The two maids were already pretty and cute, and after being dressed up like this, they looked even more adorable.
The other girls looked at the two of them with envy in their eyes. They had all been bought together, but the two of them were chosen by the madam to go to the banquet. Did this mean that the two of them had become the madam's personal maids?
He Jiuniang quickly dispelled their thoughts and looked at them, saying, "I will not be choosing a personal maid for the time being. As long as you perform well, you will all have the opportunity to go out with me. I will take you out a few times to see what your strengths and weaknesses are, and then decide who will be my personal maid."
This is about pushing the competition to its extreme. Healthy competition between people is what makes things better. He Jiu Niang didn't buy them to be idle; she must put each of them in the right position.
Upon hearing this, the other girls immediately smiled. They still had a chance, and they were determined to fight for it.
However, before she could be happy for long, He Jiuniang said again, "But I don't want to see you scheming against each other. When I say good performance, I mean your own ability, not how you improve yourselves by framing others. If I find any scheming, I will sell you out immediately."
The girls readily agreed, and He Jiu Niang nodded in satisfaction before heading out with her two maids.
"I'm going to the government office anyway, let me take you to the banquet."
Lu Baichuan happened to come over from the study and naturally took her hand.
He Jiuniang thought that the prefect's residence and the Huoyun Division's yamen should not be on the same route, right?
But seeing the man beside her looking so happy, she ultimately couldn't bring herself to say no.
Yueyan and Yueshu exchanged a glance, then obediently followed behind.
Having been in the manor for several days, they knew what they should and shouldn't do.
Although the Third Master was injured, he never allowed any servants to serve him. He wouldn't even allow maids or servant boys to come near him.
It's clear that Third Master and Third Madam have a very good relationship. No matter how busy he is, Third Master will always make time to be with Madam. Although Madam may seem a bit indifferent on the surface, she actually cares about Third Master. Otherwise, she wouldn't have gotten up to personally make milk tea for him when she saw him busy in the study late at night.
It's obvious to anyone with eyes that there's affection between them as husband and wife, but they were the ones who came later, so it's not clear why the couple sleeps in separate rooms.
The Xu family should know, but it's not their place to pry into their master's private affairs, so they wisely refrained from asking and simply focused on serving their master well.
He Jiuniang and Lu Baichuan walked ahead and got into the carriage, while two maids followed outside.
There were only the two of them in the carriage. He Jiuniang asked, "Have you told Prince Chen about what happened here?"
"Yes, I've already sent someone to deliver the message. The situation in the capital has been quite tense lately, so I don't feel comfortable using carrier pigeons."
He Jiuniang nodded. She had originally wanted to ask Prince Chen if he had any plans, but then she thought it was inappropriate to discuss this issue, so she didn't ask anything.
Lu Baichuan added, "Be careful at the banquet today, and don't let anyone bully you."
Hearing this, He Jiuniang just wanted to laugh. Who was she? How could she be so easily bullied?
"I know, don't worry. Just focus on your work and don't worry about me."
"Okay, I'll pick you up when I'm done with my work."
He Jiuniang nodded but didn't say anything. She actually wanted to say that it wasn't necessary, but she swallowed the words back.
It must be admitted that she seems to have gotten used to him seeing her off every day and then picking her up to go home.
Habits are a terrible thing; she knew this, yet she didn't reject them at all.
When they arrived at the prefect's house, they found several carriages already parked there, each with a driver watching over them, waiting for the prefect's wife and daughter to come out.
He Jiuniang was different. After she got out of the car, she waved to Lu Baichuan and the car drove away.
Two coachmen nearby whispered among themselves, "Whose wife is this? She's so beautiful, yet so poor. She doesn't even have a private carriage to attend a banquet."
Another person quickly said, "What do you know? Look at what she's wearing and what she's carrying—none of it is tacky."
"That's true..."
The whispers were faint, but He Jiuniang could still hear them. However, she didn't mind. Yue Shu, who was beside her, showed her the invitation, and Yue Yan presented the gifts she had brought. Afterwards, led by the maid sent by the prefect, they went to the backyard together.
The ladies and young women of this city all like to travel in groups, many of them knowing each other. After arriving, they gather in twos and threes to chat.
He Jiuniang came alone, and her maid led her to a small pavilion.
Fruit and snacks were laid out on the table in the pavilion. The maid said, "The banquet has not yet started. Madam can take a walk in the garden and make friends with other ladies and young misses. When the banquet begins, I will come to take you there."
The little maid was very cheerful-looking, with a round face and smiling eyes that curved like a little lucky baby.
Her voice was also very sweet, and He Jiuniang generally had little resistance to this kind of sweet girl. She nodded and smiled, saying, "Okay, I'll take a walk by myself. You go ahead and do your work."
The prefect's garden was quite unique, with many famous and exotic flowers and plants planted inside, all of which were well-maintained, showing that the prefect's wife had a refined taste and leisure.
On such a hot day, He Jiuniang really had no mood to wander around under the sun, so she simply sat down in the pavilion instead of going anywhere else.
She tasted a piece of pastry, which was sweet and greasy, and also hard. Yueyan, who was beside her, quickly poured her a cup of tea and said, "Madam, please eat carefully. This pastry is not as soft as the ones in our mansion. It must be eaten with tea."
Yes, this pastry is a characteristic of this era. Perhaps life was very hard, so the pastries were made particularly sweet and hard. These nobles could eat a piece of pastry with a pot of tea all day long.
But the ones at their house were different. They were made by He Jiu Niang, who improved the recipe. They were soft, glutinous, and moderately sweet. Plus, the sisters-in-law were quite good at cooking, so the food they made was very delicious.
"Then I won't eat it, I'll just hide it."
As she spoke, she stuffed the pastries into her sleeve, intending to toss them into her spatial storage, but Yueyan pulled open her sleeve instead.
"This servant will keep it for you, Madam."
"Alright."
He Jiuniang then gave the pastries to Yueyan, took a sip of tea, and felt a little bored, as if she had arrived too early.
Yue Shu pointed to the crowd not far away and said, "Third Madam, it seems like someone is coming this way."
Lu Baichuan's status and position are not low now, so He Jiuniang does not need to bow to the many ladies and young misses who came today. She glanced over indifferently and said, "Come on, come on. I'm bored anyway, it's not bad to have a few people to chat with me."
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