Chapter 46: State of Mind

  Xin Yun'er was suddenly hugged by Lu Qi, and she couldn't help but be surprised and shy. Her heart was racing like a deer, her face turned red with shame, and she bowed her head and shrank away, whispering: "Don't do this, we're not married yet."

  Lu Qi hugged her tightly and said softly: "Yun'er, don't worry, I know I should respect you, I just want to kiss you and hold you."

  "No, no, that won't do," Xinyun'er shook her head in embarrassment, but before she could say anything else, a large hand lifted up her face and a hot mouth covered her lips. At the same time, strong arms tightly wrapped around her slender body, making her struggle for a moment before going limp.

  Lu Qi greedily kissed for a long time, and Dong Qing was beside Xin Yun'er. As soon as she saw this romantic scene, her face immediately turned red. Xiaofang's heart beat rapidly, and her head quickly lowered, but soon a pair of beautiful eyes shyly lifted to steal a glance. Since her sister Xiaoyun boldly asked for progress, she knew that Master Xin had already considered them as the main concubines.

  Dong Qing is a poor family's daughter, and most girls from poor families care more about becoming the concubine of a wealthy family to escape poverty than they do about romantic love.

  After being bought by Lu Qi, Dong Qing had never dared to hope to become a concubine of the young master, but her sister's boldness brought her this hope. Becoming an upper house maid meant she could serve Young Master Lu together with Xin Zhu Mu, and if she gave birth to a child, she could become a recognized concubine. Thinking about these shameful yet wonderful prospects, Dong Qing fell into a dizzying state of delight.

  "Wintergreen, what's wrong?" A soft voice sounded in her ear.

  Dong Qing suddenly raised her head, and saw that Mrs. Xin was facing her directly, with a beautiful face that made her envious even more lovely than usual. She felt a sudden jolt, and her heart felt empty again as she lowered her head, saying awkwardly: "This servant has nothing to say."

  "It's good that nothing happened to you, the young master has left, and it's getting late, go close the shop door." Xinyuner instructed in a gentle voice, Dongqing responded with a sound, and hurriedly went with a relieved heart.

  Looking at Dong Qing's small back, Xin Yun'er smiled faintly. Just now she saw Dong Qing's expression was shy and joyful, with a hint of dreamy infatuation, and she understood that this simple-minded little girl was daydreaming.

  As for the two sisters becoming her personal maids, in her heart she wasn't quite pleased with them. The reason was that both sisters were coarse people. Xiaoyun was still acceptable, clever and literate, but Dongqing was a standard rough country girl.

  In the upper-class social circle of Tang Dynasty, a lady's personal maid represented her taste and face, not only serving as the lady's ears, eyes, and arms to the outside world but also as a means for the lady to win favor from men. Therefore, young ladies from noble families would strictly select their personal maids from an early age, and those selected would receive education equal to that of their mistresses.

  Xiang Xinyu and Lu Qi's sister Xiaoyan were both talented and beautiful young girls, not inferior to the miss. It was difficult for a poor girl to become a maid of a wealthy family, and it was also difficult for a wealthy family to select a suitable maid, so most would cultivate their own personal maids from a young age.

  Xin Yun'er was a maid raised by the Zhou family from childhood, and she was able to escape her slave status thanks to Xin Niang's power in the Zhou family. Now she is the wife of an official family who has not yet passed through the door, and her mentality has also shifted from that of a slave girl to that of a mistress. Naturally, she also had very high psychological demands on her personal maidservants. She decided to strictly cultivate Xiao Yun and Dong Qing into virtuous women, lest they would be ridiculed in the future and affect her mistress's dignity.

  Dong Qing closed the door and turned back, she still had to go cook dinner, but just as she was walking into the backyard, Xin Yun'er called out to her. Xin Yun'er's expression was serious as she carefully examined Dong Qing from head to toe, even grabbing her rough, dark-skinned hands for a closer look, and using her own hands to measure Dong Qing's bust, waist, hips, and legs, making Dong Qing feel uneasy.

  "Madam, what are you doing?" Dong Qing asked in alarm.

  "Dong Qing, you're still young and should be very adaptable. Your figure and looks are also good. Starting tomorrow, I'll hire a chef to teach you how to cook," Xinyuner chimed in.

  Dong Qing listened and was very surprised, saying: "Master's wife, I can cook."

  Xin Yun'er said seriously: "I know you can cook, and because you can cook, I let you specialize in learning to become a special skill. From now on, the dishes you make must be of high quality, comparable to those made by chefs at luxury hotels."

  Dong Qing exclaimed in surprise: "Can a slave like me do it as well as a hotel chef?"

