Chapter 69: Praise and Critique
Chapter 69: Praise and Critique
As evening descended, the red sunset painted the horizon, and the clouds glowed a deep crimson.
Around the Zheng family’s small courtyard, there was an unusual commotion.
Madam Zhao stood accompanied only by Steward Wu, but a number of Zhao family servants lingered in the background. They were cautious yet opportunistic, noticing that Madam Zhao didn’t seem to mind their presence and perhaps even welcomed it. They kept their distance but clustered in small groups, pretending to work.
Some swept the ground, others pruned branches—eyes forward but ears perked up.
The area around the courtyard, once an overlooked part of the Zhao estate, now bustled with attention. Trees that had stood lonely for years suddenly found themselves surrounded by groups of three servants at a time, and even that wasn’t enough for all the workers.
Gao Yuan turned his head slightly to glance at Madam Zhao, who stood just three meters behind him. When he turned back to Zheng Fa, he looked so terrified he could barely speak.
“D-did Madam Zhao hear what I said earlier?”
“Don’t you know?”