When this talk reached Qiu Tong Courtyard, A’Ru trembled with rage.

“They, they are going too far,” she said.

Qi Yue sat on the large kang by the window, continuing to flip through the household registry. Several sheets of paper lay on the table, and she occasionally picked up her brush to write a few characters.

“…This Cai San Pozi manages needlework, and her daughter Zhong’er acknowledged whom as her godparent?” she asked, apparently not hearing A’Ru’s words.

“…Those young maids said she acknowledged Director Dong from the kitchen as her godmother,” A’Ru replied, watching as Qi Yue nodded and picked up her brush to write a few more characters.

“Young Madam, you’ve been looking at this household registry for several days now. What can you possibly see from it?” A’Ru couldn’t help asking.

Qi Yue closed the registry, set down her brush, and stretched lazily.

“Any organization has two important matters—personnel and finances. Among these, personnel is most important. Looking at the roster is naturally the first priority. There’s much that can be seen from it,” she said with a smile.

A’Ru acknowledged this.

“About selecting maids, it must be these women gossiping behind our backs. Why don’t I go out and walk around, find those old sisters of mine—that would be better than letting these nasty women…” she said.

“No need. What would that look like? If I, the one managing household affairs, can’t even build a new team, people would die laughing,” Qi Yue shook her head with a smile. As she said this, she glanced outside. “Here they come now.”

A’Ru quickly looked and indeed saw Nanny Su leading several maids in.

“Young Madam, I’ve selected the candidates. Please take a look and decide which ones to keep,” she said with a smile as she entered, gesturing for the maids behind her to line up at the steps.

A’Ru stood at the door and looked first. She saw these ten maids of varying heights and builds, most looking coarse and foolish, or else clearly flirtatious and restless. Her heart filled with anger—in the past, such inferior goods wouldn’t have passed the first round, yet here they were standing before them as candidates!

Without the Old Madam, things have become so difficult step by step… A’Ru’s expression darkened. Old Madam, you left too early, leaving Young Madam alone and too young…

Qi Yue, however, said cheerfully “Let me take a look” and came over, her gaze sweeping over each maid. Some brazenly examined her, while others shyly lowered their heads, not daring to look at anyone.

“First, let’s have introductions. I’ll listen,” Qi Yue said with a smile. “Just say your name, age, what you’re good at, and where you previously served.”

After much hesitation and shuffling, the maids all spoke. Some spoke incoherently, some had voices like mosquitoes, and some simply didn’t understand what Qi Yue wanted them to say. It was so pathetic that even Nanny Su couldn’t bear to listen.

Qi Yue listened with a smile from beginning to end, showing no displeasure whatsoever. Then she pointed to three who had the clearest voices and spoke most fluently, keeping them—including the flirtatious-looking one.

This surprised everyone, including the maid herself. She had always prided herself on her beauty, constantly hoping to serve before the Marquis, but there were too many beauties around him with no opportunity for her. She also wanted to serve the young masters, but each time the managing women selected people, she was eliminated in the first round, while those less attractive than herself were chosen. This showed that heaven was jealous of beauty and people were making trouble. This time she hadn’t wanted to come—she was tricked into being brought by Nanny Su, expecting just another humiliation. She never expected to be selected, which proved Young Madam must have noticed her beauty and wanted to use her to win over the Prince.

“Young Madam,” the maid suddenly knelt down, her seductive eyes flashing, “This servant will certainly serve you and the Prince well…”

At these words, Qi Yue, Nanny Su, and A’Ru all darkened.

Not only restless, but also stupid…

With one senior maid A’Ru and four second-class maids, the standard configuration for a principal wife’s side in Marquis Dingxi’s mansion was complete. Although of the four second-class maids, one was ill and three were awkward novices, at least they could maintain appearances when seen publicly.

“The remaining eight third-class maids and ten fourth-class maids will be directly assigned from the mansion,” A’Ru said, holding the registry.

Qi Yue nodded. Before nightfall, the remaining maids and servant women were also assembled.

However, looking at those people standing in the courtyard, A’Ru found them displeasing no matter how she looked, while Qi Yue remained as cheerful as ever. She enthusiastically moved a chair over to address them. If not for A’Ru’s repeated meaningful glances, Qiu Tong Courtyard might have hosted a grand dinner that evening.

With subordinates assembled, the next day Nanny Su and the managing women all came on time, though still not everyone. Today this one didn’t come, tomorrow that one didn’t come, and some never came at all. Qi Yue just nodded and smiled without saying anything. She called these managing women daily for no other purpose than to have each person say what they needed to do that day and how they planned to do it, then the next day to report how they had done. Good work earned a few words of praise, while poor work just resulted in being told to do it again. Such trivial, time-wasting activities gradually led to even fewer people coming.

Even Que Zhi and others couldn’t stand watching, yet Qi Yue remained unbothered.

“There’s nothing to worry about. The mansion has established systems and managing women. Don’t keep yourself so tense that you can’t relax,” she joked with A’Ru.

“Yes, yes, Sister, Young Madam definitely has no problems. Isn’t everything going well?” A’Hao also said.

