Chapter 48 Did this key take your surname?

Back at Guanlan Courtyard, Yu Qingci was slightly taken aback when she looked up at the three powerful characters on the gate. If nothing unexpected happened, she would be living here for at least three more years.

As for what will happen when the young general returns, we can think about that later.

Even though she knew some of the advantages, she still didn't expect the interpersonal relationships in the General's Mansion to be so chaotic. Her mother-in-law wasn't assertive, and there were several relatives who were dragging her down and causing trouble. It seemed that her future days would not be as peaceful and uneventful as she had imagined.

Seeing her staring blankly at the plaque above the gate, Granny Pei said, "This is the courtyard where the young general used to live. I heard from the servants that the young general himself named Guanlan Courtyard. Now that the old lady is willing to clean it up for you to live in, it shows that the old lady is very satisfied with you."

Yu Qingci nodded. After a tiring morning, all she wanted to do was rest for a while.

After entering the house, she slept soundly. When Pei Mama saw that she had woken up and recovered, she reminded her, "Young Madam, would you like to meet the servants in this courtyard? It will be easier to do things if their tasks are arranged in advance."

Yu Qingci nodded.

Her current status is that of the young mistress of the General's Mansion. The imperial plaque bestowed by the emperor, "Ningyuan General's Mansion," still hangs at the main gate. Since the two of them sacrificed their lives for the country, the court naturally treats the General's Mansion with many preferential treatments.

For example, regarding Yu Qingci's title of Imperial Noblewoman, her husband Lu Yunqi was a third-rank commander in the army during his lifetime. As his widow, Yu Qingci's title of Imperial Noblewoman would be a third-rank lady. The imperial court would soon issue an imperial edict, which the old lady had mentioned to her personally when she had lunch with her at noon.

Therefore, according to the regulations of the General's Mansion, her courtyard should have one head maid, two first-class maids, two second-class maids, four third-class maids, and several maids and old women for rough work. All in all, there were more than twenty servants standing in front of her.

These servants included three women whom Madam Qiao had chosen for her as part of her dowry: Granny Gui, Siqin, and Ling'er.

Granny Pei was very efficient and had already found out the origins of these servants. Most of them were selected from various places by the steward of the mansion, and some were assigned by Madam Ning. It was also said that a few were sent by the second and fourth branches of the family.

Once they understand the backgrounds of the individuals, they will know who can be given important responsibilities and who needs to be considered.

Nowadays, Yu Qingci trusts Pei Mama the most, so Pei Mama naturally becomes the head nanny of Guanlan Courtyard.

Granny Pei stood tall and accepted the gazes of the servants in the courtyard. From now on, all the servants in Guanlan Courtyard would be under her command.

Granny Gui stood below, and her heart ached again at the sight. She was already heartbroken to have been forced to hand over the storeroom keys last night, and now, hearing Yu Qingci instruct Granny Pei to take charge, she couldn't help but grit her teeth in hatred.

Two tigers cannot share one mountain. If Granny Pei becomes the leader, then who will she be? In fact, she was personally arranged by the Madam to be Yu Qingci's head nanny.

As the saying goes, one should not refuse a gift from an elder. Even if the person sent by an elder is a servant, one should still treat them with respect and deference.

Despite her resentment, Granny Gui still had a sense of propriety. She gritted her teeth and remained silent, ignoring the sour look on Granny Gui's face, and continued making arrangements.

After Yu Qingci entered the house, Old Madam Ning arranged for three head maids, Lianqiao, Baishao, and Mulan, to be sent over. These three maids originally worked in the Old Madam's courtyard, but now that they were given to Yu Qingci, they were considered to be part of Guanlan Courtyard.

The people sent by the old lady cannot be neglected. Yu Qingci chose Lianqiao from the three maids to be her head maid. Lianqiao had already reached the second rank when she served by the old lady's side, so it was only natural that she was promoted to the first rank now.

Tong'er had served her the longest since she was a child, and the two had a very good relationship, so Tong'er was promoted to a first-class maid, while Bai Shao and Mu Lan became second-class maids.

The other four third-class maids and other rough-working women were also people from the General's Mansion. After arranging the personnel for each place, Yu Qingci stopped caring about them. The specific tasks that these people were responsible for were given to them by Granny Pei.

Siqin stood in the crowd, feeling wronged and incredulous. The Third Miss had given instructions to everyone, but she hadn't even been assigned a third-class maid.

It's not that she particularly wanted to be the Third Miss's maid. When she was still at the Marquis of Nanping's mansion, the Madam had promised her that she could return to serve in the Madam's courtyard after the Third Miss got married.

Later, she messed up the task assigned by the madam. She thought the madam would punish her severely, but fortunately she was only locked up for a few days. After that, she was told to go to the general's mansion with Granny Gui and listen to Granny Gui in everything from now on.

And so she became one of the maids who accompanied her in her dowry. She had no idea what the future held, and the thought of it made her anxious.

Everyone knows that the Third Miss is destined to be a widow, without even a male master, so why would she need a maidservant as part of her dowry? She must be crazy to agree to come as part of the dowry; she'll probably have a hard time getting married in the future.

However, since they had already arrived, it was a different story to be left standing around by the Third Miss.

She couldn't help but look at Granny Gui again. It wasn't just her who hadn't been assigned any tasks; Granny Gui and Ling'er had also been left out.

Seeing Yu Qingci get up to leave, Granny Gui stepped forward and said loudly:

“Young mistress, this old servant was specially sent by the madam to serve you. She was afraid that you were young and inexperienced, so she specifically instructed me to help you solve your problems, manage your household well, and keep your subordinates in check. But you didn’t tell me your specific duties. I can’t just stay here and do nothing, can I?”

There are also two maids, Siqin and Ling'er, who were carefully selected by the madam for the young mistress. It seems the young mistress has forgotten about us all.

Yu Qingci smiled at Granny Gui: "How could that be? Don't worry, Granny Gui. You, Siqin, and Ling'er don't have any tasks assigned right now, so you can rest well in my courtyard. Granny Pei will take care of you."

Granny Gui was naturally anxious, and her tone was filled with dissatisfaction: "This old servant is used to working all my life. Suddenly being idle and doing nothing makes me feel uneasy. Since Granny Pei has taken over as the manager, this old servant might as well continue to manage the young mistress's storeroom."

Last night, the young mistress borrowed the storeroom key from this old servant. I don't know if she has finished checking it. If she has, please return the key as soon as possible. Before coming to the General's Mansion, the madam repeatedly instructed this old servant to manage the household and all the dowry properly for the young mistress, and this old servant has truly not been negligent.

Yu Qingci's face turned cold: "What did Granny Gui say? Give it back? What, in Granny Gui's eyes, this key already belongs to you, and I have to return it to you after I've used it? Anyone who doesn't know better would think that my private treasury contains your dowry, Granny Gui."

Someone in the crowd couldn't help but burst out laughing.