After the rebellion was successful, I realized that this place was the Red Mansion

Chapter 92 Li Wan
Facing the gazes of Lady Jia, Wang Xifeng, Mrs. Wang and others, Xue Baochai maintained her composure.

On the way out of the palace and back home, she secretly reminded herself that she was no longer a girl from the Xue family living in the Jia family, but a concubine in the palace.

The Jia family was no longer the Duke's mansion, but a group of servants from the Ye Ting Palace waiting for Chu Yan's punishment.

She said to Lady Jia, "The old lady is old and needs someone to serve her. The rest of the people... are not allowed to force maids to serve them."

The room was eerily quiet.

It’s okay to eat, just bear with it and it will pass.

But without maids to serve them, how can they still have the dignity of being wives or grandmothers?

Even the old women could order a few little maids to serve tea and water.

"I should have expected this day to come." Grandmother Jia sighed. "All the men in the Jia family have been taken away to perform corvée labor. The remaining women are just waiting for the new emperor's orders. How can they still be called wives or grandmothers? Although my eldest sister is favored in the palace, the emperor cannot pardon us immediately, otherwise it will chill the hearts of the soldiers."

After saying this, he addressed Lady Wang and the others, "Do as Miss Bao has instructed. Disobeying the imperial order is a capital offense. Zhen'er has disregarded the imperial decree and continues to squander the palace's money. His Majesty has granted him death as a mercy."

When Jia Zhen was mentioned, everyone in the room became frightened and dared not complain anymore.

"Miss Bao, do you have any other instructions to convey?" asked Grandmother Jia with a smile.

"One more thing."

"What's the matter? Just tell us all at once so that we don't worry!" Wang Xifeng asked hurriedly.

Baochai said, "The emperor will issue an edict soon, releasing the palace maids and allowing them to marry. Any female relatives of the nobles whose property has been confiscated who are willing to marry soldiers will be rewarded with silver and freed from slavery."

Looking at the maids in the room, Baochai smiled and said, "The maids in the two mansions are also included. If any of you want to leave the mansion to marry, you can come to me first. When the emperor issues an order, the court will arrange for you to leave the mansion and marry with the soldiers in the army."

The maids were in an uproar!

Some were excited, while others were worried. They were afraid that they would not meet a good husband if they left the house, and they were also afraid that they would miss the opportunity if they stayed in the house.

Wang Xifeng smiled at Ping'er and said, "Congratulations, Miss Ping! You are about to leave the house and marry your ideal husband!"

Everyone in the room was amused by "Miss Ping".

Ping'er had been bickering with Wang Xifeng quite a bit lately, and now that she had the "Emperor" backing her up, she retorted, "My dear Madam, how could I bear to leave? We have Madam Qin in the East Palace, and we also have Madam Wang in the West Palace!"

Everyone looked surprised.

Wang Xifeng spat at her and said, "You little bitch are really going to leave the house and get married!"

Everyone was a little suspicious. If Ping'er didn't plan to leave the house, why did she speak so recklessly?

Qin Keqing stayed in the palace, which shows that she was favored. She also had a husband. If Qin Keqing could do it, Wang Xifeng might not be unable to do it.

Everyone looked at Wang Xifeng. Second Madam Lian was also a beauty, with a dignified face and a slim figure.

After the joke, the room became quiet, and Grandmother Jia did not speak a word.

Xue Baochai felt a little uneasy again and asked Jia's mother, "What do you think, old lady?"

Grandmother Jia then said, "Since it is an imperial decree, we must obey it and let the maids choose whether to stay or leave. Bao-ya-tou, are there any other decrees?"

Baochai hesitated, not daring to look at Li Wan, and said, "Your Majesty once said that if widows in the city remarry, their in-laws are not allowed to stop them."

Everyone looked at Li Wan.

There were several widows in the Ning and Rong mansions, but she was the only widow present.

Li Wan lowered her head and said, "I have been a widow for many years, and now I have Lan'er. How can I marry again? I don't think the emperor would force a chaste woman to remarry."

Grandmother Jia nodded without saying anything more.

Baochai said, "Let's discuss these matters tomorrow."

After saying that, she stood up and said goodbye.

Everyone dispersed and went home to discuss what had happened and decide what to do.

Miss Bao said she wanted to discuss it further, but these were the decrees she received from the emperor and could not be changed much.

...Li Wan did not return to Daoxiang Village. As it was almost time for dinner, she stayed to serve the old lady.

