novelhk Chapter 22 Limits: Choose One of Two
Chapter 22 Limits: Choose One of Two
Another day spent jumping around in the melon patch. Although Shen Qing was in the entertainment industry in her previous life, she wasn't really this gossipy. After all, entertainment in ancient times was monotonous and boring.
After school, Shen Qing walked to the palace gate and immediately saw Wen Ying who was there to greet him. However, he noticed that the driver was not Hei Zi today, so he casually asked her a question.
He fainted.
He fainted! Shen Qing's eyes widened. Had the work assigned to him been too heavy? Or was there some other hidden illness? Medical conditions were not good in this era.
"Have you seen a doctor? What did they say?"
Erping, the servant who was driving in place of Heizi, couldn't help but laugh out loud. Seeing that Wenying didn't seem worried at all, Shen Qing felt relieved. Everything should be alright.
Erping laughed and said, "The mistress said that Heizi is not young anymore, so she arranged a maid for him to be his wife. He fainted on the spot."
Could it be that he's paired with a slut? Then again, Hei Zi is only sixteen, isn't that old?
Once in the car, after hearing Ying recount the whole story, Shen Qing suddenly understood.
The servants of the Shen family were mostly born into the family, and over several generations, their numbers had grown to several hundred. It was impossible for them all to be kept in the mansion, so they were scattered across various estates and shops for management and operation.
Hei Zi used to manage the fields with his grandparents in Nanzhuang. Two years ago, when Shen Qingxi went to the palace school, a servant was needed to run errands and drive the carriage. His mother, who was in charge of the kitchen, used her connections to transfer him into the mansion.
Hei Zi has a childhood sweetheart named Cuicui in Nanzhuang. The two have been inseparable since childhood, and if nothing unexpected happens, they will basically be engaged.
As expected, once Hei Zi entered the manor, things became less convenient. Distance doesn't create beauty, it creates a third party. Hei Zi and a maid named Xiang Lan became particularly close, and over time, feelings developed between them.
During Li Su's inspection of Nanzhuang, he found Cuicui clever and brought her into the household. Hei Zi, on the other hand, was keeping things from both sides and had become a master of time management.
But the truth eventually came out, and the two women started arguing. When Li Su heard about it, she told Hei Zi to choose a husband. Hei Zi immediately fainted, his eyes rolled back, his limbs convulsed.
It seems there are battlegrounds everywhere. Shen Qing was embarrassed, but Li Su's methods of handling things were too simple and crude. Just pick one at random?
Back at the manor, Shen Qing led Wen Ying and Fang Yu straight to Hei Zi's room and kicked him, yelling, "Get up!"
Hei Zi immediately rolled off the bed, just as Shen Haiwang had expected; he was indeed faking it.
"You can dodge the first day of the month, but you can't dodge the fifteenth. Is it really that hard to choose?"
If Kuroko has trouble making decisions, he would suggest choosing Xianglan.
If you like two people at the same time but can only choose one, then choose the second one. Because if you still like the second one when you had the first one, it can only mean that the second one moves you more.
Hei Zi smiled wryly and said, "It's not that simple. I'm not choosing wives for myself, but deciding their futures."
Each large family is like a small imperial court, with the head of the family as the emperor, the servants as the ministers, those working in the family as officials in the capital, and the rest as officials stationed in the provinces.
Given this situation, for the sake of stability and harmony within the household, Xianglan and Cuicui can no longer stay in the household at the same time. Heizi has chosen one, so the other will inevitably have to be "exiled."
Isn't this just like the classic scenario where the protagonist is forced to choose between two options after being hung on a city wall?
Shen Qing sighed, "Wherever there are people, there is a world of intrigue. Jealousy can breed hatred, and it's easy for hidden dangers to arise when people live under the same roof and see each other all the time."
“Why don’t you go to the estate yourself and not choose anyone else? Let them stay,” Shen Qing suggested.
Kuroko: "..."
Seeing Hei Zi's expression, Shen Qing understood; his own future was more important. Deeply affectionate but not devoted, with a conscience but few, and quick-witted and adaptable—not bad, a talented person.
When hiring people, you can't be too demanding of perfect morality, after all, they're not exactly good people either. As long as they have a bottom line, that's enough.
As a woman, Fangyu was very dissatisfied with Heizi's fickle and navigable behavior. She snorted and said, "Nothing is perfect, and no two ends are equally sweet. Dragging it out is not a solution. You have to make a choice eventually."
Hei Zi is caught in a dilemma again.
Looking at him reminds me of my past self?
Oh, the system is back to life?
“Yes,” Shen Qing said to the system in her mind, “so I’m helping him think of a win-win-win solution.”
[Impossible. After careful calculation, unless Xianglan and Cuicui genuinely reconcile, one of the three will inevitably leave.]
"Shall we take a gamble?"
[Fine, we'll gamble. If you lose, you'll agree to be bound to the system.]
"Okay, then what will you give me if you lose?" After the last experiment, the system's output was indeed of high quality, but the time limit was too short, only one hour.
【?(?_??)】The system is really working! This is a rare opportunity! We've finally found a breakthrough!
[Since you enjoy leaping across rooftops and acting like a chivalrous knight, I'll give you a set of martial arts techniques from a high-level martial arts world if I lose.] Anyway, it was acquired from the previous host, and it's just a backup it made when it's free, so it won't cost any money.
Shen Qing's lips curled up. Hehe, what a fat sheep!
“Hei Zi, I have a plan to help you solve this problem, and none of you will have to leave the manor.”
Upon hearing this, Kuroko suddenly looked up, his eyes lighting up.
"It might just require paying a tiny price." Shen Qing squinted and pinched two fingers together.
Kuroko became wary and cautiously asked, "For example..."
"If you're lucky, you might find true love; if you're unlucky, neither Xianglan nor Cuicui will want you."
Hearing this, Kuroko breathed a sigh of relief. It was still within acceptable limits. He said sincerely, "As long as they are both okay, I'll do anything!"
Even Wen Yingfangyu couldn't stand it anymore, so she pursed her lips and secretly rolled her eyes.
Shen Qing continued, "I haven't finished yet. If you're even less lucky, you'll lose your right to choose a spouse in the Shen family... which means you won't be able to find a wife in the Shen family."
Hei Zi lowered his eyes and pondered for a moment, then made a firm decision, raised his head and adopted a posture of being ready to die, "What does a real man have to worry about not having a wife!"
"Good! That's bold!"
Shen Qing beckoned Erping over and whispered a few instructions in his ear. Erping paused for a moment, his face twitching, and he looked at Heizi with a complicated and sympathetic expression.
Kuroko: ? ? ?
The moment Shen Qing entered the mansion, someone went to Jin Garden to deliver the news.
Li Su sat at his desk, reviewing the household accounts of the past few days. Hearing the maid's report, he didn't even look up.
She had long seen through Hei Zi's act of fainting, which was merely a delaying tactic. He wanted to wait for Qing Xi to return to the manor so that she could intercede on his behalf.
"Qingxi will eventually have to learn how to handle household affairs and manage servants. This is a good opportunity for her to practice."
Even if it's not handled well, just send those three people out of the country; it's not a big deal.
A moment later, another maid rushed in.
"What kind of behavior is this, all this panic?" Li Su picked up her teacup and took a sip.
"A report came from the front yard that Hei Zi accidentally fell into the latrine while relieving himself and had already drowned when he was pulled out!"
"puff--"