The maid's road to success

The weather was not too cold. After receiving the letter, An Gu took his two sons to stock up a lot of firewood for An Zizhong's family. However, he didn't know that there were so many people in their family. Fortunately, An Lan was capable and took An Qing and An Zizhong's siblings to Sanxi, no, now they have been led by An Hongzhi to the back mountain to chop firewood and hunt pheasants.

An Zizhong and his sister encountered poisonous weeds in the woods and broke out in rashes. The doctor came to see them and told them to stay away from the wind and apply ointment every day. The two of them successfully stayed at home and did not go out.

An Lan and several others piled up firewood in a woodshed. The house in Anjia Village was small, with the main room in the middle and two side rooms on the left and right, one for each of An Zizhong's brothers and sisters. There was also a wing room on each side, one for An Lan and An Qing'an brothers, and the other for An Yun sisters and An Huang.

The family brought enough food, cotton clothes and quilts, as well as various delicacies sent by the villagers as New Year gifts from An Zizhong's brothers and sisters. The few of them stayed at home and celebrated the New Year comfortably.

An Zizhong stayed in his room every day to study poetry and books, and basically memorized every book related to the imperial examination. An Hongzhi came to An Zizhong's house early every morning to accompany him to study, while An Nian sat on the side practicing calligraphy. An Gu smiled and said that the son he raised had become a member of An Zizhong's family.

When villagers came to ask for Spring Festival couplets to put on the door, An Zizhong pushed them to An Hongzhi, saying that it was no problem for him to write the couplets now. An Gu was also happy to show that his son was now an educated man, so he took the responsibility and told everyone to go to their house to get them, and not to disturb An Zizhong, so that the child could study hard.

An Zizhong really didn't have time. He was busy writing articles, reading books, practicing calligraphy every day. He also checked the account books sent by Hua Yesheng and asked An Lan to go out and do something.

An Wenniang reminded An Zizhong to find a traveling merchant to send a letter of safety to the northwest, but An Zizhong refused.

"I have told Wu Shi that as long as everyone is safe, we should stop sending messages. Occasionally once or twice is fine, but if it happens too often, it will arouse suspicion, especially since there are people watching in the northwest. We must be careful. Wu Shi took away more money than you did and opened several shops in the northwest. Although my grandmother and the others have been punished for many crimes, it is not a big deal."

Seeing that he had made arrangements, An Wenniang nodded, but she still missed the ancestor and Sister Yulan. When her family was exiled, Sister Yulan and the other two could still accompany the ancestor, but Chunxiu, Bihe and the others were sent to suffer somewhere unknown. It turned out that in the Marquis' Mansion, every time the New Year came, the ancestor would wrap up big red envelopes for them as lucky gifts, and they would sit together to eat snacks and chat, and they would accompany the ancestor to play mahjong, toss pots, and make lanterns. They were so happy.

Now she has no worries about food and drink, and lives in peace. Those sisters don't know how much they have suffered. Thinking of the delicate and beautiful Bihe, Chunxiu, how bright and cheerful, how cold and noble Sister Yulan is, how gentle and quiet Sister Yumei is, the flower-like women are afraid that it is difficult for them to survive now. What they miss most is the ancestor, such a kind old lady, who was sent to the desolate land of the northwest to suffer because of those traitors. After doing so many good deeds, they still couldn't escape the frame-up of the wicked.

An Zizhong understood An Wenniang. She could arrange everything at home like an adult, but she was still a child after all. However, he missed his family every day. The deep hatred tortured him so much that he could not sleep every day. The heinous blood feud made him dare not relax at all times.

He walked up to An Wen Niang, took her hand and clenched it tightly. His red eyes let An Wen Niang know his fragility. Yes, his family was four years away in the northwest than herself, and she had spent six wonderful years with those people, but he and those people were a family connected by blood, and his pain was much greater than herself.

The two of them stood there until their legs became stiff, and were reminded to go out by the sound of An Yun knocking on the door.

The two people who took the medicine had a significant change in appearance the next day. I don’t know how An Zizhong explained it to An Qing. An Zizhong became uglier, while An Wenniang became prettier.

