A Maid's Survival Story in a Noble Family Mansion? Rich Landlords Are More Appealing.

"Linglong, look, this is our third daughter. Don't let her clumsy appearance fool you, she's incredibly skillful. There aren't many people in the embroidery workshop who can match her."

A middle-aged woman dressed in fine linen nudged a little girl beside her as she spoke.

"Sanya greets her elder sister!"

Upon receiving her mother's prompting, the little girl immediately stepped forward, bowed slightly, and handed over the handkerchief she had been hiding in her bosom.

Linglong sized up the little girl, then reached out and took the embroidery from her hands to examine it closely.

Two large peonies were embroidered on a handkerchief, with two butterflies playing on it. The butterflies were so lifelike that they looked as if they were about to fly out of the handkerchief.

The embroidery is indeed very good. The little girl looks clever and has delicate features.

Linglong nodded: "Yes, it's quite well done, the embroidery is indeed quite good."

Upon hearing this, Sanya bowed again, "Sanya thanks you for your appreciation, sister. Once Sanya enters the manor, I will definitely treat Sister Linglong as my own sister and be filial to her."

Seeing Linglong's satisfaction, both mother and daughter beamed with joy, the little girl's excitement barely contained.

"Sanya, go to Jiang Mama's house and wait for me. I'll be there soon." Having received confirmation, Mama Lin felt relieved and waved to Sanya, signaling her to leave.

After everyone left, Lin's mother looked around and carefully took out a purse from her bosom.

"Thank you for the introduction, young lady. Here is the agreed-upon ten taels; please count it."

"Mother Lin, please put it away. Her sister and I have always been on good terms, and Sanya is like my own sister. There's no need for this."

Linglong did not take the purse from her hand, but instead started another conversation.

"Doesn't Sanya have a proper name? This Sanya, Sanya sounds awful. Don't offend Fifth Miss's ears."

Lin's mother clutched her purse, initially puzzled, but upon hearing this, her mind raced and she immediately understood her meaning, inwardly cursing herself for being clumsy with words.

"Oh, what you say is true, but her father and I are both simple-minded people. The girls in our family are arranged in order. Sanya often says that among all the older sisters in the Marquis's mansion, she admires you the most. Why don't you give her a name? Sanya will definitely like it."

"Look at all these flowers in the yard, all blooming so beautifully, how about we name it 'Plain Red'?"

Lin's mother nodded repeatedly and handed over the purse: "This name is good. Naming a child is a big deal. You are a great benefactor to our third daughter. Keep the purse to buy some cosmetics. This is also a way for our third daughter to recognize an older sister. Thank you for your filial piety in naming her."

"Mother Lin, you're too kind. Three days from now, at Chen Shi (7-9 AM), bring your maid to the inner courtyard gate and wait there. A nanny will lead you inside."

After the two women declined several times, Linglong finally accepted the purse.

As soon as Lin's mother watched the person leisurely enter the inner courtyard, the smile on her face immediately disappeared.

The maids bought from outside could never compare to their loyalty, yet the lady had made her outdo them. Looking at the silver hairpin in her hair and thinking about the ten taels of silver she had given away, she felt even more resentful.

But then he thought about it again and became smug. Soon his maid would be able to serve in the inner courtyard, and then the money would come in big amounts.

Linglong returned to the madam's courtyard with light steps. As soon as she entered the courtyard, she saw that Qiuyue was not in the house. Instead, she was lazily leaning against the stone couch in the courtyard, catching up on her nap.

Linglong walked up quickly, lightly poked Qiuyue's forehead with her fingertip, and whispered, "Qiuyue, you lazy girl, it's the middle of the day and you're not serving in your room, but instead you're here slacking off. If the nanny sees you, you'll definitely get a beating."

Qiuyue was fast asleep and was a little confused when she was woken up. After she came to her senses, she said, "Hupo and Mingyue are serving me in the inner room."

Linglong nodded and said nothing more, but Qiuyue was quite annoyed by her calm demeanor.

