As soon as they returned to Qingfen Hall on the west side of Heming Pavilion, the two little servant girls who had been anxiously waiting outside finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Lauren Smith, however, was still weighed down with worry. She attended to Chad Sullivan, helping him wash up and change clothes. After making his bed and waiting for him to lie down, she reached out to lower the bed curtains, only to suddenly feel her sleeve being tugged.

She forced a smile as she turned her head and said, “It’s so late, young master, don’t you want to sleep yet?”

“You’re getting married, but I can see you’re not happy about it.”

Lauren Smith hadn’t expected Chad Sullivan to ask this. It took her quite a while before she managed to squeeze out a faint smile. “Why do you ask that, young master…”

“How much bride price does your foster mother plan to get for you?”

At that moment, Lauren Smith’s face turned deathly pale. She looked around in panic, and seeing that there was no third person in the room, she remembered that Chad Sullivan had set a strange rule before—no one but her was allowed in. She relaxed a little, but still asked nervously, “Young master, what do you mean by that?”

“This time, there are eight servant girls being sent out to marry. Four of them are from families that have served in the household for generations. I heard that either someone in charge has already picked out husbands for them, or their parents and siblings have already arranged matches. Another two are on ten-year indentures; once they leave the Yue family, they’ll no longer be servants.”

Chad Sullivan let go of her sleeve and said seriously, “Only you and one other girl were bought as children under lifetime contracts, and both of you recognized foster mothers after entering the household. I heard that the other girl’s foster mother married her off to a widowed pharmacy manager as a concubine, making her a stepmother as soon as she entered the house, and took a bride price of fifteen strings of cash. Your foster mother has come to Qingfen Hall several times, sharp-tongued and bossy. I imagine her appetite is even bigger, isn’t it?”

Lauren Smith finally couldn’t help but collapse onto the edge of the bed, her teeth chattering uncontrollably. After a long while, she finally spoke in a hoarse voice that didn’t seem to belong to her, “She’s promised me to the son of Steward Lin in the household.”

“The one who drinks and gambles all day, beats his wife, doesn’t even have a proper job, and became a widower twice in less than a year each time?”

Chad Sullivan let out a snort, thinking how unoriginal it was, then said blandly, “Did she tell you that as long as you tell me if anyone is asking about me on the back street, and trick me into meeting that Ding Youcai at the back gate, she’ll find you a better match?”

“How… how did you know!” Lauren Smith’s beautiful face looked as if she’d seen a ghost, and she almost let out a scream.

Chad Sullivan sat up halfway, shrugged lightly, and said, “I guessed.”

I haven’t even guessed that someone in the household said if you trick me to the back gate, they’ll take you as a concubine in the future…

Looking at Lauren Smith’s very attractive face, he said word by word, “If you’re happy to be a flower stuck in a pile of dung, then just pretend I never said anything. But if you have other plans, then speak up clearly. A foster mother isn’t a real mother—she can’t control your whole life.”

Hearing this last sentence, Lauren Smith finally couldn’t hold back any longer. She bent over and burst into tears. After crying, she finally realized her situation and hurriedly wiped away her tears.

Although she had served Chad Sullivan for three years and was the only one allowed to attend him so closely, she had never truly understood this young Ninth Master.

Chad Sullivan liked to daydream and wasn’t talkative, but whenever he did speak, he often made her and even the old master laugh out loud or left them speechless. Just like today’s farce at the back gate—everything from start to finish was unexpected. But what made her most wary was that the Ninth Master sometimes didn’t seem like a child at all!

After pondering for a long time, she finally said resolutely, “Young master, I know my crime is unforgivable, but my foster mother said that nine times out of ten, that really was your uncle, so I let my guard down, thinking it was just letting you meet him. I never thought she had such intentions… If you want to punish or sell me, I’ll accept whatever comes. I deserve it anyway.”

“As for the marriage, I’d rather die than marry that wife-beating scoundrel. I’ll carry scissors with me when I marry in, and if it comes to it, I’ll die with him!”

Hearing this, Chad Sullivan yawned again, then said lightly, “I won’t pursue what happened today, but there can’t be a next time. And there’s no need for all this talk of life and death. I just want to keep you for another two years—will you hold it against me?”

Lauren Smith knew how serious the crime of colluding with outsiders and betraying her master was. If it had been anyone else in the household, being beaten and sold would be the lightest punishment—being beaten to death wouldn’t be considered too much. Yet Chad Sullivan had let her off so easily, not even mentioning how to deal with her, only saying he wanted to keep her for another two years. In that instant, the tears she had just managed to stop welled up again, and she quickly kowtowed twice more.

“I’m willing to serve you for a lifetime, young master!”

“A lifetime is too long. Just living each day well is enough.” Chad Sullivan crawled under the covers, turned over, and showed Lauren Smith his back.

He hadn’t originally planned to interfere in who Lauren Smith was married off to. Since she had never regarded him as someone to rely on, never asked him for help, why should he meddle?

He had stayed in the Yue household for seven years. Although he wasn’t close to his siblings, at least they kept up appearances, and the servants never dared to show their true thoughts openly.