Chapter 5 Chapter 5 Entering the Mansion (1)
Granny Qin led the way, followed by two maids. Qiao Jie and the other two couldn't help but follow. Even the four male servants stood on tiptoe to peek, but after being taught a lesson about the difference between men and women, they dared not chase after them.
Granny Qin pushed open the door to the communal sleeping area and immediately saw Li Xiaoxiao lying peacefully asleep on the bed. Her anger flared, and she said coldly, "Li Xiaoxiao!"
Li Xiaoxiao didn't react. Granny Qin snorted coldly and lashed out with her long whip without hesitation, making a dull "whoosh" sound in the air.
If this whip doesn't leave her skin ripped and bleeding, she won't learn her lesson.
The long whip, swung in the air, was just a hair's breadth away from striking Li Xiaoxiao when a hand suddenly rose up, grabbed the whip, and pulled it. Qin Mama felt a tremendous force coming from the whip. Before she could let go, she was sent flying like a runaway kite, crashing heavily onto the dormitory bed with a loud thud.
Before Granny Qin could even cry out in pain, she felt a tightness in her throat. Someone was already straddling her, and one hand had gripped her neck tightly, cutting off her breath. Her face immediately turned red, her eyes bulged, and she was filled with terror, as if death was right in front of her.
Her legs kicked involuntarily as she struggled desperately, her hands gripping the hand that was holding her neck tightly, and beads of sweat dripped from her forehead.
Her terrified gaze met a pair of deep, dark eyes, filled with intense killing intent, cold and ruthless.
Erniu, who had witnessed the whole thing, screamed, "Li Xiaoxiao, let go!"
A hint of confusion flashed in Li Xiaoxiao's dark eyes. She shook her head, and her senses finally returned.
Seeing that Qin Mama was almost crushed to death by her, she let go of her hands, grabbed her collar at the same time, lifted her up, and shoved her directly onto the two maids.
Granny Qin's body slammed heavily onto the two maids, almost knocking them over, but at least she could breathe some fresh air. She bent over and coughed violently, her eyes fixed on Li Xiaoxiao, her face full of fear.
The two maids quickly and carefully helped Granny Qin up, asking worriedly, "Granny, how are you?"
"Granny, are you alright?"
Erniu quickly poured a cup of leftover cold tea on the table and handed it to Granny Qin. Granny Qin drank a few sips of the inferior tea before she could barely stop coughing. All eyes in the room fell on Li Xiaoxiao.
Li Xiaoxiao was holding Qin Mama's whip in her hand. She glanced at it and asked, "Is this yours?"
Granny Qin was still coughing and unable to speak, so the two maids supporting her took two steps back.
They had never seen anyone with such strength before.
Li Xiaoxiao threw the whip directly on the ground: "Don't attack me while I'm sleeping. I used to work in a mine, so I'm heavy-handed."
In the large dormitory room, Li Xiaoxiao sat on the bed with one leg raised in front of her and the other dangling on the ground. Her face was expressionless, and she looked extremely relaxed. On the other side, near the door, Granny Qin, the two maids, Erniu and Qiaojie, as well as the others who had come to watch the excitement, were all stunned into silence by Li Xiaoxiao's imposing presence.
Granny Qin opened her mouth, but found that she couldn't make a sound. Her throat was in excruciating pain. She had already realized what was happening, and her eyes seemed to be spitting fire. She pushed away the maid who was supporting her, bent down to pick up the whip on the ground, and was about to lash Li Xiaoxiao again when someone came running up: "Granny Qin, Steward Zhao from the county government has sent word that the person must be sent over today."
Granny Qin was stunned. She didn't have time to get angry, but when she tried to speak, her voice was like a tearing bellows, and she couldn't even make a breathy sound. She stamped her foot and managed to say, "Go find Wei Yingjie."
She glared at Li Xiaoxiao fiercely, then turned and left.
Li Xiaoxiao rubbed her forehead, stood up, and followed the group outside. Just as she stopped in the courtyard, Wei Yingjie rushed over from outside after receiving the news and went straight to Granny Qin: "Why is it suddenly earlier? Wasn't it supposed to be tomorrow?"
Granny Qin was speechless and shook her head.
Wei Yingjie looked at the three red finger marks on her neck in surprise: "Granny Qin, what happened to you?"
Granny Qin couldn't explain so much to him, so she asked a maid to bring her a pen and wrote down a sentence.
Wei Yingjie sighed: "If you can't even speak, then of course I can't let you go. Alright, I'll take the person over. I hope it will work out this time."
Granny Qin clenched her fists tightly, glaring fiercely at Li Xiaoxiao. She had better pray that she would be chosen by the magistrate's wife, otherwise, she had plenty of ways to teach this little bitch a lesson!
She wrote another sentence and showed it to Wei Yingjie, who exclaimed in surprise, "This—"
Qin Mama's eyes flashed with a sharp light. Wei Yingjie glanced at Li Xiaoxiao without changing his expression, and sighed, "Fine, you owe me this favor."
Granny Qin nodded, and Wei Yingjie straightened his hat and walked up to the group: "Originally, you all had a day to familiarize yourselves with the etiquette Granny Qin taught you, and then we would go to the nobleman's residence tomorrow to make your selections. But unfortunately, the time has been moved up. We're leaving for the magistrate's residence right away. So, all of you, keep your mouths shut until we go in. If the nobleman asks you any questions, say as little as possible, and don't say anything impolite! Otherwise, if you anger the nobleman, I'll pull out every single muscle in your body when we get back. Do you understand?"
