It took less than two quarters of an hour for the two carriages hired by Qi Ercheng to stop outside the small eatery, and Nanny Liu and the others had already enjoyed some tea and snacks.
Nanny Jin entrusted the small eatery to Qi Ercheng’s care and took the six maids and old woman servants from Prince Yu’s Mansion with her in the carriage to her home in Clear Water Village.
Travelling by carriage was relatively fast, and in less than a shichen, the two carriages entered the territory of Clear Water Village.
The situation arose unexpectedly, and Nanny Jin had no choice but to leave behind the staff from Jinrong Residence. The sudden appearance of such a large group of servants in Clear Water Village would surely draw the attention of the villagers, and even those from neighboring villages, and she couldn’t find the words to explain.
However, under the present circumstances, if she didn’t leave Jinrong’s staff behind, it would be difficult to ensure the young lady’s safety.
To minimize the sensational impact of their arrival, Nanny Jin led the two carriages in a large circle around the outskirts of the village. It wasn’t until they reached the gravel land in the north of the village that Nanny Jin led everyone off the carriages and settled the fare.
Right in front of them was the construction site for the cattle ranch. Nanny Jin said to Nanny Liu, "The steward from the Sixth Master’s Mansion probably already told you that this is a small village, and there aren’t many wealthy families in the whole village. To spare Lady Qi from undue gossip, let’s rest here for a moment. I will consult with our Old Master and Lady Qi about the arrangements for your accommodations and conduct going forward. Would that be alright with you all?"
Nanny Liu agreed hastily, "What you say is right, Nanny. We are here to serve Lady Qi, not to cause any trouble. Naturally, we will do as the master family instructs."
When the carriages stopped, a young worker from the construction site had already run off to inform Qi Younian. While Nanny Jin was discussing arrangements for everyone, Old Master Qi was already coming to meet them.
Qi Younian, upon seeing several unfamiliar maids and old woman servants besides Nanny Jin, was taken aback for a moment and asked, "Nanny, why did you come back at this time? Has something happened?"
Nanny Jin pointed to Nanny Liu and introduced her to Qi Younian, "This is Nanny Liu, the steward nanny from Sixth Master Rong’s Mansion." Turning to Nanny Liu, she said, "Nanny, this is our Old Master."
Nanny Liu had already calmly taken a look around. The view was filled with gravel plains; the nearby gravel land was leveled and orderly. A series of semi-open shed houses built in an orderly and expanded manner probably belonged to the cattle ranch of Sixth Master.
Looking further away, that must be the village where Lady Qi lived. Observing the houses and courtyards in the village, which were uneven and of differing heights, she noted that they were actually not as clean and tidy as the cattle sheds here in the ranch.
Between the cattle ranch and the village, there were two rows of buildings that seemed like temporary constructions. Nanny Liu glanced at the dozen or so craftsmen still busy by the pens of the cattle ranch; clearly, the two sets of temporary buildings were meant as the workers’ temporary dwelling.
While Qi Younian was still surprised by the appearance of the servants from the prince’s mansion, Nanny Liu and her entourage had already saluted him, "This servant pays respects to Old Master Qi."
Although Qi Younian had also traveled far and wide and seen quite a bit of the world, it was his first time being reverently saluted by so many maids and old woman servants. Flustered, the Old Master hastily sidestepped and bowed his hands, "No need for excessive formalities, this isn’t necessary in our humble household."
After Nanny Liu and the others finished their salutations, Nanny Jin stepped forward and spoke, "Nannies and girls, please dispense with the formalities for now, let’s find a place to talk first. Old Master, are the workmen’s shacks convenient? How about we tidy up a bit and let the nannies rest their feet in the shacks while we discuss how to arrange their accommodations."
"They’re going to... stay?"
Qi Younian’s tongue twisted as he swallowed the word "stay" back down.
What is this situation? It was strange enough for the servants from the Wangfu to come to their small village, but why would they need to stay?
Nanny Jin smiled at Nanny Liu and said, "Your Sixth Master didn’t give us a heads-up beforehand, so this really caught Old Master Qi by surprise. Your statuses are different, being esteemed guests of our humble domain. We can’t neglect you, so please allow us to discuss some arrangements."
Nanny Liu hurriedly bent her knee and replied, "Nanny, you mustn’t say such things, we are here under the Sixth Master’s orders to serve Lady Qi and the Qi family masters. Until the Sixth Master recalls us, we are but servants of the Qi family. We dare not speak of being noble guests again, for if Steward Wan hears it, wouldn’t he flay a layer of our skin?"
Ah, that’s more like it. Nanny Jin felt much relieved. Although Hongzhi had said something similar before, it was unpredictable whether servants out of the Wangfu’s sight would take advantage of their status and act up.
It seems the Sixth Master had made arrangements for them, and the rules of the Wangfu are indeed substantial, capable of thoroughly implementing such arrangements.
Qi Younian was baffled upon hearing this. People often say that a family servant of a chancellor is as prestigious as a seventh-rank official, so what rank would the servants of a Wangfu hold?
So servants of the Wangfu, with their equivalent official ranks, had come to stay in the home of us, the common folk? And to serve Ye Zi no less. Well, Ye Zi’s status is indeed high, high enough that we commoners only hear about it in stories and are unable to even look up to it.
But what did they just say? To serve Lady Qi and several masters of the Qi family?
Old Master Qi was at a loss for words and could only nod to Nanny Liu and the others before turning to find someone to clean up a work shed. He also sent a laborer to find Ye Xinyan to discuss matters.
When Ye Xinyan heard that Nanny Jin was leading a group of women of various ages, she didn’t understand what was going on and thought that Nanny Jin had brought a broker and many young girls to choose servants from.
She left Qi Jia in the care of the laborer who had brought the message and walked towards the work shed, wondering why Nanny Jin would handle things so unreliably. Sneaking a maid back home would suffice; why make such a commotion? That didn’t seem right.
But when she entered the simply tidied work shed and met the six people who all stood up and greeted her in unison, she was completely dumbfounded.
Could it be that Nanny actually had plans to restore the glory of the past and had found so many attendants to bring back all at once? Could the family afford to keep so many people?
Looking again, the four old women servants and two young girls stood uniformly, their eyes downcast, their demeanor every bit as disciplined as Nanny Jin used to be. They didn’t look like newly bought servants at all.
Ye Xinyan, not bothering with formalities, simply waved her hand without replying and went straight to Nanny Jin to ask, "Nanny, what is going on here?"
These were certainly not the people she intended to buy. She was looking for impoverished individuals who could help her with work. These attendants might eventually end up in some wealthy household; discussing empty pleasantries with them would be a sheer waste of her precious time.
Nanny Jin looked at her unimpressive young mistress, feeling distressed.
These were servants from the Wangfu, and there was the young mistress, rolling up her sleeves, looking nothing like a dignified master. She must have been busy working again, but even so, when knowing she was about to meet people, couldn’t she have tidied up a little?