New book on the rise, seeking collection, seeking recommendation.

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  "What is Xiaohua whispering about?" Baihe finally asked.

  There's no need to hide it, so Mozi told Baihe all about Zhang's thoughts.

  After all, it's a mess to care about. Baizhi, who was usually calm and composed like an older sister, was shocked and lost her color, "If this is true, won't the young lady be married off casually?"

  "Xiao Hua has a good memory, it's not wrong. Also, how can it be so good, helping our young lady find a good family to get engaged?" Mo Zi had expected this and said calmly, "Although we invited the young lady tonight, first of all, it's a family dinner, and the legitimate miss doesn't attend, where would the illegitimate daughters sit? Secondly, as Madam wants, let Liu Niang take precedence over our young lady, there's no way to express the grievance."

  "What's going on with Mu Zi?" Bai He's heart was as fine as hair, able to manage daily life in an orderly manner. However, she was too kind and not good at dealing with sinister plots.

  "You'll see the girl soon, and tell her everything without missing a single word. At least she'll have an idea in her mind." However, Mozi guessed that Qiu San Niang would first lose her temper. Qiu San Niang's temperament, even though she had been tempered from the outside, was born to be fierce. Originally, she couldn't tolerate even a grain of sand in her eyes. After returning home, she had been persuaded by Xiao not to make a big fuss over small matters, so she had restrained herself more.

  Bai He sighed, "Nowadays, the madam of the mansion has the final say in everything. I really don't understand why she dislikes our young lady so much. The account books, silver, and seals have all been handed over, and the young lady is staying in her own small courtyard, isn't that obedient enough?"

  "Who made the girl so capable in the past?" As long as Qiu San Niang is in this house for one day, she will be a thorn in the eyes of some people. "Also afraid that Master's body has recovered and changed his mind again. In any case, Master truly regards our girl as a treasure."

  "Old Master is probably good at this point..." Bai He suddenly realized his mistake, awkwardly clearing his throat, "You let me tell the young lady, what about you?"

  Mozi is a second-class lady-in-waiting, but Baihe also knows that she is extremely intelligent. Since Mozi entered the mansion, important things have been entrusted to her, and even the jade token for going out of the mansion can be entrusted to her at will.

  "I'll go and ask around about the noble guest's affairs." Mozi pointed towards the east gate of the Qiufu estate.

  "Are you going out? It's a bit late for this hour, isn't it?" Bai He glanced at the sun.

  "Don't go out, just wander around. You'd better hurry back, or the girls will come out from Jiuniang's place and none of them will be seen." Mozi originally wanted to walk with Baihe together, but Baihe inadvertently mentioned a vegetarian banquet, which made her suspicious.

  "What about Xiaoyi?" Baihe ignored Mozi. These four maids, each had some opinions of their own, after all they were spoiled by their young mistress.

  "I've just come down from the tree, and I've already told her to go back. However, who knows if she's fallen asleep on another tree again and forgotten what I said." Mozi had lost count of how many times this "who knows" had happened.

  "That girl is only enthusiastic when she goes out with her sister." Bai He smiled and shook his head.

  He was about to turn around when Mozi called out to him again.

  "What's in the food box, Bai He?"

  "It's the thousand-layer cloud snow ice cream that girls love to eat. I also followed your advice and added green tea powder, which tastes good. Leave some for you to try when you come back and help me evaluate if it's good or not." Although Bai He had never heard of it before, her pursuit of culinary skills was far from her character, boundless and daring.

  Mozi suddenly laughed and reached out to take away the top layer of a grid.

  "Where are you taking it?" Bai He said with a mix of anger and amusement. Mo Zi also took the lid off the top.

  "A person's tongue is short when eating." Meizi had already walked past the wall covered with wisteria.

  Bai He had no choice but to take out his handkerchief and carefully cover the food box that was missing a lid, then quickly walked back to his own courtyard with small steps.

  Qiu Fu East Gate, also known as Zheng Da Men, is naturally located in the outer garden.

  He Mozi's understanding of history is different, and perhaps because the Qu family was a merchant, there was no strict distinction between men and women inside and outside the garden. The women in the inner courtyard often went to the outer courtyard without incident, and even if they went to the outer garden, no one would be surprised. As for the maidservants, as long as they had their master's orders, they could come and go freely. However, the women of the back garden had to get Zhang Shi's consent before leaving the mansion.

