Chapter 421: Top-quality Dowry
The carriage swayed forward on the grassland, and Aunt Xu closed her eyes to rest.
Next to her, two palace maids covered their chests with their hands, frowned, and looked as if they were in pain and about to vomit.
The other two palace maids also looked pale.
Although they had been on their journey from the capital for two months and had stopped frequently on the road, the journey was not too difficult or arduous.
But since arriving at Suijin Town and then at the grassland tribe, it felt like going from heaven to hell.
I'm not used to the food or the living here, and now the carriage is shaking on the grassland, which is even more uncomfortable.
Sitting to Madam Xu's left, a palace maid wrapped in a Xiang Fei-colored cloak frowned and said, "Madam, I heard that Madam Wu Ya lives far away. It will take us half a month to get there. If we keep going like this, I'm afraid we'll even lose our lives."
They had only been sitting for an hour when their buttocks were already sore.
Another maid also interrupted, "Mammy, why don't you have someone send over a few more cushions so we can be more comfortable."
Nanny Xu opened her eyes and looked at the two of them coldly for a few seconds, until their scalps tingled. Then she said calmly, "You are destined to be slaves. If you can't even endure this little hardship, get down and ride your horses, or go live in the desert with your parents."
The four palace maids' faces changed. They were not ordinary concubines, but the families of criminals and officials who were cleared out after the new emperor ascended the throne.
All the men in the family had been exiled to the border, so these unmarried girls were naturally taken as official slaves and now sent to the Di tribe.
Although this is a wild land, at least I can serve the tribal leader, which is much better than being a soldier for my whole life.
If she hadn't come to the grassland, she would have stayed in the capital and become a court lady in the Jiaofangsi.
But they were all delicate daughters of rich families before, and it was already their limit for them to be able to reach the grassland, so how could they ride horses?
It was a palace maid who had been silent the whole time who spoke up: "Madam, please calm down. We know we are wrong.
It’s just that I haven’t exercised my body well enough before, so now that I’ve encountered this situation for the first time, I’m afraid I won’t be able to handle it when I get to the tribe and won’t be able to serve my wife.”
Aunt Xu heard her sincerity and knew that these former noble ladies really couldn't bear the fatigue of the long journey, so she said coldly: "Bear with it for now. Wait until the carriage stops to rest, then mention it to the young lady!"
Even though they were already traveling at a leisurely pace, she still wanted the carriage to go even slower, otherwise these palace maids who couldn't ride horses would really die.
Young Madam!
The four of them exchanged glances, all of them perked up.
They were sent to the grassland tribe as dowries, but these "dowries" had never seen their master, the bride, and were probably not easy to get along with.
Half a day later, the team stopped to eat and rest. When Song Liyun found Aunt Xu, several women were fighting over beef jerky.
After eating the dry biscuits, in order to help them adapt to the Di tribe's life as quickly as possible, Aunt Xu asked them to eat dried beef and drink milk tea like everyone else.
The four ladies had to use their hands to hold the hard and dry beef, trying hard to tear off a little bit and put it into their mouths without having to bite it with their teeth.
Next to them, there were eight servant girls making a fire with cow dung. Although they were not very skilled, the flames could still be seen, but there was ashes everywhere.
"Thank you for your hard work, Mammy!"
When Song Liyun walked into the tent, she saw this scene and couldn't help laughing.
Madam Xu put down the beef jerky with her teeth marks and said a little embarrassedly, "I'm sorry to have made you laugh, Madam. I'm new here and I'm not used to it yet. I have to endure some hardship."
"Come over here and meet the young lady!"
The other palace maids had already put down their food and came over to pay their respects.
Someone boldly looked up at the new bride and saw that Song Liyun had fair skin and a well-proportioned figure. Although she was not wearing any makeup or gold or silver jewelry, her bright eyes and the strings of bright red agate stones on her forehead made her very imposing.
"Greetings, Madam!"
