Granny Qin led the way, with the two maids following behind her. Qiaoniang and the other two girls could not help trailing after them. Even the four male servants craned their necks to see what was happening, but after being lectured earlier about the difference between men and women, they did not dare approach.
Inside the large shared sleeping quarters, Li Xiaoxiao lay peacefully on the bed, fast asleep. Seeing this, Granny Qin’s anger surged.
“Li Xiaoxiao!”
There was no response.
With a cold snort, Granny Qin swung the long whip in her hand without hesitation. It cut through the air with a heavy whoosh.
This time, she was determined to lash her until her skin was torn and bloody. Only then would she learn her lesson.
The long whip was only inches away from striking Li Xiaoxiao when a hand suddenly shot up and caught it. With a forceful tug, Granny Qin felt an enormous strength travel through the whip. She had no time to let go before her entire body was flung into the air like a kite gone out of control, crashing heavily onto the shared bed with a loud bang.
Before Granny Qin could even cry out in pain, a hand clamped around her throat. Someone was already straddling her, squeezing her neck so tightly that her breath was cut off. Her face quickly flushed crimson, her eyes bulged, and terror filled her gaze as though death itself were staring her in the face.
Her legs kicked wildly as she struggled, both hands clawing desperately at the hand around her neck. Beads of sweat rolled down her forehead.
When her terrified gaze met a pair of eyes as deep as the sea, she froze. They were cold and merciless, filled with thick killing intent.
Er Niu, who had witnessed everything, let out a scream.
“Li Xiaoxiao, let go!”
A trace of confusion flashed through Li Xiaoxiao’s dark eyes. Then she shook her head, and her consciousness finally returned.
Looking at Granny Qin, whom she had nearly strangled to death, she released her grip. At the same time, she grabbed Granny Qin by the collar, lifted her entire body, and shoved her directly into the two maids.
Granny Qin slammed heavily into the two maids, nearly knocking them over. At least she could breathe fresh air again. Bending over, she coughed violently, her eyes fixed on Li Xiaoxiao, her face still filled with terror.
The two maids hurriedly helped Granny Qin up.
“Granny Qin, how are you?”
“Granny Qin, are you all right?”
Er Niu quickly poured a cup of cold tea that had been left overnight and handed it to Granny Qin. She drank several mouthfuls of the cheap, coarse tea before finally managing to stop coughing.
Everyone in the room had their eyes fixed on Li Xiaoxiao.
Li Xiaoxiao was holding Granny Qin’s whip. She glanced at it.
“Is this yours?”
Granny Qin was still coughing too hard to speak, and the two maids could not help taking two steps back as they supported her.
They had never seen anyone with such strength before.
Li Xiaoxiao threw the whip directly onto the ground.
“Don’t attack me while I’m sleeping. I used to work in a mine, so I have a heavy hand.”
In the enormous shared sleeping quarters, Li Xiaoxiao sat on the bed with one leg raised in front of her and the other hanging down to the floor. Her expression was calm and showed little emotion, and she looked incredibly relaxed. Meanwhile, near the doorway on the other side, Granny Qin, the two maids, Er Niu, Qiaoniang, and everyone else who had followed to watch the commotion were all struck speechless by Li Xiaoxiao’s imposing presence.
Granny Qin opened her mouth, only to discover that she could not make a sound. Her throat hurt terribly. She had already realized what had happened, and her eyes seemed to spit fire.
She shoved away the maid supporting her, bent down to pick up the whip from the ground, and was just about to lash Li Xiaoxiao again when someone hurried over.
“Granny Qin, Steward Zhao from the county office sent word that the people must be delivered today.”
Granny Qin froze. She had no time to be angry, but when she tried to speak, her voice came out like a torn bellows. She could not even force out a proper sound. After stamping her foot in frustration, she finally managed to squeeze out a sentence.
“Go find Wei Yingjie.”
She shot Li Xiaoxiao a vicious glare before turning and leaving.
