Long Aotian’s Beautiful Butler Has Run Away chapter 22

Chapter 22: Day One

Since the establishment of Huanxue Villa, this was the first time outsiders had stayed overnight.

Calling them “outsiders” wasn’t quite accurate, however; from the moment they were selected as servant boys, Shen Yan, Long Shaoye, and Fang Renji had become the villa’s “own people.”

After the afternoon exam concluded, Shen Bingsi “sent away” Head Steward Shen and the failed candidates. This took quite a bit of effort, as they had no intention of leaving quietly.

By the time the clearing-out was finished, it was already late. Rong Xie prepared a simple meal for the three little ones and showed them where the food reserves were kept in the kitchen, telling them to help themselves whenever they got hungry.

The three boys were at the age where they were growing rapidly; they got hungry easily and ate with voracious appetites. Watching them bury their heads in their bowls and eat enthusiastically, a strange sense of satisfaction rose in Rong Xie’s heart.

Although Shen Bingsi and other guests visiting the villa would also praise Rong Xie’s cooking endlessly, nothing was more persuasive than the tops of the children’s heads buried in their bowls. Shen Yan and Long Shaoye were like two buckets being filled; the food poured down, passing through their throats with a whoosh, barely stopping. Fang Renji ate a bit slower than them, choking and stretching his neck several times to swallow.

By the time the meal was finished, it was dark. Rong Xie released a Luminous Talisman, which hovered over the winding branches of the Dragon-Coiled Weeping Plum Tree, illuminating the area for the three children.

“Thank you for the meal, Brother Rong,” Shen Yan said politely.

“I’ll go wash the dishes!” Long Shaoye stood up.

“Burp,” Fang Renji rubbed his belly. “W-wait a moment, I’ll go too.”

There were indeed quite a few bowls and plates piled on the table, and it would be troublesome for one person to wash them all. With the three little ones going together—one washing, one drying, one stacking, all while chatting—it felt like play, and the work was done in no time.

After dinner, Rong Xie took the three to their room. For convenience in coming and going, they would stay in an empty room on the side of the front courtyard. This room used to store miscellaneous goods; now cleared out, several large wooden chests were pushed together to form a large communal platform bed. Covered with newly beaten mattresses and quilts, this was where the three would rest.

“Wow, this quilt is so comfortable, and it smells so good.”

“It must be new cotton that’s been sun-dried, it’s so soft.”

The three little ones hugged their respective quilts, burying their faces in them to sniff again and again, nuzzling against the fabric. They couldn’t believe that being servant boys meant they could sleep in such comfortable beds.

“These are just temporary measures for emergencies. We didn’t know how many people would come or how to arrange them. Now that it’s settled that you’re living here, the Villa Master and I will go to town another day to have three new beds made for you,” Rong Xie said with a smile.

“Thank you, Brother Rong, but there’s no need to trouble yourself for my bed. I’m very comfortable sleeping here,” Shen Yan said.

Long Shaoye chimed in agreement; he had no problem sleeping on a communal bed with Shen Yan.

Seeing this, Fang Renji spoke up slowly, “I… I’ll also sleep on the big communal bed.”

The three little ones were easy to care for; apart from having large appetites, they weren’t picky about their living conditions at all.

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However, some daily necessities still needed to be purchased from outside.

“It’s too late today. Let’s do it tomorrow. Tomorrow morning, we’ll go to Welcome Town and buy the ‘New Disciple Daily Essentials Package.’ That way, you’ll have everything,” Rong Xie said.

“Yes, Brother Rong. When do we set off? Is there a water clock here?” Shen Yan asked.

A water clock—or clepsydra—was a timekeeping device used at the Shen Clan Estate. Head Steward Shen had an extremely strong desire for control over time and maintained a schedule detailed down to the quarter-hour. All the house slaves in the estate had to live and work according to this schedule.

“There is no water clock,” Rong Xie hesitated, wondering if he should get one to make scheduling easier. But were there really that many things that required a set time? They all lived in the villa anyway; a shout would suffice. “We aren’t that strict here. We work at sunrise and rest at sunset. Just don’t stay in bed when the sun is shining on your quilt.”

