11 Little Miss Stitching Maid

e Li led everyone as she walked around, inspecting different checkpoints and the conditions of the people. Although war was imminent, the citizens in Jiangxia seemed to be quite calm. They were going...The Imperial Capital Ode 11: The Maid Embroiderer

11. The Maid Embroiderer

Ai Young Lady, fuming with anger, returned to her residence and caused another commotion. Within half a day, the entire Ye Manor knew that Ai Young Lady had visited Third Miss's Qingyi Pavilion in an attempt to ingratiate herself, only to be ridiculed by Third Miss’s maid, Qingshuang, and chased out of the courtyard. Although Ai Young Lady was currently favored, even Grand Secretary Ye merely mentioned it briefly during his visit, indicating that she wasn't as favored as rumored. After such an incident, the other young ladies naturally took this opportunity to gloat and mock her, but Ai Young Lady was not weak; she retorted with sharp wit. Wang Shì was confined to her quarters, only instructing Ye Ying within them. The lack of supervision in the back courtyard allowed for quite a bit of commotion among these young ladies.

This time, Wang Shì suffered greatly at Ye Li’s hands. Not only did she lose several thousand taels of silver but was also confined to her quarters by Lady Dowager. Ye Li had no interest in how many pieces of porcelain Wang Shì smashed in her courtyard; instead, she pondered the possibility that there might be some exaggeration in this so-called confinement. The engagement ceremony for Prince Li’s palace was fast approaching, and as the head lady of the Ye family and birth mother to Ye Ying, it would naturally be impossible for Wang Shì not to appear publicly.

As Prince Li's palace sent people to propose during an engagement ceremony, Ye Li sat leisurely in her courtyard picking out maids. The servants were diligent, busily receiving the guests from Prince Li’s palace while also remembering Third Miss’s instructions. Early in the morning, they brought several maids for Ye Li to choose from. Seated on a chair under the eaves of the house, Ye Li calmly sized up the dozen or so maids standing in the courtyard. Seeing that Ye Li hadn’t spoken after some time, the head stewardess became uneasy and wondered if she had displeased Third Miss with these candidates. Just as she was about to suggest replacing them, Ye Li said coolly, "Qingshuang, take a look. Keep those who are suitable." Qingshuang felt deeply moved by her mistress's trust and responded loudly, "I will obey your orders."

Walking among the maids with varied expressions, Qingshuang found it slightly uncomfortable; previously, she herself was shunned when their mistress wasn't favored. Now, these girls stood here for her to choose from. After carefully selecting several fair and well-behaved maids, Qingshuang led them before Ye Li. Smiling inwardly at the sight, Ye Li thought that this maid seemed overly concerned; even in picking out servants she expended so much effort. The head stewardess smiled nervously, "Third Miss, will these be enough Should we pick a few more just to be safe"

Ye Li looked at her with a smile playing on her cold eyes, “If you insist, let’s choose two more.”

The head stewardess met Ye Li's icy gaze and felt an involuntary chill in her heart. She quickly stepped away.

This time, Ye Li did not even bother to look and simply pointed at two of them, saying, "Those two."

Qingshang followed her gesture and noticed that the two maids standing in the front row were ordinary-looking; one was rather plain and unremarkable while the other looked extremely beautiful and flirtatious. The latter definitely seemed to be an unruly character. Moreover, she had a haughty look on her face as she stared at their young miss, truly showing a lack of self-awareness!

Ye Li waved dismissively for the housekeeper’s wife to take away the remaining people before carefully observing the six maids standing in front of her and asked coolly, "What are your names"

"I am Yuner, I am Xiaocui."

"I am Jing’er, I am Tian’er."

"I am Xuesyan… my name is Qingshang."

Ye Li nodded and noticed that their names were not inappropriate. She wasn’t very interested in renaming them and turned her gaze to the last two maids she picked, "Xuesyan, where did you serve before I don't seem to have seen you." The plain-faced maid named Xuesyan replied calmly and composedly, bowing slightly toward Ye Li, “Third Young Miss, I was originally a second-class maid in the old woman’s quarters. As someone who doesn’t meet standards, it’s natural that Third Young Miss hasn’t seen me.” Ye Li smiled and said, "You don't look like someone who doesn't meet standards. Since you are here now, serve as Qingshang does."

