Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 4 Maid
But Liu Yan'er came out of the yard with a complaint in her heart. After wandering around for a long time, she finally found a maid and asked her name. The water room was in the east courtyard.

Liu Yan'er turned back and, not far from Chen Siyuan's courtyard, found herself at the back gate of the East Courtyard. Entering, she could see a small garden in the distance, with a water room to one side.

I exchanged a dime for the water room's housekeeper and casually listened to her words. The housekeeper then continued, "This East Courtyard used to be half a training ground and half a garden. Later, after the old master passed away, there was no one in the family to practice martial arts anymore, and the girls were getting older, so they built a hut."

Pointing, the housekeeper said with a smile, "Look over there. The second young lady lives in the north, and the third and fourth young ladies are younger, so they live together in the south. In the east wing, the tea room and kitchen are next to each other. I saw Miss Ping give instructions just now. You can go straight to Sister Liu to get some food and take it back."

Liu Yan'er was puzzled and asked, "It's just past 3 p.m., why do we have to eat now?"

The housekeeper had a slight look of disdain on her face, but she said with a touch of pride, "Our family is not like the small, small families out there. We always eat two meals a day and three o'clock."

Liu Yan'er was increasingly puzzled, and quickly lowered her head to the old woman and said, "Please explain, Madam. I really don't know what the two meals and three o'clock mean."

The housekeeper teased him a bit, then said, "Those people out there who eat three meals a day are just upstarts. We in this mansion adhere to the ancient customs. Well, since you're new here, I'll have a few more words with you."

The old woman then explained in detail. What does "two meals and three snacks" mean? It means having two main meals at si and shen, and snacks at chen, wu, and tui.

Liu Yan'er was astonished when she heard this, thinking that the Jia family was indeed extravagant. She thought that three meals a day, fine clothes and delicious food were amazing, but who knew that the Jia family could be so particular?

Not to mention anything else, the daily food expenses for the dozen or so masters in the mansion alone would probably cost dozens of taels of silver!
"Thanks to Madam's guidance, otherwise I would have made a fool of myself in the future." Liu Yan'er flattered with a smile, her heart burning with anger. Normally, she only managed to get a hundred or so taels of silver from the fire-making operation, but this time, if she didn't get a thousand or eight hundred taels of silver from sneaking into the Jia Mansion, wouldn't it be a waste of her trip?
After bidding farewell to the housekeeper, he left the tea room and headed for the kitchen next door. Ping'er happened to be speaking to a maid there, and Liu Yan'er, not daring to disturb them, stood aside with her hands folded.

But then Ping'er said, "...After all, he's the eldest wife's nephew. I hear he can't leave the house for a while. Sister Liu, why don't you think about it again?"

Mrs. Liu lowered her head, curled her lips slightly, and forced a smile. "Miss Ping's words are certainly reasonable, but my daughter Wu'er has been weak and sickly since she was a child... Look, she caught a cold just as autumn began. She's still young, so I've discussed it with the head of the household. If she doesn't work out, we can keep her for another two years."

Ping'er's smile remained unchanged as she said, "Since Sister Liu says so, let's just drop the matter."

Mrs. Liu breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly asked her daughter-in-law to bring Second Madam Wang Xifeng's food box. Ping'er took the box and turned to see Liu Yan'er standing by her side. She smiled and said, "You're here?" She introduced him, "Mrs. Liu, this is Yan'er from Brother Yuan'er's household. Second Madam has instructed that a portion be prepared for Brother Yuan from now on, in accordance with the other young ladies' portions."

Sister Liu agreed immediately, and Ping'er said to Liu Yan'er, "Go back and tell your master that it's dinner time now and we can't spare any help right now. Our grandmother will send a little maid over first, and we'll fill in the gaps tomorrow."

Liu Yan'er bowed politely and thanked him, then watched Ping'er leave gracefully with the food box. When she turned around, she saw Sister Liu's face sullen, and she said in a stern tone, "Do you know the etiquette for the master's dining in this mansion?"

Liu Yan'er pretended to be well-behaved and said, "Madame Qiao just said that."

Mrs. Liu snorted and said, "It's better to come early than late. Come earlier in the future." She then brought over a food box.

Liu Yan'er took the food box and fished out a dime from her purse. She stepped forward and said with a smile, "My surname is also Liu. My sister-in-law's husband's family and I may have been one family five hundred years ago. Let's get closer from now on."

Mrs. Liu received the silver and weighed it, thinking it was about three cents, and her expression relaxed a lot.

Leaving the kitchen, Liu Yan'er hurried a few steps. When she reached the back door of the East Courtyard and saw no one was around, she opened the food box and peeked inside. She saw several dishes inside: braised pork elbow with ham, crab with ginger vinegar and osmanthus, dried radish, pheasant and melon, sour bamboo shoot and chicken skin soup, red rice porridge, and yam cake stuffed with jujube paste. Liu Yan'er drooled at the sight.

In his heart, he cursed Chen Siyuan for being lucky enough to enter the Jia Mansion. He was afraid that even the rich families with thousands of acres of fertile land at home could not afford to eat such dishes.
After putting away the lunch box and about to leave the East Courtyard, Liu Yan'er spotted two handsome young men approaching from the back door, hand in hand. Liu Yan'er, a newcomer, didn't know what to call them, so she stepped aside.

Unexpectedly, when the two men came closer, one of them turned his head and glanced at Liu Yan'er, then stopped and asked curiously, "Are you new here?"

Liu Yan'er quickly replied, "Sir... I... followed Brother Yuan into the mansion this afternoon."

