When Xu's gaze inadvertently swept over Qiaoqing, she saw her big, round eyes glaring at Zhao Canchen with hatred.

In an instant, Madam Xu seemed to understand why her daughter had driven away Madam Ma and her daughter. Her hand, which had been reaching into her bosom to take out silver, recoiled as if burned.

Xu's face instantly darkened, her lips drooped slightly, revealing a clear displeasure.

She said in a cold and curt tone, "I have things to do, you can leave." Before she finished speaking, she turned around and hurriedly walked through the moon gate towards the main courtyard as if avoiding a plague, without even looking back at Qiaoqing and her daughter.

The Ma family mother and daughter watched blankly as the lady of the house disappeared into the main courtyard before walking out step by step with disappointment.

"They won't give us indentures, nor will they keep us to work. What if they resell us?" Madam Ma muttered worriedly.

Qiaoqing reassured her, "Don't worry, Mother. My father and brother are here to guard the shop for them. They wouldn't dare to sell us off."

Madam Ma sighed, but didn't feel relieved. After all, no matter how capable her husband and son were in earning money for their mistress, they, mother and daughter, were still kicked out by their mistress.

This shows that the young lady has an extremely eccentric personality, making her unpredictable.

Qiaoqing and her daughter walked out of the Lin family's house dejectedly, carrying their packages.

Along the way, Qiaoqing muttered curses under her breath, "That woman who brings bad luck to her husbands is so ungrateful. She actually ignored our advice and insisted on marrying that dying man."

"With her so disobedient attitude, her death is surely not far off!"

"I've never seen such a stupid person. Knowing it's a dead end, she still chooses to go. She might as well marry a servant in the Prime Minister's mansion."

Mrs. Ma listened to her daughter's incessant cursing, and could only sigh repeatedly.

She said with a regretful look, "Alas, we finally sold ourselves into a family with a young lady, thinking we could live a good life with her. Who knew that this young lady was destined to bring misfortune to her husbands? Although Miss Lin is beautiful and capable, it's a pity that she is destined not to marry into a wealthy family. It's such a shame."

The mother and daughter were both good-looking, eloquent, and skilled in needlework. They could have worked as laborers to support their family, but they chose to sell themselves into slavery. In reality, they had a deeper scheme.

Madam Ma had always intended for her daughter to be a maidservant accompanying her mistress, and later, to become a concubine or even a maid in her household.

For families like theirs, becoming a concubine of a wealthy man and bearing a son or daughter was the fastest way to get rich.

This is entirely possible, because Ma's niece, who was part of the dowry of a ninth-rank official's daughter, soon became a concubine.

My niece came home to celebrate her parents' birthdays, bringing a car full of gifts that made the relatives present envious. This aroused the expectations of the Ma mother and daughter: My daughter is more beautiful than my niece. If she were to become a concubine in a high-ranking family, she would definitely be more favored.

The mother and daughter found slave traders to sell themselves into slavery. The first family only had a concubine's daughter and no legitimate daughter. The second family had a legitimate daughter, but the master had no official position and the daughter was said to be a jinx to her husband. They were unhappy in both families.

"If only that guard Wang hadn't died..." Qiaoqing kept thinking about it.

When Guard Wang came to propose marriage, Qiaoqing secretly slipped out for a peek and immediately took a liking to him.

The illegitimate son of the general's family is quite handsome.

She believed that this was the most suitable person for the young lady to marry, and also the best match for her.

Little did Qiaoqing know that her anticipation lasted only a moment before news of Guard Wang's death arrived.

Next, a guard from the Prince of Lu's mansion came to propose marriage, but that person died shortly afterward.

Qiaoqing panicked when she saw this. What if the young lady was a jinx and could never get married?

She whispered to her mother, "When someone comes to propose marriage to Father, have him choose one or two families first, but don't reply yet, just delay it for now."

Ever since Duan Dayi took over the silver shop and bought a small courtyard in the capital, people have been coming to propose marriage to Qiaoqing.

However, since Duan Dayi's family were servants, even his relatives were servants.

Unlike before, when the matchmakers were talking about servants who did menial labor, now the people they talk about are all slaves from officials' households. The best match is the youngest son of Steward Xiao from the Prime Minister's residence.

Because the Prime Minister's wife, Madam Wu, had a gold jewelry shop as part of her dowry, which was next to the Silver Jewelry Shop, and the shop was looked after by Xiao Er, the second son of Steward Xiao.

When ladies and young women came into the shop to buy gold jewelry, if the shop didn't have the style they wanted, Duan Gang would always enthusiastically recommend it: "The gold jewelry shop next door has the style you want. Their prices are reasonable, and it's the Prime Minister's wife's shop. Buying from them will only benefit you."

He was eloquent and even personally led his wife and daughter to the gold shop, saying, "Manager Xiao, the customer wants to buy gold jewelry."

"Thank you, Brother Duan," Shopkeeper Xiao said gratefully.

If a customer comes to buy gold jewelry and complains that it's too expensive, he'll say to the customer, "The jewelry next door has some new styles. Why don't you try it there? You might find something you like."

In this way, Duan Gang and Xiao Er became acquainted, and the two even became close friends.

When Xiao Er learned that Duan Gang had a younger sister who wasn't yet engaged, he also learned the details of Qiao Qing's situation.

The next day, Xiao Er led his brother Xiao San into the silver shop and introduced him to Duan Dayi, "Manager Duan, my brother Xiao San is not yet engaged. He is currently driving the Prime Minister's carriage and is highly regarded by the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister even said that my brother will become the steward of the Prime Minister's residence in the future."

Duan Dayi looked at Xiao San and learned that the other party's family was highly regarded in the Prime Minister's mansion. He was tempted and said, "This marriage is very good."

The Xiao family sent someone to propose marriage, and Duan Dayi was very satisfied. However, he still listened to his wife and delayed agreeing, making various excuses to "take their birth dates to be matched first."

"Let the two of them meet first, and we'll see if they're both satisfied."

Privately, Duan Dayi said to Madam Ma, "Steward Xiao's son is the best candidate for our daughter. He is good-looking, capable, and his family is highly valued. In the future, he will be the steward of the Prime Minister's mansion."

Madam Ma was also tempted and said to her daughter, "If Miss can't find a suitable match, why don't you arrange a marriage with Xiao San? It would be quite prestigious to be the head housekeeper of the Prime Minister's mansion in the future."

"Wait a little longer, Mother. Maybe there will be better news before the New Year." Qiaoqing was very unwilling to be a slave wife. Even the steward of the Prime Minister's mansion was a slave. She wanted to be an official's concubine, to be half a master, so that she might have a chance to become the master.

Qiaoqing harbored a hope that one day, Lin Daoyan would be reinstated and become the head guard of the Prince's mansion again. His daughter would surely be able to find a husband, and she could accompany her mistress as part of her dowry and marry into the Prince's family, thus having a 90% chance of becoming a concubine.

Who would have thought that Miss would actually marry Zhao Canchen, who was on the verge of death? This left Qiaoqing both disappointed and angry, feeling that Miss had not only dragged her down but also ruined her marriage.

Qiaoqing never thought her thoughts were base. She always believed that "which young lady's maid isn't a concubine or mistress? Only a good maid can become a concubine."

This was also the idea her mother instilled in her from a young age: "A woman must marry a good man and rely on a man with a good family background to obtain wealth and honor."