Chapter One Hundred: Four Maids

With a sharp snap, Su Nanxing closed the book and thought, No wonder I’ve never once seen Mother shut herself away to cultivate. Her strength is already so formidable—so she had a secret manual all along!

He tucked the cloth-bound book away, did not dare lift his head, and hurriedly took his leave. Naturally, he never saw the blush that had risen on Su Yanfeng’s face.

Tao Ming watched Su Nanxing come out of the study and somehow felt he was a little odd. There seemed to be a trace of embarrassment mixed into his excitement, something vague and difficult to name.

What on earth was there for such a big man to be shy about?

When they returned to Weixiang Courtyard, Su Nanxing mentioned the matter of adding more maids to Qiao Ruowei. At once, Qiao Ruowei had Siqi personally fetch the steward of the inner residence and bring the newly admitted young maids to Tao Ming to choose from.

Tao Ming looked at the dozen or so little maids lined up before her. They all seemed very young, about her own age at most, each standing there nervously with heads slightly lowered, unsure where to put their hands and feet.

How was she supposed to choose?

Pick whichever one looked pleasing?

After a moment’s thought, Tao Ming asked, “Is any of you literate? If so, step forward.”

Silence.

No one moved. Apparently none of them could read.

“Any good at cooking?”

This time, one little maid stepped forward.

“Any of you ever cared for children?”

No one came forward. It seemed they were all the youngest in their families.

“Does anyone in your family do business?”

Another little maid stepped out.

“Surely at least one of you has worked the fields?”

At last, two more little maids stepped forward.

Tao Ming looked at the four in front of her and turned to Su Nanxing. “Four should be about enough, right?”

Su Nanxing had been pondering her earlier questions, trying to guess her purpose. Hearing this, he replied, “Normally there would be eight, but it’s fine for you to get used to things first.”

“Then these four will do.”

Qiao Ruowei signaled the steward to hand over the four girls’ deeds of sale to Tao Ming, and instructed, “If they turn out not to suit you, you can always change them later.”

Tao Ming hastily thanked her, and the family of four returned to Star-Gathering Courtyard with the four little maids.

Once they entered the main room, Su Nanxing said softly, “Wife, do as you please.”

Then he took the two little ones off to wash up.

Tao Ming looked at the four maids before her. Seeing how tense they were, trembling almost to the point of shaking apart, she could not help but laugh. “Do I really look that frightening?”

The four of them shook their heads in unison, their faces extremely stiff.

Tao Ming honestly had no idea how other people spoke with their maids. She could only draw on her experience with the postpartum nurses from the past and said, “Standing must be tiring. Go move a few chairs and sit down while we talk.”

The four exchanged glances, but no one dared move.

Tao Ming sighed and was about to go fetch chairs herself, which frightened them so much they did not know what to do. The maid who had said her family had once done business mustered her courage and said, “Young Madam, the steward instructed us that we may only stand before our masters.”

Tao Ming took out the deeds of sale and shook them. “See? From now on, you belong to me. You have to listen to me. If I tell you to sit, then sit properly. Let’s make everything clear today so it’ll be easier for us to get along later.”

The speaking maid clenched her teeth, moved a chair over, and sat down. Seeing that someone had taken the lead, the other three followed and sat as well.

Once they were all seated, Tao Ming asked, “What are your names?”

It was still that maid who answered. “We do not have names. Please, Young Madam, bestow them on us.”

“How can you not have names? What did your parents call you at home?”

“Back then, my parents called me Niuzi.”

The other three also spoke up. “I’m called Xiaoni.”

“I’m called Xiaohua.”

“I’m called Xiaocao.”

At last, Niuzi said, “Once we enter the manor, we can no longer use the names we had at home. Whoever we are assigned to belongs to that master, and it is the master who gives us our names.”

Hearing their little nicknames and thinking that they would likely need to go out and be seen in the future, Tao Ming felt those names were indeed not quite suitable. She said, “All right then. Let me think of new names for you.”

