The Concubine in the Palace_The Feast of Masks【Complete】(21)
Since coming to this small courtyard, Yao Niang has never combed her hair in a different bun, and always showed off her hair in a rigid and formal bun.
She opened the door, and it was Lu'e.
Not only Lu'e, but also Qiuju, a second-class maid from the Spring House.
Qiuju was smiling, and behind her was a little maid holding a tray.
The tray was covered with a red cloth, and it was impossible to see what was inside.
"This is the reward from the concubine to Su Nanny."
After entering the house, as Qiuju finished speaking, the little maid uncovered the red cloth on the tray in her hand. On it were two ingots of silver, a jade bracelet with good water head, and a gilded hairpin.
Yao Niang was a little embarrassed and wanted to refuse, but Qiu Ju smiled and said, "The concubine said that thanks to Nanny Su, the concubine has not been able to eat well and sleep well recently. She has thought of many ways, but none of them can cure the little princess's night tantrums. It was Nanny Su's ability that solved the concubine's worries."
"This is Yao Niang's duty."
Qiu Ju nodded, "Since Nanny Su is resting, I won't disturb her. I will go back and report to the concubine."
"Miss Qiu Ju, take care."
Yao Niang sent Qiu Ju and others to the door and happened to meet Cui Zhu returning to the house.
Cui Zhu liked to run to the Liuchun Pavilion, so she naturally recognized Qiu Ju and knew that she was a maid who was popular with Concubine Hu. Seeing her and Yao Niang laughing and talking, what else could she not understand? She didn't dare to get angry with Qiu Ju, so she glared at Yao Niang with anger and resentment.
Yao Niang acted as if she didn't see anything, sent the other party away, and went back to the house and closed the door.
She came to the table and looked at the things on it.
I have to say that the Jin Palace is really generous to its servants. These few things are worth at least a hundred taels of silver, which is enough for Yao Niang's salary for most of the year.
It's just that the silver is a little less, only twenty taels. Although the jade bracelet and the gold hairpin are both good things, it is precisely because good things cannot be exchanged for silver.
Yao Niang picked up the gold hairpin and found that there was indeed the emblem of the Jin Palace in an inconspicuous place. Such things made in the palace, no family in the whole Jinzhou dared to accept them, which means that these things can only be worn by oneself, and they can't be exchanged for silver.
If all of them can be exchanged for silver, Yao Niang even has the urge to leave the palace immediately.
Because she can feel that the sharp edge in the backyard is not something she can handle, and after meeting the Jin King yesterday, Yao Niang found that she was more afraid of him than she thought.
What exactly is she afraid of? In fact, she can't explain it clearly. She just wants to stay away from him, the farther the better.
After this, Yao Niang couldn't sleep. Taking advantage of the good weather today, I simply washed the clothes I changed yesterday.
In this small courtyard, people are busy or idle, but they are just revolving around the little princess. The back room is bustling at this time. Several maids are sitting under the shade of the tree, doing miscellaneous work in their hands and talking. There are also two little girls sitting under the eaves, doing needlework in their hands, and laughing from time to time.
Yao Niang listened to them talking while washing clothes by the well, and felt that time passed quickly.
There were also maids who relied on their age and seniority to ask about her family situation. Yao Niang deleted and subtracted, and pieced together a story that no one could find fault with and told them.
When they heard that Yao Niang's husband died when she was pregnant and her son was a posthumous child, everyone showed pity on their faces. Each of them said some comforting words, trying to comfort Yao Niang.
This situation was almost impossible to happen before. It seemed that Mu Mama agreed to let Yao Niang serve the little princess personally, which was a signal to everyone.
A signal that they could be regarded as one of their own.
Since they were one of their own, everyone had no scruples when talking to each other. Some people even said some sarcastic words because of Cui Zhu's unusual jumpiness before.
It seemed that they wanted to please Yao Niang deliberately, and they seemed to really dislike Cui Zhu. They talked about how Cui Zhu flattered the people in the brothel, and described all kinds of flattery vividly. For example, when Cui Zhu flattered a woman named Mao, the woman was always two-faced. To put it bluntly, she would do it when there was a benefit, and turn her face and ignore her when she needed to do something.
"You will see, there will be a time when she will suffer a loss and be deceived." A woman said.
Another old woman laughed and teased her: "It's because last time I took a plate of peas and yellow and didn't give it to you, but took it to Liuchun Restaurant and gave it to Mao, you are so bad-mouthing me."
It was obviously a joke, but the old woman didn't hesitate. While she was scorning Cuizhu, she also praised Yao Niang: "Who would get angry because of a plate of peas and yellow? I can't stand her jumping up and down. Look at how Su Nanny is not like her."
How did this matter involve me?
Yao Niang was thinking this, and suddenly she saw that everyone's face changed. She looked in the direction of everyone's sight, and it was Cuizhu who came.
Cuizhu's face was ashen, and her eyes were full of resentment. She was so angry that she was shaking all over.
