Chapter 9: Returning Home in Glory

At the same time, Liu Ziqiong, who had already positioned herself as a high-ranking concubine-maid, went to see her former mistress, Madam Wang, with a look of triumph. As soon as Madam Wang saw the gold bracelet on Liu Ziqiong's wrist, which was worth more than two taels, her expression changed instantly

"Take it off. And stop acting like you're on equal footing with your master. Don't think just because Second Master is doting on you now; if the future Madam sees this, she'll make your life a living hell later! A high-ranking concubine-maid is a master in front of the servants, but a servant in front of the masters. Didn't your parents teach you that?"

"This... Madam, I will listen!" Having been flattered by Liu Baiyu all along the way, Liu Ziqiong had truly begun to delude herself into thinking she was the mistress of the household. Upon hearing Madam Wang's stern reprimand, her legs went weak with fright, and she was nearly on the verge of kneeling.

"Sigh, don't say Madam is being harsh on you..." Madam Wang pulled the trembling Liu Ziqiong into her arms and gave her fair, tender cheek a kiss

"Don't think Madam doesn't care for you. I, too, started as a high-ranking concubine-maid. Later, when the former Madam passed away, she left instructions for me to become the second wife, and only then did the Master allow me to become the primary wife. Being a high-ranking concubine-maid is not an easy job..."

"Men are fickle. They can dote on you for a time, but they cannot dote on you for a lifetime. You must rely on being able to share your husband's burdens and handle affairs. Do you understand?" Madam Wang began teaching Liu Ziqiong the secrets of rising from a concubine-maid to a wife, specifically focusing on how to manage servants and please men. As for the requirements for attracting men, she even began teaching her step-by-step.

Perhaps an ordinary person would think a high-ranking concubine-maid is just something like a mistress, but in reality, this position was more akin to a Grand Chamberlain. Generally, they served as the bridge between the steward and the master. In smaller households, they often had to take over functions like the steward's accounting—in other words, they were a versatile type of professional manager!

Liu Ziqiong had never even been an inner-court maid, so she found herself dizzy from Madam Wang's words, remembering the latter part while forgetting the former, and remembering the former while forgetting the latter. Having no other choice, Madam Wang had to prepare some cheat sheets for Liu Ziqiong, telling her to take them out and look whenever she didn't understand...

Liu Ziqiong felt she was quite dim-witted. Madam Wang spoke very clearly, yet she always only half-understood, leaving Madam Wang with no good solution. Madam Wang could only say to her

"It's not something you can learn by rote memorization. Once you manage more people and gain some experience, you'll get it. Go find a few trusted maids first! Remember one thing: in front of the servants, you are half a master. You cannot be a pushover, do you understand?"

Whether she understood or not, Liu Ziqiong couldn't say for sure, but she still wanted to show off this opportunity to return home in glory...

Meanwhile, Liu Shan, his wife, and Liu Ziqiong's younger brother, Liu Di, had also returned to the Zhang Estate. Seeing the crowd of fellow villagers surrounding them, Liu Shan felt somewhat shy, but his wife became quite poised and graceful. Not only was she smiling broadly, but she also addressed everyone as "Big Brother" or "Big Sister" along the way. When she encountered young children, she would hand them a piece of candy—and not just any candy, but rare, brightly colored treats. She was incredibly sociable. Many of the estate's hereditary servants, who were watching with envious eyes, had originally intended to think this family was too dull and lacked wit, expecting they would be sent back before long and waiting to laugh at them. But seeing this behavior, they all became timid and dared not step forward to speak much.

The couple was dressed quite decently and neatly. Although it wasn't silk or satin, they wore brand-new padded jackets and skirts, clean and sharp without a single patch, clearly looking like respectable managing servants. His restless young son was also boasting loudly, saying that Second Master had bestowed many silks and satins upon them, but seeing how windy the weather was, they were afraid of getting them dirty and were reluctant to wear them. It seemed as though they had gained Second Master's favor and struck it rich directly.

Of course, no one believed this. After all, only Master Zhang possessed silks and satins; even the steward didn't have them. No matter how wealthy Second Master was, could he compare to Master Zhang, the wealthiest household in these ten miles of villages? However, Liu Di had always been a boundless braggart, so everyone just listened to it as a joke. It was true that Liu Shan's family had become prosperous, it was just a matter of degree.

The Zhang Estate was now in an uproar! Liu Shan's family had actually made something of themselves as servants! After all, in these difficult times, it was hard for hereditary servants with some standing to find a decent job; most could only stay home and live off their parents as burdens. For a time, there were many different opinions in the Zhang Estate. The prevailing theory was that Liu Shan's daughter had become Second Master's high-ranking concubine-maid and was very much in his favor, which in turn allowed her parents to prosper.

The Zhang Estate currently had many people but few resources. Their old house had long since been reassigned to someone else by Master Zhang, so they were discussing directly in the courtyard that Second Master intended to widely recruit household members, mainly coarse laborers, and that even teenagers would have work to do. They were told to sign up themselves so that Second Master and Master Zhang could have a definitive list.

This was a bit of a dilemma. If their teenagers could find work, it would be a great thing, but taking the parents along would involve an enormous risk. After all, while the legendary Second Master seemed very wealthy, he was solitary without a clan to support him; how could he strike it rich? And even if he did, what would he do with newcomers? They weren't hereditary servants, so their "seniority" was useless!

Even for Liu Shan and his wife, they were currently relying on offering up their daughter to become a managing servant. But given their daughter's temperament, once Second Master grew tired of her and cast her aside, there was no telling what would happen!

Zhang Debao and Liu Shan were "gatehouse" brothers—meaning they were neighbors who had worked as doormen together. Zhang Debao, relying on his status as a hereditary servant, had often given Liu Shan a hard time, so whenever Liu Shan's family was mentioned, he wouldn't say much. He also thought Liu Shan was a man without vision, unwilling to fully commit to being a servant and still clinging to the pride of a middle-class farmer; he felt that failing to properly learn the skills of service meant he would never become a personal servant, and it was entirely his own fault. The reason he bullied Liu Shan was partly out of jealousy; after all, Liu Shan had once been a free man with his own land, and even his wife was much better looking than Zhang Debao's. Furthermore, Liu Shan was so incompetent that he didn't know how to discipline his son—his son was arrogant and flashy the moment he gained a little skill, which was irritating to watch. Now that the boy was being selected by Second Master to be a servant, Zhang Debao felt a pang of jealousy: why did Second Master pick this useless fellow?

He harbored dissatisfaction and jealousy, and his mood was so poor that he was distracted even when Liu Shan's wife came to deliver congratulatory sugar cakes. He didn't engage in much conversation. These so-called sugar cakes were actually just cooked dough with a bit of maltose, but in these times, they were quite good treats. Since Zhang Debao's family had many children and had not seen such things for nearly half a year since the New Year rewards, the children acted like monkeys when they were brought out, trying to rush forward and grab them. It took several of Zhang Debao's heavy slaps to prevent them from making a scene.

When Liu Shan's wife returned, some lucky children had received the candy she gave. It was said to be sweeter than rock sugar, with bright colors of deep red and vibrant green, and a delicious sourness that was hard to describe. Zhang Debao's grandson, having gone to help his parents dig wild vegetables, received nothing. Just listening to his playmates boastfully recount this cruel fact, he threw a tantrum and rolled on the ground in envy.

Liu Shan's wife did not care about her lukewarm attitude toward Zhang Debao. After exchanging a few polite pleasantries, she gave two pieces of candy to the children rolling on the ground and then rose to leave.