A’Hao could now get out of bed and move around, though she couldn’t do heavy work or engage in strenuous activity. Following Qi Yue’s instructions, she was treated like a young lady, carried to the courtyard daily to get sun and fresh air, fed with good soup and water.

“You better live up to expectations for me. Being pulled back from the King of Hell’s palace—how prestigious,” Qi Yue said with a laugh.

This made A’Hao, who had been crying from guilt, self-blame, and feeling useless, giggle again.

“Listen to Young Madam,” A’Ru said, looking at her.

Originally, it was because of not listening to Young Madam that this disaster occurred. A’Hao nodded and obediently listened.

With A’Hao resting, the duties she should have performed as the primary second-class maid were taken over by Que Zhi. Que Zhi became Qi Yue’s external spokesperson, while A’Hao’s illness naturally relegated her to second place. A’Ru now had quite a leisurely time.

“Sister, do you think Young Madam doesn’t like us anymore? We can’t help with anything, instead we’re not as useful as the newly arrived Que Zhi…” A’Hao whispered to A’Ru.

A’Ru sat on a small stool in the courtyard doing needlework while accompanying A’Hao, who lay on a rocking chair. The voices of Qi Yue speaking with Que Zhi and Lan’er came from inside the room.

“How could that be?” she smiled, glancing toward the interior. “Young Madam is trying to separate you and me…”

“Separate us?” A’Hao tilted her head to look at her.

“You and I are the last two people the Old Madam left for Young Madam. In everyone’s eyes, we and Young Madam are one entity. Young Madam’s status is there—others can’t easily move against her, so if anything happens, they can only come after us two…” A’Ru said quietly, looking at A’Hao’s pale face from blood loss after illness, while reaching out to help her sit up and change position.

But A’Hao had just sat up when she lay back down on her side as if pricked by a needle.

“My bottom still hurts…” she said with a bitter face. “So this is how terrible getting the rod is. When I was with the Old Madam, I would casually have little maids beaten with rods. I was truly hateful. I’ll never do it again.”

A’Ru was amused by her words.

“Now Young Madam has found so many maids and has them do everything. Gradually, everyone will focus their attention on them. This is Young Madam’s painstaking effort for our sake. When Young Madam leaves in the future, we can also remain safe…” she continued.

A’Hao stared in shock.

“Young Madam is leaving?” she couldn’t help raising her voice. “Where is Young Madam going?”

A’Ru was frightened and quickly pulled her, knowing she had misspoken, her eyes also showing unease.

“Me?” Qi Yue came out, having just heard A’Hao’s words, and replied with a smile, “I’m going to the storehouse. You watch the house and don’t be naughty.”

A’Hao acknowledged this, and A’Ru quickly stood up, seeing Que Zhi and Lan’er closely following Qi Yue as they left.

“Sister A’Ru, what you said just now…” A’Hao continued asking.

“I didn’t say anything just now,” A’Ru interrupted her, refusing to let her continue the topic. As they were talking, a little maid came running from outside.

“Sister A’Ru, your brother is looking for you at the gate,” the maid said.

A’Ru happily put down her work and hurried out. She saw her brother hadn’t squatted at the corner of the gate as usual, but had been allowed into the gatehouse. It seemed Young Madam’s recent actions had indeed raised some popularity, and they were riding on her coattails. A’Ru felt both happy and sad.

“I have no other business, just came to tell Sister that I’m apprenticing at Zheng Si’s blacksmith shop on the street. I won’t be doing manual labor on the street anymore, so Sister can rest assured,” A’Ru’s brother said.

A’Ru was naturally delighted to hear this and pressed her monthly wages into his hands, though he repeatedly refused to take them.

“When I earn money in the future, I’ll bring Sister out,” Yuan Bao said.

A’Ru smiled and glared at him.

“Don’t talk nonsense,” she said, then carefully instructed him several times before urging him to return, standing at the gate watching Yuan Bao’s figure disappear around the corner before going back inside.

Yuan Bao didn’t go home after leaving the alley, but went straight to the street toward the blacksmith shop. Just as he reached the street entrance, he heard a commotion.

“Make way, make way!”

Two horses galloped side by side, making the street boil like water, with children crying and adults shouting in chaos.

Behind the two horses was a speeding carriage, its driver cracking his whip like a death summons, leaving devastation in its wake.

“Racing to be reborn,” Yuan Bao said, getting up from the ground, dusting off his clothes while squeezing out of the crowd and muttering as he walked away.

After the dust settled, people saw that along with the carriage tracks, the ground was left with a trail of blood, stretching long in the direction the carriage had gone.

Qianjin Hall—while it dared not claim to be the best medical clinic in Yongqing Prefecture, it dared claim to be the best for treating injuries and trauma. The clinic’s owner, Liu Pucheng, came from a medical family, with ancestors who had served as imperial physicians. He himself had excellent medical skills with many apprentices under him. But when these two injured people were brought in today, Qianjin Hall was thrown into chaos, made worse by the fierce-looking men who accompanied the injured, who directly drove away the patients still being treated in the hall.

More unfortunately, Liu Pucheng wasn’t there—he had gone home to worship his ancestors.

The injured were carried in on door planks, already unconscious, their bodies bloody and mangled. Blood had been flowing from their entrance until now, staining the floor, while the timid young apprentices were too frightened to approach.