To name four people at once gave Tao Ming a terrible headache. What should she call them?

Cola? Fanta? Sprite? Seven-Up?

Blue Mountain? Latte? Mocha? Charcoal Roast?

None of them seemed quite right.

She thought for a long time and still could not settle on anything.

After washing the two little ones and putting them on the bed to play, Su Nanxing returned. In the main room, he saw Tao Ming frowning in a daze while the four little maids watched her expectantly.

He walked over and asked, “Wife, what is it?”

Tao Ming came back to herself and gave a wry smile. “I can’t think what names to give them.”

“What’s so hard about that? Jewels and fabrics both make good names.”

Tao Ming suddenly saw the light, grabbed Su Nanxing’s hand, and laughed. “Thank you, husband!”

Su Nanxing leaned in and kissed her once. “That’s the proper way to show thanks.”

The four little maids blushed so hard they did not even dare lift their heads.

Su Nanxing glanced at them and said, “From now on, you need only obey Young Madam. No need to heed anyone else.”

One of the maids, gathering her courage, asked, “Not even the Young Master?”

Su Nanxing looked at Tao Ming with great gentleness and replied, “If the Young Madam and I disagree, then you obey the Young Madam.”

Tao Ming made a face and shooed Su Nanxing into the bedroom.

She found a sheet of paper, tore it into four slips, wrote four names on them, rolled them into little balls, and held them in her palm. “There are four names. Draw lots.”

In the end, the maid best at cooking drew “Liu Li”; the one from a business family drew “Hu Po”; the remaining two drew “Zhen Zhu” and “Shan Hu.”

The four little maids looked at the slips in their hands and asked in unison, “Young Madam, we cannot read.”

Tao Ming read each name aloud for them, then said, “Starting tomorrow, all of you will learn properly with me. Those who learn well and learn quickly will naturally be rewarded. Those who learn poorly and too slowly will leave me no choice but to replace you.”

The four readily agreed, and Tao Ming let them go about their tasks on their own.

After leaving Star-Gathering Courtyard, the four went to the small courtyard where they had previously stayed to collect their belongings.

Zhen Zhu said softly, “I heard people in the main kitchen say that when the Seventeenth Young Madam arrived, she drove away the maids in her courtyard right away. I thought I had walked into a pit of fire.”

Hu Po smiled. “I think the Young Madam is easy to get along with. It must have been the two maids who made trouble and were sent away.”

Liu Li looked uneasy. “The Young Madam said we’ll have to follow her and learn from now on, but I’ve always been foolish. I’m afraid I won’t be able to learn.”

Shan Hu nodded eagerly in agreement. “I’m afraid I won’t be able to learn either.”

Hu Po stopped walking and lowered her voice. “Being foolish isn’t the problem. As long as we work hard and don’t be lazy, we’ll learn in time. I think the Young Madam means to teach us how to read as well!”

The other three’s eyes widened. Read and write? They had never even dared to imagine such a thing.

Hu Po went on, “The Seventeenth Young Master values the Young Madam so highly. I expect she’ll have plenty of silver in hand in the future, and the four of us won’t live too poorly either. We may even be able to support our families a little.”

Zhen Zhu agreed. “Exactly. From now on, we must serve the Young Madam with all our heart.”

The four reached an agreement and hurried back to the small courtyard where they had been staying.

There, the other young maids who had not been chosen gathered around them as soon as they returned. One who was somewhat familiar with them asked, “Did they make things hard for you?”

The four praised Tao Ming to the heavens, leaving no room on earth for comparison. A crowd of little maids listened with envy, each of them wishing she too could go and work in Star-Gathering Courtyard.

Hu Po comforted them, saying, “The Seventeenth Young Master said they’ll be adding more people later. Maybe you all can still be assigned to Star-Gathering Courtyard.”

Hearing this, everyone secretly resolved to work hard and hone their skills. Who knew? Perhaps next time, they would be the ones chosen.