Just as William Grant was deep in thought, suddenly there was a banging sound from outside the door.

Someone was knocking, but the sound was loud—it was a kick.

William Grant frowned, got up, and opened the door.

Chapter Two: The Petty Are Like Ghosts

"Hey, William Grant, why did you take so long to open the door? I had to kick it!"

At the door stood a girl about fifteen or sixteen years old, dressed in a pale yellow fur coat with mixed colors, her face fair and her eyes bright as lacquer.

This girl was dressed luxuriously and spoke rudely, but William Grant knew her—her name was Little Nancy, the personal maid of the second young lady from "Yunting Zhai" on the east side of the marquis's residence.

Yunting Zhai was the residence of Lady Fang, the wife of the second branch of the marquis's household. Lady Fang was the legitimate wife of Marquis Wu Wen, came from a merchant family, had bought an official title herself, and was wealthy and influential. Although her status in the household was not as high as that of Lady Zhao from the main branch, she still had a say.

Therefore, the maids and servants of Yunting Zhai all considered themselves a cut above the rest.

Although William Grant was a young master in the marquis's residence, he was the son of a deceased concubine of low status, so no one really regarded him as important. Moreover, everyone in the household knew that Lady Zhao from the main branch was not fond of William Grant.

William Grant's monthly allowance was also the smallest.

Throughout the marquis's residence, there were three wives, four concubines, plus the steward, servants, attendants, and guards—a total of seven or eight hundred people. Everyone had their own duties, making it a strictly hierarchical little court.

"What do you want?" After opening the door, William Grant sat back down in his chair, picked up his book, and didn't even look at the maid.

Little Nancy glanced at the burning charcoal in the room. Because it was of poor quality, it gave off a smell and smoke that stung the eyes. She couldn't help but curl her lip in disdain.

"Yesterday, my lady was playing the zither and composing poetry with Princess Yongchun from the Prince Rong's residence. The princess recited a line of poetry but couldn't come up with the next line, so my lady sent me to ask you. Hey, are you listening?"

Seeing William Grant sit back at the table and start reading, Little Nancy said angrily.

"What?" William Grant frowned, blood rushing to his face, his fists clenching slightly as he looked at Little Nancy.

Little Nancy also noticed the flush on William Grant's face and his clenched fists. Not only did she not back down, she even raised her chin higher, showing an expression that said, "So what if you're a young master? This is how I'll treat you—what can you do about it? Go ahead, hit me if you dare!"

"What poem?" After a moment of anger, William Grant took a deep breath, calmed himself, relaxed his fists, and spoke in a steady tone.

"Useless, as expected." Little Nancy muttered to herself when she saw William Grant hold back. "When Princess Yongchun was playing the zither, she said, 'Today, though I haven't played, my heart is already restless,' and then couldn't think of the next line. My lady sent me to ask you, hoping you could come up with it."

"'Today, though I haven't played, my heart is already restless'?" William Grant pondered. "If your heart is restless while playing the zither, it means you can't steady your mind. I'll match it with this line: 'This heart is never truly my own.'"

"'Today, though I haven't played, my heart is already restless. This heart is never truly my own.'" William Grant took out a sheet of white paper and, using thick ink, wrote the line in cursive script.

"What is this?"

Little Nancy saw the cursive characters swirling like dragons and snakes. As a maid who had only learned a little and could recognize a few characters, she couldn't make them out at all.

"You're just a servant and can't read anyway, so why ask so many questions?" William Grant said coldly. "Just deliver it."

"You..."

When Little Nancy saw the look in William Grant's eyes as he said she couldn't read, her knuckles cracked twice, showing her skill. At the same time, her sharp gaze swept over him.

Clearly, this Little Nancy had trained in martial arts.

"This William Grant is clearly weak and bookish, unable to even truss a chicken. So why isn't he afraid? I've trained with my lady to a decent level—I'm intimidating to ordinary people. Even though William Grant is a young master, he's not favored by the main wife in the marquis's residence... At worst, bullying him would just get me a scolding... Besides, the grappling techniques I've learned recently only cause pain for a few days and won't injure the bones..."

Little Nancy's eyes flashed with malice as she took two steps forward, pretending to take the paper from William Grant, but in her mind she was planning to use a clever move to twist his hand and make him ache for a few days.

"If you lay a hand on me, aren't you afraid of being exiled three thousand miles!"

Just as Little Nancy was about to move, William Grant suddenly spoke, his voice stern and forceful.

"According to the laws of Great Qian, assaulting a scholar with official status is punishable by exile for three thousand miles. Don't ruin your own future!"

William Grant's sudden sternness startled Little Nancy so much that she shuddered.

"Who's going to lay a hand on you? I'm just taking the paper. You're the young master—how would we servants dare be angry with you?" Little Nancy stepped back, stretched out her arm to take the paper, and turned to leave.

"Hmph, all you can do is write poetry and essays, weak as a chicken, a scholar is good for nothing."

After leaving the room, Little Nancy cursed inwardly. She had indeed been frightened by William Grant just now, but how could she ever admit it to herself?

"Shh..."