Chapter 33
Chapter 33: Winning Hearts
Wenqi Courtyard soon had its own small kitchen.
Nanny Kong knew the purchasing steward from Old Madam’s small kitchen, so she went out with them to buy vegetables and quickly became familiar with everything.
Not only did Luo Ning eat well now, the maidservants and old maidservants could also eat their fill.
Many of the masters in the Marquis of Zhen Nan Manor were envious, and some were jealous. The servants were much more respectful to Luo Ning.
“This morning when I went to the tea room to get hot water, Sister Jixue even told me to go first and said the big Young Madam was not in a hurry,” Chu Shuang, Luo Ning’s young maid, said.
The Luo family’s hot water was supplied by the tea room, especially the hot water for washing in the morning and evening.
There were seven or eight stoves, but there were many masters, and there were rules about who went first.
For example, when Bai Ci Rong’s maidservant went to get hot water, everyone except Old Madam’s people and the Marchioness’s people had to let her go first.
And because the big Young Madam was the eldest young master’s wife and Luo Ning’s sister-in-law, her maidservants were also a level higher than Luo Ning’s.
Even if Luo Ning’s maidservant arrived first, when the supply of hot water was tight, they still had to give it to the big Young Madam first.
These rules were something the servants could accept. They were used to strict ranks.
Now that Luo Ning had a small kitchen, the people by her side had much more face when they went out.
Over such a small thing as fetching hot water in the morning, the big Young Madam’s maidservant had not fought with Chu Shuang. This alone made the young maid feel proud, so she could not help coming back to “show off” to her mistress and the other girls.
“Don’t get carried away,” Qiu Lan scolded the young maid with a stern face. “When you walk around the courtyard, you must always remember the rules. The big Young Madam is the big Miss’s sister-in-law. Even if her people give way, you still cannot go first. It doesn’t matter if you suffer a loss yourself, but if you bring trouble to the big Miss, I’ll give you a beating.”
Chu Shuang was so scared she almost cried.
Luo Ning turned a page of her book and said nothing.
There must be rules for things to work. As long as Qiu Lan had reason on her side when she disciplined the young maids, Luo Ning would not interfere.
After reminding Chu Shuang a few more times, Qiu Lan and Nanny Kong spoke about needing two more rough servant women in the courtyard because, with the small kitchen, there were too many tasks.
“I’ll go talk to the big Miss,” Nanny Kong said.
She went into the inner room. Luo Ning was sitting on the big heated bed by the window. She put down her book and waited for her to speak.
Nanny Kong repeated what she and Qiu Lan had just discussed.
“Do you have anyone you know well and trust?” Luo Ning asked. “If you do, pick two and transfer them in here to serve. If not, I’ll go to Grandmother’s place and choose two from her side.”
Nanny Kong thought for a while and said she was familiar with people from the servants’ quarters.
Many people lived in the servants’ quarters.
If a man served in Marquis Manor and his wife or daughter-in-law had no useful skills, she could only take an idle job at the odd-jobs office.
There was no pay. They only got two meals a day.
In Luo Ning’s courtyard, rough servant women, like the young maids, got five hundred coins a month, plus food and two sets of clothes each season. In a year they could earn five or six taels of silver, and their food and clothing would be taken care of.
“I’ll go find two,” Nanny Kong said.
Luo Ning said: “Don’t choose anyone too clever. Honest and steady is enough.”
Nanny Kong agreed.
Soon she brought back two women, both around thirty. They were sturdy and strong, and quiet and not talkative.
After Luo Ning assigned them their duties, she went to inform the Marchioness.
“If there are too many people, I can pay their wages myself, and their food and clothes will also come from me,” Luo Ning said.
The Marchioness had wanted to refuse. She did not want Luo Ning to get her way.
But then she remembered that Bai Ci Rong’s Huifu Courtyard had four rough servant women, four menial maids, two third-class maids, and two second-class maids. The words she wanted to say stuck in her throat.
There were fewer people in Wenqi Courtyard. Even the young maids in the concubine-born daughter Luo Xuan’s courtyard were one more than in Luo Ning’s.
“You should have asked me first,” the Marchioness said.
“I didn’t dare bring such a small matter to trouble Mother. Mother manages all the affairs of Marquis Manor and is busy every day. Your daughter only wanted to do her part as a filial child,” Luo Ning said.
“Since you’ve already chosen them, I can’t drive them out and make you lose face. Keep them,” the Marchioness said.
Luo Ning agreed.
Leaving East Main Courtyard, she ran into her sister-in-law, Madam Wen.
