Chapter 26 World 2 (Part 2)
When Baoshan and Jinxiu reached the front courtyard, they realized their wish to share a couch had been dashed. Unlike the Rose Garden, where several maids shared a single couch, this room had two soft couches, one on the east and one on the west side, complete with pillows and quilts. A copper basin and cotton towels were also placed on the small table for washing.
There were five people chosen to be personal maids, and they only saw two rooms.
Several people had different thoughts in their minds and moved their feet slightly. Just as they were about to fight, they heard the housekeeper tell them to put down their luggage first and wait for Miss Deng to make her choice before deciding on their residence.
Deng Qianqian's courtyard was not far from the maid's residence, and clusters of elegant evening primroses grew beside the cobblestone path. They were led to a main hall, where a charming woman sat at the head of the table, greeting the housekeeper in a friendly tone.
"I already said I don't want personal maids anymore. I have my own hands and feet, so I don't need them to serve me. Butler, please take them back!"
Her tone was lively and natural, with a hint of complaint. No one dared to look up at her. They were only surprised that Miss Deng was so bold as to speak to the housekeeper in such a way.
The butler did not get angry because he was offended, and respectfully rejected Deng Qianqian's proposal.
"This is what the prince meant."
If Miss Deng is dissatisfied, she can go to the prince and ask him to take back his words.
Deng Qianqian obviously didn't want to go look for the prince. Her cheeks were slightly puffed up, and she looked quite reluctant.
"In that case, let them stay. Don't touch my things!"
Everyone agreed verbally, but they were confused in their hearts. As servants, how could they dare to touch their master's things?
Deng Qianqian stood up from the rosewood chair and walked to the five maids.
She walked over to Jinxiu's side and stared at the butterfly-wrapped flower branch on her head for a long time, muttering, "Isn't it said that only nobles can wear gold jewelry? How can you wear it too?"
When Jinxiu heard this, her legs went weak and she fell to her knees with a look of panic.
"I dare not..."
Deng Qianqian's eyes widened. She didn't understand why Jinxiu had to kneel down, and turned her head helplessly towards the housekeeper.
"I'm just asking out of curiosity. There's no need to be so nervous."
But she secretly complained in her heart: It is really the feudal system that kills people.
Beads of sweat rolled down Jinxiu's forehead. She felt miserable. Miss Deng said that she had violated the rules by wearing gold jewelry, and the housekeeper attached so much importance to the rules. She was probably going to be tortured and thrown out of the palace.
In the silence, a clear sound with a tremolo sounded, like silver beads falling into a jade plate, the sound was mellow and pleasant, quiet and intoxicating.
"She doesn't wear gold jewelry, she wears brass."
Deng Qianqian looked over when she heard the voice, and found that among the maids sent over, there was such a beautiful lady, with beautiful eyebrows, white teeth, clear eyes, and crow-feather eyelashes trembling slightly, with a hint of timidity, which made people feel pity for her and wanted to speak softly so as not to disturb her.
Seeing that no one blamed her, Bao Shan explained carefully, "Brass and gold jewelry are somewhat similar. Your Excellency has seen many gold jewelry, but we maids don't have much money or silver, so how could we afford to make gold jewelry?"
Jewelry made of gold is softer, while jewelry made of brass is harder, and the prices of the two are very different.
Among the maids, only a few used silver ornaments for decoration.
Jinxiu was frightened just now and for a moment she didn't think of explaining the matter.
If this matter is left unresolved, for Miss Deng, it would just be a sudden change of maid, but for Jinxiu, it would be a matter of life and death.
Seeing this, Jinxiu's thoughts gradually came back to her mind, and she quickly said that it would cost two taels of silver to make a piece of silver jewelry, which she could not bear to spend. This brass jewelry also cost her several hundred copper coins, which made her very distressed.
Deng Qianqian blushed. It turned out that she had made a mistake, but gold and brass were indeed very similar.
Seeing that she knew the truth, the housekeeper still didn't ask Jinxiu to get up. Impatience flashed across his eyes, and he spoke to Jinxiu, who was kneeling pitifully on the ground.
"Get up if you haven't exceeded the limit."
