Translator: Iris
As Minglan had expected, the more distressed she looked, the more hopeful the women of the Gu’s family would become. The more she felt ill at ease, the louder their cries would be. Now that she decided to show the ‘I don’t care what you do’ attitude, those women didn’t know what to do about her.
After about five or six days, her world became quiet again.
It was like a ruffian harassing a girl. At first he might only want to get physical with her. If the girl clutched her collar with tears in her eyes and shouted like a little rabbit, the ruffian might be stimulated by that and go even further. However, if this girl unbuttoned her clothes and said with a ferocious look, “Buddy, come here! Be a man and do what you want!” Perhaps the ruffian would be scared away.
Minglan felt herself quite clever and bragged about her theory to Gu Tingye, which got the man intrigued right away. After that, he closed the door and the windows and proposed to test how well the theory would work. In the meantime, he even helped her unbutton her clothes.
Since the person she faced was a big ruffian, she could only run away.
Now that Minglan was free, she remembered that there was something she needed to do. Today, she deliberately walked to the House of Cardamon Fragrance.
Ever since Minglan punished a servant who gossiped by beating her twenty times with a huge stick and driving her away, all the other servants in the House of Cardamon Fragrance didn’t dare to despise Rong anymore and served Rong with all their efforts in every aspect. As the saying went, living well nourished one’s spirit and eating well nourished one’s body. After a few months, Rong’s face turned round, her figure grew taller and she wasn’t that cowardly anymore.
After Minglan sized Rong up and down like a dutiful breeder, she smiled to Gong Hongxiao and Qiuniang, saying, “Rong looks better now, thanks for taking care of her.”
Qiuniang smiled blankly with a sad look in her eyes. Gong Hongxiao was more lively and spoke right away, “We are so flattered, Madam. Young Lady Rong is Master’s first daughter. Every servant in our mansion should look after her with all efforts.”
Minglan glanced at Hongxiao indifferently while fiddling the tea leaves with the lid of the tea cup, saying, “It doesn’t matter whether she is the first daughter of Master or not. You two only need to remember that Rong will always be the lady of this mansion, that’s all.”
Hearing that, Rong glanced at Minglan quickly and then lowered her head right away. Gong Hongxiao got dazed for a second, not understanding why this gentle madam spoke so sharply today. Then she chuckled awkwardly and stepped aside.
Minglan gave a warm smile and told the two women to sit down. After she asked something about Rong’s everyday life, she mentioned Rong’s study. The two women, both startled, looked at each other at a loss. Rong moved her little feet, seeming a bit ill at ease.
Qiuniang, as restless as she seemed, still took out a needle box from the inner room and then brought a few pieces of cloth to Minglan from the box, saying in a frightened voice, “Here... it hasn’t been too long since she started learning, that’s all the things she could do...”
After Minglan checked the cloth carefully, she nodded slightly. When Rong had just arrived at the Cheng Manor, she could only sew the little seams on the cloth. Now she was already able to embroider a few leaves askew. After all, sewing and embroidering were too different things. Although Rong didn’t made huge progress, she was finally in the initial stage of needlework.
“You don’t have to be so nervous, I think this is nice. The first step is always the hardest. Rong is not a dull girl. As long as you can concentrate on teaching her, she will make a lot of progress.” After Minglan comforted Qiuniang with a smile, she spoke sincerely, “I saw the clothes you have made for Master and was really impressed by your skill. If Rong can learn half of your skills, she will have a better future.”
Qiuniang answered tenderly, with the look on her face less sad.
Now it was Hongxiao’s turn to show her teaching result.
When Rong had just come here, Minglan had asked about her educational level. It turned out Rong only knew twenty to thirty words, one third of which she couldn’t write while another one third she could only recognize in phrases. The poems she could recite were the first two lines of In the Silence of Night and the first line of Goose(‘Just like her father’ Minglan thought.) According to the educational theory, Rong’s teacher should find a lot of room for improvement in teaching. Therefore, Minglan stared at Miss Gong with expectation on her face.
Gong Hongxiao’s face turned pale. Meanwhile, Jinxi, her maid, brought a pile of thin papers over slowly. After Minglan checked the papers, the look on her face turned sullen right away.-- The words Rong had written were still the same as before. Her handwriting was still poor and her former mistakes in writing never changed. Minglan who was unwilling to give up checked the number of those words. After that, she finally got angry.
