High-class maid

Wang couldn't persuade Chen Shan's family otherwise, and after a few shovings, she still left all the things behind.

After Chen Shan's family left, Shen Xing'er and Shan Tao went to the street together.

"Shantao, are you still angry with your mother?" Shen Xing'er asked, seeing that Shantao was not in a good mood.

“Sometimes I’m really angry with my mother, but other times I feel sorry for her because she brought it all on herself,” Shan Tao said.

"Alright, a mother's heart is always full of love. Your aunt just wants Brother Shan Gen and his wife to be well," Shen Xing'er comforted her.

"But my brother only has me as his sister, and I have my own money. What is my sister-in-law afraid of? How can she control my mother and brother to satisfy her?" Shan Tao said with distress.

“This is your family matter, and I, as an outsider, can’t say anything. Since you’ll argue with your mother if you stay at home, you might as well come and visit me more often.”

No matter how good the relationship is, you can't interfere in other people's family affairs, so Shen Xing'er could only invite Shan Tao to come and see her.

“Yeah, sometimes I don’t want to argue with my mom, but when I see her looking so aggrieved, I get so angry. When will she understand that always giving in will only make others take advantage of her?”

"Alright, stop thinking about it. Let's hurry up and buy some fabric. I still want to embroider a handkerchief!" Shen Xing'er didn't want her to think about it anymore, so she quickly changed the subject.

When it came to her specialty, Shan Tao became quite interested, and the two chatted and laughed as they walked to Hua Mian Pavilion.

A pregnant woman was standing at the entrance of Huamian Pavilion. Although her belly wasn't very big, the way she carefully held her belly made it easy to tell that she was pregnant.

A man was standing next to the pregnant woman. He was tall, with fair skin, and his hands, with distinct knuckles, were supporting her. He was quite good-looking.

"My lady, let's go. The clothes here are always very expensive." The man said, reaching out to pull the pregnant woman away.

"I'm not leaving. I have my own money, and I don't need yours. What's wrong with buying a dress?" The pregnant woman broke free and lifted her skirt to walk inside.

The man didn't dare to pull her too hard. He shook his head, sighed, and followed her inside.

Shen Xing'er and Shan Tao exchanged a glance and walked in with gossipy expressions.

"Husband, which color looks best on me? This fabric is so comfortable, it's perfect for making clothes for our children."

The woman excitedly held up the clothes, but the man didn't even glance at them.

"You are talking!"

“We are just an ordinary family, it’s too extravagant for us to use these things. Besides, children grow up quickly, so it’s enough for them to wear clothes given to them by others.”

"What? You're unwilling to spend money on me, and you're unwilling to spend money on your child? This kind of fabric is used for servants in our Minister's residence! Yet you won't let your child wear it!"

The woman seemed to lose control and spoke a little louder.

Upon hearing the words "Minister's Residence," Shen Xing'er exchanged a glance with Shan Tao. When she recognized the person, she felt even more moved.

The woman was still chattering away, completely unaware that others were paying attention to her. Shen Xing'er and her companion quickly picked out the fabric, paid the money, and left.

"I'm so bored! Do you know who she is?" After walking out the door, Shan Tao asked Shen Xing'er with a gossipy look on her face.

"She looks familiar, but I can't recall her name. Could she be from one of the ladies' quarters?"

"She's Green Yao, the one the old lady fired!" Shan Tao exclaimed, raising her eyebrows in excitement.

"This... She's served in the household for so many years, how could her husband not even let her buy a single piece of clothing?"

"I think he's treating her dowry as his own money, afraid that if Lü Yao runs out of money, he won't have any left to spend." Shan Tao pouted; she despised this kind of man the most.

"But her husband is quite handsome, no wonder Lü Yao would rather give up the job in the Minister's mansion than stay with him," Shen Xing'er remarked.

"Hmph, what good is good looks? My mother said that this man considers himself a scholar, but he never works in the fields. He also has a younger sister who is unmarried and considers herself a young lady, but she doesn't do any work to help support the family. She only relies on the money her parents earn from odd jobs," Shan Tao said disdainfully.

"Could it be that he's eyeing Lü Yao's dowry and wants to use it as a dowry for his sister?" Shen Xing'er asked in surprise, as if she had discovered some important secret.

"Definitely. I hate scholars the most in my life. They are arrogant and look down on others. I would never marry a scholar."

Wu Xunzhi, who was walking behind them, gave up the idea of ​​going up to greet Shen Xing'er after hearing Shan Tao's words. Why did he feel like this girl was scolding him?

What Shan Tao didn't know was that a few years later, she really did marry a scholar and fell madly in love with him.

Shen Xing'er smiled and said, "Nothing is absolute. Who knows what will happen in the future?"

The two returned home and began embroidering. Although Shen Xing'er was still not entirely satisfied with her embroidery, it was much better than what she had done in the morning.

"Shantao, look what I've embroidered!" Shen Xing'er held up a purse for Shantao to see.

"Why are you embroidering two ducks?" Shan Tao glanced at it and said disdainfully.

"This isn't a duck, it's a magpie I embroidered!!!" Shen Xing'er was exasperated, losing even more confidence in herself.

"Heh...hehe...Xing'er, don't be angry. I...my eyes hurt, I couldn't see clearly, hehe."

Seeing Shan Tao's explanation, Shen Xing'er understood everything; it seemed her embroidery was indeed very bad.

She sighed, untied the thread, and started embroidering again from the beginning.

"Kids, dinner's ready!"

Just as Shen Xing'er was unraveling and re-embroidering, Wang Shi's voice rang out.

As if she had heard heavenly music, Shan Tao quickly got up and pulled Shen Xing'er to eat. She was afraid that if Xing'er continued embroidering, she would make herself cry.

"What's wrong, Xing'er?" Shen Kun rarely saw his daughter with a dark expression, so he thought something had happened and asked with concern.

"Dad, it's nothing, it's just, it's just," Shen Xing'er felt so embarrassed that she couldn't speak.

"She can't learn embroidery, and she's been fuming all afternoon," Wang replied with a smile and a narrowed eye.

"I thought something was wrong. If you can't learn it, then don't learn it. You can buy whatever you want. You're busy with your job all day, where would you find the time to embroider?"

"Just spoil her. What woman doesn't know how to embroider? Look how well Shan Tao embroiders. It's always good to have more skills. She can even sell them to supplement the family income in the future."

Wang disagreed with Shen Kun's words, rolled her eyes at him, and retorted.

"Father, Mother, please don't say anymore. I will definitely learn embroidery well," Shen Xing'er said confidently.

Shen Xing'er hadn't thought about it before, but now, picking up a needle and thread and seeing a purse come to life from nothing, she felt a great sense of accomplishment. That's why she was determined to learn embroidery.

The three people at the table found Shen Xing'er's confident demeanor incredibly endearing.