Looking at the two people in the hand-held mirror, An Wenniang developed some admiration for An Qing. An Zizhong's eyebrows became thicker and darker, his eyes became smaller and had double eyelids, his nose was straighter than before, and his mouth was thicker. The only thing that hadn't changed was his ears. He was only 60% similar to the previous Chen Luoxi who was famous for his handsomeness. She didn't know if the people in the academy would be surprised to see him.

An Wenniang's skin became whiter, her eyes became darker, her nose became more delicate, and her mouth became much smaller. She was 80% similar to before.

An Qing and An Yun also took the medicine with An Zizhong's consent. This medicine requires many kinds of medicinal materials and is expensive. An Qing only got thirty pills in more than two months, which was enough for them for more than half a year.

An Lan watched from the side and sighed constantly. After taking the medicine, he could no longer ask An Hongzhi to come over. Fortunately, too many people asked him to write couplets recently. An Hongzhi was stopped by An Gu and kept busy at home. As soon as he finished writing, he was dragged by his mother to visit relatives and friends to show off her son.

An Zizhong and his sister were able to have some peace and quiet. The only thing they hadn't expected was that Hua Yesheng and his sister, Li Changan, and Wu Chunsheng, the young master of the escort agency who An Zizhong often played with, came to play with them. The two hurriedly applied some ointment on their faces to cover it up so that no one noticed anything unusual.

Hua Yejiao's favorite face was An Zizhong's, and she became anxious when she saw it.

"Oh, don't mention it. My brother and I went to the mountains to catch rabbits. I don't know what strange herbs we tasted. Red bumps appeared all over our bodies. We asked a doctor to tell us that we were poisoned. He prescribed us some medicine and told us not to be exposed to the wind. I'm afraid that even if I get better, I won't look as good as before. Look at my brother, he has a reaction to the medicine. There are more hairs on his face, but if I don't apply it, it will itch. It's so uncomfortable."

Hua Yejiao was anxious to find the best doctor to see her, but was stopped by Hua Yesheng.

"You are a girl, so be calm. Who would open a shop during the New Year? After the New Year, let's ask Mr. Guo to come and take a look."

Hua Yesheng knew what his sister was thinking. It was a pity that his mother had privately mentioned that she wanted his sister to marry Lu's cousin. They had already exchanged tokens of love, and he couldn't guess what An Zizhong was thinking. He was happy to have them as friends and brothers, but forget about having them as a brother-in-law.

An Zizhong looks down on his silly sister, and his silly sister can't beat the insidious and cunning An Zizhong, so it's better for her to keep a distance.

Soon it was the Chinese New Year, and the sound of firecrackers outside made the people in the house even more uncomfortable. No matter An Zizhong, An Qing or An Lan, they couldn't laugh happily during this festival. From now on, there were no other relatives, only the people in this room who kept each other warm.

They endured it with difficulty until the New Year was over. The academy was about to start classes, and An Zizhong and his friends had been taking medicine for more than 20 days. Finally, they packed up their things and took An Hongzhi and the others back to Gongzhou.

Arriving at the familiar courtyard, life returned to normal as before. An Zizhong took An Hongzhi to the academy. An Lan didn't know what he did outside every day. An Qing was fiddling with medicine in his room. An Wenniang and a few others were practicing calligraphy and making handkerchiefs in the backyard.

Now An Wenniang would not touch the silver sent by An Zizhong. She could earn three taels of silver every month by selling handkerchiefs and purses. Wang Niang was a living indenture, so she had to receive a monthly salary of five hundred coins. An Huang was old and needed more, so he also had to receive five hundred coins a month. She didn't care about An Lan and An Hongzhi before the month ended. Anyun, Anrui, and Anqing each had 200 coins per month for pocket money. As for An Nian, who was eating a big bun at the moment, An Wenniang took out ten and stuffed them into his hand.

An Wenniang kept 300 coins for herself, and used the rest for daily food and cloth purchases, which was basically enough for the family expenses. The two strong men bought from the slave market, one named An Mu and the other named An Lin, were slaves with seals and could not have money, so An Wenniang did not give them money, but she never wronged them by giving them new clothes all year round and eating at the market. This was rare.