“It has been a month, and she only learned eleven or twelve new words, huh?” Minglan rose the tone of her last word and then spoke in a cold voice, “It’s because you didn’t teach her more or she wasn’t willing to study?”
It had taken Rong three days to learn one word? Gu Tingye’s study genes were not that bad, right?
Concubine Gong forced a smile and tried to muddle things through, “Young Lady Rong is a clever girl, she’s just not interested in studying. So...”
Rong suddenly raised her head with a firmly disapproving look. Seeing that, Gong Hongxiao paused with an awkward look, saying, “It’s also my fault. I wasn’t in the mood of teaching because I have been busy with the things in the mansion...”
Gong Hongxiao found lots of difficulties in teaching Rong. She hadn’t been so close to this little girl before and couldn’t persuade Rong to study with mild words like Qiuniang. What was more, all the servants in the House of Cardamon Fragrance were Minglan’s spies. If Gong Hongxiao dared to beat Rong, Minglan would know right away.
So, since Gong Hongxiao couldn’t beat, coax or persuade Rong, she just didn’t bother to teach Rong. It never occurred to her that Minglan would check her teaching result all of a sudden.
Minglan said in a flat tone, “Really, what have you been busy with?”
Gong Hongxiao hesitated while trying to look away, seeming to be thinking of a way to answer. After that, she bit her lips and said, “Although I am a nobody, I still care about the family affairs of the Gu’s. The madams in Marquis Ningyuan’s mansion seemed so anxious and came to our mansion every day a few days ago. I was just worried about them...”
She couldn’t keep going ahead as she saw the indifferent look in Minglan’s eyes.
Minglan remained silent first and asked Danju to bring Rong out. Then she put down her tea cup slowly. When the clear sound of the cup knocking the plate came through, Minglan said, “Concubine Gong, you really are an intelligent woman. Even I couldn’t interfere in that affair. I don’t know you would be so worried...”
“You do worry about a lot of things!” Minglan stared at her coldly.
Gong Hongxiao stood up with fear. Seeing that, Qiuniang also stood up.
Translator: Iris
As Minglan had expected, the more distressed she looked, the more hopeful the women of the Gu’s family would become. The more she felt ill at ease, the louder their cries would be. Now that she decided to show the ‘I don’t care what you do’ attitude, those women didn’t know what to do about her.
After about five or six days, her world became quiet again.
It was like a ruffian harassing a girl. At first he might only want to get physical with her. If the girl clutched her collar with tears in her eyes and shouted like a little rabbit, the ruffian might be stimulated by that and go even further. However, if this girl unbuttoned her clothes and said with a ferocious look, “Buddy, come here! Be a man and do what you want!” Perhaps the ruffian would be scared away.
Minglan felt herself quite clever and bragged about her theory to Gu Tingye, which got the man intrigued right away. After that, he closed the door and the windows and proposed to test how well the theory would work. In the meantime, he even helped her unbutton her clothes.
Since the person she faced was a big ruffian, she could only run away.
Now that Minglan was free, she remembered that there was something she needed to do. Today, she deliberately walked to the House of Cardamon Fragrance.
Ever since Minglan punished a servant who gossiped by beating her twenty times with a huge stick and driving her away, all the other servants in the House of Cardamon Fragrance didn’t dare to despise Rong anymore and served Rong with all their efforts in every aspect. As the saying went, living well nourished one’s spirit and eating well nourished one’s body. After a few months, Rong’s face turned round, her figure grew taller and she wasn’t that cowardly anymore.
After Minglan sized Rong up and down like a dutiful breeder, she smiled to Gong Hongxiao and Qiuniang, saying, “Rong looks better now, thanks for taking care of her.”
Qiuniang smiled blankly with a sad look in her eyes. Gong Hongxiao was more lively and spoke right away, “We are so flattered, Madam. Young Lady Rong is Master’s first daughter. Every servant in our mansion should look after her with all efforts.”
Minglan glanced at Hongxiao indifferently while fiddling the tea leaves with the lid of the tea cup, saying, “It doesn’t matter whether she is the first daughter of Master or not. You two only need to remember that Rong will always be the lady of this mansion, that’s all.”
