After Wang Shi knew that Shou'an Hall had sent another big maid, she pondered for a long time and sneered, "The old lady is watching you very closely."
Liu Kun's wife quickly advised, "Madam, please don't be confused. The old lady is just saying hello to you. As I said before, the old lady understands everything. If you treat the four girls equally, she won't treat the fourth girl unfairly. Look how much she loves the eldest girl. She writes to the capital every now and then to inquire about her. After all, she is her granddaughter. It's just that poor Concubine Wei died early. Why bother with the old lady over a maid? Right now, what matters most is that Brother Bai proves himself."
Wang clutched her handkerchief, her face gloomy as she said, "It's good to send a few maids over. We can't keep everything in the dark. We need to know what we should know, and that's all."
This matter was not over yet. That afternoon, two more girls were sent to Mucangzhai. Liu Kun's wife brought them over personally and said with a wry smile that this was a request from Aunt Lin and Sheng Hong. They didn't have enough people to serve their sisters, but as an elder brother, they felt comfortable ordering servants around. So, they took the two best ones from Changfeng's room and sent them to the sixth girl.
Sheng Hong saw the two maids, and was deeply moved by their knowledge of books and manners, as well as their exceptional needlework skills. He praised Aunt Lin for her sensible attitude and Chang Feng for his close friendship. Perhaps inspired by the praise, Chang Feng spent several days studying behind closed doors.
Looking at the two beautiful girls, Ke'er and Mei'er, about thirteen or fourteen years old, one delicate and charming, the other cool and beautiful, both graceful and charming, everyone in Mucangzhai fell silent. Xiaotao, who had never seen the world, touched her chubby face and stared blankly, her jaw dropping. Danju looked at Minglan blankly. Ginkgo and Jiu'er looked at each other in bewilderment. Cuiwei remained relatively calm, smiling and holding their hands as they talked. Minglan almost sighed to the heavens, "The higher the virtue, the higher the evil." So she quickly announced: Mucangzhai is small, and although the staff are not yet full, the warehouse is full. Please rest assured, there is enough space for everyone.
Minglan looked at the two pretty girls and thought of her third brother Changfeng's character. She almost wanted to ask: "You two, is that... yellow flower still there?" - The thought just occurred to her, but she also felt that she was being too evil.
As a result, Mucangzhai became lively.
Jiuer has a mother who is a housekeeper, so she has a bad temper and likes to meddle in everything. She likes to interfere in both big and small matters. She has been in Mucangzhai for just a few days and she doesn't consider herself an outsider at all. When she sees a few little maids quarreling, she pulls the little maids and starts scolding them before Cuiwei says anything, and keeps saying that she wants her mother to kick them out of the inner house. The little maids were scared and cried. Danju was unhappy and felt that Jiuer was overstepping her bounds.
Minglan smiled bitterly: "It doesn't matter whether the cat is black or white, a cat that can catch mice is a good cat." Jiuer really shocked the little girls.
Ginkgo was quite low-key and industrious, but she was nosy and fond of rummaging through things. She would constantly get close to Minglan, her mouth full of flattery, and Danju had to use all her strength to separate her. Cuiwei scolded her several times: "Do you understand the rules? You've only been here a few days and you're already barging into the girl's inner room. Do you think you can touch her things?! Don't do your yard cleaning work anymore. Start with your needlework first. Stop looking around and asking questions all day!"
Ginkgo responded timidly, then turned around and went about her own business. Xiaotao had no choice but to keep an eye on him. Minglan comforted herself: at least this was a trouble that was a form of progress. The other two were more serious.
One warm day, several maids were packing things in Minglan's room to dry out in the sun when they heard a crisp sound. Mei'er knocked over a blue and white porcelain brush washer, and it shattered into pieces on the ground. Minglan couldn't help but feel distressed and said, "Be careful. If it doesn't work, put it down and ask Danju and Xiaotao to do it." But Mei'er's almond-shaped eyes rolled up, and she lowered her head and said stubbornly, "It's just a brush washer. I don't know how many valuable things I've knocked over in Third Master's room, and he never said a word. They say girls have good tempers, but I didn't expect..."
Minglan froze there at that moment. As a time-traveling woman, she didn't have a very serious sense of hierarchy, but even in modern times, one should say sorry if one knocked over a roommate or friend's things. The beautiful girl in front of her had a stubborn look with a cold brow, as if she still needed Minglan to coax her.
