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

Lu Zhaowen left Lanyuan and went to work in the Hanlin Academy.

He sent a servant to the elegant courtyard of the first wife, Mrs. Sun, to deliver the message.

The courtyard where the eldest wife, Mrs. Sun, lived was planted with evergreens and bamboos. The furnishings in the house were also mainly elegant, with mostly books and paintings. However, this elegance was tinged with poverty.

When the servant arrived, Madam Sun of the first house was having breakfast with her daughter Lu Yun'er.

People in Lanyuan had breakfast early because Zhao Rulan was a pregnant woman and couldn't afford to go hungry.

But breakfast in this big kitchen is not that early.

The servant delivered the message and left.

Sun was so angry that she threw her chopsticks down.

"Look at what the Second Master said. He asked me to go to Lan Garden and personally talk to Zhao and hand over the power of the housekeeper to her? Isn't this obviously bullying?"

"Your father is gone, and anyone from the Lu family can bully the three of us."

Lu Yuner stood up immediately.

"Mother, I'll go find her. You're the eldest wife of the Lu family, so she has to call you sister-in-law. Isn't it said that an elder sister-in-law is like a mother? How did she do that? She's a grown-up girl from a royal palace, and she really doesn't know the rules at all."

Sun quickly held Lu Yuner's arm.

"Don't go. Remember this and help your mother vent her anger in the future."

"Your second uncle said this, thinking that I could go over and get rid of the housekeeper's mess. I dare not manage it. Your grandmother eats and drinks excessively. Your second uncle and your grandmother thought that the Lu family was very wealthy."

"Your grandmother wanted to eat Buddha Jumps Over the Wall a few days ago, and I used the money I saved for your dowry."

"We can't afford to spend money on food anymore. If we have to, let Zhao go. Doesn't she come with a huge dowry?"

Lu Yun'er was in front of Sun, so she naturally knew Sun's difficulties.

She also feels sorry for her mother.

Now their father is gone, their elder brother is useless and now he can't even pass the imperial examination.

So sad.

"Mother, there is no reason for you to suffer this injustice. Spend the dowry you saved for me first and prepare it when you get married in the future."

Sun said helplessly in her heart, children have simple hearts.

Now they have to live on the accumulated dowry, so can they really become rich in the future?

I'm afraid it's impossible for them to have a big house.

All of them are counting on my second uncle.

Sun complained to her daughter and lost her appetite for breakfast.

She called the maid to come over and dressed her up.

"Qiuyue, take out the jade hairpin inlaid with ruby ​​and gilded with gold from my box."

"Didn't the Madam say that she wanted to keep it for the eldest daughter's dowry? I have put it in the storehouse."

Unexpectedly, Sun glared at the maid and said, "Then you can't go get it? Hurry up and get it. You don't want to listen to me now, do you?"

Qiuyue didn't dare and immediately turned around to get it.

When Sun had finished packing, she looked at herself in the bronze mirror. She looked elegant yet noble. She disliked jewels and precious stones the most, but these were indeed the most charming.

"To the orchid garden."

Satisfied with her condition, Sun went out with her maid.

***

In the orchid garden.

Zhao Rulan eats breakfast early, and before lunch, Cheng Yu will prepare some small cakes or snacks for her.

What I made today are pan-fried radish cakes, glutinous rice cakes, egg yolk pastries, and millet milk steamed cakes.

What I drank today was osmanthus honey.

Take a spoonful and make it into tea.

Served with four desserts.

Cheng Yu was just thinking about sending it over and was about to leave when he heard the maid sent by the gatekeeper say that the eldest lady had arrived.

Cheng Yu turned around and replied.

Zhao Rulan ate a piece of egg yolk pastry.

"Please come in, Madam."

Sun also walked quickly over the threshold, but her eyes fell on Cheng Yu.

"Sister, you are so lucky to have such a beautiful woman by your side. She is not only beautiful but also a great cook."

Sun said this deliberately to make Zhao Rulan feel uncomfortable.

Everyone said that Cheng Yu's cooking was delicious, and Zhao Rulan couldn't do without this maid. Sun didn't care whether her cooking skills were good or not, but the maid was indeed beautiful.

In the Orchid Garden, why didn't Zhao Rulan use this beautiful maid to keep the Second Master's heart?

"Such a wonderful person is really rare. We women are also very rare when we see her, let alone men."

Zhao Rulan looked at Sun and asked directly, "Sister-in-law, you didn't come to me just to take a look at my maid in Lanyuan, right? Don't tell me, I like this maid in front of me very much. If I like her, then she is good. Since she is good, she naturally cannot be someone else's concubine."

Cheng Yu was moved when he heard this.

What Zhao Rulan said today meant that she would never be allowed to be anyone's concubine in the future.

She had been worried that after Lu Zhaowen ate the food she cooked, he would have other thoughts about her. She was so worried about this that she couldn't sleep for several days.

Now hearing the eldest lady say that she would not let her be someone else's concubine, Cheng Yu was grateful to her from the bottom of her heart.

Sun was also surprised when he heard this.

"Sister-in-law, what are you thinking? No matter how good a maid is, she is still a maid, a servant. Look how much you value her. How do you treat your family..."

Before Sun finished speaking, Zhao Rulan's face turned cold.

"What do you mean, sister-in-law? What have I done to my family? Are you trying to say that I treat a maid better than my family? Ask yourself, how have I treated the Lu family since I entered the Lu family?"

"Sister-in-law, I owe you the first wife for the food and drink, but what about you? The second master has a mistress outside, how dare you say that you don't know?"

Sun was startled.

She knew a little about this matter, but she couldn't say it. If she did, her mother-in-law and her second uncle, the head of the family, would never let her go.

"Sister-in-law, I really don't know about this. Although keeping a mistress is a shameful thing, there are few men in Kyoto who don't keep one. You are the eldest lady, and you have the final say in the inner house. It is up to you to decide whether to let her in."

"Sister-in-law, I came here today to talk to you about the housekeeping matter. Mother and Second Uncle have said that they want to let you take care of it. They said that you are the eldest daughter of the royal family and are good at housekeeping. I think it's better for you to take care of it."

"I can take care of it. Give me all the butler tokens. If not, I won't bother to take care of it. Sister-in-law, you know that managing the household is not an easy job. This one needs food, that one needs drink, this one has a headache today, that one has a fever tomorrow. Everyone needs money. The Lu family doesn't have much in their warehouse. The remaining shops of the Lu family are hanging on half dead, and there is no income. But they all rely on my dowry to supplement them."

This is true, and Sun knows it.

But she still wanted to handle the interpersonal relationships herself, after all, she wanted to find a good marriage for her daughter.

Zhao Rulan also guessed it.

"Sister-in-law, what are you worried about? We sisters-in-law are actually the same. Everything we do is for the sake of our children. As long as you treat my children well, I will definitely care about my nephews and nieces. My children are still young, and I will naturally put in the effort to see my niece get married."

Just as Sun had coaxed her in the past, Zhao Rulan was now just using a different method, a different reason, and a different way to coax her.

Life is like a play, it all depends on your acting skills.

Be less sentimental towards others so that you won’t get hurt.