Chapter 569 Deterrence
Shen Wantang showed no surprise after hearing Huayi's words.
The other maids all looked at Huayi in astonishment. Qinxin even tugged at her sleeve and anxiously whispered, "Huayi, are you crazy? If you don't stay by the Second Miss's side, where else can you go? The Young Master doesn't want us anymore. We can't go back!"
Huayi grasped Qinxin's hand, her voice trembling with tears: "Sister Qinxin, I'm also reluctant to leave you all, but the Second Miss doesn't need so many maids. I'm dull-witted and not as capable as you sisters, so the Second Miss won't like me. It's better for me to leave on my own than to be driven away, and that way, it won't make things difficult for the Second Miss."
Qin Xin wasn't stupid. Upon hearing this, she quickly let go of Hua Yi's hand and stood a little further away from her, lest the second young lady think that she was in cahoots with Hua Yi.
The way Huayi said it made it sound like the Second Miss was forcing her to leave. Wasn't that just putting the Second Miss on a pedestal all at once?
She will still have to serve the second young lady in the future, so she can't afford to offend her.
Despite her humble origins and unassuming manner, this Miss Shen managed to win over the Princess Consort of Ning and the Duchess of the State, as well as the Heir Apparent and the Second Young Master Gu!
Looking across the entire capital, which young lady has this ability?
She felt that Miss Shen had a bright future and had already made up her mind to serve her well.
Isn't this better than following Xiao Qingyuan? Xiao Qingyuan sells out the people around him at the drop of a hat. Even his wet nurse, Granny Chai, who watched him grow up, was sold out by him. If it weren't for the princess's consideration for their past relationship, she would have sent someone to buy Granny Chai back. Who knows where Granny Chai would be right now!
Shen Wantang naturally understood Huayi's meaning; she actually wanted to shift the responsibility for leaving the Shen family onto her, the master!
She really doesn't know her place. As a maid, she thinks she can ride roughshod over her.
She had originally intended to release the person directly, but now she doesn't want to.
"Your name is Huayi, right?"
Shen Wantang said calmly, "Although you are a bit dull and stupid, as long as you do your job honestly, you can still be my maid. Besides, you also said that you can't bear to part with them and don't want to leave. It's not a problem for me to have another maid. Considering how pitiful you are, I will keep you."
Hua Yi was dumbfounded: "Huh? Second Miss, this..."
She never expected that this second young lady would act so unpredictably!
She deliberately made herself sound stupid, so why did the second young lady still want to keep her?
She deeply regretted it; she shouldn't have been so polite with Qin Xin!
"Huayi, since you're so stupid, you can go outside and serve. You don't need to come in anymore. From now on, Qinxin and the others will take care of things in my room. Also, you'll be on watch tonight."
"Even the dumbest person can keep watch, right? If they can't even do that right, then they must have ulterior motives!"
Shen Wantang's tone was icy: "Remember this well, my place may be small, but the rules are strict. Anyone who dares to sleep or slack off during night watch will be punished with twenty strokes of the cane!"
Hua Yi knelt down with a thud, her face pale, and said, "Yes, Second Miss, this servant has remembered!"
"Alright, everyone get out, Qin Xin stays."
The maids were all intimidated by her sharp words and became extremely respectful.
They witnessed a great show upon their arrival today—both Madam Shen and Miss Shen were punished with beatings.
When the second young lady gets ruthless, she even beats her stepmother and stepsister, not to mention the maids!
The three of them, Qi Yu and Qin Xin, left the room without daring to breathe. Qin Xin was left inside, feeling uneasy. She thought she would be scolded, since she had broken the rules by talking to Hua Yi.
But instead of the scolding she expected, she saw a gentle smile on Shen Wantang's beautiful face.
She heard her new master ask in a pleasant voice, "Qin Xin, what are your specialties? For example, cooking, or needlework?"
Hearing her gentle voice, Qin Xin's tense mood eased a little. She gently shook her head and said honestly, "Second Miss, my cooking and needlework skills are not very outstanding."
"So what are you good at? You can't be completely without any strengths, can you?"
"This servant...this servant is quite good at gathering information, I wonder if that counts as a strength?"
Shen Wantang laughed. She had deliberately guided Qin Xin, just waiting for her to say those words.
"Of course it counts, and it's a rather unique advantage."
Qin Xin's eyes lit up. The second young lady seemed easy to talk to. She was being praised for all of this!
"From now on, you will be in charge of gathering and reporting news from all places. You can move freely around the Shen family compound, and you can come and go freely inside and outside. You don't need to do any other work; just report all kinds of news to me."
Qin Xin was shocked: "Does Miss give me such great power?"
"Of course, since you are good at gathering information, would it be a waste of your talent and a stifle your abilities to keep you confined? Feel free to move around. I'll take responsibility if anything happens. If you gather good information, I'll reward you. Of course, if you don't want to follow me and want to go back to the Prince Ning's residence, I can send you back."
Qin Xin shook her head vigorously, like a rattle-drum: "No, no, no, this servant will not return to the Prince's mansion. This servant is already Miss's maid! From now on, this servant will serve Miss with utmost loyalty and devotion!"
When she was in the Prince's mansion, she was not actually Xiao Qingyuan's maid; she was the maid of Princess Ning.
But Xiao Qingyuan was acting strangely, he would look down on her every time he saw her, and he would always give her a bad look. He would often say that she had been disrespectful to him in her past life and that she deserved to die.
So much so that Princess Ning thought she had done something bad to anger Xiao Qingyuan, and that Granny Quan had scolded her several times and even deducted her monthly allowance.
She was so aggrieved that she couldn't eat or sleep well these past few days, fearing that one day she would open her eyes and be sold off by Xiao Qingyuan.
She was extremely grateful to be sent to Shen Wantang's place.
Unlike Huayi, who was still thinking about becoming Xiao Qingyuan's concubine, she would never return to the Ning Prince's mansion.
If Xiao Qingyuan truly loved the painting, how could he so easily give it away?
It's fortunate that it was given to Miss Shen Er; if it had been given to some man with unusual fetishes, none of them would have been able to save their lives!
"Alright, you can go out now. Call Qiyu in."
Qin Xin responded and left.
A moment later, Qiyu came in.
As usual, Shen Wantang asked her what she was good at, and also asked her age, hometown, and who her family was.
The chess language answered each question.
When Shen Wantang heard her mention having a younger brother, she asked, "Have you encountered any difficulties recently? If so, you can tell me. Since you are now my maid, I will ensure you have no worries."
Qi Yu was silent for a moment, then shook her head: "My family has no difficulties."
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