In the small courtyard behind You Ning Hall, it was very lively early in the morning.
More than a dozen little maids wearing blue dresses and combing double maids stood in a row in an orderly manner.
In front of them was a nurse in charge in her forties, wearing a pair of rust-colored dark-patterned trousers, a bun on her head, and a round white face with thin lips tightly pursed. Some serious.
The little maids didn't dare to look directly at the nanny in charge, and all of them lowered their eyebrows and were pleasing to the eye.
The nurse in charge walked from one end to the other, looked at the little maids, and said with satisfaction: "This time there are more than 20 maids, and there are only fifteen of you left, which are still worth teaching."
The nanny in charge continued: "The master will come to pick someone later, please be smart. Where you can go depends on your own luck."
The little maids only kept their promises, and each of them had apprehension, anticipation, nervousness, and bewilderment on their faces.
The palace will add some new servants in March and April every year, usually from the family's children, if the number is not enough, some people will be bought from outside. They entered the mansion in a month, and they were trained and trained by Madam Ge who was in charge of training the maids for a month, and a few unqualified ones were eliminated, and now they are the only ones left.
Just waiting for the master to choose people today, and their future fate is doomed. If they are lucky, they can serve the master; wait.
At this moment, a maidservant in a blue dress came running quickly, walked up to Ge Momo, and said: "Ge Momo, Shizi Concubine and Eldest Miss are coming to Youning Hall soon."
One sentence made the atmosphere in the courtyard freeze, and the little maids all secretly clenched their fists, and the moment that will determine their fate will come next.
After Ge Momo swept the little maids with sharp eyes, she led them to the Youning Hall ahead.
At the entrance of the hall, Mother Ge asked a maid who was guarding under the eaves to go in and report to Nangong Yue, and then she respectfully brought the little maids in.
"I've met the concubine, eldest lady." Ge Momo hurriedly bowed to Nangong Yue and Xiao Fei.
And those little maids knelt one foot behind her. These maids were only seven or eight years old, at most no more than ten years old, and they were still at an uncertain age. Several little maids secretly looked at the two masters .
Xiao Fei seemed to be aware of it, and looked at the little maids who were kneeling on the ground, and the little girls who were sneaking glances immediately lowered their eyes nervously. Xiao Fei frowned slightly, and her eyes quickly glanced over them.
Mother Ge reported gracefully: "Concubine Shizi, this time I have selected a total of fifteen little girls, just take a look." She then respectfully presented a list and handed it to Baihui.
As soon as she finished speaking, a little servant girl who was guarding the door came in and said: "Concubine Shizi, Miss Jugeng is here."
Ji Jiao is the big maid in Zhennan Wangwai's study, and the dozen or so little maids kneeling on the ground also know about it. Hearing this, each of them secretly speculates: Could it be that the prince also wants to pick a maid
Thinking of this, the eyes of several little maids shone brightly, and they moved slightly unconsciously.
Que'er and Huamei on the side had been observing the expressions and behaviors of those little maids, seeing everything in their eyes, and secretly exchanged a look, knowing it well.
After a while, the platycodon grandiflora wearing a pink and blue wicker-patterned beanie arrived gracefully. After bowing his knees and saluting, he said respectfully: "Concubine Shizi, my lord ordered my servants to come over to pass on the message that my aunt Mei is now pregnant. There needs to be more staff in the yard, and I asked the concubine Shizi to pick two maids for Aunt Mei to send them to."
Nangong Yue held up the teacup and sipped the hot tea lightly, just using the teacup to cover up her subtle expression changes. The corners of her mouth were slightly raised, showing a hint of interest.
Since it was Zhennan Wang's order, it's not against the rules to call two more maidservants, so Nangong Yue nodded slightly.
She put down the teacup in her hand, pointed to the little maidservants on the right, and said: "You four go with Miss Jugen, and let your father have a look." Nangong Yue smiled lightly, meaning something To increase the volume on a certain two words.
The four little maidservants responded with trepidation and fear, thinking in a daze: I don't know whether it will be a blessing or a curse if it falls into Aunt Mei's eyes...
And Kikyo is also a smart person, with a flash of light in his eyes, he respectfully thanked Nangong Yue, and then took the little maids to Zhennan King's outer study.
To Nangong Yue, this was nothing more than a sesame seed, and she let it go in an instant, and the wind passed without a trace.
Baihui handed back the list that Nanny Ge gave her just now, and said, "Mommy Ge, please circle the names of the four maids just now."
Nanny Ge responded, walked to the desk beside her, took a pen from a maidservant in Tsing Yi, circled four names, then submitted the list again, and asked for instructions: "Concubine Shizi, all courts must Adding manpower, how do you think this should be distributed?"
Nangong Yue glanced at the list hastily, and said in a deep thought: "The big maids around the eldest girl, the third girl, and the fourth girl are almost reaching the age, so it's better to pick a few younger maids for them this time, which is better than two girls." Substitute for the next year."
The maids who serve close to the girl's house must first be carefully trained, and second, observe the parallels and manners. If they are not prepared in advance, when the eldest maid is about to marry, she will inevitably be in a hurry.
Moreover, the girls in the palace are not too young, and most of the maids selected for them this time will be married with them, so they need to be trained even more.
Baihui responded, and asked the maidservants to stand up and divide into two groups. One side was seven or eight years old, and the other side was nine years old and above.
After hearing what Nangong Yue said just now, Xiao Fei, who was lowering her head, had a thoughtful expression on her face, and she couldn't help looking at Tao Yao and Bai Zhou behind her. Taoyao is about the same age as herself, and there are still a few years left, but Bai Zhou is almost seventeen years old, so she should think about it for Bai Zhou. Xiao Fei lowered her eyes halfway, thinking.
