Power Up, Artist Yang!

Carrying two buckets filled with water was not fun.

Yujia knew this fact for a very long time, but today just proved it even more. 

Somehow, just somehow, she managed to make it to the Yang Villa alive. Now, that may have been an exaggeration, but Yujia felt like her arms were falling off. First, the buckets she had to carry water in were large and deep, so the water weighed quite a bit. Second, she still had very weak arms, which was not a good combination with the heavy buckets. Third, she had to carry two buckets at the same time. It was a true test of her biceps. And lastly, the distance between the Yang Villa and the well she was sent to was a long, long walk.

Setting the buckets down numerous times throughout the walk didn't help too much. Yujia also almost spilled the buckets of water numerous times, catching herself before making this horrendous mistake. She couldn't imagine how much more of a pain it would be for her to have to go back and refill the buckets with water.

Arriving at the back door of the villa, Yujia had never been happier to see that crooked wooden door. 

Along the walk, she had also made a silent resolution to begin working out the moment she was complete with all of this investigation business. The Fourth Miss may not have needed strong muscles, but Yang Yujia did. She wanted to be prepared for whatever was to happen in the future, expected or not.

Thankfully, the doors were open, so Yujia walked in, her arms still dragged down by the weight of the buckets. She looked around for anyone— Xin'er, Yufeng, or even the head maid— but she didn't spot them. Instead, she saw A'Yan, the servant from this morning, who was holding an axe in his hand and splitting wood.

He looked up too, eyes lighting up when he saw her. "Ling'er, right?" 

And then, his eyes trailed down to the buckets of water Yujia was attempting to drag.

"Brother A'Yan, hello," Yujia managed to say, forcing a smile on her face while she continued lurching forward with the buckets.

He immediately set the axe in his hand down, rushing forward to help her with a bucket. Yujia didn't hesitate to give him one, but when he reached for the other one, she paused. 

At her hesitation, he quickly assured, "Just let me carry both of them. You must be tired, carrying those all the way here. I have stronger arms than you too, anyways."

Upon hearing this, Yujia relented, handing him the second one as well. She straightened her back and stretched out her arms, an expression of gratitude crossing her face. "Thank you so much," she said, almost out of breath.

A'Yan carried the wooden buckets with ease, nothing like how Yujia was half-dragging, half-carrying back there. He kept moving forward with them, so Yujia followed.

Yujia bit her bottom lip. "It was the maid who was supervising me and the other new maids. I don't think she ever told me her name. We were washing clothes earlier, so I guess she thought that it would be convenient to have one of us fetch it."

Purposefully, Yujia omitted the part about how Yufeng pushed the job onto her. She didn't want to seem too whiny or start any conflicts. Regardless, though, Yujia did have a feeling that Yufeng did it not because she was lazy, but because she wanted to genuinely put Yujia through a tough experience. 

She would have to keep an eye out for Xie Yufeng, even if this maid was new to the villa. 

With a sigh, A'Yan arrived at the place where water seemed to be usually stored. He set the two buckets down and covered them with a fitting wooden lid. "The person managing the new maids… that should be Biyao…" His voice trailed off, but then he continued, "Do you want me to go talk to her?"

Yujia shook her head immediately, waving her hands in front of her too. "No, don't. She didn't do anything wrong. Since I'm a maid now, what's a little extra work?" A grin spread across her face.

"Well, yeah." A'Yan smiled as well. "But if you feel like anyone is purposefully making things difficult for you, you can always come find me. I know what it's like to experience a tough time as a newbie." 

"Thanks, Brother A'Yan," Yujia agreed and nodded.

A'Yan seemed like a genuinely nice person. After all the people she had come across so far today, with Yufeng and her sharp attitude, Xin'er and her dull silence, and Biyao, who Yujia didn't get the best vibes from, receiving some kindness was refreshing.

"Shen Yuling!" a voice suddenly called out.

Yujia spun around, seeing Xie Yufeng leaning out of the kitchen door. Yufeng's eyes were fixed on her, but they glanced over to A'Yan, noticing that the two were together. Her eyes narrowed.

"You take so long to even fetch water," she complained. Yufeng then waved her hand, gesturing for Yujia to get into the kitchen. 

"Sure, sure," Yujia replied, nodding and waving to A'Yan with a smile before following Yufeng into the kitchen.

In the kitchen, she was given more things to do, mainly washing vegetables. And although Yujia was still very exhausted, washing vegetables wasn't anything too new. She took this time to think carefully about things. 

A'Yan told her that the head maid was Biyao. Biyao was a name on the list of suspects.

Lu Biyao— one of the maids who had stayed longer in the villa compared to the rest of the newly brought in servants. She was in charge of management, mostly, and never did much actual work. Yujia could see that much from her interactions with this maid today.

Since her name was on the list of suspects, Biyao had every bit of a possibility of being a thief. Yujia decided to watch out for her. 

Yujia wondered when she would have time to do some actual investigation. So far, she had been too occupied. But the day had just begun, and there was still a long day ahead of her. 

She could take things slow.