Fortunately, her handkerchiefs were collected by Wen'en Pavilion. Three hundred coins each was a good price. However, An Wenniang felt that she could make a few more every month. After all, there were more and more people now. Three taels of silver could not be spent all before, but now there is not even a penny left.

As for Zhiyuxuan, An Wenniang would pay more attention when she heard people talking about it, but she never asked about it again, nor had any contact with Simian. However, Simian somehow found out where she lived, and when she went out, a little beggar would come up to her and give her account books and keepsakes.

An Wenniang couldn't understand the account book, so she told her not to send the account book anymore in the future. Since she had found her, she trusted her and only left a token. She didn't know Simian was so capable. In just two or three months, Zhiyuxuan had established a firm foothold in Gongzhou. Many wealthy businessmen and officials went there to spend money from time to time. Except for a few incidents of customers harassing the girls in the early days of the opening, it never happened again.

An Wenniang asked Simian to open stores in Kyoto and other places as soon as possible, so she let her decide how to earn money and didn't need to care whether she needed to use the money. Simian also worked very hard to make Zhiyuxuan more and more prosperous in Gongzhou.

After the New Year, some sensational things happened where I lived.

Tong Pozi, who originally lived diagonally opposite An Wenniang's house, divorced her husband because her husband stole her dowry to support a concubine and even had a child outside.

She went back to her parents' home for the New Year, thinking that her husband had come home early, and ended up seeing her husband walking on the street with a child and a woman.

She scratched the two men's faces on the spot, and then went back and beat her husband with a big stick. The shouting and cursing could be heard throughout the alley.

"You opened the shop with my mother's dowry, and you haven't made any money for two years, but you dare to keep a whore outside. I tell you, Wang Dachuan, you must pay me double the amount of my dowry you took, or I will ask my brothers to break your legs first, and then I will sue you for murdering my wife's dowry and put you and that bitch in jail."

An Wen's mother once realized that one should not judge a person by his appearance. Wang Dachuan, who usually seemed to be an honest and henpecked man, actually fell in love with a mistress he had kept for several years, and even had a child run away from her.

He actually made his fortune by relying on his wife. An Wenniang let their story go after hearing it, but there was one thing that she kept in mind. An Zizhong was almost sixteen years old now, and according to the etiquette of the Huaiyuan Marquis's Mansion, he had to look for a wife.

An Wenniang has no say in the matter, and An Zizhong probably won't get married in the next few years, but young masters of aristocratic families start to have maids in their rooms at the age of fifteen. A maidservant is there to serve in the room before getting married.

She had always felt that An Zizhong should leave some incense before going to the capital to seek revenge, so that she could still protect the child in case of an emergency. She wanted the Huaiyuan Marquisate to not lose its incense.

In the evening, An Wenniang brought fish soup to the outer courtyard to discuss with An Zizhong.

"You want me to find a woman to have a baby?"

An Wenniang didn't know why An Zizhong suddenly got angry, but she still tried to persuade him.

"My ancestor has told me before that no matter which young master comes out, I must protect him and continue the incense of Huaiyuan Marquis Mansion. The roots of Huaiyuan Marquis Mansion cannot be cut off."

An Zizhong broke the wolf-hair brush in his hand, his teeth almost breaking from biting it, and he looked at the little girl in front of him who was still trying to persuade him loyally.

"I'm not in the mood to think about these things for now, you go back first."

An Wenniang knew that An Zizhong was going to deal with her again. She couldn't just sit there and watch him lose his mood before he killed his enemy.

"Master, you can't be willful. You are the only man left in Huaiyuan Marquis's Mansion. You can't...well, well..."

An Zizhong couldn't bear it any longer, he stood up, hugged the stubborn woman in front of him, bit her pink lips, and held her tightly in his arms, not allowing her to break free.

He didn't let go until he tasted blood and saw the girl's eyes filled with tears.

"So why didn't you leave when I told you to?"

An Wenniang wanted to slap this man, but years of education taught her that a maid should not hit her master, so she turned around and prepared to leave.

"An Wen Niang, I'm telling you once, just once, I can leave a child, but you have to give birth to me, and other women can only die. Do you hear me?"