Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

Just as Jiu'er was about to ask another question, Master Zhao entered. The room fell silent instantly upon her arrival. Jiu'er quickly returned to her seat.

After another class, the morning's lessons were finished. Teacher Zhao assigned homework, and everyone could go home. Those who didn't want to go home could stroll in the small garden; the plum blossoms were in full bloom there. Of course, this was what Xiaohong and Xiaolü told Jiu'er.

Jiu'er didn't want to see any plum blossoms; she wanted to find Liu'er to confirm whether she was willing to leave the Red Pavilion.

After lunch, the jewelry delivery person arrived. Jiu'er said she didn't have good taste and asked Xiao Hong and Xiao Lü to help her choose. She made an excuse to ask about her studies and left her room, finding Liu'er's room instead.

When she arrived, Liu'er's two maids were about to help her to bed.

"Thirteenth Miss, our young lady is going to take a nap. Please come back at noon." One of the maids said directly, neither softly nor harshly, to shoo her away.

Just as Jiu'er was about to speak, Liu'er waved to her, signaling her to come in.

"Let Thirteenth Sister in. The days are short now. She sleeps during the day and wakes up early at night. It's better to talk to her. You should also go and eat, or you'll end up eating a bellyful of cold rice."

"Yes, Miss." The two maids had served Liu'er for several years and knew her temperament. Hearing her say this, they curtsied and left.

"Did you need something from me?" As soon as the two maids left, Liu'er reverted to her indifferent demeanor.

"What is your maiden name, sister?"

"Why bring this up? We should mention the original name now that we're here, so as not to tarnish the original meaning of the name or the person who named it."

"Do you know Liu Xiaolan?" Jiu'er suddenly asked.

"You...you know Liu Xiaolan? Is she doing well now?" Liu'er suddenly became excited upon hearing Jiu'er's words. She couldn't help but tightly grasp Jiu'er's hand.

"You know Liu Xiaolan! Tell me your name, and I'll tell you how she's doing?"

Having not heard from her family for so many years, Liu'er covered her face in anguish when she heard Jiu'er utter her eldest sister's name. After a long while, she wiped away her tears and finally raised her head.

"My name is Liu Xiaocui, I'm Liu Xiaolan's younger sister, and I have an older brother, Liu Dazhuang. Now you should tell me who you are, right?" After a moment of excitement, Liu Xiaocui's thoughts returned to normal. Thinking about the attention she received yesterday, and the way Jiu'er was intentionally or unintentionally getting closer to her today, she knew that this Jiu'er was definitely after her.

“My name is Nineteen, and I’m a servant in the Zhang family. It was Madam, oh, your sister, who sent me to find you. For years, she’s firmly believed you were sold by Wang. So I plotted to get Wang to sell me too. Luckily, that old woman wanted to save trouble, so she sold all the children she abducted to Madam Mei.” After saying this, she looked at Liu Xiaocui’s reddened eyes and asked…

Do you want to leave the Red Pavilion?

After saying that, seeing Liu Xiaocui looking at her with a puzzled expression, she explained further.

"What I mean is, here you eat well, dress well, and live like a young lady from a wealthy family. But if you leave, you'll have to live a simple life, would you still want to leave?"

"Of course I want to leave this place. No matter how well I eat and dress here, I'm just a plaything for rich people. My lowly life has no say in anything. But..." Liu Xiaocui thought of Madam Mei's power and was afraid that running away would cause trouble for her family, so she hesitated for a moment.

"Just what?"

"Wouldn't it cause trouble for my family if I ran away? Besides, the security here is very tight. You might think it's fine here, but outside the courtyard, there are guards patrolling non-stop, twelve hours a day. Some of my sisters have tried to escape before. After being caught, they were tortured. They were covered up by clothes, so there wasn't a single superficial wound, but the pain went right to the bone." Just thinking about it made her shudder. It wasn't that she hadn't tried to escape before. If it weren't for her decent-looking face, she probably would have been beaten to death or sold off long ago.

"Don't worry, I've arranged everything. Around midnight tonight, wear something comfortable and I'll come pick you up. I'm leaving now; I have classes this afternoon. Just act normal and don't give anything away. Remember not to drink the calming soup before bed." After saying everything he wanted to say in one breath, Nineteen left Liu'er's room.

"Oh my, Miss, you're back! Come and see the jewelry that Xiao Lü and I picked out for you. In the past, there was a fixed number of pieces of jewelry to prepare for other young ladies each year, but Madam just sent word that you can choose a few more. Xiao Lü and I have decided to choose a whole set of beaded flower hairpins for you. Please take a look and see if you like them."

Seeing Jiu'er enter, Xiao Hong excitedly pulled her to see the jewelry she and Xiao Lü had chosen. Most of the maids who served them would marry off their mistresses, essentially becoming part of the dowry for the daughters of the Red Pavilion. Therefore, whether the young lady they served had any respect in front of Madam Mei directly affected the kind of husband she could find. Because of this intertwined relationship of mutual benefit, every maid serving her mistress was extremely dedicated, hoping that her mistress would be well.

Seeing a complete set of pure gold jewelry on the table, though exquisitely crafted, it was clearly unnecessary for someone her age. There was also a set of beaded hairpins, along with plain silver hairpins with floral patterns, jade grape hairpins, butterfly hairpins, various earrings, bracelets, rings, jade pendants—over thirty different items in total. Nineteen sighed inwardly, thinking, "This is truly lavish upbringing. I wonder how much a daughter like this could fetch. If I don't buy her, I'll lose money."

“Miss, Madam is so good to you! Look, this set of red gold headdress was a special gift from Madam. No other young lady has such a complete set.” Xiao Hong kept chattering to Nineteen about how good Madam was to her.

If she were truly an orphan with no one to rely on, and was treated like this at the Red Pavilion, she would probably be so captivated by the wealth and status that she couldn't extricate herself!