The maid's road to success

"Miss Eight, Miss Eight, someone come quickly, Miss Eight is choking."

There was a sudden commotion in the scripture room. Yulan and several maids rushed in. The Third Lady was crying beside her, holding Chen Luozhu in her arms. The old lady also looked anxious. Wen Niang saw the chestnuts scattered on the ground and knew that the Eighth Lady might have choked on the chestnuts.

The old woman dug into Miss Eight's mouth for a long time but failed to get anything out. Seeing Miss Eight's face turning red from holding back the choking, Wen Niang remembered that when she was a child, someone in the village was choked. A traveling doctor picked him up from the back and squeezed his stomach hard, and the food came out.

The most urgent thing was to ignore any rules and pick up Miss Eight from the back. He clenched his fists and squeezed her abdomen below her belly button several times.

With a "vomit" sound, the Eighth Miss spat out the chestnut. When the Third Lady saw the child crying, she quickly held her in her arms to comfort her.

The old woman and the wet nurse serving on the side had already knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly.

"You did a great job, Yulan. I will reward Wen Niang handsomely. Today is all thanks to her."

Wen Niang also tried it with a fluke mentality. She had only seen the traveling doctor do it once, and when she saw that it really worked, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Yulan and the others were much more relaxed. The Eighth Miss was fine. The old man was no longer in the mood to worry and sent someone to call a doctor immediately.

Wen Niang accompanied the old ancestor to the side room to rest. The Third Lady was also there. When she saw that the Eighth Miss was out of danger, she stopped crying.

"Thanks to the people around my mother, otherwise my Pearl would be in real danger."

"The child is blessed with a good life. Don't talk nonsense. She deserves to be saved."

The old ancestor didn't like people saying discouraging things, so he waved his hand to stop her from saying it.

"Good girl, how did you come up with this idea? I am really grateful to you today."

Wen Niang looked at the old ancestor and felt a little embarrassed as her hands were held by the Third Lady.

"When I was a kid, someone in the village was choking and couldn't get the food out no matter what he did. A great itinerant doctor did this. I saw it and I remembered it."

The ancestor nodded.

"You are indeed a lucky person, remembering these ways to save people. Today you saved Eighth Lady, so I have to reward you well."

Yulan had already found an extremely transparent topaz bracelet in her jewelry box and asked the old ancestor to see if it was suitable.

"This topaz bracelet is well chosen. It's perfect for Wen Niang since she's young. If there's a little missing, go get the pair of peach blossom hairpins and give them to her as well."

Yulan was a little surprised. This topaz bracelet belonged to the old lady and was not comparable to the other gifts she gave to others. The jade color and craftsmanship would have to be worth at least a hundred taels. And what about the pair of peach blossom hairpins?

The peach blossom hairpin was carved by a craftsman from Linglong Pavilion using a whole piece of pink jade. Although it is not a complete headdress, it is valuable because pink jade is so rare.

However, if it weren't for Wen Niang's wit and courage to save the Eighth Miss today, if something happened to the Eighth Miss, the old ancestor, the Third Madam, and the Third Master would probably be heartbroken.

"You can't spend mother's money, I have to pay for it. Chunyu, go to my jewelry box and take out the set of South Pearl head ornaments that I brought as a dowry and give them to Wen Niang."

Chunyu was still grateful to Wen Niang for saving the young master. After hearing the Third Lady's instructions, he handed the Eighth Miss to the wet nurse and went to get the things.

"This, I dare not accept. I am just doing a little favor. It is my job."

Seeing that the girl did not seek credit, the third lady liked her even more and held her hand and talked to her for a long time.

At night, Chunxiu waited for the old ancestor to rest, and Wenniang came to find Yulan with the peach blossom hairpin.

"Sister Yulan, this peach blossom hairpin is too valuable. I dare not accept it."

Yulan looked at Wen Niang's frightened expression and felt very satisfied. She thought she was indeed a good girl and her daily care was worth it.

