Chapter 8.8 – Goddess of the Harem
When Su Wan opened her eyes the next day, she realized that she had returned to the small room in the Xinzheku, and she was still wrapped in a gifted thick warm blanket.
“Miss Su, have you woken up yet?”
Bai mama’s voice suddenly rang out from outside the room. Because Su Wan’s room was in the innermost part of the Xinzheku compound, and the location was also remote, Bai mama was not afraid of others seeing her coming here.
“Please come in, mama.”
Su Wan folded the blanket and placed it under the coarse quilt, and then slowly began to wear her clothes. The slave servants of the Xinzheku wore the lowest-grade cotton clothing, which was very rough on their skin. Fortunately, Bai mama sneakily modified the insides of the clothes earlier. Although Su Wan’s clothes looked the same as others from the outside, soft satin was sewn to line the inside of the clothes. This kind of pulling wool over people’s eyes is very common in the palace, and you don’t need much preparation to deceive others.
Blu: pulling wool over people’s eyes – to fool others
Su Wan hadn’t put on the outer palace robe yet when Bai mama came in with some things to freshen herself with: “Good morning, Miss Su. Did you sleep well last night?”
Facing Su Wan, Bai mama’s posture was very low.
“Thank you for your concern, Bai mama. I slept very well.”
Su Wan replied softly. Bai mama’s gaze swept over Su Wan’s bed and saw the corner of the blanket exposed under the rough quilt. Her eyes changed, and the smile on her face became more eager: “Miss, the Xinzheku is too simple and crude. Allow this old slave to serve you and freshen you up!”
“Alright.”
Seeing Grandma Bai being so generous and sincere, Su Wan nodded naturally.
In the harem, if someone fawns on you, it shows that you are getting along and have some worth. At this time, in the face of other people’s good will, you must not refuse, because no matter what reason you used to refuse the other party, you are likely to be misunderstood as “looking down on them”. This was a taboo in the harem. No one knows who will fall from grace, and no one knows who will have a meteoric rise in the next moment. Deep in the palace, you can only make friends and never make enemies.
In fact, Su Wan has also done many tasks in the imperial palace. She had long understood the ways of living in the harem. She also knows that Bai mama’s treatment towards her was naturally ordered by Wang Yi. If she didn’t give this opportunity to her then she would probably be ill at ease and unsettled.
Under Bai mama’s service, Su Wan simply washed her face and cleaned her mouth.
After finishing some work, Bai mama packed her things and looked at Su Wan again with a smile: “Miss Su, what do you want to eat for your morning meal? There is a small kitchen at this old slave’s place. If you don’t dislike it, this old slave will make the morning meal for you.”
“I am not too picky about what I eat, mama. If someone comes here today to inquire about me, do you know what to say?”
Su Wan sat on the wooden bed and looked up at Bai mama. Bai mama was slightly frightened by Su Wan’s gaze. How could a little girl with delicate features have such piercing eyes?
“Old slave knows what to say, Miss, don’t worry!” Bai mama patted her chest and repeatedly assured Su Wan.
“En, that’s good, and…”
Su Wan narrowed her eyes and whispered again: “If someone comes to plead for me, don’t agree with him if he doesn’t have this amount!”
Watching Su Wan wave her palm, Bai mama couldn’t help gulping: “Five, five hundred?”
She has worked in the Xinzheku for all these years and has never received so much money in one go!
Five hundred silvers is also a huge expense for an ordinary palace maid and Su Wan had been very clear on how Yan Yunuo would send her monthly salary back to her family in her hometown.
The many children in her family were living a difficult life, otherwise they would not have sold her to the Yan fu as a servant girl.
Five hundred silver was definitely an astronomical figure for Yan Yunuo, and Goddess Yan had to come up with the money in order to save Su Wan.
So now the question was — what would she do to borrow five hundred silvers?
Good luck, Goddess Yan. I’m rooting for you~
Just as Su Wan expected, Chen Ji came to the Xinzheku with a smile on his face before the morning ended.
“Isn’t this Chen gonggong? What brings you here?”
