A good omen for a good person

  The outer house of the Golden Staff has just received a batch of newly purchased slaves, some of whom have signed lifelong contracts, while others have been sold for 5 to 10 years. Generally speaking, those who have signed lifelong contracts are mostly from distant places and were trafficked by human traffickers, whereas those who have signed temporary contracts are from nearby villages in the suburbs of Beijing. Those who have signed lifelong contracts are either unable to find their families or were forcibly sold to human traffickers by their own families, with no hope of returning home. In contrast, those who have signed temporary contracts are different; at most, their families have experienced some difficulties in recent years, and these girls have only been sold to save food for the family. Their families do not intend to sell them as lifelong slaves, so they still expect that when the contract expires, they will be returned home and reunited with their families.

  In most large households, the ones who are handy with chores are usually dead-contract slaves. Only those who have been sold as dead-contract slaves can enter the inner courtyard, but such slaves, except for those personally selected by the master, find it difficult to gain favor in the eyes of the master within three generations. This is because more trustworthy than them are the family's own homegrown children. Now, the ones receiving these little maids are ordinary rough-serving amahs from the mansion, who happen to be lecturing in the second courtyard at this time. They think about teaching some simple rules and then recommending one or two of them to higher-ranking amahs for inspection. As long as someone is selected from among them, these rough-serving amahs will naturally not go without a reward, so they generally teach with great care.

  The servants with life contracts and death contracts were separated, and their future paths would not be the same. Most of those with life contracts worked as rough hands in the outer courtyard, doing menial tasks, while those with death contracts would take on vacant positions in the inner courtyard. At first, they would not get good jobs, and being able to make a living was already a stroke of luck. However, if they had real skills or encountered special opportunities, they might even enter the inner courtyard of the mistress and young ladies, which would be a great fortune for them.

  Everyone wanted to move up in life, including slaves. The lower-ranking slaves were suppressed by the higher-ranking ones, and even when one became a high-ranking slave, there were still the master's personal attendants above them. This was both the rule and the cruel reality.

  The rough-hand maids rubbed their fists and palms together, eager to make a name for themselves through selecting a young maid, so that they could enter the inner courtyard, and their families could move from the humble dwellings in the outer streets to the residences of high-ranking slaves.

  "Tian Nainai, this dead contract servant girl, you can take her away first." Today's lead is Zhang Nainai from the outer courtyard, because of her distant and complicated relationship with the wife of the former small general manager of the outer courtyard, she was assigned to handle the internal affairs of the dead contract servant girls.

  But Tian Popo, without any background, secretly swallowed this breath, turned a blind eye behind her back, and took a group of little maids to another yard.

  "Ah, I'm Zhang Niangniang, here to teach you discipline. For the next few days, you'll be staying in this courtyard. Remember to keep your eyes, mouth, and ears in check. Don't look at what you shouldn't, don't listen to what you shouldn't, and don't go spreading rumors. If you do, even if you're beaten to death, no one will avenge you. You're not like the previous batch of girls who were picked up after five or ten years."

  In the state of Pei, there is a rule that anyone who has not signed a death contract is only in an employment relationship with the master's family and is not considered a true slave. Therefore, if someone dies, the master's family will still be in trouble.

  As expected, upon hearing this, many of the girls turned pale and some even sobbed quietly, and everyone became more cautious.

  Zhang Ya taught for a while, feeling dry in her mouth, so she put down this batch first and prepared to take these girls to recognize the house, so as to arrange their accommodation. But before she could turn around, she saw another ayah standing up suddenly in the courtyard and walking out of the door. Zhang Ya was suspicious, but when she saw the girl who came outside the courtyard gate, she immediately put on a flattering face and walked over with joy.

  The girl from outside the courtyard, no more than ten years old, wore a pale pink dress that made her look delicate and refined. Looking at her elegant posture, adorned with silver accessories, she was even more distinguished from anyone else in this courtyard.

  "Zhang Ayi, Liu Ayi, you're both here?" The voice was soft and boneless, with a childish tone that was particularly endearing. A pair of large and bright eyes were filled with laughter at this moment, and the plump lips were slightly raised, revealing a moist glow.

  "Ah, isn't it though? How did Xianxian Miss come here?"

  The girl pursed her lips and replied, "Madam asked if we sent the maid over today, so my mother had me run an errand, I can also avoid some laziness."

  "Oh dear! Why bother Miss to come in person? Look at this messy place, it's fine if you just send someone over." Lü Mama easily found an opportunity to chime in, and that one face of wrinkles was suddenly smoothed out by her smile.

  The girl shook her head with its double buns, only smiling and not answering. She took another look at the weak maids in the courtyard, and then said: "These days will be troublesome for Zhang's aunt to take care of. My mother said that some of the cleaning work in the backyard is short-handed, and it's also waiting for people to use."

