Chapter 40: A concubine is supposed to serve the master and mistress.

When Qu Rong used Xu Xinmei to alert the Zheng family last time, the old lady noticed Li Yue'er standing next to Xu Xinmei.

At that time, I only felt that she had a quiet and gentle temperament, and was probably her grandson's favorite.

It wasn't until she asked Li Yue'er where she got the jade hairpin, which prompted Qu Rong to step forward, that the old lady realized Li Yue'er was fair-skinned and beautiful, with a graceful figure that would appeal to both men and women.

If last time it was just a simple suspicion, then yesterday's events, along with today's, have confirmed her guess.

Elderly people usually eat dinner early so that they have time to walk around and aid digestion afterward.

Sure enough, as soon as it got dark, the servants set out the food and helped the old lady to sit in the main seat.

The polished phoenix-head cane rested against the edge of the table, within easy reach.

When Li Yue'er arrived, the old lady had just wiped her hands with a warm towel and was preparing to eat.

Mother led the way, and they entered first, bowing to the old lady and saying, "Aunt Li has arrived."

When Li Yue'er suddenly heard this title, she didn't react at all. After all, at Songlan Hall, under the guidance of Dansha Tenghuang, all the maids called her "Miss Yue'er" with smiles, instead of calling her "Auntie" by her surname.

Li Yue'er lowered her eyes and obediently followed behind her mother, curtsying to the old lady without any faults, "This servant greets the old lady."

The old lady didn't even open her eyes when she heard this. She just held the spoon handle, scooped up a small spoonful of porridge, took a small sip, frowned, and sighed softly, "This porridge is no good."

The maid immediately apologized and stepped forward to take the bowl away and replace it with a new one.

As the old lady raised her hand to stop her, she then looked up at Li Yue'er, who was still kneeling, and said meaningfully, "You can still have a sip or two, even if you have to make do."

Since the old lady didn't explicitly say she needed to get up, Li Yue'er couldn't get up.

Although her indenture was in the hands of the mistress, the old lady, as the old master of the Qu family, still had the right to punish her. Li Yue'er wouldn't be so stubborn and arrogant as to risk her own flesh and blood. As long as she could tolerate it, she would choose to let things go.

Just as Li Yue'er was bending her knees so low that she was trembling and about to lose her balance, the old lady seemed to realize that she was performing the curtsy. She pretended to be angry and scolded her mother, "My old eyes are failing and I can't see Aunt Li performing the curtsy. Can't you see it either? You old thing, you're getting more and more useless. Why don't you remind me?"

The mother quickly smiled and apologized, "It was too dark, I didn't see it."

The old lady said, "Let's light more lamps; there's no need to save money on gas."

He then called out to Li Yue'er, "Stand and answer."

Li Yue'er's knees no longer hurt, but after squatting like this for half a day, her calves were sore and her knees were also feeling a little uncomfortable.

She obediently and without complaint replied, "Thank you, ma'am."

"Your name is Li Yue'er, right?" The old lady put down her soup spoon, wiped her mouth with a handkerchief, and placed her hands loosely on the table—a habitual gesture cultivated over many years of assertiveness.

She lifted her wrinkled eyelids to look over.

Unlike Dr. Fu's gentle demeanor, the old lady had a thin face and high cheekbones. In her old age, she not only lacked a kind and gentle appearance, but instead appeared more ruthless and mean. In particular, her eyes were not cloudy, but they faintly revealed a sharp and calculating cold light.

Li Yue'er: "Yes, this servant is Li Yue'er."

The old lady drawled out her words, as if she was only just remembering who she was in a daze, "Li Yue'er, you were right there when Xu Xinmei was kicked out of the Qu family last time, weren't you? I'm getting old and my memory isn't good, so please don't be offended."

Li Yue'er dared not, and even knelt down immediately, saying, "This servant dares not."

The old lady is threatening her with Xu Xinmei's situation.

The old lady chuckled, her tone gentle and puzzled, "Why did you kneel down?"

She made no mention of getting Li Yue'er up, but instead leaned forward and, with the gentle concern of an elder for a younger person, softly inquired in her aged voice:

"I heard you weren't feeling well, so Qu Rong specially invited Dr. Fu from Bian Que Tang to come to your home for a consultation. How did it go?"

Li Yue'er gripped the fabric of her clothes tightly with both hands, carefully considering her answer, "The doctor said I have a cold constitution, and if I don't take good care of myself, I might conceive in the future."

She thought the old lady might care about this, so she tried to use this to steer the conversation away from the mistress.

To everyone's surprise, the old lady wasn't fooled at all, and even looked at her leisurely.

A scrutinizing and oppressive gaze gathered above Li Yue'er's head, heavy as dark clouds.

