A good omen for a good person

  Qiu Jing tried to cover Dong Jing's mouth in the house, but seeing her crying pitifully, he advised: "It's just some incomprehensible rumors, why are you so hard on yourself and also affecting others."

  Dong Jing covered her face with a handkerchief and sobbed heavily, then sniffled: "I was just about to have good days ahead, but this is going to be the death of me."

  Qiu Jing saw her slow down and blamed her, saying: "Others spread rumors about you, and you feel uncomfortable in your heart. But what you just said, Xiu Zhu and Xian Xian are innocent, don't say this again in the future."

  "This wasn't something I said, anyone with eyes can see that. People say 'birds of a feather flock together', and Xiu Zhu's character is obvious to Autumn Jing's sister. If Chen Nian hadn't been keeping an eye on things at Xian Xian's place, who knows what would have happened already."

  Winter Jing felt indignant in her heart. She had always looked down on Xiu Zhu and Xian Yi. As a child born into the household, she had lost her parents early on, and didn't dare to think about the past. She remembered watching her parents being ordered around by others, and her grandmother fawning over people at the gate. She didn't want to become that kind of person. She yearned to leave, to be a free person.

  She still remembered what her mother had told her before she passed away, about her maternal family's situation. Now that dream was finally coming true, as her uncle had really come for her. With hope right in front of her eyes, how could she let someone tarnish her reputation? If the madam were to believe it, her second half of life would truly be hopeless.

  In that case, it was better to just indulge those two women who loved vanity."

  Qiu Jing saw her being overly critical and sighed, saying: "Xiuzhu is a kind-hearted person, but Xianxian is still young. It's said that Chen Niangniang has already arranged a marriage for her, why must you drag her into this?"

  "It's not a big deal, just an oral agreement, what's the point of making a fuss? Besides, from the beginning, the first wife had her eyes on Xianxian, and Chunjing was just added in. You'll see, as long as the first wife's goal isn't achieved, and Xianxian can't go to the daughter's place, who knows how many more people will be dragged into this? Dongjing had been holding back her anger, and with this secret hidden in her heart for so long, she couldn't help but burst out now that no one was around."

  The autumn scenery was stunned, but not surprised, apparently also knew.

  "Good sister, can't just because of her alone, send us to the fiery pit. Look at her young age, which young master doesn't think she's good enough? She looks like that... Sister, I know you, but if we endure for another year or two, we can get married out and even being a wife of a village head is better than being a concubine of the great aunt's husband. In our country of Pei, which concubine has ever lived well? Even the empress in the palace can't shake her position... We..." Winter Jing was so anxious that she almost spoke out of turn.

  A sudden tug pulled her over, and a low voice cursed: "If you don't want to die, go die by yourself, don't drag me down with you."

  Dong Jing also came back to his senses, scared out of a cold sweat, and didn't dare say another word.

  "I understand what you're thinking, don't believe the rumors outside. That's all I have to say. No matter what Mistress Zhang's rules are, hurry up and get your relatives to bail you out. Even if Mistress Zhang doesn't let you go for now, she won't make things difficult for you. She just needs to know that you have good people as relatives, and even if she has some ideas, she'll put them aside." Qiu Jing didn't dare to pull her into further conversation, only comforted her with a few words, then came up with another plan and turned to leave.

  Xian Yi walked away from the door, no longer going to ask for embroidery thread. She was feeling depressed and slowly headed towards her own residence. If Dong Jing's words were true, considering the relationship between Da Furen and her mother, it seemed that things might not go well for her. Even if she had been betrothed to someone, with just one word from Da Furen, she would have to obediently go and become a concubine for someone else's family, helping the eldest daughter secure her position. Therefore, the small courtyard outside was no longer the best place for her to be. Unconsciously, Xian Yi thought of Third Young Master Jin Fenghua. If it were him, even Da Furen might not be his match. But if she had obstructed some unspoken plan of his, would he still care about her? It seemed that she needed to pay more attention to Han Yiniang from now on.

  She tidied up the house a bit, and Xian Yi took her needlework to return to the main room. Coincidentally, she met her mother coming back, so she brought her to the outer courtyard door to discuss matters. Xian Yi's heart rose, fearing that the discussion was an excuse, while looking at the young man who seemed genuine. Sure enough, as soon as Xian Yi stepped onto the corridor, she saw a young man in a small servant uniform talking to an old woman. Chen Nian let Xian Yi stay on the corridor and walked over alone to talk to the old woman. The young man saw Chen Nian coming and hastily retreated to the side, but couldn't help looking towards the corridor. Xian Yi slightly turned her body and was also able to take a look at the young man. He was a bit taller than Jin Fenghua, with slightly dark skin, small eyes, and looked extremely ordinary. His appearance couldn't compare to Jin Fenghua's in the slightest. However, if she were to spend her life with this person, Xian Yi seemed to see a future filled with peace and stability, rather than the anxiety of not knowing what tomorrow would bring.

  But will the great lady let her have her way?

