Hongyu joyfully put on the bracelets given to her by Wufu, deliberately rolling up her sleeves a bit to fully expose them.
Upon seeing this, and her bright smile, Liu Jin couldn’t help but laugh, "Sister Hongyu, do you like the bracelets that much?"
Hongyu nodded, "Liu Jin, this is the first time I’ve ever received such beautiful jewelry."
Liu Jin took her hand and examined it, nodding in agreement, "They are quite beautiful, but the earrings made by the young lady are also not bad."
Hongyu touched the earrings hanging from her earlobes, which were also given to her by Wufu, and couldn’t help but grin widely.
"Liu Jin, this trip to the county town, why did it take so many days? Where did the young lady take you to have fun?" Hongyu asked curiously.
"It wasn’t for fun," Liu Jin said.
"If not for fun, then what for?" Hongyu’s eyes stared intently at him.
Liu Jin’s heart tightened, and he immediately remembered what Miss Xin had said, that nobody, including their own family, should be told about what she did on this trip, to prevent them from worrying.
Miss Xin had said this, and at first, Liu Jin didn’t understand, but later he thought there must be a reason for it. As a subordinate, he just had to follow orders.
"What could I have been doing? I was just helping someone with some errands," Liu Jin said vaguely.
He thought Hongyu would keep asking, but to his surprise, she just acknowledged with an "Oh."
Liu Jin, unable to hold it in, asked, "You’re not asking anymore?"
"Would you tell me if I asked?" Hongyu glanced at him.
Liu Jin smiled sheepishly.
As Hongyu stoked the fire in the stove and sat on the small stool, she said, "Although I don’t know what the young lady did, I’m sure it wasn’t anything bad. If she wanted to tell us, she would have. If she doesn’t, she has her reasons."
Liu Jin was astonished, not expecting her to have such awareness.
"I’ve been with the young lady even longer than you have." As if reading his mind, Hongyu humphed.
"Speaking of which, Sister Hongyu, how did you end up with the young lady? I was sold, were you too?"
Hongyu paused, then said, "I was sold too, but I sold myself."
Hongyu then recounted the whole story of how she had sold herself.
"So, did you also follow her because you saw her abilities?" Liu Jin’s eyes sparkled.
"You could say that," Hongyu replied. "My grandfather even said before he died that once she arrived, I should follow her, or else I couldn’t protect myself."
"Your grandfather truly had the ability to recognize people’s worth," Liu Jin sighed.
"I knew you would show off your literary flair," Hongyu scoffed lightly.
Liu Jin chuckled a few times, "Sister Hongyu, during this trip to the county with the young lady, I also met a Ninth Master acquainted with her, and his demeanor was truly that of a noble."
Hongyu looked at him.
"I said to the young lady that there must be some rules we have to establish ourselves. We can’t just disregard all propriety because the young lady is approachable and undermine her authority," Liu Jin watched her.
"For instance, respecting hierarchies," Liu Jin said. "Sister Hongyu, whether you believe it or not, I feel that the young lady will go further and do better in the future. There will be more and more people following her. Hierarchical rules need to be established. A servant is a servant, the young lady is a lady—no, regardless of what happened to her, even if she no longer has a husband, we should start to address her as Madam from now on; they are our rightful masters."
Hongyu’s face turned slightly pale, her lips quivering.
"But there are distinctions even among servants. As long as we are capable and can manage affairs, I believe the young lady will not treat us lightly. We will become her closest confidants, right?" Liu Jin looked intently at Hongyu.
Hongyu, lost in thought, looked at the Silver Bracelets on her wrist and after a while said, "I understand."
Liu Jin breathed a sigh of relief, glad she understood.
From that day on, Liu Jin and the others began to refer to Madam Zhou as Madam.