Chapter 5: Gossip Face

“Big Guo is an impatient person, so don't provoke him. Everything else is easy to handle.”

The Head Steward led her forward.

Bao Mianmian thought to herself, *The treatment in your Prince's Mansion is truly excellent.*

*Even a kitchen has part-timers.*

*If she actually gets selected, will the accounting department pay her double wages?*

However, such trivial matters were not her concern.

The kitchen steward would likely find anyone unsavory, no matter who they were.

One could tell just by thinking about it; the person was counting on earning extra income, so anyone coming in would be seen as someone stealing their rice bowl and meddling in their business.

Therefore, Bao Mianmian decided it was best to first make a good impression on the Head Steward to ensure a future.

“There were originally no female cooks in the kitchen, so you can only stay in the maid quarters.”

The Head Steward brought her to a cluster of small rooms and gave a casual wave.

“Chunyu, come here.”

That maid's twin braids were so bouncy they looked like they could fly; as she passed by, they nearly whipped across Bao Mianmian's face.

“Head Steward, you called me?”

“Take her down.”

“To where?”

“She is staying to cook for the Young Master. Give her a place to sleep, a place to bathe, and some clothes to change into.”

Chunyu glanced at her out of the corner of her eye.

“A cook? Shouldn't a cook live in the kitchen area?”

“There are no women over there. Settle her here for now.”

Chunyu took over Bao Mianmian's supervision.

As soon as the Head Steward left, she spun around abruptly and pointed right at the tip of Bao Mianmian's nose.

“So you're the one who's coming to earn ten taels of silver!”

*Oh, so she's the type who gets jealous of anyone she sees.*

In that case, wouldn't Bao Mianmian's life in the Prince's Mansion be incredibly difficult, with every step she took under everyone's watchful eyes?

“Your 'eight characters' only have one tiny stroke.”

Chunyu scrutinized her: “Can you not be so humble in your conduct?”

“I'm just telling the truth.”

The Prince had only opened a tiny crack, and if she tried to force her way in, it wasn't a guaranteed success.

Chunyu continued to stare at her.

Bao Mianmian felt so watched that her whole body began to feel uneasy.

Chunyu burst into a loud laugh, pointing at her and laughing so hard she doubled over, unable to straighten her back.

“You intend to come earn ten taels of silver, and you're afraid we'll be envious, aren't you?”

*Sister, since you already know, could you please not say it out loud?*

Smart women generally don't say everything exactly as it is.

“Then have you asked the maids of the Cheng Wang Mansion how much their monthly wages are?”

Bao Mianmian put on an expression of surprise. *Is this something I can ask?*

Coming here, she didn't even know who was who, and to open her mouth and ask about wages sounded quite improper.

“Alright, alright, don't be nervous. The monthly pay for ordinary maids in the Prince's Mansion is fifteen taels, for junior stewards it's thirty taels, and as for the Head Steward...”

As Chunyu spoke, Bao Mianmian held her hands behind her back and began counting on her fingers.

It seemed that if she truly stayed, she would be the one lowering the average wage for the entire mansion.

“How much the Head Steward earns is not something we should ask too much about, don't you agree?”

*Yes, I agree. If you didn't make such a gossipy face, I wouldn't even dare to think it.*

Bao Mianmian didn't want to offend anyone, so she only said those words in her heart.

Chunyu stepped forward and pinched her cheek with her fingers.

Ow! It hurt! It hurt a lot!

“Let me tell you, don't think that just because you're cursing me in your head, I can't tell. You're still too green.”

Since transmigrating, Bao Mianmian had suffered quite a bit.

The only part of her body that still had any meat on it was her face.

Being pinched by Chunyu, half of her face was pulled askew, yet she couldn't even argue back.

*This Chunyu has very sharp eyes.*

“Sister isn't blaming you, right?”

“No, no, everything Sister Chunyu says is correct.”