Minglan was stunned there, not knowing what to say. Xiaotao, who was standing beside her, was furious and put her hands on her hips, saying, "You're so arrogant! The young lady hasn't even said anything to you yet, and you're already blaming her! You're justified in breaking things?! This brushwasher is part of a set with those other items. It was a birthday gift from Master Wei from the south two years ago for the young lady. If you break one, the whole set of study treasures is ruined! You're thinking about the good things at Third Master's place, so why are you coming to Mucangzhai? If you feel wronged, go back quickly! Our temple is too small to accommodate a giant like you!"
Mei'er went out crying at that time. It is said that she cried in the house for two hours and Cuiwei had to persuade her to stop.
That was still okay. Mei'er, though proud and ill-tempered, still managed to fulfill her duties as a maid. But Ke'er, however, acted like a literary young lady, spending her days in her room with a collection of poetry, lamenting the passing of time. She wouldn't even do the assigned work, and when she did, she'd reluctantly pick up her needlework, work it twice before putting it down again. A single leaf fell, and she'd weep for ages. The sound of wild geese would prompt her to compose a couple of lines of tragic poetry, like the cuckoo weeping blood. Every time she was seen, she was either about to burst into tears or her face was already covered in them. Cuiwei warned her not to sob all day, threatening to bring bad luck to the master's family. That night, Ke'er wept all night in the garden, braving the cold wind and falling ill.
Qin Sang was gentle and Yan Cao was sharp. It took all their efforts to make her smile. She didn't take medicine for three days and didn't eat for two days. She needed someone to coax her and keep her company. Luzhi was so angry that she wanted to punish her, but was stopped by Danju. Later, they found out that she was the daughter of a convicted official.
"So what? She was a phoenix before, and now she is a maid after all. She should fulfill the duties of a maid. Did we buy her to be a lady? Well, we will all become her servants!" Luzhi had been watching the medicine stove for Mei'er all day, and she was still angry.
"She used to be a young lady who was served. It's inevitable that she would feel a little unhappy after becoming a maid." Danju took the medicine jar, carefully filtered the residue, and said with pity.
Bisi said softly, "She came into the mansion with us. She has been a maid for several years, but she still acts like a lady. She is just relying on her ability to write poetry and paint to do evil! Humph, who in this room doesn't know a few words?" Bisi is a tragedy. She is beautiful and can read, and her overall qualities are better than the other three Lans.
Although Molan and Rulan are incompatible, they have surprisingly similar aesthetic tastes when it comes to choosing maids. They don't want girls whose appearance and talent surpass their own, so they passed Bisi. Changfeng, on the other hand, likes pretty girls, but unfortunately the places are limited, so he picked someone prettier and more talented, so Bisi was passed again and finally came to Minglan.
Yancao carried the teapot and filled it with water. She was exhausted from coaxing Ke'er, so she asked Qin Sang to take over first and then go to replace her. After drinking half the pot of water, Yancao tried her best to say, "It's because our girl has such a good temper. No one dares to show her disrespect. If Mama Fang were here, they would have been beaten long ago!" When the little maids nearby heard this, they immediately missed Mama Fang's strictness and sighed.
"It's all because of the Third Young Master who spoiled her, and our girl has to suffer!" Luzhi concluded her speech.
Danju was sent by the other sisters to convey the public opinion to Minglan. At the end, she also said tactfully: "Young lady, this won't do. The little ones have been disciplined with great difficulty by Fang Mama, and now everything has been ruined."
Minglan said in embarrassment: "They belong to the Madam and Third Brother. It's hard to lose face for them! I know Mei'er is tiring you, but... her parents and relatives are gone, so it's inevitable that she feels wronged and wronged!"
"Unjust--?!" Cuiwei looked at Minglan strangely, "What are you talking about, young lady? I heard from my father that Mei'er's father is a county magistrate near our Dengzhou. He is extremely greedy and exploits people without restraint. This is called being dismissed from office and imprisoned, having his property confiscated, and having his family members sold." Her father was the manager of the outer village, and all the maids and servants in the family were taken care of by him.
"Could it be that her father was wrongly accused?" Minglan thought of the families of those loyal ministers and generals who were wrongly accused in film and television dramas.
Cuiwei laughed: "My lady, many officials have been dismissed for crimes, but not even one in ten cases has their families implicated. Even fewer have been imprisoned in the Music Bureau. How could there be so many unjust accusations? Many people know about Mei'er's father. He is undoubtedly a corrupt official. He squandered money without restraint. Even confiscating his property was not enough to cover the damage, so he implicated his family."
Minglan still refused to give up: "The man made a mistake, what is the fault of his wife and daughter?"
