Chapter 75 Punishing Wanxiang
"Okay, you did the right thing. You can't keep procrastinating like this. Since Mother Liu told you that she has decided to promote you to second class, it would be right to make it clear to her family as soon as possible." Wanxiang's mother patted the back of her daughter's hand as they walked.
"Mom, why have my eyelids been twitching so much these past few days? Is anything wrong?"
"What could possibly happen? You didn't sell it to her family, and we didn't agree at the time. You kept saying you wanted to think about it again and consult me and your father. Now that we don't agree, what else can she do?"
Wanxiang thought about what Jiaolian had asked her gently just now. Now that she had been promoted to the second rank, it would be better for her to settle the marriage first and serve the Fourth Young Miss for another year. Then, before the Fourth Young Miss got married next year, her family would have a way to remove her from the Fourth Young Miss' dowry list.
Wanxiang bowed to Jiaolian and whispered that she had told her parents about her affairs, but they disagreed, saying that she had consulted a senior monk when she was a child and was told not to get married early, and that she did not know about this.
At this point, Jiaolian changed her attitude, raised her eyes and sneered, "Don't think I don't know what you are thinking. There is only a piece of meat, but it is surrounded by a group of wolves and a tiger watching. How can you have a bite? I advise you to take advantage of the opportunity now to figure out your identity and know what you want. Don't regret it in the future."
Wanxiang bowed again, "Since I entered Qinyuan, I have received help from sister Jiaolian and the favor of her family. I wanted to get closer to them, but I dare not disobey my parents. I can only say sorry to my sister. From now on, if you can use Wanxiang, just say one word and Wanxiang will not say no."
Jiaolian groaned and raised her hand to slap her. "You are so shameless. You treat our family like monkeys, right? What? Have you finished using me? Seeing that I am about to get married, you want to destroy the bridge after crossing the river? That depends on whether your family has the ability to do so."
After saying that, he walked out, and when he reached the door, he repeated the words that Chuan'er had heard.
"Mom, I'm just afraid that Jiaolian's family will target you and Dad again."
"Don't worry. How could I let you reject her if I'm not absolutely sure? I've already talked to the housekeeper's wife. There's already a rift between the two families. Even for the sake of their own family's reputation, they will not fail to protect us."
Su Qing entered Mama Liu's room. Mama Guo was talking to Mama Liu. When they saw Su Qing come in, they smiled and asked her to sit down. But Su Qing didn't dare to sit down. She stood there, bowed, greeted, and said festive words.
"You have worked really hard these past few days. Just now, the mother next to the wife of the Prince of Yong'an came over specially to thank you and praised you so much. Here, this is a reward for you." Mother Guo smiled and handed her a purse.
"I already gave you five taels of silver when you left. How can you ask for more?" Su Qing waved his hands quickly.
Mother Guo smiled at Mother Liu and said, "What an honest child. He is afraid of being given too much money."
Mother Liu also smiled and said, "I have already told my elder sister that this little girl is the most sensible. She took what was hers generously, but she never even asked or looked at what was not hers."
Mother Guo smiled and took Su Qing's hand, putting the purse in her hand, "Take it, it's a reward from the wife of the Yong'an Earl, you can accept it with peace of mind."
Then he turned around and said to Mama Liu, "The Crown Prince's wife is also happy. She asked me to tell my sister that if this girl has any requests, you are the only one who can make the decision, just agree to it."
After saying that, she clapped her hands and was about to go back. Su Qing hurriedly pushed the door open first. Mother Guo looked Su Qing up and down and said, "Do a good job. The fourth young lady needs someone like you by her side. When you go to the Prince's Mansion in the future, serve the fourth young lady well. The wife of the prince will not treat you badly."
Watching Madam Guo walk out of Qin Garden, Madam Liu turned around and said with a smile, "You have really gained a reputation among the Crown Prince's wives this time. The fourth young lady still has a year to get married. If you work hard, according to Madam Guo, it is not impossible to be promoted to the first rank." When she was about to enter the house, she said, "Think about it in the next two days. If you have any wishes, just tell me."
Su Qing thanked her quickly, helped Mother Liu close the door and walked towards her own room. When she looked up, Wanxiang had entered the yard. Seeing Su Qing standing at the door, she was stunned at first, then she raised her chin and passed her into the house. When she passed by her, she deliberately bumped into Su Qing's shoulder.
Su Qing watched Wanxiang enter the house, remembered what Liu's mother had just said about promising her one wish, and turned to enter the pear wood door of Qinyuan.
There was a light snow a few days ago and it hasn't snowed since then. It's like we've returned to autumn, but it's very dry and cold, with strong winds. It would be better if there were more snow at this time, so it wouldn't be so cold that way.
There was still some distance from the back door of Qin Garden to the big kitchen. Su Qing seldom came here. She wrapped her jacket tightly and regretted not bringing a hat. In fact, she should have washed herself thoroughly before coming. Although she could boil water and wash herself when taking care of Wu Hen, she could only wash her hair and wipe her body.
Su Qing smiled somewhat self-deprecatingly. It really proved the saying that it is easy to go from simple to luxurious. In the human trafficker's house, they couldn't even wash their faces, let alone take a bath. It was only on the first day they were taken to the West House that they were allowed to wash their faces in order to be sold at a good price.
When I got to the west house, I could wash myself, but I had to put the water in the sun, and whether the temperature was right depended on the mood of the sun that day. Fortunately, I went to the big kitchen and could scald my feet every day.
After arriving at the East Mansion, the conditions became better and better. I had plenty of hot water when I was in the back room. Now I've been promoted to the second rank, and even have a little maid and a servant to take care of me. However, I've developed a bad habit of feeling itchy all over if I don't wash for two days.
As Su Qing walked, she was thinking about what Mother Guo meant just now. If she was promoted to the first class to accompany Meng Qi to get married, then one of Yuandong and Yuanyue would have to be demoted. It was unlikely that they would be directly demoted, or there were other explanations. It was impossible for there to be three first classes.
Su Qing is no longer conflicted. It may not be a bad thing to follow him to the Prince's Mansion. She has no intention of becoming a concubine. As long as she does her job well, no one will force her to get married if she doesn't want to.
And Meng Qi is actually not a difficult person to serve. People who have not met her think she is troublesome, pretentious, domineering, and has a bad temper. But she is actually a kind person at heart, or to be more precise, too naive. All her emotions are shown on her face, and she must do everything according to her wishes.
Such a person is not difficult to serve as long as you grasp her personality traits. Thinking of this, Su Qing thought of Zhou Yu again. She really didn't expect that he would be Meng Qi's husband.
She guessed that this person's identity was not simple since the second time she met him, but this was too simple. Based on the few contacts, Su Qing was more worried about how Meng Qi and Zhou Yu would get along in the future. Both of them were unyielding, and it was inevitable that there would be friction and bumps in life. If they were to clash, it would be enough to cause headaches, and then the servants would suffer.
But Su Qing was not worried about these things. After all, she was not a stranger to Zhou Yu, and she firmly believed that Zhou Yu was not as bad as the outside world said. He must be hiding something.
Before, she didn't know the situation of Prince Shen's Mansion. In fact, she doesn't know much now. She only knows that the current princess, Hu, is not the prince's original wife, and Zhou Yu is the daughter of the original wife. Hu also has a son and a daughter, and the palace also has a concubine's eldest son who has been married for a year. So, it is very chaotic.
Since I have decided to accept the current status of the dowry, I should know more about the situation of Prince Shen's Mansion.