“Ah…” The three little ones looked bewildered. Without a water clock, when should they get up and assemble? When should they drill in the front yard? When should they prepare breakfast? When should they sweep the rooms and wash clothes? If they didn’t follow a schedule, they might accidentally offend the master at an inappropriate time, inciting his wrath. That would inevitably lead to punishment—standing in the sun without food—which would be fatal.

Seeing their reaction, Rong Xie knew what they were thinking. He smiled faintly. “I used to work at the Shen estate too, so I know Uncle Shen’s habits. However, Huanxue Villa doesn’t have that many people living in it, nor is there that much work to be done. Usually, if there’s something to do, I’ll just call you. This kind of… life without a water clock might be a bit unaccustomed at first, but after a while, you’ll come to appreciate the beauty of it.”

The three boys’ eyes glazed over slightly. “This kind of life without a water clock” sounded very unsettling! What beauty could there possibly be?

“If you must know the time, there’s a sundial in the backyard warehouse. You can go look at it when you’re free. Also, the main peak of the Lingjing Sect strikes a bell every hour on the hour. If you quiet down, you can hear it,” Rong Xie said.

A bell that can only be heard if you quiet down… That must be a bell only very idle people would pay attention to, the three thought.

“Next… what I’m about to say is very important,” Rong Xie said seriously.

The three snapped back to attention and looked at Rong Xie.

“Although I will take you to familiarize yourselves thoroughly with the layout of the villa and introduce the rules and prohibitions later, before that, per the Villa Master’s request, I must notify you of one thing in advance…”

When the moon rose above the treetops, Rong Xie returned to the bedroom. Shen Bingsi was already waiting on the bed.

“How was the chat?” Shen Bingsi propped his head up with one hand, tapping the edge of the bed with the other, signaling Rong Xie to come up and talk.

“There was too much to talk about, so I just stuck to the essentials. There’s still a pile of things to do tomorrow. Aren’t you going to rest?” Rong Xie walked around him, climbed up from the foot of the bed, took out the bed table, and placed it between them.

Shen Bingsi sat up in a flash, his elbows resting perfectly on the bed table. “When do we start learning?”

Rong Xie froze. He was just about to ask “learn what” when he suddenly realized Shen Bingsi’s meaning. His face instantly heated up. He lowered his head, pretending to be nonchalant, and pressed the back of his hand against his cheek to cool it down. “The servant boys have just been recruited and aren’t settled yet. Where would I find the time to learn…”

“You weren’t like this before,” Shen Bingsi suddenly leaned forward, closing in on Rong Xie. “In the past, when you got a cultivation method, you would overcome all difficulties to read through it from beginning to end three times, marking the questions so you could corner the lecture elder and ask to your heart’s content during the next class.”

“…” Rong Xie leaned back slightly, dodging Shen Bingsi’s prickly head. “Matters have priorities. What’s urgent now is settling the servant boys, establishing rules for them, and…”

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“And taking care of their three meals a day, their daily life, even airing and making their beds for them in advance. You aren’t recruiting servant boys; you’re raising sons.” Shen Bingsi’s words became sharp. “Didn’t you always dislike children?”

It turned out Shen Bingsi hadn’t been lying in bed the whole time; at least his spiritual consciousness had been wandering outside. He knew exactly how Rong Xie had entertained the three little ones in the front courtyard.

“I do dislike children,” Rong Xie said. “Taking care of them is troublesome… Don’t you find it troublesome?”

“I don’t,” Shen Bingsi said. “Because I don’t take care of them.”

“…” Rong Xie was left speechless.

“Besides, they won’t appreciate your kindness, and you never know what they’re thinking.” Rong Xie added two more points. “By the way, I’ve already told them that they are not allowed to step into this courtyard without permission.”

“And the study, the flower hall, the underground vaults,” Shen Bingsi continued, “as well as the entire backyard.”

“Wait, you have that many restricted areas?” Rong Xie didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

The first thing the Villa Master had to let the servant boys know was: which places they could go, and which places they couldn’t. This was the content Rong Xie had solemnly notified the three little ones about.

