Greetings, Ninth Uncle

Ch 66 - The Women in the Palace

Of course, Cheng Yujin didn't suspect Cheng Yuanjing at all. Liu Yi and the others were close attendants, who earned their living upon their ability to serve and please their masters. They were the most skillful in arranging this sort of thing. If they didn't want two guests to meet, even if both sides were walking across the same place at the same time, these people still had a way to make them never went into each other.

Peaceful and regular days could easily make people lose the sense of time. Cheng Yujin's plan hadn't progressed for a long time. She should have been anxious, but maybe because her current life was too peaceful and comfortable, she actually didn't feel rushed at all. Cheng Yujin paid respect to the Old Madam every morning, took a short break in the noon, then went to Cheng Yuanjing's courtyard to read, waiting for Lin Qingyuan in disguise. If she didn't finish reading the book during the day, she would borrow it back. After some time, this became her routine, and she became very familiar with Cheng Yuanjing's courtyard.

...

Cheng Yujin wore her fur winter coat and went out. As soon as she entered Old Madam Cheng's courtyard, the servant girls there saw her coming and hurriedly came out to open the curtain, greeting joyfully: "Eldest Miss is here!"

Cheng Yumo had been married, and thus Cheng Yujin was the only one who came to Old Madam Cheng every day. Gradually, the servants at Shou'an Hall became used to it. When the Eldest Miss arrived, the new day officially began.

Cheng Yujin nodded and smiled, asking: "Where's grandmother?"

"The Old Madam is inside. The Old Madam just said that she has no appetite today. But the Old Madam likes Eldest Miss the most. If Eldest Miss is here, the Old Madam may be willing to eat."

"Oh, grandmother has a bad appetite?" Cheng Yujin glanced at the inner room and said: "I'll go and see grandmother. Thank you for reminding me. Lian Qiao, prepare some rewards for this sister."

Lian Qiao stepped forward and stuffed a few broken silvers into the servant girl's hands. The servant girl laughed and pretended to refuse: "It is just a small thing."

"Grandmother needs people to serve. Thanks for sister and the others for taking care of her. This is just a bit of gratitude from me. You can use this to have a cup of hot tea, okay?"

After some more refusal, the servant girl accepted the broken silver. This was the reason why people serving in Shou'an Hall liked Cheng Yujin. Eldest Miss was kind and very generous. As long as they had a sweet mouth and quick feet, they could get her rewards every time.

Like this, many servants liked to do errands for Cheng Yujin. They also rushed to inform her of anything that happened in Shou'an Hall, just to get another reward.

Cheng Yujin watched the servant girl took the broken silvers with bright eyes. Her smile turned softer. She now earned a lot of money every month. Just the monthly profits from Yunyi Shop and Linlang Pavilion were already large enough. Yichun Marquis Manor provided her with basic necessities, and these few months, due to the mourning period, she didn't have to go out to socialize either. Her income greatly exceeded her expense. Now in Cheng Yujin's eyes, these few pieces of broken silver were not money at all.

With just a small amount of money, Cheng Yujin could make the servant girls next to Old Madam Cheng like her more, and whenever she wanted to do something, she would get twice the result with half the effort. Both sides were happy, and there was no reason not to do this.

Just like now. Cheng Yujin hasn't entered the room yet, but already knew that Old Madam Cheng had just got up, have a bad appetite, and didn't want to eat anything. It was clear that her sleep last night was not pleasant. Knowing this information beforehand, Cheng Yujin knew what to say later.