High-class maid

Unlike the extravagance of the capital, this hairpin is delicate and exquisite. Although it is not ostentatious, Hou Xinyu, who is used to seeing fine things, recognized at a glance that the jade on it was not ordinary jade.

"Hmph, so she knows she made a mistake and is trying to please me." Hou Xinyu said this, but her expression betrayed her; she clearly liked the hairpin very much.

"I specially found this for you when I was in Jinling. I didn't send it to your residence with the other gifts because I wanted to give it to you personally. What do you think? Do you like it?" Xiao Yi'an said, tucking it into her hair.

"I like it. Did you pick this yourself? I didn't expect you to have such good taste." Hou Xinyu regretted that there was no mirror here, otherwise she would definitely want to see how she would look in it.

"Yes, the moment I saw it, I knew it would look beautiful on Yu'er, like a hibiscus flower, naturally beautiful without any artifice," Xiao Yi'an praised.

Just as the two were exchanging feelings, Bai Lan's voice came from outside the door.

"Miss, we should go now."

"Then I'm leaving. Take care of yourself." Hou Xinyu glanced at Xiao Yi'an reluctantly, then turned and walked towards the door.

"Yu'er!" Xiao Yi'an called out to Hou Xinyu as she opened the door.

"what happened?"

“Wait! In a few days I’ll bring a pair of geese to your house to propose marriage!” Xiao Yi’an said.

"You lecher!" Hou Xinyu blushed and ran out of the room, leaving Xiao Yi'an sitting inside, grinning foolishly, reminiscing about the beauty's voice and smile.

"Miss, the nanny is waiting downstairs." Seeing that her young mistress's face was flushed and she was in a good mood, Bai Lan hurriedly reminded her quietly, afraid that the nanny would notice.

"Good Bai Lan, thank you for reminding me." Hou Xinyu touched her face, then wiped away her smile, her expression turning indifferent again, and walked out with Bai Lan by the hand.

"Miss, I also bought some pastries from here. You can share them with everyone later," Bai Lan whispered in her ear.

"Hmm, you're so thoughtful. Go back to the manor and collect your reward," Hou Xinyu said.

Seeing that the two women had finally emerged from the teahouse, and after carefully observing Hou Xinyu's complexion and finding nothing amiss, the old woman breathed a sigh of relief and said...

"Miss, it's cold outside. Please get in the carriage quickly, or Madam will worry if we get back late."

"Granny, these are pastries that I brought specially. You can share them later. You've been running around with me all morning, so have some pastries to fill your stomachs," Hou Xinyu said as soon as the nanny finished speaking.

Bai Lan immediately took out a box of pastries and handed it to the nanny. When the nanny saw the expensive pastries, her smile became more genuine, and she said, "Shall we go then?"

There was no sound coming from inside the carriage, but Bai Lan said to the coachman, "Let's go."

Xiao Yi'an stood by the window, watching the beauty board the carriage. He was satisfied and returned to his residence. He needed to deal with Qianying's matter quickly so as not to leave Yu'er with any trouble.

"Mother, why not elevate Qianying to the position of concubine? She is, after all, a maid in Grandmother's courtyard. If she is punished, it will not look good for Grandmother." Upon returning to the mansion, Xiao Yi'an couldn't wait to go to the First Madam's place.

The First Madam paused in flipping through the account book, looked up at him, and asked, "Have you seen Yu'er?"

"No, son, no, son just went to the teahouse for a while," Xiao Yi'an said, scratching his head awkwardly.

The First Madam put away the account book, smiled at him, and said, "Silly boy, don't I know you? Don't you hate going to teahouses the most? Tell me, was it Yu'er's idea?"

“Yes, but it was her son who forced her to say it; it wasn’t that she insisted on interfering,” Xiao Yi’an hurriedly defended Hou Xinyu.

"Look, look, he's already protecting her before he's even married her." The First Madam pointed at Xiao Yi'an and then turned to Wang Shi to tease her.

"No, what my son said is true." Xiao Yi'an was no longer shy and sat down on the soft couch.

"Tell me, what did Yu'er say?" the First Madam asked.

So Xiao Yi'an told Liu Shi Hou Xinyu's plan in detail. After listening, Liu Shi nodded and praised him.

"Indeed, it seems generous of them to take Qianying in, but in reality, they left her alone in her room. This saves face for their masters without losing substance. Yongchang Prefecture has done a good job."

Xiao Yi'an looked proud; his mother's praise of Hou Xinyu made him feel proud too.

"Since that's the case, there's no time like the present. Let's make Qianying a concubine. Wang Mama, I'm entrusting this matter to you," the lady instructed, turning around.

"Yes, this old servant will take care of it right away." Madam Wang curtsied and turned to go out to carry out her duties.

"Come with me to your grandmother's place. Although she says she's not going to get involved in this matter, we still need to appease her. You don't need to speak ill of Qianying in front of her. Your grandmother is already feeling bad, and she knows what's going on," Liu instructed.

"Yes, son remembers." After saying that, Xiao Yi'an followed his mother into the old lady's courtyard.

After leaving the house, Madam Wang considered the matter for a moment. Since the lady of the house had not specified how much to give to Qianying, she took it upon herself to order someone to bring four bolts of cloth, a tea set that had been stored in the storeroom for three years, and a set of gilded jewelry. Then, she went to Qianying's courtyard with three maids.

When the maids and servants on the road saw this, they whispered among themselves.

"Qianying is really lucky. With this kind of entourage, she's probably going to become a concubine," a maid said enviously.

“What concubine? The mistress isn’t even here yet, how could there be concubines? This is clearly the setup for a maidservant,” an old nanny retorted.

"She's really lucky; she's practically a mistress now," the maid continued enviously.

"What do you know? Qianying will have to make her own clothes and shoes from now on. She's now the young master's woman, and she won't even be able to leave the manor anymore. She might not see her family even once a year."

"Ah, we're not even as free as we are."

"From now on, she can only stay in her own little courtyard. If she plays with us servants, it will make her seem like she's lowering herself. And since the masters don't pay attention to her, we can only hope that she can gain some favor." The old nanny saw things clearly and could see Qianying's future at a glance.

"How pitiful." The little maid no longer envied her; she felt that she was quite good as she was.

"She brought it on herself." Although Qianying's affairs in Jinling were kept secret, a small number of people still knew. This old nanny had worked in the mansion for half her life, so she had known for a long time.

"Granny, why are you looking for trouble?" the young maid asked, puzzled.

“You wouldn’t understand even if I told you. Just remember to do your job well. Don’t think about or covet what isn’t yours,” the old woman said, looking into her eyes.

"Granny, what are you saying! I know my own limitations, don't worry." The little maid assured her. Although she was young, she knew that she couldn't just covet anyone.