  Qiu San Niang was an exception in the Qiu family. Old Master Qiu took back the account books and seals, but left only the jade token for going out of the mansion to this daughter. He instructed Zhang Shi, saying that San Niang had followed him on business trips since she was a child, unlike ordinary daughters who stayed at home, and since she no longer managed the family business, he allowed her to go out as she pleased.

  Zhang's family got a watermelon, and they thought it was just a trivial matter. In the past six months, San Niang hadn't gone out of the house alone, at most she would send a servant girl to buy some snacks outside, but that didn't happen often, and she would return immediately. Zhang's family had someone keep an eye on her several times, but they didn't find anything, so they put their minds at ease.

  So, Mu Zi showed the jade token to the woman at the Palm Garden Gate, and without asking any questions, she let her enter the Hui Yin Corridor.

  At the end of a long and narrow gray corridor, a copper door with a rounded arch was pushed open, leading eastward. Those who were seen trimming flowers and feeding birds, sweeping and cleaning, as well as those coming and going under the garden corridors, were mostly young servants and miscellaneous workers. Among them, the maidservants in plain clothes and hairpins were led by the steward to work, constantly entering and exiting. There were also some pretty maidservants, mostly brought out from the inner courtyard by their masters to serve as personal attendants, who would not come out to stroll around the garden. Moreover, the outer garden was smaller than the inner garden by more than half, with only a front hall, a flower garden, a half-acre lotus pond, and a two-story pavilion used for entertaining guests.

  By dusk, the maids in the outer garden would go out from the inner garden, and the young maids who attended to the masters would come in from the outer garden. The gate would then be locked. Without a special token, no maid or servant could enter from outside or exit from inside.

  Precautions can be taken, but it's hard to prevent theft by those closest to you.

  Although Mozi was careful all the way, no one paid attention to her. Because of that old dress and hunched back, in the garden where flowers were more vibrant than leaves in the spring light, her presence was even darker than the shadow of a leaf.

  The sound of a small tune wafted from the Goose Tower, mostly it was Qiu Si calling out to his friends and inviting prostitutes over for revelry.

  What a pair of brothers! One is playing inside and one is fooling around outside.

  Mei Zi hung her head down, her cold eyes fixed on him, and a mocking smile curled up at the corner of her mouth.

  At the east gate, an old and a young man were sitting on a bench under the window chatting idly.

  "Big field, second tooth." The purple-gray ink disappeared, smiling sweetly, shaking the red lacquer box, "Look what delicious things I brought for you?"

  That's Er Ya, two years younger than Mo Zi. Two small tiger teeth are white and shiny, speaking is also sweet. "Only good sister thinks of our hard work." Hand it over, open the lid, can't wait to put a piece of cake in her mouth, humming that it's melted, melted.

  Tian Da is over forty years old, with a strange and eccentric temperament. He easily offends people when speaking, and has been stuck in the gatehouse for twenty years.

  He didn't, as soon as he saw Mozi, his face turned black, and he muttered to himself, but clearly audible to others, "Our mansion gate is a dog hole, whether it's a cat or a mouse, they can come and go freely."

  "Uncle, Mozi sister has a jade pendant." Er Ya quickly pulled Tian Da to prevent him from talking nonsense.

  "What's wrong with the jade pendant? If it were up to me, I wouldn't let out a fart. Women from good families see the sky and think of running outside. Our Qiu Manor is a big household in Luozhou, even a maidservant serving our master is worth more than a young lady from a small family outside. Showing off like this, it's just asking to be laughed at by outsiders. I'm just a gatekeeper, and I feel ashamed." Tian Da said what he shouldn't have said, and didn't say what he should have.

  You scolded in your heart, you doorman, losing face to a ghost. Can anyone just take the jade plaque? In the inner garden, apart from the mistress, it's only Third Young Miss. And Mozi is the one who often holds the plaque in front of Third Young Miss, and in his eyes, she's like half a master. Any maid who dares to show off in front of the mistress or young masters, he has seen many slap their faces.

  The second son was afraid of offending Mo Zi and hurriedly smiled, "Sister, don't listen to my uncle's nonsense."

  In this government, who else can be like Mozi, thinking of giving them benefits, even if they just guard the gate?