MYSIOAMEWTMMAlTWOAM: Chapter 31

Glossary

· Qin Yuan: The female protagonist, Marquise of the household.

· Gu Jinghui: The male protagonist, the Marquis.

· Old Madame Gu: Gu Jinghui's mother.

· Gu Baozhu: Gu Jinghui's younger sister.

· Sixth Madame Gu: Wife of the sixth son.

· Gu Shiliu: Gu Jinghui's personal attendant.

· Rong Mama: Old Madame Gu's trusted attendant.

· Hongye: Qin Yuan's loyal maidservant.

· Cuiming: Qin Yuan's other maidservant.

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Chapter 31: To Catch a Thief, Use a Thief

By the time Qin Yuan returned to Wutong Yuan, it was time to light the lamps.

The young maidservants, seeing them return, hurried to the kitchen to have the meal served. Some asked if the Madame needed hot water, others offered hot towels or served tea; they were all very attentive.

Cuiming said with a smile, "They all have their eyes on the position of first-rank maid at your side and are trying their best to impress."

Qin Yuan nodded: "You train them well. If you can bring up a few more capable ones, they will have to call you 'Master,' and I can also have you become steward matrons."

Hongye asked excitedly, "Really?"

"When have I ever lied to you?"

"You've really stirred my ambition, Young Mistress," Hongye blinked and said, "Originally, I only thought to be cautious in speech and action, not to cause trouble for you, and to help you a little was enough. I never dared to think so far ahead."

"Pfft," Qin Yuan tapped her head, saying, "Didn't I ask you to oversee the tea room? Did I ask you to do it for nothing? We've just arrived and know nothing. You watch, listen, and learn more. When the time comes, who else would I use but you?"

Hongye could quickly get familiar with people and had a sharp temperament. In her previous life, she had helped her a great deal; half of the ministerial household had relied on Hongye to help her manage it.

(read @cherrybombbertranslations.blogspot)

How could she not be qualified to be a steward matron in the Marquis household?

Hongye covered her head and quickly explained: "This servant thought, which family's madam doesn't have to wait until old age to manage the household? The Sixth Madame also has a head start on you, Young Mistress. Considering seniority, who knows how long it would take? I never dared to think like this."

Cuiming seemed thoughtful.

The young maidservants had already brought back the food boxes and were preparing to set the table. Qin Yuan said, "I'll go check on the Marquis first."

No matter what Gu Jinghui thought, her daily care and greetings could not be missed.

Qin Yuan went to the side room and, as expected, Gu Jinghui had already retired for the night.

"Did the Marquis have his evening meal?"

"He did."

"What did he have?"

"Rong Mama brought a bowl of lotus seed soup, the kitchen sent sour bamboo shoot congee, cured duck breast, and a few seasonal vegetables. The Marquis ate and then told us not to disturb him, that he was going to rest."

"Remember to arrange your shifts properly. Don't let the Marquis wake in the middle of the night with no one to attend to him."

"We all remember, Madame."

After instructing the young maidservants guarding the door a few more words, Qin Yuan went back to wash her hands and have her meal.

With the Marquis not present, Qin Yuan had her two maids join her at the table to eat together.

Hongye looked at the full table of dishes and said, "There's so much. Even two more people couldn't finish it. It's truly too extravagant."

Remembering in her previous life, the ministerial household's evening meal required at least twelve dishes, otherwise Hongye would feel she had wronged her, Qin Yuan couldn't help but laugh.

(read @cherrybombbertranslations.blogspot)

The overwhelming wealth of the Marquis household left the still very inexperienced Hongye at a loss.

However, once one grew accustomed to luxury, it would become the norm.

"How about setting aside some to give to Gu Shiliu and the young maids outside as an extra dish?" Hongye asked.

"Alright."

Cuiming helped portion out the dishes and took them outside to distribute among the young maids: "The Madame says you have worked hard guarding the Marquis these past days. This is an extra dish for you."

The young maids exclaimed in low, delighted voices, "Thank you for your reward, Madame."

Being able to eat the masters' leftovers was a privilege for maids with status; most people only ate the servants' rations. For the mistress to now reward them with untouched food was truly very considerate.

Hongye specially set aside a plate of meat dishes, placed it in a food box, and said, "I'll take this to Gu Shiliu later."

Qin Yuan smiled, focused on her meal, and said nothing.

At this hour, she was quite hungry.

The Sixth Madame Gu was probably still busy going over the accounts with those steward matrons. She couldn't blame her for this; she could only blame the Sixth Madame for taking too much time earlier.

