Chapter 272: Dormitory Night Talk

“Hmph, I’ll pass on the glorious position of Head of the Imperial Household Department,” Xiao Zishan muttered in his office after downing several mugs of strong tea. He had been studying the Law Society’s document over and over, finally grasping their general opinion from the heap of convoluted terms and sentences.

The General Office should meddle as little as possible in the lives of the Elders. If it were up to Xiao Zishan, he would prefer even the matter of life secretary training to have nothing to do with him.

However, for the time being, he couldn’t get rid of this welfare system.

In any case, he absolutely could not agree with Ma Jia’s assertion that anyone with a regular sexual relationship should be classified as a life secretary. Leaving aside the management workload, just determining what constituted a “regular sexual relationship” would be very difficult. Would they have to organize a special review panel for it? As for the management of life secretaries, he decided not to touch that either: whoever owns the bird feeds it. The General Office could not bear this responsibility. “Going out, consumption, travel, communication, visiting relatives, receiving guests…“—all this reporting and supervision were the Elders’ domestic affairs and should be managed by the Elders themselves. The General Office had neither the obligation nor the responsibility to manage them. Otherwise, if any romantic scandal were to occur, it would become the General Office’s responsibility.

However, if he proposed a complete separation, the group that was always shouting “the power of the Elders cannot be ignored” would use it as an opportunity to stir up trouble again.

“It seems I can’t shake off the responsibility of managing the life secretaries under the General Office,” Xiao Zishan thought, looking at the plan document, which was now mottled with his scribbles and changes. He decided on the management of life secretaries: the General Office would only handle their training, induction, and retirement arrangements, as well as keeping a register for reference. All other detailed matters would be handled by the Elders themselves.

As for the life secretaries themselves, Xiao Zishan decided to be clear: “Only those who have signed a life secretary contract with an Elder can be called life secretaries and be listed in the General Office’s register. Those whom an Elder has ‘pushed down’ himself, or keeps on the side, will not count at all. Unless the Elder agrees to accept her and completes the relevant procedures to add her to the life secretary register.”

“Living together but not married, they’re called life secretaries. As for the other kind, they can do whatever they want, call themselves whatever they want, and our General Office won’t be involved,” Xiao Zishan summarized, clarifying his thoughts.

After finishing his summary, he locked all the documents in the safe and then went to Li Xiaolü’s dormitory.

Li Xiaolü had bought a middle unit on the first floor. Only she and her mother, Cao Shunhua, lived there. Later, they added a maid, Li Qiqi, who had to sleep on a makeshift bed in the living room. Xiao Zishan had suggested several times that she switch to a different apartment type, but Li Xiaolü had always refused.

“You’re the Director of the General Office. No one else is changing their housing. If you first change the housing for a woman you’ve slept with, that’s a political stain…”

Li Xiaolü was fond of using such ambiguous terms to describe their relationship, which always gave Xiao Zishan goosebumps.

He knocked gently on Li’s door, and it opened almost immediately. Li Qiqi’s small face appeared from behind the door.

Li Qiqi was small and delicate, with fine eyebrows and eyes, looking every bit the乖巧可爱 (guāiqiǎo kě’ài - obedient and cute) type—somewhat resembling Li Xiaolü. Her rating was also A. Not just because of her cute appearance, but more because she was a maid from a wealthy household, skilled in needlework, cooking, and even knew a little about maintaining furniture and antiques. Li Xiaolü had specifically bought her for housework—which had made Aunty Cao very dissatisfied, thinking her daughter wanted to force her into “retirement.” This led to several arguments. Xiao Zishan had to step in and mediate, explaining that Aunty Cao was already very busy managing the Elders’ mess hall, and it would be too tiring to cook again at home. Having a maid at home to handle the chores would allow both mother and daughter to “go out to work with peace of mind.”

“Master, you’re here,” Li Qiqi whispered, shrinking back to make way, not opening the door wide to prevent light from spilling into the hallway. Xiao Zishan slipped into the room, and the door closed quietly behind him.

A pair of his dedicated slippers were already laid out in the entryway. Li Qiqi knelt down to help him take off his shoes and put on the slippers.

The living room was lit by only a very dim small lamp, and the curtains of the large window were drawn tightly. Cao Shunhua’s door was already closed. Li Xiaolü’s door was ajar, revealing a sliver of yellow light.

“Be careful, Master,” Li Qiqi said in a low voice. The small living room was crammed full because of the extra bed. “The old lady is already asleep. The Mistress is waiting for you in her room.”

The dim light, the maid’s deliberately lowered voice, and the silence outside all gave Xiao Zishan the feeling of having a “secret affair.” He silently walked into Li Xiaolü’s room. She had already bathed and was wearing a nightgown, her hair down and without her glasses, leaning against a rattan sofa by the wall, reading a book.

“So late again. A meeting?”

“The meeting ended, but I spent a long time thinking afterward.” Xiao Zishan unbuttoned his shirt. Li Qiqi helped him take off his jacket and handed him some casual clothes for indoors. “It’s a headache.”