"This is a gift from our ancestors. You should accept it. It's a good thing, and it's worthy of being kept as a family heirloom."

Wen Niang insisted on returning the things.

"I know that the old ancestor is generous, but this thing is really valuable. I really don't dare to accept it. It would be better if Sister Yulan talked to the old ancestor and exchanged a few good rings for me. It would be more neat for the sisters of Fushou Hall to wear them."

Yulan found it funny that she really didn't dare to take it back and even said these words.

Before, Wen Niang distributed the rings awarded by the Third Miss to everyone. People outside said that the people in Fu Shou Tang were very united and well-off, and they all wore the same pearl rings.

Wen Niang was very happy when she heard this at that time. Now she is thinking of exchanging this peach blossom hairpin for a ring that everyone can wear. She feels a little sorry for this silly girl.

"Do you know that this pair of hairpins can be exchanged for a hundred pearl rings?"

Wen Niang nodded and placed the head ornament given by the Third Madam on the table.

"That's why I don't dare to accept it. I'm just a maid, and you gave me so many treasures. I won't be able to sleep."

The next morning, when Yulan came with two boxes, the old ancestor and the third wife and the eighth lady were having breakfast.

"What's wrong? Wen Niang doesn't want it?"

Yulan smiled and put it on the couch.

"Grandfather, please forgive Wen Niang. She didn't dare to accept all these rewards. She was so scared that she couldn't sleep. She pestered me for a long time. I persuaded her to accept the bracelets for a long time."

When the ancestor heard this, he laughed.

"Give her something good, but she doesn't know how to take it quickly."

Yulan helped the old ancestor rinse his mouth.

"It's not her fault. We are all maids and have no choice. It would be bad to leave all these good things alone."

The old ancestor felt a little distressed when he heard this.

"Then what do you think we should give her as a reward? This girl is really good."

Yulan thought about what Wen Niang said every day and remembered that she mentioned it once.

"If I am lucky enough to be freed from slavery by my ancestors when I grow up, I will be grateful for the rest of my life and pray for them every day."

That day, it seemed like they were talking about what their future lives would be like. Everyone was fantasizing wildly. Chunxiu and Chuncao both said that they wanted to be the superior ones and order the subordinates around. Only Wen Niang said this.

"If the old ancestor really felt sorry for that girl, it would be better to release her from slavery and let her become a good citizen, and she wouldn't be afraid to accept good things."

Yulan thought of herself. She also wanted to be freed from slavery and become a good citizen, a slave, dependent on her master, without even her own household registration.

Her parents had spent their entire lives being loyal to her and only then had they managed to get her brother a good citizen. Now she was probably hopeless in this life.

"But I really can't bear to leave her."

The old ancestor thought that if Wen Niang was released from prison, she would probably have to leave the Marquis' Mansion, and he felt a little reluctant.

"Don't worry, old ancestor. That girl is loyal. She told us earlier that she would serve you for the rest of her life."

Seeing that Wen Niang was so loyal, the old ancestor would never refuse. After all, she saved the young lady of the Marquis' Mansion, so it was not a bad thing to reward her with this grace. It could also serve as a warning to all the servants in the mansion about the benefits of being loyal to their masters.

"Giving her this grace is a reward for her loyalty and sincerity."

The Third Lady admired Wen Niang because she was not greedy for money. If the old ancestor was not short of staff and could not do without Wen Niang, she would really want her to be Zhuer's maid.

"Leave it to me. My father is a deputy minister of the Ministry of Revenue. Ask him to help Wen Niang get a good name."

Yulan found it a little funny that a servant had to use the Ministry of Revenue to register as a good servant. This was like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

When Wen Niang received the household registration book sent by the third lady Chunyu, she was so excited that tears flowed down her face.

Now she is no longer the lowest class of untouchables. This household registration book symbolizes not only her freedom, but also the freedom of her future children and grandchildren.

The child born by a slave will also be a slave and will not be able to make decisions for herself throughout her life. With this household registration, no master in the Huaiyuan Marquis' Mansion can dispose of her life at will without reason.

