High-class maid

"How dare you! I've served your Xiao family for over a decade. Even if I haven't achieved anything great, I've certainly put in the hard work. And you just sell me out like this? Cai Fanghua, you have no heart!"

In his haste, Liu Cheng blurted out the old lady's maiden name.

Xiao Yi'an could no longer hold back and kicked him to the ground. Even the First Madam couldn't stop him.

"How dare you! How dare you call my grandmother's name! Drag him away!"

The guards hurriedly dragged him away, and Liu Cheng said again, "Madam, I was wrong, please forgive me, give me a chance, I will quietly work at the estate and not go anywhere else!"

The old lady was clearly furious. She got up and walked into her room. As she walked past Liu Cheng, the hem of her skirt brushed against his dirty shoes. Liu Cheng stared blankly and reached out to touch them, but Xiao Yi'an kicked him away.

Liu Cheng closed his eyes and stopped speaking. He recalled the day he was rescued. She was wearing a light pink dress. Although it was winter, she was like the warm sun, bringing him warmth.

Now, Liu Cheng felt increasingly hot all over, and he knew that the poison was taking effect.

"Quick! Take him out! This man is trying to harm himself!" The First Madam saw blood flowing from the corner of his mouth. His face was contorted in pain, yet he was still smiling, which was terrifying to behold.

The first wife feared he would die on the estate, so she ordered the servants to drag him dozens of miles outside the estate. Thus, the life of a pitiful man came to an end.

"Mother, please drink this bowl of calming medicine quickly." After dealing with the man, the First Madam hurriedly came to serve the Old Madam.

The old lady followed her hand and drank the medicine sip by sip, then wiped her mouth with a handkerchief and said...

"If I hadn't been soft-hearted and brought Liu Cheng back to the manor, none of this would have happened."

Xiao Luosheng stepped forward, patted the old lady on the back, and then comforted her, "Grandmother, it's not your fault. You're just being compassionate. It's clearly that person who doesn't recognize their place."

"No." The old lady looked at her steadily and said, "Sheng'er, remember this: there is always a reason why someone is pitiful. In the future, don't be as soft-hearted as your grandmother was when she was young, and don't get involved in other people's affairs."

Xiao Luosheng felt nervous under her gaze, and replied, "Yes, Grandmother, Sheng'er has remembered everything."

"You must also remember that this huge Minister's mansion will depend on you from now on, so you must not be soft-hearted."

"Daughter-in-law has noted it down. When shall we return to the manor?" the First Madam asked.

“After this incident, I have no desire to stay any longer. Let’s go back to the mansion tomorrow and let Yi’an and his brother stay here to handle the aftermath. The children are older now and need to deal with these things.”

The old lady gave the instructions.

The First Madam simply agreed.

The old lady patted her hand and said, "I know you're a good person. Yizhou is all grown up now. His father is unreliable, and the second son's family doesn't have much power either. No matter what discord you have, the child is innocent."

Moreover, Yi Zhou is a good person. If the second branch of the family acts recklessly after they separate, it will be our Minister's Mansion that loses face.

The First Madam lowered her eyes and said, "I understand, Mother. Don't worry, I'm not the kind of person who doesn't want good things to happen to me."

"I've always trusted you, it's just a pointless reminder."

“No, Grandmother’s advice was not unfounded. As the saying goes, ‘An elder in the family is a treasure,’ and you are a treasure to our household!” the young lady said.

"Oh, you're subtly referring to your grandmother," the old lady teased, tapping the young lady's forehead.

"No... Mother, look, Grandmother is teasing me again," Xiao Luosheng murmured, acting coquettishly.

"You child, how disrespectful!" The First Madam smiled and rolled her eyes at her, then ignored her.

In the Xiao residence, Shen Xing'er was by the window, carefully drawing patterns.

"Xing'er, I heard from the matriarch in the manor that the masters have been rescued tomorrow." Shan Taoren's voice came before she even entered the room.

"What? It's time to come back. I planned to stay for one day, but I ended up staying for three days." Shen Xing'er didn't turn her head and was thinking about color matching.

"Aren't you curious? Everyone in the manor is saying something happened at the estate. What exactly happened?"

"What's there to be curious about? If we can find out, we'll know in three days. If we can't find out, we won't find out no matter how much we ask."

"Tch, you're so mysterious again. But we still need to find a way to get out of the manor." Shan Tao ignored Shen Xing'er's words and said to herself.

Shen Xing'er finally put down her pen, looked up at Shan Tao, and asked, "What are you doing out of the manor?"

"You're really too busy! Of course you should go out of the manor and sell your embroidery for money! If you don't find a way to get out now, you won't be able to leave when the masters come back!"

Shen Xing'er thought about it and realized that it was true. Packing her bags would take several days, and if she didn't leave the manor today, she might not have the chance again.

"Then how do we get out?" Shen Xing'er asked.

"I've already inquired. We only need to give the old woman at the gate ten coins to go out, and we can come back before sunset," Shan Tao said boastfully.

"What? This person is so bold? He can go out for just ten coins?" Shen Xing'er exclaimed in shock.

"I heard the price has gone up. Before we came, the maids in Jinling only cost one coin to go out!" Shan Tao said, gesturing with her hands.

"It seems that leaving the manor during official duties is a common occurrence. If that's the case, it's not too much for us to leave the manor," Shen Xing'er analyzed.

"Oh dear, let's stop thinking about it and hurry up and grab our purses to leave the mansion! Didn't you say time is money?" Shan Tao pushed Shen Xing'er, stopping her from continuing to draw.

Shen Xing'er wasn't one to dawdle. She neatly packed up her things and followed Shan Tao toward the back door.

"What are you two young ladies doing? You can't leave the manor while on duty. You're from the capital, so you must know more about the rules than this old woman does."

The old woman who guarded the gate sat at the back door, cracking melon seeds while glancing at them sideways.

“Mother-in-law, as you know, we are about to return to the capital, so we would like to go to the street to buy some local specialties to take with us. Please make way for us.”

Seeing that Shan Tao's face was dark and she looked like she was about to explode, Shen Xing'er hurriedly spoke to her and then stuffed the purse into the old woman's hand.

The old woman weighed the melon seeds in her hand, and her smile became even more sincere. She didn't even eat the seeds anymore, and casually spat the shells to one side, but she didn't expect to spit them onto Shan Tao's skirt. Shan Tao's face turned even darker.

"Hehe, young ladies, you're so sensible. You should hurry up and go out, but you must be back before sunset. If you're back before dark, I won't be on duty anymore, and you'll have to pay another ten coins."

"Yes, thank you for reminding us, Grandma. We'll head out now," Shen Xing'er said politely.

"Good, good, good. People from the capital are so sensible. Young lady, you don't know the rules. If your masters find out, you can't implicate this old woman."