Qin Yuan nodded and said, "Let her in."
Hongmian was taken to work in the sewing room by Cuiming and must have suffered a lot. I wonder what she's going to say this time.
Hongmian arrived quickly, stood outside the curtain with her hands clasped, first bowed and greeted her, then said, "Madam, this servant has something important to report."
"Speak."
Hongmian said, "I have been behaving myself in the sewing room these days. Sister Cuiming said she would not mistreat me because of Sister Hongye, but if I have the ability, I will find a way to stand up for myself."
"Um,"
Qin Yuan only gave a vague reply.
Hongmian continued, "This servant is not good at needlework. The needlework room already has the previous Mama Lu and the current Mama Li, as well as Sister Cuiming. How could it be my turn? I heard that Mr. Songshan is recruiting people for Feiyun Pavilion. Accountant Wan recommended many veterans who have stayed. This servant also wants to go to Feiyun Pavilion to serve."
Since Hongmian had this drive to scheme, Qin Yuan naturally wouldn't stop her. She smiled and said, "If you can get into Feiyun Pavilion through your own abilities, that would be great. I won't stop you, and neither will Cuiming and the others."
Hongmian understood Qin Yuan's words and said, "Madam, I've said so much nonsense not because I wanted to ask you to assign me to work."
"Oh?" Qin Yuan raised an eyebrow.
Hongmian whispered, "This servant wanted to make a contribution before going to Feiyun Pavilion, but I'm stuck in the sewing room and can't do anything. It just so happens that the Gu residence burned down yesterday, and the old lady arranged for Master Gu's family to stay in the guest rooms, so the sewing room got a lot of work. This servant volunteered to go to the guest rooms to take measurements, and when I saw the two young masters return, they sent Xiaohong away to talk."
"I know that Madam Zhao caused chaos in the manor before, and now the Gu residence has suffered again. Besides, this isn't the first time, so I was cautious and hid behind the flower trellis leaning against the pillar."
Qin Yuan nodded: "Go on, what did you hear?"
Hongmian hurriedly said, "I heard them say that we can't delay any longer and we have to find a way to please the Marquis. We should take action during the Mid-Autumn Festival. They also said that we should ask someone for some medicine. There were some things they said that I didn't quite understand. They didn't sound like the language of us Han people. They sounded quite strange, but I wrote them all down."
Qin Yuan was taken aback.
Lord Gu had lost his heart towards Pang Cheng and Pang Yu, and only intended to use them as bait, but he did not expect that the two of them would be so ruthless.
Indeed, those who are not of our kind are bound to have ulterior motives.
How can you tame someone separated by a blood feud?
Qin Yuan thought for a moment and said, "I need to discuss some matters with Mr. Songshan. You wait outside, and I'll take you there in a bit."
Hongmian was overjoyed and retreated, waiting outside the corridor.
Qin Yuan had breakfast with the help of several maids before taking Hongmian to the front yard to find Mr. Songshan.
Seeing that several of the older maids were missing from the courtyard today, with only the younger maids following Qin Yuan around, Hongmian inquired, "Why haven't we seen the older sisters come out? Did they go to keep an eye on the head maids?"
The maidservant glanced at Qin Yuan before saying, "They went out with Madam yesterday and were injured while recovering."
Hongmian remained silent.
Qin Yuan asked, "What are you thinking about?"
Hongmian was taken aback: "These people must be the same group as the people who burned down the Gu residence yesterday. They were all brought here by the two young masters, and they might even be related to the Zhao family."
"Anything else?"
Hongmian thought for a moment and then said, "This servant will dare to guess, could it be related to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion? After all, we were guests at their home, and we got injured. It must be because the host did not treat us well. If it were a small family, it would be fine, but the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion has strict rules. Who would dare to cause trouble in his house? Could they be in cahoots with Zhao Shi?"
Qin Yuan said, "It's not time to say that."
Hongmian rolled her eyes, knowing that she had guessed about 70-80% correctly.
Upon hearing that Qin Yuan had arrived, Mr. Songshan finally looked up from the pile of papers, stood up, and offered her a seat: "Madam, what brings you here?"
Feiyun Pavilion had just assembled a makeshift team, and once it started operating, they were so busy that they had to use small sticks to keep their eyelids open while they worked during the day.
Qin Yuan laughed and said, "Come and take a look. I gave such a large sum of money, I can't just sit back and do nothing."
Mr. Matsuyama pointed to the pile of case files on the table: "You two are so afraid of wasting that large sum of money that you just keep dumping a bunch of things on me. Look how much I have here!"
Despite the complaints, no specifics were mentioned.
Qin Yuan dismissed the maids, leaving only Hongmian behind, and said, "This maid used to serve in my courtyard. Because of some things, she was sent to the sewing room. She heard some news, which I guess will be useful."
Mr. Matsuyama brought over paper and pen: "Tell me what you have to say."
Hongmian then explained it in detail, repeating what she didn't understand verbatim.
Mr. Matsuyama nodded: "This girl has a good memory and is quite clever."
Qin Yuan looked at Hong Mian and smiled.
Hongmian understood and immediately bowed deeply to Mr. Songshan: "I heard that Mr. Songshan is recruiting people here. My ancestors followed the old Marquis to the battlefield. I am literate and can keep accounts. I also know a little about needlework and kitchen work. I wonder if I can find a future here at Feiyun Pavilion."
Seeing that she was clever, Mr. Songshan asked her some questions and had her write a few words. He then said, "Go back first. My place has just been set up and things are in disarray. Once things settle down in a few days, I will ask your master for people if needed."
Hongmian was quite disappointed that she couldn't make a decision on the spot, but Mr. Songshan didn't refuse her request immediately, giving her some hope.
Hongmian withdrew, and Mr. Songshan asked Qin Yuan, "I remember she was serving you closely, wasn't she? Did she do something wrong and get kicked out?"
Qin Yuan gave a brief explanation, then added, "Don't you have Brother Qi by your side? He's just like his mother, very good at finding out things. You can have him find out all the details about this. Hongmian is clever and quick-witted, a bit too capable for the inner quarters. If you don't need her, I plan to temper her personality and send her out to manage the shop. She and Hongye had a falling out over Gu Shiliu, and I just wanted to keep them apart to avoid trouble. I didn't have a good place for her for the time being, so I sent her to the sewing room."
Knowing that she wanted to punish Hongmian for a while, Mr. Songshan said, "Then let's leave her alone for now. I plan to use some clever women in the future, regardless of age. The things the Marquis will cause in the future will be quite big. We will only be short of people to use. There's no need to use people for some trivial matters."
Qin Yuan smiled and said, "She came over this morning, making it clear that she wanted to make a contribution to join Feiyun Pavilion. Don't underestimate her because of her young age; she's very quick-witted and ambitious. If used properly, she'll definitely be a capable person. However, Hongye Cuiming is also my right-hand woman. Everything has to be balanced. If I give her too much credit, wouldn't that hurt others? If I don't use her, I'm afraid it will block the path for those who come after me."
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