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

The new house is peaceful and serene; the autumn sunlight shines through the newly pasted window paper, casting warm dappled patterns on the ground.

Chen Wanxing walked around inside and out, looking at the new furniture arranged to her liking, smelling the faint scent of wood and soap in the air, and the sense of peace and joy in her heart was almost overflowing.

"Granny, Yunzhu," she said with a light smile, "today we're moving into our new home, so we should celebrate. Let's cook some good dishes tonight and have a nice housewarming feast."

Granny Li and Yunzhu smiled broadly and readily agreed. Yunzhu was especially excited: "Miss, shall we invite some guests over to make it more lively?"

These words caused Chen Wanxing's smile to freeze slightly. A guest? She carefully considered the situation in her mind. In this city of Kaifeng, apart from her two maids, the only person she could celebrate with was Amber.

She seemed a little lonely, but she quickly shook off the melancholy and said with a smile, "It's fine if we celebrate at home. Yunzhu, why don't you invite Amber too? She's practically an old acquaintance in this city."

But as soon as she finished speaking, Chen Wanxing realized something was wrong. Wait, Amber? When was the last time she saw her?

She thought back carefully and was surprised to realize that more than ten days had passed since Amber last came to the inn to look for her. This was inconsistent with Amber's usual practice of coming to talk to her almost every two or three days during this period.

For the first few days, Chen Wanxing was busy with the final preparations before moving and didn't notice anything amiss. Now that she's settled in her new home, the sudden quiet feels all the more jarring.

Yes, at the time she felt much more at peace and assumed that Amber had finally accepted reality and started trying to integrate into family life, which was why she came less often.

But now that I think about it, given Amber's attachment to the Marquis's past and the fact that she didn't have any close friends in her hometown, this change seems too fast and too sudden.

Chen Wanxing frowned deeply, a bad feeling passing through her heart. She hoped that she was just overthinking things.

Chen Wanxing composed herself and instructed Granny Li:

"Granny, let's put aside the matter of inviting Amber for now. Tomorrow morning, find an excuse to go and inquire around Amber's neighborhood. You don't need to be deliberate; just see what their neighbors are saying, especially in the last ten days or so, whether there has been any other unusual activity at their home."

Granny Li, an old woman from the household, was perceptive and immediately understood Chen Wanxing's concerns. She whispered, "Don't worry, Miss, I understand. I will do my best to ensure no one suspects anything."

The next morning, after finishing breakfast, Granny Li went out and didn't return until the afternoon, her face showing a hint of seriousness.

"Miss, this old servant has returned." She took the warm tea handed to her by Yunzhu, took a breath, and then reported in detail, "Miss Amber lives in Osmanthus Lane in the west of the city. That whole area is the old residence of the Marquis of Zhen'an. It looks quite peaceful."

"Did you find out anything?" Chen Wanxing asked, tapping the table lightly with her fingertips.

Granny Li organized her thoughts. She had no relatives or friends in this area, and relied entirely on her resourcefulness and observation to gather information: "This old servant did not dare to go directly to their door, so I sat down at a tea stall at the alley entrance, and then went to a nearby general store to buy some needles and thread, and exchanged a few words with the shopkeeper."

She recounted in detail: "The shopkeeper said that Miss Amber's family is a powerful family in the old Marquis's mansion, and their family is very wealthy. Recently, their shopping expenses have not decreased, but rather they are more extravagant than usual, often buying some fine pastries and seasonal fruits."

Chen Wanxing frowned slightly; there was nothing wrong with it.

Granny Li changed the subject, lowering her voice slightly: "But when I was resting at the tea stall, I overheard two old women gossiping, and they were talking about Miss Amber's family."

One person said, "His daughter, who returned from the capital, is truly beautiful. And coming from a wealthy and powerful family, she must be carrying a fortune. The Zhou family has really struck gold."

