Xi Wenzhe remained standing in front of Su Yueqing.

His gaze moved from her smiling face to Li Mei and then back again.

A strange feeling settled in his chest.

’What exactly is she planning now?’

The problem was that even after hearing her thoughts for days, he still could not understand how her mind worked.

One moment she was terrified of him.

The next moment she was plotting something outrageous.

And somehow she always looked confident right before disaster struck.

At that moment, Su Yueqing suddenly looked toward the head maid.

"Head Maid."

The woman immediately stepped forward.

"Yes, Young Madam."

Su Yueqing lazily pointed toward the rows of servants.

"You asked earlier what duties my assistant maid would perform."

The head maid nodded.

"Yes."

"Good."

A pleased smile appeared on Su Yueqing’s face.

"Then I have already chosen the candidate."

The servants immediately became nervous.

Several maids unconsciously lowered their heads.

Nobody wanted to become the unfortunate person assigned to such a strange position.

After all, everyone had already understood what "assistant maid" truly meant.

Su Yueqing then slowly raised her hand.

Her finger pointed directly into the crowd.

"Her."

The servants immediately followed the direction of her finger.

A moment later, dozens of gazes landed on the same person.

Li Mei.

The courtyard instantly became silent.

Li Mei herself remained motionless.

Only the slight tightening of her fingers revealed that she was surprised.

The head maid looked stunned.

"You mean... Li Mei?"

"Yes."

Su Yueqing nodded calmly.

"Li Mei."

Inside her mind, however—

[Let’s see how long it takes before Xi Wenzhe loses his temper.]

The system immediately spoke.

[Host.]

[What?]

[May I ask a question?]

[Go ahead.]

[Have you considered the possibility that your plan is terrible?]

Su Yueqing ignored it.

Meanwhile, Xi Yunchen slowly covered his face.

"She actually did it."

Xi Yunhao looked speechless.

"She really chose Li Mei."

Gu Xiang sighed.

"At this point, I don’t know why I’m surprised anymore."

Nearby, Xi Wenzhe’s expression darkened slightly.

His gaze landed on Li Mei.

For a brief moment, he considered intervening.

Then he stopped himself.

’No.’

’She wants me to be angry and complain.. I’m not going to let her win.’

The fire incident had already damaged much of the trust he once had in Li Mei.. he loved her and thought she was smart and sensible unlike most women but if she could stoop so low as to endanger a life out of jealousy then what wasn’t she capable of.

For now, he wanted answers...

And strangely enough...

Su Yueqing often revealed answers when she least intended to.

Across the courtyard, Li Mei finally stepped forward.

Unlike the panic everyone expected, she remained surprisingly calm.

She lowered her head respectfully.

"If Young Madam has chosen this servant, then this servant naturally obeys."

Her voice was steady.

Her posture was respectful.

There wasn’t the slightest trace of resistance.

Su Yueqing blinked.

Inside her mind—

[...That’s it?]

[Where’s the anger?]

[Where’s the humiliation?]

[Where’s the dramatic confrontation?]

The system answered immediately.

[Host, not everyone behaves like a cannon fodder villain.]

Su Yueqing frowned.

This wasn’t how things were supposed to go.

In novels, wasn’t the heroine supposed to feel wronged at this moment?

Why did Li Mei look calmer than she did?

Meanwhile, Li Mei lowered her eyes to hide the thoughts flashing through her mind.

She wasn’t stupid.

The moment Su Yueqing singled her out, she understood that this was intentional.

But she also understood something else.

The entire residence was watching.

Xi Wenzhe was watching.

The servants were watching.

If she showed dissatisfaction now, she would only damage herself.

So instead of resisting...

She accepted.

And that decision immediately disrupted Su Yueqing’s plans.

For the first time that day, the future villain found herself staring at her chosen target in confusion.

While watching from nearby, Xi Wenzhe suddenly felt the urge to laugh.

It wasn’t obvious.

It barely showed on his face.