Seeing the envious expressions of Yulan and Chunyu, Wen Niang burst into tears. She was sold at the age of six, and until now she has been very cautious every day. She dared not offend anyone, dared not stand out, dared not get angry, and dared not argue with anyone. Now she has hope.

"Thank you, Sister Yulan. It's all because Sister Yulan felt sorry for Wen Niang and asked the old lady for it. Thank you, Sister Yulan."

Yulan also had tears in her eyes. She pulled up Wen Niang, who was kneeling and kowtowing. As a slave, she naturally knew what this thin piece of paper represented.

"No need to thank me, I just mentioned this to the old ancestor, and it was you who was loyal and saved the eighth lady."

Wen Niang held the household registration book in her hands, looked at Sister Yulan and Bihe, and burst into tears of joy again.

"Thank you very much, old ancestor, for your kindness. In the future, I will serve you well, copy scriptures, and burn incense and worship Buddha for you."

When the old ancestor saw Wen Niang coming to serve him with red and swollen eyes from crying, he knew how happy she was, as she knelt on the ground and kowtowed until her head was bruised.

"Silly girl, get up quickly. You are a decent person and you are not greedy for money. Now that you have a household registration, you must not belittle yourself."

Wen Niang shook her head and spoke intermittently with sobs.

"Even if I become a good citizen, I will still be your slave and servant, and still be a maid at Fu Shou Tang."

The old man patted her hands and looked at Yulan with such a look in his eyes that she must have been envious.

At the beginning, her parents sent all the daughters in the family here to ask for a good citizenship for their son. It was also because her parents had made great contributions to the Marquis' Mansion that they reluctantly agreed.

This mansion has its own rules. Anyone who comes to ask for it, as long as they do something good, they will be asked to return their slave status. How can the mansion discipline its servants? There have been few such requests in recent years.

It was hard for the two sisters. In order to give their brother a good future, they suffered countless injustices in this mansion.

"You all should serve me well. When I am old, I will let the Marquis release you from the state."

When Yulan heard the old ancestor say this, she knew that she was worried about her again, so she knelt on the ground and said nothing.

"Grandfather, please don't say that. When we are old, you still have to be well. We will serve you for the rest of our lives. There are rules in the mansion. If we release slaves and servants casually, how can we manage them in the future? We dare not be greedy. My brother's matter has already made things difficult for you. Don't do these things for us again."

Although the old ancestor felt distressed, he was still happy that his maids were all loyal and good girls.

There have never been many slaves in the mansion. Apart from those who accompanied the ancestors in building this huge family business, a group of them have been returned to the good class, and only those who have made great contributions to the mansion are qualified.

Wen Niang is the first one in the past two years.

But it was only because the third wife was born out of wedlock that she got such a precious girl after marriage. As the legitimate mother-in-law, the ancestor had to treat the third wife well.

"The daughter-in-law really envies her mother, the girls around her are so good."

The old ancestor laughed out loud, hugged Yulan and Chunxiu, and looked at the third lady proudly.

"I have snatched all the good girls away from me, you guys must be envious."

The atmosphere in the room was exceptionally good.

After three months, it was time for the old lady to return home. Wen Niang was taken by the Third Lady to sit in the same carriage with the Eighth Miss Chen Luozhu.

"Mrs. Wen, I know you are considerate and thoughtful. If you don't want to accept the headgear, I won't force you. But you have to keep these things well. They are not expensive. Mrs. Eight picked them for you."

How could Wen Niang believe what the Third Madam said? The Eighth Miss was not even three years old, so how could she choose jewelry for herself? However, looking at the jade bracelets and gold hairpins in the box, which were of average quality and not what the masters would usually like, she finally accepted them.

When they arrived at the Huaiyuan Marquis' Mansion, the Marquis and his wife had been waiting at the door since early morning. After asking about the old ancestor's health, they called Wen Niang out, and the eldest lady looked at her carefully for a while.