It was understandable that they couldn’t come to the bedroom or the underground vaults. In fact, those places had restrictions placed on them; no one could enter without Shen Bingsi’s permission anyway.

But the study and the flower hall were open places for receiving guests. They often needed cleaning and organizing. The exotic flowers and plants in the flower hall also needed constant care. If they weren’t allowed in, what was the point of recruiting these servant boys?

“I might realize some sword moves while walking in the backyard garden and need to practice them on the spot. And when reading in the study, I might enter a meditative state from time to time to comprehend some principles. I cannot be disturbed,” Shen Bingsi argued plausibly. “And the flower hall.”

“And the flower hall.” Rong Xie watched to see what else he could make up.

“When we are ‘learning and exchanging,’ you wouldn’t want to be walked in on by someone, right?”

“……………………”

Rong Xie’s face flushed hot with a boom. He felt steam rising from his ears. If the heat were tangible, his entire head would probably be engulfed in flames.

He hated Shen Bingsi. A perfectly good word like “learning” had been tainted by him into something messy and obscene.

And the culprit who started the fire left only a “rest well” before rolling nimbly off to the room next door.

Leaving Rong Xie alone, tossing and turning for a long time, stimulating images flashing through his mind one after another, unable to rest at all.

“Wait… The flower hall leaks wind from all four sides. I would never ‘learn and exchange’ with Shen Bingsi there.” Rong Xie suddenly lifted his head from the quilt.

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Despite saying that, Rong Xie still crawled out of bed and, using small fly-head script, added an item to the servant boy training memo—”Shen Bingsi’s eccentricity of not being disturbed.”

Early the next morning, Rong Xie washed up and went to the front courtyard.

He had intended to heat up yesterday’s steamed rolls and soup to give the three little ones something to pad their stomachs before going to Welcome Town for a proper meal.

Unexpectedly, before he even reached the front courtyard, he saw cooking smoke rising.

Standing in the courtyard in the dim morning light, Rong Xie heard the clinking of pots and pans. A ladle lifted a scoop full of water from the vat and poured it into a container with a splash. Bubbles gurgled up from the bottom of the pot, vibrating the lid with a sizzling sound.

The very quiet villa suddenly had noise, but this noise wasn’t annoying at all; instead, it made one’s heart feel warm.

Steaming hot noodle soup was served. Shen Yan was the head chef, Long Shaoye the assistant, and upon seeing Rong Xie arrive, Fang Renji went back into the room and brought out another chair.

The four of them had a full meal at the stone table, cleaned up the dishes, and set off for Welcome Town.

They spent most of the morning buying all the necessary daily items. After a simple lunch, they returned together.

The journey was filled with laughter. Shen Yan and Long Shaoye talked incessantly, and occasionally Fang Renji would blurt out something silly, amusing everyone.

Once their food had digested enough, Rong Xie took out flight talismans. He shared one with Shen Yan, and they flew Fang Renji and Long Shaoye back to the villa respectively.

“Brother Rong, is there any work to do?” the three little ones asked proactively after putting down their purchases.

On their first day at the villa, they had eaten, drunk, and gone shopping, with Rong Xie paying for their daily necessities. They felt guilty and uncomfortable if they didn’t do some heavy work immediately.

“There is definitely work, but no rush. I’ll take you on a tour of the villa first to understand the rules and prohibitions,” Rong Xie paused. “The prohibitions mainly refer to… your Grand Villa Master’s various taboos, the bad luck you absolutely must not provoke.”

The three little ones looked at each other. It wasn’t surprising that the Grand Villa Master had taboos; powerful people always had a few reverse scales. However, they were curious: what kind of taboos would a Nascent Soul grandmaster have?

“Let’s talk as we walk.” Rong Xie led the way toward the Middle Gate.

The Middle Gate was the dividing line between the front and back courtyards. Passing through the Middle Gate meant officially entering the private domain of Rong Xie and Shen Bingsi.

With excitement in their hearts, the three little ones followed.