As they came out of the pavilion, Xiangye could clearly sense that Xiangzhi beside her was not in a good mood. Turning her head, she saw the stubbornness in Xiangzhi's eyes and asked with some concern, "What's wrong with you?"
Xiangzhi paused for a moment, then said, "It's nothing."
Xiangye pursed her lips: "You're not still thinking about becoming the young master's concubine, are you? We've been serving him for so long. If you wanted to, you would have summoned us to serve him long ago."
Obviously, Wu Langjun never mentioned it. Occasionally, he would serve him closely, but only by bringing him tea and water. He never even touched the buttons on Wu Langjun's clothes.
Xiangye initially had her own ideas. If she were to be taken in by her husband and become a concubine after the new bride entered the household, she could live under the care of the mistress. As long as the future mistress was easy to talk to, that would be fine.
But as time went on, Xiangye's interest in marriage faded away. She focused on her work and hoped that her husband and mistress, being kind-hearted, would find her a suitable marriage in the future.
She just hadn't expected Xiangzhi to be thinking of becoming her husband's concubine. Xiangye was always forgiving when she was right, but if she couldn't stick to what she was set on, the consequences would be truly worrying.
"Why can't we think about it? Wasn't that what Madam meant when she sent us there in the first place?"
When a young master from a prominent family reaches a certain age, he will be provided with a maidservant. If he is lucky enough to be taken as a concubine, he will become a mistress, which is more prestigious than being a cleaning maid.
Xiangye hesitated, "But Madam probably means that she has chosen a girl for the young master, perhaps it's my cousin. The old lady dotes on my cousin so much, she naturally wouldn't want her to suffer any injustice."
"If you really lose your virginity and don't take the house back, wouldn't that be a huge loss?"
Xiangye was worried that she really wouldn't give up. If she displeased the future mistress, she might not even be able to keep her current easy job, let alone her position as a concubine.
Moreover, the old lady dotes on her cousin so much, and the cousin is now the county princess personally bestowed by the emperor. If she really wanted to control them, without the husband's favoritism, it would be as easy as crushing an ant.
Xiangye shrank back in fear after thinking about this; she didn't want to lose her body and life for nothing.
"You're such a coward. You have to earn your own life." Xiangzhi rolled her eyes and gritted her teeth, thinking of her mother at home who would ask her for her monthly allowance every month for her younger brother's sake.
Working in the inner quarters, the tasks around the young master were really easy, and she didn't want to leave. If she could become a concubine, she would be considered half a mistress.
"You're not scared, are you? What's there to be afraid of? Even if she's a county princess personally appointed by the emperor, she'll still be living under someone else's roof in the Xu family. How many years does the old lady have left? As long as my husband is on my side, even if she's the mistress of the house, what can she do to me?"
She looked at Xiangye's face; although her features were regular, they were rather uninteresting, unlike Xiangye's beautiful eyes.
She was willing to give it a shot. So what if she was a county princess? So what if she had the old lady's favoritism? As long as she held her husband's heart firmly in her hands, she could still have a place in his courtyard.
Xiangye's lips moved, knowing she couldn't persuade her, but seeing the gleam in Xiangzhi's eyes, she was a little worried: "Then go and try your best. I want to live a good life."
Xiangzhi seemed to see herself as a concubine, living a life of luxury. She puffed out her chest with a hint of pride: "Don't worry, once I become a concubine, I will definitely promote you."
Xiangye smiled but did not answer. She felt that the future was uncertain, so it was better not to agree too easily.
Little did they know that their conversation had been clearly overheard. Chang Shun was so engrossed in listening that his vision blurred. He cautiously observed the prince's expression, wanting to intervene, but the prince's cold gaze made him pretend to be invisible.
However, these two maids were incredibly audacious, daring to gossip about their master in the garden and even harboring delusions.
In the past, girls like this would have been sold into the household long ago. He didn't quite understand the young master's thoughts, and actually stopped him, even overhearing the end.
As the two maids walked away, Chang Shun withdrew his gaze and recalled that when the two maids mentioned the young lady, the young master's face had become as gloomy as dark clouds overhead, almost suffocating him.
"Which room do those two maids belong to?"
Xu Yunci's voice came like smoke, easily drowned out by the sound of the rain.
Fortunately, Chang Shun had sharp ears. Although he was distracted, he kept an eye on Xu Yunci's movements and quickly replied, "She is an ordinary maid in the Fifth Prince's courtyard."
He also wanted to say that the maidservant chosen by the Fourth Madam for the Fifth Prince was the same as Tao Lu and the other maidservant from Songyuan. He dared not say this, for fear that the young master would punch him to death.
However, having said all that, Xu Yunci could easily understand the true identities of the two maids.
His gaze was meaningful: "What do you think of Miss Biao?"
Chang Shun seemed not to have realized what was happening. He pointed to himself and asked Xu Yunci to confirm that the question was directed at him.
Seeing his reaction, Xu Yunci's eyes seemed to show a hint of impatience, which was already his answer.
"My cousin is beautiful and kind-hearted, and she is the best of the best. Moreover, she respects her elders and is friendly to the young. If I had to say, she is the best, best, best, best girl in the world."
Chang Shun quickly chimed in, using up all the praise he had ever learned in his life.
Xu Yunci remained silent, while Chang Shun stood to the side, a growing unease creeping into his heart.
"Young Master, the Old Madam is planning to arrange a marriage for your cousin." And the candidate is between your two younger brothers. You wouldn't happen to have your eye on your future sister-in-law, would you?
Chang Shun wisely only said the first half of the sentence. He felt that the prince would not ask a question for no reason; he must have his own purpose.
He cared so much about his cousin, and he discovered that the young master never shirked his responsibilities when it came to his cousin's affairs, and he would never forget what his cousin had entrusted to him, no matter how important his own affairs were.
He had been by the young master's side for many years, and the young master had never cared for his daughter so much. Now that they finally had someone to find a husband for his cousin, his young master wasn't even on the list.
Is this a tragic fate? Chang Shun was torn. Should he advise the prince to give up, or should he follow his own heart?
"Arranging a marriage..."
Xu Yunci lowered his eyes and stood in the corridor with his hands behind his back. The dark clouds above his head gradually seemed to be dissipating, but they gathered together again after a moment! Their color was even darker and more gloomy than before.
The dark clouds overhead were heavy and dense, so heavy that they seemed to press down on us like a mountain.
This marriage was arranged by the two matriarchs, but it didn't specify which young man from the Xu family would be the match.
Moreover, none of the three letters and six rites are currently in effect; it's just baseless speculation by the servants, and everything remains uncertain.
"Prepare the horses, I'm going out."
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