“Eldest Young Miss, you’re finally back,” Nanny Zhu said sarcastically. “You were out all night—have you gone to pay respect to the Old Madam yet?”
Gu Zhizhuo replied condescendingly, “I return to my own home—since when does a servant like you have the right to comment?”
“You…”
“You, what you!” Gu Zhizhuo sneered coldly. “A servant daring to point fingers at her mistress—is this how the Old Madam taught you?”
Nanny Zhu was choked into silence and hastily withdrew her hand.
Gu Zhizhuo strode straight ahead.
Behind her, Nanny Zhu said heavily, “This servant will report every single word of yours to the Old Madam.”
Ah, as expected—off to complain again. The same old routine.
Gu Zhizhuo stopped in her tracks. Nanny Zhu thought she was frightened, her lips curling high as she waited for her to admit fault.
However, instead of an apology, all she heard was, “Oh right, Nanny Zhu—since you’re so fond of Ruihuang, remember to take her with you when you leave. On the way, you two can talk, discuss properly, and think carefully about how you plan to file your complaint. Just don’t disturb the peace of my courtyard.”
With a flick of her sleeve, she ordered, “See them out!”
Nanny Zhu was trembling with rage, forcing the words out through gritted teeth: “Eldest Young Miss, this servant will take her leave!”
After saying that, she walked away with a dark expression, her footsteps heavy, expressing her displeasure.
Ruihuang was dumbfounded, her mouth half open in shock.
Was Young Miss trying to kick her out?
Gu Zhizhuo’s gaze swept over the servants in the courtyard. Most of them were in a state of shock and confusion, and some even cast cautious glances at Ruihuang’s expression.
Sigh.
Gu Zhizhuo found it rather dull.
It wasn’t just the manor—she couldn’t even bring the people in her own courtyard under her control.
How truly useless her former self had been.
In her previous life, when the young master was still alive, he had once taught her: It is indeed difficult for anyone to be perfect; one must simply make allowances and make use of their strengths.
Qiongfang was loyal, but her temperament was too soft and overly obedient. She was a good girl, but she couldn’t keep people in line. Having her manage all the affairs and personnel in this courtyard, both big and small, was truly putting her in a difficult position.
“Qingmei, you’ll take charge of the courtyard.”
Ah—ah? Qingmei froze for a moment.
It was her first time acting as a secret agent, and on her very first day, she had actually managed to become the target’s trusted confidant?
No!
Did Eldest Young Miss Gu still remember that she was from the Eastern Depot?
Gu Zhizhuo patted her on the shoulder and said with a cheerful smile, “From now on, the entire courtyard will be entrusted to you.”
“You’ve got me backing you up.”
Her words landed with a resounding weight.
“Let’s see whether I, a Gu, can truly be the master of you Gu family’s household-born servants.”
Ruihuang’s heart felt as if it had been fiercely wrenched. She blurted out, “Young Miss!”—only to find that Gu Zhizhuo had already gone inside with Qiongfang, as if completely unconcerned with everything happening outside.
She felt a subtle sense of unease.
Qingmei: “……”
Alright then, the Duzhu had sent her here to serve the young miss as a maid.
So she would just do her job properly.
Qingmei stood under the corridor, smiling softly.
Most of the maids and older female servants were in a state of shock and confusion. In Lingxiao Courtyard, Qiongfang and Ruihuang were the head maids. Qiongfang always stayed by the young miss’s side, never leaving her for a moment, while Ruihuang had always been in charge of everything in the courtyard, big or small.
But now this was…
Was the sky about to change[mfn]要变天了 (yào biàn tiān le) Figurative Meaning:
-A major change is coming.
-Often used in political, social, or dramatic contexts to indicate: A shift in power, an upheaval, or a turning point in events.
It’s highly metaphorical, like saying “the heavens are about to ”overturn”—implying that the current order or situation will be disrupted.[/mfn]?
“What are you staring at!” Ruihuang strode up to her, putting on a fierce front to hide her weakness. “I was given by Madam!”
“This Lingxiao Courtyard is not a place where a little wench of dubious origin like you can give orders.”
