The next day,
Jiang Yuwei got up early and first changed Ning Wan's dressing, then fed her some spiritual spring water before changing her into clean clothes. After taking care of Ning Wan, Jiang Yuwei cooked some simple rice porridge and had the family eat breakfast with pickled vegetables.
As soon as Jiang Yuwei left the hospital, she saw Ning Zixuan waiting for her outside.
"Sister-in-law, come with me. Today I'll take you to the vegetable market on North Street to have a look. If we find someone we like, we'll bring them back to the manor to train them. If not, we can go a few more times another day."
Jiang Yuwei nodded and said:
"Alright, then I'll trouble you, Your Highness."
After saying that, she walked ahead of Ning Zixuan and headed out of the mansion. Right now, she just wanted to find a few suitable servants to help her as soon as possible. Ning Wan was still lying in bed, and she was worried about her being away for too long, so she just wanted to go and come back as soon as possible.
Ning Zixuan, following behind Jiang Yuwei, watched her retreating figure and murmured to himself:
"You don't need to be so polite with me."
The two walked one after the other to the gate of Prince Jing's mansion. The gatekeeper saw that it was the young master and hurriedly bowed respectfully.
When Jiang Yuwei saw that Ning Zixuan had prepared two carriages, she naturally knew that he wanted to avoid suspicion from her. After all, this was the capital city, unlike when they were in Ningjia Village, where everyone rode together in an oxcart to go to the market in town and no one would say anything.
In the capital, if a man and a woman ride together in a carriage, it will inevitably become a topic of gossip.
After the two of them got into the carriage and settled down, the driver drove the carriage towards the vegetable market on North Street. Before long, Jiang Yuwei heard the lively hawking sounds outside.
She was thinking of taking a detour to her own stall to catch a glimpse from afar, since she hadn't left since entering the Prince Jing's mansion that day, and she didn't know how Aunt Zhou and the others' business was going.
Although she could see the account books and silver that Ning Wu sent every day, Jiang Yuwei always felt uneasy without seeing them in person.
Soon the coachman stopped the carriage in front of a two-story wooden building. As soon as Jiang Yuwei got out of the carriage, she saw a simple wooden platform standing in front of the door, on which stood several rows of people with their hands and feet bound. They were all sallow-faced, thin, and dejected.
"Hey, hey, buyers, don't miss out! This batch of slaves arrived today, both men and women, all strong and capable. You won't regret buying from them!"
It was the first time Jiang Yuwei had witnessed this scene of buying and selling slaves, and she couldn't help but feel a little sad. Standing below the stage, she looked at each person and noticed a thin, small figure among the crowd that seemed somewhat familiar.
Just as Jiang Yuwei was about to get a closer look, she heard the man spit on the trembling child and then whip her hard.
This blow made Jiang Yuwei's heart clench with pain. That day, Aunt Lin had also whipped Wan'er in the same way.
Thinking this, Jiang Yuwei's eyes immediately welled up with tears again. Ning Zixuan noticed her unusual expression and followed her gaze, also seeing the thin little girl.
"You like that girl?"
Jiang Yuwei, her eyes red, turned to look at Ning Zixuan and gave a bitter smile.
"I saw the whip lashing her and my heart ached. You think Wan'er that day was..."
Ning Zixuan frowned and looked at Jiang Yuwei, then said:
"Alright, that's enough. If you like her, we'll buy her, take her back to the manor, and teach her properly. She can then take care of Wan'er personally from now on."
Jiang Yuwei thought Ning Zixuan made sense. This girl looked to be about the same age as Wan'er. Having been raised since childhood, she would definitely protect Wan'er wholeheartedly in the future.
Just as the young man was about to strike the whip a second time, Jiang Yuwei shouted directly onto the stage:
"Stop hitting her, I'll buy this girl!"
Upon hearing Jiang Yuwei's shout, the young man quickly withdrew his whip and smiled obsequiously:
"Oh, buyer, is this all you've got your eye on? Anything else you like?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuwei glanced around the stage, and just as she was about to speak, a pretty woman pushed aside the kneeling slaves in the front row and rushed out.
"Madam, please have mercy and buy me! If you don't buy me today, I'm going to be sold to a brothel. If I have to become a prostitute, I'd rather be dead!"
Jiang Yuwei stared intently at the girl in front of her. She looked to be only seventeen or eighteen years old, and was quite pretty. The girl's words just now were rather sharp. Jiang Yuwei had originally wanted to sell another slightly older maid to help tidy up the courtyard.
Now that this girl was pleasing to the eye, Jiang Yuwei pointed to the girl kneeling on the ground and said:
"I'll take the other one too."
Ning Zixuan frowned as he looked at the two people Jiang Yuwei had chosen; both were frail and weak. He then turned to look at Jiang Yuwei.
"Just these two? Is that enough?"
Jiang Yuwei smiled and nodded.
"These two maids are enough for now. We can buy more if we find suitable ones later. We can't buy them all at once."
Seeing that she had made up her mind, Ning Zixuan didn't say anything more. So he took the two indentures from the servant and handed them to Jiang Yuwei.
"Keep this indenture safe. These two maids will be with you from now on. Consider it my compensation to your family."
Seeing that Ning Zixuan had said that, Jiang Yuwei didn't refuse any further.
"Thank you, Your Highness. I will accept this indenture for now, but there's no question of compensation. These matters have nothing to do with you."
Jiang Yuwei knew that Ning Zixuan had been feeling guilty ever since Ning Wan's accident. He always thought that if he hadn't invited Jiang Yuwei's family to the Prince's Mansion for the Flower-Piercing Banquet that day, perhaps none of this would have happened, and Ning Wan wouldn't have been injured.
However, in Jiang Yuwei's view, everything is predestined. If she hadn't brought Ning Huaizhi to the banquet at Prince Jing's mansion that day, perhaps Princess Jing would have been kept in the dark by Chen Guixiang's family until her death.
She might never see her own son, never discover that the princess's illness was curable, and never find out that Aunt Lin was plotting against her behind her back.
As Jiang Yuwei pondered this, she walked to the carriage. Two young maids were already waiting there. When the little girl saw Jiang Yuwei's face clearly, she immediately cried out:
"Kind person, it was you! You saved my life again!"
As she spoke, she knelt down directly before Jiang Yuwei. Seeing this, the slightly older girl next to her also knelt down before Jiang Yuwei without showing any weakness.
"You are also a kind person who saved my life. You gave me my life! I will serve you wholeheartedly from now on."
Seeing this, Jiang Yuwei quickly stepped forward and helped the two up, one in each arm. When Jiang Yuwei saw the little girl's face clearly, she exclaimed in surprise:
"Why is it you? Where is your mother?"
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