Qin Rusu covered her lips with a light laugh: "I spoke a bit too plainly, but you've never served before these people, so you wouldn't know—men of power are all like that. That's why I'm worried that Ruyi and Fen'er might gain the upper hand."
"But this was an order from the Lord himself. What can we do about it?"
"Sister really isn't worried at all. If Ruyi and Fen'er truly gain the upper hand, how would you feel about it?"
"I have nothing to feel about it. I'm merely a maidservant. I just need to do my duty well; everything else is none of my concern." Xu Yu rose and sat down at the table, filled a bowl of millet rice, and took small mouthfuls.
This millet rice was coarse in texture—truly no comparison to the fine millet rice they'd had at noon or the baked flatbread that morning, let alone the difference in the dishes.
Qin Rusu sat down across from her and also filled a bowl of rice. Holding her bowl, she said, "I'd rather it be you, Sister. You're prettier than they are, and besides, hasn't the Lord always treated you with particular closeness? Who knows what he's thinking this time. Oh well, just as you said, everything is the Lord's will—there's no use thinking about it. Let's eat."
Xu Yu glanced at her and silently added some dishes to her rice.
Could Lord Nie really be as lecherous and vulgar as Qin Rusu claimed? She truly couldn't picture Lord Nie that way, and she didn't want Lord Nie to be that kind of person.
The bed in the bedroom was far warmer and more comfortable than the floor pallet outside in the main hall. She thought for a while, decided that Lord Nie wasn't that kind of person, and fell peacefully asleep.
Early the next morning, while Ruyi and Fen'er were still inside attending to the washing and dressing, Xu Yu stood waiting at the door.
As she waited, a burst of talking and laughter suddenly came from outside. Xu Yu looked over, then walked toward the courtyard gate, where she saw a steward standing at the entrance.
The steward spotted her at once, his face full of fawning smiles: "If it isn't Madam Xu? It's been so long—you've grown ever more radiant and lovely."
This steward was the one who managed the maidservants of the inner courtyard of the villa, and also the one who had supervised her kneeling punishment in the snow last time. Xu Yu had no good impression of this man and turned to leave.
"Madam Xu!" the steward called out, smiling. "I've come today to distribute the monthly wages. Could you announce me?"
Xu Yu paused and looked back at him. "Wait a moment."
She hurried toward the small lodge and happened to run into Qizhang. "Qizhang, Steward Wang is here to distribute the monthly wages. He asked me to announce him."
"Wait here—I'll go tell the Lord." Qizhang, always wearing that smiling expression, hurried inside and just as quickly came back out. "The Lord says I'm to take you all to collect it. Let's go."
"Yes." Xu Yu followed.
Qizhang called out a few times into the courtyard, then chatted with her pleasantly as they walked: "I've been running errands outside this whole while. How have things been for you here? Has anyone been giving you a hard time?"
She shook her head lightly. "No. The Lord is fair and strict—no one dares bully others under his nose."
"I told you the Lord is very easy to get along with. Just work here with peace of mind, and if you ever run into any difficulties, you can come talk to me."
"Thank you."
"That's the steward over there, isn't it? Go collect your wages."
Xu Yu nodded slightly and walked slowly toward Steward Wang.
Steward Wang's face was all smiles. "How have you been lately, Madam Xu?"
"Weren't you here to distribute the monthly wages? Just give me mine."
"Why must you be so upset, madam? About what happened that day, if anyone should bear your anger, it shouldn't be me. I had no choice in the matter. Here I kneel to apologize and beg you not to take it to heart." Steward Wang bowed deeply.
Xu Yu naturally knew the fault didn't lie with her, but she had no liking for such fawning opportunists, and said flatly, "There's no need for all this."
Steward Wang rose with a smile and beckoned to the maidservant who had followed him. He took a string of coins from the tray and handed it to her with both hands. "This is your monthly allowance, madam—one thousand coins in all. Please count it and see if there's any mistake."
She was stunned. When she had worked here before, she'd received only three hundred coins a month. Now that she was here, the work was easier and the lodging better—and her monthly pay had actually doubled?
Steward Wang studied her expression. "Do you have some question, madam?"
"Nothing. It's all there. I have things to attend to, so I'll be going." She tucked the money into her sleeve and hurried back. Walking all the way to her quarters, she took out the string of coins and put it in the cabinet before she couldn't help but smile.
One thousand coins—her sister and brother-in-law's combined monthly pay came to only a little over a thousand, and that was before food and expenses. Now she could earn a full thousand coins here, with room and board included.
That thousand coins could be exchanged for ten shi of grain—enough to feed a family of three for two or three months. And this wasn't a one-time reward, here today and gone tomorrow. It would come every month.
Overjoyed, she put the money away and headed cheerfully toward the main hall.
Ruyi and Fen'er were just coming out of the hall. They gave a slight bow. "Big Sister, the master has gone into the study. You should hurry."
"Thank you. Steward Wang is handing out monthly pay at the courtyard gate—go collect yours quickly."
Ruyi and Fen'er immediately lit up with joy and hurried off toward the gate.
Xu Yu couldn't help feeling happy herself. Smiling, she knocked on the study door. Seeing Nie Huiming reading, she approached quietly and knelt beside the inkstone.
"What has you so happy?"
As she ground the ink, she said brightly, "We got our monthly pay."
"How much did you get?" Nie Huiming asked with a smile.
She looked up, beaming. "One thousand coins. I must thank you, my lord. I used to get only three hundred a month. If you hadn't specifically asked for me to come here, I'd never be earning this much."
"This was given to you by the estate, not by me. What use is thanking me? Go—open the first drawer of the cabinet on the left."
Xu Yu rose in bewilderment.
Nie Huiming continued, "Take a string of coins, and then come thank me."