Chapter 138 Compassion
By the time we finished eating, it was completely dark.
With Hearts joining in, the room cleaning progressed much faster.
"Sister Hongtao, didn't you go to find Granny Xiao? Where are the girl's bath tub, teapot, and bedding?"
It was getting late, and Lin Yuesha urged them on. She hadn't slept well last night and didn't want to find a place to stay for another night.
"ah……"
Hongtao didn't see Granny Xiao at all, so she couldn't answer and had to make an excuse to wait a little longer. Fortunately, there was some movement in the courtyard after a while.
"Granny Yu, what brings you here?"
Hearing the sound, Hongtao quickly opened the door and greeted the person who came in with great enthusiasm.
Granny Yu, the Granny Yu who works in the main kitchen, is one of Ziyuan's people?
Lin Yuesha also went out and happened to run into Granny Yu.
"After dinner, the kitchen staff were free, and I happened to run into Granny Xiao. I heard that a new young lady had come to the courtyard, so I came to join in the fun."
In the Prince's mansion, one cannot do without food, clothing, housing, and transportation, and the people in the main kitchen are the objects of all the servants' flattery.
Granny Yu was probably in her forties and looked very kind. She looked at Lin Yuesha and smiled, "Where did this little girl come from? She looks unfamiliar."
"This is Lin Yatou, who serves in the courtyard. Please take good care of her, Granny."
Hongtao had a good impression of Lin Yuesha, so she took the initiative to introduce them.
"Hello, Granny Yu. Just call me Lin Yatou."
A maidservant doesn't deserve a name, and Lin Yuesha didn't want to be given a maidservant's name either.
"She's a clever girl!"
Granny Yu stared at Lin Yuesha carefully. Her mistress had a good eye for people. Although the little girl was clever, her eyes were not unfocused. She seemed to be an upright and reliable person.
Several old women followed behind Granny Yu, each carrying bedding and other items. Hongtao breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that Granny Xiao hadn't forgotten and had finally delivered the things.
Xuan Yao was injured, so she washed up and went to bed, leaving only Hong Tao and Lin Yue Sha, who sat in the outer room chatting.
The Prince's Mansion has many rules, and the maids have to work the night shift. Hongtao looks down on Xuanyao and tries to shirk her duties whenever possible behind Xiao Mama's back.
“Sister Yue Sha, the mansion has three courtyards, which is quite large. Moreover, the prince’s main courtyard is located there. Since you are new here, try to go out as little as possible.”
Hongtao tricked Lin Yuesha by deliberately making the rules sound scary. She said that once they entered the military secret area, they would easily be arrested as spies, and if they were arrested, no amount of pleading would help.
"So, from now on, I'll go out to run errands. I'm familiar with the mansion, so you can stay in the courtyard."
Hongtao didn't want to serve Xuanyao and planned to go out for a stroll every day, returning only at mealtimes.
"Okay, I'll do whatever Sister Red Peach says."
Being on someone else's turf, Lin Yuesha was more than happy to go out less, so she readily agreed to Hongtao's request.
Hongtao was deceiving people, but then realized that Lin Yuesha was too naive. In the Prince's mansion, someone with such a personality wouldn't last long.
Hongtao had seen maids who were too honest; they all ended up taking the blame for the concubines who made mistakes and were beaten to death.
...
The days at the mansion passed by peacefully. Lin Yuesha hardly ever left the house, staying obediently in the courtyard.
Every day after breakfast, Red Peach would find an excuse to go out, and then reappear with a food box at dinner time.
While Xuan Yao was recovering from her injuries, she did not inquire about Hong Tao's whereabouts, so the three of them lived in relative peace.
The 20th day of the twelfth lunar month means there are only ten days left until the Lunar New Year.
The household needed to make a lot of purchases for the New Year, and Granny Xiao was so busy that she barely had time to breathe. When she finally had a little free time, she remembered Lin Yuesha, whom she hadn't seen for several days.
Last night, Granny Xiao suddenly dreamed of her granddaughter who had died tragically. After waking up, she was not in good spirits.
After hurriedly finishing her work, Granny Xiao went to Xuan Yao's courtyard.
Hongtao had already gone out for a stroll, Xuanyao was recuperating by sleeping, and Lin Yuesha was building a snowman in the yard, entertaining herself.
"Lin girl, where's Hongtao?"
The yard was quiet; the snow hadn't been cleared away yet.
This place is secluded, but it is also the prince's residence. Hongtao, that maid, is probably slacking off.
"Sister Hongtao said that the manor was making new clothes for the servants, and she went to collect them."
Lin Yuesha was not a servant of the Prince's Mansion, and she was still wearing the clothes she had brought with her.
Are you settling in well here?
Hongtao's laziness was clearly not a recent occurrence, but Lin Yatou was honest and didn't betray Hongtao at all; instead, she defended Hongtao.
Her personality is exactly the same as her silly granddaughter's!
Granny Xiao sighed, unconsciously feeling a bit more affection for Lin Yuesha.
"Fortunately, the food at the Prince's Mansion is better than what we eat at home."
Almost every meal included plenty of meat and fish, and Hongtao would always come back to boast that she had received good care from Granny Yu.
Lin Yuesha knew that Granny Yu had been instructed by Ziyuan to send over the delicious food.
Xuan Yao was not favored, but she was never neglected in terms of food and treatment. For this, Hong Tao took the credit for herself and always boasted about her good relationships with people.
"There aren't any new clothes for you at the manor this time, but you always need new clothes for the New Year. I have a few bolts of fabric suitable for young girls, and I'll send them to you when I find an opportunity."
After Granny Xiao finished speaking, Lin Yuesha waved her hands repeatedly, saying awkwardly, "Granny Xiao, I don't know how to make clothes."
"Won't?"
Granny Xiao was surprised. Lin was at least twelve or thirteen years old. In ordinary families, daughters could sew clothes for their families at the age of seven or eight. Poor children learn to be independent early.
"Then I'll cut the fabric, and you can sew it."
As a second choice, Granny Xiao wanted to help Lin make clothes, but she was old and her eyesight was failing, so she couldn't see clearly.
"Well... I don't know how either."
Lin Yuesha felt embarrassed. Not knowing how to do needlework seemed like a great shame. In any case, Xiao Mama looked at her as if she were a monster.
"well!"
Granny Xiao sighed. She had heard that Lin's mother was a widow who remarried. In those days, it was too hard for a family to have a man to support it. Perhaps she had overlooked these things.
"Granny, do girls really need to learn these things?"
Lin Yuesha had never made any demands on her mother, Chen, before. But she could clearly sense that Chen had started to get anxious ever since the family had some savings.
"It's not too late for you to pick it up now."
Not wanting to further discourage Lin Yuesha, Granny Xiao changed her approach to a more tactful one.
A woman will eventually get married, and after marriage, she will need to have her clothes, shoes, and socks made.
Even if she marries into a good family in the future and has servants, it's still not appropriate to lend a man's private clothes to someone else.
Especially in wealthy families, women paid more attention to these things. Many concubines and mistresses would take the opportunity of delivering clothes to men to climb into their beds.
Lin is too naive to be exposed to such sordid things.
"How about this, you come to my place for two hours every day from now on, and I'll have Hongliu teach you."
Hongliu was also a maid in the Prince's mansion. She was gentle and compliant, and especially good at needlework. Granny Xiao asked Hongliu to teach Lin Yuesha because she had no basic skills. Someone with a bad temper would probably get annoyed.
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