Jinxiu quickly stood up.
Although some minor incidents arose while choosing a place for the maids, Deng Qianqian remained in high spirits. She pointed and made arrangements: "You, be responsible for serving meals, and you, take a bath..."
The fingers finally fell on the precious fan.
Deng Qianqian's eyes flashed with a cunning light, and she muttered to herself, "I haven't made up my mind yet, so just stay by my side and don't leave my side for a moment."
Baoshan's body trembled slightly, and he nodded in agreement.
The two rooms that the housekeeper showed them were given to Jinxiu and the others.
As for the precious fan, it was taken to another larger room.
There were also two beds in the room, but one of them was covered with a quilt, showing signs of someone having lived there.
The other one was filled with miscellaneous items, rouge and powder boxes, cakes and snacks.
Before the housekeeper could speak, Baoshan stood up and prepared to tidy up the couch that was littered with debris.
But just as she approached, a slender shadow flashed before her eyes, and Baoshan couldn't help but let out a soft cry.
Unlike the shrill cries of others who were frightened, the sound of the treasure fan was timid, just like her timid nature. Even her fear was weak and helpless, like a string that was about to break. It was clear and cautious, and when people heard the sound, they couldn't help but feel heroic, and would rather block it with their own bodies than let her be in danger.
The servant following the butler wanted to act as the hero. He strode forward, held the treasure fan behind him, and walked towards the slender shadow alone.
"It's not a snake!"
The servant breathed a sigh of relief, grabbed the culprit who frightened the beauty, and presented him to the housekeeper.
"It's a straw rope."
Several people were looking at each other in surprise. Suddenly the door was pushed open and a woman wearing a gold hairpin walked in. Seeing everyone staying in her room, her eyes widened and she was about to explode.
But when the butler gave him a cold look, the fire in his heart was immediately extinguished.
When she heard that Baoshan was going to live in this room, she immediately started to refuse.
The girl's name is Hua Qing, and she was brought from the palace by Miss Deng.
Although she was called a maid, Miss Deng treated her like a sister, which gradually made Hua Qing develop her temper and start to think of herself as the master.
Now that the treasure fan was coming, her house would be divided into two, and she would seem to have changed from a master back to a servant. Naturally, she would not agree.
The housekeeper has never been in a good mood. He said that Hua Qing had two options, one of which was to divide the house.
Hua Qing hurriedly asked about the second way.
"The second option is for you to move out and live with Miss Deng. That way, you won't be wronged."
Hua Qing would never go to look for Miss Deng, so she could only agree reluctantly. After the housekeeper left, only a servant was left behind to watch her tidy up the clutter on the bed.
Hua Qing's plan to use the treasure fan failed, and she felt even more depressed. So when she was tidying the bed, she had a bad idea. She deliberately poured the broken cake crumbs in the oil paper bag on the soft couch, and opened the osmanthus oil used to apply on her hair, and poured it all into the corner of the bed.
Hua Qing tidied the bed, raised her chin, and wanted to urge Baoshan to "enjoy" the soft couch.
The servant who had a solemn expression just now was now whispering something interesting. Baoshan's brows relaxed slightly, and a gentle smile appeared on his pretty face.
Seeing this, the servant's cheeks turned even redder. He was about to tell another story when Hua Qing interrupted him.
"Here, everything is ready. Go and have some rest."
The smile on Bao Shan's face faded, and her beautiful eyes looked at the servant with hesitation, her round lips almost bitten by her. She opened her thin lips slightly, and the word "OK" was about to slip out. The servant waved his hand at Hua Qing, who looked very proud. "When you're done, take the quilt back."
Hua Qing was stunned.
The servant didn't want to talk to her any more. He picked up the things on the other bed and threw them on the soft couch that Hua Qing had tidied up.
Hua Qing screamed, her voice was particularly harsh.
"what you do?"
Seeing Baoshan's delicate yet timid eyes looking at him, the servant became more and more impatient.
"You made the bed, so naturally you're the one to stay on. Didn't you promise the housekeeper?"