After the bell rang, Xiaoxiang Pavilion delivered two delicious dishes and a bowl of green rice as usual. Together with one vegetable and one meat sent by the kitchen, the table was quite full.

Nowadays, ordinary maids only eat meat once every few days, but Lady Jia and her companions still have meat at every meal. Even so, the food is much worse than before.

"Why did you stay to serve me today?" Grandmother Jia said to Li Wan with a smile.

Mrs. Wang and Wang Xifeng were also serving on the side.

Li Wan smiled and said, "I'm worried that some of the maids, after hearing the imperial edict, will stop caring about the old lady's affairs, or become careless and fail to serve her properly."

Previously, seeing that she was young and widowed, Lady Jia exempted her from the task of serving her mother-in-law, and asked her to sit with her at banquets on weekdays, unlike Wang Xifeng and Lady Wang who had to stand and serve.

Grandmother Jia nodded. "The Emperor has issued an edict, so it's inevitable that some people will want to leave. We shouldn't interfere and let them stay or go. Yuanyang, Amber, you can all go back. Whether you want to stay or leave, go back."

There were seven or eight young maids in the room, all of them at a loss.

The head maid Yuanyang knelt down, took Lady Jia's hand and said tearfully:
"The old lady has been so kind to me, how could I abandon her and go alone? Even if the emperor has an order to allow us to go out and pardon us, so that we no longer have to serve the masters, I am willing to serve the old lady, and it has nothing to do with the order!"

Grandmother Jia helped her up, said some nice things to her with a smile, and asked her to sit down and have dinner with them, but Yuanyang refused.

The other maids didn't say much, and outsiders didn't know what they were thinking.

After a while, Grandmother Jia finished her meal and gave the remaining dishes to Yuanyang and Li Wan. Lady Wang, Lady Xing, Wang Xifeng and others did not have any.

"Madam," Li Wan said with a smile, "I just ate in the palace. I'll give the food to you, Madam."

Grandmother Jia looked at her and agreed.

So Li Wan took the food to Lady Wang's room and served her, which was a rare sight for a daughter-in-law to serve her mother-in-law.

Mrs. Wang's expression brightened slightly, and she asked, "Tell me the truth. Have you asked your elder sister in the palace? When can we ask the Emperor to pardon Baoyu and the master?"

Li Wan smiled and said, "Madam, it's hard to say. There are so many people in the palace, and my sister-in-law is temporarily in charge of the harem. The eunuchs and palace maids are reporting back and forth, making it even more difficult to discuss things with her. She also told me to say less... I'll ask her again next time I go to the palace."

"You still want to enter the palace?!" Mrs. Wang stared at her with a dissatisfied tone.

Li Wan hurriedly said, "Lan'er is still in the palace... Besides, I didn't go anywhere else this time when I entered the palace. I only stayed at my sister-in-law's."

After listening for a while, Mrs. Wang finally said, "Bring Lan'er back soon, and you don't have to go to the palace anymore... Remember that you are a widow, and it would be bad if the news got out."

He looked at her again and said, "Next time you enter the palace, you don't have to tell anyone. Just follow quietly and wear the maids' clothes."

Li Wan nodded in agreement.

After serving her dinner, she returned to the Grand View Garden and went straight to the Rice Fragrance Village.

After returning home, Li Wan finally let go of her fatigue and ordered the maid: "Pour me a cup... Never mind, I'll do it myself."

Then he stood up again and wanted to get the teapot.

Suyun hurried over to pour tea and said with a smile, "Why bother, grandma? We can still do these little things."

In Daoxiang Village, the maids and old women also knew the news brought back by Baochai. First, the young maids could be allowed to leave the house and marry soldiers to escape from slavery. Second, they would no longer have to serve the young ladies.

Therefore, after Li Wan came back, all the maids and old women came to ask her for instructions on what to do.

"Whatever the emperor commands, you just do it."

Li Wan said to them, "From now on, you don't have to serve me. Just stay in the garden and wait for the imperial decree."

After hearing this, some of the maids agreed, while others laughed and said, "Grandma treats us well every day, so we are willing to do some small things for her. We will talk about it later about the future. Maybe she will enter the palace and be like Grandma Qin!"

Everyone laughed.

Li Wan blushed. If it were any other time, she would have scolded them for talking nonsense, but now no one had to serve anyone else, let alone scold them.

She could only laugh and scold them, then turned and went into the house.

(End of this chapter)