"If you're not going to go to the Liu Family, then what are you going to do?" Butler Zhou asked with worry etched into his tired worn features.

Smiling gently at Butler Zhou Liu Tián Qǔ said. "Well, I bought a garden residence. I will live on my own."

Butler Zhou's eyes nearly popped out of his head in shock. "What!"

Laughing softly in amusement at the expression on Butler Zhou's face, Liu Tián Qǔ said, "My wretched father left me over 7000 gold before exiling me to the furthest reaches of the Lu compound. Momo and I, we have barely used 50 gold. I also have the gold and jewelry my mother left behind for me. As I sat in exile day in and day out, I finally realized since my father cut all the strings that attached me to the Lu family. Then why must I live like that."

Liu Tián Qǔ began to explain how she met and became friends with the Young Masters of Wang Royal Manor, the map, the favor he extracted from Wang Fèn Yǒng in exchange for buying the map. She then explained about the Chen family and purchasing the garden residence and the mountain from the Chen's.

"Ah?!" Butler Zhou interrupted her. "Everyone knows that the Chen Family mountain is a barren piece of trash! Why would you waste money on it?" Butler Zhou questioned in shock before taking it upon himself to admonish Liu Tián Qǔ "Young Miss if you plan on depending on yourself to live you can't waste money like that! Or else, how will you live."

Thinking fast Liu Tián Qǔ said, "Butler Zhou I came to find you to entrust my life to you. I will place complete trust in you because Momo often spoke of your loyalty. Even the Liu Family trusted you enough to send you to watch over my mother. So now I will ask you in the place of my mother. Please watch over me."

Butler Zhou jumped out of his seat eyes growing wet with tears, coming around the table to where Liu Tián Qǔ was sitting. He kowtowed deeply head thunking onto the floor before saying, "Young miss I will guard you with my life. I failed to guard your mother, but I promise with my life I will not fail in guarding you."

Getting up from the table, Liu Tián Qǔ walked over to Butler Zhou and pulled him up from the floor. "Butler Zhou do you know that momo once told me that mother had left words behind for you. However, the one time she saw you in the market she was so ashamed of herself she ran away" Liu Tián Qǔ lied. In Liu Tián Qǔ's opinion, Butler Zhou didn't fail his duty. He did all that he possibly could. It's just that being a man his reached wasn't long enough. He sure as hell couldn't rush into the birthing room to see what was going on. So she decided to give him a little comfort.

"Lady Lei Xiān Huā left words for me?" Butler Zhou parroted in deep utter shock.

"Yes," Liu Tián Qǔ said, "She told momo to tell you Lady Lei Xiān deeply thank you. She thanked you for serving her with sincerity and utter devotion and for exhausting every possible option in getting her help when she needed it most."

Butler Zhou almost collapsed on the floor in sobs. Liu Tián Qǔ assisted him back over to his seat and poured him a cup of tea, although it had gone cold. "Lady Lei saw my true heart." Butler Zhou sobbed.

"Indeed, she did. Even until the end, she was very thankful to you. So never say you failed her. That would insult her gratitude towards you. You've done all that you could do. The rest was just her fate."

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Butler Zhou felt the massive weight that had long overshadowed his heart since the death of Lei Xiān Huā begin to ease away. In an effort to calm himself down Butler Zhou gulp down the cold tea, Liu Tián Qǔ poured for him. "Thank you for sharing Lady Lei's final words with me. Long have the events of her death burden me. I was even going to commit suicide." Butler Zhou confessed tearfully, "But my wife stopped me. She told me death is easy. It's living that's hard. So I decided to punish myself by living, and indeed it's been hard. These past years living has been so very hard." Butler Zhou sobbed as he wiped at the tears that continued to pour from his eyes.

I felt sincere gratitude towards his wife. I didn't think Butler Zhou deserved death upon the death of Lei Xān Huā.

"Your wife was very wise. Indeed it's living that's hard." Liu Tián Qǔ said before saying, "Butler Zhou as I was looking for you in the slums one of the people I bribed to give me information concerning you told me you have a wife and a naturally born mute daughter you saved and adopted. Is that true?"

"Yes, it's true. My wife and I are still together. We lost both my son and my daughter. However, we have adopted Yù'er. We found her abandoned as a baby and bought her home. Although she is mute and a bit shy, she is very clever. She swiftly learned how to read and write. She mostly communicates that way. She just turned 11, but she is brilliant beyond her years." Butler Zhou said in a very proud voice.

Liu Tián Qǔ smile at Butler Zhou's pride in his daughter." If you want to bring along your wife and daughter, you may. You can pick any of the courtyards in the inner courts to house them."

"My lady as servants we must be housed in the servant area. I'm sure there will be plenty of room." Butler Zhou said with a faint admonishing tone

"That will work as well. I checked out the servant's area. There are lovely individual courtyards there for the servants of high position. So we can do that as well if that is what you want. However, Butler Zhou, I will be living as a man for the time being. Please do not address me as my lady. I don't want you to make a habit of it." Liu Tián Qǔ with a serious face.

"Okay, then how would you like me to address you?"

"I'm not picky about that. Just don't address me as my lady."

"Okay young master."

"Good. There is one more question I wanted to ask first. Do you think your wife and daughter would be interested in working in the Liu Residence?"

"My wife, yes. She worked in the palace until she was gifted to the Minister of Personnel. She worked as the head housekeeper in the household of the Minister of Personnel until she became collateral in the Cold War between the new daughter-in-law and the First Lady of the Manor." Butler Zhou said with a voice and face full of displeasure. Before asking, "However, Yù'er what can she do?"

"She would be the perfect choice for my maid. Other than you, no one knows my identity as a man or as a person of the Lu family. Now other than you, your wife and your daughter Zhou Yù I want no one else to know that I am a female. And other than you I want no one to know of my identity as a person from the Lu family."

"I will never divulge any secrets of yours that you want to remain a secret. The same can be said for my wife, that is partially what caused her dismissal. And Yù'er is a very level headed, obedient and sensible child you can trust her never to speak what shouldn't be spoken."

"Good. That leads me to the next thing that I want to say." Liu Tián Qǔ rose from her seat, she walked around the table and sat next to the Butler. She leaned forward towards him and said in a very low voice, "This you must never speak of until it's time. You will know when the time has come. There was a reason I spent 2000 gold on the mountain I bought from Elder Chen. Before purchasing it. I spoke with a smuggler who was involved in an operation on Chen's family mountain. According to what the smuggler said, there was an enormous amount of melded ore being found and mined all over Chen's family mountain." Liu Tián Qǔ said mixing lies with truth.

"What!" The shock of what he just heard made the butler involuntary explode up out of his seat. "Repeat what you just said I might not have heard you correctly!"