Chapter 16 Holding up two fingers, it suddenly felt like twenty taels of silver had become worthless.
Yao Qingling accompanied Zhan Xingxiang to Fangmanyuan.
They kept a low profile and didn't ask the garden's owner to come out and greet them.
They were received by the manager.
A group of maids were summoned, and they demonstrated their various skills, including cooking, tea ceremony, embroidery, dressing, and hairstyling.
Yao Qingling then asked a few more questions related to interpersonal skills. Some of the maids were quick-witted and could answer them immediately, while others thought for a while before answering. Some couldn't answer and asked their mistress for her opinion.
Zhan Xingxiang eliminated those who couldn't answer; she didn't like stupid girls. She also eliminated those who hesitated when asked if they were willing to be injured or even die for their master; these people were disloyal.
Yao Qingling didn't say anything, letting Zhan Xingxiang decide for himself.
Zhan Xingxiang took a fancy to two maids, but she couldn't just buy them and bring them back to the Duke's mansion. She had to speak to the Grand Princess and get her permission first.
Afterwards, she and Yao Qingling returned to their respective residences.
As Yao Qingling turned to get into the carriage, she noticed that the little girl was still following her.
Yao Qingling asked, "Why are you still following me?"
Lin Qiao's small face was serious as she said, "It is wrong for a man to hit a woman. Even if he is your husband, he cannot hit his wife. A wife cannot tolerate being bullied."
As she spoke, she gripped the iron spear tightly, as if she were enduring something.
A look of amazement flashed in Yao Qingling's eyes.
She had noticed this young girl's unusual air about her when she first saw her. But Zhan Xingxiang didn't recognize her, which meant she wasn't a noblewoman, at least not from the capital.
—Zhan Xingxiang had accompanied Princess Deyang to banquets of noble families since she was a child, and she often went in and out of the palace. If they knew each other, it was impossible that they had not communicated.
Yao Qingling asked, "What's your name?"
"Lin Qiao".
Yao Qingling scanned the name in her mind. Lin? It seemed somewhat familiar; she felt like she had heard the surname Lin somewhere before. But she didn't know anyone with the surname Lin.
She nodded: "Then what are you doing following me? Do you want money?"
Lin Qiao took a step back, looking disdainful, pursing her lips and turning her head to the side.
But her expression quickly changed again. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly, and then she raised her chin to look at Qing Ling with an arrogant expression: "I can be your personal bodyguard. If he hits you, I'll hit him."
Yao Qingling couldn't help but laugh: "I have guards in my courtyard."
“But your guards are also his men. If outsiders bully you, your guards will protect you; if he bullies you, they won’t interfere. If you give me your monthly allowance, I’ll just be your man.”
Seeing that she was serious, Yao Qingling shifted her gaze slightly, glancing at the hem of her clothes and the legs of her trousers.
The clothes should have been made of good material, but because she performed every day, they wore out easily.
She earned money, but didn't buy herself new clothes; she continued to perform in tattered clothes.
Money has something more important to her than buying clothes.
The income from performing at a street stall every day is not stable.
She desperately needs money.
Lin Qiao noticed her gaze and covered the hole to hide her embarrassment.
Yao Qingling asked, "How much monthly salary do you want?"
Lin Qiao thought for a moment: "One hundred taels for those who risk their lives, twenty taels for those who don't."
Her brother forbade her from performing on the street and wanted her to find a place to settle down, but she had nowhere to go.
Without money, she couldn't visit her brother or bribe the jailers.
She had just overheard the woman asking the maids questions. She was young, and even if she risked her life, she couldn't ask for much money.
Taoye, listening from the side, was both angry and anxious.
Is this little girl trying to extort money from her mistress? Yesterday, I gave her twenty taels of silver because the mistress remembered her childhood and wanted to compensate her for her past.
Does she really think she's worth a lot of money?
Tao Ye, as a personal maid, also earns twenty taels of silver a month. Yet this little girl is being asked for the same monthly salary as her.
Yao Qingling stared at Lin Qiao for a while: "Okay."
Peach Leaf exclaimed in surprise, "Miss!"
Yao Qingling didn't look at Tao Ye, but kept staring at Lin Qiao. She said, "But you don't need to come back to the manor with me, and I'm safe here. Go somewhere and stay there. You can serve me when I need you."
Lin Qiao thought for a moment, then nodded solemnly.
Yao Qingling instructed Lin Qiao to go to the private residence in Tongluo Lane and to pretend not to know her whenever they met.
On the way back to the new residence, Taoye was very puzzled: "Miss, you spend twenty taels of silver a month to hire an eight-year-old girl? Twenty taels could hire a proper martial arts master!"
She held up two fingers, wondering why twenty taels seemed worthless.
No, thinking about it this way, she seems even less valuable.
Peach Leaf felt wronged.
Yao Qingling said, "She's worth twenty taels of silver, or even two hundred." But she didn't explain anything to Taoye, only saying, "She'll be useful soon."
When we returned to the new mansion, the sun was setting.
Yao Qingling entered the inner courtyard and saw several rough-working women carrying hot water toward the west courtyard.
Taoye called out to them, "What do you need so much hot water for?"
An old woman replied, "Master is going to give young master Xiao'er a bath. Miss Taoye, don't delay us, the hot water will be unusable once it cools down."
As he spoke, he and another old woman carried the water away.
Tao Ye was furious and let out a heavy snort: "He really thinks he's his own father, his own—"
"Taoye," Yao Qingling called her softly, "Come back to the courtyard for dinner."
Tao Ye suddenly pursed her lips. She really should be more careful; she couldn't let her mistress get hurt.
No matter how good Zhan Xingzhuo was to Zhou Zhining and her son, Yao Qingling was already able to remain indifferent even if they danced right in front of her.
She gently stroked her lower abdomen.
One person, one table, and a few dishes.
The lamplight cast her shadow long and slanted, making her appear thin and alone on the ground.
Yao Qingling quietly finished her dinner, washed up, and went to bed early.
A few more days passed.
A scandal suddenly broke out at Fangmanyuan, a renowned garden in the capital—it was said that the maids sold off by the garden were stirring up trouble among their masters.
If you don't want your household to be in turmoil, don't buy maids from Fangmanyuan.
As soon as the news broke, many wealthy families who wanted to buy maids from the garden hesitated; some even wanted to return the maids they had just bought.
Everyone says it's better to buy and train your own young girl, at least she's trained by your own family, so there's less chance of trouble.
The garden owner comes from the palace; how can he be talked about like this and have his business ruined?
After some investigation, the source was traced to mallow.
Fang Manyuan reported the incident to the authorities.
By this time, Jin Kui had regained her status as a slave and was now a free woman. The price she paid was that she lost a leg.
But it doesn't matter. The limp is only temporary. With money for treatment, finding the best doctors, and recuperating for a year or two, she will be able to return to normal.
She's beautiful; she should just find an honest man and settle down.
Just as Jin Kui was resting in the small shop she had just bought, dreaming about the future, the yamen runners came and took her away!
After a visit to the yamen, under the strict interrogation of the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, Jin Kui tearfully revealed a person's name.
Upon hearing the name, the Prefect pondered for a moment and then sent word to the Left Censor-in-Chief's family.
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