"Brother Yuan? Who is that?"

"He's the eldest wife's nephew."

As she spoke, Liu Yan'er glanced up and saw the young man questioning her, about twelve or thirteen years old. His face was like the moonlight of the Mid-Autumn Festival, his complexion like the blossoms of spring morning, his temples as sharp as a knife's cut, his eyebrows as black as a painting, his face like peach petals, his eyes as bright as autumnal waves. He wore a golden dragon-shaped necklace and a five-colored silk ribbon around his neck. He wore a round-necked, narrow-sleeved, off-white silk robe with a dark pattern underneath, and a round-necked, sleeveless robe with a four-opening hem on a pale yellow satin with a multicolored floral pattern outside. He was dignified and elegant, like a golden boy at the side of a bodhisattva.

Looking at the person next to him, although the young man's clothes were a little shabby, his face was even more so. He had a pair of peach blossom eyes, and he really had a feminine look and a charming look.

"The eldest lady's nephew?" the young man muttered. The young man beside him said, "I think he is a distant relative of the eldest lady's family. Would Baoyu like to meet him?"

Liu Yan'er's heart moved, and she took another look, thinking that this person was Master Bao.

At this moment, Baoyu laughed and said, "I was just wondering why this maid didn't call anyone when she saw me. I thought she was a new arrival in the mansion, but it turns out she was brought in by an outsider. Zhong'er, let's go quickly. The old master is waiting for us to have dinner together."

Zhong Ge'er agreed and walked into the East Courtyard hand in hand with Baoyu. In a blink of an eye, their figures were hidden among the flowers, plants and trees.

Liu Yan'er couldn't help but think to herself, if this young man from aristocratic family had a good family background and was born even better, wouldn't it be better than what he has now if he could be favored and become his lover?
Then she sighed inwardly. She knew her own business. How could anyone in this fire-making Yan family be innocent? A woman like this, a withered flower and a broken willow, would probably not be worthy of that boy's attention.

Turning around, he saw a group of people standing three feet in front of him. The man in the middle was of medium height, sturdy build, with ordinary looks and a flushed face. Maybe he had just drunk some wine, as his eyes were staring straight at him, with a reckless spirit.

Liu Yan'er was startled and quickly bowed. Just as she was about to pick up the food box and return home, she heard the man's hoarse voice call out, "Hey, girl, where are you from?"

Just as Liu Yan'er was unsure how to respond, she heard the handsome man beside her tease, "Uncle Pan, you've just left Jinxiang Courtyard and you've forgotten Yun'er? I'll definitely have a talk with Sister Yun about this someday."

Uncle Pan smiled faintly, saying nothing. The man on the other side, who bore a passing resemblance to Rong, teased, "Rong, you don't know, but no matter how wonderful Yunjie from Jinxiangyuan is, the madam has refused to let Uncle Pan redeem her. This girl may not be as pretty, but she's even more attractive than Yunjie. Doesn't that just suit Uncle Pan's taste?"

Xue Pan then said, "Brother Qiang really understands my thoughts."

Jia Rong looked at Liu Yan'er and said, "Isn't that simple? Once I find out her name, I'll go talk to Second Aunt later and have her sent to Uncle Pan's room."

Liu Yan'er had been a member of the Yan family for several years. Apart from young men from aristocratic families like Baoyu, what kind of men had she not seen? Seeing Xue Pan's eyes full of lust, she immediately said anxiously, "I... I just came into the mansion with Yuan Ge'er today. I'm not a maid in the mansion."

"Who is Brother Yuan?"

Liu Yan'er said, "He's the eldest lady's nephew."

If it were someone else, Jia Rong and Jia Qiang might have some scruples, but Brother Yuan happened to be Mrs. Xing's nephew... Mrs. Xing had no face in front of the old lady, let alone the eldest master, so how could she care about these two people?

Jia Qiang remained calm. Jia Rong folded his folding fan and said, "Since she's a relative, this matter will be easy to handle. Uncle Pan might as well take her back first, and I'll go and talk to... Uncle Yuan about it. She's just a maid, after all. I believe Uncle Yuan won't be too stingy."

Jia Qiang, standing by, frowned and said, "This... I think we should find someone to discuss this matter with first."

How could Xue Pan care so much at this moment? Today, he took Jia Rong and Jia Qiang to the Jinxiang Courtyard to hang out, spending dozens of taels of silver. Yun'er flirted with them in every possible way, but refused to let them into the alley. Xue Pan was already furious at the moment, and when he heard that Liu Yan'er's master was a distant relative, he got impatient and pulled Liu Yan'er's arm, saying, "No, no, Rong'er's method is more to my liking. Haha, Rong'er, I'll leave this matter to you. If you can handle it well, I'll prepare a feast for you at Jinxiang Courtyard tomorrow for three consecutive days!"

Jia Rong was immediately overjoyed and agreed, "Since Uncle Pan has said so, I'll leave this matter to my nephew!"

Liu Yan'er's arm was pulled, and she struggled twice but couldn't get free. Thinking that her home was right in front of her, she hurriedly shouted, "Master Pan, please let me go. My brother is waiting for me..."

Xue Pan pulled him away and said with a smile, "This meal is not a big deal. I will thank your brother in the future. For now, just follow me!"

Although Liu Yan'er had learned some self-defense skills, she was no match for the burly Xue Pan. Hearing this, she begged for help, but her body was dragged towards Lixiangyuan.

At this moment, Liu Yan'er saw Chen Siyuan coming out of the yard and hurriedly shouted, "Brother Yuan, save me!"

(End of this chapter)