Chapter 275 Familiar Practice
“What, is it true?” Qu Le said, her beautiful eyes widened and her voice unconsciously raised.
Anxiously, Qing Xue covered Qu Le’s mouth with her hand and whispered, “Dear friend, not so loud. In fact, I don’t know if this is true, I just overheard it while eavesdropping. At that time, I was still on the farm and didn’t know Second Miss! I am not sure of this matter, so I dare not tell Second Miss!”
Stunned for a moment, Qu Le pushed Qing Xue away and nodded with effort, “Well, don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone!”
When Qing Xue left Zhifang Pavilion, only one little servant girl saw her off. In former days, this girl was a decent friend to her, the only one she had. The girl was Qu’er.
The others saw her taking a small package and following an old maid out. When they heard that she was to serve Madam Di, their looked at her with more sympathy.
In the past, serving Madam Di might be better than serving Second Miss, and many people would compete to be a little servant girl in Madam Di’s courtyard, but now Madam Di was in a bad situation. Previously, many of her servants were driven away, and those who were left wouldn’t have a promising future, either. It looked like the general did not give Madam Di a short-term detention, but a long one!
At this time, anyone who built ties with Madam Di would have bad luck. Now Qing Xue was asked to serve Madam Di, which meant she wouldn’t have much hope of the future.
Many sympathized with her, but she had not been in Qin Wanru’s favor, and she didn’t have much rapport with others. The only one who quietly saw her off was Qu’er.
After chatting a while with Qu’er under the tree outside the courtyard’s door, Qing Xue left with the old maid who had waited long and impatiently.
At the entrance to Madam Di’s Yulan Pavilion stood two old maids. Seeing Qing Xue come with an old maid, they looked her up and down several times, asked a few common questions, and waved their hands to let her in, but the old maid who brought her here didn’t go in with her.
Qing Xue walked into the yard alone and saw how deserted it was. Under the big tree beside the wall was a thick layer of leaves. A servant girl was feebly sweeping the leaves, but since the leaves were too many, she could not clear them off no matter how hard she tried.
Another two lifeless old maids were washing the pillars at the porch. They used warm water, and the evaporating steam shrouded their faces.
Madam Di’s place was completely different from what Qing Xue had seen before. The whole place looked lifeless and dead.
Seeing someone come in, all the servant girls and old maids raised their eyes and took a look at her, then ignored her, and carried on with what they were doing.
Qing Xue had to walk in alone. She arrived at the porch and stood there, not entering the main room. She saw the curtain being raised and a small beautiful face peeked out. She was also a servant girl, but Qing Xue didn’t know her.
“Are you Qing Xue?” The one at the doorway was Huangrui, who studied her several times and spoke to her in a somewhat haughty tone.
“Yes, I am Qing Xue!” Qing Xue nodded.
“Come in, Madam is waiting for you!” Huangrui’s hand let go, and curtain fell. She went inside.
Qing Xue hesitated a little, raised the curtain herself, and walked into the room.
Madam Di was sitting at the center of the room, with Nanny Zhou standing beside her. Behind her was Hongye, who was massaging her shoulders. On the other side, the two original principal maids Meiya and Meibo were serving her with great care.
Huangrui took one step forward and bowed to Madam Di. After that, she too went to Nanny Zhou’s side, looking Qing Xue up and down in a dismissive way.
Qing Xue came over to kneel before Madam Di, but she dare not sneak a peek and behaved very well!
“Do you feel unhappy to serve me this time?” Madam Di said with a laugh which sounded a little sharp.
“I dare not be so impudent, I am your servant girl!” Qing Xue lowered her head and said respectfully.
“I guess you dare not, you are my maid. Don’t ever hope to serve Qin Wanru!” Madam Di said with a cold, sullen snort.
Qing Xue stiffened when she heard that. It was an obvious threat and it made her even more afraid to move.
Madam Di bent down to raise Qing Xue’s face with her hand and observed her facial expression. Her rather fierce-looking face made Qing Xue shake uncontrollably and her eyes were full of fear.
“You look gentle and demure. What did you do to make Qin Wanru dislike you? Does she know you are my maid now?” Madam Di looked at Qing Xue’s face sullenly as if she would like to strip the skin off her face.
“Madam…I…I am useless…I…” Qing Xue trembled and curled up into a ball, her face showing uncontrollable fear, which was clearly reflected in Madam Di’s eyes. This made Madam Di very satisfied.
Being afraid was good, for it meant she wouldn’t dare betray her.
Madam Di forcefully pushed Qing Xue to one side. She fell and her elbow hit the floor tile heavily, making a clear “clacking” sound. Qing Xue felt so much pain that her tears flowed, but she bit her lip and dared not make a sound.
“You are useless indeed. I let you stay in the little b*tch’s place for so long, but you haven’t done anything useful. What’s with that matter before? Why was the little b*tch not troubled by the it, but Yuru was!”
Madam Di’s sharp voice travelled out of the silent yard, making the two old maids at the entrance tremble uncontrollably. Since she was detained, Madam Di seemed to have lost more and more patience towards the great family’s madam. The high-pitch voice made her sound like a shrew at the market.