Although they were both managers, the Shangfu Bureau belonged to one of the 24 Divisions of the Sixth Bureau and is a department with real authority. Compared with the Xinzheku, which was disliked by everyone, there were definitely as different as the sky and the earth.
So when Bai mama saw Chen Ji, she immediately greeted him with a smile.
“Bai mama, I’ve brought you some hometown specialties.”
Chen Jifeng’s eyes picked up, seemingly very amorous. Bai mama looked at Chen Ji’s smiling face and her gaze went a bit strange.
It must be said that this Chen gonggong was also a marvel. He was a boy who looked like a girl since he was a child. It is said that when he was a child, his family owed a lot of money to others. Then the creditor also took a fancy to him and wanted to snatch him home to make him his wife!
Later, he discovered that he was male and that man was still unwilling to give up. He insisted on taking him home as a male attendant. At that time, Chen Ji was young but he was a bright child. On the “night in the bridal chamber”, he injured that man. Later, he escaped alone in a hurry and it happened to be the selection period for inner servants in the Imperial City. In order to prevent the man from reporting to the authorities and throwing him into a cell, Chen Ji unhesitatingly signed up to enter the palace as an inner attendant.
When he first entered the palace, Chen Ji was often bullied because of his fair and beautiful appearance, but he remained stoic and constantly stabbed people in their backs. After constantly stabbing people in the back, he entered the eyes of Steward Wang. Later, he was promoted all the way to the position of Manager of the Shangfu Bureau.
These resumes can only be studied, not copied ~
“Bai mama, look at this Hetian jujube. This year’s yield is very sweet.”
Chen Ji didn’t pay any attention to Bai mama’s strange expression and simply stuffed a small basket of jujubes into her hand. Bai mama smiled and seamlessly lifted and weighed the unremarkable purse from within the basket of jujubes, looking a little embarrassed: “Ai, Chen gonggong, I’m old now and my teeth are bad. I can’t eat dry, hard, or sweet things nowadays. Thank you for your kindness. You should take it back!”
“En?”
Hearing Bai mama’s words, Chen Ji’s expression was stunned. He hadn’t said what he wanted to ask her to do, but she already bluntly refused. What does that mean?
“Bai mama, if you’re like this, you’re not giving zajia face ah!”
Chen Ji’s complexion gradually cooled down.
“Ai, do not be anxious Chen gonggong. Let’s talk further.”
Grandma Bai carefully pulled Chen Ji over to the corner outside the door: “Have you come here this time for that Su Wan girl?”
“Exactly.” Chen Ji nodded and couldn’t help but glance at Bai mama: “Would someone else be coming?”
“This…is something you don’t need to worry about. She is someone that Steward Wang brought over in person and Steward Wang repeatedly urged me to take good care of her. I really don’t dare to decide arbitrarily! Unless…”
The smile on Bai mama’s face seemed somewhat full of meaning.
Glancing at her smile, Chen Ji immediately understood: “Don’t beat around the bush with Zajia, just say how much!”
To help others, Chen Ji didn’t care about the money. At this time, he progressively showed his indifference.
“How about this much, hehe.”
Bai mama smiled, raised her palms and fanned her face.
Seeing her movements, Chen Ji couldn’t help but speak in a low voice: “Bai mama, you are asking for too much. Aren’t you scared of eating too much?”
“He he.”
Bai mama only smiled brightly. Do you think she was willing? Wasn’t this what that great aunt ordered?
Blu: Great aunt – referring to Su Wan (figuratively) as the boss.
Seeing Bai mama merely laugh and not speak, Chen Ji wrinkled his eyebrows again: “Must it be this amount? Can’t it be less?”
“You can’t miss even one.”
Bai mama followed up with a serious face: “The risk is too great this time. Even if you get these silvers, this old slave can only do her best to work around it!”
Seeing that what Bai mama said was true, Chen Ji could only nod, “Fine, I understand. I will go back and think about it.”
Chen Ji tightened his grip on the basket in his hand and left.
Looking at his back, Bai mama didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. This miser. You had already brought the jujubes, couldn’t you just leave me two of them?