Behind Madam Wen were her wet nurse and a maid, holding her son, Luo Li Qin.
The little boy was fifteen months old. He already knew many words and was very clever.
“Sister-in-law,” Luo Ning greeted her.
The big Young Madam smiled a little stiffly: “A’Ning, are you here to pay respects to Mother?”
“Yes,” Luo Ning said with a smile. She reached out to tease the child. “A’Qin, do you recognize your Aunt?”
“I do,” the little nephew said in a soft, milky voice. “Aunt A’Rong.”
Luo Ning: “…”
The big Young Madam’s smile grew even more awkward. She lowered her voice and told the wet nurse: “Take him inside. The wind has picked up. Don’t let the child catch a chill.”
The little nephew was still calling “Aunt A’Rong” as he was carried away.
Luo Ning’s smile did not change. She only said: “He is very bright. Some children his age haven’t even started to talk yet.”
“Yes, everyone praises him,” the big Young Madam said.
Luo Ning then said: “He takes after you, Sister-in-law. Sister-in-law, you are also very clever.”
She added: “I still have something to do, so I’ll go back first.”
The big Young Madam felt completely lost, as if she were in a fog.
Luo Ning knew that her sister-in-law, Madam Wen, was a soft-hearted woman. All her life she had been controlled by her husband and her mother-in-law. She had no opinions of her own.
When she went into labor, she had a hard time. Bai Ci Rong had asked a female Physician to come, and that had saved both mother and child’s lives. From then on, Madam Wen had been deeply grateful to her mother-in-law and to Bai Ci Rong.
This was the most important thing Bai Ci Rong had done to build her power in Marquis Manor.
Maybe Sister-in-law would never know that this matter had been planned on purpose and had hidden schemes behind it.
As Luo Ning walked back to Wenqi Courtyard, she thought: [Now that Luo Xuan has fallen, the Marchioness and Bai Ci Rong will need a new helper to do their dirty work. This big Young Madam who has no opinions and cannot tell right from wrong is the best choice. And she is my sister-in-law.]
Her younger half-sister was younger than her, so in status she could not suppress Luo Ning. But Madam Wen was the eldest daughter-in-law of the main branch. In Marquis Manor, she had real weight.
As the eldest daughter-in-law of the main branch, not only did Old Madam treasure her, even the servants saw her as the future Household Mistress and did not dare offend her. Even the Marquis of Zhen Nan valued her.
The last time the Marchioness had been put under house arrest, the Marquis of Zhen Nan’s first reaction had been to let his eldest daughter-in-law manage the household.
“It is almost the second month,” Luo Ning said when she got back to Wenqi Courtyard. She told this to Nanny Kong and the others as she wrote down an address. “Send someone to watch this residence for me and rent the house next door ahead of time.”
Nanny Kong did not understand: “Miss, why do you want to rent a residence?”
Luo Ning said: “I have my own use for it. Do you have any relatives who don’t serve in Marquis Manor but whom you can trust?”
Nanny Kong said she did.
“Then have him go rent the house next to this residence. Don’t let anyone live there. Just lock the door,” Luo Ning said.
She asked Qiu Hua to open the money box and took out a five-tael silver ingot to give to Nanny Kong, asking her to handle it.
Nanny Kong did not ask any more questions.
She went out and quickly finished the task.
Nanny Kong, Qiu Hua, Qiu Lan, and the others were all curious.
So Luo Ning said: “This is to stir up trouble between Sister-in-law and the Marchioness and Eldest Young Master.”
Up to now, Sister-in-law had not done anything to harm Luo Ning. Her character was still passable.
In her past life, the Marchioness had many people she could use. Even the servants could bully Luo Ning, so she never needed to send Sister-in-law to act.
In this life there was no old hatred from before either. Luo Ning wanted to lay out clearly the matter her Sister-in-law cared about most, which was the plot behind her difficult labor.
Before that, Luo Ning wanted to gain her trust.
She did not want to make Sister-in-law an enemy in the inner residence. And Sister-in-law, who was gentle and quiet, would not bite unless she was pushed too far.
She was just as weak as Luo Ning. [We are both hurt in the same way. Why should we waste our strength fighting each other?]
“You want to win over the big Young Madam?” Nanny Kong asked.
Luo Ning said: “I wouldn’t call it winning her over. I just want her to see the truth.”
If, after knowing everything, Sister-in-law still chose to side with the Marchioness, then when Luo Ning struck back, she would not show mercy.
She was not trying to win someone over. She was giving Sister-in-law a chance.