Qingmei smiled innocently: “Ruihuang Jiejie, what did you just call me?”
She was so delicate and gentle, like someone easy to bully.
Ruihuang, feeling emboldened, lifted her chin and said, “Little wench!”
Before she could even finish speaking, Qingmei swung her hand and delivered a hard slap, making her stagger and nearly fall.
Ruihuang covered her face, furious. “How dare you!”
Qingmei asked in a soft voice, “Ruihuang Jiejie, what did you just call me?”
“Little—”
Ruihuang was about to curse again.
Qingmei rubbed her knuckles, smiling brightly as she looked at her.
The gesture was so intimidating that Ruihuang swallowed the rest of her words, choking so badly she almost coughed. “Y-you… What do you want to do?”
Qingmei casually pointed at the rough servant women below her. “Throw her out.”
Even as she spoke these three words, Qingmei’s tone remained gentle and mild.
The rough servant women looked at each other, each pondering her own thoughts.
The maids in the courtyard cautiously took half a step back.
Ruihuang lifted her chin proudly. She’s Madam’s person! In this manor, who would dare lay a hand on her?
Everyone’s expressions were reflected in Qingmei’s dark pupils.
Oh?
Qingmei drew the long black whip hidden at her waist. With a whoosh, she cracked it against the ground, sending a small stone flying and splitting it in two.
The servants all flinched back; if that whip were to land on them, it would surely tear their skin and flesh.
Qingmei then tossed a silver ingot, which rolled quickly to the feet of several of the rough servant women.
One of them swallowed hard.
For rough servant women like them, who earned the lowest monthly wages in the manor, this single silver ingot was worth as much as half a year of their pay.
A whip, or silver.
No one in their right mind would need to make a choice.
A red-faced servant woman acted the fastest, lunging to snatch the silver ingot from the ground. Without waiting for Qingmei to say a word, she raised her large sweeping broom and swung it straight at Ruihuang.
Dust and dried leaves from the broom clung all over Ruihuang’s body.
“Shoo! Shoo, shoo!”
She looked just like someone shooing away stray cats and dogs.
“Aaahhh! How dare you! I’ll report this to Madam—ah!” Ruihuang screamed again and again. She kept dodging frantically but was still forced step by step toward the courtyard gate.
The red-faced servant woman gave her a shove and pushed her out, then swiftly shut the courtyard gate.
Outside, Ruihuang kept pounding on the door, shouting and cursing nonstop.
The red-faced servant woman turned a deaf ear and looked at Qingmei with an ingratiating expression.
Qingmei stood there, smiling brightly: “Everyone behave yourselves. Do what you’re supposed to. If you disturb Young Miss’s rest—you’ll regret it!”
She pointed her whip at them as she spoke, her tone gentle and pleasant, as if she were the easiest person in the world to talk to.
Qingmei smoothed her skirt and stepped lightly into the room.
Before she could speak, Qiongfang made a gesture for her to be quiet.
Gu Zhizhuo was leaning against the beauty couch, rubbing her forehead, looking somewhat weary.
“It’s fine, go ahead and speak.”
Gu Zhizhuo took the teacup that Qiongfang handed her, sipping the warm water slowly.
Qingmei said briskly, “Young Miss, I’ve sent them away.”
She recounted everything that had happened. Gu Zhizhuo couldn’t help but smile. Clapping her hands, she said, “It’s settled then. I’m leaving everything here in your hands. If there’s ever anything you’re unsure about, you can ask Qiongfang.”
Qingmei: “……”
Was Eldest Young Miss Gu really this unassuming?
Even Qiongfang was nodding, smiling without a trace of scheming—does she really not feel that she, just arriving, has already taken her place?
Qingmei could only say, “Okay.”
She always felt that her role as a secret agent… somehow felt a little off.
Before she could think it through, Gu Zhizhuo, sounding a little weary, said, “I’ll rest for a bit.”
Her legs felt weak; as soon as she stood, she staggered and had to lean against the folding screen.
“Young Miss.” Qiongfang quickly steadied her and gently pressed the back of her hand to her forehead. The burning heat made Qiongfang startle.
