A Maid's Survival Story in a Noble Family Mansion? Rich Landlords Are More Appealing.

As dusk approached, the autumn sun set early, and a chill had already settled over the place.

Chen Wanxing put down the account book of expenses she had just checked, rubbed her slightly sore eyes, and her gaze involuntarily drifted toward the courtyard gate.

Amber left home early in the morning, saying she was going to the embroidery shop to pick up some work, but as evening approached, she was nowhere to be seen.

"It shouldn't have taken this long."

Kaifeng Prefecture was relatively safe, and she didn't want to keep an eye on Amber all the time. But she was a young woman, new to the city, and didn't have much money.

If anything happens...

Chen Wanxing became increasingly restless as she thought about it. The warmth from the charcoal fire in the room seemed to dissipate, leaving only a strange sense of anxiety.

She stood up, looked at the sky outside, and finally decided that she couldn't wait any longer.

Chen Wanxing turned and walked into the inner room, intending to get a thick coat. She then called Yunzhu and Granny Li, and headed out to search for the embroidery shops she frequented.

Just as she picked up the jacket, the courtyard gate creaked open.

Amber was enveloped in the chill brought in from outside, her cheeks were red from the autumn wind, her hair was slightly disheveled, and she was tightly clutching a package in her arms.

"Sister Wanxing," Amber's voice was tinged with weariness but also with barely suppressed excitement as she saw Chen Wanxing, "I'm back."

Seeing her like this, Chen Wanxing finally felt relieved after a whole afternoon of worry. "Why did you take so long? I thought something had happened to you, and I was just about to go look for you."

"It's my fault, it's my fault. I lingered too long at the embroidery shop."

She followed Chen Wanxing into the main room, carefully placed the package on the table, and explained as she untied it:

"I was thinking that if I waited for the manager to assign tasks according to seniority, I didn't know when I would get a chance to do something decent. I wanted to ask the manager in person for a chance."

That's why I went there first thing this morning and tried the needlework on the spot.

She paused, a hint of confidence flashing in her eyes, "The shopkeeper saw it and immediately said that my needlework was meticulous and the color matching was elegant, showing that I had worked hard."

"Sister, look!" Amber's voice carried a hint of barely perceptible pride as she revealed the contents of the package.

It consisted of several flat, white fan blanks and several strands of brightly colored, high-quality silk threads.

Chen Wanxing picked up an embroidery frame and examined it carefully. The blank was made of fine Hangzhou silk, with smooth and lustrous threads, making it a material for delicate work.

Amber's voice was filled with excitement as she continued, "Although the shopkeeper thinks I'm good, I'm still a newcomer. He doesn't dare to give me big items like ready-made clothes or screens right away."

Later they compromised and let me embroider fan surfaces first. They said if I did well with this, I could get more intricate work later, and the pay would be higher. Look, I got ten sets at once.

"I see." Chen Wanxing understood and sincerely praised, "This is a good start. To get the shopkeeper to make an exception, Amber, that's your skill."

However, she then seemed to remember something and frowned again.

"Don't we have to pay for the silk thread and the blanks ourselves first? Ten sets of fan paintings would cost a lot of money upfront, wouldn't it?"

Upon hearing this, Amber's face suddenly froze. She subconsciously gripped her left wrist with her right hand, only to find it empty.

"I pawned a piece of jewelry."

"A pawnshop?" Chen Wanxing's voice immediately turned serious upon hearing that she had gone to a pawnshop. "What did you pawn?"

Under Chen Wanxing's persistent questioning, Amber's eyes darted around, and her voice was barely audible: "It's the gold bracelet that Madam bestowed upon us on the day she decided to have us as the young master's concubines."

Amber was still a little guilty. She wondered if Chen Wanxing would think she was too polite after hearing this, that he went to the pawnshop instead of borrowing money from her when he was in trouble, and that he didn't consider her a friend.

She knew that Chen Wanxing had already helped her a lot, and if she asked Chen Wanxing to help her pay for the fabric again, she would probably agree, but she was really too embarrassed to do so.

Upon hearing this, Chen Wanxing immediately remembered the bracelets—two identical bracelets, one for her and one for Amber.

The design, featuring a lotus blossom entwined in crimson gold, was exquisitely crafted and quite substantial. Amber, who had almost never parted with her for years, had actually pawned this.

Chen Wanxing looked her over with some surprise. She didn't have any objection to her pawning the jewelry, especially since it was jewelry of this kind. She was just worried that she would suffer a loss if she went alone.

"How much money did you get?"

"Ten taels."

"What? Ten taels???"

Seeing that everyone had returned safely, Chen Wanxing relaxed and chatted casually with them. But upon hearing Amber's words, her voice suddenly rose, filled with disbelief and anger.

"Are you stupid? That bracelet is made of pure gold and the workmanship is exquisite. It should be worth at least thirty taels. Which shady shop did you go to?"

I'll give you the money first to redeem the items. If that doesn't work, you can sell them to me. It's not like I'm letting an outsider get such a great deal for nothing.

As she was about to go into the inner room to get the money, Amber hurriedly stopped her.

"Sister, don't worry. The shopkeeper said that the bracelet is worth twenty taels now, but their pawnshops usually split the debt in half, with a two-month contract and a 30% interest rate."

I calculated that if I worked hard, I could finish these ten fans in two months. The embroidery workshop would pay me one tael of silver for each fan.

I can just redeem it from the pawnshop later. Besides, the contract states a two-month period, so even if I return it now, I'll still have to pay two months' interest.

Chen Wanxing stopped in her tracks, slowly turned around, and looked at Amber again, her face somewhat embarrassed.

"Oh, it's a contractual agreement." Her expression softened slightly, and her tone became much calmer. She quickly did some mental calculations.

If you borrow 10 taels of silver at a 30% interest rate for two months, you will have to repay 6 taels of interest after two months.

Although it wasn't cheap, it was still quite common in the pawnshop. At least the principal was saved, and Amber had indeed made a thorough plan. However, Chen Wanxing still felt a bit of pain about having to repay six taels of interest for every ten taels borrowed.

Chen Wanxing felt that her outburst earlier was a bit of an overreaction, so she cleared her throat and said, with a hint of remorse:

"Thirty percent interest, fine, just keep that in mind."

The awkward atmosphere eased, and Amber looked at the silk thread on the table, as if she had made up her mind, and said softly:

"Sister, actually, on the way back just now, I thought about it. I'm going to get rid of the rest of these jewelry pieces. Most of them were given to me by the young master, and a small portion were given to me by the madam and some I bought myself."

Chen Wanxing looked at her, her gaze questioning.

She must have treasured all the gifts the young master gave her, otherwise they probably wouldn't have survived until now; they would have been taken by his parents or tricked into giving them away at the Zhou family's residence.

Amber gave a wry smile: "Now that I think about it, given my current situation, keeping those things is neither edible nor wearable, and they only attract unwanted attention. It would be better to exchange them for silver."

Besides, most of those things were just casually given away by the young master, and he himself probably doesn't even remember them. She's probably the only one who still cherishes them like treasures.

However, if Chen Wanxing knew her thoughts, she would definitely refute her.

Who said that no matter who gave it to you, it's all money, so it's all a treasure?