Xiao Tao had just walked into the house. Lately, she'd been watching out for Ginkgo like a thief, her forehead swollen from exhaustion. Overhearing these words, she said angrily, "Miss, the silks and satins worn by the corrupt officials' families, and the delicacies they enjoy, are all from the people's blood and sweat. So many ordinary people have been ruined by her father, forced to sell their children out of desperation, and yet she can't pay her father's debts! It's her good fortune that she's even allowed to live in our house."
Minglan was speechless and embarrassed. You couldn't blame her, that's how it was played out in TV dramas. Even though she complained, Minglan tried to keep the peace, thinking that she would educate them slowly. Those troublesome ones would always be influenced subtly, but she didn't expect that the education plan could not change as fast as the changes.
That morning, Brother Changbai came to Mucangzhai for an inspection. The cotton shoes Minglan had promised him had finally been delivered, so he came to collect the payment. Minglan went to greet him in person. Just as Changbai walked through the door, he saw a cold and beautiful girl sweeping the floor with a broom. Changbai felt that she was unfamiliar, so he took a few more glances. Unexpectedly, she raised her neck, snorted coldly, and looked arrogant and bright. Changbai immediately frowned and said to Minglan, "Why are the servants so unruly? Why don't you control them a little bit!"
Mei'er put down the broom in shame and anger and went into the house. Minglan was very embarrassed.
After walking a few steps into the courtyard, they saw a delicate girl, as frail as a willow catkin, leaning against a porch pillar, softly reciting a poem. Changbai, upon hearing it, realized it was "My heart is filled with longing for your green collar." He frowned again and scolded Danju, "It's fine if the maids are literate and sensible, but why are you teaching them this? A woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent, let alone a maid!"
Ke'er's face was pale and she staggered back to the house. Minglan was very depressed and laughed dryly twice!
After they walked into the house and sat down, before Minglan could say a few words to Changbai, Yinxing took over Danju's job, serving tea and snacks. She stood aside with a smile on her lips, her beautiful eyes constantly looking at Changbai. Xiaotao pulled her away but she refused to leave. Changbai looked uneasy, slammed his teacup on the table, and said in a deep voice, "Sixth sister, you should control the maids in the courtyard!"
After saying that, he picked up the new shoes and turned away; Minglan almost vomited blood!
Just after lunch, Chang Feng, who had been studying behind closed doors, went out for a walk. He wandered to Mu Cang Zhai. Although Ming Lan was not very familiar with him, she warmly invited him in for tea. Chang Feng was obviously distracted. When he saw Mei Er, he immediately stood up and asked repeatedly, "Mei Er, how are you these days?" Mei Er said bitterly, "Even if I'm kicked out, I won't die! Third Master, don't worry." Chang Feng said in a trembling voice, "...You, you've been wronged!"
At this time, Ke'er came over with a light and frail figure like floating catkins, trembling with every step. Chang Feng's eyes were moist: "Ke'er, you, you have lost weight!" Ke'er could no longer hold back, and tears fell like broken strings: "Third Master, I thought I would never see you again in this life..."
Chang Feng went over and held her, and Ke'er immediately burst into tears. Chang Feng kept comforting her, and the crying was deafening in Mu Cang Zhai.
Cuiwei, Danju, and the others were stunned. Even Yinxing Jiuer was dumbfounded. They stood there, not knowing what to do. Then, they turned their gazes and went to Minglan together, asking what to do. Minglan was speechless and secretly hurt.
I thought it was bad enough, but I didn’t expect the finale was yet to come.
Before the New Year, Lord Qi submitted a memorial to the Emperor, who then allowed the Qi family of three to return to Beijing for the New Year. Mr. Zhuang then announced a short winter vacation and sent a housewarming gift before leaving. It was a mutton-fat white jade flounder chime hanging on a lacquered stand, with a delicate white jade hammer hanging next to it. Such a large piece of mutton-fat white jade was so transparent and crystal clear that Minglan didn't dare put it in the main hall to attract attention, so she only placed it on the desk in the bedroom.
Unexpectedly, one day, Molan and Rulan came to visit together. Rulan had already sat on the kang bed and had tea, but Molan insisted on visiting Minglan's new house and dragged Rulan straight into Minglan's bedroom. Minglan immediately felt that something was wrong. She pointed at the white jade chime and said in a sweet voice: "...This is the gift that Brother Yuanruo gave you!"
Rulan fixed her eyes on the chime for a long moment, then looked at Minglan for another long moment. The look in her eyes made Minglan break out in a cold sweat. Molan smiled softly beside her, "Sixth sister, you are so lucky to have Brother Yuanruo thinking of you so much. When I moved into Weiruixuan, he didn't give me any housewarming gifts. Brother Yuanruo loves me so much, I wonder why?"
