Return of the Phoenix Lady

Chu Mansion Servant's Room

A woman who looked more beautiful among the servants came to Han Xing, tugged at her sleeve and said, "Your name is Jiang Xiaoli, so I'll call you Xiaoli from now on. My name is Xu Yanmei, and you can call me Meimei. We'll be friends from now on!"

Han Xing couldn't help sweating. This Meimei was really sociable!

She said without hesitation: "Okay, Meimei."

Xu Yanmei smiled when she heard that, and leaned close to Han Xing and whispered in her ear, "That's your brother! He's so tall and strong!" As she spoke, she also threw a coquettish glance at Jin Yifeng.

Jin Yifeng's fists hidden in his sleeves clenched and unclenched, and finally he could only choose to ignore the self-righteous ugly woman.

Xu Yanmei was immediately upset when she saw a man ignoring her advances. She said to Han Xing with some displeasure, "Xiao Li, why is your brother so rude? He ignores me!"

Han Xing smiled playfully and said, "Meimei, don't mind it. My brother is just like that. He's very shy around strange pretty girls and ignores them when he gets shy. Please don't get me wrong!"

"Is that so! It's okay, it's okay! I'm just such a petty person!" Xu Yanmei was amused by Han Xing, a "pretty girl".

The two began to whisper again, and Xu Yanmei said, "Xiao Li, where are you from? My family lives in a village on the border of Rongcheng. My parents are still alive, but we're poor, and I have to support my younger siblings, so I had no choice but to work outside, and that's how I ended up here."

Han Xing repeated the story she had made up earlier, bringing tears to Xu Yanmei's eyes. But her reaction was too much! One could only say that women in ancient times were incredibly emotional!

"Okay, okay, everyone, be quiet. Now listen to my orders. Men, follow me, and women, stay here. A nanny will come later to teach you what to do!" After saying that, the steward led a group of men out.

Han Xing gave Jin Yifeng a reassuring look, and only then did he leave with peace of mind.

Soon, a middle-aged woman with heavy makeup and bright clothes walked in. She glanced at the dozen or so women in the room and said sternly, "I won't waste any more time on this nonsense, Madam. I'll slowly teach you the rules later! But you all have to pay attention to your duties! Do what you should do well, and what you shouldn't do... you understand. Madam, let me be frank. If you get caught, the consequences will be more than you can bear! But if you do your best, you can return safely in five years, and you won't lose anything you deserve! Do you understand?"

"Yes!" a group of women said with lowered eyebrows.

"That's good! Everyone, raise your heads first!" the nanny gave orders.

The women raised their heads obediently, and the nanny's sharp eyes darted back and forth.

After a while, he said, "Okay, whoever I pointed out below, come out! You, you, you... and you!"

Han Xing and Xu Yanmei were both called.

The nanny continued, "The Chu Mansion is a wealthy family, so the maids and servants must be good. I see that you are all quite pretty, so I'll send you to serve the masters. Now I'll make the assignments. You go serve the master, and you go serve the mistress..."

The nanny spoke one by one, and when she came to Han Xing and Xu Yanmei, she looked at Xu Yanmei and said, "You go and serve the young master." Xu Yanmei immediately showed a look of joy. Han Xing sighed in his heart, what a pathetic woman! She thought that she was good-looking and served the young master, so she could become successful with her looks? With Chu Xiaochong's temperament, she would probably be bored after two days of playing. If she is sensible and lucky, she might even be able to get the status of a concubine; if she is not sensible, I am afraid she will end up losing both her money and her life! However, with Chu Xiaochong's status and his corrupt private life, he would probably accept anyone who comes! Han Xing could almost foresee Xu Yanmei's fate.

The nanny came to Han Xing, glanced at her calmly, and said, "Go and serve the Third Madam!"

The Third Madam? Oh, isn't she my mother, Chu Xiang'er's mother? She's my grandmother. How could I have forgotten her? I really shouldn't have! But it doesn't matter, Grandma. Just wait. I'll be here soon to take you out of this sea of ​​suffering!

Han Xing blamed herself for her negligence in her heart, but she saw that everyone was looking at her with pity. Even Xu Yanmei, who was smiling so hard that her face was about to bloom, came over and whispered, "Xiao Li, you are so unlucky. I heard that the third lady is an unpopular person. If you follow her, you will definitely not get any reward! Moreover, the third lady is a sickly person and very difficult to serve!" Xu Yanmei looked at her with pity, but Han Xing still saw through the gloating in her eyes.