The old lady put away her kind tone and said calmly, "With the master not home, you have plenty of time to recuperate."

Li Yue'er lowered her head even further.

The old lady said, "Master is away collecting debts and not at home. I'm old and don't have the energy. Have you two concubines forgotten that you served tea to the mistress? Now the mistress is in charge both inside and outside the house, so it's only right that you show her some respect."

Li Yue'er didn't dare to breathe.

The old lady chuckled, lifted her hand from the table, rested it on her phoenix-head cane, and slowly said, stroking the smooth wood with her thumb:

“Respecting the mistress is the only way to prevent having other thoughts. I am old and have seen a lot. When I see the younger generation going astray, I can’t help but soften and remind them not to be blinded by the immediate benefits and forget their own status and the status of the mistress.”

From the moment she addressed Qu Rong as the mistress, she was already separating Qu Rong from the real Qu family in her words.

She was warning Li Yue'er that if she got on the wrong boat, she might end up drowning with the other party.

Just like last time she reminded Xu Xinmei that "this is the Qu family," she reminded Li Yue'er in the same way today.

Anyone could be the true matriarch of the Qu family, but the only one whose status and position in the household would never change was this old woman.

The old lady believed she had already made her choice of which side to take as the leader very clear.

Li Yue'er is a smart person, otherwise Qu Rong wouldn't have used her to scheme against Xu Xinmei last time. The old lady said, "It's okay to take the wrong path. As long as you turn around in time, there is still hope. I'm soft-hearted and can't bear to see young women suffer."

She smiled, resting her hands on her phoenix-head cane, and looked intently at Li Yue'er. Suddenly, she asked, "You have three daughters in your family, right?"

After remaining quiet for a while, Li Yue'er subconsciously looked up at her, her eyes meeting the old lady's gaze.

Realizing something, she parted her lips slightly, as if to say something, but then pressed them tightly together, suppressing her rapid breathing, and slowly lowered her head. "Yes."

The old lady chuckled twice. "I can't bear to see your mother and sister suffer. I'm sure you, as their daughter and older sister, can't bear it even more. You even treat Aunt Meng, who has no blood relation to you, like a younger sister and take her everywhere you go. How much more so your own sister who is only six years old?"

“There are many stars in the sky, but there is only one Li Xing’er. You don’t want to lose such a sister, do you?” the old lady drawled. “Li Yue’er, if you are smart, you will know how to choose.”

Li Yue'er thought to herself, "That beast rarely comes home, so how could he happen to come to my mother's house the day before I was supposed to go home to visit her family, ask her for money, and even hit her mother?"

Since her mother made a big fuss about that beast beating women a few years ago, and the county magistrate sent his constables to intervene, he has become much more restrained, at least not stupid enough to slap his mother's face.

But yesterday, the five-finger marks on her mother's cheek were red, swollen, and obvious.

Li Yue'er's fingers tightened around the fabric, so much so that the veins on the back of her hand bulged out.

She hated that beast, and she hated just as much the person who could drive that beast to harm her mother and sister.

To her, the old woman's behavior was no different from that of the beast who attacked her; both were evil people.

Given the choice, Li Yue'er would rather choose to die with Li Juren!

Li Yue'er took a deep breath, suppressed her emotions, and feigned politeness with the old lady, "You're right, there's nothing more important in this world than my mother and sister, not even my life."

The old lady was very satisfied with the answer and put on her kind tone again, "I won't ask you to do anything, I just want you to continue to stay by the mistress's side, just like you are now, and serve her well."

"A concubine is supposed to serve the master and the mistress."

The old lady found out about her affair with the mistress.

Li Yue'er stretched her arms forward, leaned forward and crawled on the ground, her forehead resting on the back of her hands, and said with her eyes downcast, "This servant, this servant just wants to ask my sister for a way to live."

The old woman said, "I can give you this way of life too."

Li Yue'er said, "This servant thanks the old lady."

The old lady said, "Look up and answer me. The mistress is very generous, and I am not a stingy person either. Now that you've been brought in, you're considered part of the Qu family. Consider this set of jewelry my gift to you."

Li Yue'er carefully knelt up and looked up.

My mother brought over a red tray, on which was a whole set of gold and agate jewelry. The crown and hairpins were inlaid with beautiful red agate. Under the bright candlelight, the whole set of jewelry shone brilliantly and was incredibly expensive!

Li Yue'er's eyes slowly brightened.

The old lady slowly smiled.

She said, "Take it. By the way, aren't you learning housekeeping from Su Rou? It's getting cold today. How about this, let Su Rou rest for half a day and come back in the afternoon when it's warmer, so she won't have to travel and get cold."

