Chapter 15: Miraculous Skill

Looking around, more than half the room was occupied by bookshelves.

A plain-looking embroidered screen divided the center, behind which lay a very small bedroom. Inside sat a semi-old bed and a small red-lacquered wooden bedside cabinet.

Jiu Jin nearly exploded with rage on the spot. She grabbed Mother Hu by the lapels, dragged her into the room, pointed at the furnishings, and said with a face full of mockery, "Is this what you meant when you said the room was prepared and everything was provided??"

Who were they trying to fool? One look and it was obvious these were old items.

How could the prestigious Prefect's Manor be this poor? Who were they performing for?

Mother Hu hurriedly shrunk her neck and hunched her shoulders, raising her hands to cover her head to prevent being struck again. She cried out repeatedly, "Oh, Miss Yu, good girl! This old woman traveled all the way with you, sleeping and eating in the wild. I wasn't the one who arranged this room in the manor, so how can you blame me?"

"Enough. Let's move everything from our carriage over first," Yu Linlang said, her expression remaining calm.

"Move it, now!" Jiu Jin barked, grabbing Mother Hu by the collar and marching her out. "Don't try any tricks with me! Call more people over! Stop dawdling."

She was like a small powder keg right now, ready to explode at the slightest touch. Mother Hu didn't dare provoke her further and could only comply submissively.

It took three trips back and forth to transport all the items from the carriage back to the small courtyard.

Standing in the courtyard, Mother Hu's mouth twitched as she looked at the bed and utensils thrown by the door. She asked hesitantly, "Are all of these... to be moved out?"

"Why would we leave them here to pile up?" Jiu Jin said, fuming. "Who are they trying to offend? Would my lady ever sleep in a bed used by someone else?"

"If your 'elegant lady' is so precious, then carry these things back to her. My lady cannot afford such luxuries."

Mother Hu looked embarrassed. "But if these are all thrown out, where will the Miss sleep tonight? The Madam is busy managing the household affairs every day; perhaps she forgot to order the replacement of the items in this room. Why not let the Miss make do for one night, and once we report to the Madam tomorrow..."

"Forget it!" Jiu Jin shouted angrily, waving her hand. "Carry all this junk out! You don't need to meddle in anything else! Go, go, go, everyone, go!"

"Oh, oh dear, Miss Jiu Jin!" Mother Hu was pushed out of the door by Jiu Jin. Helpless, she could only watch as the elderly maids and servants, who were looking at each other in confusion, carried the clutter piled at the door out of the courtyard.

"Oh, what a grand spectacle. Are you tearing the house down?" a mocking voice drifted over.

"The Eldest Miss is back." Mother Hu glanced at the newcomer and quickly lowered her head to suppress the amusement in her eyes.

Hah, once this Miss Yu ran into the Eldest Miss, things were bound to turn upside down in a massive confrontation. Neither of them was an easy person to deal with.

"If people didn't know, they'd think a Princess had arrived in the family. My, so much stuff piled up in the courtyard—who is this all for?" Yu Qiuping walked in, waving a silk handkerchief. She scanned the area, and seeing the various pots, plants, and miscellaneous clutter piled in the courtyard, her eyes narrowed.

"What is this?" Yu Qiuping scolded in a stern tone. "Is this little courtyard not the private space of certain people? Piling these messy sticks and weeds in the corridor—who are you trying to disgust? Hong Lai, Lü Cai, what are you standing there for? Help me throw this junk out."

"Yes, Miss." The two young maids stepped forward, but before their hands could even touch Yu Linlang's luggage, they were nearly struck by a fire poker and retreated in fright.

"I'd like to see who dares touch my lady's things." Jiu Jin weighed the poker in her hand and looked at the livid Yu Qiuping with a half-smile.

Yu Linlang walked out of the room, her gaze falling on the Eldest Miss, Yu Qiuping.

Compared to the beautiful and elegant Second Miss, this Eldest Miss appeared much more ordinary, barely reaching the level of "pretty." Combined with her somewhat sallow complexion, she appeared somewhat dull.

"Jiu Jin, move the things into the room." Yu Linlang didn't bother with much talk. She turned to Mother Hu. "Please see to it that the clutter at the courtyard gate is cleared away."

Mother Hu curled her lip; she felt a bit of regret that she didn't get to see the Eldest Miss and this girl fight.

Yu Qiuping stared darkly at Yu Linlang as she turned to enter the room. She let out a cold sneer. "Hmph, don't think just because you've returned, you can act like a legitimate daughter. The position of the legitimate daughter in this manor was taken long ago; if you want to snatch it back, it will be difficult. It's best not to have such useless delusions, lest you suffer for it later."

She turned to enter the West Wing. Before stepping inside, she paused and said coldly, "Yu Pianpian is a bookworm. I advise you not to touch anything except her precious books. If you touch her books, be careful that the Madam doesn't kick you out of the manor overnight. Also, this courtyard is shared; don't pile your messy junk outside to annoy people."

With that, she slammed the door with a "bang."

Jiu Jin brandished the fire poker toward the opposite door and let out a cold snort.

She moved extremely fast, moving a dozen crates of potted plants into the room in a few strokes. She rolled up her sleeves and looked at the bookshelves. "Miss, I'll move these shelves to the side."

"No need, I'll do it myself." Yu Linlang waved her hand casually. "Set up the tables, chairs, bed, and cabinets first."

"Right!" Jiu Jin nodded and ran outside to carry the wooden planks and strips piled on the ground into the room.

"Luckily we were prepared. Hah, otherwise we really would have been caught off guard," the young girl muttered while efficiently assembling the furniture.

The thin wooden boards and strips were like toys in her hands, assembled in just a few moves. Had a carpenter been present, they would have been astonished.

Yu Linlang walked up to the rows of bookshelves and stood still. With a casual wave of her hand, the rows of bookshelves suddenly vanished before her eyes.

When the bookshelves reappeared, they were standing in three rows tightly against the north corner. The bookshelves were pressed closely together; except for the three in the first row that could be used to browse books, the rest were pressed tightly behind.

This way, a large space was cleared in front of the window, and the entire East Wing finally felt less crowded.

Jiu Jin completely ignored her lady's miraculous skill of telekinesis; she had clearly long since grown accustomed to it.

She finished assembling the furniture and then took a broom and dustpan from the luggage to briskly clean the room.

In less than half an hour, while the room wasn't exactly brand new, it was at least orderly.

Jiu Jin then assembled a chaise longue, covered it with soft brocade, placed it by the window, and finally pulled up plain curtains to cover the bed.

She stood in the room with her hands on her hips, looking around. "We'll still need to go out and buy some things tomorrow."

"There's no need for such trouble," Yu Linlang said calmly as she sat down. "We won't be staying here for very long anyway."

"At least we must buy a screen." Jiu Jin pushed open the window to look out. "The windows and doors need to be redone too; we need to add locks."

Yu Linlang didn't object to this, as others shared this small courtyard.

"You must be tired, Miss. I'll go fetch some water for you to wash up."