Yu Wan handed the fresh cherries to Yu Song.
When Yu Wan was living on campus in her previous life, she was always very envious of those parents who came to visit. Although she was still not the one being visited now, she could visit others. This feeling of protecting others also made her feel very good.
“Is it sweet?” Yu Wan asked.
Yu Song tasted one. “Sweet!”
It was really sweet.
Cherry was not a local fruit. It was expensive on the market and the Yu family could not afford it. They could only eat the wild fruits on the mountain. Although the wild fruits were good, they were not as good as the cherries carefully cultivated by the gardener in the Young Master Manor. Yu Song ate more than ten in one go.
“Be careful not to get heaty if you eat too much. Leave these to your roommate,” Yu Wan said. “There’s still a lot in the manor. If you like them, I’ll send them to you every day.”
“How troublesome!” Yu Song frowned.
Yu Wan smiled and said, “I’ll get the servants to send them.”
She had almost forgotten that she was now the madam of the Young Master Manor and could order more servants than the workers in the workshop.
In the countryside, he was always left behind. Ah Wan only brought Big Brother when she went out. Now, he could see her alone… As her brother, he was still very satisfied. Thinking about it this way, a new identity was quite good.
The taste of the cherry melted in his mouth and sweetened his heart.
There were too many cherries in the Young Master Manor, and it would be a waste if she didn’t eat them. Yu Wan asked the servants to pick them and send a basket to the Xiao Manor. Although she learned from Xiao Ziyue that the Xiao Manor had a reward from the palace, the palace belonged to the palace, and what was hers was hers. Their intentions were different.
Then, Yu Wan also sent a basket each to her uncle’s and her father’s families. She also sent a basket each to Bai Tang, Master Qin and Shopkeeper Cui.
After that, the sky turned dark. It was time to return to the Qingfeng Courtyard for dinner.
At this moment, Uncle Wan came over. Uncle Wan glanced at the two little maidservants behind Yu Wan and then looked around. He wondered, “Has Steward Hu never been here?”
He was talking about a deputy steward of the outer court.
“No, why? Is he coming over?” Yu Wan asked.
Uncle Wan looked at the sky and said, “Aren’t we going to choose a few capable servants for Young Madam? I’ve handed them over to Steward Hu. He told me yesterday that he could bring them over today. I’m thinking that they would have met you since it’s already dark.”
Yu Wan said pleasantly, “Maybe something delayed it. It’s fine. I’m not in a hurry for a day or two.”
South of the Capital, there was a well-known Silk Music Hall. It was mainly in the business of human traffickers and occasionally trained servants for the nobles. The Silk Music Hall did not take in people who were kidnapped. The servants inside were all of extremely good background. There were guilty slaves from the officials and also voluntary servants from the commoners.
Tao’er and Li’er were also bought from the Silk Music Hall. At that time, there were not many good maidservants. Logically speaking, Tao’er and Li’er should have been trained for a few more days, but the Young Master Manor was in a hurry to hire people, so they bought the two of them first.
This time, a new group of servants came to the Silk Music Hall.
Steward Hu went to take a look yesterday. The deposit had been placed. Today, he was here to bring them into the manor. Unexpectedly, one was missing when he checked.
Steward Hu said unhappily, “Didn’t we agree on six people? Four maidservants and two pageboys. Why is there one less maidservant?”
The lady boss sighed. “That person called Shui Xian is sick. It’s fine if she’s a little sick, but she has rashes all over her body. I don’t know if it’s an infectious disease, so how can I dare to sell it to you again? If anything happens to the Young Master Manor’s master later, my Silk Music Hall won’t be able to open!”
Steward Hu sat down impatiently. “I’m in urgent need!”
The lady boss served a cup of tea ingratiatingly.
Steward Hu took a sip and frowned. “No one else?”
The lady boss looked troubled. “Yes, but the price…”
“So you think that the money is too little and deliberately raise the price?” Steward Hu’s face turned cold.
The lady boss hurriedly explained, “Am I that kind of person? Our Silk Music Hall is in a long-term business. You’re a returning customer. If you don’t come again in the future after I rip you off today, won’t I still be the one losing out? There was someone else who gave the deposit. He chose before you, but he’s coming to get the girl two days later. If you’re in a hurry, I’ll give you one first. However, I have to pay him double the deposit.”
Steward Hu frowned coldly. “Then you don’t have to pay me double when you short me of one maidservant?”
