Professional Ethics of a Concubine

"Aunt, do you want to continue listening to what Aunt Zhang said?" Ruyi asked her.

"Well, go on." Ye Qingzhi nodded.

"After the wife of Marquis Pingnan passed away, Madam Zhang was responsible for taking care of her former residence and the dowry she left behind.

This time, the Madam asked Aunt Zhang to teach the concubine the rules, probably because she wanted to save face for Aunt Zhang.

I heard that Madam has a very good relationship with the wife of Marquis Pingnan, and on weekdays, Madam also takes good care of the servants left behind by the wife of Marquis Pingnan.

But after all, this is Dongyuan's business, so it's not appropriate for our wife to interfere too much."

"From what you said, it seems that the old servants of Lady Pingnan Marquis are not living well?" Ye Qingzhi asked with a frown.

"Of course it's not good. The master is gone and there's no one to back me up. I'm left at the mercy of others.

The new marquis' wife was Lady Lan, who was promoted to a co-wife.

She assigned all the dirty and tiring work to the old servants of Lady Pingnan Marquis, and many of them were exiled to farms, where they lived a very miserable life.

In other words, Nanny Zhang was the wet nurse of the wife of Marquis Pingnan, so their statuses were different. Marquis Pingnan often talked to Nanny Zhang, so Madam Lan didn't dare to embarrass her openly, but she never stopped using tricks on her behind her back.

Anyway, given Aunt Zhang's status, you can't keep her by your side, it's not appropriate, it's not appropriate.

"What little trick?" Ye Qingzhi ignored Ruyi's last words and asked in a deep voice.

Ruyi looked at her aunt helplessly and could only continue,

"I heard that Madam Lan often called Madam Zhang to question her, and when Madam Zhang arrived, she would deliberately leave her alone and make her wait for at least an hour.

Also, isn't Nanny Zhang in charge of the former residence of the late wife of Marquis Pingnan? Madam Lan never assigns other maids to sweep the yard. It's all done by Nanny Zhang herself. It's such a big yard, and she has to sweep it every day in such a hot summer. How tiring it must be!

I also heard that Aunt Zhang has collapsed from exhaustion twice. Otherwise, Madam wouldn’t have asked her to teach Auntie the rules. I guess she wanted Aunt Zhang to be more relaxed…”

The more Ye Qingzhi listened, the gloomier her face became, and the more determined she became to have Nanny Zhang by her side.

However, with Nanny Zhang's status, she still has to take care of the old residence for her deceased master. It is not appropriate and somewhat unreasonable to ask her to come and serve a concubine.

but……

How can you know it won't work if you haven't tried it?

At least, the lady was on her side.

-

On the other side, Guixinyuan.

Nanny Zhang was also reporting to Zhang Jingyi.

"Madam, that concubine Ye has learned the rules very well. She said that she had learned them before, but just forgot them. I tried it and it is true. I thought I would not have to go there tomorrow, but concubine Ye disagreed. She said that this is a punishment from the Marquis and she must learn for a full month."

Zhang Jingyi was a little surprised when she heard this. Aunt Ye gave her another little surprise.

However, as Ruyi said, she asked Nanny Zhang to teach the rules because she wanted to help her. Even if Aunt Ye had learned the rules well, she would still have to teach for a month.

"Madam, Madam Ye has been serving Master, and her behavior has been eye-catching enough. If she only learns the rules for one day and then stops studying them seriously, it will definitely make others jealous."

Zhang Jingyi looked at Aunt Zhang, who had aged a lot, gently and advised softly,

"Madame Zhang is also a smart person. She knows the other purpose of me asking you to teach me the rules. I can only protect you to this extent. I hope you will not disappoint me. I also hope Qingwan is watching from the heaven and will not blame me for my incompetence."

When Aunt Zhang heard her talk about her deceased master, she felt grief welling up in her heart. She knelt down and thanked Zhang Jingyi.

"Thank you, Madam. I will obey your orders. However, in a month and a half, it will be my master's anniversary. I will only teach Madam Ye the rules for a month at most."

"Okay, then I'll trouble you, Madam Zhang." Zhang Jingyi said.

After Aunt Zhang left, Aunt Zhou couldn't help but sighed,

"Oh, it would be great if Madam Lin were still alive."

Zhang Jingyi pursed her lips, feeling sad. Good people never live long.

After a while, Chunyu came over and asked for a meeting.

Zhang Jingyi asked her to come in and asked, "Tell me about how Aunt Ye learned the rules today."

Chunyu told him everything.

"My aunt took to Aunt Zhang right away. She was very friendly and studied the rules very seriously. She was very smart and could learn anything quickly. My aunt even wanted Aunt Zhang to serve her. As soon as Aunt Zhang left, she asked Ruyi to inquire about Aunt Zhang's news."

Zhang Jingyi was surprised when she heard this.

Nanny Zhou was also shocked.

Aunt Ye always does things unexpectedly.

She just beat Aunt Yao, did a big thing, and now she's going to do another big thing? !

"She wants Madam Zhang to come and serve her?" Zhang Jingyi was so surprised that she couldn't help asking again.

"Yes, Auntie likes Auntie Zhang very much." Chunyu wanted to say that she was a little jealous.

At lunch time, my aunt asked the kitchen to prepare the dishes that Aunt Zhang liked.

When Nanny Zhang left, she also rewarded her with ten taels of silver.

Xia Chan had also been rewarded with ten taels of silver, but she had never received any reward.

"My aunt already knew that Aunt Zhang was the late Madam Lin's wet nurse, but she still wanted Aunt Zhang.

The aunt wanted Madam to make a decision, and said that she knew Madam also wanted to help Madam Zhang leave Dongyuan, and that you two were on a united front this time. The aunt said that Madam could let her do whatever she wanted, even asking her to throw money or beg the Marquis..."

After hearing this, Zhang Jingyi was speechless for a long time.

She slowed down before speaking.

"We must first obtain the consent of the Marquis. If the Marquis does not agree, it will be useless no matter what we do."

"I will go back and tell my aunt right away." Chunyu received the news and hurried back.

"Madam, Madam Ye's behavior is really incomprehensible." Madam Zhou frowned and said, "She asked Madam Zhang to be by her side, but it only caused trouble for her and brought no benefit."

Zhang Jingyi shook her head and didn't understand.

However, Aunt Ye was right. When it came to Nanny Zhang, they had the same goal.

Since Aunt Ye is willing to pay the price for this matter, why not cooperate with her once?