Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

After the old woman left, Jiu'er lay on the bed for a while to make sure no one was outside, then put on her shoes, opened the door, and went out.

It was a fairly large courtyard with a row of houses facing south, about a dozen in total. The house she had just been in was just one of them. The outer courtyard was quite large, and it was clear that many flowers and plants had been planted there before, but now, in the dead of winter, they had all withered. Only a few plum trees bloomed freely against the south wall of the courtyard, providing the only splash of color in this bleak winter scene.

Jiu'er stood under the plum tree, listening intently to the sounds she could hear. She was certain that she was alone in the courtyard, but there were still guards outside. There was a moon gate on the east side of the courtyard. Just as she was about to go out through that gate, she heard the sound of footsteps coming from afar. It must be the two old women who had prepared clothes for her returning.

When the two old women led the two young maids into the room, Jiu'er was sitting at the table drinking tea.

"Miss, these are the clothes and jewelry that Madam prepared for you. Do you like them?" one of the old women said to Jiu'er.

"Wow, so beautiful! I've never seen such beautiful clothes before. Are these all for me?" Jiu'er didn't answer the old woman's question, but instead expressed her delight at the new clothes through her actions.

"Yes, these are all for you, Miss. Madam said that as long as you behave well, she will have a tailor come again in a couple of days to make you new clothes. Miss, see how good Madam is to you!"

"Yes, my godmother is very good to me. I will definitely study hard to repay her." Jiu'er's face was flushed with happiness, looking like two red apples.

"Good, good, Madam knows Miss's filial piety and will surely love her even more." She then glanced at Jiu'er's dirty clothes and said with a smile.

"Miss, would you please go to the bathroom? After you've washed up, we can put on our new clothes."

"it is good"

The bathroom wasn't in this courtyard. Surrounded by several people, Jiu'er left through the moon gate and walked for a few more minutes before arriving at the door of a room.

The old woman opened the door, and through the shadows, she could see a large wooden tub placed behind layers of gauze curtains, steaming inside.

"Miss, we'll step back now. These two maids are Xiaohong and Xiaolü; let them serve you while you bathe." After saying this, the two old women curtsied to Jiu'er and withdrew.

After the door closed, Xiao Hong and Xiao Lü came up to help Jiu'er take off her clothes.

As a result, Jiu'er tugged hard at the collar of her coat, preventing them from touching her.

"Sisters, I'm not used to being waited on. I'll do it myself. I'll call you when I need you to scrub my back."

The two maids exchanged a glance, nodded, and silently stepped aside.

Jiu'er went behind the gauze curtain, took off her clothes, and slowly stepped onto the stool to jump into the bathtub. Although the water temperature was a bit high, she could bear it and soaked comfortably in the bathtub for half an hour. In the middle of the time, she called Xiao Hong and Xiao Lü to come in and add hot water.

After washing herself clean and putting on her undergarments, she called for the two people outside to come in and help her wring her hair. Little Red and Little Green diligently used a dry cloth to slowly wring out Jiu'er's wet hair, then dressed her in the new clothes that Granny Mei had just brought: a pink Hangzhou-style jacket, a pinkish-purple cotton-lined skirt, and a pink brocade cloak. Wearing this luxurious outfit, the already charming and lovely Jiu'er gained an air of nobility, completely transforming her from a different person compared to when she first arrived.

The maid named Xiaoqing carefully placed the hood of the cloak over Jiu'er's head and led her back to the room where they had been.

When they entered, Madam Mei was already sitting inside. Seeing Jiu'er dressed in her new clothes, Madam Mei naturally gave her a thorough once-over.

"Hmm, not bad, she's quite pretty." Madam Mei had changed her clothes. If her attire at the Wang family was modest, her current attire was undeniably luxurious. The gilded hairpin in her hair had been replaced with a gold hairpin. Seeing Jiu'er looking at the hairpin in her hair, Madam Mei smiled, pulled one off her hair, played with it in her hand, and asked Jiu'er...

"Like it?"

“It looks great on my godmother,” Jiu’er replied, seemingly unrelated to the question, but Madam Mei was delighted to hear it.

"You're such a good daughter, godmother. This doesn't suit you. I'll have a silversmith make you a few pieces of jewelry tomorrow." After saying that, she looked at Jiu'er, waiting for her to speak.

"Thank you, godmother. I will definitely study hard to repay you," Jiu'er said sweetly to Madam Mei, showing her good manners.

"Hmm, good girl. Let Xiaoqing and Xiaohong dress you up so you can meet your sisters tonight." After saying that, she instructed the two maids, "Take good care of Miss. If anything goes wrong, you know what will happen."

"Yes, Madam," the two maids replied, trembling with fear.

After Madam Mei left, the two had Jiu'er lie down on the couch, letting her hair hang down from above, and then they took a small stove filled with charcoal and heated it under her hair.

"Miss, please lie down and close your eyes to rest for a while. We'll dry your hair first, otherwise you might catch a cold."

"Mmm," Jiu'er obediently lay down as they asked, closing her eyes to rest. She should naturally enjoy herself while she could.

That evening, Madam Mei hosted a banquet to formally introduce the newcomer, Jiu'er, to everyone.

"This is Jiu'er, my newly adopted daughter. From now on, she will be your younger sister. She is the thirteenth young lady of our Red Pavilion and will study with you from now on."

Jiu'er stood with Madam Mei, watching the twelve beautiful women sitting at the long dining table cast various glances at her—some with envy, some with jealousy, some with pity, and some with indifference. Madam Mei introduced the women's names to her one by one. Jiu'er didn't remember many of them, but she was particularly impressed by one named Liu'er.

After introducing Jiu'er, Madam Mei looked at the girls on the table and said in a gentle yet stern tone...

"I've raised you all, and I don't ask for anything in return. I only hope that you will have a good future. Mei'er and Lan'er, you two are the oldest among these sisters. In a few days, someone will come to look after you. You must seize the opportunity. If you don't find someone you like, you'll be too old, and your mother can't support you forever. So prepare well."

"Yes, Godmother, I will definitely prepare well." Hearing Madam Mei's words, Lan'er knelt on the ground and answered with her head slightly bowed.

"Mother, Mei'er will listen to you. I hope you will cherish me." Mei'er said in a coquettish tone, showing that she was quite bold.

"Yes, of course your mother loves you all. When the time comes, your mother will carefully choose suitable husbands for you." Madam Mei was very satisfied with Mei'er's answer.

"Get up quickly, the ground is cold, be careful not to freeze your knees. Lan'er, you should learn from Mei'er, don't always be so cautious."

"Yes," the two people said, and only then did they get up and sit down again.

Jiu'er watched everything that happened at the dinner table. In fact, she already knew what Hongge was all about. But seeing how grand Madam Mei was, she figured she must have powerful backers. She needed to think carefully about what to do.