"In the morning, you can follow my maid, Wu Ma, to familiarize yourself with the affairs of the household. Learning without practice is not enough; this is a good opportunity to get some hands-on experience. As for the mistress, I will send someone to talk to her about it; I'm sure she will agree."

Every morning, without fail, Li Yue'er would come to Shouhetang to pay her respects to the old lady and stand in accordance with proper etiquette, and then follow Wu Mama to do some unimportant handy work.

They not only alienated her from the mistress, but also treated her like a worthless maid.

Li Yue'er wasn't afraid of being tired, and simply asked softly, "Shouhe Hall or Songlan Hall should my monthly salary be paid?"

The more greedy she was, the more at ease the old lady felt, and the more disgusted she became.

The old lady disliked her just as much as she disliked the mistress; no matter how well she hid it, Li Yue'er could still feel the malice in the other woman's eyes.

They said it was to win her over, but she probably doesn't believe it, and even the old lady herself doesn't believe it.

Today's stunt was merely to distract her from the mistress of the house.

Regardless of whether it's true or false, once the seed of doubt is planted, it will always remain in your heart, waiting to come out and annoy people during special periods.

The old lady lowered her eyes, not wanting to answer Li Yue'er. It was Wu Mama who spoke up with a smile, "Naturally, you will receive two monthly allowances from Shouhetang and Songlantang. You can rest assured about these, Aunt Li."

Then Li Yue'er can rest assured!

She had just said her purse was empty, but in the blink of an eye, she not only received a set of gold jewelry, but also two monthly allowances. When Li Yue'er looked up again, she had a smile on her face.

Looking at the old lady's expression and seeing that she was no longer speaking, Wu Mama gestured for Li Yue'er to go back, saying, "Auntie, you can arrive at 5 a.m. tomorrow."

5:00 AM (卯时)

Is the old lady born in the Year of the Rooster? She gets up so early...

Li Yue'er, holding the red cloth tray with both hands, replied, "Yes."

She bowed to the old lady until she reached the threshold, then turned and left.

Watching her retreating figure, the old lady sneered, "She's quite the opportunist, just as repulsive as Qu Rong."

Mrs. Wu said, "Then why did you bestow such an expensive headdress upon her?"

The old lady said, "Qu Rong is suspicious and finds it hard to believe in sincerity, so let's just wait and see."

Men and women are the same. When they first get used to the taste, they cherish it. But once the novelty wears off, how can Qu Rong take a concubine who only warms his bed seriously? At that time, Li Yue'er will truly become a pawn that Qu Rong has planted by Qu Rong's side.

After all, once you've known each other for a long time, you should know things that others don't.

In matters of love, nothing lasts forever.

Even if Qu Rong really treats Li Yue'er like a plaything, it's even better for her, because it gives her another way to control Qu Rong.

Once all the outsiders had left, the old lady's mood improved, and she called to herself, "Eat, eat. Nothing can interfere with eating."

By the time the old lady picked up her chopsticks again, Li Yue'er had already left the round door of Shouhe Hall.

Seeing Teng Huang standing in front of her with a lantern, waiting for her from afar, Li Yue'er happily protected her things and walked over quickly, her eyes brimming with joy and excitement. She couldn't help but want to show off her day's harvest to her mistress.

Only when she got closer and looked around did she hesitantly ask, "Mistress, you haven't come?"

Only Gambo was waiting for her to come out with a lantern.

Shouhetang was a den of wolves and a pit of fire to her, yet the mistress of the house didn't seem to care at all when she entered.

Li Yue'er pursed her lips and lowered her eyes, her gaze falling on the agate whose color was gradually darkening.

Teng Huang didn't quite understand the mistress's thoughts either, so he looked up at Yue'er and said truthfully, "As soon as you left, I went to the study to find the mistress. She had already stood up, but for some reason she sat back down."

She didn't embellish or exaggerate the incident; she simply stated the facts as she witnessed them.

After all, she didn't know how the mistress interacted with Yue'er in private. To avoid saying too much and making mistakes, she decided to just state the facts so that Yue'er wouldn't misunderstand the mistress's behavior based on her description.

Li Yue'er pursed her lips and took a deep breath, then forced a smile onto her face, comforting the dejected Teng Huang instead, "It's alright, the old lady not only didn't make things difficult for me, but also gave me some gifts. The mistress is busy enough, I can handle this little thing, she shouldn't have to come over."

Teng Huang felt somewhat disappointed, thinking this shouldn't be happening. The mistress's reaction was inappropriate, and neither was Yue'er's current reaction.

She asked softly, "Are you really not angry?"

Li Yue'er smiled.

Of course it's fake; she's inexplicably furious now and wants to bite the mistress!

Gamboge, "..."

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Mistress: Requesting a shy [yellow heart]

Moon: Requesting a sleeping area on the floor [melted]