The other scoffed and replied, "No matter how high-ranking the family is, she's still just a maid, very lowly. Besides, why would she suddenly be sent back to her hometown? Who knows, she might have made a mistake in the Marquis's mansion."

Moreover, her parents and brothers are not around; she only has some uncles and cousins ​​who are not even paternal relatives. They might torment her to death in the future.

The first old woman chimed in, saying that just a few days ago she had seen the family taking Amber out to jewelry and silk shops, saying they were getting new jewelry and clothes made. But these past two days, they'd heard crying coming from inside, like they'd had an argument, and Amber seemed rather listless.

Granny Li looked at Chen Wanxing and, seeing that her expression had not changed, continued, "Listening to her tone, this old servant took the opportunity to ask the shopkeeper of the general store another question."

The shopkeeper said that his family had indeed been inquiring about the sale of the shop recently, and sighed, "After all, they are from a noble family, with a solid foundation and high aspirations."

Young lady, I'm afraid Amber's family has their eyes on her as a person, and also on the money she brought back from the capital, and they want to use it to make a respectable living for themselves.

I think this argument is probably about this.

After listening, Chen Wanxing remained silent for a moment, a cold smile curving her lips.

"Granny, you've done a great job. The information you gathered was just right," Chen Wanxing praised, then instructed, "Prepare a gift. It doesn't need to be expensive; just choose some famous pastries and candied fruits from the city. Tomorrow, I'm going to visit Amber's family."

The next morning, Chen Wanxing carefully dressed herself up, determined to make a grand entrance.

She wore a light purple satin jacket and a moon-white silk skirt, and her hair was adorned with a simple pearl hairpin.

She only brought the steady and reliable Granny Li with her, and left Yunzhu to look after the house.

The master and servant, carrying the prepared gift boxes, soon arrived at the door of Amber's house in Osmanthus Lane. It was a fairly tidy courtyard, easily visible at a glance, with a row of side rooms in addition to the main house. It looked a bit cramped, but it was very clean.

The courtyard gate was open, but there was no one in the courtyard, so Chen Wanxing didn't want to go in directly. She asked Granny Li to knock on the door, and after a moment, a young maid wearing a slightly worn vest came out of the main room and peeked at them.

"Please announce that my Miss Chen is an old acquaintance of Miss Amber from Kyoto. She just moved to her new house yesterday and has come to pay her a visit."

The young girl responded and turned to run inside. Not long after, a woman of about forty years old, wearing a dark brown jacket with lotus patterns, came out with a big smile, followed by the young girl.

"Oh my, honored guest! I'm so sorry I didn't greet you properly. Please come in."

The woman's gaze swept quickly over Chen Wanxing, and when she saw Chen's imposing presence and the well-mannered Granny Li standing behind her, her smile became even warmer. "I am Amber's aunt, Madam Liu. Please come inside, young lady."

Chen Wanxing nodded slightly and said with a light smile, "Aunt Liu, you're too kind. I apologize for the intrusion."

After entering the hall and taking their seats, Madam Liu busied herself with serving tea to the maids, praising Chen repeatedly: "I've long heard Amber mention Miss Chen, saying that you are one of Madam's most favored daughters. Seeing you today, it's truly well-deserved. Your bearing is unmatched by ordinary young ladies!"

Chen Wanxing smiled faintly, not responding to the conversation. Her gaze casually swept across the hall as she said, "Auntie, you flatter me. Amber and I grew up together, and our relationship is extraordinary."

I was busy settling in the past few days and didn't have time to visit. Now that I've finally managed to get settled, I thought I'd come and pay a visit, just to see her. I wonder if Sister Amber is well? I haven't seen her for some time and I miss her dearly.

Liu's smile froze almost imperceptibly for a moment, then she smiled and said, "Yes, yes. Miss, you've come at the right time. Please help persuade her. This child has been sullen ever since she came back. Perhaps she's still not used to being away from the capital."

She turned to the maid beside her and instructed, "Go and invite the young lady out. Tell her that Miss Chen from the capital has come to see her."