"Husband?"
"Listen to your husband on this matter. A cook is essential. As for how many more people we need to hire, that's for you, my lady, to decide."
Fu Yu, in the heat of the moment, suddenly remembered something else. "My lady, don't worry about this for now. Tomorrow, I'll go find Brother Yuanshan and see if any convicts have been exiled recently."
"…?"
"These people are usually banished for major offenses."
"What kind of major offense could be worse than the Duke's mansion case from back then?"
"Mmm." Fu Yu didn't say it, but compared to a case of treason, the Duke's mansion case was a mere trifle.
The next day, when Fu Yu mentioned this to Qi Yuanshan, Qi Yuanshan said, "What a coincidence, there is indeed a group."
It turned out this group was meant to be settled by Qi Yuanshan himself. He had initially planned to send them directly to the Jinjiling garrison.
Hearing Fu Yu say he wanted to pick a personal attendant and maid for Xinci, Qi Yuanshan took it to heart.
"Brother Yu, leave this to your brother."
"That would be wonderful." With Brother Yuanshan's word, Fu Yu was completely relieved.
Three days later, Qi Yuanshan personally escorted a carriage, bringing several people.
The first to alight were two women in their early forties. From their build and bone structure, one could tell they were used to manual labor.
Next came a young cook, about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. However, her physique didn't suggest a life of labor.
Finally, a woman in her mid-thirties, a madam, appeared, leading two young maids. One seemed to be only seven or eight years old, while the other was older, likely twelve or thirteen.
It was early spring, and they shivered in the cold wind, clad in rags, huddled together.
The young cook, in particular, held the youngest maid tightly in her arms, as if wanting to shield her from all the cold.
Madam Fang couldn't bear to see this and instructed them to go to the side room to wash up. After they had cleaned themselves and changed into clean clothes, they emerged.
Fu Xinci had already received the news and came over with Chunyu.
Seeing her daughter arrive, Madam Fang gently explained, "These people were all sent by your Uncle Qi personally. Your Uncle Qi also said that when you marry young Master He, he will let you take everyone except the two elder women."
Mention of marriage made Fu Xinci's face flush again.
However, thinking of what Uncle Qi had revealed, Fu Xinci's eyes flickered.
The cook, Madam Yao, was actually the youngest daughter-in-law of the Wei family. When the Wei family fell, Madam Yao's maternal family went to great lengths to swap her and her granddaughter's identities with the Wei family's cook and a young maid, thus saving their lives.
This was a crime of deceiving the emperor. If discovered by someone with ill intentions, no one would escape.
General Liu almost wet himself when he learned of this, but it was already too late. The people had already been sent to Liaodong. If he revealed the truth, how many people would die?
Alas, for everyone to survive, he could only pretend ignorance.
Sometimes, just surviving was a kindness in itself.
So, after accepting money from the Yao family, he generously gave half to Qi Yuanshan, sending the mother and daughter to Eagle Beak Cliff, sharing the burden with him.
He didn't trust anyone else.
At the time, Qi Yuanshan was so angry he almost cursed, but after a moment's thought, he quickly shut his mouth.
For such a matter of life and death, it was better not to speak out. He had to swallow this bitter pill in silence.
There was no choice but to accept it.
After returning from the General's mansion, Qi Yuanshan didn't even tell his own son. Instead, he confided in his future daughter-in-law.
His intention was for Xinci to keep a close eye on the mother and daughter, and absolutely ensure they didn't attract the attention of anyone with ulterior motives.
At first, Fu Xinci was also startled, wishing she could immediately send these "hot potatoes" to her companions in Longcheng.
She always felt that place was the safest.
But then she thought about it and realized it might not be necessary to make such a fuss. After all, women rarely appeared in public in those times. Even if someone had seen the mother and daughter before, they were usually confined to the inner quarters.
This was Liaodong, and those people would rarely come here.
With this realization, Fu Xinci became much calmer than Uncle Qi.
Qi Yuanshan: My son has good judgment.
...
After the group had washed up and come to pay their respects, Madam Fang took a careful look and couldn't help but sigh inwardly: These people had good foundations, but she didn't know how long they had been traveling. They still had frostbite on their faces and hands.
The madam in her thirties glanced at the cook and then stepped forward to kowtow to Madam Fang and her daughter.
"Your servant, Madam Yang, greets Madam and Young Lady."
The cook didn't presume and followed Madam Yang, kneeling before Madam Fang and her daughter.
"Your servant, Madam Yin, greets Madam and Young Lady."
"Your servant, Cui Xi (Cui Yun), greets Madam and Young Lady."
"Your servant, Madam Zhang (Ren Shi), greets Madam and Young Lady."
After everyone had kowtowed to Madam Fang and her daughter, Madam Fang quickly told them to rise.
"Alright, everyone rise. Our household is not large. From now on, as long as you all perform your duties diligently and don't cause any trouble, we will not mistreat you. Conversely, if you do, we will send you back to where you came from."
Hearing Madam Fang's words, everyone instinctively flinched and said in unison, "Your servants will certainly heed Madam's teachings and will not take a single wrong step."
"Good."
Madam Fang was compassionate. Seeing that these people had good discipline and knew their manners, she told them to go eat first.
The group stared at the thick millet porridge, soft three-grain steamed buns, and pickled tofu and preserved vegetables laid out on the table, a little stunned, thinking they were dreaming.
"Quick, eat. After you've finished, there are things for you to do."
"Yes, Madam."
Madam Fang and Fu Xinci could hear the tremor in their voices.
It seemed like it had been a long time since these people had eaten a hot meal. The youngest, Cui Yun, scooped up some millet porridge with a wooden spoon and brought it to her lips. Her eyes immediately welled up, steamed by the heat.
She was much more sensible than before and continued to eat silently.
Madam Fang even thought the little maid's dining etiquette was excellent and couldn't help but glance at her again.
As for Madam Zhang and Madam Ren, their eating was a bit less refined, perhaps because they hadn't eaten their fill for many days. Each of them ate three bowls of millet porridge and one steamed bun before reluctantly putting down their chopsticks.
They dared not eat more, fearing Madam would dislike them for eating so much and send them away.
After they finished eating, they all eagerly vied to start working, including the two young maids.
However, Fu Xinci called out to them in time and, in front of everyone, said gently, "You don't need to change the names of the others, but it would be good for your names to be changed. I've thought about it, and from now on, you will be called: Lichun and Lixia."