Li Xiaoxiao rubbed her forehead and got to her feet, following the others outside. They had only just gathered in the courtyard when Wei Yingjie hurried over after receiving the news and went straight to Granny Qin.
“Why was it suddenly moved up? Wasn’t it supposed to be tomorrow?”
Granny Qin could not speak and could only shake her head.
Wei Yingjie noticed the three reddish finger marks around her neck and stared in surprise.
“Granny Qin, what happened to you?”
With no way to explain, Granny Qin had a maid bring her a brush. She quickly wrote a sentence and handed it to Wei Yingjie.
He read it and sighed.
“You can’t even speak, so naturally I can’t have you go. All right, I’ll take the people over myself. Hopefully, things work out this time.”
Granny Qin clenched her fists and glared viciously at Li Xiaoxiao. She had better pray that the magistrate’s wife chose her. Otherwise, she had plenty of ways to properly deal with this little wretch!
She wrote another sentence and handed it to Wei Yingjie.
His eyes widened as he read it.
“This…”
A sharp glint flashed through Granny Qin’s eyes.
Wei Yingjie glanced at Li Xiaoxiao without revealing anything, then sighed.
“Fine. You’ll owe me this favor.”
Granny Qin nodded.
Wei Yingjie straightened his hat and turned to face everyone.
“You originally had another day to familiarize yourselves with the etiquette Granny Qin taught you. Tomorrow, I was going to take you to the residence of the noble who would be selecting servants. Unfortunately, the schedule has been moved up. We’ll be leaving for the county magistrate’s residence shortly.
“Keep your wits about you. Once you enter, if no one tells you to speak, keep your mouths firmly shut. If the noble asks you a question, say as little as possible. Not a single unnecessary word. Above all, do not be disrespectful or say anything you shouldn’t. Otherwise, if you anger the noble, when you return, I’ll pull out every last one of your tendons, one by one. Do you understand?”
Everyone trembled in fear.
“Y-yes, we understand.”
Wei Yingjie snorted.
“Follow me.”
He took the lead, with the servants arranged in two lines behind him, the men in one and the women in the other. A matron followed on each side, while two burly men brought up the rear. The group of twenty or thirty people proceeded toward the county office in a grand procession.
Li Xiaoxiao was at the very back of the women’s line. They followed Wei Yingjie through several twists and turns before the view suddenly opened up.
They had reached the main street.
The road was lined with all kinds of shops. Pedestrians came and went, shop assistants called out to attract customers, and people stopped from time to time to eat, drink, or make purchases. The entire street was bustling with activity.
It was so lively!
Li Xiaoxiao felt as though her eyes could hardly take everything in. As they passed a restaurant, her stomach suddenly growled loudly. She had slept for so long that she had not had a single drop of water or bite of food all morning, and she was starving.
But no matter how hungry she was, she could not leave the line to buy anything. All she could do was continue following the group.
Before long, a tall building with vermilion gates appeared ahead. Li Xiaoxiao recognized the character “county” on the sign.
If she had guessed correctly, this was the county office.
Wei Yingjie led them into a small alley on the left and continued forward until they reached a side entrance at the back of the county office. He knocked on the door and gave his name. Someone soon came over, opened the door, and motioned for them to enter.
Wei Yingjie turned around and quietly warned them again not to raise their heads or look around. Only then did he respectfully lead the way into the rear courtyard of the county office.
Although they were not allowed to raise their heads or look around, the servants, with their heads lowered, still secretly took in their surroundings from the corners of their eyes.
Compared with the broker’s courtyard, the rear courtyard of the county office was obviously much larger and more beautiful.
After entering through the side door, they walked into the very center of a courtyard house. Wei Yingjie hurried back and forth, arranging them into orderly rows. Everyone had to keep their heads slightly lowered, look straight ahead, and refrain from looking around.
Once the lines were arranged, Wei Yingjie straightened his collar, put a professional smile on his face, clasped his hands inside his sleeves, and waited to one side.
Before long, a person came walking over from the covered corridor. Wei Yingjie eagerly went up to greet him and supported him by the arm.
