These nannies were originally all found by Concubine Fang from the estate farms, each having some degree of kinship with the trusted nannies and maids in the courtyards of the various masters and mistresses. It was originally a trap set by Concubine Fang against Ren Yaohua, but in the end, they were kept at Ren Yaoqi's persuasion.
Now that they themselves had made such a major blunder with clear evidence, and it was Third Master Ren who spoke up to have them driven out, naturally, it couldn't be linked to Madam Li and her daughters.
At first, these nannies were unwilling to sit idly by and wait for their fate, seeking connections everywhere. However, everyone in the Ren Family was well aware of Third Master Ren's temper. When he didn't involve himself in matters, you could cause an uproar and he would turn a blind eye, but once he was provoked to anger, he wouldn't spare anyone's face.
For example, Wife Niu had someone send a message to her sister-in-law, asking her to plead with her mother-in-law, Granny Gui. But it just so happened that earlier, when Wife Niu was arguing with Nanny Liu, Nanny Liu said she had relied on Granny Gui to bribe someone close to Concubine Fang.
This single statement implicated quite a few people, and the news spread until even the servants in the mansion knew about it.
So before Wife Niu's sister-in-law could even speak, she was thoroughly scolded by Granny Gui, who said her maternal family was disgraceful and forbade her from interfering in her family's affairs again.
To make matters worse, while these old women were seeking connections, they didn't forget to undermine each other, fearing that if their rivals stayed while they were driven out, they would face retaliation later. The result was predictable.
In Madam Li's main room, her senior maid Que'er was whispering with a smile on her face about the news she had just gathered: "...Because of this, the master also became angry with Concubine Fang. When Concubine Fang dragged her 'ailing body' to apologize, he said she lacked discernment, letting just anyone into Purple Magnolia Courtyard. He also said that now that the mistress has returned, she should focus on taking care of her health, Sixth Young Master, and Ninth Miss, and not meddle in the affairs of our Purple Magnolia Courtyard anymore."
"Did Father really reprimand Concubine Fang like that?" Ren Yaohua glanced at Que'er and frowned.
Que'er smiled somewhat sheepishly: "The master is like an immortal; his words are naturally more refined than those of a servant like me."
In truth, Ren Shimin was mostly polite and courteous in front of his wife and concubines, rarely uttering harsh words. So this time, his few criticisms of Concubine Fang were seen as quite gratifying by the maids.
Sure enough, Madam Li's expression brightened slightly upon hearing this.
She was a kind but timid woman, and having suffered no small number of losses at Concubine Fang's hands, it was impossible for there to be harmony between wife and concubine. What made it worse was that Concubine Fang's birth mother was Old Madam Ren's full sister, and Madam Li had not given birth to a son, so over the years, she inevitably lacked confidence in front of Concubine Fang.
Ren Yaohua glanced at Ren Yaoqi, who was sitting beside Madam Li smiling without speaking: "There will be plenty of time to deal with Concubine Fang; she will have her day of suffering eventually. For now, can we immediately send those old women back to the estate farms? We still need to select new people before the New Year." At this point, Ren Yaohua sneered, "If it were up to my temper, I'd like to have them all sold off!"
Ren Yaoqi shook her head slightly. Truth be told, aside from the one who eavesdropped on Nanny Guan, the others could hardly be considered Concubine Fang's people. The reason she had them driven out was simply to completely dismantle Concubine Fang's arrangements over the past year, make everyone in Purple Magnolia Courtyard recognize the situation, and help Madam Li consolidate her position.As for the matter of the nannies accepting bribes, it was hardly an issue at all. Whether it was a fault or not depended entirely on the master's perspective.
Thus, Ren Yaohua's indignation seemed entirely unnecessary to her. Not everyone was qualified to be considered their opponent.
After a moment of contemplation, she spoke gently, "It's already late today, let's send them tomorrow morning. In any case, Aunt has already been notified. Mother, should we select more maids for our courtyard?"