But for the first time all afternoon, he felt that Su Yueqing’s expression was unexpectedly amusing.

She looked exactly like someone who had set a trap...

Only to discover that the intended victim had calmly walked around it.

Xi Wenzhe remained standing where he was for several moments, his eyes resting on Su Yueqing’s face.

The confusion, disbelief, and dissatisfaction that appeared one after another in her expression made the corners of his lips twitch almost imperceptibly.

For the first time in a long while, he found himself enjoying her reaction.

She had clearly expected Li Mei to lose control.

Instead, Li Mei had accepted the arrangement without hesitation, and now the only person left dissatisfied was Su Yueqing herself.

The courtyard remained quiet.

Everyone was still waiting for the matter to conclude.

Then Xi Wenzhe suddenly spoke.

"Head Maid."

The head maid immediately stepped forward and bowed.

"Young Master."

Xi Wenzhe’s gaze shifted toward Su Yueqing.

Since she had entered the residence, she had caused trouble almost every day. Her etiquette was terrible, her behavior was unpredictable, and her thoughts were even more outrageous than her actions.

If she had so much energy to create trouble, then perhaps she needed something else to occupy her time.

"From today onward, you will personally oversee Young Madam’s etiquette lessons."

The head maid blinked.

For a moment, she thought she had misheard.

"Young Master?"

Xi Wenzhe’s expression remained calm.

"Strictly."

The head maid immediately lowered her head.

"This servant obeys."

The moment those words fell, Su Yueqing froze.

The next second, her eyes widened.

"What?"

Her voice rose several degrees.

"Etiquette lessons?"

She pointed at herself as if she had just heard the most unreasonable thing imaginable.

Inside her mind, chaos immediately erupted.

[What does he mean etiquette lessons?]

[Does he think I’m preparing to go to the palace?]

[Strictly? Why did he specifically emphasize strictly?]

The system spoke quietly.

[Host, I believe he intends to discipline you.]

[I know that!]

[Then why are you asking me?]

Su Yueqing nearly choked.

Then she narrowed her eyes and glared directly at Xi Wenzhe.

A dangerous suspicion suddenly appeared in her mind.

"You are doing this on purpose."

Xi Wenzhe looked at her calmly.

"Doing what?"

Su Yueqing pointed toward Li Mei.

"Is this your revenge?"

The entire courtyard became silent again.

Even the servants stopped breathing.

Su Yueqing continued without hesitation.

"Is this because I made your lover become a low-ranking prank maid?"

Several servants almost collapsed on the spot.

The head maid lowered her head so quickly that she nearly buried her face in her chest.

At that moment, nobody knew whether to admire Su Yueqing’s courage or question her survival instincts.

Even though everyone already knew the Young Master favored Li Mei, it is more reasonable and reputation oriented to not reveal that out loud even in front of the so-called maid but Su Yueqing could care less.

Li Mei’s face immediately turned pale.

"Young Madam, please do not speak carelessly—"

Before she could finish speaking, Xi Wenzhe interrupted her.

His expression did not change.

However, the temperature around him seemed to drop noticeably.

"You think too much."

Su Yueqing crossed her arms.

"Hmph."

Inside her mind, however—

[Definitely revenge.]

[This is absolutely revenge.]

[One hundred percent revenge.]

Xi Wenzhe ignored her completely.

Arguing with Su Yueqing was often a pointless exercise.

No matter what explanation was given, she would simply create another theory.

The head maid wisely remained silent.

"This is the reason you need proper etiquette.. for a married woman admitting to the whole world that her innocent husband has a mistress is very unmannerly and as for revenge? Ha! I have better ways to take revenge on people."

With a smirk, Xi Wenzhe turned around as though preparing to leave.

Everyone assumed the matter was finally over.

Then his calm voice sounded once more.. directly to the head maid.

"Also."

The single word immediately drew everyone’s attention.

Xi Wenzhe did not look back.

"Prepare Young Madam."

The head maid straightened.

"Young Master?"

"She will accompany me in my chamber tonight."