Chapter 9: This Excuse – Do They Really Think People Are Fools?

In the Wei mansion, he lived a life even worse than that of a servant.

Once, he had been the son of the Prime Minister, a beloved young master of his family.

Year after year, day and night, he remained alone in the Wei mansion, walking a solitary path.

He had no companions, not even someone to talk to.

Although Su Jinshi had only started playing this game yesterday, Shen Shilang’s reactions were so realistic that he hardly seemed like a game character.

It felt as if they were conversing across time and space, rather than through a phone screen.

She wondered what would happen to Shen Shilang if she ever quit the game.

Su Jinshi shook her head. The mere thought of quitting caused an inexplicable ache in her heart.

She dared not think about leaving the game.

At least for now and for quite some time to come, she had no intention of quitting.

“By the way, why aren’t there any servants in your courtyard?” Su Jinshi suddenly remembered. From yesterday when he was injured to when he had a fever, no one had noticed.

If there had been servants in the courtyard, Shen Shilang wouldn’t have suffered such severe injuries without treatment.

Even today’s breakfast was delivered by a servant who left immediately, never to return.

Shen Shilang smiled, “They saw no future with me. I have no money to reward them, and if others know they work in my courtyard, they’ll be bullied outside. So they all found connections and transferred to other courtyards.”

“Your courtyard has no one, and Madam Wei doesn’t care? Shouldn’t she at least keep up appearances?” Su Jinshi said angrily. “Wei Zhaoxian may rarely come back, but he does return. Isn’t she afraid of him finding out?”

Su Jinshi knew that in ancient times, men rarely interfered in household matters, leaving them to the mistress of the house. They might not even know if someone died in the inner courtyard.

It was truly a case of men handling external affairs and women internal ones.

But Wei Zhaoxian at least cared about Shen Shilang. Even if he didn’t bother with other household matters, he would surely care about Shen Shilang’s affairs.

“Of course, she needs to keep up appearances. Someone should be coming soon.” As soon as Shen Shilang finished speaking, Su Jinshi heard voices from outside the courtyard.

“Be on your best behavior these two days!” Steward Zhou’s voice rang out. “Don’t let the General see you looking unhappy. It’s just for two days, then you can go back. There’s no need to look so miserable.”

“Yes,” the people in the courtyard responded in unison.

Su Jinshi heard that there were quite a few people, so she turned the view to outside the courtyard.

She saw Steward Zhou leading four servants who had just entered the courtyard gate when suddenly a brown shadow darted out.

“Woof! Woof woof!”

It was the wolfdog that Su Jinshi had brought over in the morning. Now it was blocking Steward Zhou and the others outside the courtyard gate, baring its teeth and making threatening growls.

Everyone was startled by the wolfdog and dared not enter. Steward Zhou angrily exclaimed, “Where did this wild dog come from!”

Steward Zhou didn’t dare to approach either and could only shout, “You lot! Go find a stick and beat this wild dog to death!”

“Steward Zhou.” Shen Shilang came out to the courtyard and coldly looked at Steward Zhou.

Shen Shilang glanced at the wolfdog. After finishing breakfast in the morning, he had gone to greet Wei Zhaoxian at the door and hadn’t paid attention to this dog.

When he returned, he was injured and didn’t notice that the wolfdog had stayed in the courtyard without leaving.

Shen Shilang tried beckoning to the wolfdog, “Come here.”

He wasn’t sure if the dog would listen to him.

Unexpectedly, the dog wagged its tail and trotted over to him.

Shen Shilang patted the dog’s head and looked up coldly at Steward Zhou, “This dog is mine. You want to beat my dog to death?”

Steward Zhou was stunned for a moment. When Shen Shilang’s cold gaze fell on him, he actually felt a bit scared.

It was just like facing General Wei when he was angry; he felt like kneeling down.

But Shen Shilang was clearly just a pitiful lodger in the mansion, living no better than the servants.

Steward Zhou came to his senses, suppressing the fear in his heart. When he looked at Shen Shilang again, he saw that Shen Shilang had already returned to his usual gentle demeanor, never arguing with others.

