Qu Fulan was called back by Sister Hua Hao halfway back, saying that the old lady wanted to see her.
She was a little surprised.
Even though she wanted to show off in front of the old lady, this was not the time.
The other people in the Pei family had left early to give the grandmother and grandson some alone time. She naturally would not be insensible and compete to show herself at this time.
Why did the old lady ask her to go back?
She was puzzled in her heart, but she didn't show it on her face.
Upon entering the room, Qu Fulan saw Prince Pei from the corner of her eye. She collected herself and lowered her eyes to bow.
"This servant Hai Tang greets the old lady and the Prince."
Qu Fulan's expression was calm, her eyes did not wander, and her posture was well-mannered.
It was an appearance that could easily satisfy people.
The old lady laughed. "She is Hai Tang, a girl who knows manners very well. Hai Tang, the Prince said that you have cured my sleep and wants to see you."
Qu Fulan's eyes were still lowered as she looked in the Prince's direction and said, "I wonder what instructions the Prince has for me?"
Qu Fulan knew that Prince Pei's gaze had been on her ever since she had entered the room.
This was not the first time she had encountered such a situation. In the past, when she was creating value for the company in the modern era, the big boss had specially come back from abroad to see her.
She had experienced scrutiny, observation, and praise before.
In fact, she didn't like this. If he thought that she had made a contribution, he could just give her money and reward her. What was there to see? They were all humans, and they all had one mouth and two eyes.
Pei Jin'an recognized the woman from the moment she entered the door. He smiled. "Do you have anything you want or want to achieve? Tell me and I can help you achieve it."
If Qu Fulan believed his words and told him what she truly wanted to achieve, she would be extremely stupid.
First of all, the timing wasn't right, and the merit wasn't there yet. Moreover, she was just a maidservant, and there was no such thing as forcing others to repay her kindness. She would be wrong to think that it was a blessing.
She couldn't say anything, at least for now.
"The Prince has already given this servant something before. This servant is content. In the future, I only hope to serve the old lady well and have no other requests."
Prince Pei nodded his head and said, "If you can think like this, you're obviously not the kind of person who tries to blackmail people for favors. However, the kindness you've shown to the old lady can't be compensated with a single reward. I'll reward you later based on your merits. You just have to serve the old lady well, and you'll naturally benefit."
See, asking for her opinion was just a formality. Whether he rewarded her or not, it was all up to him.
"Thank you, Your Highness."
Prince Pei asked a few more questions, with the main point being the old lady's sleeping condition. Qu Fulan answered them one by one, and in the end, Prince Pei nodded in satisfaction.
"You may leave."
"Yes."
Qu Fulan lowered her eyes and retreated. From the beginning to the end, she did not even look up at Prince Pei.
She didn't dare to look, for fear that the other party would see that she wasn't as honest as she looked on the surface.
"How's this girl?" The old lady smiled from behind.
"There is a sense of propriety in advancing and retreating, and proper behavior. Grandmother's vision is not bad, but one does not know where Grandmother found such a servant girl?" Pei Jin'an asked casually.
"Bought from outside the residence, a girl who signed a death contract. Her parents are dead, so it's quite pitiful."
Pei Jin'an nodded, but his expression was thoughtful and he did not say anything else.
When Qu Fulan returned to the servant girl's room, the other servant girls could not help but gather around her.
"What did Sister Hua Hao ask you to do just now?"
It turned out that the other servant girls had seen Qu Fulan being called back when she was halfway back. This spread like wildfire, and everyone knew about it and was very curious.
"They're just asking about the old lady's sleeping condition."
The old lady had insisted on taking the medicine for two months. It was time to stop the medicine, but she couldn't stop it all at once. Now, she was also gradually reducing the dosage.
"You just entered the old lady's room, is the Prince still there?" Hai Yue asked.
Qu Fulan looked at Hai Yue and calmly said, "Yes."
Hai Yue's expression changed and she blurted out, "Did the Prince say anything to you?"
Qu Fulan looked at Hai Yue and didn't say anything. She just looked at her calmly.
Hai Yue felt guilty under her gaze and realized that she shouldn't have asked such a question. What her masters said wasn't something that she, as a servant, could ask.
However, she was also very curious and wanted to know. Her heart felt as if it had been bitten by ants, painful and sour.
She didn't know if the old lady had already told the Prince about the matter of the maidservant, and she didn't know if the old lady had already decided to give Hai Tang to the Prince.
These questions troubled Hai Yue, and she tossed and turned the entire night, unable to sleep well.
Qu Fulan had a good night's sleep.
The next day, Hai Yue found out from an unknown source that the old lady had yet to decide on a candidate and was still in the process of screening.
Hai Yue immediately became excited, as if she had been injected with chicken blood. She was extremely excited. She still had a chance.
In fact, the Prince's courtyard did not only have one maidservant. There would definitely be a maidservant doing odd jobs, but there was only one personal maidservant. The other third-rank maidservants were not allowed to enter the master's room without the master's order.
Hai Yue naturally wanted to be a first-rank maidservant and serve her master personally, not a third-rank maidservant.
For this reason, she worked even harder than before. When she heard that the old lady's shoulders were sore, she recommended herself that she knew how to massage and could massage the old lady's shoulders to dredge her tibia.
Hua Hao and Yue Yuan discussed this matter for a while.
"What do you think of this?" Hua Hao asked.
"The old lady wants to choose a servant for the Prince. Although the news has not spread, everyone knows that all the servant girls in the residence want to go to the Prince's courtyard. Not to mention being a personal maidservant, there are some maidservants who can't sit still."
"That may be the case, but she is too eager for quick success. We, as personal maidservants, have not said anything, but she, a second-rank maidservant, is rushing to massage the old lady's shoulders. Where does she put you and I?"
"But in the eyes of the masters, the hard work of the maidservants is always better than those who are sly and cunning."
"You're right, maybe the old lady likes this kind of girl."
As for what the old lady was thinking, even as personal maidservants, Hua Hao and Yue Yuan did not know.
Up until now, the old lady had never said that she wanted to choose a maidservant to serve the Prince personally, but she often mentioned Hai Tang and Hai Yue, the two maidservants.
She said Hai Tang knew her limits, and Hai Yue was hardworking.
It didn't sound like she was particularly fond of anyone.
One day, Prince Pei returned from outside and went straight to Fushou Hall.
At this time, Hai Yue was massaging the old lady's shoulders. When she saw the Prince come in, her eyes lit up and she quickly bowed to the Prince.
Prince Pei did not pay attention to the servant girl bowing to him. He first paid his respects to his grandmother and then told her about what he had been doing these two days to avoid her worry.
After saying this, Pei Jin'an looked around and said, "Why is that girl called Hai Tang not here?"
The smile on Hai Yue's face almost froze. She had never dreamed that the Prince would leave home for two days and the first person he would look for when he returned would be Hai Tang!