After being reborn, her aloof ex-husband and her crazy deceased husband got into a fight.

When Mei Wanqing saw Gan Cai'er and Zhu Xiaoxiao, she was first taken aback, and then overjoyed.

"Madam Lan, Miss Zhu, what are you doing here?" Mei Wanqing practically ran up to the two of them.

When Gan Cai'er saw Mei Wanqing, she was also very surprised, because she saw that the two maids who followed Mei Wanqing off the carriage were actually Qiao Que and Qiao Yan.

How could there be a clever sparrow?! Didn't the Mei family send her to a farm in the suburbs to work as a maid?

“My husband finds the city too noisy and wants to find a quiet place to prepare for the imperial examination, so we came here,” Gan Cai’er replied gently, concealing the surprise in her eyes.

"So Young Master Lan has passed the imperial examination! Congratulations, Madam Lan! This is truly a joyous occasion!" Mei Wanqing sincerely congratulated Gan Cai'er.

Gan Cai'er frowned deeply. Even with such a sensational event as winning the Lanting Boat Competition, Mei Wanqing was unaware? It was clear that although her Luoxia Courtyard had a new head maid, the situation hadn't improved much.

Lan Tingzhou had said that Madam Mei's ability to remain firmly in the position of the Prime Minister's wife for over a decade was due to her formidable methods and cunning, and it seems he was absolutely right. In just two or three months, she had once again firmly grasped control of Luoxia Courtyard.

Gan Cai'er, arm in arm with Mei Wanqing, strolled along a forest path with Zhu Xiaoxiao. She wasn't in a hurry to let Mei Wanqing enter Ciyun Temple.

Qiaoque and Qiaoyan followed from a distance, not daring to go forward.

"Miss Mei, didn't you change your head maid last time? Why are Qiaoque and Qiaoyan still with you?" Gan Cai'er asked casually.

"Oh, you mean Yunqi and Yunluo? Yunqi was supposed to come along this time. But her mother fell ill a few days ago and was clearly getting worse, so her mother allowed her to leave the manor to go home and take care of her for a few days. So she didn't come along and Qiaoyan came instead."

“As for Yunluo, she stayed at Luoxia Courtyard. She has to manage the affairs of the courtyard. Besides, I come to the temple every year to cultivate myself. I have to do everything myself. My mother doesn’t allow me to bring many maids. I can only bring one,” Mei Wanqing explained.

Gan Cai'er's eyes flickered, and she continued to ask, "Then why did you bring two people with you this time? If Madam Mei finds out, she'll blame you."

"Oh, right, I remember Qiaoque was punished by being sent to the estate, wasn't she?"

"Alas, this is a long story. Qiaoque is also a pitiful person." Mei Wanqing sighed suddenly, her eyes full of reluctance.

“Madam Lan, you don’t know, the most severe punishment for servants who make mistakes in the Mei family is to send them to the estate. They will suffer a lot on the estate. They can only eat one meal a day, and they have to do the hardest and dirtiest work on the estate. They are never full, never warm, and always exhausted.”

"Qiao Que is a young lady who has always been pampered in Luoxia Courtyard. How could she endure that kind of hardship? She had only been there for a few days when she fell seriously ill several times and almost died."

"After I heard about it, I asked someone to send her some silver. I heard that things got better after that. When she heard that I was coming to Ciyun Temple today, she secretly slipped out of the manor, stopped the carriage on the road, and cried that she wanted to repay my life-saving grace. I saw that she was crying pitifully, so I let her come along."

Gan Cai'er remained silent.

How can a life-saving grace be repaid like this? Using the life of one's benefactor to secure one's own future! How dare Qiaoque bully such a kind and soft-hearted person! She's not afraid of being struck by lightning!

“Anyone who escapes from the estate without permission is a runaway slave. If the estate reports it to the authorities and they are caught, they will be branded on the face at best, and have all ten toes cut off at worst. Their family members will also be punished.” Zhu Xiaoxiao, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up.

“Qiaoque is a young girl, I’m afraid she can’t handle all this. Miss Mei, you should let Qiaoque go back to the manor as soon as possible, lest she cause trouble.”

Mei Wanqing was immediately shocked! She had no idea that the servant's secret escape would have such serious consequences. So, she quickly called Qiaoque over and questioned her carefully.

When Qiaoque learned of the punishment for runaway slaves, she trembled with fear. Then, with a "bang," she knelt down before Mei Wanqing and began kowtowing repeatedly, tears streaming down her face.

She kowtowed and cried, "Young lady, please have mercy and save me. Don't let me go back to the manor; it's no place for a human being."

"If you really want me to go back, I'd rather kill myself than suffer so much."

As she spoke, she was about to crash into a tree trunk, but Qiaoyan quickly grabbed her and knelt down with a thud, pleading for Qiaoque's life.

“Young Miss, please help her for the sake of Sister Qiaoque’s kindness in taking care of you. You have no idea how vicious those people on the estate are. They bully her every day. She had no other choice but to run away.”

"If we really go back, we'll just die anyway~~~"

"Then, if she runs away, the village will report it to the authorities. If she gets caught, it will be even worse." Mei Wanqing was caught in a dilemma and hesitated a lot.

"No, Miss! As long as you don't say anything, no one will know I'm here. I won't get caught!" Qiaoque said anxiously to Mei Wanqing.

Mei Wanqing did not refuse again, clearly moved by what she said.

Gan Cai'er and Zhu Xiaoxiao exchanged a glance, thinking to themselves that there must be something fishy going on here.

Zhu Xiaoxiao pondered for a moment, then smiled at Mei Wanqing and said, "Miss Mei, if you want Qiaoque to stay, it's not that difficult."

"Really?" Mei Wanqing's eyes lit up with delight.

"Mm." Zhu Xiaoxiao nodded with a smile.

"The reason why runaway slaves are punished so severely is that slaves are the private property of their masters. If they run away, it is equivalent to the loss of the master's property, hence the severe punishment. However, if the master does not report it, the government will not take action. As the saying goes, 'If the people do not report it, the officials will not investigate.'"

"So, what Miss Qiaoque just said about not telling anyone is absolutely unacceptable. If a living person suddenly disappears from the village, who would dare to take responsibility? They would definitely report it to the authorities."

"The correct course of action is to inform the Mei family of this matter as soon as possible. Once the family knows where Qiaoque is, they will naturally not report it to the authorities, and she will no longer be considered a runaway slave."

"As for whether you want to keep Qiaoque by your side, you can ask Madam Mei. Madam Mei has always doted on you. If she doesn't agree the first time, just ask a few more times. I think she will eventually agree."

Zhu Xiaoxiao slowly and gently explained the various advantages and disadvantages to Mei Wanqing. Although Mei Wanqing was inexperienced and lacked worldly wisdom, she could still clearly distinguish right from wrong.

So she did as Zhu Xiaoxiao had instructed, and asked the coachman who brought her to deliver a message to the Mei family, saying that Qiaoque was with her, and that she wanted to leave Qiaoque behind.

Gan Cai'er thought about it and felt that Zhu Xiaoxiao's consideration was more thorough. In this way, someone who shouldn't have been there was now made known openly, letting everyone know that she was currently by Mei Wanqing's side.

Especially when she saw the resentment in Qiaoque's eyes as she looked at Zhu Xiaoxiao, she became even more convinced that Qiaoque's appearance must be part of Madam Mei's careful plan, and the part that could not be revealed to others.