The main gate in front of the courtyard was tightly closed, but the small door on the side was always open. Although the owner of the house was gone, no one in the entire Ling Anbo Mansion dared to peek into this place.
This is the old courtyard of the late Crown Princess. The late Crown Princess was married in this courtyard. Every time the Crown Prince came, he would come here and sit quietly.
At that time, no one dared to appear in front of him.
Now that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is not here, a woman and a maid have been placed in the yard to clean the yard. As for the cleaning of the house, it is done once every ten days.
The things in the house are delicate, and I was afraid of damaging them, so I was very careful when cleaning.
Every time the cleaning was done, Mrs. Duan would come in person and supervise the cleaning, for fear that any mistakes would be made.
When Ji Hanyue married into the Eastern Palace, the two maids around her and some other maids also followed her into the Eastern Palace and never came back. Those who stayed now didn't have much contact with the furnishings in the house, and when everyone was cleaning up, they tried to put things back where they had been taken.
Because of Madam Duan's presence, although Ling Anbo Yue's yard is now empty, it is arranged in the same way as Ji Hanyue's yard, and is also cleaned by the servants under the supervision of Madam Duan.
On this day, when it was done once again after ten days, Madam Duan had the lock of the main house unlocked and asked the maids who were selected to clean it to start carefully. She sat on the side waiting, reminding the maids from time to time to handle things with care and put them in order to keep everything here in the same state as when the second young lady was here.
The cleaning was almost done now, and it was the final finishing work. Mrs. Duan stood up. The next thing to clean was the lady's yard, which she also had to guard. Only two maids were left here, and the rest were taken away by her.
When it came to cleaning the yard, Mrs. Duan would pick maids who were nimble, quick, and gentle, and who wouldn't drag their hands while doing things.
"Is this what the Crown Princess liked before?" After Mrs. Duan left, a maid she left behind pointed at a comb in front of the dressing table and asked.
This comb looks unusual. The comb body is shaped like a guitar, which looks very unique.
"The Crown Princess likes zithers, so this must have been specially made for her!" Another maid heard the question, came over to take a look, and said indifferently.
The comb is not big and is placed in a corner of the dressing table. It is bright red in color and looks like the comb that a woman would use when dressing up after getting married.
Since it is used on the same day, it must be something you value or particularly like.
It has been kept there ever since. Everything in this room, including this comb, is the same as it was after her wedding.
The comb body is made of rubies, which are inlaid on it. The dark red color of the comb also adds a bit of brilliance, and it is obvious that it is of great value.
"Should we put away this comb?" the maid in front asked with her eyes rolling.
"No need to put it away. Didn't Madam say that everything should be put back in its original place and not moved, just like when the Crown Princess was still here." The other maid shook her head and ignored this maid, continuing to put away the things she had put away earlier.
"Well, I just feel uneasy putting it here. It's close to the window." The maid in front murmured, and looked up at the window in front of her. The dressing table was indeed facing the window, and the window was open at this moment for ventilation.
The window here needs to be ventilated from time to time, otherwise there will be a musty smell as soon as you enter the room.
"Will not,
Who is so brave?" The maid said indifferently.
"That's right. Who would dare to do such a thing if they don't want to die?" The maid in front nodded and went to clean up other things on the dressing table. No one noticed that this small comb fell into her sleeve so silently.
After all, it was the first time she did such a thing. The maid looked back and saw that the other maids didn't notice her. She breathed a sigh of relief and while squatting down to clean the corner of the table, she stuffed the comb back into her sleeves.
The person sent by Sister Xiefeng said that the thing near the dressing table was this comb, and that it was the Concubine's wish. The Concubine wanted it, but couldn't ask for it directly. Everyone knew that Madam Duan and the Concubine... No, it was the Concubine, who didn't get along. If the Concubine asked for it directly, Madam Duan would definitely refuse.
The maid thought that why Madam Duan was still taking care of all these things. The Crown Princess was gone, and now the only one the mansion could rely on was the Concubine. If the Concubine was not good, no one would be good.
It would be better to put these things in order and send them to the Concubine to see what she needs.
If Madam Duan was so sensible, there would be no need for her to do such things secretly. But it's also good this way, at least it can let the concubine see her loyalty.
Maybe I can be like Sister Xiefeng and go to the East Palace, which would be a great success.
The maid was full of energy when she thought of the exciting thing. She looked back proudly at the other maid behind her. This maid used to be a servant in the Crown Princess's courtyard, but she was an ordinary second-class maid. In the end, she did not go to the Eastern Palace with the Crown Princess. It was such a pity.
Whether they followed the Crown Princess to the Eastern Palace or followed the Concubine, they all stayed in the Eastern Palace in the end.
Being a maid in the Eastern Palace is completely different from being a maid in the Ling Anbo Mansion. Thinking that she might also go there in the future, the maid is full of enthusiasm.