"Others may not know, but don't the people in our courtyard know? Back then, Madam clearly favored the young lady more. She dressed in bright red and green every day to seduce the young master, but the young master still..."

"Qiuyue, don't mention that again. If you gossip about the young master, I'll punish you before the madam even knows."

No wonder Qiuyue was angry; back when Amber was still in this courtyard, she liked to compare herself to her in every way.

After becoming a concubine's maid, it got even worse. Every time she saw her, she would boast for ages. Even Qiuyue, who was by her side, would roll her eyes at her. She must have been wronged when Amber came over just now.

Linglong found Qiuyue's incessant complaining somewhat annoying, but she still patiently offered a few words of comfort.

Fortunately, Amber was in the main room, so she didn't go up and attract attention. Fortunately, she was happy to have some peace and quiet.

What kind of future is a maidservant? Even if she is elevated to a concubine when the new wife enters the household, she is still just a lowly concubine whose indenture is held by someone else.

Thinking of this, Linglong felt annoyed again. She and Amber were both maids chosen by the madam for the young master.

One of them was transferred to serve the young master and teach him about human affairs, while the other was transferred after the new wife entered the household.

"Keep an eye on the room. Call me when Madam wakes up."

As she spoke, Linglong took out a small bundle wrapped in fine cotton cloth from her sleeve, unfolded it, and handed it to Qiuyue.

"Here, this is some dragon beard candy that Shunzi asked me to bring back. You can have it."

"Okay, go ahead, sister."

After Linglong returned to her room, she took out her purse from her bosom, counted the contents—ten small silver coins, exactly ten taels.

With a flick of his wrist, the purse and the silver were placed into the spatial storage.

Linglong is a person who traveled from the 21st century to this dynasty. She was originally a college student named Chen Wanxing who had just graduated and was looking forward to her future life.

There was neither a car accident nor a fall from a building. Chen Wanxing simply took a nap and inexplicably found herself transported to this era she had never even heard of, becoming a farm child who was only a few days old.

She didn't even know that she had transmigrated, that her soul had been attached to a baby who was only a few days old, or that she had died in her sleep and been reincarnated here.

But it doesn't matter where you live, it doesn't matter. Originally, she was hoping that she had a script where she would grow up and lead her whole family to get rich.

Before she could do anything, when she was eight years old, a flood occurred, inundating several counties. The crops failed completely, and people were so hungry that they ate clay. With no other choice, her family had to flee the famine.

At that time, the Marquis of Zhen'an was inheriting his title and was returning to Kaifeng with his wife, Lady Li, to pay respects to their ancestors. To survive, she sold herself into slavery and later followed Lady Li all the way to the capital.

Servants in the Marquis's mansion who have signed a contract can redeem themselves. The redemption fee is not much; the redemption price is roughly the same as the price they were sold to the Marquis's mansion.

However, these servants were mostly low-ranking maids who did not receive a monthly salary.

Basically, the Marquis's mansion provided them with food and lodging, and they worked in the mansion.

Most of these families have many children, and the parents can't afford to raise them all, so they send the children away and then redeem them when they reach a certain age.

But Chen Wanxing was different; she sold herself on the road to escape famine.

Let alone whether her parents have the money to ransom her, even if they did, they probably wouldn't know where she is now.

At the time, Chen Wanxing did the math: if she remained a lowly maid here, she probably wouldn't even be able to afford to redeem herself before she died.

That night, she sat idly by the window, facing the moon that looked exactly like the one in modern times.

Either gamble with a slim hope and struggle in the mud for a lifetime, or gamble with everything you have to fight for a chance to climb up the ladder that is right in front of you.

As dawn approached, she splashed cold water hard on her face. Since there was no way back, she might as well not look back and keep moving forward.

Later, she gritted her teeth and signed a death contract with herself.

From then on, she became Linglong, a maidservant serving Madam Li in the Zhen'an Marquis's mansion.