After Qiu Qiu was dragged away, the matriarch smiled at her. "You ah~ It seems like that you are getting better at making a decision. However, it seems like your servant needs to learn more about how to a.s.sist you. Xiao Yu, you need to learn from Zhang Mo Mo and listen more to her experience, okay? Just one or two sentences from Zhang Mo Mo, everything has been solved, right? Your Young Mistress and I didn"t need to say anything."
"Yes, Old Madam," Xiao Yu politely answered.
Xiao Yu who felt like crying inside her heart could only agree and thank the matriarch for her grace. In her heart, she muttered, "Grace? What kind of grace?!" She was afraid of Zhang Mo Mo"s strictness, but she also knew that she had to learn how to a.s.sist Young Mistress better. She could only accept her fate!
The Matriarch turned to her back and dispersed the concubines. "All of you can go now. I want to spend more time with my granddaughter." The concubines looked at each other but they also didn"t want to stick around the matriarch any longer, so they readily agreed and went out of the courtyard. Madam w.a.n.g stayed with them because the matriarch didn"t ask her to go along with the concubines.
After the concubines left, the matriarch asked Yao Ling softly, "Do you want my help to find new maidservants?"
Yao Ling shook her head. "Thank you for Grandmother"s grace, but I don"t want to bother Grandmother." Yao Ling paused for a little while, before continuing, "Grandmother, when I went out to look around, I saw pitiful sisters and I would like to take them under my wings."
"Oh?" The matriarch asked, feeling interested. "Where did you meet them and what do you want them to be?"
"I met them on the West Street. They... were actually beggars. I want to take them in and let them become my maidservants. However, I need to ask them first. I never meet them again after I gave them a little bit of money. Can I do that?" Yao Ling asked politely.
"Hmmm... Of course. You can do what you want... but you need to make a slave contract with them --- to avoid any troubles in the future," The matriarch gave her agreement. She tried to train Yao Ling in managing the household, so she let her take care of this matter. If something happened, it would become Yao Ling"s lesson. As long as she lived, the matriarch could help Yao Ling deal with the aftermath if something went wrong because of those new maidservants. However, her consent was given mainly because she trusted Yao Ling"s judgment.
In actual fact, what Yao Ling did usually wasn"t allowed at another household. The servants usually distributed by the person that was in-charge of the household. In w.a.n.g Fu, it was Madam w.a.n.g"s job, but the main power was still held by the matriarch. Once the matriarch decided something, even Madam w.a.n.g had to give her some face and didn"t dare to go against the matriarch"s words.
Madam w.a.n.g who usually didn"t talk much suddenly talked, "Mother, is it wise?"
"Hmmm...?" The matriarch asked. "Is there something that you don"t agree with?"
"Mother, that"s not what I meant. I"m just worried because the background of those girls are unknown and they live as beggars. We didn"t know who they are, so how could we let them in into our household easily? I will also feel worried if they serve Yao Ling directly..." Madam w.a.n.g explained her concern.
Yao Ling knew that Madam w.a.n.g"s concern was reasonable, but it made her heart slightly disappointed. What if the matriarch really listened to Madam w.a.n.g"s advice? Then, she wouldn"t be able to take the kids directly. There was another way --- of course. However, it would take too much time and more troublesome.
The matriarch smiled at Madam w.a.n.g and patted her hand. "Don"t worry! I will trust Yao Ling"s judgment. If something happens, I will take full responsibilities."
"Why?" Madam w.a.n.g furrowed her eyebrows, feeling a bit discontent with the matriarch"s blatant favoritism. She felt that somehow the matriarch had prepared Yao Ling as her successor. Even though they wanted her to treat Yao Ling as her real daughter, but there was no blood connection between them. Would Yao Ling still treat her kindly when she was the one who held the power later?
"You ah~ Do I still need to tell you all of this?" The matriarch asked. Even though she said with a voice full of affections, she didn"t really like when her decision was being questioned by Madam w.a.n.g. This daughter-in-law was usually obedient, then why did she suddenly show her displeasure?
