Eleventh Lady greeted the Madam Dowager and mentioned that she wanted to select a few people from Yuanniang to work in her own house: "...If you agree, I will temporarily select a few people in the next few days. You can help me make a decision when the time comes."
The lady's gaze towards her was very gentle, and she smiled and said, "It was originally left to you to deal with. Just make your own decision."
As they were talking, Zhen Jie'er and Zhun Ge got up.
The two children bowed to their elders.
Zhun Ge asked the lady, "Are we going to Second Aunt's place today?"
Eleventh Lady was a little surprised and didn't know why Zhun Ge would say such a thing.
The lady laughed and asked him, "Do you like to go?"
Zhun Ge smiled and nodded, "Second Aunt has some sugar buns to eat."
The lady laughed and said, "You just think about eating."
Zhun Ge stood there and laughed.
The lady then said to Eleventh Lady, "...Yizhen is very knowledgeable. Before Qin, Yu and Jian were enlightened, they all learned a few words from her. The weather was too hot before, and then we were busy with your wedding, so we left Zhun in the house. Yesterday, Yizhen tested Qin'er's knowledge, and the child listened and was thinking about going to school!" Her tone revealed her satisfaction with Zhun'er's sensibleness.
No wonder the three children were so respectful to the Second Lady yesterday.
Eleventh Lady was secretly surprised, with a look of astonishment on her face: "I've heard that Second Sister-in-law is well-educated, but I didn't expect that she could actually guide children's enlightenment." She smiled and glanced at Zhen Jie'er, "Zhen Jie'er must have learned her knowledge from Second Madam!"
The lady smiled and nodded: "Yizhen knows everything. She said Zhenjie has long fingers, so she taught her music. Now she can play a few songs."
Eleventh Lady's gaze couldn't help but fall on Zhen Jie'er's hand.
Sure enough, her ten fingers were long and slender, with distinct joints. They were not as soft and boneless as those of the other young ladies who were kept in seclusion in a secluded place. Instead, they were faintly strong.
Seeing that Shiyi Niang was looking at her, Zhen Jieer clenched her hands a little embarrassedly: "My hands don't look good..."
Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "Hands that are serious are the most beautiful."
Sister Zhen was stunned.
Eleventh Lady laughed and said, "If you don't practice often, how can your fingers be strong? If they are not strong, how can you play a good song?"
Sister Zhen smiled slightly, her cheeks were slightly pink, and she was very beautiful.
The corners of Eleventh Lady's mouth curled up slightly.
Zhen Jie'er is not the kind of beauty with a willow-like figure and moon-like eyes in the traditional sense, but she has a clear gaze, is calm and demure, and has the upright demeanor of a daughter of a wealthy family. Speaking of which, she is a bit like the Second Lady... and is very different from Madam Wen!
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but feel relieved.
Fortunately, the Madam raised Zhen Jie'er by her side. If she followed Madam Wen, she would probably become another gossip...
The lady asked Wei Zi to prepare some food and bring it over, then smiled at Shiyi Niang and said, "Let's go there and bother her too."
It was her duty to accompany the Madam. Just as she agreed with a smile, the Third Madam came. She pulled the Eleventh Madam and said, "I went to your room to find you. I told you that you came to the Madam. I was just going to discuss the kitchen with you."
Eleventh Lady pretended not to know: "Kitchen matters? I don't understand. I don't know what Third Sister-in-law wants me to do?" She looked like she was fully cooperating.
The third wife started talking about how difficult it was to be a housekeeper and how much the household expenses were.
Seeing that they couldn't finish their talk, the Madam smiled and took Zhun Ge's hand, then said to the Third Madam and the Eleventh Lady, "I'll send them to Yi Zhen. You guys talk slowly."
Eleventh Lady was thinking about the news from the Luo family, so she agreed with a smile, sent the lady and the children out, and then went to her room: "... Third sister-in-law, come sit with me, and we will talk about it."
The Third Lady was anxious to get this done, so she went to her place with Eleventh Lady, smiling.
"...you can draw up a menu of your favorite dishes and ask the kitchen to help you draw up a menu...I couldn't find my fourth sister-in-law, so I went to my fifth sister-in-law first and told her about this. She said it was a good idea and asked me to ask my fourth sister-in-law. She only said that if you agree, we can start changing the old rules tomorrow."
Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "Third sister-in-law is in charge now. No one knows the situation at home better than Third sister-in-law. Since Third sister-in-law thinks this is better, it must have its advantages. I have no objection. When the time comes, you can just tell Madam Wu, who is in charge of the kitchen in my courtyard, to do it."
The process went unexpectedly smoothly for the Third Lady, and she was slightly stunned.
A little maid came in and reported, "Fourth Madam, Mother Tao is here."
Eleventh Lady exchanged a few polite words with the Third Lady and sent her out.
Back in the house, Mother Tao handed a list to Shiyi Niang, and then introduced the people on the list to her one by one: "...Do you think you are satisfied?"
The people that Mother Tao picked for her all had no background and used to be maids in Yuanniang's house.
Eleventh Lady nodded with satisfaction: "That's exactly what I want."
Although older girls have experience, they also like to rely on experience to do things. The smarter ones have long been made senior maids, and the less smart ones have long been eliminated. However, these young maids are young, have undergone certain training, and have low ranks. They can become second- and third-class maids in one room, so they should cherish such an opportunity!
