Chapter 40: The All-Rounded Maid Yuzhu

  Xu Shangshu endured the discomfort in his heart and continued to comfort Mrs. Xu, expending a great deal of effort before finally managing to coax a smile from her.

  Madam Xü took the opportunity to propose that the slaves in Feicui Garden and Songfeng Courtyard not be replaced, as they were people she had cultivated for a long time and she was reluctant to see them being sold off like that.

  Xu Ruoyi hadn't replied yet when the butler came to report: "The human tooth has already entered the mansion."

  Xu Ruoyi let out a sigh of relief and said, "You see, the person has already arrived, it's not possible to let them make a trip for nothing. How about this, since you're not willing to sell those slaves, just keep them for yourself and use them well. Buy some new ones for Jin'er and Xuan'er instead."

  Mrs. Xü thought, why not just sell it then? Those people were originally arranged to monitor the two courtyards, now they've been driven out, what's the use of keeping them? Mrs. Xü anxiously thought of a countermeasure, but Xu Ruoyi had already patted his butt and left. When Mrs. Xü came up with a plan, she looked up and saw that Xu Ruoyi was nowhere to be seen.

  Mrs. Xu was so angry that she almost gnashed her teeth.

  Xu Mingjin found out that Xu Ruoyi was going to replace her and the servants in Mingxuan courtyard with new ones when she saw a group of girls, all around ten years old, standing in Feicui Garden led by a wet nurse.

  The housekeeper made a bow and repeated what Xu Ruoyi had instructed, then ordered one of his underlings to take away all the maidservants big and small from Feicui Garden, not leaving a single one behind.

  Just as Guan Jia was about to ask if Chun Xing and the others wanted to take them away, Xu Ming Jin said: "They are people I brought from Liu Cheng, I've gotten used to them, so they don't need to be replaced."

  The housekeeper nodded in agreement, and soon the people sent by Mrs. Xu left the Emerald Garden with their bundles, taking a step back to glance at the three steps before starting their unknown future. This was not what Xu Mingjin cared about, because she had already set her sights on the two rows of girls standing neatly in front of the gate.

  Whether in her past life or this life, Xu Mingjin had never picked a daughter-in-law before. She tried to appear calm and collected, standing there and looking at all the candidates.

  "Miss, don't worry, these girls of mine are all top-notch! I used to do business with those marquis and general's households, this is the first time I'm doing business with the Grand Secretary's household, I've carefully selected them before sending them over!" The heavily made-up procuress said, as thick layers of powder fell from her face onto the ground. Xu Mingjin felt a chill run down her spine. She hastily picked out a few girls who caught her eye and took their contracts. Then she had the procuress take her girls to Songfeng Courtyard.

  Songfeng Courtyard has Xu Ayi, so Xu Mingjin is very relieved. She believes that Zhou Ayi will definitely pick some good ones for Mingxuan. So she didn't care much, what she cares about now is the few girls she picked herself, all of whom are around 11 or 12 years old.

  Xu Mingjin had never stood on the stage to lecture others, she knew that next should be her own turn to lecture these girls who had become her maids, telling them to be loyal and do things properly in the future, but she was too lazy to bother with this, so she just sat there and let Chun Xing take over.

  It seems that Chun Xing really enjoys doing this, her loud voice finally has a use, she stands there seriously, solemnly staring at the new little maids: "You listen to me! After you enter Feicui Garden, you are the young lady's maid, from now on, do your job well, serve your master with loyalty, the young lady will not treat you unfairly! But if anyone is disloyal and does things behind her back, don't blame the young lady for being ruthless! Did you hear me?"

  Those maids answered in unison: "We heard it!"

  "Alright, now one by one, report your own names."

  "Slave Yu Zhu, slave Xiao Lian, slave Chun Hua..."

  Xu Mingjin watched this scene but only wanted to laugh. It seems that in the future, he can arrange a few more people under Chun Xing's command, making it easier for her to give orders.