  Xin Yun'er said seriously: "You must be able to do it."

  Dong Qing's eyes wavered with uncertainty, and Xin Ruo softly said: "Dong Qing, when people are born, apart from their appearance being different, their intelligence and abilities are not superior or inferior to each other. As long as they are willing to work hard and suffer, they can excel in certain aspects. You are now my personal maid, and later you will be serving Young Master Lu Qi. This requires having some special talent that Young Master Lu Qi likes. If your cooking is delicious, the other maids won't be able to compare with you, and Young Master Lu Qi will naturally notice you, which means he'll like you. Do you understand?"

  Dong Qing's face turned red, and she hesitated for a moment before nodding and saying in a soft voice: "Master, I will do my best."

  Xin Yun'er smiled softly and said, "Tomorrow I will hire a woman to do the household chores. From now on, you are not allowed to light fires or chop wood in the kitchen, only stir-fry and wash vegetables. If the kitchen needs any utensils or seasonings, I will provide them for you. In your daily life, you must learn to read and keep accounts. Every day, you must soak your body in hot water mixed with moisturizing herbs for an hour. Try to avoid sunlight and wind as much as possible. Also, you must practice feminine handicrafts diligently. Choose one of the four arts - qin, chess, calligraphy, or painting - to study carefully."

  Dong Qing was shocked and stared at Xin Yun in a daze. Xin Yun spoke softly, "Dong Qing, you must remember that you are no longer just a servant girl doing rough work, but an upper house servant girl serving the master's daily life. Upper house servant girls are noble women who know how to take care of their beauty. From now on, both you and Xiao Yun will learn to read and understand etiquette. Xiao Yun will help me with external matters, focusing on managing the shop's business. You will assist me with internal matters, specializing in cooking delicious food, managing the household expenses that belong to me, and learning how to properly command the servants. I will teach you all of this step by step, and I believe you can learn it."

  Dong Qing's face changed, she looked at Xin Yu'er's expectant and gentle gaze, her face turned red as she bit her teeth and said in a low voice: "Master, I don't have an older sister who is clever, but I will try my best to do well."

  Xinyuner smiled, she liked Dongqing's simplicity and said: "Okay, starting tomorrow." Dongqing nodded firmly.

  Lu Qi hastily bid farewell to Xin Yun'er after their passionate kiss, fearing that if he didn't return to the city before nightfall, his mother would worry. He rushed back to Shizai County and entered the city smoothly, returning to his old residence. Lu's mother finally put her mind at ease when she saw her son return safely. The two of them chatted for a while, and Lu's mother told him that an official had come this afternoon, but since he wasn't there, he left a message asking him to see Wang Zhubu as soon as possible after his return.

  Lu Qi had already made preparations in his heart, and at this time the sky was already late, so he could only go tomorrow. Before long, Lu Tianhua came back, saw Lu Qi and naturally let out a big sigh of relief, heard that the medicine had been sold and was even more delighted, immediately decided to transport part of it into the city tomorrow, and formally open the shop for business the day after tomorrow.

  At dinner time, Lu Tianhua brought up the matter of Chen Hu being killed yesterday, saying that the bandits were extremely cruel and seemed to have a grudge against Chen Hu. They not only killed him but also cut off his head and put it together with others. It is said that this was the bandits' way of showing off to the government. Yesterday, the government troops made a big move and caused quite a commotion, but they didn't even catch one bandit.

  Lu Qi listened and pretended to be surprised. He took the bloody clothes and short spear away, and on his way to San Yuan County, he threw them into a small river under the pretext of convenience. The stack of debt contracts was buried under a tree on a hillside.

  After hearing the bad news, Lu Qiushui asked when the officials of the imperial court would leave. Lu Tianhua said that the officials of the imperial court had not left and had moved into the Xiao Mansion after entering the city yesterday. It is said that they have relatives in the Xiao Mansion and went to pay their respects to the old lady of the Xiao Mansion, but it is unknown when they will be able to leave.

  This news came as a surprise to Lu Qi, although it was unexpected but had nothing to do with him and didn't care about it. After dinner, he returned to his room because of the exhaustion from running around all day, under Ning Er and Wei Shuang Er's service, after washing his feet and wiping his face, he went straight to sleep.

  The next morning, Lu Qi didn't go to see Wang Zhubu, but instead went out of the city with his brother to Wanjingbao to fetch some medicinal materials. They transported them to the pharmacy on West Avenue, sorted and stored them in boxes, busy until after noon. He instructed his brother that when opening the shop the next day, not to make a big show of it, as Chen Hu had just died, and if they made a big fuss, it would easily provoke resentment from the locals. Lu Tianhua agreed.