Becoming a literary master starting from the story of Minglan

Chapter 95 Four Women
……

Before returning to his own courtyard, Sheng Changquan first went to Shou'an Hall to see the old lady. At the same time, following his sister Minglan's wishes, he reported the details of today's events to the old lady.

The old lady, as expected of the legitimate daughter of a noble family, was indeed wise and insightful. After listening to what Sheng Changquan said without showing any emotion, she simply nodded lightly, as if to say that she understood.

Judging from what Sheng Changquan observed, it seemed that the old lady already had a plan in mind and was plotting something else.

Thinking of this, Sheng Changquan shook his head and decided to stop worrying about it. After all, today's matter was just a minor mistake between his children and not worth investigating. Even if there were some setbacks, it wouldn't matter.

He turned a corner, pushed open the gate to his own yard, and strode inside.

"Master, you are back!"

Having been watching Cuiming at the door, she immediately went out of the house to greet him, raising a lantern to light the way for Sheng Changquan.

"Sister Cuiming!"

Sheng Changquan nodded slightly and asked Cuiming with a smile, "How are they doing? Are they getting used to the courtyard?"

Cuiming knew what her mistress meant; she simply wanted to inquire about the condition of the newly arrived maids.

"Young Master, don't worry. I think those four younger sisters are all quite well-behaved and don't seem like the kind of people who would cause trouble. It would be great if they stayed in our courtyard."

Cui Ming was quiet by nature and never made things difficult for anyone, which is why she said this at this moment.

"Hehe, that's good!"

Sheng Changquan remained noncommittal, but secretly turned his head and glanced at Cui Ming beside him, observing her expression to see if she was speaking sincerely.

However, upon noticing that there was indeed no sign of distress on her face, Sheng Changquan nodded to himself.

Sheng Changquan didn't really believe what Cui Ming said. After all, they had only known each other for a short time, and some things couldn't be seen through at a glance.

Anyway, there's still a long road ahead.

"Master!"

"Master..."

When Sheng Changquan entered the room, the four women who had been waiting there immediately gathered around and bowed to him.

This is the posture taught by Cuiming, explaining that this is the etiquette of an official's family. Although they are just servants of the Sheng family, they still need to learn a thing or two and not be as unruly as they are at home, lest they be ridiculed.

"Ah."

Upon seeing this, Sheng Changquan first gave a faint reply, then let Cui Ming, who was following behind, take off his coat and change into a clean set of plain clothes before finally looking up at the four women in front of him.

"I'm sure Sister Cuiming has already taught you the rules of this courtyard!"

Sheng Changquan cut to the chase, stating his rules directly: "As long as you behave yourselves and follow my rules in this courtyard, I will certainly not treat you unfairly in the future!"

Looking at the four women standing respectfully with their heads bowed, Sheng Changquan promised, "When the time comes, whether you want to leave and go home or stay in the Sheng family, you can do so. As long as it is reasonable, I am willing to give you that dignity."

"but!"

After finishing his sweet talk, Sheng Changquan started his harsher criticism: "If anyone is instigated by others and harbors disloyal intentions, or likes to stir up trouble and create problems out of nothing!"

"Humph!"

"If I'm lucky, I might not have found out!"

Sheng Changquan coldly stared at the four people opposite him and said in a ruthless voice, "But if you let me know anything about it, then don't blame me, the master, for being ruthless!" Upon hearing this, the four women all trembled and hurriedly replied, "This servant wouldn't dare!"

Seeing this, Sheng Changquan nodded to himself, then relaxed his tone and said with a faint smile, "As long as you remember these things, that's fine. Otherwise, don't blame me for not warning you!"

While the four maids in front of her were all bowing their heads in fear, Cui Ming secretly rolled her eyes at Sheng Changquan, seemingly blaming him for deliberately intimidating her.

Sheng Changquan simply smiled and shook his head, without saying a word.

However, what Cui Ming didn't know was that what Sheng Changquan said was not a lie. Once disloyal, never trusted again. If someone under him really violated his taboos, he really meant what he said!
At that time, forget about any feelings; even if there are any, they will only be hatred!

Sheng Changquan glanced at the girls, looked them over carefully one by one, and then said, "Alright, you should all introduce yourselves and tell us your names."

Since these four girls were recruited from nearby farmhouses by human traffickers, they all had families. After all, it's reassuring to use such people, and there's no fear that they might deliberately do evil.

After all, even if she doesn't think about herself, she should at least think about her family.

The girls all gave their names tremblingly, one after another, as if they were all frightened by Sheng Changquan's words.

However, Sheng Changquan didn't mind, thinking he would get used to it later. But after hearing the names of these people, he finally understood why the master always changed the names of new servants.

There's no other reason than that their old names were just too awful!

Some of them don't even have names yet; at home, they're just called "little girl" or "girl."

"All right!"

In the end, Sheng Changquan could only change everyone's names while Cui Ming was trying not to laugh.

Based on his intuition, Sheng Changquan pointed to the woman among the four who spoke the most gently and acted the most steadily, and said, "You shall be called Ziyuan."

He pointed to the tallest and most beautiful girl among them and said, "Your name is Kikyo."

"And you two will be called Qingfeng and Mingyue."

Finally, Sheng Changquan pointed to the two youngest and smallest, and said this.

The four women looked at each other, and were pleasantly surprised, their faces beaming with smiles.

After all, being given a name by one's master is an honor, and besides, they didn't like their original names, so they were naturally overjoyed to have a better-sounding one.

"Alright, you can all step back and rest now!"

Seeing that Qingfeng and Mingyue were already a little sleepy, Sheng Changquan had no intention of making things difficult for them. He simply waved his hand and told them to go to the outer room to rest.

Because it was a separate courtyard, Cuiming and the maids slept in the side rooms next to the main house so that they could take good care of Sheng Changquan.

They had just entered the manor tonight, so as usual, Cuiming was on night duty.

"Young Master, are you going to practice calligraphy again tonight?"

After the maids left, Cuiming held a hot water bottle and warmed Sheng Changquan's bed while asking him questions.

"Well, keep going!"

Sheng Changquan insisted, and Cui Ming did not object; in fact, she was quite pleased!
"With such diligence, Seventh Young Master will surely achieve great success in the imperial examinations!"

In the darkness, Cui Ming watched Sheng Changquan diligently practicing his calligraphy, a slight smile playing on her lips, her eyes sparkling even brighter.

(End of this chapter)