Song Yunzhao was carried back to her quarters. 'Pretending to be a log the entire way was surprisingly exhausting.'
She heard the Housekeeper say, "Don't crowd around here. A few of you, head back... Chief Steward Zhang, what brings you here?"
'Chief Steward Zhang?'
'Where did a Chief Steward come from?'
Song Yunzhao perked up her ears to eavesdrop. She heard the Housekeeper's footsteps heading outside and grew anxious. 'Don't go out! I won't be able to hear anything.'
The footsteps faded into the distance, and she sensed the noisy chatter in the room vanish in an instant.
A strange sense of unease crept over her.
The Housekeeper, her face a mask of careful deference, bowed to Zhang Maoquan. "Chief Steward Zhang, it was just a small incident. We wouldn't dare trouble you to come in person."
They were merely housekeepers for the concubine selection; they never imagined they would startle Zhang Maoquan himself. They were naturally on edge, wondering how the news had spread.
