I was a queen in ancient times, no, a maid!

Cheng Yu went to Zhenyuan Marquis Mansion two days in advance.

The eldest daughter of the Marquis's Mansion arranged a place for her to live in Yang Jinxi's courtyard.

In order to prepare for the old lady's birthday in the Marquis' Mansion, Cheng Yu personally bought the ingredients and prepared every detail.

Soon it was the birthday of the old lady of the Marquis' Mansion, and Cheng Yu was busy stirring the wok in the kitchen.

The Zhenyuan Marquis' Mansion did not invite too many people this time. The old lady's sons and daughters-in-law brought their grandchildren and relatives from the family.

But there are quite a few people together. We were supposed to prepare three tables, but we only prepared two.

Unexpectedly, some of Marquis Zhenyuan's friends came.

The maidservant serving Yang Jinxi was busy delivering messages. Yang Jinxi was in the front yard and Cheng Yu was in the back kitchen. If the two needed to communicate, they would ask the maid to deliver the message.

The maid Caiju hurried forward.

"Madam Cheng, thank you for your hard work. I didn't expect that the prince of Jing Palace would also come. All the friends of the marquis in the capital have come to pay their respects to the old lady. But they are drinking, so you don't have to worry. Just make more food."

Cheng Yu hummed, "No problem, just spend a little more time."

"Miss Caiju, tell the eldest lady that I will do it well."

Caiju was satisfied with Cheng Yu's attitude. She didn't show any impatience even when adding more dishes.

Cheng Yu continued to cook. The sweet and sour shrimp balls in her hand were so delicious that the other cooks in the kitchen tilted their heads to look at them.

Even the girl from the Fang family, who was arranging the serving of the dishes, stopped what she was doing and looked at Cheng Yu.

She is so beautiful.

No wonder the Marquis likes her.

She is beautiful, gentle, and does things neither humbly nor arrogantly, and is very generous and graceful.

She is nothing like her. She is always hesitant and petty. She cries whenever something happens. No wonder her brother-in-law hates her.

She thought about it for a long time that night and the next morning.

Still took the initiative to find Yang Huaiyuan.

She didn't want to be a concubine.

She asked her brother-in-law to promise her sister that she would marry her. When her sister was really in trouble, she would ask to be divorced and would never occupy the position of the marquis's wife.

Yang Huaiyuan was unwilling.

He said, you are only fit to be a concubine.

He said a lot of hurtful words, and Fang Mingqiao's only confidence was destroyed by the blow.

She just waited.

After waiting for a few days, Yang Huaiyuan did not tell her sister about making her a concubine.

She thought, perhaps he was thinking of the loving relationship with his sister and didn't want to deliberately irritate her with this matter.

However, her sister urged her to take the initiative.

Instead of asking the kitchen to prepare some nourishing soup, she was sent to deliver it to her brother-in-law's study in person.

She deliberately invited her brother-in-law over in her sister's name, and then her sister left, leaving her and her brother-in-law to live together.

Fang Mingqiao was fed up with this kind of deliberate approach to him.

As long as his sister is not around, he will act particularly distant and indifferent, and even say some hurtful words.

"...Miss Fang, the food is ready. Are you going to serve it now?"

Cheng Yu looked at Miss Fang who was in a daze in front of her and called out a few times.

"I'm sorry, Madam Cheng, maybe the food you cooked tasted so good that I was attracted to it."

Obviously this is false.

It was just an excuse for her to be distracted.

"Miss Fang is really good at talking. She is beautiful and speaks sweetly."

Fang Mingqiao smiled brightly when she heard Cheng Yu's words, "Thank you, Madam Cheng. No one has ever praised me like this before."

Cheng Yu smiled.

Continue preparing the next dish.

Fang Mingqiao arranged for the servants to serve the dishes, and she continued to stay in the kitchen with Cheng Yu.

When Cheng Yu was busy, she would be quiet and silent. When Cheng Yu was free, she would offer him tea with concern.

"Madam Cheng, have some tea."

"I just asked, and they said they were drinking in the front yard. The old lady was in high spirits, competing with others in poetry and couplets."

Cheng Yu hummed and took the tea she handed over.

"Miss Fang, why don't you go to the front yard? You are the Marquis's biological sister and a guest of the Marquis's mansion."

Fang Mingqiao didn't say that he didn't want to go, but said, I'll go now.

Her sister had just sent someone to tell her to hurry over and help with the banquet. She didn't tell her to stay in the kitchen all the time. She was really practical.

It's a good opportunity to introduce her to some of the sisters-in-law during the old lady's birthday party.

But Fang Mingqiao seemed to have no interest in these things.

He walked over slowly, greeted his sister and brother-in-law, said some festive words to the old lady to wish her a happy birthday, and then took a seat.

The Marquis's wife put on rouge and powder today, and her complexion looked rosier and her spirits much better.