Minglan opened her eyes wide in confusion and said blankly, "...Is that so? What's the reason, Fifth Sister? Do you know?" Then she looked at Rulan with an ignorant look on her face. Seeing Molan's gloating expression, Rulan felt a surge of anger in her belly. She looked at Minglan again, and choosing the lesser of two evils, she said loudly, "This is not difficult. Brother Qi often eats with Sixth Girl at Shou'an Hall, treating her like a little sister. Mother said that our family is related to the Qi family, and we are all siblings!"
She spoke louder and louder, and Rulan was convinced by herself. As she spoke, she looked at the childish Minglan and felt that her explanation was very reasonable. Minglan clapped her hands and laughed, "Fifth sister, I understand everything as soon as you say it. You are so smart!"
Fortunately, this is the first time Rulan has been praised for her wisdom since she was born.
Molan was about to say something provocative, but Minglan shook her head and said innocently, "...No wonder Fourth Sister always sent snacks to Brother Yuanruo at the private school. It turns out they're actually siblings!" Minglan's sharp gaze shot at Molan. Molan blushed and shouted, "What nonsense are you talking about? I was sending snacks to my two brothers!"
Minglan scratched her head, bewildered. "Huh? Why did I hear from my eldest brother and fourth brother that Fourth Sister gave all of her snacks to Brother Yuanruo?... Did I hear wrong?" She glanced at Rulan in confusion. Rulan had already made up her mind. She glared at Molan with disdain and sneered, "...Fourth Sister is quite resourceful. She really has her family's skills!"
Molan knocked over a teacup with her palm and shouted, "What did you say?" Rulan's heart trembled. If Aunt Lin was involved, she would be in trouble again. Minglan quickly added, "Fifth sister means that hospitality is an old custom in our Sheng family. Fourth sister really has the style of a Sheng family member!"
Rulan breathed a sigh of relief and patted Minglan's head with satisfaction. Molan glared at them. Minglan thought to herself: There's nothing I can do, I was just defending myself.
After seeing them off with a smile, Danju came back with a cold face, closed all the doors, and said to Minglan in a serious tone: "Miss, we have to clean up the yard. We can't let these little hooves embarrass you and ruin your reputation!" Xiaotao and Cuiwei also responded in agreement.
Minglan sat on the kang, comparing a needlework manual with an embroidery frame, and said with a smile, "Don't worry, don't worry. Don't do anything. Let them make trouble. When you go out to visit friends, pick up the maids and old women you are close to and tell them everything that's going on here, especially what happened when the eldest and third brothers came. Be sure to let the lady know!"
Danju's eyes lit up and she said happily, "Girl, you..." and then she stopped talking.
Cuiwei shook her head. "Even if everyone knew about it, they would still laugh at me for my inability to manage myself properly! And then, maybe I'd even be blamed by my wife."
Xiao Tao also nodded and said, "Yes, the wife may not necessarily support the girl. There are many people who want to see the girl laugh."
Minglan waved her hand, signaling them to stop talking, and said calmly: "After dinner, the three of you come over and help me with something."
The three girls had no choice but to go out in depression.
Minglan gently opened the window a little and looked outside. She saw the red plum blossoms, bright and brilliant, swaying gracefully, and even the ice and snow had their own beauty. It would be a lie to say that she was not angry. Now it was not a question of keeping the peace. These girls did not take her seriously at all, so they dared to be so presumptuous. The lady was in charge of the Sheng family, and Aunt Lin had money and children. She was just a little concubine, only pitied by her elderly grandmother. They were sure that she would not dare to cause trouble or offend the masters behind them!
For the first time, Minglan began to understand the complexity of an ancient large family. She was not afraid of dealing with these girls, but she could not offend Changfeng and the wife. She had her backer, Old Madam Sheng, but she could not ask her to stand up for her in everything. She was the grandmother of all her grandchildren and could not be partial to them all. There were some things she could not do, and Minglan had to do it herself.
If she had Rulan's status, she could live a comfortable and relaxed life as a young lady, but she is not like that; where there are people, there is the world, and she is now in the world, it would be ridiculous to want to stay out of it. Think about what to do first?
That night, Danju and Xiaotao closed the doors and windows one by one. Cuiwei helped Minglan cut a large piece of white paper and prepared pen and ink. Minglan said, "The three of you can help me think about what inappropriate and unruly things the little girls do every day. Let's make a list of rules and write them down in black and white so that we can discipline them later."
Cuiwei thought it was great, but Danju was pessimistic: "I know what the girls mean, but even if they write it down, what good will it do? We can't punish them."
