"Fifth Miss."
Two maids bowed towards Nan Baoyi.
Nan Baoyi waved her hands to excuse their greeting and looked at both of them carefully. Suddenly she was worried that they would look down on Xiao Yi.
After all, in the eyes of these servants, Xiao Yi was an adoptive child who was not favored.
She wanted to give them a warning. She clasped her hands behind her back and looked stern, "What are your names and what are you good at?"
"My name is Yu Wei and my specialty is cooking. I know how to cook a lot of delicious food from the North and South."
"My name is Chang Xin, good in murdering ― oh no, good in fortune-telling, such as conjecturing for marriages and more."
Nan Baoyi frowned in confusion as if she just heard that this maid was good at killing people!
What kind of people did Aunt Ji choose for him!
She paced around the two maids and looked at them carefully. They both stood upright and looked solemn and respectful, there were no signs of weakness like a normal maid who stayed long in the residence. Their forefinger and web of their hands even had a thick layer of callus, traces of using knives and swords often.
Nan Baoyi looked again.
Xiao Yi was a sharp person and he wouldn't allow normal maids to serve him. Were these two maids his people?
Glancing over their beautiful faces, hmm, the people who shared Xiao Yi's bed.
Nan Baoyi unfurrowed her eyebrows and her attitude was friendly, "Second Brother is brilliant and resourceful and he looked handsome and elegant. Such a shame that he does not have people who understand him by his side. Now that you two big sisters are here to take care of him, I'm relieved. Serving him is also your good fortune!"
Since she could not suck up to Xiao Yi, she could sweet-talk his maids. If only they would mention it to him, Xiao Yi would know of her good will.
Yu Wei looked surprisingly at Nan Baoyi. The way Fifth Miss talked like she was pretending to be mature and she sounded like an old matchmaker lady…
Chang Xin calmly took out a letter and handed it to Nan Baoyi, "Here."
"For me?" Nan Baoyi was surprised.
Chang Xin nodded, "Fifth Miss will have good fortunes."
Does this mean she got on the good side of Xiao Yi's people?
Nan Baoyi smiled widely while putting the letter into her pocket and went back to Jinyi Pavilion. But she saw a few maids coming in and out carrying luggage.
He Ye looked anxious and pulled her sleeves with reddening eyes, "Miss, Master is blinded. He actually asked Nan Yan to move in with you!"
Nan Baoyi looked over. Nan Yan's white skirt rustled under the eaves like a small white flower blooming in the spring.
They locked eyes and Nan Yan smiled sweetly, "Baoyi, you are back. Father asked me to move in here with you, you wouldn't mind, right?"
Nan Baoyi's expression changed.
This did not happen in the previous life. Perhaps this time she bought the inkstone that Nan Yan wanted and upset her so she made this move.
But she was not afraid at all.
In the previous life, Nan Yan disfigured her and Cheng Deyu abandoned her. In the end she was sold by the Cheng family to the palace in Shengjing City.
She went through many challenges that others could not imagine in the palace, her heart was filled with determination and tenacity. To her, Nan Yan was only an ordinary hateful girl today. She would not take her little tricks seriously.
She smiled slightly, "I'm very happy that my Big Sister can be here with me."
After saying this, she and He Ye went into the pavilion.
Nan Yan looked at her nonchalance and couldn't help but frowned.
Her maid was puzzled, "Why is Nan Baoyi not angry at all? Isn't she angry at Master's decision and angry that Miss took over her yard?"
"She must be hiding it so she pretended not to care." Nan Yan explained. "But she can't pretend for too long. My mother will be entering the residence very soon, she will feel worse at that time."
He Ye followed Nan Baoyi back to her room and looked at her Mistress opening the letter by the window, "Miss, that outsider's daughter is taking advantage, why are you not reacting to it? Why don't I report to Old Madam and let her chase Nan Yan out?"
"Father already dislikes me. If you do that, he will dislike me even more." Nan Baoyi carelessly opened up the letter. "She won't be staying here for long. Madam Liu will not be able to enter the Nan residence too, don't worry."
He Ye went out to get a bird's nest soup for Nan Baoyi. She opened up the letter that Chang Xin gave to her and contemplated it.
——"A morning's sweet and cool in spring, with birds from everywhere to tell, but in a night of brutal storm, how many lovely flowers fell?" Whoever who received this letter has to transcribe it and pass on the letters to seven people who are close to you, otherwise, your family will be destroyed and your loved one dies of an unnatural death!!
She held the letter and trembled lightly.
The people around the future power minister were not simple. Will it still be in time if she returned the letter now?
Nan Baoyi wanted to cry but there were no tears.
...
At dusk, Nan Baozhu came to Jinyi Pavilion to play a shuttlecock game with Nan Baoyi. She was shocked to see Nan Yan moving in.
She had no more mood to play and dragged Nan Baoyi behind a cluster of peonies, "What's going on, everything was fine so why did that outsider's daughter move in?
"Long story. Ignore her, let's just play."
Nan Baoyi did not want to spoil her mood because of Nan Yan. Unexpectedly, Nan Yan came over suddenly.
The girl bowed gently towards Nan Baozhu, "Fourth Sister."
Nan Baozhu waved her hand in disgust, "Who's your Fourth Sister, can you not confuse yourself and call me your sister?"
Nan Yan's eyes turned red. She stood there with her head lowered and remained silent like she just went through a major grievance.
Nan Baozhu became even more disgusted, she could not help but say, "I did not hit you nor scold you, why are you crying now? People might be mistaken and thought I'm bullying you!"
Nan Baoyi looked coldly beside.
In the previous life, she thought that Nan Yan was a good older sister. She did not mind her mistress' daughter status and brought her in the Shu Country's rich and powerful families' circle. She helped her to gain a good reputation and let everyone know that she was educated.
But in this life, she was not going to make her feel comfortable even in the Nan residence, what more the circle of the rich families in Shu Country.
She grabbed Nan Baozhu's hand, "Since you don't like her, let's play in the garden. If you can't see her, there's no eyesore."
Nan Yan choked back her sobs and stood in front of them, "Baoyi, Father asked me to move in here to take care of you and teach you. Today you did not do any studying and did not do any needlework, one day has been wasted.
According to scholar books, there's a saying 'You should seize the opportunity of being young and not waste time easily because you can't get it back when it's gone.' Although we are girls, we still need to be hardworking, so you should not play in the garden. Go back to your room and study properly. If you don't listen to me, I will tell Father."
Nan Baozhu was furious after she heard that and stood in front of Nan Baoyi to shield her, "Nan Yan, who are you in this residence? Even Grandmother does not recognize your position. Who are you to discipline my sister?! If you have so much free time, why don't you teach your mother? All these years she would not let go of my Third Uncle just for a bit of money, so shameless!"