Chapter 8 Wanxiang Plan
I know the cause of today's incident. I call Yu Mama my cousin, but I am not close to her. She and my mother are cousins of three generations. I was able to come in and work thanks to Yu Mama. Wanxiang knows that her mother also spent money, and Yu Mama also promised to let her take this opportunity to go to the East Palace. Because Yu Mama's daughter Shuangqiao is the concubine of the prince, she is still somewhat respectable and capable.
Thinking that Shuangqiao could become the concubine of the prince, Wanxiang reached out and gently touched her face. She naturally knew that Yu's mother wanted to help her go to the East Palace, and her mother did not hide it from her.
Shuangqiao was originally a third-class maidservant of the Crown Prince's wife. After being taken in by the Crown Prince, she became pregnant and was promoted to a concubine after giving birth to a son. However, the child died before the 100th day. Since then, Shuangqiao has never had a child again. As she grew older and her appearance was no longer the same as before, both Shuangqiao and Yu's mother were very worried.
Whether Shuangqiao could gain a foothold in the East Palace was directly related to Yu Mama's power in the West Palace. So, the mother and daughter discussed whether they could find a pretty girl from a relative's family to take over, first under the pretext of having her serve Shuangqiao, and then send her to the prince's bed when the opportunity arose. If they could have a boy or girl, Shuangqiao could use this to win over the prince on the one hand, and control the child's mother on the other.
In this way, Yu's mother thought about her relatives and the girls she knew, and only Wanxiang met the requirements. She was related to her and was pretty. Most importantly, the girl had her own ideas and was not just good-looking.
Wanxiang has an elder brother and an elder sister. Her elder sister was originally a servant in the mansion, and later married a servant in the mansion. Before she got married, she was a flower in the back street. After she got married, she lost her color after a few years. The man she married was not very capable and was not serious about flirting with other men.
Last month, she came back crying and told Wanxiang's mother that finding a husband for Wanxiang was secondary, and practicality was the most important thing. Age, good looks, and eloquence were not as important as money. If there was a chance, with Wanxiang's looks, what would be wrong with being a concubine like Shuangqiao? At least, because of this concubine, Yu Mama had the final say in the West House, and nothing was more important than practicality.
So, when they heard that Yu Mama was recruiting someone to work in the West House, and if they did well, they would have a chance to move to the East House, the mother and daughter came to the door in advance with gift boxes. Yu Mama told Wanxiang Niang her idea straight away, and she never thought that it was exactly what Wanxiang Niang wanted. In this way, with one thought and one wish, the two families hit it off, and Wanxiang was determined by Yu Mama as the first candidate.
Wanxiang was very confident in herself. She was at the prime of her life and had a good appearance. She could read and write and could write a few poems. She heard that the prince was a master of poetry and painting. When she went to serve him, she would surely be promoted to concubine one day. There was no need to be afraid of her age because her status was there.
These two clever sons couldn't even stand on their own, but Mother Yu could become the housekeeper of the West Mansion. If I became the Crown Prince's concubine and gave birth to a boy or a girl, then I wouldn't have to look at Mother Yu's face anymore.
Therefore, she did not want to get involved in the lawsuit between Ruchun and Su Qing. Ruchun wanted to encourage her to find fault with Su Qing, but she was too lazy to participate and had no energy. Seeing that the wife of the Marquis, Mrs. Song, was about to come, she should behave properly. As for how they fought, it had nothing to do with her.
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When Su Qing came back, no one was in the room. She walked to her simple wooden bed and pulled out a wooden box from under the bed. It was so old that the original color could not be seen. Because it had been used for too long, the four corners were worn away by wood chips. The box was not locked, and Su Qing herself was nothing to worry about.
She moved the box to the bed and opened it, and found only two old clothes inside. Actually, because the lady was coming, they all made new clothes together, but when Yu Mama distributed them, except for Wanxiang and Ruchun, everyone else wore old clothes. In her words, they were not going to the master, and they were bound to do rough work in new clothes.
Everyone was new here, so who dared to ask a question? It was just that the ones made at home were different from those bought outside. The ones made at home were 80% new and bright in color, while those bought outside were slightly inferior. In Su Qing's case, they were even worse, barely without any holes.
The luggage on the bed had been taken away, leaving only a bed sheet with several holes in it. If it was stretched straight, it could be used as a sieve, but it was "fortunately" taken away. This Yu's mother was really more ruthless than Zhou Ba Pi. Su Qing grumbled as she folded the bed sheet in half, put the two sets of clothes in it and wrapped them up.
He turned around and sat on the bed, took out a purse from his arms, pulled open the thin string, and a few copper coins fell on the bed. Su Qing counted them one by one, a total of 32 coins.
Hey~ what is this good for?
She had inquired about it, and found out that the lowest-ranking maids in the West House like her only had a monthly salary of 200 coins. Because it was inconvenient for them to go out, they could only ask their maids to go back and forth to the peddler to buy some daily necessities. In this way, the straw paper that originally cost 2 coins became 3 coins when it was delivered. She was helpless, and it became 5 coins in her hands.
When she was sold here, the original owner's mother only gave her a hundred copper coins. After all the miscellaneous expenses during this period, plus the money borrowed from Ruchun, she now only has 32 coins left. She doesn't know if she can last until the monthly salary is paid. Su Qing looked at the copper coins in her hand and smiled bitterly.
When Su Qing arrived at the kitchen, Shuiqin was already sitting there talking about something vividly, which made the cooks laugh.
Su Qing stepped forward and bowed to Ma Wu's family, saying, "I will need Aunt Ma Wu's care in the future. If Su Qing does anything wrong, I will scold her. Su Qing greets all the aunts and sisters-in-law."
Although Ma Wujia was not satisfied with the two girls assigned to her, one looked talkative and not smart, and the other was quiet but like a bean sprout, and she didn't know if she could do the job well. But she still smiled and took Su Qing's hand and said, "You will be working together in the future, and there is nothing to know. In the kitchen, you just need to pick vegetables, burn firewood, fetch water, and cook. You will get used to it. It's okay for the next few days. When the madam comes, there will be more people with her, and we will have more work to do. Everyone should work harder, and don't make the master unhappy, or let Mother Yu suffer from us."
Ma Wujia's next words were directed to everyone, and everyone in the kitchen stood up and responded in unison. Ma Wujia pointed at everyone in the kitchen and introduced Su Qing and Shui Qin one by one.
Then he led Su Qing to a small room behind the kitchen. There were two beds in the room. The one by the window was already covered with a sheet. Su Qing walked to the other side on his own accord and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that there was bedding on that bed.
"We in the kitchen usually don't stay in the yard. After we put out the fire at night, we go home and come back early. You and Shuiqin live in the same room. Just keep an eye on the door at night." After saying that, he gave some instructions and everyone in the kitchen went home.