Li Xuan nodded: “She’s brought her own maid, who’s waiting at the gatehouse now.”
Lady Jia raised a skeptical eyebrow: “How’s that enough?”
“Assign one maid to serve her, pair her with the one she brought. Then send two servants as attendants…”
At this point, Lady Jia paused, a flicker of sorrow crossing her eyes.
She knew what kind of servants the Jia household employed, but she was powerless to change the ingrained problems.
It was like the Emperor Chongzhen inheriting a decaying empire and making things worse with every passing day.
Some said that even if a pig had been put on the throne, it would have been better than that emperor. That the Ming Dynasty might have lasted a few more decades.
Sending such servants to Li Xuan wouldn’t be seen as a favor; it would be an offense!
So she changed her mind: “I have a girl who’s been trained for almost half a year. She’s very good at needlework. I’ll give her to Xuan.”
“Thank you, Matriarch, for your consideration!”
Li Xuan stepped forward quickly to express his gratitude.
Sure enough, the moment he asked, Lady Jia offered a maid. No wonder they called her the “Red Mansion Maid Distributor”.
And the description of this maid…
After some more conversation, Lady Jia said:
“Alright, Zhu’s wife, take Xuan to get settled in.”
“You’ll both be staying in the manor, and there will be plenty of time for conversation later.”
“You’ve both had a long journey. Let Xuan rest and recover. I’ll hold a feast tomorrow night to formally welcome him, let him meet the family, and we’ll all have a good time!”
Li Wan and Li Xuan bowed again: “As you wish, Matriarch.”
Then they rose and took their leave.
The courtyard in the northeast corner, adjacent to the quiet courtyard, was located in the heart of the Rongguo Manor. Not only did it have everything it needed, but servants were constantly cleaning and sweeping.
(Previously, the courtyard next to the Liuxiang Courtyard was modified to be east of Lian Er, north of Li Wan, and west of the quiet courtyard.)
In other words, they could just move in with their bags.
Li Wan took a look around and smiled:
“This courtyard isn’t bad.”
“Xuan, you can’t say we’re being mistreated this time, can you?”
The courtyard was secluded and peaceful.
Although it was a single-entry courtyard, it had five main rooms and two side rooms on either side. It could comfortably house over ten people.
If they squeezed in, it could even accommodate fifty or more.
Considering this courtyard, it was hard to say they were being mistreated.
But Li Xuan shrugged and said with a smile:
“Elder sister, it just means that Matriarch isn’t treating you poorly, in fact, she’s quite kind. But that doesn’t mean others can’t be, like Madam.”
“I can’t argue with you… I’ll be having dinner with Matriarch later, so I won’t be able to stay with you. I’ll bring Jia Lan to meet his nominal uncle later.”
Li Wan knew she couldn’t argue with her younger brother, who was always so quick-witted.
So she simply vanished, using a little magic trick.
Li Xuan shook his head and looked around the courtyard again.
He couldn’t help but sigh internally: “A world of suspended reality!”
Every dynasty was different, and the skills of warriors and scholars differed throughout history, but certain historical trends and events were similar.
Shouldn’t there be a literary copying system here, instead of this cash-based system?
So strange!
Moments later, footsteps sounded behind him.
Li Xuan turned around just in time to see a couple of old women bringing his maid and the one Lady Jia had given him.
The first one had a small mole-sized spot of rouge between her eyebrows.
She had a delicate, charming face, was well-behaved and joyful, and had a neat appearance.
She was outstanding and graceful, gentle and quiet.
She was the girl Li Xuan had rescued from human traffickers in Jinling last year, after he finished his martial arts training. He hadn’t expected to get Xiang Ling before Feng and Xue.
The other one had two fingernails on her left hand that were two or three inches long, with bright red marks from the henna dye.
Her face was as smooth as powder, her lips as red as rouge. She had almond eyes that were full of charm and a natural air of flirtation. Her eyebrows hinted at a myriad of love affairs, her eyes were filled with countless threads of passion.
She seemed frivolous, but she was actually a fiery personality.
She was quick with words, ambitious, and seemed clever, but she only had superficial intelligence, without any real wisdom.
This was Qing Wen.
As the maid who had been with him for several years, Xiang Ling didn’t even need Li Xuan’s instructions before she started packing their belongings.
But Qing Wen, with her bag on her back, had a gloomy expression.
When she saw Li Xuan looking at her, she grudgingly gave a perfunctory bow: “Greetings, Fourth Master Xuan.”
This Fourth Master wasn’t just any title; it was based on his position as Li Wan’s cousin, according to the lineage of Li Shouzhong.
Li Wan’s mother was Li Shouzhong’s second wife, and he had two elder brothers who weren’t very close to them.
Including her, Li Xuan was fourth in line.
“You go and pack as well. Discuss the arrangements for the room with Xiang Ling.”
“Since you’re here, whether you want to or not, just work diligently. If you really don’t like it, just try to get transferred from me.”
Seeing her unhappy face, Li Xuan thought maybe she hadn’t been assigned to the room of Second Master Bao?
Lady Jia had actually sent him a future concubine for the phoenix egg! Looks like she really cared for his older sister.
But she probably didn’t have much power in the manor either.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t allow Madam Wang to have her way so easily.
Hearing Li Xuan’s words, Qing Wen was surprised and widened her small mouth: “You…”
Then she regained her composure and said softly: “I dare not.”
“Dare not,” not “don’t want to.”
Understood.
Li Xuan waved his hand and let her go to work inside.
It wasn’t until he was alone that he finally felt a little relieved.
Even though he was strong, he couldn’t just kill everyone in the Jia manor who didn’t like him, could he?
And without proper etiquette, he would bring shame not only on himself, but also on the Li clan in Jinling and his uncle Li Shouzhong who had brought him up.
So, even if he was impatient, Li Xuan had to put on a good show, establish a good persona.
Once he inherited his post after his birthday in April, everything would be easier.