Han Xing replied calmly, "No matter how unpopular she is, she's still a master, and you have to serve her, right?" The implication was that a master is a master and must be served, and a servant is a servant and must serve others. This is a fact you can't change. However, with Xu Yanmei's big breasts and no brains, I'm afraid she wouldn't be able to figure out the implication even if she racked her brains!

Soon, the nanny assigned the people and said, "Okay! Chun'er, Qiu'er, come in! Chun'er, take these maids to the kitchen to assign them, and Qiu'er, take the maids to the master's room to serve the master, the young master, the young master, the first lady, and the second lady."

So Han Xing said goodbye to Xu Yanmei and followed Qiu'er out with the girls.

As they walked along, Han Xing deeply felt the wealth of the Chu family. This building was so magnificent! Following Qiu'er, they walked further and further away. The maids accompanying them all fell to the ground. In the end, only Han Xing and Qiu'er were left.

Han Xing casually said, "Sister Qiu'er, why is the Third Madam's courtyard so far away?"

Qiu'er, who had originally not wanted to answer, turned around and glanced at the ordinary little girl. Her eyes were so clear and lively that she couldn't help but reply, "I'm sure you've heard that the Third Madam is not favored, so she lives in a rather remote place."

"So that's how it is! Then, Sister Qiu'er, does the Third Madam have any maids to serve her now?"

Qiu'er thought for a moment before saying, "It seems there is one."

What do you mean by "one"? And it's not certain yet. It seems that grandma is really not favored to a certain extent, Han Xing thought with some distress.

"I also heard that the Third Madam is a sickly woman. Is she difficult to serve?"

Qiu'er shook her head and said, "I'm not too sure either. Anyway, just be careful and serve her well. After all, she is also a master."

"Sister Qiu'er is right. Xiaoli has made a note of it." The girl's innocent smile made Qiu'er look sideways. She said calmly, "Your name is Xiaoli?"

"Yeah, that's right! My name is Jiang Xiaoli, and I have a brother who also works here, his name is Jiang Xiaofeng."

"Well...Okay, we're here. This is it." Qiu'er led Han Xing to a yard that was much more dilapidated than the ones they had seen before.

Han Xing carefully surveyed the residence where her grandmother had lived, feeling even more guilty. The small yard was overgrown with weeds, untended. The ground was littered with dead branches and leaves, and the surface of the house was covered in a thick layer of dust. It was worse than a servant's quarters. Anyone who didn't know the situation would have mistaken it for an abandoned, uninhabited courtyard.

"You must take good care of the Third Madam here in the future. If you have any problems, come to the Second Madam's yard to find me. You must go to the kitchen to pick up the Third Madam's lunch at noon, and the same goes for your own. Don't wander around when you have nothing to do. Stay here quietly and you will be safe. If you have nothing to do, just go in! I'll leave first." Qiu'er explained in detail.

"I understand. Thank you, Sister Qiu'er!" "Yes."

Qiu'er left, and Han Xing hurried in. As soon as he entered the inner courtyard, he heard bursts of coughing, accompanied by a weak female voice: "...Ye'er...Shui...Ye'er...Ye...cough cough...Ye'er..."

After a while, a cursing female voice was heard: "What are you yelling about? It's so noisy! Leave me alone! Do you really think you're a lady? You're just an old woman whose status is not even as good as us servants! I was so unlucky to follow a useless master like you!"

Han Xing suddenly became angry and quickly walked towards the room where the coughing sounds were coming from.

As soon as I entered the door, I saw an ordinary-looking woman lying on the soft couch that was originally for the master. She was leisurely reading a small book, eating melon seeds, with a cup of hot tea at her side. She looked like she was living a very comfortable life.

Another wave of anger washed over him, and he ignored the woman's surprised question and walked straight into the bedroom.

I saw a middle-aged woman who looked 70% like my mother lying weakly on a wooden bed with only a thin quilt. In this cold weather, her thin body was trembling, her eyes were dull, her face was pale, and her lips were a little purple. She was only middle-aged, but most of her black hair had turned white. Her fingers that were exposed through the thin quilt were as thin as bamboo sticks. It was obvious that she was suffering from long-term illness, hunger and cold, and there was despair for life in her eyes.

Han Xing's eyes suddenly turned red, and self-blame and guilt surged into her heart, making it difficult for her to breathe. But she quickly reacted, turned around and walked to the woman named Ye'er, snatched her teacup, glared at her fiercely, and walked to the bed before she could react. She carefully supported her weak body and carefully handed warm water to her dry lips.

The woman opened her eyes wide in surprise and tried to look at Han Xing. There was a mixture of fear, worry, and hope in her eyes that came from nowhere...

Xinghan smiled at her comfortingly and said, "Don't worry, I will protect you from now on!"