  After training the maidservants, Chun Xing took them down to change into the servant girls' clothes in the mansion. Xu Mingjin also felt a bit tired.

  After lunch, Xu Ming lay on the couch with his eyes closed to rest, when he suddenly felt someone in front of him. He quickly opened his eyes and found it was a small maid, one of the maids he had just selected. He remembered that she said her name was Yuzhu.

  "What are you doing here?"

  "Miss, I'm here to deliver the iced lotus seed soup for you." The little maid replied. As she spoke, she placed the tray in her hand on a low table beside her, and only then did Xiuming Jin see that there was indeed a bowl of lotus seed soup with a hint of coolness on the low table. However, next to the bowl, there was an envelope.

  Xu Mingjin felt strange, she thought this little girl just wanted to deliver the letter to her hands, lotus seed soup was just an excuse.

  "Who sent you?" Xu Mingjin slowly picked up the letter.

  "In response to Miss's words, I was sent by Young Master Ze."

  Xu Mingjin was taken aback after hearing it, was it him?

  Xu Mingjin opened the letter in his hand and read it carefully. After finishing reading, Xu Mingjin fell into deep thought. The main meaning of the letter was that Zé Gōngzǐ had sent him a few years' worth of secretly trained guards because he was afraid she would get into trouble in the Shàngshū Fǔ.

  Yu Zhu quietly watched Xu Mingjin read the letter without saying a word. After a long time, Xu Mingjin finally said: "Do you know medicine?"

  Yu Zhu nodded and said, "I've followed my father to learn medicine for ten years. Although I'm not as good as a doctor, my greatest strength is identifying poisonous medicines, which was trained by Ze Gongzi."

  Xu Mingjin nodded and asked: "Can you still practice martial arts?"

  Jade Bamboo nodded.

  Xu Ming's eyes sparkled as he said, "That's perfect, I have a task for you to complete. If you succeed, then I'll officially take you in."

  Jade Bamboo became excited and said: "Master, you say,"

  Xu Mingjin said: "Wait until tonight, you sneak into Mrs. Xu's courtyard, take her pulse for her, and see if she is pregnant, how many months." Xu Mingjin had always felt that Mrs. Xu's pregnancy was too coincidental, so much so that she was suspicious. She was thinking about finding a way to verify the matter when Ze Gongzi brought her a pillow while she dozed off. This Jade Bamboo, who was skilled in both martial arts and medicine, really suited her taste. Now, it remained to be seen if she was as described in Ze Gongzi's letter.

  Yu Zhuo respectfully said: "Yes"

  Xu Mingjin sent her away and read Zeyoung's letter back and forth several times. Only then did she call in Yuzhu and give her the letter, ordering her to destroy it.

  Xu Mingjin slowly scooped a spoonful of lotus seed porridge into his mouth, the coolness accompanied by the sweet fragrance of the lotus seeds was incredibly delicious. He smiled, it seemed that this Jade Bamboo was quite skilled at cooking.

  After dinner, while Xu Mingjin was practicing calligraphy, Madam Xu hurried over to Feicui Garden and reported the matter to him: When the steward took the wet nurse to Songfengyuan, she was watching those two fox-like maids grinding their teeth! She was thinking about how to drive them out. Unexpectedly, as soon as the steward entered, he said that he had come under Master's orders to take away those people and select some for Young Master. At that time, she was stunned, and those few fox-like maid servants reluctantly packed up and followed the steward away, and she hadn't even reacted yet!

  The old woman waved her hand in front of her, and she finally came to her senses. For a moment, she was overjoyed and chose two honest and steady maids and young servants from the people brought by the old woman. The young master was also very satisfied when he saw the people she had chosen after returning from school.

