"Hee!"
Just then, Zijuan, who had been quietly listening, suddenly turned around with a grin. Teasing the worried Daiyu and Tanchun with an irreverent air, she assured them, "Miss Lin, Third Miss, you can both put your minds at ease!"
"I can vouch for Annie Immortal's words. They're absolutely true."
Seeing the two girls' doubtful expressions, Zijuan hurriedly told them what she knew.
"Old Madam really did agree to it."
"Before we left, Old Madam even called Xueyan and me over and repeatedly told us to look after you both properly and stay by your sides at all times. She also said that once we returned to the estate, we were to report everything we saw and heard today to her in detail."
As she finished, Zijuan glanced at Xueyan and gestured, hoping she would back her up.
"..."
But Xueyan was being her usual daft self, busy admiring the scenery and completely oblivious to Zijuan's glances and signals. Zijuan had no choice but to shoot her a series of exasperated looks.
"Really?"
Daiyu was taken aback. Then she remembered that Zijuan and Xueyan had indeed gone to see her maternal grandmother the night before. At the time, she had assumed her grandmother had called them over to remind them to add clothes for the change of season. So that was what it had been about?
Zijuan had originally been one of her maternal grandmother's second-tier maids. Since Daiyu had arrived with only a few servants—Xueyan, Nanny Wang, and a couple of others—her grandmother had worried that she would be short-handed and unfamiliar with the household's affairs. That was why she had assigned the reliable, gentle-tempered Zijuan to serve her.
So Daiyu believed Zijuan, at least to some extent, and finally let out the breath she had been holding.
She