When encountering someone like this, Bao Mianmian chose not to clash head-on; the other person was a local powerhouse.

She wasn't a powerful dragon; if she had to be measured, she was more like an earthworm, albeit a somewhat thick one.

There was no need to argue, absolutely no need.

“Mm, that's more like it. Follow me, Sister will arrange a good place for you to stay.”

Bao Mianmian watched her turn around before quickly rubbing her face.

*She's so heavy-handed, she'll probably leave fingerprints.*

“The Head Steward also said you might only stay for one night. The quilt and pillow are clean, and if you really stay, you can get new ones.”

Chunyu wasn't lying. Although the room was in a corner, it was cleaned very thoroughly.

More importantly, there was only one small bed.

“Am I staying alone?”

“From now on, you'll be the only one staying here.”

Which maid wasn't covered in powder and rouge, smelling fragrant all day long?

No one would want to live with a cook.

Bao Mianmian didn't think that way; she just wanted to cheer, *This is great!*

“There's a small washroom in the back for bathing. There's a sign above it. When it's hanging green, it means no one is inside.”

“When it's red, someone is in there!”

Bao Mianmian understood the logic of "red light stop, green light go."

“It's blue when someone is inside. Don't try to be too clever.”

Chunyu rolled her eyes at her. “Got it?”

“Got it, got it.”

Bao Mianmian wanted to control her own mouth; couldn't she just refrain from saying that one sentence?

She had already decided to be well-behaved, to use her ears more and her mouth less. Saying one less word meant one less worry about regret.

Chunyu left her standing there for a moment and soon returned.

“These are old clothes. If you don't mind them, just wash up and change.”

Bao Mianmian truly didn't dare to be modest. She clasped her hands together and grinned widely.

“Sister Chunyu is truly a good person.”

Chunyu stared at her, wondering if this girl was truly foolish or just pretending to be.

Her smile was quite sweet, though.

“I have other things to attend to.”

“I know, I know.”

Chunyu had originally wanted to lecture her a bit more, but seeing that brilliant smile on her face, the harsh words wouldn't come out.

Once Bao Mianmian waited until she was far away, she scurried off toward the washroom.

Running to the door, she stared intently.

A green sign. No one. Great!

She flipped the sign to blue and was just about to step inside.

“Aren't you going to cook?”

Bao Mianmian's foot jerked. *What kind of person is this? They walk without making a sound.*

They were standing just a foot behind her. When she turned around, the other person didn't even step back.

They almost collided.

Yuan Bai stared straight at her, his eyes dark and deep.

He repeated the same sentence.

“Aren't you going to cook?”

“Young Master, I need to bathe first.”

Bao Mianmian could roughly guess that this child was sick—and quite seriously so.

*You see, life is just so unfair.*

If he were ugly, she probably would have slapped him just now, along with a sentence like, "Eat my sister, eat!"

But because he was good-looking, she had automatically forgiven him.

She even felt sorry for him, thinking what a waste it was for him to grow up so bright and handsome.

“But, I want to eat.”

“Eating? Don't stare at me like that. Aren't there plenty of people in the kitchen?”

“No, I want to eat what you make.”

“Can't you just have something random first?”

“I want to eat what you make.”

One couldn't argue with a sick person, and one certainly couldn't argue with a sick person who was about to become one's provider.

Bao Mianmian's hand was still hanging on the washroom door.

This was what they called being caught between a rock and a hard place.

“Young Master, I'll make something for you after I've bathed, okay?”

Her tone was so gentle and kind that Bao Mianmian herself got goosebumps listening to it.

“Fine, I'll wait for you here.”

Yuan Bai was even more direct; he simply squatted down on the ground beside her.

Bao Mianmian thought to herself, *Squatting at the door of a girl's washroom at such a young age... I have no objections.*

She pushed the door open and entered the washroom, having already half-undressed.

Then she remembered she needed to lock the door.

*Dammit, this door doesn't even have a lock!*