  Xu Mingjin listened to Xu's words and said, "Did the young master say he liked it when he came back from school?" Today was Xu Mingxuan's first day at the school arranged by Xu Ruoyi. It is said that some famous teachers in the capital are there. This was an opportunity that Xu Ruoyi had finally found for Xu Mingxuan after much effort. He had been searching for connections everywhere since he was preparing to bring them back to Beijing, and now he was spending money and effort to cultivate him. After all, Xu Ruoyi was his only son and could not be an unknown small character. So he started cultivating him with great care. In the end, it was all for himself.

  "The young master has returned, but he didn't say anything." said Mrs. Xu.

  Xu Mingjin nodded.

  Madam Xu hurried back to take care of Xu Mingxuan again.

  "Chun Xing continued to speak, finishing the story she had started at noon: 'As soon as I left the mansion, I ran into Zhang Shuozi. It turned out that he was sent by Fan Zhanggui to wait for news of Miss. Zhang Shuozi said that the owner of Qi Shi Medicine Shop is taking good care of Fan Zhanggui and he's doing well, so please don't worry about him. Also, he has asked the owner of Qi Shi Medicine Shop to help him find a suitable location in Beijing to open another embroidery shop. He wants to ask for Miss' opinion on this matter. Three days later, he will try to sneak into the Ping Xi Wang Mansion. I told Zhang Shuozi those things and he didn't dare to delay, immediately returning to tell Fan Zhanggui. I suppose they have already started doing what you said.'"

  Xu Mingjin has great faith in Fan Yicheng's ability to handle matters. Now, she has taken the initiative, and Madame Xu can no longer make a big deal out of accusing her of being a shrew. It remains to be seen how she will come up with ways to quell those rumors and restore her reputation as the wife of the Minister. Yes, Xu Mingjin is indeed playing dirty, but if she didn't do this, then she would be the one in a difficult situation now. Besides, considering what Madame Xu has done to her and her family, this matter can be considered small and not worth mentioning again. Xu Mingjin's revenge against Madame Xu has only just begun. For now, her top priority is to establish herself firmly within the Minister's household.

  Xu Mingjin thought of this, feeling very happy, she smiled and said: "It seems that Uncle adapted quickly! How about Miss Yan, did Uncle say anything?"

  Chun Xing shook her head. Xu Mingjin knew that his uncle still couldn't accept Yan Yuwei, so he didn't ask any more questions. He gave Chun Xing a mysterious smile and said, "Chun Xing, I have some good news to tell you."

  Chun Xing immediately opened her eyes wide and looked at Xu Mingjin with expectation.

  "I know you've suffered a lot for me, and for my sake, you, a delicate girl, went to crawl through dog holes. You sacrificed too much! But don't worry, from now on, you'll never have to crawl through dog holes again!"

  Chun Xing's expression was unclear whether she was crying or laughing, after a long time, she finally found her voice: "Miss, can you not mention the thing about drilling dog holes all the time?"

  Qiu Yun burst out laughing. Xu Ming Jin then said seriously, "Chun Xing, I'm telling the truth." Then, Xu Ming Jin told Chun Xing about Yu Zhu's situation.

  Chun Xing and Qiu Yun couldn't help but praise: "Zhe Gongzi really cares about Miss."

  Xu Mingjin's face turned red, but it wasn't very noticeable. The two maids didn't notice anything. Chun Xiang thought for a moment and said: "What did that Yuzhu look like? I forgot!"

  Xu Mingjin couldn't help but laugh at her and said: "You've been lecturing others for so long, it's about time someone gave you a piece of their mind!"

  Chun Xing said with a sneer: "I didn't notice which one was Yu Zhu at all. But where is she now? Call her out and let me take a look. See if she will make the young lady lose face."

  Xu Mingjin gave her a brainwave and said, "You worry about yourself first, Yuzhu has been sent by me to spy on the enemy. There's no hurry to see her for now."

  Just then, Yu Zhu, dressed in a night-traveling outfit, returned.

  Chun Xing hastily rushed over and sized up Yu Zhu from head to toe: "What a pretty girl, why learn to be an undercover guard when you could learn something else?"