Chapter 43 The Unruly Slave
With the help of several people, Yu Qingci washed and changed her clothes. Relieved of the heavy attire, she felt much lighter. She picked up a small piece of rose pastry, put it in her mouth, and, finding it quite delicious, asked:
"Did these pastries come from the main kitchen?"
Tong'er replied, "It was prepared by the main kitchen of the Earl's Mansion by Granny Pei early this morning. She specifically instructed me to bring it with me and just gave it to Sister Siqin to put on a plate."
Granny Pei explained from the side, "Since we're new here, it's not easy for us to manage the large kitchen here, so we prepared some in advance."
Yu Qingci nodded: "Thank you for your hard work, Granny Pei. It's fortunate that Granny Pei is with me, otherwise I wouldn't even have an experienced old person by my side."
Granny Gui, who was standing to the side, felt even more awkward. Wasn't she an experienced old woman?
However, it was clear that the Third Miss valued this Granny Pei more now, so she swallowed her anger for the time being.
Yu Qingci ate several pastries and drank a cup of tea before she felt a bit more energetic. Although she didn't seem to have done much that day, she was actually quite exhausted.
With her strength restored, she turned to Granny Gui and Siqin, who had arrived a day earlier, and asked, "Where are the dowry items that were brought over yesterday?"
Granny Gui finally felt it was her turn to step in and loudly replied, "Third Miss, don't worry, the dowry has all been stored in our Guanlan Courtyard's small storeroom. Yesterday, the people from the General's Mansion wanted us to put the dowry into the General's Mansion's storeroom, but we refused. The dowry is a woman's support when she gets married, so it's better to keep it separate from the public funds."
Furthermore, our mistress is kind-hearted, and the dowry she provided for the Third Miss was all truly fine things; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a magnificent wedding procession. We servants were instructed by our mistress to safeguard this dowry for the Third Miss, and naturally, we did our utmost to do so.
Yu Qingci looked at the old servant and said gently, "Granny Gui has worked hard. From now on, the key to the small storeroom will be entrusted to Granny Pei for safekeeping. Granny Pei will be the head nanny of Guanlan Courtyard from now on."
Granny Gui raised her head in disbelief: "Third Miss, Madam specially sent this old servant here because she was afraid that the Third Miss was young and inexperienced and that her huge dowry would be tricked away. That's why she asked this old servant to help the Third Miss manage all the dowry. This old servant would never dare to disobey Madam's order."
Yu Qingci smiled faintly and said in a slow and unhurried voice, "Judging from what Granny Gui is saying, although you came with me as part of my dowry, you are not under my control and must listen to Madam in everything?"
Granny Gui forced a smile and said, "How could that be? Third Miss, you've misunderstood. It's just that Madam specifically instructed this old servant to safeguard the dowry without any mishaps."
Yu Qingci's smile vanished, and she stared coldly at Granny Gui, remaining silent for a long time.
Granny Gui felt very uncomfortable under her gaze. Just as she was about to say something, Yu Qingci interrupted, "So, the Madam sent you here not to be a servant, but to be treated like an ancestor? Even I, as the mistress, have to listen to you, the ancestor, when it comes to disposing of my dowry?"
Granny Gui was speechless for a long time before whispering, "That's not what I meant, I'm just afraid..."
Yu Qingci watched coldly until Granny Gui became increasingly uncomfortable and unable to speak, before finally saying, "Whatever the master instructs, this servant will do as she pleases. Give the key to Granny Pei. Granny Gui has been working hard all day, so hand over the key and go back to rest."
After saying that, he turned around and never looked at the old servant again.
Granny Gui hadn't expected that the Third Miss, who had only just arrived at the General's Mansion, would be like a completely different person. Her unquestionable tone made Granny Gui's heart pound. Reluctantly, she took off the key from her body and threw it on the table. As she turned to leave, she heard Yu Qingci's voice again:
"By the way, now that I've married into the General's Mansion, the way you address me as Third Miss needs to be changed. From now on, you should all call me Young Madam, and you can't call me that anymore."
Granny Pei was the first to respond: "Yes, young mistress."
Tong'er followed behind: "Young Madam, this servant has also remembered."
Siqin realized what was happening and said, "...Yes."
Granny Gui: ...Hmph!
Soon, more people came in. This time, it was several servants from the general's mansion. The one in the lead was a middle-aged female servant, who was clean and tidy from head to toe and had a warm smile on her face.
"Greetings, young mistress. This old servant is the head maidservant by the old lady's side, surnamed Wang. Our old lady was worried that there might be something wrong with the young mistress's service, so she specially sent this old servant to come and take a look. By the way, I'm also bringing you dinner. You've had a long day, so you can rest early after dinner."
Seeing that Granny Wang spoke politely and was respectful, Yu Qingci and Granny Pei exchanged a glance and were both quite satisfied. Yu Qingci nodded and said, "Thank you for your trouble, Granny Wang."
Granny Wang instructed the maids behind her to set out the dinner that had been delivered, and together with Granny Pei and the others, she served Yu Qingci to sit at the table, still standing respectfully to the side.
Granny Pei gestured for Tong'er to serve her well, while she herself pulled Granny Wang aside to sit down and began to whisper among herself. By the time Yu Qingci finished her dinner, Granny Pei had already found out everything she needed to know.
After seeing off Granny Wang, Granny Pei said with a smile, "You can tell from the servants what kind of attitude the master of this mansion has towards the young lady, ah, no, the young mistress."
It seems the old lady is quite satisfied with the young mistress. The young mistress can rest assured; she will have to get up early tomorrow to visit the old lady and formally acknowledge her family.
The first night was very peaceful. Although she was in a different place, Yu Qingci still slept soundly. However, she was woken up early the next morning by Granny Pei.
"Wake up, young lady! You have to pay your respects to the elders and relatives of the General's Mansion today. You can't be late."
Yu Qingci was pulled up by her and while she washed up, she listened to her impromptu explanation of the interpersonal relationships in the General's Mansion.
The head of the Ningyuan General's Mansion was the recently deceased General Ningyuan. General Ningyuan's parents died early, leaving behind four siblings. The General was the eldest brother, and he had two younger brothers. One was the second master of the second branch, and the other was the fourth master of the fourth branch. These two younger brothers lived in the General's Mansion with their families for a long time, and both of them had wives, concubines, children, and grandchildren.
The third in line is the great-aunt who has been married for many years. According to Granny Wang yesterday, in order to attend this wedding banquet, this great-aunt had moved to the General's Mansion several days ago with her sons, daughters-in-law, and even grandchildren.
Yu Qingci: "So, there are actually many family members to see today?"
Granny Pei nodded: "Yes, but don't worry, young mistress, I've already prepared all the gifts for our first meeting. We'll act according to the situation later."
As the two were talking, a head maid entered. It wasn't the Wang maid from yesterday, but she was still respectful and polite to Yu Qingci. Upon entering, she curtsied to Yu Qingci and smiled, saying:
"Young Madam, the Old Madam sent me to see if you've finished packing. If you have, please go to the Pine and Cypress Hall in front to greet the elders."
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