The meaning of the red leaves is quite obvious—Cuiming has been trying to remind herself to be careful of Hongmian all day long, but she never expected that one morning, Hongmian would take over Cuiming's job of combing her hair.
Cui Ming remained silent.
Seeing them arrive, Hongmian smiled and said, "Sister Cuiming is here. Madam is wondering which headdress to choose. You know Madam's preferences best, so please help her pick one."
Upon hearing this, Hongye couldn't help but purse her lips.
Hongmian seemed not to notice, preoccupied with greeting Cuiming.
Cuiming walked over, examined her for a moment, and said, "I didn't expect Hongmian to have such a good skill in combing hair."
Hongmian smiled and said, "Madam is used to Sister Cuiming combing her hair. It just so happened that you weren't here, so I was forced to do it. Fortunately, Madam is very magnanimous and doesn't mind that I'm not very skilled."
Qin Yuan smiled and said, "You did a good job combing it, almost as good as Cui Ming's. In the future, if Cui Ming is busy with other things, you can help her comb her hair."
This is tantamount to promising Hongmian the position of a first-class maid. If she doesn't make any mistakes, she will get this position sooner or later.
Hongmian was overjoyed. Holding the jewelry box, she bowed to Qin Yuan and said, "Thank you for your praise, Madam. I will definitely learn more about hair styling from Sister Cuiming in the future."
Cui Ming reached out and picked out a gilded and jade-inlaid hairpin from the box, saying, "This will match your clothes perfectly when you put it in your hair."
Qin Yuan took them and looked at them, then said, "If you think both are good, then let's go with this one."
Cuiming glanced at Hongmian.
Hongmian smiled and said, "I never expected that my taste is the same as Sister Cuiming's."
Cui Ming didn't respond.
Qin Yuan asked Cui Ming, "How is the reconciliation between you and Wan Zhangfang going? How many people are going to sell their shares?"
Cui Ming said, "Three people have all sold their shares, saying they never want to touch pepper again in their lives. Eleven people sold some and kept some. The others didn't sell any, saying they listened to Wan Zhangfang's advice and trusted Madam's judgment, so they wanted to hold onto their shares until they could at least recoup their investment."
Hongmian immediately said, "That's right, Madam. You're so insightful. Anyone with a brain knows what to do. Those who transferred the money will probably regret it later. Madam, when my mother found out about this, she blamed me for not telling the family when I got the news of the fortune. She's clamoring to get a share too."
Hongye couldn't help but purse her lips again.
Qin Yuan, too lazy to watch their subtle sparring, said, "If your mother wants a share, just put it in your name. Once you have the money, go find Cuiming and Hongye to deposit it and get a receipt. However, there are always wins and losses in business, so you can't just think about making money and not think about losing it."
Hongmian was overjoyed and said with a smile, "Thank you, Madam. I understand. I am not such an ignorant person. Madam is willing to let my mother contribute a gift, which shows that Madam cares about me."
After serving Qin Yuan breakfast, Hongye seized an opportunity to pull Cuiming aside and whispered, "I didn't realize it before, but now I think Hongmian is too clever for her own good. She's already thinking about how to drag you down again?"
Cuiming said, "Miss knows what she's doing and how to use each person; she won't make a mess of things."
Hongye nodded.
"Luckily, Miss values old friendships and is also discerning; otherwise, we would all be squeezed out of our seats by this little girl."
Cui Ming chuckled, "Now you know how scary it is."
Hongye said, "You can tell from her skill in combing hair in front of Miss today that she has been practicing for a long time in private."
Cui Ming sighed, "I'm not as strong as you. There's no one else useful around Miss, otherwise she wouldn't have made me manage so many things. It's good that she can take over; it will save us some trouble. The vacancy of Miss's head maid can't stay vacant forever; it's not right. It's better for her to take over than someone who's muddle-headed and doesn't know what's good for her. It's just that being too clever and argumentative makes people dislike her."
Hongye paused for a moment, and then said, "That seems to be the case, but I don't feel right about it."
"Have you forgotten the story Miss told about suspecting the neighbor of stealing the axe? Now that you have a grudge against Hongmian, it's no wonder you find fault with everything she does. Besides, she's always looking for an opportunity to stir things up, which is why she's urging you to make your relationship with Sixteen official as soon as possible."
Hongye nodded: "I understand. Miss also seeks the Sixteenth Question Period, but..."
"Just what?"
"It's just that I've gotten married, and now I'm leaving you all alone."
Cui Ming chuckled and said, "So you still care about me? Never mind that. You can't bear to part with me so much, so why don't you let me marry both of you? Let me tell you, I won't be a concubine."
Hongye was furious and reached out to pinch Cuiming.
"People are trying to talk to you about serious matters, and you're being so irresponsible."
Cui Ming said, "Alright, my dear aunt, take care of yourself. Miss is about to go to the council courtyard, and you're still here talking to me about your troubles. It's true that your mind has grown too big in just a day or two, and you can't stay still."
Hongye hummed twice and went to take care of her business.
Cuiming stayed where she was for a while, calmed herself down, and then returned to the main room.
Qin Yuan was about to leave when she saw her and instructed, "The sewing room has been extremely busy lately, and with the holidays approaching, you only need to manage the sewing room and Shen Changle's affairs. Don't get involved in anything else and get some rest. Have you finished the incense I mixed for you last time?"
Cui Ming smiled and said, "Thank you for your understanding, Miss. But everyone is so busy, and I feel uneasy when I'm free. With Mama Li and Mama Lu competing with each other, everyone in the sewing room is putting more effort into their work than before, and they don't complain much. It's much easier now."
Qin Yuan said seriously, "I told you to rest, so just rest properly."
Cui Ming nodded.
"There's still half a box of incense left."
Qin Yuan said, "Don't be stingy with your daily life. I prepared it myself, and the spices are from Ranxiangju. It won't cost much. Your health is the most important thing."
Cui Ming's eyes reddened, but she forced a smile and said, "I'm not made of paper."
Qin Yuan laughed and said, "Tsk tsk, you get like this after just a few words. People who don't know better would think I'm making you feel bad. Since you like being busy so much, why don't you urge Doctor Li to come up with what I told you and ask him how he's thinking about it? If he doesn't come back in a day, have someone send him some things, anything, to embarrass him."
Cui Ming chuckled and said, "Miss's move is really... really... a bit underhanded. I'm afraid Doctor Li won't be able to sit still."
Qin Yuan said, "You don't know that he'll drag his feet and avoid things whenever possible. Now he won't even come over to sit down after seeing Old Madam Qi and Accountant Wan. If we don't force him, he'll just keep it bottled up inside."
In his past life, when Doctor Li was dying, he said that there were still members of the Chen family, but he didn't say where they were or who they were.
It caused her to spend countless hours searching for him.
But it still came to nothing.
In this lifetime, she must persuade this old man to speak up sooner and help her overturn the verdict against the Chen family.
Cuiming smiled and said, "This servant will take care of it right away. It just so happens that it's time to send the festival gifts to Renhetang. The clothes that the sewing room has been rushing to make for them are also finished."
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