Minglan began to add water and grind it. Under the light, her eyebrows were rosy and a pair of small dimples appeared on her lips. She said with a smile: "Don't be angry, don't be angry. You have to eat one bite at a time and solve problems one by one. Just do as I say first." Don't ruin your character for these ignorant people. These people are not worth her losing her peaceful and happy mood.
Xiaotao was the most obedient, recounting every inappropriate behavior she'd witnessed from the maids. Cui smiled and summarized, while Danju meticulously filled in any gaps. While three cobblers might not be as good as Zhuge Liang, they were certainly better than Minglan alone. They quickly condensed the instructions into a list of rules: "You must not leave Mucangzhai without permission," "You must not discuss the master's affairs," "You must be faithful to your duties while on duty," "You must not quarrel or cause trouble," and "You must not enter the main house without permission." And so on.
The three girls had all been maids since childhood and were most familiar with the minor taboos. They were a little hesitant at first, but later they discussed more thoroughly. Minglan personally poured them tea and snacks, and then took notes one by one. It was almost midnight when they finished talking. Cuiwei and Xiaotao cleaned up the paper scraps and pens and ink scattered on the kang, and Danju brought a basin of warm water for Minglan to wash her hands.
While carefully rubbing the ink on Minglan's hand, Danju couldn't help but ask, "Miss, will this really work? Can't we ask the old lady to make the decision?"
Minglan scratched Danju's nose with her wet fingers and said, "The hermit has a clever plan." Danju turned her face away, pouted, and used a dry handkerchief to wrap Minglan's hands.
Minglan suddenly thought of something, picked up the pen again, licked the ink, and added a sentence at the bottom of the large paper: Unfinished, updating...
【Author has something to say】
The Jiaofangsi has existed since ancient times. It was mainly used to provide entertainment for officials or for palace celebrations. It housed various performers in charge of music, art, dance and singing, as well as salaried managers and talent teachers. The girls in the Jiaofangsi were mainly purchased from palace offices, or directly acquired from various brothels, as well as the families of the defeated and occasionally the families of convicted officials (usually political prisoners). This was the case in the Han, Tang, Song and Yuan dynasties.
By the Ming Dynasty, it was well known that Zhu Baba was born into a barefoot peasant family. He had a deep hatred for the officials and gentry, and had a natural enmity with them. As a result, the Jiaofangsi had a large number of families of criminal officials. However, it was Emperor Yongle Zhu Di who really filled the Jiaofangsi with officials' families. After he successfully seized the throne, a large number of civil servants and gentry opposed his rule, so he implemented a large-scale criminal law.
"Tie Xuan's wife, Yang, was thirty-five years old and was sent to the Jiaofangsi. Mao Dafang's wife, Zhang, was fifty-six years old and was sent to the Jiaofangsi..."
These are the families of political prisoners who were implicated, and most of those implicated are corrupt officials.
However, the proportion of officials' families confiscated by the Jiaofangsi in the Ming Dynasty was not high. In most cases, after the corrupt officials' homes were raided, their families would be spared, and more often their property would be sold to pay off debts, and less often their property would be confiscated by the Jiaofangsi. The Ming Dynasty was mainly ruled by the civil service group, and there were often officials who were convicted and then reinstated. People would not do anything ugly out of sympathy for their own kind.
The more famous one is Wang Cuiqiao, a famous prostitute from an official family. However, even she wrote countless articles and poems, but she never said that her father was wronged.
The Jiaofangsi flourished again during the Qing Dynasty because the political struggles in the Qing Dynasty were more exciting: literary inquisitions were ten times more frequent than in the Ming Dynasty, Manchu officials were wary of Han officials, and major cases involving royal family struggles (such as the Nine Dragon Succession War) led to the uprooting of many prominent families (large families with hundreds of people). There were such women everywhere in the Jiaofangsi; but in contrast, the proportion of families of pure embezzlers who were sent to the Jiaofangsi or sold was smaller.
Moreover, the Qing Dynasty was ruled by the powerful. No matter how famous Zhou Peigong, Zhang Tingyu, Liu Yong, and Yao Qisheng were, they were just counselors. The ones who really held power were Manchu nobles such as Soetu Mingzhu, Heshen, and Fukang'an. They would not care about the families of Han officials.
Cao Xueqin's family spanned three generations, the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong reigns, and belonged to the Han Army Banner. The women of the Cao family escaped the disaster, but the Li family was not so lucky. It is said that the family members and servants were sold on the spot, and it took several months to sell them all. It is sad to think about it.
(That's about it, don't go into it too much.)
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