Some bowed their heads to salute, while others looked up to observe. Song Liyun naturally took in the expressions of several people.
After they exchanged greetings, Song Liyun said to Madam Xu, "Madam, you don't have to work so hard. Just tell the knights outside to come in and do the work of lighting the fire and making tea."
As soon as she finished speaking, all the women present changed their expressions.
The ladies' faces turned purple and they turned their heads away as if they had been insulted.
But no one challenged him.
They are all legitimate daughters carefully raised by their families, and each of them is smart and clever.
Knowing that she was a criminal and now a palace maid, and with Aunt Xu's reminder, no matter how angry she was, she endured it and didn't want to be the first to speak out.
Aunt Xu waved her hands repeatedly: "This is unacceptable. We servants and others are here to serve the Madam and cannot have any contact with men."
Although the Wu Dynasty did not prohibit the relationship between men and women, wealthy families did not allow their women to go out easily.
Aunt Xu had something else to say that she kept in her heart but didn't say it out loud.
The soldiers outside, wrapped in fur robes and looking dirty, were considered untouchables by these women.
Song Liyun narrowed her eyes. This was a dilemma. These women were gifts from Duke Anguo to his wife. They were not allowed to have contact with men. It was not easy for her to make the decision for his wife.
But it’s obvious that these women don’t know how to fill their stomachs on the road, and they will starve to death in a few days.
Elder Shan did not bring any maids with him when he came to pick up the bride, so except for Song Liyun and Madam Yun, the rest of the team were men.
I can't ask Madam Yun to serve them myself.
After thinking for a while, Song Liyun sat down on the felt carpet, pulled out a small knife from her waist, cut the beef jerky that Aunt Xu had bitten into small pieces and soaked them in the milk tea in front of her.
"Madam Xu, the beef jerky needs to be sliced thinly so it will be softer when soaked in milk tea."
In the tent, several women looked at each other in confusion: Are they eating with knives instead of chopsticks?
After a lot of effort, Song Liyun demonstrated to the women how to eat.
A palace maid came over, knelt down beside Song Liyun, covered her nose with her hands and said, "Young Madam, I am from the Wu Dynasty and I don't care about eating these smelly things.
Can we ask those people to make some stew and pancakes? Even simple noodles and rice porridge with some side dishes will do, I am not picky about food.
Song Liyun didn't answer, but just looked at her with a smile: "Can you cook?"
The woman shook her head: "Since I was a child, I have been taught to check accounts and manage the household. I don't know how to cook."
She said it with some pride.
Not many women in the Wu Dynasty were literate. Rich families taught their daughters how to keep accounts, but it was only so that they could get married and manage the household in the future.
A servant who can’t cook but can read was sent from the capital. How interesting!
Song Liyun simply called all her "dowry" over to ask to see if there was anything strange.
Sure enough, I found something wrong after asking this question.
She began to murmur in her heart that Duke Anguo really had ulterior motives.
The four personal palace maids were all well-educated ladies from prominent families.
The eight maids can all sew and cook, and some of them also know medicine.
The eight maids were also skilled in needlework, and the dozen or so servants were also skilled in carpentry, rattan weaving, and gold and silver crafts, and they were all skilled craftsmen.
However, none of these people knew how to fight, nor could they make weapons. It was obvious that they had been screened before being sent here.
With these people around, the quality of life will be improved by several levels.
Technical talents are in high demand everywhere.
Duke Anguo wanted to make life better for the Wuda tribe, but he also wanted to avoid being too powerful and too conspicuous in the court, so he used his marriage as a pretext.
Not bad! Not bad!
A smile gradually appeared on Song Liyun's face.
She originally wanted to follow Elder Shan's advice and let these people walk slowly behind her, but she suddenly gave up the idea.
Talent is more important than anything else, and we should accommodate them if we can.
Song Liyun immediately called Abu over and said, "Abu, from now on, your cavalry will be responsible for taking good care of Aunt Xu and the others."
Abu was confused.
(End of this chapter)
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