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

While Granny Li was worrying about Chen Wanxing's marriage, Amber was also worrying about her own "marriage".

A waiter from Laifu Inn sidled up to the counter and whispered, "Manager, that girl who came looking for Miss Chen a couple of days ago is here again, and she seems even more anxious than last time."

The shopkeeper looked up from his ledger and, sure enough, saw the young girl in the worn blue cotton vest peeking in at the doorway again. Her expression was more anxious than before, as if she was about to cry.

He knew perfectly well that this girl was definitely up to something, and as an innkeeper, they absolutely couldn't afford to get involved in such matters.

The girl shuffled to the counter, her voice trembling with tears, "Shopkeeper, please, have mercy and tell me where Miss Chen is! My girl, my girl really can't wait any longer!"

As she spoke, she actually took out a small piece of silver, worth about two qian, from her sleeve and shakily pushed it over.

The shopkeeper frowned slightly and gently pushed the silver back.

"Young lady, it's not about the money."

He lowered his voice, "Miss Chen is a respectable person. She's been staying at our shop for over a month. We can't break the rules and reveal a customer's whereabouts so easily. Besides, I really don't know where she moved to. I already told you last time."

The girl's tears streamed down her face.

Seeing her like this, the shopkeeper felt a pang of pity. He hesitated for a moment, then sighed, beckoned her closer, and whispered so that only the two of them could hear:

"Girl, I won't admit it once I leave the counter."

His gaze swept across the empty hall, making sure no one was paying attention. "Before Miss Chen moved out, Granny Wang from Xinglong Pawnshop came looking for her, seemingly to help with arrangements for the house. Granny Wang might know where Miss Chen lives."

Don't waste any more time here. If you're really in a hurry, try your luck at a brokerage. However,

He changed his tone, as if reminding her, "That old woman Wang is even more tight-lipped than I am. If you go directly to her and ask where Miss Chen lives, she definitely won't tell you."

You'd better take something with you and have her pass it on to Miss Chen. There's still a chance. If Miss Chen sees the item and is willing to help you, she should come looking for you herself.

That's all he could do. He pointed out a path; whether it would be successful depended on the girl's and the man behind her's fate.

The girl seemed to have grasped at the last straw. She hastily wiped away her tears, thanked them repeatedly, stubbornly left the piece of silver on the counter, turned around and ran out of the inn. Her figure quickly disappeared around the street corner.

The shopkeeper looked at the piece of silver, shook his head, and put it into his money box.

This silver is a bit too hot to handle. I just hope that Granny Wang can really help and not cause any bigger trouble.

Chen Wanxing was completely unaware of anything; she was living a peaceful life.

After the housewarming party, she gradually became familiar with her neighbors.

The family to her east was a widow with a child; her son was a student at the official school.

After her father passed away, her mother was left to fend for herself. Her mother ran a small food stall near the dock and worked from dawn till dusk every day. Chen Wanxing had never met her mother before.

I heard that she had land in her hometown, which enabled her to afford her son's education.

On the west side lived a large family, young and old, whom Chen Wanxing recognized. Old Man Li was getting old and couldn't find work outside, so he would only fill in for others at the docks during busy farming seasons when there was a shortage of workers.

He had three sons. The eldest was a butcher who worked in his father-in-law's pork shop. The second and third sons worked as helpers in wealthy households.

Chen Wanxing invited his neighbors to dinner and heard from Old Man Qin that the pork was ordered from the pork shop owned by their eldest son.

As for the grandchildren, there are even more, a whole row of seven. The three girls are quite well-behaved, and every time they see Chen Wanxing, they greet her as "sister."

Those boys were much more mischievous, always teasing the cat or the dog, which made Old Man Li so angry that he was always looking for a stick.

The first people they got to know were their neighbors across the hall, a young couple. The husband's surname was Zheng, and neither of them were from Kaifeng Prefecture. They had only moved here from the countryside two years ago.

