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Ying'er was naturally among these young girls.
She's been coming here lately, and Lingding has been following her everywhere she goes, which has left Ying'er feeling neglected.
Seeing Ying'er and several other maids being scolded by Granny Liu, Qin Sang felt a surge of anger.
"What are you doing?" she asked from the doorway, her tone cool but serious, yet brooking no disrespect.
Upon hearing this, Granny Liu turned around and began to complain: "Where has the young lady gone? She hasn't been seen all day. I was just asking her. So many people couldn't keep an eye on her. She has no manners at all. A girl like this would be sent to the outer courtyard to do laundry in the Prime Minister's residence! How could she serve others like this!"
Qin Sang understood what Liu Mama meant and raised an eyebrow at her slightly: "No manners?"
Granny Liu was startled by that gaze and felt a little flustered. She explained, "I was saying, maids..."
Qin Sang walked past her and called out, "Let's disperse. I was just going out for a stroll. The Prime Minister's residence has no rules about keeping people confined to their rooms. Ying'er, come here."
Seeing that she was being so disrespectful, Granny Liu became somewhat embarrassed and angry, and replied, "Miss Qin Sang, you can't say that. You're new here and don't know your way around yet. Madam sent me here to set rules for you. For you to dress as a man and go out on your own today is very against the rules. This old servant has no choice but to talk to you about it..."
Qin Sang looked at her: "What did you say?"
"..." Granny Liu paused for a moment, "Naturally, it's to teach the young lady the rules."
Qin Sang nodded: "That makes sense, but I'm a bit tired right now. Could you come back later to talk to me about the rules? Otherwise, even if you try, I'm afraid I won't listen to a word." She rubbed her temples. "I'm really exhausted. Ying'er, this incense smells too strong. Could you change it to something milder?"
Upon hearing this, Ying'er glanced at Qin Sang and quickly went to change the incense.
Lingding stepped forward and said, "Let me help you."
After her two personal maids left, Qin Sang sat on the couch, propped her chin up with her hand, and squinted her eyes as if she were really very tired.
She didn't want to be disciplined by an old servant; it would be best if she could cause a ruckus and drive him away.
Seeing this, Granny Liu finally left, gritting her teeth.
After resting for a while, more people came to the courtyard.
It is Song Jinhe.
That's strange. What's she doing here?
Song Jinhe looked somewhat tired, with faint dark circles under her eyes. After entering, she glanced around, said nothing, and then lifted the curtain to enter Qin Sang's living room.
Qin Sang sat up and bowed to her, but she remained indifferent, simply staring at Qin Sang.
Qin Sang felt a little uneasy looking at her and could only ask, "Sister-in-law, is something the matter?"
Song Jinhe withdrew her gaze, beckoned, and a maidservant brought over two trays of jewelry. She said, "I haven't paid my respects to my younger sister yet. Seeing that you are dressed so elegantly, I specially selected some demure hairpins and bracelets for you to wear and play with."
Qin Sang thanked her, but then noticed that Song Jinhe was still staring at her, and couldn't help but wonder, "Why is my sister-in-law staring at me like that?"
Song Jinhe's eyelashes fluttered, she lowered her eyes, and said with a wry smile, "I'm just a little envious of how beautiful my younger sister is."
Qin Sang smiled and said, "Sister-in-law is also very beautiful."
"Is that so?" Song Jinhe raised her eyes. "Unfortunately, some people don't think so."
Qin Sang felt there was something hidden in her words, but thinking that she hadn't had much interaction with her husband since entering the manor, she felt relieved and said, "Sister-in-law, you have bright eyes and clear features, you are a beauty in yourself, why care about the opinions of those who don't know how to appreciate beauty?"
Song Jinhe looked at her and smiled, "That's true. You're quite eloquent; you don't seem like someone from the countryside. I heard you lived in Kyoto when you were young?"
Qin Sang was taken aback: The countryside?
