Chapter 60: The Landlord's Invitation

Could such a thing happen?

Little Lin is the most honest soul; I hope no one is bullying him.

While feeling grateful to the woman, An Chunfeng hurried home in quick strides. Upon seeing the situation clearly at her doorstep, she could not help frowning.

She saw Luo Cheng from the real estate agency standing at the courtyard entrance, locked in a standoff with Little Lin.

Why was this man here?

The two stood at the door like gamecocks spoiling for a fight—one trying to push inside, the other refusing to let him pass, shoving and pulling with neither willing to yield.

The moment they caught sight of An Chunfeng, the two men immediately let go of each other. Luo Cheng, whose face had been dark just a moment ago, put on a flattering smile, stepped forward, and bowed: "This humble one, Luo Cheng, pays my respects to Mistress An!"

An Chunfeng glanced at Little Lin, whose face remained just as gloomy, and asked casually, "Does young master Luo have business here? What brings you by?"

Luo Cheng looked toward Little Lin beside them and maintained his smile. "Mistress An has leased this place for three months now. It is customary for the agency to conduct a routine check on our clients' residences, so I was sent to pay a visit!"

"Oh! Very well, step inside." An Chunfeng walked into the courtyard and motioned for Luo Cheng to inspect the premises.

Yet, after casting only a few casual glances around the yard, Luo Cheng smiled and said, "Mistress An keeps the courtyard so well that further inspection is quite unnecessary. Besides, might I have a word with you in private? I have something important to report."

Clearly, he intended to dismiss Little Lin before speaking.

An Chunfeng slanted a cold look at him, then turned and instructed Little Lin, whose face was practically black with anger, to go and unpack the food box she had brought back.

Inside was a roasted chicken, along with a pot of rice porridge she had brewed for their evening meal.

Little Lin lowered his head and retreated into the kitchen.

Only after he had gone did Luo Cheng curl his lip and sneer, "Mistress An, why don't I bring a proper cook over tomorrow? There is no need to suffer through the meals prepared by the likes of him—a rootless unregistered slave, what could he possibly know about proper service!"

An Chunfeng knitted her brows. "Luo Cheng, even if the agency dismissed Little Lin, surely he is permitted to find honest work on his own, is he not?"

Luo Cheng chuckled awkwardly. "The agency would never interfere with that. It is simply that Eldest Mistress is a valued patron of our Wanfu Agency, and we are responsible for ensuring your absolute convenience. Only the finest servants available should be selected and sent to serve you!"

Without even asking Little Lin to bring tea, An Chunfeng walked over to the cushioned bench beneath the veranda, sat down, and said coldly, "I do not require the finest here; I only want someone affordable and obedient. I appreciate the agency's thoughtful consideration, but you need not trouble yourselves with matters of hiring."

"You... well..."

"If there is nothing else, please take your leave!" An Chunfeng issued a direct dismissal.

Luo Cheng’s expression shifted. He turned as if to leave, but then, as though suddenly remembering something, he added offhand, "Oh! I almost forgot to mention—the owner of this property wishes to see you. They are waiting at the agency right now. Won't you accompany me there, Eldest Mistress?"

An Chunfeng was so angry she nearly laughed. He hadn't mentioned it before and only brought it up now. Was the word "fool" somehow written across her forehead? Why did people keep trying to bully her like this?

Fired with indignation, she raised her voice: "I have no time today. If the landlord wishes to take back the courtyard, let them deal directly with the agency. I have nothing to say to the landlord myself. Little Lin, show our guest out!"

Little Lin had been listening intently to the commotion from the kitchen. The moment he heard An Chunfeng tell him to show the guest out, he immediately emerged and began pushing Luo Cheng toward the exit. "Please mind your step, sir!"

As he struggled and shoved against Little Lin, Luo Cheng called back to An Chunfeng, "Eldest Mistress, don't say I didn't warn you. If the owner of this estate gets angry, they can take this courtyard back at any moment."

Refusing to dignify him with another response, An Chunfeng turned, walked into the parlor, and dropped the door curtain.

Luo Cheng finally abandoned his resistance and was shoved out of the courtyard by Little Lin, muttering complaints under his breath.

An Chunfeng did not believe a single word of what Luo Cheng had said.