Originally, Madam Li had two senior maids, but both had been dismissed by Fang. Nanny Zhou had then chosen two from the second-tier maids to train properly. However, Madam Li insisted on giving the newly trained maids to Ren Yaoqi, so she herself needed a few more.
Additionally, both Ren Yaoqi and Ren Yaohua needed a few younger maids to be mentored by the senior maids for a couple of years. Once the older senior maids were married off, these younger ones could take their place.
"I've already spoken with Nanny Zhou and asked her to select some young maids this time for you and Hua'er," Madam Li said, smoothing a stray strand of Ren Yaoqi's hair with a smile.
Ren Yaoqi nodded and turned to Nanny Zhou. "Nanny, later, please inform the nannies who were sent away that Mother, out of compassion for their families' livelihoods, will allow each household to send one young girl to work in the mansion. If they have daughters, granddaughters, or nieces, let them recommend a few first, and then you can make the final selection."
Nanny Zhou was taken aback by this, while Ren Yaohua nearly jumped in frustration. "What do you mean by this? We finally managed to send them away, and now you want to bring them back? Do you think there aren't enough troublemakers in the mansion already?"
Ren Yaoqi patiently explained, "When we select maids, we always choose from the Ren Family's household servants. Even if we don't grant them this favor, the people sent from the estates will still be related to them, won't they? And most will come from the households of the more influential families' attendants. So why not do them this favor?"
To Ren Yaoqi, leveraging circumstances was the most natural thing in the world.
When Madam Li married into the Ren Family, aside from Nanny Zhou, she had no attendants of her own. Even the four senior maids she later had were all trained by Nanny Zhou. As a result, Madam Li often found herself isolated within the Ren Family.
In the end, she was devoured without even knowing where the problem lay.
The situation in the Ren Family was complex, but the household servants were not unusable.
On the contrary, if used properly, they could be far more reliable than maids bought from outside. Sending away those cunning old nannies and replacing them with their own relatives to work in Purple Magnolia Courtyard would bring more benefits than harm.
After carefully considering this, Ren Yaohua, though still visibly displeased, offered no further objections.
Someone of Nanny Zhou's experience immediately understood Ren Yaoqi's intention. She couldn't help but pat her thigh in delight, saying, "Fifth Miss, this move of yours, I think it's feasible." Then she turned to comfort Ren Yaohua, "Third Miss, you should trust this old servant. Don't worry, I have an eye for picking people. Even if the raw material is flawed, I can still shape it properly in the end!"On this point, Nanny Zhou was quite confident. A young maid in her hands was like a blank sheet of paper—she could draw whatever she pleased.
Madam Li trusted Nanny Zhou deeply and nodded to Ren Yaohua, saying, "Nanny Zhou has seen many storms and waves before, having followed my mo... mother. If she says it's feasible, there won't be any issues."
At this point, Madam Li seemed to recall something, her gaze dimming as she lowered her head.
Nanny Zhou glanced at her and couldn't help but sigh inwardly, quickly turning to Ren Yaohua with a smile. "Third Miss?"
Ren Yaohua turned her head away, saying coldly, "Just don’t send her to my room!"
This meant she didn’t object.
Ren Yaoqi smiled and nodded. "When the person arrives and Nanny has finished training her, Third Sister Ren can choose first."
Ren Yaohua, however, felt these words sounded like they were meant to comfort a child—and made her, as the elder sister, seem petty. She couldn’t help but glare at Ren Yaoqi.
But Ren Yaoqi had already turned to speak with Nanny Zhou. "As for that Nanny Guan, there’s no need to show her any favor. Send her back directly and make it clear that Purple Magnolia Courtyard will no longer employ anyone associated with her."
Let those who chose the wrong side take this as a lesson.
Nanny Zhou thought for a moment and nodded in agreement. "Fifth Miss speaks wisely. Our Madam has a gentle nature, but that doesn’t mean she’s a soft persimmon to be squeezed at will."
Thank you to okeeffe, enigmayanxi, Frost, and hunan7512 for the red packets～^^
Meinan’s completed works: [bookid=2288861,bookname=《名门闺杀》]
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