Jiang Yanna stared coldly at Qiao Meixia for a brief, tense second before deciding to turn on her heel and leave as well.
As for Feng Lan, she hesitated in place for a long moment, looking conflicted before she slowly approached Qiao Meixia.
"Meixia, it is actually perfectly fine that those old clothes were ruined. They are no longer suitable for your status now that you have officially become a part of the prominent Jiang family anyway. Let's go shopping tomorrow and buy you some proper, high-quality clothes instead." Feng Lan said, her voice sounding gentle but carrying an underlying edge.
Without even waiting to hear Qiao Meixia's response, Feng Lan immediately turned around and swept out of the area as well. Soon enough, the heavy silence settled, and only Butler Jun and Qiao Meixia remained standing together in the messy, wrecked hallway.
"Ms. Qiao, please come with me this way. There are currently no prepared guest rooms immediately available for you in the main house tonight. However, we still have one clean, empty room over in the servants' quarters. I truly hope you can bear with the inconvenience for just one night. I will personally arrange for the maintenance staff to repair this room first thing tomorrow morning." Butler Jun stated, maintaining his usual polite and professional demeanour.
"Hmm..." Qiao Meixia nodded lightly, completely unbothered by the sudden downgrade.
"Then please follow me." Butler Jun said, gesturing down the corridor.
"Wait a minute. I still need to pick up my things first." Qiao Meixia stated calmly.
Butler Jun watched in silence as Qiao Meixia stepped back into the room. He could not help but wonder curiously to himself, 'What important things does she still have left to pick up from that mess?' In his opinion, it would probably be much better to just throw away all of those destroyed, worthless items anyway.
Qiao Meixia stepped carefully into the messy room, scanning the floor before she bent down to pick up her damaged laptop. It was the single, solitary thing she chose to take with her. After securing it, she calmly walked back out into the hallway.
"Let's go." Qiao Meixia said.
"Oh... Yes. Ms Qiao, please follow me." Butler Jun replied, snapping out of his thoughts as he politely gestured for her to lead the way.
The two of them walked out of the grand main residence, stepping into the cool night air as they headed toward an adjacent, smaller building.
Even at this late hour, several servants were still lingering outside in the courtyard. The very moment they spotted Qiao Meixia following Butler Jun meekly toward the servants' quarters, they immediately began whispering conspiratorially amongst themselves, making all sorts of petty assumptions about the situation.
Some of them instantly assumed that Qiao Meixia had already been kicked out of the main residence in disgrace and ordered to live among the staff instead. A few of the bolder servants even snorted mockingly, looking down on her with blatant superiority.
Seeing this ugly situation unfold right before his eyes, Butler Jun frowned deeply, feeling that he absolutely needed to clear up the misunderstanding immediately. Even if Qiao Meixia was not particularly favoured or welcomed by the master and mistress of the family, ordinary servants should never be displaying their disdain so openly and blatantly. If the Master and Mistress ever discovered such improper, undisciplined behaviour among the staff, they would undoubtedly be highly displeased with the lack of decorum.
Soon, Butler Jun brought Qiao Meixia to the quiet, empty room.
"Ms Qiao, you may use this room for tonight. Please have a good rest." Butler Jun said as he gestured politely toward the open door.
Qiao Meixia stepped inside the threshold and quietly looked around the modest space. In reality, this room was actually much better and far more peaceful than the chaotic one she had previously been assigned in the main house.
***This novel is a work with w e b n o v e l. c o m. If it is not read this novel on w e b n o v e l. c o m, then it has been stolen. Thank you, from your shameless author, ZerahNeko***