  Following her mother back home, unexpectedly her mother didn't ask anything, Xian Yi was happy to pretend to be foolish, but in her heart she still hoped that her mother's plan could come true.

  Back in the main courtyard, Madame Wang had already risen and was sitting in the front hall chatting with Concubine Liu. Lately, Concubine Zhao had become quite arrogant due to her pregnancy and youth, and with Old Master's favoritism, she didn't overstep Madame Wang but still made people feel uneasy, not to mention Concubine Liu and those older concubines who were past their prime.

  As soon as Xian Yi came in to attend, she was still a bit surprised at first, but when she saw Er Gu Niang standing next to Liu Niang, she understood. She had seen Er Gu Niang grow up year after year, and although she was still a young girl, she was almost ten years old. Even if Liu Niang had been silent before, now that her daughter was growing up, she would have to curry favor with the mistress for her sake. Otherwise, when Er Gu Niang came of age, who knows what kind of family she would be married into? If it was a good family, that would be fine, but if it was a nameless and insignificant one, or if she was given away as a gift to someone, then even her life would not be guaranteed. This was the difference between Zhou Niang, Han Niang, and Liu Niang - the former two had sons, and even if the mistress was cruel, they would not be given away to be mistreated, at most they would be driven out. But men were given more opportunities in this world, so as long as they were alive, they would have a chance to make a living. That's why although Cao Niang was now favored by the mistress, once she gave birth to a child, regardless of whether it was a boy or girl, she would eventually have to lower her head to the mistress for the sake of her child.

  Liu Yiniang was a concubine-born daughter sent by the lower official of the old master, and she was also literate at first, not rough, and the second lady who came with her had rules. Although the madam didn't welcome them, they still maintained a facade, said two sentences, and actually showed a bit of smile, while Zeng Yiniang, on the contrary, previously avoided being in one side, accompanied the madam in a big way, making Chen Yiniang who just came in seem a bit redundant.

  Xian Yi had just finished paying her respects and hadn't even stood up straight when she heard Madame say, "Take a servant girl to Aunt Cao's place and take a look. It's said that she's making trouble again. Take my words over there and tell her that if she continues to be unreasonable and make a fuss, then for the next three months, her allowance will be cut in half. Not even Master can change it!"

  This thankless task, in the past, would never have fallen to Xian Yi. Either it was the first maid in front of the mistress or Xiuzhu who liked to offend people. Since Xian Yi had a job, she was usually tasked with rewarding or comforting on behalf of the mistress, which was always the most pleasant task. But unexpectedly, she also had times when she had to put on a stern face. Chen Ayi obviously didn't want to, but in the end, she didn't speak up. Xian Yi smiled at her mother and turned to leave. Today was also coincidental, all the other third-grade maids had errands to run, only Xue Shuang and Yun Shuang were left. Xue Shuang was too young to take out, Xiuzhu was a person who could be taken out, but they were of equal status. In the end, she could only bring Yun Shuang, who was still resentful from being scolded by the first mistress earlier.

  Cao Yiniang has been making trouble for some time now, but today seems especially severe. This already made Xianyi suspicious, so she brought Yunshuang to the door and didn't go in. Instead, she called a little maid from inside to summon someone. The one who came out was Fenhe, who had angered Xianyi that day by arguing with Pantao. Apparently, she still remembered it, so when she saw Xianyi, she seemed somewhat nervous, but smiled and apologized, saying that Yiniang was taking a short rest and couldn't invite them in.

  Xian Yi furrowed her brow. Even if her mother hadn't been getting along with the madam lately, her mother's accumulated prestige in the manor over the years was still enough to make no servant or even concubine dare to give her a hard time. Although Cao had been arrogant before, she hadn't gone this far. Clearly, she had just made a scene at the madam's place, and now she was pretending to sleep again, trying to save face for herself. Standing in place, Xian Yi first looked down, then decided to deliver the madam's message right there at the door, regardless of whether Cao was really sleeping or not. At least this way, she had fulfilled her duty, and no one could say anything against her.

  But just as she was about to speak, she heard a sudden cry from inside the house: "Aunt!"

  Xian Yi suddenly turned her head, originally intending to go in subconsciously, but she forcibly stopped herself. In an instant, her heart cooled down, and it was too late to pull back Yun Shuang who had already followed behind her. Yun Shuang's curious nature and the Holy Mother's attitude would not ignore this, and indeed, she directly entered the main house, but let out an even louder shriek.

  Xian Yi sighed, thinking to herself that she was too late. Just a moment ago, she had seen a whip on the windowsill of the house, and it was clearly one used by men. At this point, no matter who was inside, as long as it was a man, things would be difficult. If it were just Master himself, they could all just take a beating and be scolded by Mistress, but if it were someone else, in order to protect Master's reputation, all the servants here might not escape being silenced forever. At this point, she couldn't help but secretly resent Yun Shuang for being too nosy, good intentions or not. Now things had reached a point where they could no longer be salvaged.

  With a change of heart, Xian Yi suddenly realized that Cao Niang's commotion today was too strange, and her fear of death had dissipated slightly.