Chapter 123 Chapter 123 If I really want to talk about what I am capable of,...
When Fang Ying saw Fang Quan, she didn't rush to speak. She asked who had followed her. Fang Quan answered herself, "Sister Lamei."
Lamei was originally a maid in Pan's room, and later married Fang Chengxun's servant. Now she was Pan's manager. Fang Ying was surprised to hear that she had come with them. "Why did you ask her to come all this way?"
Then he called out to Xingniang, "Please invite Sister Lamei in."
Xingniang responded and went out, soon bringing a young woman in.
Lamei was wearing a padded jacket and looked very respectful. When she saw Fang Ying, she greeted her with a smile.
"I didn't expect my sister to bother accompanying me on this trip." Fang Ying said to Lamei, but her eyes were fixed on Fang Quan. "It seems there's no one around you I can trust."
When Lamei saw that the old lady politely asked her to come in, she thought that she was worrying too much and that the old lady didn't care about the previous matter.
Unexpectedly, she started talking about Er Niang's maid. She quickly apologized and said, "My lady is thinking that there are too many rules in this mansion, and Er Niang is surrounded by young maids who have never seen the world..."
"I was just about to say this. I heard that there was an older maid in Er Niang's room. What was her name?" Fang Ying asked Lichun.
"My lady, call me Xiang'er." Lichun answered respectfully.
Fang Ying nodded: "Yes, Xiang'er, the one who made a mistake and was sent to do rough labor."
Seeing that she knew so much, and seeing that Second Lady beside her was also surprised, Lamei knew that the eldest lady had already found out everything, so she could only answer, "It seems so."
"Then please go back and tell mother for me that the new servants in our household were all trained by Liu Lang. Xiang'er made such a serious mistake, which shows that she wasn't trained well back then. It's just right to have her come with me today, and I'll arrange for someone to teach her again from the beginning."
"There is a nanny at home to teach us, so there is no need for you to take care of it yourself." Lamei did not dare to agree and replied with a smile.
Fang Ying said calmly, "Sister, you may not know that although these servants have been given to our father and mother, their indentures are still with me. This Xiang'er is not good, and it is my shame."
How could Lamei know such a thing? She choked up and couldn't say another word.
"Don't worry, mother. If I can't teach you well, I will find a better one for you."
Wasn't she suspicious of her? She simply left someone in Fang Quan's room openly. Fang Ying wanted to see what other tricks her stepmother could come up with.
"Thank you for your hard work, sister. Xingniang, please take Sister Lamei downstairs for some tea." She gave the order directly without waiting for Lamei to answer.
Xingniang responded and pulled Lamei out.
Fang Quan watched the person leave before whispering, "Sister, Xiang'er didn't do anything wrong."
Fang Ying turned around and smiled at her: "I know. Sister Chu Yin told me everything."
Fang Quan breathed a sigh of relief and raised her voice a little: "Sister, do you want to save Xiang'er?"
"I guess so."
"Then can you let her stay in this mansion and not go back?"
Fang Ying deliberately asked: "What? You don't want her to serve you anymore?"
Fang Quan hurriedly shook his head: "I'm afraid of my mother..."
She stopped after saying three words and didn't dare to continue.
"What are you afraid of? Madam Gai is still in your room. Didn't you kick her out?"
"Kick him out? Aren't you sick?" Fang Quan's little face was full of surprise.
Fang Ying couldn't help but smile: "Did I tell you that?" She knew it was embarrassing, but she still hid it from her daughter.
But Fang Ying hadn't brought Fang Quan here today to play some kind of mother-daughter, filial piety, or a peaceful and troubled life with Pan. She asked directly, "Did you hear about your brother-in-law going to see your father a few days ago and having dinner at home?"
Fang Quan knew about this, and she nodded: "Mom said so."
"Your brother-in-law and I give our family some money every month. Did you know that?"
"Well, before we moved, Dad and Mom talked about it, and my brothers and I heard it."
Fang Ying briefly recounted the entire incident, concluding, "Your brother-in-law had already given the money to Father that day, but when I left, I didn't expect that Madam Gai would be waiting for me in the corridor, and she even filed a complaint against me."
Fang Quan's eyes widened in shock. "No wonder... it seems that after that day, Madam Gai became ill. It was Daddy..." She suddenly realized, "No wonder Mother allowed me to read and write again and stopped forcing me to sew."
"Dad did say that, but don't think of him as some kind, fair-minded father. If he had treated you even one-tenth as well as Fang Sheng and Fang Yi, you wouldn't have gotten into this situation."
The young lady, who was not even eleven years old, suddenly changed color.
Fang Ying saw her eyes reddened, pursed her lips, sighed, and said, "Don't be afraid, he never bothered me. Look, I'm doing fine now, aren't I?"
"That's because my sister is capable." Fang Quan said in a low voice.
Fang Ying smiled and said, "What skills do I have?"
Fang Quan looked up at his sister and said, "You have some amazing skills."
The young lady's eyes were filled with admiration. Fang Ying's heart softened. She reached out and smoothed her hair. She sighed, "If I really have any ability, it's probably that I refuse to be manipulated or accept my fate."
Fang Quan was confused, but Fang Ying didn't explain: "I'll tell you later. Let me ask you first, do you know why I called Lamei in and said those words as soon as you arrived?"
Fang Quan shook his head.
"Think about it carefully."
Fang Quan calmed herself down, recalled what had just happened, and what her sister had said to her, and vaguely understood: "Are you afraid that Lamei will think that I told her about Xiang'er?"