Seeing that Shiyi Niang was very satisfied, Mother Tao smiled and said, "Then I will bring the person here!"
When Eleventh Lady saw that the eldest lady had not arrived yet, she smiled and agreed.
Soon, Mother Tao came with six maids and four old women.
The maids were between twelve and thirteen years old, all with plain faces, looking neat and tidy, and smart. The maids were all in their forties, with honest faces and dressed very smartly.
Several people bowed to Eleventh Lady and stood aside with their hands clasped respectfully.
Mother Tao introduced them to Shiyi Niang one by one.
The husbands of the four maids were either helping Yuanniang on her farm or doing odd jobs in Xu's house. The eight maids were named Luyun, Hongxiu, Shuangyu, Fangxi, Qiuyu, Yanrong, Xiulan and Lanxuan. Luyun and Hongxiu were to be second-class maids, and the others were third-class maids.
Eleventh Lady thought of the two maids serving Yuanniang, one named Lu'e and the other named Yanhong, and she looked at the two maids carefully.
They all look ordinary, but their temperaments are very calm.
She calmly matched the person with the name, then said a few brief words like "Listen to your sisters and live in harmony in the future", and let Amber take the person away.
Then he asked Dongqing to grind ink and re-write the names of several people.
Mother Tao was watching her handwriting, which was elegant yet free and easy, with some of the gracefulness of a woman and some of the exuberance of a man, and her heart couldn't help but tremble.
The eldest wife said that she was good at needlework but didn’t like reading…
She couldn't help but feel a little resentful.
Does the eldest wife know the background of this Eleventh Miss?
I wanted to find some time to go to Luo's house to ask.
When Eleventh Lady saw that Mother Tao was quite moved by her handwriting, she smiled slightly in her heart.
In her previous life, she started learning calligraphy at the age of five, and except for the three years in Luo Mansion, she never stopped no matter what the circumstances. Otherwise, why would she focus all her energy on needlework when she knew that in ancient times, "the handwriting reflects the person". She had to write properly anyway!
After writing the list, Shiyi Niang handed it to Mother Tao: "Check to see if there are any mistakes."
Mother Tao read it once and found not a single word wrong.
Knowing that Eleventh Lady had remembered everything, she was a little surprised, but no longer stunned - from Eleventh Lady's attitude towards the head of the Third House to now, she had only heard her name twice and she remembered all of them. She already had an impression of Eleventh Lady as smart and capable, so she was less surprised.
Eleventh Lady called Binju and Zhuxiang over and asked everyone to work together to draw up the menu.
Mother Tao discovered that Shiyi Niang knew a lot of dishes, some of which she had never even heard of.
Zhu Xiang couldn't help but hesitate: "What if the kitchen can't make it?"
"It's their business whether they can make it or not, and it's our business whether to draw up the order or not!" Bin Ju said disapprovingly, and added "Buddha Jumps Over the Wall" to the menu, "...the most challenging ingredients, it can be abalone and sea cucumber, or pork belly and cabbage, I want to see how they deliver it!" in a tone that made things difficult for others.
Mother Tao was naturally happy to see this.
The head of the third house overturned Yuanniang's previous rules, which was a disguised way of denying Yuanniang's contribution.
Eleventh Lady smiled and told Mother Tao: "Find a way to see what dishes the fifth room has prepared."
Mother Tao understood immediately.
The fifth room was still pregnant, and the fourth room went past the fifth room at this time. Others couldn't help but think that the fourth room was secretly trying to trip her up.
It is indeed a bit hasty to do this at this time.
Mother Tao smiled and left.
Shiyi Niang followed Binju and Zhuxiang to play there. When Hubo came back and said that everyone had been settled, she asked Hubo to lead Binju and Zhuxiang to select people: "... Each of you find your own helpers. As for me, if I don't have good food, I will only find Zhuxiang, and if I don't have clothes to wear, I will only find Binju."
After hearing this, the two of them became quite serious and followed Amber to pick people.
Dongqing smiled and made another cup of tea for Shiyi Niang.
Eleventh Lady held the teacup and asked, "What time is it now?"
Dongqing looked at the clock: "It's past quarter past midnight."
After hearing this, Eleventh Lady couldn't help but become anxious.
Grandma hasn't come yet. Could something have happened?
Just as he was thinking, a little maid came in and said, "The Luo family's eldest grandmother is here!"
"Please come in!" Eleventh Lady said as she walked over.
As soon as the door curtain was lifted, the eldest lady, wearing a gold-thread phoenix hairpin with pearls on her head and a bright red shirt with long sleeves, hurried in.
There was a hint of anxiety in her brow.
Eleventh Lady looked at this and secretly felt something was wrong. She quickly took Grandma's hand and asked, "Why did you come at this time?"
"Oh no!" The eldest grandmother had just said this with tears in her eyes, "When mother heard that the two aunts were going to become nuns in Ciyuan Temple, she was so angry that she fainted."
I knew the first wife would be angry, but I didn't expect her to be this angry.
"What's going on now?"
"We have already invited Doctor Liu from the Imperial Hospital." The eldest grandmother took out a handkerchief and wiped the corners of her eyes. "She hasn't woken up yet. When I came, she was taking his pulse. Dad was so anxious that he kept cursing. I have sent people to inform your eldest brother and fifth aunt. But I don't know what to do with tenth aunt. When Wu Xiaoquan accompanied fourth uncle to Beijing and lived there for more than a year, no one mentioned the fourth concubine..."