Ever since she had coughed up that mouthful of blood last night, she’d been running a slight fever. It hadn’t been serious at first, but shortly after leaving Baiji Hall, Gu Zhizhuo noticed her temperature was rising, the fever growing more intense.
She waved her hand. “Boil the medicine we brought back for me. I’ll take it when I wake up.”
She let Qiongfang help her back to her room and lay down the moment she hit the bed.
As her consciousness drifted into a haze, Gu Zhizhuo couldn’t help but think—
In her previous life, she’d developed a fever and fallen into unconsciousness.
In this life, it was the same.
Sigh, she knew it—there was no escaping this illness after all.
Gu Zhizhuo slept for several hours, woke up once in the middle to drink the medicine, then fell asleep again.
It wasn’t until the sun was high in the sky the next day that her fever finally broke. Sweat had soaked through her underclothes, clinging damply to her skin, making her feel sticky and uncomfortable.
Qiongfang had already prepared hot water.
After washing up and changing into a fresh set of clothes, Gu Zhizhuo immediately felt much more comfortable.
There wasn’t a small kitchen in the courtyard, but porridge was simmering on a red clay stove, accompanied by a few side dishes Qiongfang had bought from Shanbiju.
The moment Gu Zhizhuo woke up, Qiongfang had already set the meal on the round table.
Gu Zhizhuo sipped her porridge with the side dishes. Warmth filled her stomach, and she narrowed her eyes in contentment.
Smiling sweetly from the side, Qingmei stepped forward and proactively reported:
“Miss, I’ve reassigned Old Woman Jiang to take care of the flowers and plants.”
Old Woman Jiang was the very one who had chased Ruihuang out with a broom earlier.
Gu Zhizhuo took a spoonful of porridge and slowly swallowed it.
These rough servant women did the most menial chores—sweeping the courtyard, cleaning the rooms, washing clothes… The work was exhausting, and their monthly pay was meager.
With this reassignment, Qingmei instantly made her from a rough servant woman to a stewardess-type maid. Not only did her monthly allowance increase, but her work also became lighter, and she even gained a couple of junior maids to command.
Such a small promotion was enough to make the other servants envious.
Gu Zhizhuo praised her: “Well done.”
The courtyard’s staff was extensive; a complete reshuffle from top to bottom would be far too disruptive—and entirely unnecessary.
Especially these rough servant women—they had little connection to the higher-ranking stewardesses of the household; otherwise, they wouldn’t still be stuck doing menial chores at their age.
Showing them the benefits of “obedience” was enough to make them comply.
Qingmei smiled adorably and added:
“The second-class maids in the courtyard have now split into two factions. Sishi and Qingwei are convinced that Ruihuang will return, while Xuezhong and Chunxin have begun currying favor with me.”
“After Old Woman Jiang was reassigned to manage the flowers and plants, all the rough servant women turned red-eyed. I had Chunxin let slip that Young Miss intended to select two more rough servant women to oversee the small storerooms.”
“This time, all those rough servant women came over to show their loyalty to me.”
Gu Zhizhuo smiled softly.
This girl Qingmei was like dangling a carrot in front of a donkey[mfn]a metaphor for tempting someone with a reward[/mfn]—if they wanted it, they’d have to fight and scramble for it themselves.
Gu Zhizhuo found it amusing. She ate two bowls of porridge in a row, drank a bowl of medicine, and then went back to sleep.
When she woke again, the fatigue had vanished from her face. Looking at her pale complexion flushed with pink in the bronze mirror, Gu Zhizhuo checked her own pulse.
She quietly felt her pulse and asked, “Has my older brother replied?”
“Not yet.”
Gu Zhizhuo asked again, “Any news from the capital in the past few days?”
Qiongfang was obedient. Before Gu Zhizhuo fell into a deep sleep, she had told her to get out of the mansion more often, so she had been visiting teahouses, taverns, and the like, picking up plenty of gossip from the streets and alleys.
When Gu Zhizhuo asked, she said, “I heard them say that during his seclusion, Qingping Zhenren of Taiqing Temple cast a divination. The hexagram indicated that a fated blessed woman would appear in the Da Qi Country…”