She was talking in a low voice to her sister.'

"Didn't I tell you to come to the front yard? What are you doing in the kitchen? I wanted to introduce you to them, but you're not here. We'll have tea and chat after dinner, so don't leave."

Fang Mingqiao had a faint smile on his obedient face.

"I know, sister."

"That's good, Mingqiao, you have to remember what your sister said. Everything your sister is doing now is for you."

"Yes, I know everything."

The female members of the family were sitting inside the house, especially Fang, who was the daughter-in-law of the eldest grandson of the Yang family and also the wife of the marquis.

Sitting at this table were not only the distinguished old lady, but also the second aunt from my second uncle's family and the third aunt from my third uncle's family.

This is the wife of the old lady’s biological son and the old lady’s legitimate daughter-in-law. She should sit with the old lady.

As for the illegitimate son, he came, and the grandson also came.

Neither the illegitimate daughter-in-law nor the granddaughter were allowed to come.

Otherwise, these five or six tables wouldn’t be able to accommodate everyone.

Fang's mother-in-law worshipped Buddha and didn't like to talk, so she sat on one side.

Not to mention caring about the affairs within the Marquis' Mansion, he doesn't even care about Fang and Yang Huaiyuan's biological son and daughter-in-law.

If it wasn't her mother-in-law's birthday today, Fang's mother-in-law would never leave the Buddhist temple.

Fang talked to her sister in front of her, without having to worry about whether her mother-in-law was there or not.

Besides, Fang’s health has reached this point, what else does she have to worry about?

If you don't plan it now, when you die, all that's left is a mess with no one to take care of it.

Who does she count on?

Look at the second aunt and the third aunt, they are the ones who plan for their son and daughter-in-law.

Looking at her mother-in-law, Fang also felt resentment in her heart, but since she was about to die, she was too lazy to care about it anymore.

As for her husband Yang Huaiyuan, when she was still alive, he might have cared about what his wife said for the sake of their children.

If she really died, would Yang Huaiyuan still care so much?

I’m afraid even their two daughters will be bullied.

The old lady had said before that since she had no children of her own, she wanted to adopt a child from Yang Huaiyuan's two younger brothers.

After all, he is a nephew, and there is no difference between him and a biological son.

She also said that if she adopted one, it might give her a son.

Fang was unwilling.

It’s not that she didn’t give birth to her own son, but her son was unlucky. He was murdered and drowned in a pond.

The pond had been filled in long ago, but how could Fang get rid of her worries?

She would rather let her sister and her husband give birth to another child than to have another family's child.

***

When the banquet was over, Cheng Yu finally had time to rest.

The servants who were busy in the kitchen all went to eat when they had time.

Yang Jinxi sent a maid to tell Cheng Yu that she would eat something first, and then go to the front yard to find her after a quick wash.

Cheng Yu wasn't hungry either. He had been cooking for a whole day and just smelling the food made him full.

However, she did smell strongly of cooking oil smoke.

Cheng Yu went back to the room to prepare hot water, wiped his hands and neck, and wrapped his hair. Fortunately, there was no smell. He changed into a light purple dress.

After asking the maid for the way to the front yard, she headed that way.

Yang Jinxi called her over, but she didn't know what the matter was. Since she came to work for the Yang family, she naturally had to listen to her master.

After turning around a lot, luckily I saw Caiju, the maidservant beside Yang Jinxi. I asked for directions and then walked over.

"Hello, Miss Yang."

"Madam Cheng, come quickly. My grandmother said she wants to see you. She just kept praising you."

This is for rewarding.

Cheng Yu happily stepped forward with a faint smile on his face and gave the old lady birthday congratulations.

"I wish you good health, longevity, happiness and happiness, and all the best."

What she said was not meant to be outstanding, but just an ordinary and general congratulation, and the old lady laughed.

"What you said is ordinary, but it's not like what they said, a life as long as the Southern Mountains and as long as the Eastern Sea. How can I have such a fate?

Come quickly, come to me, I just like looking at those pretty little girls, the more I look at them, the more I like them. "

"You look so pretty. I heard from Jinniang that you were the one who cooked all the meals today?"

Cheng Yu hummed.

The old lady is kind, just like a kind grandmother next door.

But she also knew that this was the old lady of the Marquis's Mansion, the winner in the palace fight, and she would never have been able to sit in this position without some means.

She didn't dare to show too much enthusiasm and just did her duty.

"Cui Yu, give this girl the pair of jade bracelets in my box. Come back and visit the Marquis's mansion often."

"Thank you, madam."

Cheng Yufu bowed.

She and Yang Jinxi said some witty words in front of the old lady, and Fang took Fang Mingqiao to chat with her sisters-in-law and her mother-in-law's sisters-in-law.

"...I will have to trouble Second Aunt and Third Aunt in the future to take care of my Ming Qiao."

"What are you talking about, Madam Hou? We are all family."