After cleaning up, the two maids locked the door and left.
When Mrs. Duan left just now, she told them that there were plenty of people over there and they didn't need to go there again.
After finding an excuse, the maid went out from the back door and hurriedly left Ling Anbo's Mansion. She made a long detour and finally appeared at the back door of the East Palace.
After knocking on the door a few times, I saw the maid who came to deliver the message that day come out.
Neither of them spoke. The maid handed over the comb that was wrapped in a handkerchief. Mingxin looked around and found that no one was paying attention to them. She took the comb and put it in her sleeve, then said a few words casually before parting.
The maid from Ling Anbo's mansion went back, and Mingxin thanked the old woman in the backyard profusely before leaving the backyard door.
After turning a few corners and not seeing any suspicious people, Mingxin returned to the yard where Xiefeng lived.
As soon as he entered the room, Xie Feng stood up excitedly and asked in a low voice, "Did you succeed?"
Madam Duan cleans the yard for the Crown Princess and the Earl's wife once every ten days. Xiefeng heard about this when he went to the Earl Ling'an's mansion before.
She was a maid in the Ling'anbo Mansion and grew up there. She was also the head maid beside Ji Hanyue before. She knew everything in the mansion very well. Even after entering the Eastern Palace, she still had several people with whom she had very good relationships in the Ling'anbo Mansion. It was still very easy for her to find out some things if she wanted to.
"I got it. Miss, take a look. Is this the one?" Mingyu took out the handkerchief that was wrapped around the item and opened it. She immediately saw the ruby-studded instrument with the body of the zither as its back.
comb.
The gems on the red comb are dazzling.
"Yes, this is it. It's great!" Xiefeng said excitedly. After picking up the comb and looking left and right, he couldn't help but combing his hair twice.
She was in the room, unable to go anywhere, and her hair was loose.
"It is indeed the Crown Princess's comb. This is the one that the Crown Princess likes the most. It was made by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince who helped the Crown Princess make it."
Xie Feng looked at the comb in his hand jealously and combed his hair a few more times.
The pattern was designed by the Crown Princess herself, but it was made and sent to her by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. I heard that the ruby on it was specially inlaid by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
When the Crown Princess originally designed it, there were no rubies.
Xie Feng had always been jealous of this comb. Once when she was combing her hair secretly, she was discovered by the Crown Princess and scolded. Since then, she never dared to touch this comb again.
But now the comb fell into his hands, and Ji Hanyue was already dead, so from this point of view, he was the winner.
So what if she was once the Crown Princess? She is worse than a former maid like me.
The more he thought about it, the prouder he felt. He couldn't help combing his hair a few more times. Then he carefully removed the hair that was hooked on the comb and rubbed the gem vigorously.
"The Crown Princess was going to take this comb with her that day, but the place was too messy at the time, so I forgot and didn't take it with me. In fact, this comb should be in the East Palace now." Xie Feng said regretfully, but then a hint of pride appeared on his face, "Fortunately I didn't take it with me, otherwise I wouldn't have anything to do now. The things that the Crown Princess left behind are now in the hands of the concubine."
The pride turned into mockery: "A concubine... Madam, she is just like this! Did she really think she could become the Crown Princess?"
The Eastern Palace was originally Ji Youran's territory, but she went from being a concubine appreciated by the Crown Prince to a concubine who was deprived of her position by the Empress's order and then reprimanded. Some people in the Eastern Palace are now watching and no longer follow this concubine Ji as wholeheartedly as they did in the beginning.
After all, the new Crown Princess is about to marry in, and by then, an unfavored concubine will really be nothing.
Of course, she was an unrecognized maidservant, which was nothing. Thinking of this, the mockery on Xie Feng's face turned into distress again.
He touched the comb in his hand and made up his mind, "Go, change my clothes."
She pointed to a set of cloth clothes on the side.
"Miss, do you really want to change into it?" Mingyu said uneasily, but still obediently took the clothes. It was a very simple set of clothes, made of cloth, all coarse cloth. Xiefeng hadn't worn such coarse cloth clothes for many years. She felt uncomfortable wearing it.
Although she was just a maid, in the Ling'an Marquis's Mansion, the Crown Princess would leave her any good things. She had never had such coarse cloth. Even when the Marquis's wife passed away, the coarse cloth clothes she wore were much better than this one.
But now, she had to wear it, she couldn't not wear it. She couldn't be locked up by Ji Youran forever. If she was locked up until the Crown Princess came in, she would be really finished.
"The Concubine will scold you!" Mingyu helped her put on the clothes and reminded her while tying the belt for her.
"She... can't even take care of herself now!" Xie Feng sneered. From a concubine to a concubine, it was still the Queen's decision. Concubine Ji has the energy to take care of her at this time? Besides, even if Ji Youran has nothing to do, she dare not intervene in the place where she goes...