She actually mocked herself for being a country bumpkin?
Very good, very insightful.
She chuckled softly, hummed in agreement, and sat down again, too lazy to say anything more to her.
Song Jinhe, however, wasn't about to let it go and continued, "Where in Kyoto? Do you remember?"
Qin Sang paused for a moment, then peeled a peanut: "How could I remember things from my childhood? I had a serious illness, and I can't remember many things from my childhood. Please sit down, sister-in-law."
Seeing that Qin Sang had already kicked off her wooden clogs and climbed onto the couch, looking lazy and rude, Song Jinhe found it rather unbearable to look at. She tilted her head and glanced sideways at the peanut shells on the small table, saying unhappily, "No need. I just came to see you. I have other things to do, so I won't keep you company."
Qin Sang looked up: "You're leaving already? Then let me see you off, sister-in-law." She then got up to get off the bed.
But Song Jinhe stopped him: "No need, you should rest well."
After saying that, she turned around, and the maid opened the curtain for her. She left without looking back.
Qin Sang watched her leave, somewhat puzzled, but uninterested in why the woman treated her differently. She asked her maid to bring pen and ink, and wrote down the address she had overheard that day, lest she forget it tomorrow.
Just then, Ying'er and Lingding returned with new incense. She asked Ying'er to bring her the ledger of her secret stash of money, intending to calculate how much savings she had and how many shops she could buy.
But after calculating everything, she realized she really was, as Song Jinhe had joked, a poor, country bumpkin. If she was considered wealthy back in Li County, now in the capital, property prices were dozens of times higher!
She rested her chin on her hand, looking at the flower branches extending into the window with a worried expression. She felt that her job was really difficult, and if she relied on herself alone, she didn't know when she would be able to finish the task.
As the saying goes, having a powerful backer makes things easier. After figuring out her own limitations, she decided that she had to take a roundabout route to achieve her goal, or take a shortcut. For example, her appearance was quite good, and perhaps she could become an empress or concubine of an emperor a few years earlier.
With that thought in mind, she took another piece of paper and listed out the powerful imperial relatives and noble families in the court. She planned to follow the list and screen all the eligible men in these families, as well as middle-aged men who had lost their wives and needed to remarry, to find a suitable family for her to stir up trouble and marry into.
In this era, women face many inconveniences in dealing with things. If they could control a powerful and influential man and use him for their own purposes, things would be much easier.
Lingding leaned closer and glanced at the long list of names, asking, "Miss, this is..."
Qin Sang tapped her forehead with the tip of her pen, and said with a troubled expression, "How can I find out about these people's marriage information and character?"
Lingding casually replied, "Marriage? Find a matchmaker, they know everything."
Qin Sang glanced at her, then turned her gaze back to the paper: "But I am not rightfully married now, so there is no reason for the Prime Minister to arrange my marriage..." As she spoke, she thought of someone.
He then asked Lingding, "Xie Wu is already of marriageable age. Have you found out why she hasn't been engaged yet?"
Lingding thought for a moment, then called Ying'er over and said, "I accompanied the young lady out these past two days, so she probably found out more information at home than I did."
So Qin Sang asked Ying'er, who gestured and said, "When I was getting breakfast, I heard from the old lady in the kitchen that Miss Xie Wu was engaged to someone before, but that family was suddenly convicted and they disappeared without a trace. After that, Miss Xie Wu didn't like any of the other families that were proposed to her, so it has been dragging on."
After reading it, Qin Sang smiled, tidied herself up, got off the couch, and led Ying'er to Xie Wu's Luoxia Pavilion.
Xie Wu had a hangover from yesterday, and today her mother kept her at home embroidering a longevity picture. She was embroidering until her eyes were blurry and her back ached, when she heard a servant announce that Qin Sang had arrived. She happily got up and welcomed her into the house.
"Will I disturb you, sister?" Qin Sang asked obediently.
