Chapter 6 Jokes

Qiongmingxuan does not have any maids or servants, only two young servants, Yuyang and Yuhuan, who take care of the cleaning and chores.

Qiao Mama was originally Chuyunpan's wet nurse, but later, the main wife said that they were all grown up and didn't need a wet nurse anymore, so she was forced to work in the kitchen doing odd jobs.

As the sky darkened, Qiao Mama was busy distributing meals to the various rooms and courtyards in the kitchen when she suddenly saw Yuyang waving at her from outside the window.

Qiao Mama wiped her hands on her apron and went outside.

Yuyang pulled her aside and said, "Qiao Mama, Third Master wants you to prepare meals for three people and take them to Yedagu for Miss Ye."

"Oh, that poor child..." Qiao Mama naturally knew who Miss Ye was. Today, when Master Chuyun brought back a new daughter-in-law, it caused a stir in the entire mansion, and all the servants in the various rooms and courtyards were discussing it.

Qiao Mama thought, her eyes turning red, "Her mother passed away when she was born, and there was no one to take care of her. The old master doesn't care about anything, and she has to pick up the leftovers. She grew up in hardship, finally got engaged, and her fiancé unexpectedly ran away. Now she's inexplicably being used as a scapegoat... Everyone in the mansion is making fun of her..."

"Ah, Mama, please don't say anymore, go quickly!" Yuyang said as he handed her some money and then left.

Although Yuyang liked to complain, he was a person with principles, and he only spoke well or ill of others in front of Chuyunpan and Yuhuan.

"What an unlucky child, how did he end up with this?" Qiao Mama sighed.

Qiao Mama took the money back to the kitchen. In addition to Qiao Mama, there were several other people in the kitchen: a cook, a rough servant girl, and two maids, all of whom looked over at her.

The cook asked, "What did Yuyang want from you?"

Qiao Mama just smiled and said, "He said that he and Yuhuan didn't have a good lunch, so he asked for more food to be prepared."

As she said this, she handed the money to the cook.

The cook was very happy to receive the money, but she didn't let up, showing her yellow teeth and saying, "Come on, it's not about not having a good lunch. Everyone knows that the Third Master brought a new daughter-in-law today."

"Hehe, I heard that she's a rejected daughter-in-law, couldn't get married, so she was sent over here." The rough servant girl, Xiaocao, laughed with a sly look on her face.

The other maid, Huang, immediately joined in, "It's also because the original fiancée, Miss Ye, ran away with the groom."

Xiaocao raised her eyebrows knowingly and asked, "Why did Miss Ye run away?"

"One is our family's illegitimate son, and the other is the legitimate son of the Zhang family. If it were me, I would run away with the legitimate son of the Zhang family!"

"Even if she's ugly, she definitely wouldn't want the Third Master."

"Exactly! She could have married the legitimate son of the Zhang family, but suddenly she was sent here, and he's just an illegitimate son. Who wouldn't be unhappy? If it were me, I definitely wouldn't come back after tomorrow."

"Really? Even after getting married?"

"This isn't called getting married, they didn't even pay respects to the ancestors. I heard from Hongyu that the Third Master was even sent to Lan Zhuju. How about we make a bet?"

The more Qiao Mama listened, the more she felt sorry for Chuyunpan.

She took a large food box, filled it with food, and then left the kitchen, heading towards the west courtyard to see what kind of person Miss Ye was.

She walked straight west along a main road, past a bridge, and several courtyards, until she reached Qiongmingxuan.

Qiao Mama entered the courtyard. It was already dark, and apart from the rooms, only one lamp was lit in the front yard. Two unfamiliar maids stood in the front yard, whispering to each other.

Both maids were dressed in pink clothes and looked to be around sixteen or seventeen years old. One was tall and had peach-shaped eyes and a pointed chin, giving her a clever and spirited look. The other was shorter, with almond-shaped eyes and a slightly round face, looking gentle and kind.

Without guessing, they must be the maids brought by Miss Ye.

Qiao Mama smiled and approached them, politely saying, "I was sent by our Third Master to deliver this. I wonder where Miss Ye is?"

Qiuju and Huiran turned around and saw an old woman with a round face. Huiran said, "My mistress is too tired and has already gone to rest."

Not seeing the rumored Miss Ye, Qiao Mama was quite disappointed. "Then I won't disturb the mistress's rest. My surname is Qiao, and I am a servant in this mansion. If you need anything, please feel free to ask."

Qiuju, feeling ashamed of her previous rudeness, thought of how polite the old woman was and couldn't help blushing.

"Thank you, Qiao Mama," Huiran quickly expressed her gratitude. They were just worried about food and a place to sleep, and unexpectedly, Master Chuyun had sent someone over. "Please find us two sets of bedding."

Qiao Mama agreed and soon brought over two new sets of bedding. Huiran thanked her repeatedly and handed her two taels of silver.

Qiao Mama was surprised and tried to refuse several times, but she couldn't, so she had to accept it.

After Qiao Mama left, Huiran looked embarrassed. "Master Chuyun is a really good person."

"Is this how they show their affection to our young lady? We've received their kindness, and it will be even more embarrassing when it's time to leave," Qiujie's face turned pale with anger. "Could it be true that our young lady is really marrying into the Chu family?"

Her words were filled with resentment.

"Of course not!" Huiran also couldn't accept this fact. "We haven't received too much kindness from them. Haven't you seen the two taels of silver I gave as a reward?"

Qiujie said, "What should we do now? We don't even know what the situation is at home, and no one has been sent to escort us!"

They had left home in such a hurry, and the wedding party had been so rushed that no one had been invited to carry the dowry. The only ones who had come from home were the two maids.

"It seems that the situation at home is not very good, and the old master is indecisive, as for the heir..." Huiran naturally referred to Ye Chengde, the father of Yetao Cai. Huiran bit her lip and didn't want to mention Ye Chengde. "And there's also the matter of the second young lady and the marriage with Zhang Boyuan. The mansion is probably in chaos. We can only take it one step at a time in this situation. Let's keep the young lady safe tonight and make plans when we return home tomorrow."

Qiujie nodded, and the two of them carried the food back to their room.

Yetao Cai was sleeping soundly on the bed, and the two of them exchanged a glance. They didn't want to wake her, so they ate something quickly and went to bed fully clothed.