The Fierce Farm Girl Has A Secret Space

Chapter 1336: Chapter 1336: Boudoir (2)

The message had already been received beforehand, so all the servants at Jinxiu Courtyard were waiting at the entrance. After Dong Yushi made the introductions, they collectively knelt down and addressed her as Mistress.

Dong Yushi then briefed her on the situation of the people in the courtyard: one manager nanny, four top-tier maidens, four second-tier maidens, six third-tier maidens, along with a cook and two coarse labor maids. ”All these arrangements were made by my mother-in-law during her lifetime, and haven’t changed since. If there’s a shortage of hands, more can be added...”

Yang Ruxin was non-committal; she hadn’t planned on living here regularly anyway, so she felt there were too many people.

”This was the boudoir my mother-in-law personally arranged for her younger sister,” Dong Yushi led Yang Ruxin upstairs, ”Whatever other girls had, she wasn’t lacking in anything...” As she spoke, she opened several chests which contained everything from little shoes to little clothes, ”These are clothes and shoes my mother-in-law made for her younger sister every year, as well as crafted jewelry... Those over there were prepared by my husband for his sister...”

Yang Ruxin picked up a pair of little shoes and examined them. The fabric had turned somewhat yellow and the silk threads had faded; there were even a few wormholes in the soles. It was clear they had been stored for a long time and had attracted insects.

”This happened in the second year after I got married. It rained a lot in Jiangnan that year, and we were negligent here, so insects got into things. My mother-in-law got pretty angry at the time and punished several people...” Dong Yushi sighed, ”My mother-in-law always seemed very gentle to me, speaking in a soft and delicate voice to everyone. I’d never seen her as angry as she was then...”

Yang Ruxin had gathered from what she had heard and seen, and felt that Dong Yushi was not lying. The Dong Family had never given up on the lost Dong Wenxiu; those feelings were genuine.

Leaving the boudoir that originally belonged to Dong Wenxiu for her mother, Yang Ruxin and Yu Qingge chose rooms on the lower floor to live in. These rooms were all suites, essentially featuring a Warm Pavilion at the entrance and then the master’s room further inside. Inside the master’s room was a canopy bed, while in the Warm Pavilion was a large kang bed big enough to sleep five or six people side by side without issue.

”These are the Selling Covenants of the servants in this courtyard, all of them permanent contracts.” Dong Yushi handed a stack of papers to Yang Ruxin, ”The oldest among these girls has been here for five or six years, the shortest for two... They’re not family-reared; they were all bought from outside and trained before being assigned here...” She paused for a moment, ”These were originally supposed to be passed on to your sister, but since I see that she’s not adept at handling these things, I’ll let Xinxin take care of them.”

Yang Ruxin leafed through the stack of Selling Covenants and couldn’t help but sigh. One had to provide for so many mouths; the pressure on the noble houses of the past was indeed great. Furthermore, a lady was waited on by over a dozen people, making it rather remarkable that they didn’t all end up incompetent. However, since they were given to her, she kept them and immediately had all the servants of Jinxiu Courtyard gather together.

No matter what the future held, she reckoned she’d be residing in the Dong Family for some time now. Thus Jinxiu Courtyard must not be subject to the meddling of others. These servants... she needed to conduct an initial screening.

Dong Yushi, astute as she was, didn’t ask what Yang Ruxin intended to do. Instead, she exercised both kindness and authority when enjoining the group of servants, and only after advising Yang Ruxin to seek her out if there was anything needed did she temporarily leave Jinxiu Courtyard. Still, she left behind one of her trusted maids—a precaution in case the servants were uncooperative and in need of reinforcement.