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

All of these were obtained through her own "ability".

Part of it was a "thank you gift" from the household. Whenever someone wanted an easier job or a change of position, they would always come to her for help.

She acted as a matchmaker, and whether the match succeeded or not, someone always remembered her kindness and would send her a few taels of silver afterward as a token of their appreciation. Over the years, this amounted to quite a sum, easily a hundred taels or so.

The other part consisted of "festival gifts" from the shopkeepers outside. The Marquis's mansion had large expenses and made numerous purchases, from banquet supplies to winter charcoal, and even the hiring of servants; those who handled these matters could all get some benefits.

As a favorite of the lady, she could always say a few words when the lady decided which shop to use. These shopkeepers were all shrewd people, and naturally, they would give her "gifts" during holidays.

This money, though it comes in small amounts over time, has accumulated to two or three hundred taels.

As for the remaining half, that was her personal property. From the moment she started working for the madam, her most important task was to manage the madam's private accounts.

Besides the estates and shops that came with her dowry, there were also estates belonging to the Marquis's family, as well as estates and fields purchased in her ancestral home in Henan, all of which brought in a large harvest every year.

As the saying goes, meeting someone can build up a bond. Even though these servants who are away from home all year round have their contracts managed by the madam, they are not like the servants in the mansion.

They are much wealthier and receive ample gifts as a form of filial piety.

Big problems can't be covered up, but small problems can be covered up with a few words of praise, and a few more nice words will be enough to make those junior managers grateful.

Over the years, she had accumulated quite a bit of wealth without even realizing it. Linglong lovingly touched her little treasure trove and counted it off one by one before she was done.

Days passed quietly, under the same sky and in the same courtyard.

Another year has passed in the blink of an eye. It's just past the beginning of spring, and the weather is still quite cold.

Linglong touched her chilly clothes, but resigned herself to getting out of bed.

She yawned, threw off the covers, and was immediately jolted awake by the cold. She had been feeling sleepy, but now she was fully awake.

Although it was of little use, she still unconsciously tightened her coat.

Pushing open the door, it was still dark, and a layer of white mist shrouded the courtyard.

Two maids, who were working in the fields, were slowly sweeping the stone path with long-handled bamboo brooms. When they saw Linglong come out, they stepped forward and curtsied.

Linglong checked the time, didn't linger any longer, and went straight to the small kitchen. She lifted the curtain and saw that things were bustling about inside, with a roaring fire and a warm atmosphere.

"Zhang Mama, I specifically told you yesterday that Madam said she wanted to eat rock sugar stewed snow frog this morning. Judging from the time, Madam should be getting up soon. Snow frog is hard to prepare. Is it stewed yet? We can't delay Madam's breakfast."

"Don't worry, Miss Linglong. You gave the instructions yesterday, so I got up early this morning to prepare it. Look, it's already stewed and is being kept warm on the small stove."

Seeing Linglong heading towards the small kitchen, Zhang's mother immediately went to the door to greet her and speak. She then led Linglong a few steps forward, pointing to another food container that had already been packed, and whispered:

"It's quite a coincidence. I bought a bit too much snow frog today. This stuff doesn't keep very well, so it goes well with snow pears. I made a little extra and put it with your breakfast, Miss."

Linglong's gaze swept over the food box, and she understood immediately. This wasn't a "coincidence" for Zhang's mother; she had clearly prepared an extra portion to curry favor.

She showed no emotion on her face, only a faint smile: "I will remember your kindness in thinking of me, Mom."

Just as they finished eating, a commotion came from the main room; Madam Li had woken up.

Linglong entered the bedroom, where a maid was kneeling by the bedside with a steaming copper basin in her hands. Mingyue was gently wiping Li's face and hands with a fine cotton cloth.

She went forward and tidied up the clothes the lady would wear, then went to the dressing table and opened the dressing cases one by one.

"Madam, how about you style your hair in a round bun today? This set of jewelry with pearls looks dignified, neat, and elegant."

Madam Li glanced at the set of jewelry Linglong was holding and said, "Alright, this will do."

After Linglong watched her make her selections, she carefully placed the items on the dressing table and then went to the small kitchen to bring up the snow frog stewed that morning.

"Madam, this snow frog soup has just been cooked. We'll probably have to wait a while before we can have dinner in the old lady's room. It's good to have some soup to tide us over for now."

Linglong removed the lid and adjusted the spoon to a suitable angle before serving the warm pot.

After everything was tidied up, it was only a quarter past dawn. Li Shi helped Linglong to her feet, took the hand warmer, and led the people to the old lady's courtyard.

The group walked through the courtyard, which was still shrouded in a thin mist, and it took about fifteen minutes to reach the Shou'an Hall where the old lady lived.

When the time came, the young ladies and the second young master of the mansion were already standing below the hall, waiting to pay their respects to the old lady.

The previous generation of the Zhen'an Marquis's family had few offspring. Apart from the old lady who only gave birth to the Marquis, all the concubines in the entire harem only gave birth to one daughter who married into the Ning Prince's mansion and became a concubine.

After the lady married into the family, she became pregnant and gave birth to the eldest daughter in the first year. Later, she gave birth to the eldest son, the second son, and the second daughter in succession, and immediately gained a firm foothold in the Marquis's mansion.

The old lady was pleased and handed over the household management token to the lady of the house early on.

At this moment, apart from the eldest son, even the concubine's third, fourth, and fifth daughters of the Marquis's family came to pay their respects.

When everyone saw Li Shi approaching, they immediately bowed in greeting. Linglong and the maidservant following behind her also bowed in greeting.

After waiting in the courtyard for a while, the curtain to the main hall was lifted from the inside, and Li led everyone into the main hall.

Breakfast was already laid out, and the old lady was sitting upright in the main seat. Madam Li stepped forward a few paces and respectfully curtsied.

"Daughter-in-law greets Mother, may Mother be blessed."

The young masters and ladies behind her also greeted her in unison.

"Grandson/Granddaughter greets Grandmother, wishing her a long and happy life."

"Please sit down."

The old lady looked up and glanced around: "How is An'er feeling? Is she still unable to get out of bed?"

Madam Li was waiting at the table to serve food to the old lady when she heard this and immediately replied, "Yesterday, someone came and went from his room. He was able to get up, but he is still very weak. His high fever keeps recurring after taking medicine for several hours."

"Please ask Dr. Li to pay close attention. It's all because of the weather this year. It never rains, but it rained all day on the day of the imperial examination. It was very cold, and An'er suffered a lot this time."

"That's right. I heard from Dr. Li the other day that quite a few people got sick after taking the imperial examination because of the bad weather."

"Please take good care of An'er. Tell him not to go out recently and to rest and recuperate at home."

After the old lady finished speaking, she also looked at the group of children who were eating quietly and said with concern:

"You guys are the same. It's been cold lately, making it easy to catch a cold. Third Sister came over today without even wearing a cloak, and your maids didn't even remind her."

When the third young lady heard her grandmother call her name, she replied timidly:

"Grandma, I felt very hot when I woke up this morning. It's probably because I'm a child with a lot of energy, so I was lazy and didn't wear a cloak. I'll remember that and I'll definitely wear one next time so you won't worry."

The atmosphere at the dinner table was lively, with everyone chatting away.