A good omen for a good person

  Returning to the Jin Mansion, Xian Yi's expression was solemn, but it wasn't until a day later that she found an opportunity to be alone with Xiuzhu in a side room. After making sure no one would come in, she pulled out a pouch embroidered with mandarin ducks playing in water from her sleeve and tossed it onto the table. Xiuzhu had been beaming with joy since returning yesterday, often spacing out with a silly smile, and even looked down on the maid beside her with a hint of disdain, as if she was superior to others. But now, Xiuzhu didn't show any sign of pride, only sweating on her forehead, pale face, and trembling lips as she looked at Xian Yi.

  "Do you still want to say it's not yours?" Xian Yi took out a thin paper from inside, on which was written an unknown poem with obvious affectionate thoughts. The handwriting was so bad that Xian Yi knew at a glance whose it was.

  "You... what do you want to do?" Xiu Zhu quickly stepped forward and snatched it from her hand, despairingly she forced a smile and said: "What's going on? Want to take it to Madam to curry favor?"

  "You're also afraid?" Xian Yi let her take it away, and calmly looked at her.

  Xiu Zhu stuffed the purse into her bosom, and then tore the rice paper into tiny pieces and soaked them in tea water. Only then did she turn around to look at Xian Yi, unaware of when it started, that sweet little girl who used to call herself "Xiu Zhu sister" and would follow her around asking for sweets had grown up.

  "You didn't tell the lady?" Xiu Zhu saw that things had been destroyed, and after a moment's thought, she also understood, but what followed was not gratitude, but rather a surge of anger. "You actually brought it back! Do you know how much trouble I went to to avoid the lady, putting the purse on the path that Mr. Cao would inevitably take in the front courtyard!"

  The layout of the Cao and Jin residences is the same, which also provided convenience for Xiuzhu. Moreover, there are only the eldest and second young masters in the residence, and the front yard is where the eldest young master lives. If this pouch hadn't been picked up by the eldest young master, it would have been taken by a servant or something. Although Xiuzhu took a risk, the pouch wasn't without the opportunity to be picked up by the eldest young master; it's just that her method was too stupid and she was too naive.

  "What if someone else picked up this handbag?" Xian Yi thought that Xiuzhu had gone crazy, thinking of preparing things before even seeing the young master, and not caring whether he was good or bad, just wanting to hook up with him.

  "No one knows whose it is, and besides, they wouldn't dare to spread rumors about the family. At most, they would think it belongs to some maid in the mansion, and they wouldn't even think of me." Xiu Zhu pursed her lips and put away the handkerchief.

  These words are really not wrong, Xianyi laughed and said, who would have thought that there was such a crazy girl who wanted to be the wife of someone else's young master, and had already prepared her dowry before meeting him, no wonder she really thought it was some maid.

  "What if someone's young master took your purse? Can you still rely on this to be a burden to others?"

  "Where is the embroiderer? Besides, I didn't think it would be possible to succeed just this once. Anyway, Second Miss will marry over, and I'll take my time to plot." Xiu Zhu thought of that clean young man, her cheeks involuntarily flushed, and thinking of his honor and noble family background, her heart trembled.

  It seems that they want to cast a long line to catch big fish, and still have an ace up their sleeve. The immortal clothes covered her forehead, and she no longer wanted to guess what this guy was going to do next. She really didn't know how this girl's brain was wired, actually being more open-minded than herself, a modern person - truly a foolish person who is not afraid of death.

  "Don't think about the future for now, I'm telling you, you can already make up your mind about that young master at home, but don't even think about the one from the other household. This time it's me who's backing you up, if Madame finds out, I don't know if you'll still be able to take the next step. But at least I'm clear on one thing: our family's maid is absolutely not going to go to another household as a concubine." Xian Yi knew that talking about morality with this person was useless; she had already abandoned all sense of propriety, and as long as she could become a concubine, as long as she could get into the young master's bed, she would stop at nothing.

  Xiu Zhu's body shook slightly, and she said foolishly: "Even if the young master himself comes to ask for it?"

  "Do you think those young masters are fools? Even if it's the eldest young master, that kind of rascal, have you ever seen him flirt with a little maid, but when has he ever taken a fancy to a maid from another household and brought her back? Xian Yi was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. Was it that this main courtyard had protected the maids too well, or had Xiuzhu become so blind as to be completely out of touch with the world? She actually dared to have such an audacious idea, wanting to jump out of the Jin family and climb up another high branch."

  "Maybe... maybe I'm just a second-rate maid." Xiu Zhu sat down on the chair, her eyes dull and lifeless as she spoke.

  Xian Yi knew that Xiuzhu was a woman with a bad mouth and loved to be vain, but for Yun Shuang, who had a kind heart and got along well with everyone, she preferred to get close to Xiuzhu, a woman who wore her heart on her sleeve and was easy to control. Perhaps it was because birds of a feather flock together, Xian Yi's nature was not particularly good, or perhaps she couldn't stand the light, always feeling that desire was the only reality. In any case, within her reach, she was still willing to lend Xiuzhu a helping hand.

  "Xiu Zhu sister, don't forget that our contracts are all in the madam's hands." After saying this, Xian Yi felt that she had done her utmost duty and got up to leave.

  Xiu Zhu sat in the chair, her whole body trembling, wanting to call Xian Yi, but unable to make a sound. She felt as if the fear that had just left her was returning, from head to toe it was like she was soaked in icy water, even breathing was difficult.