Everyone trembled with fear: "Listen, listen carefully."
Wei Yingjie snorted coldly: "Follow me."
Wei Yingjie led the way, followed by servants in two rows, one male and one female, with an old woman on each side and two strong men behind them. The group of twenty or thirty people marched towards the county government office.
Li Xiaoxiao was the last in line of women. She followed Wei Yingjie through a series of twists and turns until the view suddenly opened up. They had reached the main street, which was lined with all kinds of shops. Pedestrians came and went, merchants called out their business, and customers occasionally stopped to eat, drink, or buy things. The whole street was incredibly lively.
What a lively scene! Li Xiaoxiao felt like she couldn't take it all in. As she passed a restaurant, her stomach growled loudly. She had slept for too long and hadn't eaten or drunk anything all morning, so she was very hungry.
But she was very hungry and couldn't step out of the line to buy food right now, so she could only follow the main group forward. A tall building with a vermilion gate came into view. Li Xiaoxiao recognized the character "县" (county). If she wasn't mistaken, this place was the county government office.
Wei Yingjie led them into the alley on the left, and they walked all the way to the side gate behind the county government office. They knocked on the door, gave their names, and soon someone came and opened the door, gesturing for them to go in.
Wei Yingjie turned around and quietly warned them not to look around, before respectfully leading the way into the backyard of the county government office.
Although they were not allowed to look up and wander around, the servants, with their heads bowed, still discreetly observed the scene around them out of the corner of their eyes.
Compared to the slave trader's courtyard, the county government's backyard was obviously much larger and more beautiful.
Entering through the side gate, they walked into the center of a courtyard house. Wei Yingjie bustled around, instructing them to line up in a row, with each person required to bow their head slightly, look straight ahead, and not look around.
After lining up, Wei Yingjie straightened his clothes, put on a professional smile, and waited with his hands in his sleeves.
Soon, a man came from the veranda. Wei Yingjie went up to him with a fawning expression and helped him up: "Steward Zhao, you've worked hard. You still have to run back and forth in this hot June weather."
Steward Zhao, in his forties, had a beard, a light blue turban, and wore a plain silk knee-length robe with a diagonal collar and black flat shoes. He looked quite capable. "Mr. Wei, you're too kind. The hot weather made us come early because we're short-staffed and can't keep up with the workload."
Wei Yingjie was overjoyed. This meant that Steward Zhao was sure to sell his servants today. He bowed even lower and said, "Steward Zhao, please. I have brought all the servants from the brokerage today. They are all clean-cut. In particular, many refugees have come these past few days. Although they look a bit haggard now, they can be fine after a little rest—" His voice gradually faded as Steward Zhao's expression became somewhat serious.
He was a shrewd businessman who was used to doing business. He immediately realized that perhaps Steward Zhao had a taboo against refugees, so he quickly changed the subject: "All the candidates are here. Please choose one, Steward Zhao."
When Steward Zhao heard the word "refugees," his expression did indeed turn sour. After a moment's thought, he shook his head. He was, after all, just a servant and had no way to influence his master's thoughts.
He asked Wei Yingjie, "When I told you last time, were there any literate people inside?"
Wei Yingjie paused for a moment, then lowered his gaze and said in a low voice, "No, literate people are hard to find."
Steward Zhao sighed. Indeed, literate servants were a rare find. He called out, "Come here."
Immediately, a young girl of about ten years old with her hair in a topknot came forward: "What are your orders, Steward Zhao?"
Steward Zhao recognized that this was Granny Qi's daughter, Liu Zhi: "Go to the inner courtyard and invite Granny Qi here. Tell her that the brokers have arrived and ask her to come out and choose."
Liu Zhi responded and nimbly ran to the inner courtyard.
A moment later, a woman in her forties came out behind her. It was Granny Qi. She stepped forward and asked, "Steward Zhao, the person has arrived?"
Butler Zhao responded and pointed to the people standing in the courtyard: "They're all here. Pick a few that you like first, then take them in for Madam to choose from."
"It's time for the initial screening," Granny Qi responded, carefully examining the maid who was half-lowering her head, not daring to look at anyone.
Finally, she called on a few people: "You, you, you, and you, step forward."
Erniu's hands were tightly clenched together, her face flushed red. Of the four people sharing the same bunk, only Li Xiaoxiao was chosen.
Even Wei Yingjie's expression changed. He had deliberately kept Li Xiaoxiao's literacy a secret, yet she had still been chosen?
Li Xiaoxiao was the last one to be chosen. She stepped forward and stood in a row with the other three girls.
Granny Qi asked them one by one about their names and ages, and then asked them what kind of work they were good at.
The first girl said timidly, "My name is Yao Daya, I am twelve years old, and I can do laundry, cook, clean, and grow vegetables."
The second girl also said timidly, "My name is Li Sanni. There are too many sisters in my family, so my mother sent me out to work. I can do laundry, cook, and clean."
The third girl said, "My name is Chen Si'er, I am fourteen years old. I can do everything that my two younger sisters can do. I can also mend clothes. I mend all the clothes in my house when they are torn."
When it was Li Xiaoxiao's turn, Wei Yingjie's gaze was complicated. He didn't know whether he hoped she would be selected or not. Thinking of the favor that Granny Qin asked him to do, he hesitated.
Li Xiaoxiao said, "My name is Li Xiaoxiao, I am fifteen years old, and I used to work in a mine."
All the girls know how to do is housework and sewing, so how come she knows how to mine? Granny Qi immediately turned her gaze to her: "How come a young lady like you knows how to mine?"
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