Serving by one's side was a sign of being a lady-in-waiting to the young miss or master. Xuesyan was slightly taken aback at Ye Li’s promotion but did not show any overly excited reaction that would be considered impolite, "Thank you for Third Young Miss'提拔。奴婢一定會儘心服侍小姐，請小姐賜名。”

通常，為主子身邊的大丫頭賜名都是由主子親自賜予的，既是恩典也表示換了名字便與從前的人事再無關係，隻效忠於現在的主子。

Ye Li raised her eyebrows slightly and pondered for a moment before saying, “就叫清霞吧。”

"Qingxia expresses her gratitude for Miss's kindness." After performing the bow, Qingxia stood規矩地站在一邊垂手恭立。

"Hanqing... do you know how to embroider" Ye Li asked.

A trace of arrogance flashed across Hanqing’s brows and eyes. She crisply replied, "Of course I can. My embroidery skills are the best in this household."

Ye Li seemed satisfied with her answer, nodding her head. "Very good. Since that's the case, you will serve at the needlework station."

"Miss, I am not a seamstress!" Hanqing’s face changed as she glared不甘地瞪著葉璃咬牙道。

"How dare you! How can you question Miss" Qingshuang angrily rebuked.

Ye Li did not get angry. She smiled and nodded, "I know that you are not a seamstress. If there is any important sewing task, I will not ask you to do it." Seamstress was not an easy job; who could become an excellent one without at least ten or even several decades of skill This Hanqing did not look like someone who could sit still and work on needlework.

Hanqing's pretty face turned red with anger, staring fiercely at Ye Li. How would Ye Li pay her any mind She stood up and smiled at her, saying, "These days might be busy. If you can't handle it, go find the steward for help. Once we move to Duke Ding’s Manor, there will naturally be more people working on needlework. Also... change your name. You will be called... Jingwen."

"Much thanks to Miss Third, the servant is very satisfied with her own name!" Hánqíng said, blushing.

Qīngx良在這裡使用了“良”作為占位符，正確的翻譯應該是：“Qīngx霜冷笑道："Reckless! What use is it if you are satisfied Our Miss is not." This girl has a flirtatious look and also chose such an inappropriate name. Does she think the Qīngyì軒在這裡使用了“軒”作為占位符，正確的翻譯應該是：“Qīngyì Xuan”是 brothel or tavern Qīngx霜依舊想不明白小姐為什麼會選這樣一個人。

"Change your name, or leave my Qīngyì軒在這裡使用了“軒”作為占位符，正確的翻譯應該是：“Qīngyì Xuan”. Or... Should you go back to ask your former master"

Hánqíng's face changed and she gritted her teeth, saying: "The servant thanks Miss for the name."

Yè Lǐ’s gaze swept over her indifferently before turning away. “Since you have entered my Qīngyì軒在這裡使用了“軒”作為占位符，正確的翻譯應該是：“Qīngyì Xuan”, as long as you behave yourself, I am not a person who likes to make things difficult for people. If you harbor any other thoughts, it's best to leave early on, or else... Those who were whipped outside Rónglè Hall a few days ago should serve as your example. Qīngx霜, Qīnghéng receive ten taels of silver each; the rest receive five taels."

"Yes, Miss."

"The servant thanks Miss!" Everyone hurriedly thanked her at once. For these small maids who earn less than a tael of silver per month, five taels was quite a sum. Although Hánqíng and Bùjìng Wén had some disdain in their eyes, they also knew not to provoke Yè Lǐ now and thus followed suit.

Leaving Qīngx霜 to handle the aftermath, Yè Lǐ turned to head back to her quarters when she heard the housekeeper's wife requesting an audience. "Miss Third, Venerable Consort Xiānzhāo summons." within Nanjing, does Governor Sun have any solutions"Sun Xingzhi replied with a smile: "With the Mohist army here, how can the Xiling people act so recklessly Your humble servant and the commoners of...