“Steward Zhao, you’ve worked hard. Even in this scorching June weather, you still have to make the trip back and forth.”
Steward Zhao was in his forties and had a beard growing along his chin. A pale blue headcloth was wrapped around his head. He wore a plain gauze, cross-collared, knee-length robe and black flat-soled shoes, giving him a capable appearance.
“Boss Wei, you’re too polite. Making you come early in this hot weather was truly because the residence is short-handed and we couldn’t manage the work otherwise.”
Wei Yingjie was delighted. From Steward Zhao’s meaning, it seemed that they would definitely be able to sell some servants today. He bent his waist even lower.
“Steward Zhao, please. Today I brought every servant from the brokerage house. All of them have clean backgrounds. In particular, many refugees have arrived these past few days. Although they look a little haggard right now, once they get a little rest—”
His voice gradually faded as Steward Zhao’s expression became somewhat serious.
As someone who had been in the business for years, Wei Yingjie was quick to catch on. Perhaps Steward Zhao had reservations about the refugees. He immediately changed the subject.
“All the candidates are here. Please select whichever ones you like, Steward Zhao.”
Steward Zhao’s expression had indeed become unpleasant when he heard the word “refugees,” but after thinking for a moment, he still shook his head. In the end, he was only a servant himself and had no power to influence his master’s decisions.
He asked Wei Yingjie, “About what I mentioned to you last time, are there any literate people among them?”
Wei Yingjie paused, lowered his gaze, and said quietly, “There aren’t. Literate people are difficult to find.”
Steward Zhao sighed. Indeed, literate servants were difficult to come by. He raised his voice.
“Come here.”
A little girl of around ten, with her hair tied into two small buns, immediately came over.
“What do you need, Steward Zhao?”
Steward Zhao recognized her as Granny Qi’s granddaughter, Liu Zhi.
“Go to the inner courtyard and invite Granny Qi over. Tell her the people from the brokerage house have arrived and ask her to come out and choose a few.”
Liu Zhi acknowledged him and briskly ran into the inner courtyard.
Not long after, a woman in her forties followed behind her. It was indeed Granny Qi. She came forward.
“Steward Zhao, the people have arrived?”
Steward Zhao acknowledged her and pointed at the people standing in the courtyard.
“They’re all here. Choose a few that look suitable to you first, then take them inside for Madam to select.”
This was the initial screening. Granny Qi acknowledged him and carefully examined the female servants who stood with their heads half lowered, not daring to look at anyone.
In the end, she pointed at several people.
“You, you, you, and you. Step out for a moment.”
Er Niu’s hands were tightly twisted together, and her face flushed bright red. Of the four people who had shared the same sleeping quarters, only Li Xiaoxiao had been selected.
Even Wei Yingjie’s expression changed. He had deliberately concealed the fact that Li Xiaoxiao was literate, yet she had still been selected?
Li Xiaoxiao was the last one called. She stepped forward and stood in a row with the other three girls.
Granny Qi asked each of them their names and ages, then asked what kind of work they were good at.
The first girl answered timidly, “My name is Yao Daya. I’m twelve years old. I can wash clothes, cook, clean, and grow vegetables.”
The second girl also answered timidly, “My name is Li Sanni. There are too many sisters in my family, so my mother sent me out to work. I can wash clothes, cook, and clean too.”
The third girl said, “My name is Chen Sier. I’m fourteen years old. I can do everything my two younger sisters can do. I can also mend clothes. Whenever the clothes at home were torn, I was the one who mended them.”
It was Li Xiaoxiao’s turn. Wei Yingjie’s expression was complicated. He did not know whether he wanted her to be selected or rejected. Thinking of the favor Granny Qin had asked him to do, he hesitated.
Li Xiaoxiao said, “My name is Li Xiaoxiao. I’m fifteen years old. I used to work in a mine.”
All the girls knew little more than household chores and mending, yet she knew how to work in a mine? Granny Qi immediately turned her attention to Li Xiaoxiao.
“How does a girl like you know how to work in a mine?”
…
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