  "Ah ah! I guarantee this matter, Auntie, I'll handle it properly!" Zhang Auntie hastily replied with a sideways glance at Liu Auntie.

  The girl, having said what she had to say, bid farewell and turned to leave, but her clothes and the silver ornaments hanging from her neck, hands and head left a deep impression on these new young maidservants, with many of them revealing envious and jealous glances.

  Perhaps it was because Zhang's nanny had shown a smile, or perhaps it was because they were really curious and didn't understand the rules, but someone actually asked carefully: "Nanny, is that the young lady from the mansion?"

  Zhang's smile disappeared, and she looked at the maid with disdain: "The young ladies in the mansion are not something that you lowly creatures can see. Even the one just now is usually not allowed out of the inner courtyard. Although she was not born to Master, she is still a noble person who is beyond your reach. Even if she were a slave, her birth would be better than yours. Her mother is the head servant by Madame's side, and even Madame favors this young lady. See, what she wore on her body and head just now are all made of silver, you're lucky to have used tin in your lifetime."

  Everyone lowered their heads in shame, and some even touched the grass rope on their braids, thinking again about the girl from just now, and suddenly felt a strong longing in their hearts.

  No more words, Zhang continued what she had not finished just now, while Yao Xianyi, who was going from the outer courtyard to the inner one, put away her innocent and naive expression, quickened her pace, turned around and entered the inner courtyard. She chatted with the aunt at the gate for a couple of sentences before turning into the corridor towards the main house in the fourth row. On the way, she met many maidservants, all of whom Yao Xianyi greeted one by one, from which it can be seen that everyone's relationship with her was not bad.

  Xian Yi Ren had yet to enter the main gate when Xiuzhu, who was guarding the door, came forward and whispered: "You've finally returned, Madam asked about you several times before."

  Xian Yi hastily gave her a bow and said: "My mother asked me to go to the front yard to take a look at the new little maid, I didn't think that madam would think of me at this time."

  Xiu Zhu pulled Xian Yi's small hand, heading up the stairs, still grumbling: "Aunt Chen is really something, this little thing could be handled by anyone, what kind of people are we, and what kind of people are they, don't sully our eyes."

  Xian Yi didn't explain either, but just smiled and asked about Madame's mood. Upon learning that Madame had just come from Old Lady's place, she figured it out in her heart.

  At the entrance of the main house, two little maids were standing with their fans, watching the two approaching. They quickly smiled and started fanning themselves as Xiu Zhu led the way in, not even glancing at the little maids. The surroundings were already familiar to her, nothing special about them, especially since this was the main house of the official's family. Although there were many antiques and paintings, they didn't make the place look luxurious or grandiose. Only the embroidered screen at the entrance of the main bedroom stood out from the usual flower screens that were popular at the time. The screen wasn't big, but it was embroidered with a fairy picking lotus flowers. The fairy's face was gentle and beautiful, her hands pale, her clothes light blue, and her hair tied up in a bun. Her feet rested on a patch of pink lotus flowers that seemed to be emitting a faint aura all around. It was said that this screen had been one of the items brought by the first lady as part of her dowry, a gift from the palace, made by the best imperial embroiderers. This was considered one of the most treasured objects in the house, loved by the first lady herself.

  She skirted around the screen and entered the flower hall outside the bedroom, where Madame Wang was indeed sitting at the head of the table, drinking tea with a expressionless face, while Xianyi's mother, Chen Mama, stood beside her, carefully serving her.

  The madam saw Xianyi come in and her expression slightly relaxed. She casually asked: "Where did you go to play again?"

  Xian Yi composed herself, blinked her eyes coquettishly, and then bowed properly: "In response to Madame's words, I just went to the front yard to take a look at those new little maids."

  The lady turned her head and glanced at Chen Qiang, who was lowering her eyebrows, and said somewhat reproachfully: "It's clear that you're the one who let her go. What kind of person is she? How can she be a running errand for someone like this? There are many young maids in the courtyard, which one can't go?"

  Although Madam Chen heard the big madam's tone was unpleasant, she still spoke calmly: "Letting the madam worry, she is just a little maid, can't really think herself as someone because of the madam's fondness."

  The lady felt much better after hearing these words. As someone from a respectable family, she valued propriety above all else. Although Chen's mother had given her to the lady as an attendant and she relied heavily on her, and although the little maid was indeed lovely, she didn't want to become the subject of gossip. It was good fortune that the master favored her, but if she became arrogant and forgot her place just because of his favoritism, then the lady wouldn't have any desire to keep her by her side anymore.

  "Look at what your mother said, your mother doesn't care about you, the lady cares about you. Come, come, Xianxian, tell the lady what you saw in the front yard?" The big madam seemed to feel that everyone in her courtyard was to her liking, so she put aside the unpleasantness she had just experienced in the old madam's courtyard.

  Xian Yi's mouth curved into a smile, and after bowing her knees, she walked over with the innocence of a young girl, smiling sweetly.