"Yeah, we're all family, we take care of each other."

After talking for a while, the old lady felt a little tired and went back to her room.

The second and third wives were also preparing to leave. Cheng Yu was brought here by Yang Jinxi, and she had thought that she would leave after the birthday banquet was over today.

Yang Jinxi asked her to rest for a night and it would not be too late to leave tomorrow.

Cheng Yu agreed, received the reward, and then left tactfully.

Just as she walked out of the old lady's yard and hadn't gone far, she heard a noise in front of her. She looked up and someone grabbed her arm and took her to the back of the rockery.

"Shh, it's me."

Cheng Yu looked up and saw that it was the drunk Prince Zhao Shiyan.

"My Lord, you haven't left yet?"

Cheng Yu knew that Zhao Shiyan was there, but he didn't expect that he hadn't left yet.

The female relatives did not leave but were chatting and entertaining the old lady. The marquis' friend was a foreign guest and should have left long ago after dinner.

"They are still drinking. I came out to get some fresh air."

"You cooked all the meals today?" Zhao Shiyan held Cheng Yu's hand. "You came to work for the Yang family, don't you have any money? I still have some private money, I'll give it to you later."

Cheng Yu suddenly laughed.

"Making money is also my ability. If you have money, it's yours, my Lord. It has nothing to do with me. Let's agree that even if we are in a relationship, we can't interfere with each other's work at will."

She originally wanted to say work, but she was afraid that Zhao Shiyan would not understand this word.

"Stubborn." Zhao Shiyan said in a low voice.

Just at this moment, I suddenly heard a voice talking.

Cheng Yu was afraid of being seen, so she hid under a rockery and fooled around with the man. The key point was that the man's identity was not simple, he was the prince of Prince Jing's Mansion.

"Don't move. Do you want to leave at this time?" Zhao Shiyan whispered in her ear.

I originally wanted to talk to her in private.

Zhao Shiyan went to her residence but didn't find her. Only today did he learn that she was preparing a birthday banquet for the old lady of the Zhenyuan Marquis' Mansion.

After hearing what Zhao Shiyan said, Cheng Yu indeed calmed down.

I let him hold me in his arms, not daring to move.

Not far from this rockery is the toilet of the marquis's mansion.

The East and West are divided into male and female guests.

Cheng Yu just guessed that Zhao Shiyan might have come out to the toilet, and then saw her on the way back, so he followed her.

As for the two people who were talking, if Cheng Yu guessed correctly, they should be the second and third aunts of Marquis Yang Huaiyuan.

"...Look at what Fang said. It seems like she wants her sister to be the Marquis' concubine."

"Become a concubine? How is that possible? She should be the second wife. Didn't you see Fang's face? She looked so haggard that even her rouge and powder couldn't hide her haggardness. She kept coughing during the entire meal. Didn't you see that the old lady was unhappy?"

"She is so tactless that she has to drag her sister to talk to us."

After the second aunt finished speaking, the third aunt took over.

"Her sister looks innocent, but I'm afraid she's not even half as good as her sister."

"But this is good. We can visit the old lady often in the future. My Dalang's job has not been decided yet, so I still need to come to the old lady for this matter."

Dalang from the third aunt's family has to decide on his official duties.

The second aunt's son also wants to find a good job, and her daughter also wants to marry into a good family with the reputation of the marquis's mansion.

As the voice faded away, Cheng Yu also sighed.

"There is no ease and comfort in this backyard. What's the point of fighting with each other?"

She just said it casually.

Zhao Shiyan held her hand and whispered, "Are you pointing at me?"

The palace of a prince is no simpler than the mansion of a marquis, and this is something he cannot control.

Cheng Yu looked up at Zhao Shiyan, "As an outsider, I can see clearly."

"You are thinking too much, my Lord. It is too early to talk about it now."

Zhao Shiyan disagrees.

He sincerely wants to marry Cheng Yu, but at the moment, Cheng Yu doesn't trust him at all.

Matters of the heart need to be taken slowly and over a long period of time. If he uses force, according to Cheng Yu's personality, he will only run away faster and farther.

"My Lord, please let me go. I need to go back to my room. Otherwise, if I don't go back for a long time, it will arouse suspicion."

Taozi sent her here and then went back. Cheng Yu lived in the Yang family and employed the Yang family's servants.

The main reason is that Taozi feels insecure in an unfamiliar environment and is prone to making mistakes, which makes it difficult for her to use the system. Cheng Yu doesn't care.

Zhao Shiyan pointed at his face and whispered, "Kiss me and I'll let you go."

Cheng Yu pursed her lips, stood on tiptoe, and kissed him on the face.

She took a small step forward, but Zhao Shiyan was not satisfied.

He held the back of her head and kissed her for a long time.

Then he said, "Yu'er, I'm not young anymore. In a few years, someone of my age will be a grandfather. Please don't make me wait too long, okay?"