Nangong Yue looked at Xiao Fei's pensive eyes and suggested, "Sister Fei, come and see who you like?"
Xiao Fei was startled for a moment, then nodded solemnly in response.
The sister-in-law said that after she gets married in the future, even if she doesn't have the palm of her hand, she still has to take good care of her own yard.
This selection of servants is the first hurdle in managing the inner courtyard.
Xiao Fei carefully looked at the seven or eight-year-old maidservants, looking from the far right to the left, she remembered that the one on the far right rolled her eyes and glanced around secretly as soon as she entered the hall, her temper was too frivolous.
The second one behaved decently, kept her eyes fixed, and her hands...
Xiao Fei's gaze paused for a moment on the middle finger of the little girl's right hand, the thimble was worn out into calluses, this girl seemed to be good at needlework.
The third one looks handsome and graceful, but with slender hands...
the fourth…
Xiao Fei has always done things in a leisurely manner, even picking out maidservants. In the blink of an eye, a cup of tea has passed.
Seeing that Xiao Fei kept silent, Ge Nanny felt a little nervous. The concubine Shi Zi always followed the rules, and rewards and punishments were clearly defined. Once she found out the concubine Shi Zi's temperament, it would not be difficult to do what she liked. But the big girl is different. She often plays cards out of common sense, making people confused and can only respect and avoid them.
At this time, Xiao Fei finally raised her hand and tapped two of the little maids.
Ge Momo secretly heaved a sigh of relief, the most difficult hurdle was over. However, the eldest girl's eyes were still a bit strange, and Mother Ge couldn't help but look at the two maids that Xiao Fei had spotted. One of them was a child of the palace, who knew everything about her and was said to be good at needlework, while the other was dark and dark. Fat, named Hei Niu, was bought from outside this time, if this girl hadn't been strong and knew the rules, Mammy Ge would have brushed her off a long time ago.
Originally, Mother Ge planned that after the masters selected the maids, Hei Niu would go to the warehouse to be a cleaning maid, and she could also help carry heavy objects. I didn't expect her to be spotted by the eldest girl.
The eldest girl is really not a person who plays cards according to reason!
Nanny Ge sighed in her heart, but Nangong Yue was smiling, somewhat relieved.
Even if you can't find the most suitable one for the close servant in the girl's yard, you have to choose an honest one. If you choose a frivolous one, if you don't do it well, it will cause trouble and ruin the master's cleanliness. reputation…
Judging from today, Sister Fei is ready to become a teacher. The two maids she picked seem to be honest, one is good at needlework, and the other can learn some kung fu to be a female guard. Don't worry about her anymore.
The Youning Hall was lively all morning before it returned to tranquility, and the little maids also had their own places to go.
In the next two days, the servants in the palace were commotions due to the influx of fresh blood, but for the masters, the days were still the same as before, and there was only a few days of spring hunting. It also makes people look forward to it.
Early in the morning two days later, after Nangong Yue finished handling the trivial matters, she suddenly became very picturesque looking at the two pots of peonies in the room.
So I asked the servant girl to take the painting tools and go to the pavilion in the backyard.
From the perspective of the pavilion, you can just see the window of the small study. The pot of "red and white bucket color" is placed on the flower table by the window. It smells like half-covered pipa.
Nangong Yue curled her lips into a smile, her eyes shining like jewels.
This angle is also good, if Ah Yi is leaning against the window to read a book, wouldn't it be more beautiful than Huajiao
Thinking about it, Nangong Yue's smile deepened.
Huamei and Ying'er, who were serving at the side, secretly exchanged glances, and felt that Shizifei's eyes were a bit strange. Why was it a bit like that kind of drama where the swinger sees a peerless beauty? Are they thinking too much
At this time, Nangong Yue smiled and said: "Lay out the paper, take care of the pen and ink, I want to draw."
She finished painting the peony first, and then called A Yi to pose next time.
Thinking about it, Nangong Yue began to draw enthusiastically, line drawing, outline, outline filling, boneless, splashing ink...
After a stick of incense, she finished drawing a "red and white bucket color", and added some branches and leaves freely, and there was a burst of shouting mixed with hurried steps from a distance: "Princess Shizi! Shizi!" concubine..."
Huamei and Ying'er followed the sound and saw Que'er in a blue dress running hurriedly, panting.
Seeing Baihui frowning and looking at her, Que'er remembered her demeanor, stuck out her tongue in embarrassment, and became respectful and decent.
Nangong Yue simply put away her pen and looked at the delicate and beautiful peony in her pen with satisfaction.
Que'er adjusted his breathing, walked quickly outside the pavilion, bent his knees and said: "Concubine Mei, something happened to Aunt Mei, I saw Hong just now..."
The news caused silence in the pavilion.
Nangong Yue put the brush in her hand into the brush washer, the ink dizzy from the tip of the brush, and the originally clear water immediately became turbid.
After tossing about trivial matters, Aunt Mei finally made a second move.
interesting.
Que'er continued: "Two days ago, the lord picked two of the four little maids for Aunt Mei, and one of them was sweet and clever, which Aunt Mei liked, and named her Mingzhu. Aunt Mei said that Mingzhu looked like her younger sister, and she felt that she hit it off when she saw her, so she promoted Mingzhu to be a second-class maid, and let her serve in the house, and gave her clothes and jewelry. The servants are spreading the good fortune of Mingzhu. But early this morning, Aunt Mei drank the anti-fetal medicine presented by Mingzhu, and suddenly felt unwell, collapsed with abdominal pain, and saw blood... Aunt Mei The side has already sent someone to call for a good doctor."
Nangong Yue hooked the corners of her lips with a half-smile, so all the calculations in the inner courtyard were all these tricks.