Lily Thompson had always been a quiet girl. She never spoke much. Sometimes, even when she heard something, she pretended not to.
Just now, she saw the second young lady arrive. She wanted to slip away, but she wasn't sure the young lady was alone.
Only when the young lady signaled that everything was fine did she step back a few paces. Still, she kept a close watch on the second young lady from a distance. She was terrified that the second young lady might harm the mistress, just like the third one had.
Everyone in the household staff knew the second young lady was honest and kind. But even a dog will jump over a wall when cornered. No one could guarantee a person's nature wouldn't change.
It wasn't until the second young lady left that Lily finally let out a sigh of relief and approached.
"Lily, were you worried?" Evelyn asked with a smile.
"I was afraid the second miss might do something to you because of the third miss." Lily felt a little embarrassed, but she answered honestly.
"The second young lady won't," Evelyn replied confidently.
"Mistress, you know people's faces, but not their hearts. The second young lady is usually very nice, but because of what happened with the third miss, I still think you should be more careful," Lily said seriously.
"You know about the third miss too?" Evelyn asked.
"Mistress, to be honest, everyone in the household staff knows about it."
"And—" Lily stopped abruptly.
"And what?" Evelyn smiled, looking at her.
"And maybe you know even more than the young madam does!"
"Go on, tell me," Evelyn encouraged.
"Lily doesn't dare to gossip recklessly!"
"If it's nothing serious, just tell me what you've heard. Treat it like a story to pass the time," Evelyn said lightly.
"Mistress, I heard all this from others. If I say something wrong, please don't blame me!"
"Of course not! I'm just listening to a story. Would I take it seriously?"
"I heard that the second and third young ladies were both adopted by the family. The third young lady wanted to take advantage of the family fortune. To fight for the inheritance, she spread a rumor that the fourth young master wasn't the old master's son. She even said something else—"
"What? Go on, it's fine," Evelyn encouraged.
"She said something ridiculous—that the fourth young master was actually a child born by the young madam and some man outside!
If that were true, the old lady wouldn't have brought the fourth young master home and raised him all by herself!
Anyway, even we servants couldn't stand to hear it, let alone believe it. We all think the third young lady went too far. She'd do anything to fight for the family fortune," Lily said indignantly.
"Does Alexander look like the young madam?" Evelyn asked half-jokingly.
"Of course not. The fourth young master looks exactly like the eldest young master. When he was young, they were carved from the same mold!
Who would believe the fourth young master isn't the eldest son's child?"
"How do you know Alexander looks like the eldest young master?"
"There are photos!" Lily blurted out.
The next second, afraid Evelyn might misunderstand, she quickly explained, "The old master and the young master took a lot of photos together!"
"I see," Evelyn nodded.
"Mistress, please don't blame me for being talkative. I just think you're very kind and have no guile. It's easy for someone to take advantage of you, so I said a few words."
"Am I really that easy to deceive?" Evelyn smiled.
"Mistress, I didn't mean anything bad. I just think you're sincere and kind. But someone with bad intentions might use your kindness to cheat you!" Lily explained quickly.
"I really am easy to fool!" Evelyn said, then couldn't help laughing.
"Mistress, I've heard a lot of rumors since I started working here. Some are true, some are false. We never know for sure. We just listen to them like stories."
"Well, what else is interesting? Let's hear it," Evelyn asked with a smile.
"Mistress, I rarely see you so gossipy!" Lily laughed too.
"When you're bored, you just want to gossip!" Evelyn said.
"Some rumors aren't very nice. I'm afraid they might upset you."
"It's fine. I'll listen to any story. How could it affect my mood?"
Lily began sharing some of the rumors she'd heard. But later, she let something slip about Sterling Manor.
"There's another one about Sterling Manor..." Lily said, then suddenly realized what she'd said. She stopped quickly, her face full of embarrassment.
"Go on! I've always been curious about Sterling Manor," Evelyn encouraged calmly.
"Mistress, just listen to it as a story. Don't take it to heart," Lily warned.
"Of course," Evelyn replied with a smile.
"I heard that Sterling Manor was originally supposed to be built on the empty land next to Rose Garden Villa. But the fourth young master didn't like that spot. He thought the current location had a better view. He liked it more, so he built Sterling Manor here instead.
At first, the old lady was very opposed to the fourth young master's decision. They say a feng shui master came to look at the land. He thought the location was good for career success, but bad for a couple's fate," Lily told Evelyn what she'd heard about Sterling Manor.
"What does that mean?"
"It means people who live here will have great careers, but it's not suitable for a married couple. It could affect their fate.
Mistress, just take it as a joke. Don't take it seriously.
You and the fourth young master have such a good relationship. That's completely opposite to what the feng shui master said!"
"I see," Evelyn nodded. She didn't seem to take it to heart.
"Mistress, after you and the fourth young master got married, we all felt he became much more cheerful. He smiles a lot more now!" Lily quickly changed the subject, worried Evelyn might overthink things.
"Didn't he like to smile before?" Evelyn said with a smile. This wasn't the first time someone had said that about Alexander.
"I've worked for this family for so many years. I hardly ever saw the fourth young master smile."
"Maybe he changed his style. He used to be the cool, aloof type. Now he's the down-to-earth type," Evelyn joked.
"Haha, mistress, you're so funny!" Lily burst out laughing.
The two of them chatted and gossiped as they walked back to Sterling Manor.
Lily went into the kitchen to check on the soup. Evelyn went upstairs to take a bath and change into her home clothes.
As for the family property dispute and the mystery of the fourth young master's birth, that farce had ended when Scarlett Sterling was sent to prison.
The Sterling Group hadn't been affected by such dramatic changes. In fact, the stock price was even higher than before.
Over the years, Alexander Sterling had led the Sterling Group to remarkable achievements. For the major directors and investors, as long as someone could create more profits and benefits for the company, a considerable dividend was enough.
As for whether Alexander's blood was Sterling or someone else's, no one cared.