Xie Wu quickly replied, "I won't bother you. I'm so bored. I went out with you yesterday and had some drinks, and my mother won't let me go out today. I was really looking forward to your visit."
Qin Sang peeked over to look at her embroidery pattern. Although Xie Wu seemed carefree, she was actually quite good at needlework.
The two then talked about female factory workers, then about female virtues, marriage, and naturally, blind dates.
As Qin Sang had expected, Xie Wu had indeed already visited many wealthy families in the capital and knew a great deal about the families Qin Sang had in mind. She had obtained a lot of information as she wished, such as which family's young master was frail and sickly, which family's young master was weak and incompetent, and which family had no mother-in-law to take care of. One kept asking questions and the other kept talking, which could be described as pleasant and harmonious.
After returning home, Qin Sang recorded the information she had gathered that day, planning to find out more and to visit Worry-Free Island. Amidst her jumbled thoughts, she drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, before Qin Sang was even fully awake, Granny Liu came to call her, saying that although she was currently a guest, the other two young ladies staying in the manor also had to pay their respects to the mistress of the house every day. Yesterday, she had let it go out of pity because Qin Sang was new and no one had reminded her, but today she had to follow the rules and go, otherwise everyone would say she was being rude.
Qin Sang wished she could beat Liu Mama out with a big stick, but she chose to endure it. When you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head.
Please greet them politely. We live in a wealthy family and have many rules to follow.
The maid had already brought breakfast from the kitchen, and everyone served her a meal before she went to the main house's mistress's courtyard.
Because the Prime Minister's wife has passed away and Xie Zhongxu has not remarried, the person in charge of the inner quarters of the Prime Minister's residence is now the eldest wife of the first branch of the family, that is, Xie Zhongxu's eldest daughter-in-law.
When Qin Sang arrived, she happened to run into Xie Wu at the door. The two exchanged knowing glances and smiled at each other before walking into the mistress's courtyard together.
Because the two families had not separated, the second wife would often bring her daughters to the main wife's courtyard to chat. After all, many affairs in the mansion were handled jointly by the two sisters-in-law. So when Qin Sang entered, she saw a room full of female relatives just taking their seats.
When Qin Sang came in, everyone looked over. The First Madam asked her if she was adjusting well, and then changed the subject to the Second Madam, discussing with her the gifts to be prepared for Princess Yuanzhao's birthday in a few days.
As Qin Sang was listening absentmindedly and feeling drowsy, she suddenly heard the words "Four Young Masters of Kyoto," which finally brought her back to her senses.
Then the second wife, Cen Biyun, said with a smile, "He doesn't do anything proper, but he comes back with all this messy reputation. Sister-in-law, don't mention it anymore, or his father will give him another scolding."
Everyone then laughed and teased Xie Sui'an, saying that Xie Sui'an was upset that he was only ranked second and had to lose to Bai Shizi from Princess Yuanzhao's family.
Qin Sang laughed along, becoming interested in the most handsome man in Kyoto who surpassed Xie Sui'an, and secretly pulled Xie Wu aside to ask, "Is he really that handsome?"
Xie Wu said, "Well, you'll see for yourself in a few days. She is beautiful, but very aloof and doesn't like to talk to people. That's why Sui An is so upset. She always says that she is clearly better looking than others and that the other person is just pretending and putting on airs."
Qin Sang said, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. There is no single standard for beauty. Young Master Xie is too naive."
Xie Wu glanced at her and deeply agreed: "That's right. I don't know when she'll grow up. She's already seventeen, but she's still like a child. She's not as sensible as her younger sister."
After leaving the main house, Qin Sang thought for a moment and then made up an excuse to send Granny Liu away. She changed into the men's clothing she had worn yesterday and left the mansion through the side gate, familiar with the way.
"Where are we going today, young lady?" Lingding asked.
Qin Sang waved her fan and said, "Since we have nothing else to do, let's go out for a stroll."
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