Chapter 8 Red Pearl
Xiao Yuxuan was taken aback. She looked at Li Mama, who still had that serious expression, but she could see a hint of kindness in her eyes.
She stood up from Madam Xiao's embrace, gave a respectful curtsy, and smiled sweetly: "Thank you, Mother!"
"However, there is one more thing that I hope my mother can arrange..."
The news that Madam Xiao had arranged for someone from Longxing Cloth Shop to take the fifth daughter's measurements and to bestow upon her a whole box of jewelry and headdresses quickly reached Baozhen Courtyard.
That day, countless cups, plates, and porcelain bottles were smashed in Baozhen Courtyard. Just as Xiao Yuyao was gritting her teeth in hatred, Li Mama suddenly came to the door.
"Fourth Miss, what happened? Why are you so angry?"
Looking at the messy, un-cleaned floor, Li's mother knew without asking what had happened. She guessed that the girl was throwing a tantrum because she had heard that the fifth young lady had received clothes and jewelry. She looked at the usually well-behaved fourth young lady and felt a little displeased.
She was not Madam Xiao, and had never married. She had no patience for children. In the past, she had never said anything about Xiao Yuyao's slightly outrageous behavior because of her status as the young mistress. But now it seems that this girl is not what she appears to be.
"Why is Madam Li here? She didn't even let anyone announce her arrival." Xiao Yuyao's face paled. She glanced at Mu Jin standing at the door, then looked at the shards of porcelain she had smashed, and smiled. "It was just a little maid who accidentally broke something. It's nothing. Why would I make things difficult for them?"
In just a few words, he absolved himself of any wrongdoing and reaffirmed his image as a benevolent master.
However, the porcelain shards on the ground were quite valuable, but they were nothing to the Fourth Miss. Looking at the expressionless little girl kneeling to one side, Mama Li was too lazy to ask further. She said to Xiao Yuyao:
"Fourth Miss, Madam said that there are too few servants at Lanting Pavilion. She will temporarily transfer a few from Baozhen Courtyard. After a while, the matchmaker will come to pick out the best ones and send them over."
"According to the rules of the manor, each young lady is assigned two first-class maids, four second-class maids, and six third-class maids. The old women and servants are counted separately. There are more than thirty maids in Baozhen Courtyard, which is far more than that."
Li's mother was still saying something, but Xiao Yuyao couldn't hear it anymore.
Her mind was filled with the thought that Xiao Yuxuan had taken away her parents and brothers, and now, not only were her clothes and jewelry not enough, she was also trying to take away her maid.
Why should she? Although she had been raised in the Xiao family for fourteen years like a precious jewel, she had done her best to please this person and show filial piety to that person. Just because Xiao Yuxuan shared the same blood as them, could she so easily take away everything that she had worked so hard to build up over fourteen years?
"Fourth Miss, Fourth Miss?"
After Li's mother called out a few times, Xiao Yuyao came to her senses. She looked at Li's mother with teary eyes, appearing as if she was about to cry.
"I understand. Since it is Mother's wish, and Fifth Sister is short of servants, this is something I should make up for. Please make the arrangements."
Her small face was fair and delicate, and she should have looked pitiful and adorable, but for no reason, Li's mother thought of the Fifth Sister's appearance just now, when she was both apprehensive and unable to hide her joy.
She had no desire to explain further. Since the Fourth Miss had agreed, she led her people away.
The maid whose name was called in Baozhen Courtyard packed her things and went to Lanting Pavilion to work that very night.
On the other side, at the Orchid Pavilion.
Although Chunwen is the head maid of Lanting Pavilion, she used to only have a handful of servants under her, so she couldn't put on airs. Now that ten second- and third-class maids have arrived at Lanting Pavilion, she is extremely proud of herself.
The little girls called her "sister" this and "sister" that, and Chunwen felt incredibly proud.
There was one among them that she couldn't stand.
"How come they sent even a cripple like this? Didn't Fourth Miss inform Madam to sell her off? Throwing her into our Lanting Pavilion, are they really treating her like a beggar?"
She looked at the little girl who was limping and sweeping the floor with a broom, and spat out the sunflower seed shells in her mouth.
She wasn't feeling well today, so she asked the Fifth Miss for leave to rest. Several idle second and third-class maids massaged her shoulders and back and talked to her.
"You mean her? Her name is Hongzhu. She's a young maid we bought last year. She's only ten years old. She was too young for the madam to take, but she's literate, pretty, and cheap, so we bought her to be the fourth young lady's third-class maid."
"How could someone who can read and write properly be cheap?"
"She escaped from human traffickers. She damaged her brain and couldn't remember who she was. She sold herself to Zhang the matchmaker. It's a cheap deal with no initial investment."
"Hmph, she's a stubborn and clueless girl. When the Fourth Miss sent her to copy books, she actually said that the teacher punished her by making her copy books so that the Fourth Miss could remember them better and that it shouldn't be done by others. Listen to that, it's really ridiculous. A servant girl dares to talk back to her master. That's why she was punished by kneeling yesterday and injured her leg."
"Hmph, call her closer, let me see her."
Chunwen tossed aside the melon seeds and leisurely watched Hongzhu's retreating figure. "Well-proportioned?" she thought. She touched her own face. In terms of looks, no one in Lanting Pavilion could rival her. She had always felt that since she was here to serve the Fifth Miss, the young lady would surely promote her to become a concubine for the young master to secure his favor. If another young and beautiful woman came, she might very well become her future rival.
Hongzhu heard the group of girls chatting and calling her, but she ignored them and continued sweeping the floor with her head down.
Seeing that she was ignoring her, a maidservant felt embarrassed in front of Chunwen and raised her voice, calling out, "Hongzhu, I'm calling you, are you deaf?"
Unexpectedly, when the bamboo curtain in the main room was lifted, Bi Sui's cold face was revealed. She lowered her voice:
"What are you all shouting about? The young lady has just taken her afternoon nap, and you're all yelling and shouting here. Have you finished your errands?"
The group of maids scattered like birds. Chunwen sat there, feeling awkward, and rolled her eyes at Bihui. Remembering that she had only asked for leave under the pretext of feeling unwell, she quickly pretended to clutch her stomach and groan as she left, not forgetting to take the plate of unfinished melon seeds with her.
Bi Sui felt a headache coming on just looking at this group of lazybones. The girl had sacrificed too much for this little girl's illusion.
"Hongzhu, come here. Stop sweeping. It's not your shift today. The young lady wants you to come in."
Hongzhu responded faintly. The ten-year-old child was lifeless. She put down the broom and limped to the door of the main room. Before going in, she seemed to remember something and patted the dust off her clothes.
“If you don’t mind, go ahead.” She patted Hongzhu’s head.
Hongzhu remained expressionless, only glancing up at Bihui before stepping inside.
The Lanting Pavilion was small, and the main building was much smaller than the Baozhen Courtyard. Moreover, the display shelves were almost empty and there were no precious decorations. Hongzhu did not smell any sweet and cloying spices, but there was a faint smell of menthol oil.
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