“I don’t know… I did everything you told me. I don’t know why it ended up that way either…” Qing Xue shook her head, her eyes filled with fear and anxiety.
“Useless b*tch!” Madam Di raised her foot and kicked Qing Xue’s leg hard. After venting her anger, she didn’t ask her anymore. Madam Di and Nanny Zhou had long thought this was totally Ning Caixian’s doing. At that time, Madam Di wanted to trap Qin Wanru, and was even willing to cooperate with Ning Caixian secretly. She also hinted that she would agree to the marriage of Ning Caixian and Di Yan.
At that time, Ning Caixian had also promised, but she confronted Qin Yuru later, and it was not difficult to use strategies to shift the blame of trapping Qin Wanru to Qin Yuru.
Thinking about the trouble created by Ning Caixian, Madam Di made audible sounds with her gritting teeth. “Fortunately, the b*tchy girl is dead, or I wouldn’t have let her off.”
Having guessed what Ning Caixian had done, Madam Di didn’t question Qing Xue anymore.
After she got over her wrath, Madam Di caught a glimpse of the slender Huangrui standing on one side and said, “Qing Xue, you will live with Huangrui in the future. She has just arrived in our mansion and doesn’t know the rules here. Help her learn everything. If you behave well, I will give your parents a happier life in the future!”
“Thank you, Madam!” said Qing Xue as she shivered.
“All right, leave!” Madam Di waved her hand.
“Yes!” Qing Xue stood up with difficulty and took steps back gingerly. When she went out, she wiped off the cold sweat on her forehead. Knowing she’d got through her most crucial test, she couldn’t help smiling bitterly, “If I hadn’t answered the way Second Miss taught me to, I am not sure if I’d be standing here now.”
“Madam Di is frighteningly paranoid now. She’s no longer the demure and decent general’s wife anymore!”
“Hi, come with me!” said Huangrui, waving her hand as she came out.
Qing Xue followed her hurriedly.
Huangrui took her to the room on the left at the second wing and pushed open the unlatched door. She walked in first, sat on the large bed in the center, looked Qing Xue up and down several times, raised her head, and said a little haughtily, “You are Qing Xue, the one coming to serve me?”
“I’m here to serve Madam!” Qing Xue looked at the other much smaller bed in the room and said with tranquil eyes.
“Not to serve Madam, we can serve her. You’re here to serve me. At the same time, you need to look for opportunities to take me to the general!” Huangrui said, catching a glimpse of Qing Xue with her flirtatious eyes. The look was very dismissive.
“To serve you?” Qing Xue stared at Huangrui and said, dumbfounded.
“To serve me, of course. Did you think you’ve come to serve Madam? In the current situation, Madam doesn’t need to be served by someone like you!” Huangrui raised her eyes, looked her up and down several times again, and then covered her nose with a handkerchief. “In future, you will live here and only need to serve me during normal hours. If I go out, follow me, and find out more about the general’s schedule!”
“You can even go out?” Qing Xue was more surprised. “The whole Yulan Pavilion has been grounded, but why can the woman before her leave the courtyard?”
Duke Yong’s Mansion had sent two servant girls to serve Madam Di. But she wasn’t clear about this matter.
“Why can’t I? In a few days, Duke Yong’s Mansion will send a batch of herbs here, and I will go and check them and report the information to the general. It is the Old Madam of Duke Yong’s Mansion who sent me here!” said Huangrui haughtily as raised her head. She didn’t look like a woman from a good family.
“You are familiar with everything in the mansion. When you follow me out, you can ask others if necessary, and you can deal with trouble if there is any. Don’t worry, after the thing is done, it will be very advantageous for you. If Madam doesn’t give you enough, I will give reward you handsomely!”
In her opinion, her condition was very generous. Being favored? That was sure. As long as she could see Qin Huaiyong more often, she wouldn’t need to spend much energy seducing the Ningyuan Army General. Why was she chosen by the Old Madam of Duke Yong’s Mansion and sent to Ningyuan Army General’s Mansion? Yes, she was outstanding indeed.
With her methods, it was not so difficult to make a man fall for her. For what she’d learned was the skill of seducing men.
“Yes!” Qing Xue lowered her head, looking much more respectful and obedient, but she pursed her lips silently. “If the woman before me can go out, that’s good enough. But to follow and serve her? She can dream on!”
She was a principal maid. In public, she would never serve the woman before her.
But now, she wouldn’t tell her frankly. She would know that after she has suffered.
Thinking that she was successful in persuading Qing Xue, Huangrui pointed to the small bed and said, “You sleep there. If I need anything later, you can get it for me. Treat me as a mistress and you will be rewarded!”
“Yes!” Qing Xue didn’t defy her at all and answered gently, showing no trace of embarrassment on her face. This made Huangrui happier. She stood up, walked to the dressing table, picked up a hairpin casually, and handed it to Qing Xue. “Take it, this is your first reward. If you obey me, you will get more of such things!”
A gold hairpin on their first meeting. How generous of her!
Being self-assured, she used the strategy of combining kindness and harshness. This practice was familiar to Qing Xue, who was also trained like this before…