  As the New Year approached, Auntie finally arrived in a blue cloth carriage with a maid and an old woman. Auntie was wearing new clothes and brought a 15- or 16-year-old girl hastily from Linqing to Beijing. The old lady deliberately went to the gate to welcome her warmly, even the madam had to follow behind, but when she saw the meager New Year's gift, she couldn't help but hum softly and turn away. Auntie looked over 40 years old, wearing a silver hairpin with some age on her head, a pair of earrings hung from two plain silver rings, making her ear holes look a bit big. The girl next to her wore a lotus-pink dress, although the style was unique, but the fabric looked not precious at all, it was obviously a rural product. Her hair was tied up in a bun, wrapped with a piece of flower cloth similar to her clothes, only a silver hairpin was inserted under the bun, if this were in Linqing County, it might be a fashionable dress, but in Beijing, even compared to the maids of the Jin family, it would be difficult to avoid being shabby.

  Xian Yi slightly lowered her head, the gaze that girl had just looked at her with was really not kind. She didn't have to be unfamiliar with this girl, it's just that in previous years they hadn't interacted much, let alone having any grudges. Thinking about it, it must be the petty comparison mentality of a young lady, so she thought that from now on she would keep her distance from this girl, lest she bring trouble upon herself.

  Sisters-in-law meet, regardless of true or false intentions, they cry all the way as they walk. Especially when mentioning the late old master, it's not just the old ladies who want to cry, even the immortal clothes also follow suit and wipe away tears.

  "Sukin, you and Hui Lan have both arrived, so don't always think about going back. Stay for a few more days, it's good to keep this old lady company." The old lady had black hair and a white face, but didn't look old at all. It was just that her husband had passed away, her son was an official, and her daughter-in-law wasn't to her liking, so she was always lonely.

  The madam furrowed her brow imperceptibly.

  Mrs. Jin glanced at the elder Mrs. and warmly hooked her sister-in-law, saying: "I'd like to stay with my elder sister all the time, but after all, it's not our own family, and we can't trouble others."

  The madam hid her right hand in her sleeve, but only forced a smile and said: "Where's the need for such courtesy, this is the Jin Manor, it's naturally also your maternal family, so it doesn't count as someone else's home."

  The lady looked at the big madam, just hooked her lips and smiled, and it was considered to be over for this time. However, that smile, that expression seemed to be full of sarcastic implications that only they understood, making the big madam's blood boil, yet she couldn't lose her temper in front of her mother-in-law.

  The old lady loved to see her younger sister-in-law and daughter-in-law bickering, thinking that the grievances she had suffered over the years were finally being avenged. So, a smile spread across her face, and she became even more affectionate towards her younger sister-in-law, which also extended to her granddaughter, saying: "Huilan is getting prettier, has she been betrothed in Linqing?"

  Meng Hualan glanced at her grandmother and lowered her head in embarrassment. Auntie naturally replied, "Our family's daughter is precious, how can we casually marry her off? I've come to discuss this with my sister-in-law. Since our family is related to the official's family, if we marry someone of a lower status, people will laugh at us behind our backs."

  The madam couldn't help but glance at her mother-in-law, did she really want to find a husband for this country girl in the capital? This was indeed playing with fire, and others would laugh at them. Who doesn't have a few poor relatives from the countryside? If they were all taken into consideration, the wealthy households in the capital would have been divided up long ago. Moreover, the madam only socialized with official families, even the most declining ones wouldn't want a poor and humble country girl. This was truly an unrealistic expectation... The last two words the madam thought to herself before suppressing them.

  Fortunately, although the old lady liked to watch people and her own daughter-in-law fight, she knew that her son was the most important thing after all. She also knew that Mrs. Meng had been in contact with official families on a daily basis, so she smiled and changed the subject, not responding. Lady Meng didn't rush either, and followed the old lady's topic to talk about something else. However, Meng Huilan didn't have such a good temper, looking at her own grandmother several times, wanting to say something but couldn't, and her eyes were actually anxious.

  Everyone accompanied the two old men into the old lady's courtyard, and it was unclear whether the young lady did it on purpose or not. She stood at the door, looked around in a circle, and then smiled and shouted: "Where is Chunsheng's wife? Come here and let me take a look."

  Just as Madame was hesitating whether to go forward or not, Auntie suddenly brushed past her side and directly grasped the hand of Madam Han, sizing her up from head to toe. Afterwards, she revealed a concerned expression, saying: "I heard that you were ill recently, are you feeling better now?"

  This action, this tone, Mrs. Jin almost tore her handkerchief to shreds. To put it nicely, the old lady just spoke out of habit, after all, she was the first wife of Mr. Jin's previous husband. But if you want to be blunt, she was only a stepmother, and the real wife was still alive. The old lady recognized Mrs. Jin as Mr. Jin's ex-wife, not her. Mrs. Jin's anger surged up, and she was about to go forward, but was pulled back by Chen Ayi from behind, who shook her head at her. Mrs. Jin couldn't help feeling wronged, and tears welled up in the corners of her eyes. To be fair, she was also innocent. Before she married Mr. Jin, he had already divorced his wife, and she didn't have any feelings for him before that either. But who knew that Madame Han's pregnancy would entangle both women in this awkward situation at the same time.