for some fresh air at night and was mistaken by the little slaves?" I asked curiously.

  "That's unlikely." The little butterfly serving Peach Blossom Girl also said: "They all say that the back of the red-clothed woman is extremely beautiful, but it just so happens..." The maidservants said: "Mei Cai often walks at night, don't scare Mei Cai."

  The little butterfly hesitated for a moment, and I quickly asked my sister to continue. The maids couldn't help but beg me to go on, saying: "But she didn't have a pretty face, looking from the front, her whole face was as white as an eggshell, without any features."

  "A ghost with no face?" This was indeed a novel legend, so I hastily asked: "When the ghost saw that it had been seen by people, did it harm them?"

  Little Butterfly shook her head: "You don't have to ask so many questions, anyway I've never seen it before. If you're curious, why not go ask Little Slave? She describes it vividly, just like the real thing. After listening to her, even at night I dare not go out to pour and rinse the remaining water. Sister is just reminding you that these days, teach your family's newly hired handymen! Anyway, men's courage is naturally stronger, they're not afraid of this."

  I should go down, and I went out. In my heart, I thought that it had been a long time since I last visited the room of Ruo Xi, the young slave girl who served her. When was the last time I saw Xiao Nu? It was some time ago, in the flower hall, when the two sisters were quarreling.

  That day, my mother ordered me to deliver the honey osmanthus paste to Peach Blossom Girl. When I arrived at the Smoke and Rain Pavilion, I heard a distant noise from the flower-adorned building above. Several maidservants rushed past me to see what was happening. I spotted a familiar maid, Luan'er, and quickly pulled her aside to ask: "Luan'er sister, what's going on?"

  "Swallow saw me, lowered her body and whispered in my ear: 'Just heard that Xiaodie and them said, if Creek girl and Golden Pearl girl between because of the guest of honor, early on not to each other's face, today inside for a few new clothes hairpin ring, actually gave a big fight, shouting and scolding, arguing can't be reconciled, what a lively scene, heard that even Mr. Mo wants to personally go and mediate, you still don't follow sister to take a look.'"

  I'm always one who loves to watch excitement, as soon as I heard about this matter, I hastily followed along.

  Only the flower hall was crowded with sisters and maids, dark and dense, the blue porcelain cups were already broken on the ground, and the embroidered brocade carpet was full of scraps. Among them, the slender figure, with a face as beautiful as a spring flower, was the popular Weixi girl who was good at playing the guqin. She wore a red skirt with a hundred flowers and butterflies, her eyes were bright and clear like water, she had a slender waist, and one of her white jade hands, dyed with the juice of the phoenix orchid, was pointing at someone across from her, shouting: "If there's no ghost in this account today, I'm willing to take your surname! How could I not see it? How did you pick it up? If you're hiding something privately, that's not good!"