This is the gatehouse; even the people in the second branch of the family know that I am the young master's concubine.

Even a concubine isn't considered a maidservant, and Caiyan didn't want anyone to see her intimate actions with Zhao Wu.

"Hehe, I'll be waiting for you."

Zhao Wu laughed like a fool. He spread his scarf on the ground and poured some of the charcoal into it.

Watching the figure carrying a large bag of charcoal head towards the front of the house, Caiyan chuckled, "Not so silly after all."

In the dead of winter, the servants' quarters were all allocated charcoal, but not much, so they had to use it sparingly.

If I go back to my room now, I'll definitely run into Jiang Jiaojiao's anger.

As a servant, Caiyan had no choice but to steel herself and walk into the courtyard.

As soon as he stepped inside, he heard Jiang Jiaojiao yelling from inside, "They're all useless! Not a single one of them is of any use!"

Then came the sound of a teacup shattering on the ground. Caiyan quickly went in and stopped her, saying, "Young Madam, please calm down. Don't break it. There are only two teacups left in the room. If you break them again, they'll be gone."

When Jiang Jiaojiao gets angry, she loses her temper and forgets her current situation.

The Su family was struggling financially, and Qin was incredibly stingy. Whenever they needed something in the house, they would ask her for it, and she would always make excuses and say that she didn't have it.

"Why didn't you stop those two from buying all that stuff and then just quit? Wouldn't that be a huge loss?"

Speaking of this, Jiang Jiaojiao felt a pang of heartache, as Su Peng had taken quite a bit of money from her.

Caiyan knew perfectly well that the money her son-in-law wanted wasn't all used to buy things. As for where the money went, she, as a servant, naturally dared not ask, much less expose the matter.

"Young mistress, don't worry. We'll think of another way when the young master returns. Business must go on. Even if we can't hire anyone, I'm willing to set up the stall myself."

Caiyan's words were sincere and heartfelt, showing her loyalty to her master.

A pang of guilt swept through Jiang Jiaojiao's heart. She should have been more magnanimous since she had agreed to let this girl become her concubine.

"Alright, this isn't your fault. We'll decide what to do next after the snow stops."

Jiang Jiaojiao waved the handkerchief in her hand, softening her tone.

Seeing that Jiang Jiaojiao's anger came and went quickly, Caiyan hurriedly grabbed a broom and dustpan to sweep up the broken porcelain shards on the ground.

After cleaning, Caiyan glanced at the only teacup on the table and said with her head down, "Young Madam, please rest. I'll go and put the things and meat skewers away so they don't spoil and it's not worth it."

"Go and prepare the charcoal and meat."

Jiang Jiaojiao originally wanted to tell Caiyan to move the things into the yard, but she was afraid that Qin would scold her for being petty.

At this moment, the Qin couple and Su Peng were chatting and eating melon seeds in the east room.

"Mother, when I make a lot of money, I'll buy you the best pastries in the capital, and the honey-roasted goose from Juxian Pavilion."

Qin looked at Su Peng with a smile in her eyes, then turned to Su Zhengxing and said, "Look how filial our son is, unlike other families where people forget their mothers after getting married."

Mentioning Juxian Pavilion caused Su Zhengxing immense heartache.

He took a sip of tea and snorted coldly, "The workers were all outside shouting for their wages, and we couldn't even do business. What are you going to give us as a reward?"

Su Peng shook his crossed legs and shook his head nonchalantly, "Father and Mother, you just enjoy yourselves. Your son has a brilliant plan."

"Our son is the best at this. Mother is just waiting." Madam Qin picked up a handful of melon seeds and slowly cracked them open.

Hearing footsteps outside, she quickly put down the melon seeds she was holding and called out, "Sunflower, come in quickly."

Sunflower, Qin's only personal maid, entered in response to the call.

Sunflower said with a smile, "Madam, this servant led the person to the gate of the young mistress's courtyard. The young mistress was so angry that she cursed loudly, but in the end she still paid the wages."

"You gave them all?"

"I heard from the workers that they only paid them thirty coins a day."

Madam Qin breathed a sigh of relief. "Alright, alright, as long as it doesn't escalate to the East Courtyard, anything is fine."

Su Zhengxing sneered disdainfully, "The concubine's birth was illegitimate, and she even withheld half of the wages at the end. She's extremely untrustworthy."

"You didn't mention what happened in the East Wing, did you?"

Sunflower smiled at Su Peng, "Young Master, please rest assured, I'm not stupid, how could I mention your whereabouts to the Young Madam?"

Jiang Jiaojiao never set foot in the East Courtyard unless she had something to do, and Madam Qin didn't care about the morning and evening greetings. Without rules, everyone was at ease.

Su Peng gave Sunflower an approving look. "Well done. Go grill some of the skewers and bring them to the east courtyard later. Don't let the young mistress find out."

"Yes, yes, yes, this heavy snow will last for three to five days. It would be such a waste to let it spoil. We might as well eat it ourselves."

With a smile, Qin grabbed a handful of melon seeds and stuffed them into Sunflower's hand.

"Cough cough!"

Su Zhengxing coughed twice and said, "Remember to heat up the remaining half jar of wine for me."

Sunflower bowed to Su Zhengxing and said, "This servant will remember."

Su Peng spat out the sunflower seed shells in his mouth and said, "Don't rush over there. That woman is very stingy. She'll definitely have Caiyan seal the meat skewers with snow by now."

Sunflower popped a melon seed into her mouth and mumbled, "This servant understands. This servant will roast the meat on the charcoal brazier in the east courtyard. Miss Caiyan won't notice."

"Sunflower is so clever. Of all the girls before, I only kept her."

Qin looked at the sunflower with a smile, then turned to Su Peng and said:

"Jiang has been in the household for quite some time now, but there's still no sign of pregnancy. They say it's better not to let good things go to outsiders. Kuihua is a clever girl, son, why don't you take her in too?"

Su Peng: "Mother, Sunflower is the only maid in your room, how can this be?"

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