Fang Ying smiled and nodded, and gave her a piece of osmanthus cake as a reward.
"Last time, Second Uncle acted too hastily, and you suffered a lot afterwards. You can't let Mother misunderstand you this time too."
"I'm not wronged." Fang Quan hurriedly added, thinking that this was in her sister's house, and she was not afraid of hearing what she said, and then she added, "I didn't feel wronged by my sister either."
"But isn't that still unfair? Remember this time, when mother asks you, just tell her directly that it was Sister Chu Yin who told me. Oh, by the way, the princess has summoned Sister Chu Yin to Kaifeng Mansion."
Fang Quan's face lit up with joy: "Really? That's great."
Fang Ying smiled and nodded: "Sister Chu Yin served Madam Zhou before, so we don't have to worry about her future. She was reluctant to let you go, saying that you are a very good young lady."
Fang Quan's eyes turned red again, and his lips moved, but he didn't know what to say.
"She is serving the princess now. We will see each other again in the future." Fang Ying consoled her and continued, "Since Nanny Gai has left, don't let her come back to delay you. Next time I pick you up, let Xiang'er go with you."
Fang Quan nodded heavily: "Thank you, sister."
"One more thing. Do you know how the servants in the house are paid their monthly wages?"
"I've heard a little bit. It seems that maids like Xiang'er and the other servants don't get any monthly pay. The sisters in the mother's room, as well as the housekeepers and the maids, all get some, but I don't know how much."
Just as Fang Ying expected, she asked again, "What about you? Do you have monthly allowance?"
Fang Quan shook his head: "It's just the money given during the Chinese New Year."
That wasn't much money at all, so Fang Ying asked, "Where's Fang Sheng?"
Fang Quan nodded this time: "Mother said that Dalang is studying outside, unlike us at home, where he has no money to spend."
"Then Fang Yi doesn't have any either?"
"There shouldn't be any."
"You really don't have money to spend on a daily basis? Don't you want some candy or some flowers? And what about paper, pen, needle and thread? Can your mother really prepare them for you?"
"Sister gave me a lot of paper and pens, as well as needles and thread. Aunt Gai also got a lot of scraps of cloth from my mother for me to practice with."
She didn't mention food or clothes, so Fang Ying didn't ask. She just said, "I'll give you a monthly allowance from now on. Not only because I'm afraid you'll need it, but I also want you to know how to spend it."
Fang Quan hesitated a little: "I'm afraid mother will find out..."
"Don't worry, I won't give you more. How much is Fang Sheng per month?"
"It seems to be one hundred wen."
"I'll give you a hundred too. When we're about to leave, I'll call Lamei in and explain things to her."
No matter what Mrs. Pan did, she wouldn't take away all the hundred coins.
Fang Ying then told Fang Quan how to respond if her mother asked about it, and finally reminded her, "Remember to let your father know about this, too."
Fang Quan looked timid: "What if father doesn't ask?"
"Then wait. When someone asks you for money, go to your father and complain. Don't be afraid. I'll support you if anything goes wrong."
When Ji Yanlang returned home and heard Fang Ying's explanation of her plan, he laughed and said, "Are you planning to just confirm this crime?"
"What crime or no crime? Didn't my father say it was just a misunderstanding between mother and daughter? If it was a misunderstanding, I should naturally care for my sister even more."
Ji Yanlang smiled and gave a thumbs-up: "Madam, you are very smart." He then asked, "Did you bring that maid back?"
Fang Ying nodded: "I have already submitted the indenture, what excuse does she have to obstruct me?"
Ji Yanlang originally wanted to re-sign the indentures of the two servants and change the master to Fang Chengxun, but he seemed to have some concerns and said that the indentures were useless, so let it be and there was no need to make any more trouble.
"I didn't expect it would be useful to you now." Ji Yanlang recalled the past and joked.
Fang Ying thought that her father was just concerned about his reputation and was afraid that his colleagues would find out and talk about him behind his back if he had to go to the yamen to re-sign the contract. However, there was no need to expose the truth at this time, so she just smiled and agreed, and then talked about Deng Hehua's engagement.
Ji Yanlang said that he could go there by himself. "They have a banquet and invite all the women from the village. If you go, they will definitely treat you as a freak. Besides, they live on their own now without maids. It's not as clean as when they were in the city."
Fang Ying had also heard about this from the maids who were delivering the clothes. She didn't insist on going, but was just curious: "Are they going to propose to the man?"
"Well, I'm going there to propose marriage. It's nothing special. I just need to give his uncle's family some gifts, some clothes and shoes, write a marriage certificate, and set a date for the wedding."
"Will his uncle return the gift?"
Ji Yanlang said, "What can they say? It would be best if we don't have any contact in the future."
He had it all planned out. After he finished his business at Uncle Wang Shu's house, he would scare the family so that they would not dare to bother Aunt Deng in the future.
Fang Ying heard that she really didn't need to worry about it, so she let it go. After all, she had found a new thing to do.
After Xiang'er came back with Mai Cao and others who were sending Fang Quan off, Fang Ying was not in a hurry to see her. Instead, she asked Lichun to settle her down first and then explain the rules of the Ji Mansion. She called her over the next day after she finished her housework.
"Did they tell you everything?"
Xiang'er was thin and small, standing there timidly, but she answered clearly: "Yes, my sisters said that I should go to this mansion to learn the rules again, and then go back to serve Second Lady."
Fang Ying asked: "Do you still want to go back?"
"I will obey your orders, my lady."
Fang Ying smiled, she was indeed quite clever, "Then let's learn from Lichun first."
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