Chapter Eleven: Subjugating Autumn Moon

  Qin Se and Sheng Xiao led Su Mu Jin from the main house to the servants' quarters, where they saw many maidservants busily at work. They saw Su Mu Jin bow her head and greet them one by one, not even daring to breathe loudly.

  Several people looked at each other, exchanged a glance, and all sneered with a smile.

  Qin Se angrily said, "These people are really disgusting. Before, they didn't take the young lady seriously, but now that they see she has Master's backing, they're starting to behave like this."

  Su Mojin smiled faintly. That's human nature - bullying the kind and fearing the evil. As long as you become powerful, no one dares to bully you!

  Qin Se's room was not far from Su Mu Jin's, and the few people walked and talked, soon arriving at Qin Se's room. Qin Se opened the door, and Su Mu Jin and Sheng Xiao walked in together. As soon as Su Mu Jin entered the house, he saw the simple furniture and slightly frowned.

  Qin Se and Sheng Xiao were her senior maids, according to the rules of the mansion, each senior maid had a monthly allowance of at least five taels of silver. In the Great Zhou Dynasty, two taels of silver was enough for a ordinary family's expenses for a month, and five taels of silver was enough for a maid to live very comfortably.

  Qin Se and Sheng Xiao were both orphans, bought by their mother to serve her since they were three years old. They had no relatives, and their monthly allowance was spent by themselves, so it would not be possible for them to call the room simple like this.

  Su Mojin let out a soft sigh, it seemed that over the years, not only her own allowance as the eldest daughter had been severely cut back, but also the allowances of Qin Se, Sheng Xiao, and even Liu Mama must have been reduced to a pitiful amount.

  She gathered her thoughts and saw Qiuyue tightly bound to a chair, unable to move, with a handkerchief stuffed in her mouth.

  Qiu Yue was unaware of the events that had transpired in Jin Garden today, and upon seeing Su Mu Jin arrive, she naturally assumed he had come to release her. She glared at him with a fierce gaze, her eyes full of arrogance.

  She is a capable and trusted maid beside the madam, I'm afraid this unloved big girl wouldn't dare to do anything to her!

  Su Mojin leisurely moved a chair and sat down, gazing at the autumn moon with a calm demeanor. The zither and sheng stood on either side of her, motionless without her command.

  Half a moment later, the pride in Qiuyue's eyes faded away and was replaced with a hint of unease.

  Su Mojin then gave a signal with her eyes to Qin Se, who walked over to Autumn Moon and pulled out the cloth that was stuffed into her mouth.

  Qiu Yue didn't shout or get angry, but looked at Su Mu Jin with a calm and collected expression, her tone slightly chilly. "Miss, please just say what you want to say directly."

  Su Mojin smiled faintly and didn't speak. She picked up the teacup that had been knocked over, took a light sip of the hot tea, and the misty tea vapor covered her face, making it impossible to discern her emotions.

  "If there's nothing else, can I be excused to return to Madam's side and attend to her? There are many maids by Madam's side, but I'm the one who's used to attending to her. I'm afraid if someone else takes my place, Madam might not get used to it."

  A clever and eloquent young girl, but Liu Shi dares to plot against her. The young girl who is favored by Liu Shi naturally wouldn't take the threatening words to heart.

  "Today an old lady came to Jin Garden..."

  Qiu Yue's eyes suddenly lit up. She hadn't invited the old lady over, originally afraid that the madam would scold her, but now that the old lady was here, she could finally relax.

  "Father still holds the whip Liu twenty, is father personally holding the whip!"

  Qiu Yue was shocked and couldn't believe it, he raised his head to look at Su Mu Jin.

  She was serving beside the madam, how could she not know that the madam and the old lady were usually very close, but when the old lady left, she couldn't stop the master's punishment, which made her shocked. Looking at Su Mojin's eyes again, the disdain had completely disappeared, replaced by a few points of vigilance and caution.

  "Qiūyuè girl is already 19 years old, according to the rules of the mansion, a maid who turns 20 will be released from the mansion. A 20-year-old woman who leaves the mansion can only marry into a good family, either as a concubine for a small wealthy family or as the legitimate wife of a poor family. Either way, her future life won't be easy. Autumn Moon should understand this better than I do. You're an intelligent person, and I don't want to beat around the bush. As long as Autumn Moon agrees to work for me from now on, I guarantee that you will have no worries about food and clothing in the future."

  Qiu Yue's heart skipped a beat as she stared intently at Su Mu Jin, as if verifying the authenticity of her words.

  Her family was not well-off, her father had passed away early, and her mother worked as a laundry maid in the mansion, only a low-ranking servant. However, she had an older brother who had been suffering from respiratory disease since birth, and every time he had an attack, his breathing would become uneven, as if he had died once. To treat her brother's illness, they had sold everything they could at home, and her and her mother's monthly allowance was barely enough to buy medicine for him. Moreover, the eldest daughter was right, she was already 19 years old, but the madam had not arranged a marriage for her yet, how could she not be anxious? Now that Su Mu Jin said this, how could she not be moved?!

  But the madam's means she knew even better, if she found out that she had betrayed her, then none of her family would have a good ending.

  The wide sleeves were twisted into a mass of wrinkles by her, she bit her lip and remained silent for a long time, finally answering, "Thank you for your kindness, I am overwhelmed with gratitude. However, the madam has already been very kind to me, although I am just a servant girl, I also know that one cannot serve two masters at once. I will never betray the madam!"

  She had another consideration in her heart, the eldest girl would eventually have to get married even with the support of the old master, and she absolutely couldn't compete for the qualifications of a accompanying maid, later on her mother would still have to work at the Su's house, if they offended the madam, how could their family survive in the future!

  Su Mojin was not surprised at her response. If Qiu Yue had agreed easily, she would have been even more uneasy. She smiled lightly, put down the teacup in her hand, and walked slowly to Qiu Yue's side, saying word by word, "Since these can't attract you, then I'll add one more condition! I heard that your brother has asthma, and I just so happen to have a prescription that guarantees he will be cured!"

  Qiu Yue suddenly raised her head and asked urgently, "Is this true?!"

  "Do you think I have a need to cheat you?!" Su Mu Jin retorted.

  Thanks to her past life memories, Qiū Yuè betrayed the great lady for a prescription. And that prescription she happened to have memorized silently.

  This time, Autumn Moon did not hesitate at all and said resolutely, "If the eldest lady has a prescription that can cure my brother's illness, Autumn Moon is willing to serve the eldest lady with all her might, even if it means going through fire and water or being a slave, she will never dare say no!"