At this time, Hua Fushu and his companions were about to return to the bedroom after visiting the study. When they passed the main hall, they saw an old woman standing under the eaves.
The old woman had silver hair and was wearing a blue-gray brocade jacket. Hua Fushu didn't recognize her, but Ye Zelin did.
The old woman's surname was Zhou. She was the dowry of the late Grandmother Ye and also Ye Shiheng's wet nurse. She returned to her hometown to recuperate after becoming seriously ill a few years ago. A few days ago, the old general asked someone to invite her back.
Ye Zelin was very respectful to the old woman, calling her Aunt Zhou. He personally invited her into the main hall and asked Hua Fushu to ask someone to bring her a cup of tea.
Seeing that Ye Zelin was so polite to the old lady, Hua Fushu guessed that the old lady must be of a high status. She must be either Ye Shiheng's person or the old general's.
At this moment, Sanqiao Lizhi was having a meal with the new maid from the same courtyard. Hua Fushu was too lazy to disturb them, so he went to make tea himself.
But in a moment, Hua Fushu came back with tea. Ye Zelin gave the tea to the old nanny, who took a few sips of tea and left.
Hua Fushu glanced at the door and said to Ye Zelin, "This must be the old man's man."
Ye Zelin asked: "How did you guess that?"
Hua Fushu said, "I wasn't sure which courtyard she was from at first, but I just found out. The way Madam Zhou looked at me clearly showed dislike for me. I made tea, and you served it yourself, but she wasn't polite at all, not even refusing. If someone this arrogant were from Mother's house, they probably wouldn't dare treat you and me like this. It must be someone from Feiyuan. After all, everyone in Feiyuan treats me in a similar way."
Ye Zelin said, "Madame Zhou was my grandmother's dowry. After my grandmother passed away, my grandfather was busy with military affairs, and my father was raised by Madame Zhou single-handedly."
Hua Fushu asked, "What does your grandfather want to do?"
Ye Zelin said truthfully, "Madame Zhou said that the maid my mother assigned to our courtyard was too rude and too young to be in charge, so my grandfather sent a first-class maid from Feiyuan to be the head maid."
Hua Fushu asked, "Who is it?"
Ye Zelin said a name, "Yuzhi."
Hua Fushu was a little surprised, "It's this girl."
She remembered that this girl was a little arrogant and disliked her just like the old general, but this girl still pretended to be respectful to her.
Ye Zelin said, "Grandfather's actions must have bad intentions."
Hua Fushu asked, "What are you going to do?"
Ye Zelin smiled, "Take advantage of their own strategy and catch grandfather off guard."
Hua Fushu laughed heartily and said to Ye Zelin, "Alright, leave this to me. You just focus on studying. I'm incredibly smart, so how can I not handle that old man from Feiyuan? A mere little girl is no problem at all!"
Ye Zelin said, "Don't let irrelevant people enter or leave our bedroom."
Hua Fushu nodded, "I know."
The next day, Ye Zelin went to the Kong family private school as usual. Hua Fushu was still having breakfast when he heard Lizhi say that Nanny Zhou from Feiyuan had come with Yuzhi.
Hua Fushu sent Lizhi to greet Nanny Zhou first, and she would arrive soon after, after having two cups of tea.
Hua Fushu brought Sanqiao to the main hall of Guanju Pavilion. Nanny Zhou sat at the first seat on the left. When Nanny Zhou saw Hua Fushu come in, the disgust in her eyes disappeared in an instant.
Hua Fushu sat down on the yellow pear flower bed and said with a pleasant face, "Sorry to have kept you waiting for a long time, Madam."
Nanny Zhou said calmly, "It wasn't a long wait. The sun has already risen. Madam, you had breakfast really late."
Hua Fushu was too lazy to pay attention to Nanny Zhou. She was speechless. What did her getting up early and getting up late have to do with an old woman named Zhou, whom she didn't even know?
Seeing that Hua Fushu didn't respond, Nanny Zhou said, "Madam has just moved into a new courtyard, and she only has Miss Qiao, a thoughtful, smart, and capable person, by her side. The old general loves Madam, and has specially sent Yuzhi to serve her and share her burdens. Although Yuzhi has only been in the mansion for a short time, she is a capable and thoughtful person. She will definitely be able to share Madam's worries and take care of all the affairs in the courtyard."
Hua Fushu smiled and said, "Mammy is right. I trust Grandfather's judgment."
Nanny Zhou said a few polite words and then stood up to take her leave. Hua Fushu asked Sanqiao to see Nanny Zhou out, and instructed Lizhi to take Yuzhi down to meet the other people in Guanju Pavilion.
A moment later, Sanqiao returned and said, "Miss, Madam Zhou is being so grand and ostentatious. She really doesn't give the General's wife any respect at all."
Hua Fushu said calmly, "You only realize this now? Like master, like servant. The old man doesn't like the general's wife, and even less so your daughter. Just take Yuzhi's case. Yuzhi has only been in the mansion for a few months, and her experience isn't as good as yours or those four herbs. Yet, the old general values her and made her a first-class maid. He stuffed her in here to be the housekeeper. This is clearly an insult to my mother and me. In terms of ability and talent, and who pleases me, that girl is no match for you or those four herbs."
She took a bite of the dessert and said contentedly, "Qiao'er, Yuzhi's status in this courtyard will not be lower than yours from now on. Go and tell them that from today on, you will be in charge of the affairs in the house, and Yuzhi will work with Lady Zhu to take care of the miscellaneous matters in the courtyard. Also, tell them not to come into the study. The young master likes quiet time when he is reading, so don't disturb him."
Sanqiao passed on Hua Fushu's instructions, asking a first-class maid to work with a woman to take care of the chores in the yard. This was not something a first-class maid should do. Yuzhi was obviously unhappy, but she couldn't express it.
After two or three days, Nanny Zhou suddenly arrived and conveyed the old general's words, scolding Hua Fushu. It was probably because Hua Fushu arranged the internal affairs unreasonably, arranging people who should do this to do that, and people who should do that to do this. Her words implied that he was putting the cart before the horse and wasting his talents.
Hua Fushu turned a deaf ear and made no arrangements.
A few days later, Nanny Zhou came again and Hua Fushu treated her warmly.
The next day, Hua Fushu gathered all the servants in the courtyard together to establish his authority and give them a lecture.
Hua Fushu specially tied her hair into a double bun, and pinned several flower hairpins and a hairpin with a plum blossom-shaped hairpin on the top. The hairpin was decorated with several tassels. She walked gracefully, and the tassels swayed gently, creating small ripples.
She sat upright on the cushions of a yellow pear flowerbed, wearing a crimson silk gown with wide sleeves embroidered with delicate patterns, and a lead-white long skirt. She had delicate makeup, skin as white as cream, willow-shaped eyebrows, and crimson lips. Her every move showed the demeanor of a lady.
She not only needs to give a lecture, but also needs to establish her authority and cannot lose in momentum.
The people in Guanju Pavilion came from several backgrounds. The first was family-born children, such as Wangchun and Xianqiu, whose parents, brothers and sisters were all servants of the Ye family. The second was people selected from the farm, such as several maids and Banxia. The third was the wives' companions or dowries, such as the maids Zhu and Sanqiao. The fourth was people bought from outside, such as Lizhi and Yuzhi.
Hua Fushu first exchanged a few pleasantries, and then gave each person a purse. The purse was not big but very heavy.
Everyone was happy, thinking that the young lady was very generous, and they all thanked her for the reward.
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