Hua Qing was speechless. For a moment, she couldn't even remember whether she had really promised. She could only glare at Bao Shan fiercely and turned around to pick up the pastry crumbs and osmanthus hair oil she had left behind.
Baoshan went to see the servant off, her eyes lowered and her voice weak.
"Thank you so much for what you did just now... Actually, I can live anywhere."
"How can that be? Kind people are often bullied. You are timid to begin with, and Hua Qing is so arrogant now. If you don't teach her a lesson today, she will bully you in the future."
As if frightened by what the servant said, Baoshan's eyes trembled slightly, and there was a sparkling light in them.
The servant quickly comforted her: "Don't be afraid. If she dares to bully you, come find me. I...I will find the housekeeper to take care of it for you."
Looking at Baoshan's frail figure, the tea-green laces fluttering in the wind, and her appearance of being unable to bear the weight of her clothes, the servant thought that he must keep a closer eye on Hua Qing in the future and must not let her bully Baoshan.
Baoshan returned to her room. As she blew out the candles and rested, Huaqing seemed to be still making the bed, muttering, "I'll never buy osmanthus oil from this store again." Fortunately, there was a gauze curtain between them, and Baoshan fell into a deep sleep under the hazy orange candlelight.
On the first day that Baoshan followed Miss Deng, she met the prince.
Miss Deng has always been determined to arrange some massage relaxation techniques for the prince, but the prince naturally disagrees.
Miss Deng got another recipe and gave it to the kitchen to make, and then she presented it to the prince personally. Baoshan was waiting by her side, holding a plate of snacks.
The housekeeper acted accustomed to this. He took the soup from Miss Deng's hand and said, "The prince has something to do."
Just when Baoshan thought that this time he would return empty-handed, a tall and straight figure walked out of the house.
Everyone knelt down, including Bao Shan. Only Miss Deng shouted happily, "Yuwen Xuan!"
The man she called Yuwen Xuan was the owner of the palace, the prince that everyone feared.
Yuwen Xuan did not respond, his dark and deep pupils looked at Miss Deng.
Although she didn't say a word, Deng Qianqian put away her smile and reluctantly knelt down with everyone else.
Deng Qianqian no longer had any soup in her hand. She caught a glimpse of the pastry in Baoshan's hand, her eyes lit up, and she pulled Baoshan's arm to hand it to Yuwen Xuan.
——This is the pastry she arranged for the kitchen to make. Although Yuwen Xuan didn't give her any face, he still had to try this pastry.
Bao Shan only felt a pain in his hand, but because Yu Wenxuan was there, he endured it and refused to make a sound. Suddenly, a strong force came from behind, and Bao Shan was pushed to his feet, and fell forward with weak legs.
In full view of everyone, the indigo porcelain plate containing the Poria cocos cake broke into pieces with a crisp sound.
The Poria cocos cake rolled out of the porcelain plate and scattered in all directions. One of them rolled to Yu Wenxuan's feet, and after turning a few circles, it slowly stopped.
The precious fan, like the poor Poria cocos cake, fell in front of Yuwen Xuan, with the tip of her nose facing the tip of Yuwen Xuan's toes.
The surroundings were silent, but everyone's heart was in turmoil and ups and downs.
Baoshan felt pain in her arm, probably from a scratch, and tears had already filled her eyes.
But at this moment, Bao Shan had no time to care about the pain in her body. She was only thinking about one thing: she had lost her manners in front of Yu Wenxuan. Although it was not her fault, how could they, the servants, judge right and wrong?
Miss Deng did not misbehave in public and was able to save her life, but what about her?
A bleeding head flashed through Baoshan's mind, and the head suddenly changed into her appearance, which was very scary.
She suppressed the trembling of her body, supported herself on the ground with one hand, and slowly stood up. As she moved, the tears in her eyes finally couldn't be held back and fell on the boots in front of her.
If the boots were made of the finest silk and satin, they could have bought several precious fans if converted into silver. But now, they were covered with ink stains due to water marks.
Baoshan grabbed the mud-stained Poria cocos cake, held it in both hands, and raised it high above his head.
"The slave is guilty."
"Your crime is not to cherish the rice and grain, and to bring disgrace upon the prince."
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