"Master, you don't want to see your servant perish, do you?" Yiren said with a bitter face.
They're even using fancy words, not bad.
“I have an eighty-year-old mother to care for and a three-year-old younger sister to raise. My life is so miserable.”
What does this have to do with her? It's as if she's forcing a good person into prostitution.
"I......"
"Mother, I will never see you again. Father, your daughter has not had enough meat."
Yi Ren had intended to go for something drastic, but before she could even speak, a wail came from behind her. The group exchanged glances, and Qingyun and Yi Ren said in unison, "It wasn't me."
Nan Yi was speechless; she wasn't blind.
The three turned around in unison and saw Huan'er lying on the ground wailing, "I want to eat meat, I want to eat meat, eat enough so I can go on my way, waah." The three were dumbfounded. What was this girl up to? What did she mean by "go on my way"? It sounded like she was cursing someone.
Nan Yi went over and comforted her, "Huan'er, what's wrong?"
Huan'er tugged at Nan Yi's sleeve, sobbing, "Consort, Huan'er is going to die, Huan'er wants to eat meat, waah."
Nan Yi was taken aback. "Who said you were going to die?"
Huan'er covered her chubby face and sobbed, asking in confusion, "It wasn't Master who said that..."
He glanced at the two girls, who shook their heads. "When?"
"No way," the three of them said in unison, their voices trailing off, before they chuckled. "How did this innocent girl end up serving people in this cannibalistic backyard?"
"It's pleasant," said the woman. "Huan'er has been serving in the other courtyard, while her mother manages the kitchen here."
Nan crossed his arms. No wonder. He's probably being raised for nothing. He should find a way to get a monthly allowance for the girl. She eats a lot, and poorer families probably can't afford to raise her.
"Master, Huan'er is good, you..." Qingyun was afraid that his master would dislike Huan'er for being simple-minded and overweight, and therefore would not want her to serve in the other courtyard, so he couldn't help but plead for her.
Nan Yi chuckled lightly, "I didn't say anything, just let her stay in the other courtyard." Fourth Master is rich, he doesn't need this, besides, she likes this girl's purity... Eating meat, you must be craving it terribly.
"Come, maids, I'm distributing the money today." She took out the silver notes she had received last night, took out two, looked at the three pairs of eyes that were blindingly bright in front of her, and said with a smile, "Here, this is two hundred taels. Sixty taels each for you two, twenty taels for Huan'er, and the remaining sixty taels, Qingyun, go and distribute to the other servants."
After a brief pause, Nan Yi said again, "Huan'er, you can save ten taels as your dowry, and let your mother use the rest to make meat for you to eat, okay?" Huan'er swallowed hard, her eyes shining as she nodded repeatedly.
The three of them huddled together to look at the silver notes; each of them held sixty taels—a huge sum of money!
She and Yiren were second-class maids, receiving two taels of silver per month, while first-class maids received three taels and five mace. Huan'er was a lowly maid in another courtyard, earning only a few hundred mace. They all started as junior maids, and if they were frugal and saved money, they could save about ten taels of silver a year.
As for rewards, the most they received at one time was two taels of silver. After deducting the amount given to the manager, they only received a maximum of one tael of silver. The lower-ranking maids received even less.
Qingyun felt uneasy. No wonder everyone wanted to be close to their master; it was too lucrative. Her palms were sweating, but she still managed to say, "Master, isn't this too much?"
Yiren and Huan'er looked at their master together; there was indeed a lot of it, and holding it made them uneasy.
Nan Yi chuckled to herself. There were still people complaining that it wasn't enough, even though they were clearly reluctant to part with it. She waved her hand dismissively, "Take good care of them, and there will be more to come."
It's so great to spend other people's money. Looks like if I keep taking advantage of them, I'll never have to worry about anything again.
Yiren jumped in front of her master and said as if making a vow: "Master, this servant will. This servant will also be your head nanny in the future." She thought that if she could hang out with a rich master and then marry an ordinary person, she wouldn't have to worry about her master falling out of favor. Bah, what kind of talk is that? How could she curse her master to fall out of favor?
Needless to say, just by looking at Qingyun's eyes, you could tell that she thought the same thing. Huan'er also jumped over, "Me too, me too."
Nan Yi chuckled, "Okay, but you have to lose weight," and the others burst into laughter.
When Xiao Shunzi arrived, he happened to run into Consort Tong, who was very envious. He sighed inwardly, thinking that the master was much stingier. He served her around all year round, but she could not even give him a hundred or so taels of silver.
He stood there for a while, but none of the maids noticed him. After a while, Xiao Shunzi coughed lightly to remind the overly excited master and maids.
When they looked over, he bowed to Nan Yi and said, "This servant Xiao Shunzi greets Consort Tong and wishes her good fortune."
"Rise, is there something you need, Father-in-law?" Nan asked in confusion, glancing sharply behind him. He was the only one there; the other man hadn't come.
"Reporting to Consort, the Empress Dowager has issued an edict requesting that you come to the palace for a talk."
“Oh,” she understood.
What does "oh" mean? Xiao Shunzi was a little confused. Should he go or not?
Xiao Shunzi had no choice but to repeat, "Please, Consort, return to your residence to prepare."
That's probably what Master meant. What did he say again? "Someone from the palace has come. Mother summons Lady Tong. Go to the other courtyard and tell her to prepare. Master will go to the palace with her."
"Entering the palace together" likely means that after returning home and preparing, they would enter the palace together.
Nan Yi was startled, her mind a bit confused—enter the palace? Which palace? Oh no, how could she have forgotten this? She didn't even know basic etiquette. Would she be beheaded if she made a mistake in the palace?
Xiao Shunzi glanced at his concubine out of the corner of his eye. What was that expression? She seemed a little unhappy. Entering the palace meant the end of her reflection and she could go back to her residence. That was a good thing.
The three maids were excited, hoping that their master would regain favor.
Nan Yi was extremely reluctant to go. The word "Gong" in his name meant to devour people without spitting out the bones. Couldn't he just make an excuse to avoid it? He looked at Xiao Shunzi and frowned, "Do you really have to go?"
Xiao Shunzi leaned forward slightly, as if he hadn't heard clearly and couldn't believe it. The imperial concubine summoned him, and his mother-in-law summoned him—and there were still people who didn't go.
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