I heard that Zheng Xiangong had served in the army for several years and was a minor officer. After he retired from the army, his elder brother and sister-in-law couldn't tolerate him, so he went to work in a security escort agency for a few more years. After earning some money, he came to the prefectural city.

It was a dangerous job, and after things settled down, Madam Zheng wouldn't let him go to the escort agency anymore.

He was noticed by a blacksmith because of his strength, and worked as a blacksmith's apprentice for two years. Now he is considered a skilled blacksmith master.

Since becoming acquainted with Chen Wanxing, Madam Zheng often came to chat with him to relieve her boredom.

When Chen Wanxing was in a good mood, chatting with her would help her pass the time; when she didn't want to see her, she would simply have Li Mama say that she was out and not at home, and that would get by.

That day, Chen Wanxing was chatting with Zheng Niangzi. She also brought their seven-year-old daughter with her. The little girl sat blankly next to Li Mama, watching Li Mama do needlework without making a sound or finding it annoying.

Just then, Granny Wang from Xinglong Pawnshop came over. As soon as she entered the courtyard, Zheng's eldest daughter saw her first. She screamed and climbed onto Zheng's mother in terror.

Madam Zheng looked at her young lady with some confusion, wondering what was wrong with her.

Seeing that Chen Wanxing had guests, Madam Zheng hugged Zheng's daughter, apologized, nodded, and took her leave.

Chen Wanxing didn't have time to pay attention to the girl's unusual reaction. Looking at Wang Mama, whose face had lost its usual warm smile and whose brows were now filled with an unusual solemnity and caution, Chen Wanxing's heart tightened. Before she could even figure out what was going on, her expression also became tense.

Without much pleasantries, Wang Mama entered the hall, greeted everyone, and then took out a small object tightly wrapped in red silk cloth from her sleeve.

"Miss Chen, I apologize for bothering you. Today, a young maidservant I don't recognize came to my shop and insisted on asking where you live."

Granny Wang lowered her voice and placed the cloth bundle on the table. "The first rule of my trade is that I must never reveal the address of my clients. No matter how much they complain, I must never let those words come out of my mouth."

Chen Wanxing's heart skipped a beat, but her expression remained unchanged: "And then?"

"When the girl realized that her pleas were useless, tears welled up in her eyes, and she finally pulled out this thing."

Granny Wang pointed to the blue cloth bag. "She said that as long as you give this to me, you will know what it is at a glance. She told me to make sure I give it to you."

This old woman doesn't think it's fake. Fearing it might cause a problem, I didn't dare delay and brought it to you immediately.

Chen Wanxing thanked her and picked up the cloth bag. She already had a guess in her mind. She didn't know many people in Kaifeng Prefecture, and the only person she could think of who would bring old things to her was Amber.

She opened the layers one by one, revealing a lustrous jade pendant carved with a gyrfalcon catching a swan.

The pattern was unique and somewhat familiar, but I couldn't quite place its exact origin.

When she was in the Marquis's mansion, the young master was still young, and his accessories were mostly auspicious themes, far from this sharp style.

Chen Wanxing ran his fingertips along the inside edge of the jade pendant and sure enough, he found a very subtle and unique mark on it.

She held the jade pendant up to the window for a closer look. Next to it was an even smaller private seal, a rune representing the young master's birthday.

This is the jade pendant that the young master wore after he came of age, and it was one that he used personally. Only such personal jade pendants would have such runes engraved on them.

At this moment, Chen Wanxing didn't know whether to be shocked that the young master had given such a personal jade pendant to Amber, or to be shocked that Amber had given it away.

In an instant, Chen Wanxing felt a chill run through his body, and a surge of anger rushed to his head.

This is no ordinary signal. Given Amber's feelings for the young master, sending out something like this means Amber must be in a very critical situation.

She clutched the jade pendant tightly in her palm; the cold jade hurt her hand, which cooled her worries slightly and brought her back to her senses.

What should we do now? Should we go straight to Amber's house?

No, she needed to stay calm and at least figure out what had happened.