“Still worrying about the maid school?” Li Xiaolü watched as Li Qiqi diligently served him. “There must be a lot of gossip.”

“Not really. The restructuring plan is still confidential, but I think once it’s announced, there will be a lot of debate.” Xiao Zishan took the hot towel from Li Qiqi and wiped his face. “A hundred people, a hundred minds. You can’t please everyone.”

With that, he sat down next to Li Xiaolü, leaned back, and let out a long breath.

“Bring tea for the Master,” Li Xiaolü ordered.

“Coming.” Li Qiqi turned and brought a cup from the kitchen. It was said to be tea, but it was actually a cup of warm milk with cinnamon powder. Not too hot, not too cold, just right.

“Every time I drink this, it’s just the right temperature. How do you do it?”

“Qiqi has her secrets,” Li Xiaolü smiled faintly. “She’s from a big household, after all. She has all the skills for serving people. You should really make her a teacher at the maid school. It would be more thoughtful than your deportment and dance education.”

Li Qiqi quickly said, “This servant… I… am nobody special. I wouldn’t dare teach others. It’s just a small trick to make the Master’s life comfortable and satisfying. This servant… I am content.” She corrected herself twice, sounding incredibly awkward.

Li Xiaolü said, “You see, you’ve made the child so awkward. Actually, I quite enjoy being a landlord’s wife…” She chuckled.

Xiao Zishan gave a dry laugh. Seeing that the two masters seemed to have private matters to discuss, Li Qiqi quickly said, “I’ll go heat the bathwater for the Master,” and, collecting the milk cup, she retreated, closing the door behind her.

“Come on, tell me, what did you all talk about in your meeting? I’ll give you some advice.”

This wasn’t the first time Xiao Zishan had discussed work with her. Li Xiaolü had insightful views and could sometimes offer a fresh perspective. The key was that she was usually as tight-lipped as a clam, never saying an unnecessary word outside and never participating in any social cliques.

Xiao Zishan quietly recounted the day’s meeting about the status of maids and the maid school. Although he hadn’t brought the documents, he had gone over the main points dozens of times and remembered them clearly. Li Xiaolü listened attentively. After hearing his ideas, she blinked.

“I think you’re being too hasty with this,” Li Xiaolü said in a low voice. “This maid thing is a new novelty. Everyone hasn’t had enough of it yet. If you rush to restructure it, people will definitely have opinions…”

“It’s not really changing much, just not signing the deed of absolute sale anymore.”

“You really don’t get it. Some people just like that dynamic,” Li Xiaolü said half-jokingly. “Right now, everyone puts on an act of equality, not allowing maids to call themselves ‘slave’ and making them say ‘Master.’ But in reality, many of them quite enjoy it when a maid kneels and calls them ‘Master’ or ‘Mistress,’ enjoying the treatment of the feudal exploiting class. I quite like it when she calls herself ‘slave.’ It’s like watching a Qiong Yao drama or Dream of the Red Chamber…”

“What kind of hobby is that? It’s fine to talk about it, but don’t take it seriously. It affects your image.”

“I know, I know.” As Li Xiaolü spoke, she suddenly leaned closer, her voice soft. “Master, you don’t like it? This servant originally thought Master liked it too. Since Master doesn’t like it, can’t this servant change?”

“Don’t, don’t, don’t. I’m getting goosebumps all over,” Xiao Zishan said, but he took the opportunity to pull her into his arms, caressing her small but firm breasts.

Li Xiaolü let him have his way, saying, “You see, many people say one thing but think another. When I was a child and read Dream of the Red Chamber, I didn’t care about the exploiting class, the suffering masses, or the love triangle. I was fascinated by the enjoyment of the masters and mistresses. That’s why I never read the last forty chapters. My mom said I was too emotional and couldn’t handle tragedies, but actually, the last forty chapters had less of that kind of plot; it was all dry and bleak, no fun to read.” Li Xiaolü whispered, “The Elders, why did they come to this time and space? Wasn’t it to be masters of others? Do you really think they came to change the world for the cause of communism? Everyone is so busy now, the maids are one of their few life enjoyments. If you take away their plaything for lording it over others, they might not say anything, but they’ll definitely hate you for it.”

Xiao Zishan’s heart tightened. How could I have forgotten that!

“Don’t mind that they all want to project an image of equality. But being approachable from a position of superiority and interacting as true equals are two completely different psychological experiences. You have to understand, right now, when an Elder tells a maid not to call herself a slave, not to kneel, doesn’t beat or scold her, and eats at the same table… to a slave, these are all immense ‘blessings.’ If you change them to free citizens, this treatment becomes their right. To use an old saying, how can the Elders still ‘bestow favors’ on the maids?”

“That makes sense, that makes sense.”

“And let’s talk about the maids again. You’re a lover of literature and history. How could you forget the old saying about ‘the freedom to starve’?”