Hearing that, Rong glanced at Minglan quickly and then lowered her head right away. Gong Hongxiao got dazed for a second, not understanding why this gentle madam spoke so sharply today. Then she chuckled awkwardly and stepped aside.
Minglan gave a warm smile and told the two women to sit down. After she asked something about Rong’s everyday life, she mentioned Rong’s study. The two women, both startled, looked at each other at a loss. Rong moved her little feet, seeming a bit ill at ease.
Qiuniang, as restless as she seemed, still took out a needle box from the inner room and then brought a few pieces of cloth to Minglan from the box, saying in a frightened voice, “Here... it hasn’t been too long since she started learning, that’s all the things she could do...”
After Minglan checked the cloth carefully, she nodded slightly. When Rong had just arrived at the Cheng Manor, she could only sew the little seams on the cloth. Now she was already able to embroider a few leaves askew. After all, sewing and embroidering were too different things. Although Rong didn’t made huge progress, she was finally in the initial stage of needlework.
“You don’t have to be so nervous, I think this is nice. The first step is always the hardest. Rong is not a dull girl. As long as you can concentrate on teaching her, she will make a lot of progress.” After Minglan comforted Qiuniang with a smile, she spoke sincerely, “I saw the clothes you have made for Master and was really impressed by your skill. If Rong can learn half of your skills, she will have a better future.”
Qiuniang answered tenderly, with the look on her face less sad.
Now it was Hongxiao’s turn to show her teaching result.
When Rong had just come here, Minglan had asked about her educational level. It turned out Rong only knew twenty to thirty words, one third of which she couldn’t write while another one third she could only recognize in phrases. The poems she could recite were the first two lines of In the Silence of Night and the first line of Goose(‘Just like her father’ Minglan thought.) According to the educational theory, Rong’s teacher should find a lot of room for improvement in teaching. Therefore, Minglan stared at Miss Gong with expectation on her face.
Gong Hongxiao’s face turned pale. Meanwhile, Jinxi, her maid, brought a pile of thin papers over slowly. After Minglan checked the papers, the look on her face turned sullen right away.-- The words Rong had written were still the same as before. Her handwriting was still poor and her former mistakes in writing never changed. Minglan who was unwilling to give up checked the number of those words. After that, she finally got angry.
“It has been a month, and she only learned eleven or twelve new words, huh?” Minglan rose the tone of her last word and then spoke in a cold voice, “It’s because you didn’t teach her more or she wasn’t willing to study?”
It had taken Rong three days to learn one word? Gu Tingye’s study genes were not that bad, right?
Concubine Gong forced a smile and tried to muddle things through, “Young Lady Rong is a clever girl, she’s just not interested in studying. So...”
Rong suddenly raised her head with a firmly disapproving look. Seeing that, Gong Hongxiao paused with an awkward look, saying, “It’s also my fault. I wasn’t in the mood of teaching because I have been busy with the things in the mansion...”
Gong Hongxiao found lots of difficulties in teaching Rong. She hadn’t been so close to this little girl before and couldn’t persuade Rong to study with mild words like Qiuniang. What was more, all the servants in the House of Cardamon Fragrance were Minglan’s spies. If Gong Hongxiao dared to beat Rong, Minglan would know right away.
So, since Gong Hongxiao couldn’t beat, coax or persuade Rong, she just didn’t bother to teach Rong. It never occurred to her that Minglan would check her teaching result all of a sudden.
Minglan said in a flat tone, “Really, what have you been busy with?”
Gong Hongxiao hesitated while trying to look away, seeming to be thinking of a way to answer. After that, she bit her lips and said, “Although I am a nobody, I still care about the family affairs of the Gu’s. The madams in Marquis Ningyuan’s mansion seemed so anxious and came to our mansion every day a few days ago. I was just worried about them...”
She couldn’t keep going ahead as she saw the indifferent look in Minglan’s eyes.
Minglan remained silent first and asked Danju to bring Rong out. Then she put down her tea cup slowly. When the clear sound of the cup knocking the plate came through, Minglan said, “Concubine Gong, you really are an intelligent woman. Even I couldn’t interfere in that affair. I don’t know you would be so worried...”
“You do worry about a lot of things!” Minglan stared at her coldly.
Gong Hongxiao stood up with fear. Seeing that, Qiuniang also stood up.
