northernbook Chapter 765 Suspicious Guests
Chapter 765 Suspicious Guests
Gui'er suddenly smelled a dangerous message. She put down the work in her hands and said to the shopkeeper Zhang, "Master's wife, the master asked me to go to the mortar room. I'll go to the mortar room first." Then she walked into the small compartment inside.
She heard Zhang the shopkeeper say to the man, "She doesn't know anything, she's just helping out. You should wait for Old Liu to come back."
"Oh. But this little apprentice looks very capable, and her clothes show that she is the daughter of a wealthy family. These days, it is very rare for wealthy families to be willing to let their children work as apprentices in a pharmacy. I wonder which family this young lady is from?"
"An acquaintance introduced you to me. What's wrong with you?" Shopkeeper Zhang was trying his best to change the subject.
"It's nothing, it shouldn't be serious, it's just that he can't sleep well at night. I believe this is not a disease, it should be fine to let the little apprentice come out to take his pulse, there's no need to trouble the master chef." The man brought the subject back.
"A customer is here. Would you like to get some medicine?" Shopkeeper Liu came back.
"This guest said he couldn't sleep well and wanted me to take his pulse and prescribe some calming soup." Shopkeeper Zhang said quickly as if he had seen a savior.
Then Manager Liu skillfully took the customer's pulse and prescribed medicine, and sent him away in no time.
After the guests left, Manager Zhang went to the compartment and called Guier out.
Shopkeeper Liu saw that Yan's expression was not right, so he asked, "What's wrong?"
The two of them told him what had just happened. After listening, Manager Liu was silent for a moment and said, "Let's eat first. After dinner, you can go back first. We will discuss it with Old Song first."
Gui'er nodded, and the three of them finished the meal in silence. Then she went back to the Marshal's Mansion first.
Ding Xiang noticed that she usually stayed away for the entire day, but she came back so early today. She asked curiously, "Miss, why are you back so soon after your apprenticeship today?"
Gui Er didn't want to tell her the truth, so she avoided the topic and asked, "How is it going? Have you visited your parents since you came back here?"
Upon hearing this, Dingxiang immediately said with a sad face, "They came rushing over from our farm in the countryside early this morning and immediately asked me for money, saying that since I hadn't been home for so long, I must have saved a lot of my monthly allowance. I said that my money was always suddenly deducted from me in Nanjing and I didn't have that much saved. After much persuasion, I finally accepted two silver dollars."
"They also said they would help me find a husband. They said that although I'm a little old, considering my job as a maid in the Sha Mansion, I should be able to find a good marriage. They plan to find a family with land near the village for me to marry into. At that time, they will ask for a dowry of at least 10 yuan, so that my eldest brother can get married."
After hearing this, Gui'er frowned and said, "Are you willing? Which family is it? Tell me, and I'll send someone to find out about their character."
Ding Xiang said with a sad face, "I don't know yet, but young lady, if those farmers marry a daughter-in-law, they will definitely have to help in the fields. I came to the general's mansion when I was less than ten years old. After so many years, although I can do things nimbly, how can I do it if I am asked to plow the fields? There was a sister who also asked the concubine's consent to marry. She married a craftsman. She was asked to help pull the bellows all day long. If she did not do it well, she would be beaten. I am so worried that if I marry into such a family, I will have to do farm work too. If I don't do it well, will I be beaten too?"
Gui'er sighed. Women in this era didn't have many choices. A maid like Dingxiang, who followed her everywhere, had actually seen the world and was more sophisticated and adept at dealing with people than the average girl from a small family. But if you asked her to marry a farmer and work on the land, she would seem useless. If she married into a wealthy family or a merchant, her status wouldn't be high enough. Therefore, most maids in wealthy families would marry servants in the master's household. The better ones would marry servants in the management. If they were favored by the master, they would be taken in as a concubine or a concubine, which was considered a leap of class.
However, with Dingxiang by her side, she feared there wouldn't be such an opportunity. She had no choice but to tell Dingxiang, "Just wait and see. If you're truly unsatisfied, just reject it. If you see a servant in the general's mansion who's chosen, tell me and I'll ask my second brother to ask for you."
After hearing this, Ding Xiang said happily, "Thank you, Miss."
Gui'er had nothing to do in the mansion, so she went to wander around the yard. Now that Taohua and Sha Lili were both married, she actually had few playmates in the general's mansion.
As I was walking aimlessly, I suddenly found that the third concubine's courtyard was not far ahead, so I walked in.
The little boy Cheng Gang was playing in the yard, surrounded by a bunch of maids, old women and a wet nurse. His treatment was indeed better than when he was in Nanjing.
He saw Gui'er running up to him and called out with a smile, "Auntie."
Gui'er touched his smooth little face with her hand and asked with a smile, "Are you used to living with Third Grandma?"
He smiled and nodded, holding a wooden toy train in his hand and said, "This is what my third grandmother bought for me."
"That's great." Gui'er said with a smile. It seemed that the concubine could still distinguish between the big and small princes and did not dare to treat the Marshal's eldest grandson the same way as she treated Taohua.
"Cheng Gang, you've had enough fun in the yard. Let's go eat something." The third concubine came out of the house and saw Gui'er. She greeted her happily: "Oh, Gui'er is here! Come in and have some fruit."
Gui'er had nothing to do anyway, so she followed him in.
As soon as the little boy entered the room, the third concubine personally took a towel to wipe his sweat and helped him put on a bib. Although there were a lot of people around, she still did it herself. It can be seen that she really likes this little boy.
The Third Concubine had the servants bring out some fruit and snacks for Gui'er. She smiled and said, "Guier, don't worry if you laugh at me, but I think this is the luckiest thing in my life. I've got a grandson from the Marshal's Mansion. Ever since Cheng Gang came to see me yesterday, all those evil spirits in the Marshal's Mansion, who never come to see me all year, have come to curry favor with me. Even the most favored Eighth Concubine is no exception. It feels so good to hold the emperor hostage and control the other princes."
Gui Er was a little amused. The Third Concubine still couldn't change her nature. She changed the subject and asked, "Sister Sanmei, are you all right now? Why haven't I seen her eldest son?"
"He went to school. After much persuasion, the Marshal finally agreed. Previously, the Marshal said that this child was not from the Marshal's family, so he didn't want him to go to school. Alas. This child is quite smart, but the disadvantage is that his last name is Zhang. The Marshal is a little worried about him, so I simply let him go to Shanmei occasionally. Stay for a while and then come back to live here for a while. The Marshal also agreed, saying that out of sight, out of mind. My poor grandson."