“But I bet she won’t dare eat it; she’ll probably take the opportunity to bite me back.”
Xie Wanning’s words made Chunhuan exclaim “Ah!” and ask doubtfully, “Miss, why are you still sending it?”
Xie Wanning raised her eyebrows slightly, “Of course I’m sending it. This is the list she sent to Concubine Liu. I’ll just change the order and see if she dares to bite me back.”
If she dared to send the things, she would definitely have a way to get away unscathed. Whether she ate them or not, this matter would be blown up.
As for Xie Wanrou, if Concubine Liu found out that her difficult childbirth was because she ate these things from Xie Wanrou, she definitely wouldn’t let it go.
Concubine Liu was the favored concubine who became pregnant before Xie Wanrou entered the household. After Xie Wanrou entered the mansion, Concubine Liu lost favor.
Originally, she had a child in her womb to rely on, but the child was too big and she died in the womb. She also damaged her health and found it difficult to conceive.
These were originally secrets of the Xiao family’s inner quarters, but her stepmother had found out all of these things very carefully before her marriage, saving her a lot of trouble.
If there hadn’t been no other choice, her stepmother wouldn’t have let her marry into the Xiao family, this hellhole. But her father, driven by greed, dared not offend the Xiao family, and even with a concubine’s daughter already as a mistress, he insisted on this marriage.
“Miss, someone’s here.”
Chunhuan heard the commotion and went to the door first.
It was Granny Qi from last night, who had come to the courtyard with several maids.
After Chunhuan got the details, she went in to ask Xie Wanning for instructions.
“Miss, Granny Qi has come with her maids, saying that the Madam gave them to you, and she wants you to choose.”
Hearing this, Xie Wanning was slightly taken aback.
“Hongye…”
she called out subconsciously. Chunhuan didn’t hear her clearly at first. “What did you say, Miss?”
Her voice brought Xie Wanning back to her senses. She looked up at the door and said in a light tone, “Since it’s a maid my mother-in-law sent for me, I should go and see her.”
Seeing that she was really going to get up to go see, Chunhuan immediately became anxious. “Miss, didn’t our madam say before we came that if someone sends people to our courtyard, you should refuse them if you can? They might just be someone’s spy.”
Xie Wanning said, “Xiaohuan, my stepmother did say that, but we have to be flexible. We can’t refuse them all. We have to keep a few.”
Especially the beautiful ones, the ones with a bit of charm, we have to keep them by our side to ward off Xiao Chengli, that evil spirit.
And we have to keep the ones my mother-in-law sent, because Hongye is among them.
In her previous life, Hongye was chosen by her by chance, but Hongye was very loyal to her and knew a little bit of martial arts. With her, she could accomplish a lot.
In her previous life, she also died for her.
In this life, she would never repeat the same mistake; she was determined to get her hands on Hongye’s indenture.
Xie Wanning gave Chunhuan some instructions, and Chunhuan nodded, then silently moved a stool and followed behind her.
Xie Wanning walked to the corridor and stood down, and Chunhuan immediately put down the stool so she could sit properly.
She looked around at everyone and immediately spotted the most inconspicuous Hongye in the crowd.
“Granny Qi, are these all maids sent by my mother-in-law?”
Granny Qi asked respectfully. “Yes, when Madam heard that you took the wrong road this morning, she immediately dispatched maids familiar with the household to serve you. It’s all my fault for forgetting and not arranging servants for you earlier. It’s all my fault for not arranging things properly, please punish me, young mistress.”
Xie Wan Ning glanced at her. “Granny Qi, you’re too kind. You’re someone close to my mother-in-law, so you should naturally follow her arrangements.”
Granny Qi naturally knew that Xie Wan Ning wouldn’t dare to punish her, and that she was just going through the motions. She felt a surge of smugness and immediately added, “These were all assigned by Madam. Please see if there are any you don’t like, and I’ll take them away immediately.”
If she said she didn’t like any of the maids assigned by her mother-in-law, wouldn’t that be criticizing her mother-in-law?
This old servant was just as cunning as she had been in her previous life.
“My mother-in-law is so good to me, sending so many people to serve me all at once. She really cares about me.”
Xie Wan Ning’s face was beaming with joy, but then she looked at her with annoyance, “Granny Qi, is there a fixed number of servants for each household in our Marquis’s mansion? My family sent a few as part of my dowry, but it seems my mother-in-law has sent quite a few as well. Will there be enough room?”
Seeing her like this, Granny Qi thought she was easy to fool, thinking that the servants she sent were all clever and that a few would be enough.
Moreover, since Xie Wan Ning had asked about the number of servants, she couldn’t insist on keeping them all.
“Young Madam, you are the eldest daughter-in-law of the eldest branch, and your household can use a total of twelve servants. If you think it’s not enough, you can make an exception and choose two more.”
“Choose whichever ones you like to serve.”
“Okay, since Granny Qi has said so, then I’ll choose.”
Hearing this, Granny Qi was about to respond when she heard Xie Wan Ning say, “Xiao Huan, go to Granny Qi and get the indenture.”
“Indenture?” Granny Qi looked puzzled.
Chunhuan nodded. “Granny, weren’t these maids a gift to the young mistress? With contracts in place, if they upset the young mistress, she can punish them herself, without having to trouble you, Madam.”
“These were sent by Madam…”
Before Granny Qi could finish, Chunhuan interrupted, “Yes, those sent by Madam must have contracts in place. Could it be that none of them have contracts?”
“Oh dear, Granny, you must be clear about this. You can’t just beat or scold maids without contracts in place. If someone complains, you’ll face legal trouble.” ”
What? No contracts in place?”
Xie Wanning feigned surprise and immediately said, “Granny, I dare not use maids without contracts in place. What if… what if I sometimes have a bad temper and punish them too harshly? It would be difficult to explain later.”
Granny Qi immediately said, “Of course they have contracts in place. These are all from respectable families, and there are no problems with their contracts.”
“Oh, that’s good.”
Xie Wanning patted her chest, looking relieved, and said, “Then I’ll pick one, and you can give the indenture to Chunhuan, so she
doesn’t have to look at them one by one.” Upon hearing this, Granny Qi felt like she’d been put on a pedestal. She did have an indenture, but the Madam had said it couldn’t be given away easily.
Seeing Xie Wanning’s attitude, she knew that if she said she didn’t have one,
Xie Wanning could ask the Madam for it. So, Granny Qi had no choice but to grit her teeth and give it to her.
Xie Wanning picked two slightly attractive women, two older women, and finally chose Hongye.
Chunhuan looked at each indenture carefully, putting them away cautiously. The others weren’t important; Hongye’s indenture was what mattered.
Xie Wanning had chosen her, and since she had spies among them, Granny Qi didn’t say anything more and left.
Xie Wanning looked at the people before her with satisfaction, pointing to the two beautiful women and saying, “From now on, you’ll be called Liuying, and you’ll be called Feiyue. Your old names are no longer needed; use the new ones I’ve chosen.”
Liu Ying and Fei Yue exchanged a glance, both wanting to refuse, but then they heard Xie Wan Ning say, “The name complements the beauty perfectly, I think the husband will like it.”
Upon hearing this, Liu Ying and Fei Yue immediately beamed with joy and bowed obsequiously to express their gratitude, “Thank you for bestowing the name upon me, young mistress.”
The two maids exchanged a glance, thinking to themselves, “Oh no. ”