The lady boss glared at him. “Do you want money or people? If you want money, I’ll compensate you. If you want people…”
In other words, Steward Hu had to pay for the compensation.
In the end, Steward Hu spent a sum of money to buy her.
Steward Hu felt that he had made a loss. There was nothing eye-catching about that girl. Her looks were not as good as Tao’er, her figure was not as good as Li’er, and she was even as burly as a man. He was not buying people to farm!
Seriously!
The six servants were brought to Yu Wan in unison.
“What are your names?” Yu Wan sat at the head of the hall and took a sip of tea without batting an eyelid.
The two pageboys introduced themselves first.
“Young Madam, I’m Jiang Xiaowu from County Qu.”
“I’m Jianghai, from Lotus Flower Town.”
County Qu and Lotus Flower Town were both near the Capital, but one was in the east and the other in the south. At first glance, when she heard that the two of them had the surname Jiang, she thought they were brothers.
Jiang Xiaowu was small and looked quite smart. Jiang Hai looked slightly more honest.
Yu Wan looked at the four maidservants again. At first glance, she thought that a man had barged in. Why was there a girl as tall as Yan Jiuchao?
“Ahem!” Steward Hu lowered his head and cleared his throat. Alright, he really regretted buying this girl.
“What’s your name?” Yu Wan asked as usual.
“My name is Qiao’er,” said the tall and mighty girl.
Everyone thought to themselves, Your figure is unrelated to dainty. [This Qiao in Chinese means small and dainty.]
Yu Wan nodded and asked the remaining three maidservants. Tan Ying and Lan Xiang were a master and servant who came from an official family. They had been reduced to criminal slaves because of their family’s crimes.
“Since you’re not the daughter of an official anymore, you shouldn’t be called with the same name.” Yu Wan changed their names. Tan Ying became Zi Su and Lan Xiang became Ban Xia.
“I also want to change my name,” Qiao’er said. She had been mocked many times because of this name and did not want to be called Qiao’er anymore.
“Alright, you’re called Fu Ling.” Yu Wan looked at the last maidservant. “What about you? Do you want to change your name too?”
The maidservant said, “My name is Su Mu. It’s already a medicine name.”
What she meant was that there was no need to change it.
Yu Wan could not help but look at this maidservant. “You studied medicine?”
Su Mu replied, “Young Madam, I’ve never learned it before. I took a lot of medicine when I was young and weak, including the ones Young Madam mentioned.”
Zi Su, Ban Xia, Fu Ling, and Su Mu were indeed very common herbs, but it was this girl’s ability to remember them.
Yu Wan said, “The four of you will start as second-class maidservants. Jiang Xiaowu and Jiang Hai will follow Steward Hu to the outer court first. Do you know how to drive a carriage?”
“Yes,” the two of them said in unison.
Very good, she had a dedicated coachman.
The maidservants in the Qingfeng Courtyard shared a room with two other people. Zi Su and Ban Xia naturally had to stay in the same room. Fu Ling was strong and helped the two of them carry their things. The two of them were grateful and invited her to stay with them. Su Mu was alone and could only move to Li’er and Tao’er’s room.
“Don’t be afraid. Li’er and I don’t bully the new maidservant.” Tao’er was worried that Su Mu wouldn’t be used to it, so she kindly comforted her.
Su Mu nodded indifferently.
Yu Wan’s period was finally over. During dinner, she exchanged a few glances with Yan Jiuchao, and both of them blushed.
Yu Wan went to the bath in the Young Master Manor to take a comfortable petal bath. She dried her hair and returned to the house in her pajamas. Yan Jiuchao had also finished washing up. He sat quietly at the head of the bed, as handsome as jade.
“Where’s the children?” Yu Wan asked.
“Back to their room,” Yan Jiuchao said.
Oh, it was cleared so quickly. Yu Wan pressed down on the corners of her lips and walked over. She realized that his hair was not dry yet. She took a cotton cloth and picked up his black hair, gently pinching it.
The last candle was out, leaving only an oil lamp by the bed. It was so yellow that there was almost no light. The room was very quiet. Only the sound of her wiping his hair and their gradually nervous breathing could be heard.
Yu Wan knelt in front of Yan Jiuchao. As she wiped, she felt her heart beating uncontrollably.
The night was gentle.
Suddenly, a terrifying scream came from the back room.
The two of them stiffened.
“Not good, fire!”
Tao’er choked and coughed as she rushed out of the house that was on fire.