Steward Zhou couldn’t help but wonder if he had just experienced an illusion.

Steward Zhou swallowed his doubts and put on a smiling face to address Shen Shilang. After all, Shen Shilang was nominally half a master of the Wei mansion.

Steward Zhou wouldn’t give others any leverage against himself.

“Young Master Shen, when did you start keeping a dog?” Steward Zhou asked.

“My courtyard has no people, and living alone is quite lonely, so I kept a dog for company,” Shen Shilang said, patting the dog’s head. “It’s just too loyal, with no ill intentions.”

Steward Zhou: “……”

He wasn’t well-educated, but he felt that Shen Shilang’s words were somehow insulting. He wasn’t sure if he understood correctly.

Shen Shilang glanced at Steward Zhou and the four servants behind him, “What brings Steward Zhou here?”

Steward Zhou said with a fake smile, “Young Master Shen, I heard that your previous servants weren’t serving you well, so this old servant has brought a new group of people for you.”

Su Jinshi sneered. Steward Zhou really found a good excuse.

The previous people didn’t serve well, so they were dismissed.

But because suitable replacements couldn’t be found, it had been delayed for so long.

Once Wei Zhaoxian left, these people would return to their original masters.

The excuse would still be that these people didn’t serve well.

The next time Wei Zhaoxian returned, they would arrange for others to come.

This excuse, did they really think people were fools?

They truly had no shame!

Shen Shilang said indifferently, “Thank you for your trouble, Steward Zhou.”

“Young Master Shen is too kind. It’s all part of this old servant’s duties,” Steward Zhou continued with his fake smile. “If Young Master Shen needs anything else, please don’t hesitate to tell this old servant. If these servants don’t perform well, this old servant will replace them with new ones.”

“They’re already very good,” Shen Shilang said with a faint smile.

“Then this old servant won’t disturb Young Master Shen any further.” After saying this, Steward Zhou looked at the wolfdog crouching beside Shen Shilang. Still feeling a bit frightened, he didn’t enter the courtyard and hurriedly left.

The four servants were left standing at the gate, not daring to enter.

They still remembered how the dog had blocked the gate and tried to bite them earlier.

Shen Shilang patted the dog’s head and said to it, “No need to mind them.”

The dog seemed to understand, whimpering twice and rubbing against Shen Shilang’s calf. It no longer paid attention to the people outside the courtyard, so Shen Shilang led it back into the house.

Only then did the four servants dare to enter the courtyard, but they showed no intention of serving Shen Shilang and went to rest in their own rooms.

Back in the room, Shen Shilang looked at the dog somewhat helplessly, “I didn’t notice you were still here when I returned.”

The dog sat in front of Shen Shilang, wagging its tail non-stop.

“It seems to have accepted you as its master already?” Su Jinshi said in surprise. This dog recognized its owner quite quickly.

Shen Shilang sighed and said, “It’s all because you brought it here this morning.”

“But look at its eyes, staring at you so intently. Are you going to send it away?” Su Jinshi said, feeling soft-hearted. “Are you really going to be that heartless?”

“It was just guarding your home and courtyard for you,” Su Jinshi added.

Shen Shilang sighed, looking at the wolfdog wagging its tail in front of him, feeling a little helpless. This dog really did treat him as its master, but he hadn’t wanted to raise a dog. Although this courtyard was cold and lonely, and living alone was indeed a bit isolating, he didn’t want to bring more trouble.

Shen Shilang thought about how the dog had blocked the gate and bared its teeth at Steward Zhou and his people. It really did have a sense of protecting its master. If it wasn’t for this dog, he didn’t know if Steward Zhou would have looked down on him even more.

“Just keep it, it also adds some liveliness to your life,” Su Jinshi persuaded.

Shen Shilang looked at the dog’s pleading eyes and finally sighed, “Alright, let it stay.”

The dog, hearing this, happily jumped around Shen Shilang, licking his hand non-stop.

Shen Shilang helplessly patted its head, thinking that he had really added a troublemaker now.

But looking at the dog’s affectionate behavior, Shen Shilang’s heart also softened a bit.

At least now, he was no longer alone.