At this moment, she caught a glimpse of Madam Zhao out of the corner of her eye.

Aunt Zhao was also looking in her direction. Mother Han felt like she had grabbed a life-saving straw and quickly waved to Aunt Zhao, her face full of anxiety.

Nanny Zhao turned around and winked at Xue Shanqiu's maid Xiao Zhou, indicating that she should serve the old lady and the fifth lady carefully.

Then, she walked calmly to the outside of the yard, looked at Mother Han, who looked anxious, and asked softly, "What's wrong? You look so anxious."

Mother Han slapped her thigh and hurriedly explained what had happened: "Oh, a mother and daughter came to the west corner gate. They said they were tenants who had escaped from our farm west of the city. They looked like beggars on the street, with scars on their faces!"

"I heard from them that the village head was very cruel to them. Not only did he take more of the harvest, he also whipped them if they worked too slowly, and he even wanted to take the girl as his concubine. The mother and daughter were really at their wit's end, so they took advantage of the busy spring plowing this morning and sneaked into the city."

Mother Han grew increasingly anxious as she spoke. "They asked their way to the Marquis' Mansion. They didn't dare ask the gatekeeper at the main gate, so they went around to the west corner gate and waited for a long time. The gatekeeper questioned them and, after checking the tenant contracts they had, asked me to come in and ask for advice. What should I do?"

"Now that the young lady is away, I've come to ask the old lady for advice. Should we give them a few strings of money and send them back to the manor? Or should we listen to what they have to say?"

After hearing this, Nanny Zhao understood the general situation: "Originally, there is no need to disturb the old lady for a decision on such a small matter, especially since they just came in from outside the city and might have some unclean things on their bodies." Nanny Zhao said this, intending to let the steward Xue Zhong handle it.

Mother Han nodded in agreement after hearing this. She used to be a tenant farmer on the farm and knew very well that the farm heads, as servants in the farm, often bullied the kind and weak and acted arrogantly on the farm.

Recalling the miserable appearance of the mother and daughter, she felt a surge of sympathy, and her voice deepened. "To be honest, they couldn't bear the hardships of life on the farm, so they shouldn't have disturbed the old lady's peace and quiet. But I overheard her mention that the extra grain from the spring harvest hadn't been delivered to the Marquis' Mansion. Given this situation, I don't dare make a decision on my own."

When these words were spoken, Zhao Ma couldn't help but look surprised.

She pondered for a moment, then instructed, "Look here, find some clean old clothes for them to change into, have them wash their hands and faces, and then take them to the viewing pavilion in the west courtyard. I'll report this to the old lady right away."

Hearing this, Mother Han nodded quickly and said, "I understand. I'll do it right away."