Furthermore, as for this so-called landlord, she had paid her money directly at the agency and signed a proper lease contract. If they wanted to break the lease, compensation terms would have to be settled first.

She hadn't shortchanged them by so much as a single copper coin; she wasn't about to dance attendance on them just because of a casual summons.

Little Lin, having also overheard Luo Cheng's remarks, looked worried. "Mistress An, could it be that my working here has offended the agency, causing the landlord to drive us out?"

An Chunfeng waved a hand dismissively, completely unbothered. "What is there to fear? The absence of the butcher Zhang does not mean we must eat unplucked bristles.

The capital is vast; we can simply rent a place elsewhere. Didn't you also want to find a suitable home to move into? We can just do it together!"

By this point, she recalled Autumn Water mentioning that the entire district she rented in was formerly property of the Directorate of Music.

She suspected that the so-called landlord was either connected to the Directorate or that Luo Cheng was simply manufacturing an excuse to breach the contract and reclaim the property.

However, this was no longer a difficult problem for the current An Chunfeng. As long as she had silver, she wouldn't even be afraid of staying at an inn for a while.

Little Lin nodded. The quarters he rented in the bustling tenement were also leased; the rent was cheap—only fifty copper coins a month—but the living conditions were truly wretched.

It was manageable enough for the three brothers, but Rongxue was growing older by the day, and it was highly inconvenient for a young girl to live in such a chaotic and complicated environment.

To ensure Rongxue's safety, one of the younger brothers always had to stay behind to keep watch.

Previously, they had no other choice, but now that he could earn eight hundred copper coins, finding a proper and suitable place to live had become an urgent priority.

He had already been considering the house-hunting matter over the past couple of days.

If Mistress An was also planning to move, the two households could look for places adjacent to each other. That way, he wouldn't have to constantly run back and forth to look after his younger siblings.

Having re-established her connection with that little fellow, An Chunfeng was in exceptionally high spirits. Untroubled by the potential fallout with the agency and the landlord, she happily shared the fifty-copper roast chicken with Little Lin.

In the Tang family's side courtyard, Qin牧 squatted beneath the windowsill, gnawing on a dry flatbread while straining his ears to eavesdrop on the conversation inside.

The door to the Tang family's side courtyard had only been installed recently. It was supposedly meant to prevent anyone from disturbing the Second Mistress's rest, but in reality, it was used to lock people in.

Though he had managed to block the door and avoid being caught by Madam Qin while climbing the wall, that makeshift ladder had still been discovered.

Upon seeing Qin Mu's soiled garments and the bruised temple, Madam Qin grew furious and anxious, scolding him as a wild and untamable beast born of that wretched woman An, utterly incapable of settling his mind on his studies.

Not only did she sentence him to kneel for a full hour, but the makeshift wooden ladder he had taken such pains to construct was also confiscated by the old women who cleared away the debris.

It was only when Aunt Ping intervened that he finally obtained a reprieve.

Inside the room, the conversation continued, and Qin Mu listened with rapt attention.

There had been no shortage of affairs in the Tang household over the past few days. Whereas Madam Qin used to drag Qin Mu into her idle chatter whenever she was bored, she now spent her days keeping watch in the main courtyard, thick as thieves with Madam Liu, leaving her somewhat behind on Qin Mu's news.

Take right now, for instance. Madam Qin was complaining to Aunt Ping: "...Since Aunt Ping is managing the household affairs now, as a guest I really ought not to speak up. But the old and young of us—just me and Mu'er—lack even a capable maid to wait upon us. It is truly most inconvenient!"

Aunt Ping replied with her customary gentle and soft-toned voice: "I am well aware of the Second Mistress's difficulties. However, I am only helping manage things for Madam during this period. When it comes to purchasing bondservants, it is still best to let the Master and Madam make the ultimate decision!"

Madam Qin began to heave heavy sighs. "Alas! Since Aunt Ping finds it difficult, consider that I never said anything! Who can blame us? The two of us, grandmother and grandson, are nothing more than pathetic wretches living under another's roof and left without a home!"

Aunt Ping: "......!"

Qin Mu did not catch whatever Aunt Ping said next; he could only feel his heart pounding wildly within his chest: Madam Qin was going to buy bondservants! She was going to take on domestic staff!