Hongye, preoccupied, quickly scooped up a few bites with her chopsticks, declared herself full, picked up the food box, and went out to find Gu Shiliu.

Cuiming glanced at Hongye but continued unhurriedly, counting the grains of rice and chewing slowly.

After a good while, Hongye returned, beaming. The table had already been cleared, and Qin Yuan was leisurely curled up on the luohan bed, savoring aged pu'er tea, looking very content.

Hongye said with a laugh, "Young Mistress, guess what the Marquis did today?"

"What?" Qin Yuan asked lazily.

Before she could speak, Hongye couldn't hold back several laughs. "The Marquis had Gu Shiliu register Seventh Miss for the Qixi Festival talent competition, for embroidery! He said if she doesn't win a ranking, she'll be confined to the estate to learn embroidery from now on."

Cuiming was stunned for a moment. "The Old Madame made Seventh Miss learn needlework for three months, and Seventh Miss almost cried enough to bring the Great Wall down. For the Marquis to make her join the talent competition, isn't that..."

(read @cherrybombbertranslations.blogspot)

"Haha, exactly!" Hongye laughed heartily. "The Old Madame said the mandarin ducks Seventh Miss embroiders don't even look like wild ducks."

"Every girl participating in the Qixi Festival talent competition is highly skilled. Last year's top prize winner in embroidery was even accepted as a disciple by the Su embroidery master, Hui Fengniang."

"Gu Shiliu said Seventh Miss was so angry she cried, shouting that she would complain to the Old Madame. But she can't even leave her courtyard; the Old Madame has even exempted her from greetings these days."

Qin Yuan also couldn't help but laugh softly.

Cuiming asked, "Did Gu Shiliu only tell you this?"

Hongye then remembered. "Oh no! I was so caught up in how funny it was, I forgot everything else he said."

Qin Yuan burst out laughing.

That Gu Shiliu was also a clever one, having managed to fool even Hongye.

Hongye tried to make up for it: "It's fine. He can't run away forever. I'll find another chance to ask him."

Then, she mysteriously leaned closer to Qin Yuan and whispered, "Young Mistress, this servant thinks the Marquis is venting your anger for you. Otherwise, why would he come up with this idea? Gu Shiliu said the Marquis used to dote on Seventh Miss, giving her the stars if she asked, not the moon. This is the first time he's ever punished her."

Cuiming also said, "The Marquis still remembers you, Young Mistress. It's just that Lady Zhao never lets the Marquis be. I've been watching coldly; Fengxuan Pavilion has been quiet again these past two days."

Qin Yuan laughed even harder. "Hongye, so clever yet muddled for once. You went to pry information from Gu Shiliu, but instead ended up helping him pass a message."

Hongye: "..."

Qin Yuan added, "The Marquis is also doing this for Seventh Miss's own good, that's why he's confining her. Think about it; Seventh Miss has probably only been out for a few days and now she's going to be locked up again to practice embroidery."

The Marquis household was of noble merit. Raising daughters in military merit families was different from in scholarly families.

Gu Baozhu had been spoiled since childhood; going out for excursions, listening to operas, and visiting gardens were all commonplace for her. Being confined like this was probably no different from being in prison.

Marquis Gu knew how to deal with people.

Whatever Marquis Gu's reasons, Qin Yuan found it immensely satisfying.

Hearing this, Hongye couldn't help laughing again. "Honestly, to catch a thief, use a thief. The Marquis's move hits Seventh Miss right where it hurts the most. Let's see if she'll still bully you in the future."

The most difficult person to deal with in the husband's family was often the younger sister-in-law. A single misstep could lead to countless troubles.

Fortunately, Old Madame Gu favored their Young Mistress; otherwise, who knows how much Seventh Miss would have stepped all over her.

Qin Yuan said, "Never mind her. The Marquis teaching his younger sister is also out of good intentions. What do you mean by 'to catch a thief, use a thief'? If this spreads, how bad would it sound?"

Hongye, realizing she had misspoken again, flushed red.

Qin Yuan said no more and changed the subject: "When we have time tomorrow, let's go to the shop and look for a sharp shopkeeper. Have him use the money to stock up on pepper."

"Pepper?" Cuiming asked in surprise. "That's a valuable thing, almost as expensive as gold."

(End of Chapter)

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Author's Note: The book is on recommendation today, friends, please give me your support. (づ￣ 3￣)づ(′‵)Ｉ L

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