The Double

Chapter 20 Sisters

The bed in the Grand Secretary's residence was far softer than the wooden plank bed on Qingcheng Mountain.

Although Jiang Yuanbai was a scholar of pure reputation, he was also the current Grand Secretary. Some officials served for the common people, while others served for ambition and aspirations. Jiang Yuanbai had realized his ambitions while also enjoying the comforts of life.

When Tong'er came to attend to Jiang Li early in the morning, her smile was noticeably brighter than usual. She chattered incessantly about how soft and comfortable the bed had been the previous night, and how spacious and bright the room was.

Yun Shuang and Xiang Qiao stood to the side. Yun Shuang had no desire whatsoever to serve Jiang Li, while Xiang Qiao pretended to wipe the table and chat with Jiang Li, carefully avoiding any heavy or menial tasks.

Throughout the entire Fragrant Garden Courtyard, aside from Tong'er, there were only Yun Shuang and Xiang Qiao as maidservants. Since neither Yun Shuang nor Xiang Qiao would do heavy work, all the chores inside and out fell to Tong'er alone. Ji Shuran had deliberately—whether intentionally or not—failed to assign any rough work maids to Jiang Li, taking advantage of Jiang Li's ignorance of current household rules. Even if Jiang Li were to find out, causing her some displeasure and then later whispering in Jiang Yuanbai's ear about Jiang Li's bad temper would be a perfectly natural course of events.

But Jiang Li didn't mind in the least. When Yun Shuang went outside, she tugged at Xiang Qiao's sleeve and said, "There's something I'd like to trouble Sister Xiang Qiao with."

Xiang Qiao was taken aback, then smiled and said, "Whatever Second Miss commands, this servant will do."

"I'm afraid the hands in my courtyard are insufficient now. Mother hasn't assigned any rough work maids here. You and Sister Yun Shuang attend to my personal needs, and Tong'er alone can't handle everything. Sister Xiang Qiao has been in the residence for many years and must be quite familiar with the matron who handles the buying and selling of maids. Could you please arrange for me to select some cleaning personnel?"

Upon hearing this, Xiang Qiao frowned. "Second Miss, all maid assignments in the courtyards must be approved by the Madam."

"Mother cares for me dearly but simply forgot to assign personnel here. It must be because she's busy with household affairs that she overlooked my situation. How could I trouble her further over this? It's just a few maids—I'd like to choose them myself. Please arrange it, Sister Xiang Qiao." As she spoke, she casually picked up a gold bracelet from a nearby box and slipped it onto Xiang Qiao's wrist, smiling, "Is that alright?"

Is that alright?

The gleaming gold bracelet was now on Xiang Qiao's wrist. Unlike the heavy pure gold bracelet she wore, this one was slender and exquisite. It appeared less substantial than her own, but Xiang Qiao knew that its craftsmanship and patterns made it even more valuable.

"Of course!" Xiang Qiao nodded repeatedly, her gaze glued to the bracelet, unable to tear it away. She had served Ji Shuran for many years, but Ji Shuran was never as generous as this Second Miss who came from the wilderness. Xiang Qiao couldn't help but wonder—did this Second Miss not know how much these jewels were worth, that she could give them away so easily?

Before she could ponder further, Jiang Li smiled and said, "Then I'll trouble Sister Xiang Qiao to take care of it now."

Having received the gold bracelet, Xiang Qiao felt both nervous and excited. She immediately said, "This servant will definitely handle this matter properly for Second Miss. Please wait for my news." As she spoke, she retreated from the room.

After Xiang Qiao left, Tong'er stood to the side. Seeing her hesitant expression, Jiang Li said, "If you have something to say, just say it.""Miss, I don't understand," Tong'er said. "Why are you being so kind to Xiang Qiao when you know she was sent by Ji Shi... Perhaps you want to bribe her with silver?"

"Bribe?" Jiang Li shook her head. "This person has evil intentions, is two-faced and opportunistic, always ready to shift with the wind, and greedy for wealth and profit. Someone like this, even if bribed, might still turn against us. I wouldn't dare to bribe her."

