Dream of the Red Chamber: I can see the hidden labels of the beauties.

Jia Can sneered inwardly, but remained outwardly calm, his face still ashen. He walked to the door that was fixed in place, reached out and grasped the edge, then gently pried it open.

With a creak, the door panel, which had been leaning crookedly against the door frame, along with the hemp ropes that were tied to it, fell off the door frame.

"Bang!"

Another loud bang, and the door slammed heavily to the ground again, kicking up a cloud of dust and shaking the debris on the ground into the air.

Caught off guard, Cui Lü and the other two trembled with fright. The maidservant was so startled that she took two steps back and almost tripped.

Jia Can was mentally prepared; he slightly shifted his body to avoid the swirling dust, his face dark with anger as he glared at them.

"Is this what you call 'making do'? I think a gust of wind could blow this door down. What if it startles me in the middle of the night, or falls on me when I get up in the middle of the night? Can you afford to take that responsibility?"

The three women, Cui Lü and Cui Lü, were so ashamed by what they were told that they all lowered their heads and remained silent, not daring to breathe loudly.

At the same time, the three of them finally realized that the Second Master Can in front of them was completely different from before.

The cowardly second master, who used to bow his head and avoid people and never dare to speak loudly, is now able to reprimand them so sternly that they have no thought of rebuttal.

The three were all shocked and secretly thought that they would tell Jia Zhen everything about Jia Can's differences the next day and let the master decide.

Then Jia Can rebuked him in a deep voice:

"You're not allowed to rest until you've fixed this door tonight. If you don't, nobody gets any sleep!"

"Also, don't think I don't know. You were just pretending to clean and tidy up. You only swept the visible areas and didn't even touch the top of the cabinet."

"I could see everything clearly from the upper room."

The three were even more shocked upon hearing this, their faces turning deathly pale. They never imagined that Jia Can would know so clearly about their pretense.

They thought that Jia Can was in the main room and couldn't see what was happening outside through the doors and windows, so they acted recklessly and cheated on him. Little did they know that this second master was watching their every move.

For a moment, the three of them were speechless, their faces burning as if they had been slapped in the face in public.

He could only lower his head and repeatedly apologize to Jia Can:

"Please forgive us, Second Master. We will never dare to do it again. We will clean and tidy up the door and repair it right away."

Jia Can, too lazy to argue any further, waved his hand impatiently and said:

"Then hurry up and be quick about it. I need to rest. If you dare to fool me again, I'll go find the master and get someone else!"

Upon hearing this, Cui Lü and the other two were all startled.

As it gets later and later, disturbing Jia Zhen's rest will only anger him more.

Regardless of whether Jia Can herself will be severely punished by Jia Zhen, the three of them, as the people directly involved, cannot escape responsibility and will inevitably be punished.

Thinking of this, the three bowed even lower, repeatedly apologizing and saying, "Second Master, please calm down!" They then hurriedly turned around and went back to work, not daring to utter another word of complaint.

This time, the three of them dared not be careless in the slightest and were truly working hard to clean the courtyard and rooms.

The old woman, carrying a bucket of water, scrubbed the floor inside and out, not even missing a corner.

The maidservant took a feather duster and carefully brushed away the dust from the top of the cabinet, the window frame, and the beam.

Cui Lü, along with the two others, found thicker hemp ropes and wooden wedges, and propped the door up again. They aimed it at the door frame and pounded it firmly, then used wooden sticks to brace it at an angle to ensure it wouldn't fall down easily again.

The three of them were so busy that their feet barely touched the ground, and they were covered in sweat. Their clothes were wet and then dried, then wet again.

It wasn't until the third watch of the night sounded outside that the three of them finally finished.

Emerald Green did a final check to make sure nothing was missed before she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The three of them were so exhausted that they slumped down on the threshold, no longer caring about appearances.

The uncouth old woman rudely tore open her collar to let in some air, fanning herself with her clothes, panting heavily, and muttering:

"Oh dear, this is the first time I've been this tired after serving in this mansion for so many years. Even when there were big things happening in the mansion before, I've never been this exhausted. I'm afraid my old bones are about to fall apart."

The maidservant chimed in, "Yes... at least I can finally rest. My legs feel like they don't belong to me anymore."

No sooner had they finished speaking than Jia Can's voice came from behind them:

"Don't even think about resting yet. The east and west wing rooms are leaking, and I think it's going to rain tonight. You guys need to quickly climb up the ladder to the roof and flip over all the tiles. Otherwise, how can I rest if the house keeps leaking?"

Upon hearing this, the three of them turned around in astonishment, only to see that Jia Can had appeared behind them at some point, his face serious, like a ghost, without making a sound.

The three were so frightened that they hurriedly stood up, ignoring their aching backs and legs, and lowered their heads with their hands down.

The head maid, Cuilu, gritted her teeth and couldn't help but retort:

"Second Master, it's the middle of the night, shouldn't we stop this? Dawn is almost here, and we're completely exhausted."

"Besides, we've never done anything like this before. We can't even climb a ladder properly. If we don't do it right and end up breaking the tiles, making it leak even more, that would be terrible."

"Why don't we wait until tomorrow and inform the master so he can arrange for craftsmen to come..."

Before he could finish speaking, Jia Can coldly interrupted him:

"Since you're unwilling, I won't bother informing the master; I'll do it right now. It's going to rain tonight, and the house is leaking. How can I sleep peacefully?"

"I'll go ask the master if the people he sent are capable of doing the work. If not, we should replace them as soon as possible."

None of the three, including Cuilu, expected Jia Can to be so resolute, and to deliberately make things difficult for them, which was completely different from what they had imagined before they came.

Before they arrived, they were secretly delighted, thinking that being valued by Master Jia Zhen and assigned to work for Jia Can was a wonderful opportunity.

Everyone in the manor knew Jia Can's temperament. When they came to Jia Can's place, they could slack off however they wanted and do whatever they wanted. In any case, this second master born of a concubine wouldn't dare to utter a word.

It's much easier than other places; it's practically the best job, something everyone would kill for.

But at this moment, the three of them realized that this was not an easy job at all, but the most difficult task they had ever done.

This Second Master Can has changed completely; he's become shrewd and difficult to deal with, his words are always barbed, and he's relentlessly demanding, making him even harder to serve than Jia Zhen.

If they had known this would happen, they shouldn't have come.

After a long pause, Cui Lü's face was full of bitterness. Although she was extremely unwilling, she didn't dare to let Jia Can go to Jia Zhen. She gritted her teeth and stopped Jia Can again, pleading:

"Second Master Can, we'll do it. Please don't disturb the Master. He's probably already resting. If we knock on his door at this hour, not only will we be punished, but you'll also have a hard time explaining yourself."

"Please be lenient and allow us to flip the tiles. We will do our best and never slack off again."