Madam w.a.n.g knew that she had offended the matriarch. She quickly smiled to ease the tension. "Naturally, I know about Mother"s love toward Yao Ling. I"m just worried that this girl will bring trouble to Mother because of some unknown people." She praised the matriarch, but she actually reprimanded Yao Ling with soft words for being unreasonable.
Yao Ling didn"t want to make the situation worse by forcing her opinion, so she could only bitterly bite her lips. The matriarch already agreed with her demand, why did Madam w.a.n.g suddenly against her? Although what Madam w.a.n.g said was reasonable, Yao Ling still felt a bit resentful inside. She didn"t let her emotion show on the surface and slightly smiled. "I will listen to Grandmother and Mother"s arrangement then." By taking a step back, she knew that the matriarch would take her side.
The matriarch smiled at how kind Yao Ling was. She waved her hand and said, "It"s okay. You can just do as you wish. After all, it"s your own people. You should learn to manage them. I give you full reign to take care of your own courtyard."
The matriarch already opened her mouth, so Madam w.a.n.g couldn"t do anything but agree to her decision. She forced a smile and said, "Grandmother already gave you her permission, so you should thank her."
Yao Ling nodded and smiled, "Thank you, Grandmother." Yao Ling understood that Madam w.a.n.g probably felt that her power was being challenged. She could only sigh inwardly. It seemed like being pampered by the matriarch wasn"t always a good thing. It made other people jealous. It was different if she was the real daughter of Madam w.a.n.g, she probably would be happy for her. After all, blood is thicker than water!
Probably because she felt a bit resentful, Madam w.a.n.g asked for permission to leave. The matriarch patted Yao Ling"s hands and comfort her, "Yao Ling, sooner or later she will accept you. Please don"t mind her! Ruo An is a kind soul..."
"Don"t worry, Grandmother! I understand," Yao Ling answered while giving the matriarch comforting smile.
"Good girl! Liu Li really did a good job of cleaning up your courtyard!" The matriarch smiled knowingly.
Yao Ling looked up in surprise. "You know about it too, Grandmother?"
The matriarch laughed out loud. "I live longer than you, Child. What kind of tricks that I haven"t seen before? Why do you think I especially chose Qiu Qiu and Qiu Ling to be questioned?"
Yao Ling couldn"t believe how up-to-date the matriarch"s information was! She already knew about everything a long time ago! She shuddered when she thought... what if the matriarch didn"t like her? She would have been kicked out from the start! They wouldn"t even have the chance to retaliate if that really happened. Yao Ling reminded herself not to think too highly of herself.
"Then... do you know who are their masters, Grandmother?" Yao Ling asked curiously.
"I know... but I can"t reveal it to you," The matriarch said. She needed to maintain the balance of this family. She couldn"t favor one and ruined the other one.
Yao Ling partially understood the matriarch"s thought, so she didn"t force an answer. As long as she had the matriarch as a backer, she should be fine. "Thank you for helping me, Grandmother!"
"As long as you are filial to me and your father, then it"s enough," The matriarch smiled.
"I will, Grandmother," Yao Ling promised her. She was really grateful to w.a.n.g Luo Hai and the matriarch for taking them in and showing them kindness. How could she bite the hands that fed them?
"Anyway... how is your progress?" The matriarch asked Yao Ling with a mischievous look.
"The progress of what?" Yao Ling asked in confusion. Yao Ling didn"t have any project that needed her immediate attention at Fu Rong, so she was slightly confused about what the matriarch inquired about.
The matriarch laughed heartily. "You don"t have to be shy! Yao Ying is so happy that he even gave a present to this old woman!"
Yao Ling looked taken aback. Present? What present? Why didn"t she know that Yao Ying gave the matriarch a present? "Er... what present, Grandmother?"
The matriarch asked, "Didn"t he tell you before?He gave me the present because he feels so satisfied! It"s his way of thanking me for my gift to both of you."
Yao Ling tried to think back and the only possible thing was that... Yao Ling looked up in surprise. Don"t tell her it was about that! Yao Ling asked softly, "Grandmother... is it because of the yellow book?!" While asking, Yao Ling"s face was beet red! Why did he go as far as to give a present to the matriarch?! Did Yao Ying want to embarra.s.s her to death?!
"Yes!" The matriarch grinned happily.