"Then why are you giving her these jewelry? You should know, even if she says she'll help you pick maids now, there's no guarantee she won't secretly report to Ji Shi. By then, the people sent over would have been selected by Ji Shi."

"I'm finding her tasks to do, and finding tasks is also a way to give her things."

"I don't understand," Tong'er said, puzzled. "Miss, we don't have so much silver that we can't use it up."

Jiang Li nearly laughed at her maid's words. She said, "Look, I'm giving her jewelry, not silver. Do you know why?"

"Why?" Tong'er widened her eyes.

"Of course, it's for others to see." Jiang Li smiled. "The best military strategy is to attack the enemy's plans, divide and conquer. Tong'er, sometimes when people give you beautiful gems and precious jewelry without requiring equivalent payment, you should be wary. It might cost you much more in the end."

Tong'er stared blankly at Jiang Li. She still didn't understand what Jiang Li meant, yet she faintly sensed something. After thinking for a while, she shook her head. Jiang Li was much smarter than her. Whatever she could figure out, Jiang Li would surely understand as well. Since Jiang Li was treating Xiang Qiao this way, she must have her reasons. She just needed to follow along.

"Let's go out for a walk," Jiang Li said. "Since we're home, we should familiarize ourselves with the mansion."

"Great!" Tong'er was delighted. "I'll accompany you."

Jiang Li changed her clothes. The newly made clothes hadn't arrived yet, and Ji Shuran, as her stepmother, couldn't be too obvious about her neglect, so she had sent some ready-made clothes that were roughly Jiang Li's size. These clothes looked expensive but were much cruder in craftsmanship compared to Jiang Youyao's outfits, and they were completely mismatched with Jiang Li's natural temperament.

Although Tong'er liked fine fabrics, she felt that these red and green clothes didn't suit Jiang Li as well as plain colors. After much consideration, she picked a light green dress for Jiang Li to wear.

At first glance, the dress seemed like something meant for a maid, and light green could easily look tacky if not worn carefully. However, Jiang Li's fair skin and slender figure made it look quite nice on her. It accentuated her fresh, delicate appearance, giving her a unique charm.

Having stayed in the temple for so long, Tong'er usually only did the simplest hairstyles for convenience while working. Returning to the Jiang mansion, she realized she only knew a few basic styles. In the Jiang mansion, continuing to wear maid hairstyles would likely invite ridicule.

Before Tong'er could decide on a hairstyle, she saw Jiang Li facing the bronze mirror, deftly gathering her long black hair with her hands. With a few skillful movements, she had styled it into a neat bun.

Tong'er stared in astonishment and said, "Miss, how did you...""I learned it before," Jiang Li replied simply. When she was still Xue Fangfei, newly married to Shen Yurong, she had learned how to style hair to please her mother-in-law and sister-in-law. Thinking that young women loved beauty, she believed doing their hair herself would bring them closer. Later, her ties with the Shen family were completely severed, but the skill of hairdressing remained.

"Young lady can do everything, you're truly amazing," Tong'er mused, then grew puzzled. "But why would you specifically learn hairdressing? Isn't that something only maids do..."

Unfortunately, before she could get an answer, Jiang Li had already stood up and walked out, so Tong'er set the question aside.

The Jiang residence was vast. Tong'er had originally been a cleaning maid in the main courtyard. After Jiang Li caused Ji Shuran to miscarry, all the servants in Jiang Li's courtyard were either executed or sold off. Before sending Jiang Li to Qingcheng Mountain, Old Madam Jiang randomly assigned a young maid from the courtyard to accompany her—that maid was Tong'er.

Having left at such a young age, Tong'er was now quite unfamiliar with the current situation in the Jiang residence.

Just after leaving Fragrant Garden Courtyard, they hadn't walked far when they heard voices ahead. Jiang Li stopped and looked up, spotting several people chatting in a small pavilion not far away.

Those people also noticed Jiang Li and fell silent. The one in the middle wore a peach-red gold-threaded soft gauze dress, her face as lovely as flowers and the moon, exceptionally charming.

It was none other than the Third Young Lady of the Jiang family, Jiang Youyao.

(End of Chapter)