"What a bunch of old witches who curse at their mothers when eating and when leaving the table. Why don't you show the same face when I do good things for you? Nothing can stop your mouth, how greedy you are..."
This was really a mistake, it was an indiscriminate attack, and several old women stood up and quarreled with Cuizhu in anger.
Although Cuizhu was a fierce woman, she was no match for several people alone, and finally ran away crying in anger.
"Look, look at this virtue! A girl is destined to like to play the role of the eldest lady. She always orders people to wash her clothes, carry water and serve food, and just wants to order everyone around with some snacks. Who would like it? The reason why she eats so little is because everyone cares about each other's face and doesn't want to argue with her, but she is doing it instead!" The poor old woman said angrily while slapping her hands.
After she said this, it was entirely Cuizhu's fault.
In fact, regardless of right or wrong, Cuizhu does have a lot of things to criticize, otherwise people wouldn't say so about her behind her back.
Yao Niang didn't want to get involved in this kind of thing. She just finished washing her clothes, hung them up to dry, and left in a hurry.
On the other side, Cuizhu was angry and ashamed.
Although she was born as a slave, she has never been angry like this since she was a child. You Qi has always felt that everything is not going well since he entered the palace. First, he killed Cheng Yaojin on the way, and then he was shunned and ostracized. Now he is being pointed at and scolded by several old women. Cuizhu has never been so angry.
She hated this place so much now that she naturally didn't want to stay in the small courtyard anymore. She walked all the way out of the yard, planning to go to her aunt, Mrs. Cao, for advice, and see if she could find an opportunity to teach these women a lesson. As soon as he stepped out of the hospital, he was stopped by a little girl named Mei Zhi in the dormitory.
"Sister Cuizhu, where are you going? What's wrong?"
Cuizhu and Mei Zhi have been getting along very warmly recently. Mei Zhi is a second-class girl from Liuchūn Pavilion. She is young and is the most gluttonous. Cuizhu brings some snacks from time to time, and she coaxes this little girl to become a sister. .
In fact, Cuizhu's calculation was very simple. Since he was arranged by the princess to share her favor, he naturally had to handle this matter well. At that time, not only can he fly up the branches, but he might even get the princess to look at him differently.
She had just arrived and had no foundation, so naturally she had to recruit two useful people to act as spies. For example, when His Highness comes to stay in the chūn pavilion, His Highness's preferences and so on, she can always find opportunities.
This Mei Zhi is one of the people Cuizhu wants to win over.
Cuizhu had tears on her face, she was obviously being bullied. Seeing that the other party was silent, Mei Zhi came up and took her hand and said, "But someone bullied you?"
Cuizhu often told Mei Zhi about being crowded in the small courtyard, so Mei Zhi also knew something about it.
"It's nothing." Cuizhu wiped her tears. After all, she was older than Mei Zhi, so how could she have the nerve to cry in front of a little girl. In fact, she is not much older than Mei Zhi, she is only eighteen.
"How can it be that it's nothing for you to be like this? I'm not on duty today, how about you go sit in my room for a while and I can talk to you?"
Cuizhu thought for a while, she was used to being strong outside, so she might be criticized by others if she went out like this, so she nodded.
The two went to Mei Zhi's room together.
As a second-class girl, Mei Zhi's living place was naturally not as spacious as Cuizhu's. There were four shelf beds in one room, and Mei Zhi was on the innermost bed.
There was no one in the room, most of them were on duty.
Mei Zhi closed the door, led Cuizhu to sit down at the table, and poured her a cup of tea.
It could be seen that Cuizhu looked a little embarrassed, and the makeup on his face was all stained. Mei Zhi went to fetch a basin of water for Cuizhu to cleanse his face. Cuizhu washed her face and drank tea, and suddenly felt that Mei Zhi, a good friend, was not in vain.
In such a mood, it is inevitable to complain about Mei Zhi.
After hearing this, Mei Zhi naturally shared her hatred and scolded the women for her, then looked at her with some worry and said: "Sister Cuizhu, don't think I'm too talkative. You are a nurse in the house, they are like this If I push you, you probably won’t be able to do this job anymore.”
This is exactly what Cuizhu fears most. When she thought about it, she originally planned to ride on the donkey to find the horse, and while doing the nurse's errand, she didn't forget to do other things. This was also the main reason why she had always wanted to get close to the little princess.
It's a pity that Su Yaoniang suddenly appeared and stood firm with an almost unstoppable attitude. Compared with the other two nannies, she lacked a preconception, and there was no room for her beside the little princess.
"Sister Cuizhu is so beautiful, it's a pity to be a wet nurse." Mei Zhi sighed.
But no, Cuizhu thinks so too!
Due to various reasons, she impulsively took the other person's hand: "Good sister, you must help me."
Mei Zhi was surprised and confused: "What can I, a girl, do to help you?"
Cuizhu went over and said a lot, while Mei Zhi's face was filled with surprise and uncertainty.