Xiao Baozhu did not return to her quarters for a whole day. At dawn Scholar Wong’s maid, Zhi, was confused as to why Xiao Baozhu still had not come back. As Xiao Baozhu had been there for a long time and still had not gained Scholar Wong’s favor, Zhi did not take her seriously. However, the family had taken care of Xiao Baozhu, so Zhi did not dare to go too far as she worried if the kitchen staff might secretly play a dirty trick on her. She therefore started to isolate Baozhu in their quarters and ignored her thoroughly.
Qin Qingqing’s maid, Cui, had also had her eye on Xiao Baozhu from the beginning as she was afraid that Xiao Baozhu would attract Scholar Wong’s attention if she didn’t watch her.
However, several months had passed and Scholar Wong did not show a bit of interest in Xiao Baozhu, so Cui started relaxing her vigilance and just served Qin Qingqing attentively.
On this day, Cui went out from the room and saw Zhi looking around outside alone, so she asked Zhi, “What are you doing here?”
Seeing that it was Cui, Zhi quickly lowered her head to greet her.
Although Cui was also a servant she was the handmaid of Qin Qingqing, so her status was far higher than Zhi’s, so Zhi had to bow whenever she saw Cui.
“Miss Cui, I’m waiting for Xiao Baozhu.”
“Xiao Baozhu? Has she not come back yet?” asked Cui.
“Not yet, I don’t know where she slacks off and haven’t seen her all day.”
“This yard is only so big yet you can’t find a single person?” said Cui despisingly. “Just go out and ask.”
“…”
Although Lord Wong had sent someone here to explain where Baozhu was, they had only told Scholar Wong, but Scholar Wong did not care at all where Xiao Baozhu went. All he cared about was Qin Qingqing.
They had been married for such a long time but his passion towards Qin Qingqing still had not decreased. He looked at Qin Qingqing everyday, read with her and appreciated flowers with her. They had quite a colorful life. Therefore, even though he had received this message, Scholar Wong did not take it seriously.
Cui and Zhi searched around outside, discovering that Xiao Baozhu was in fact doing the accounting job in the front hall. They were both extremely surprised.
Zhi was afraid that Xiao Baozhu would be a threat to her while Cui was worried that Xiao Baozhu would threaten her lady’s position.
They went back feeling uneasy.
When Cui came back she told this to Qin Qingqing. However, Qin Qingqing was too spoiled by Scholar Wong, so she did not take it to heart. If Xiao Baozhu could do the accounts, she should just go for it. It was good that someone could help her father-in-law with all of that work.
Cui felt rather helpless but could not persuade her lady.
…
At night, Xiao Baozhu finally returned. She was late returning because she had eaten dinner at Lord Wong’s place and afterwards had busied herself in work for a while. Lord Wong had asked her to come over the next day also.
When Xiao Baozhu got back, Zhi asked her tentatively, “You went to our lord’s place?”
“Yes.” Xiao Baozhu had been busy for a whole day and both her head and her body were worn out, so she did not want to speak much.
Zhi said, “So our lord arranged some work for you to do?”
“Nothing important.” Xiao Baozhu did not want to say too much.
Zhi could not keep inquiring. She just felt that Xiao Baozhu had become different from her.
…
As Zhi had anticipated, after Xiao Baozhu had gone to do the work for a few days, Lord Wong found her talented and qualified enough to be put in an important position in the family.
He believed that Xiao Baozhu was not likely to betray their family. If she were so inclined then she would have left a long time ago rather than remaining with them until now.
It was just that Xiao Baozhu’s current status was rather awkward. As a woman she could not run around outside with Butler Wong and could only stay at home to manage the accounts, but the one who could do this job must be either a butler or a master in this family.
In this case, it would better for Xiao Baozhu to be his son’s concubine.
Thinking about this, Lord Wong informed his family decisively that from today on, Xiao Baozhu was promoted to be a concubine of a status second only to Qin Qingqing.
