Fourth Young Miss's voice was neither too loud nor too soft, yet it was just right for most people here to hear.
Hearing her say this, some people here cast gloating looks, and a few bolder maidservants even began to discuss her right to her face.
Wu Weiwei considered herself law-abiding in her daily life, having no conflicts with the young misses and concubines of the estate, yet she had no idea how she had offended the Fourth Young Miss before her.
She calmly swept her gaze over the Fourth Young Miss, who was looking at her with triumph.
"This maid is indeed no match for Fourth Young Miss, born with the fate of a young lady. I can only blame myself for lacking such a fate, having no maternal family of imperial merchants, nor a mother who was a concubine that had served tea before the Marquis's Lady. Ah, comparing oneself to others is truly..."
"Wu Weiwei, you—you go too far! You lowly whore—"
"Fourth Young Miss, watch your tongue!"
Before the word "slut" could pass her lips, she was stopped by Concubine Ping, who had just been acting as though it were none of her business.
"Enough. Such a noisy squabble, what kind of decorum is this?"
Concubine Ping looked at Wu Weiwei.
"Although you are a concubine-servant, Wu Weiwei, you still hold the title of 'sister-in-law' no matter how you look at it. Yet you disregard the hierarchy and bicker with the Fourth Young Miss. If the Old Dowager were to learn of today's events, I fear it would not end well."
Hah! Even a concubine-servant could be called "sister-in-law"—these words truly made her skin crawl.
Concubine Ping's remarks were truly laughable; it was nothing more than bullying her for being currently weak while blatantly siding with the Third Branch.
However, since she had invoked the Old Dowager, it would not do for her to quarrel with her further.
Seeing that Wu Weiwei had quieted down, Concubine Ping finally let out a sigh of relief.
"Hmph!"
Fourth Young Miss bit her lip; this grudge ran deep.
Among all the newly arrived young maidservants in the courtyard, only a twelve-year-old girl standing in the back row was staring intently at her with burning eyes.
When Wu Weiwei sensed this and looked over, the girl hastily lowered her head.
This little girl's facial features seemed somewhat familiar, yet Wu Weiwei could not recall for a moment where she had seen her.
The order for choosing maids was led by Fourth Young Miss and Sixth Young Miss from Third Concubine's quarters; the several maids chosen by these two sisters were mostly delicate and pretty.
Fifth Young Miss, Seventh Young Miss, and Eighth Young Miss from Fourth Concubine's rooms chose those with ordinary appearances.
As for the Ninth Young Miss, who had just turned six, she was guided by the nanny to choose four girls of roughly her own age.
When it was Wu Weiwei's turn, there were very few maids left.
After the young misses had all finished choosing, Concubine Ping turned to her and said, "Wu Weiwei, pick two."
Wu Weiwei looked carefully for a moment and suddenly said, "All of you, take two steps forward."
Five young girls complied and stepped forward two steps.
Wu Weiwei carefully asked about the family situations of these five individuals, and then casually asked some other questions, such as what they liked to do in their spare time, who they were close to, and so on.
Watching her pick people in this manner, Fourth Young Miss, who was watching from the side, could not help mocking her again: "Wu Weiwei, are you toying with these little maids for your own amusement?"
It was merely choosing a maid, not selecting a dowry attendant; what did it matter what they liked or who they were close to?
"Fourth Young Miss, since these maids were left for me to choose, I will pick them in my own way."
"Oh! You really think you're the mistress of the Marquis's Estate, imagining that with a bit of power you can casually play with others. Certain people had better not forget that their own status is just like theirs—mere maids who sold themselves into servitude!"
"Fourth Young Miss, the reason I came here to select maids is because I received the Marquis's Lady's command. If you feel your words carry more weight than the Marquis's Lady's, you are quite welcome to chase these people away and stop me from choosing."
With that, Wu Weiwei turned to look at Concubine Ping beside her. "Concubine Ping, is there anything wrong with the way I choose people?"
Although Concubine Ping could not understand Wu Weiwei's methods, she had no wish for the two of them to start quarreling here again, so she shook her head to indicate there was no problem.
"You—"
Fourth Young Miss was furious.
She was merely an insignificant, unpresentable concubine-servant in the Eldest Heir's rooms, yet she dared to talk back to her, a legitimate mistress of the Marquis's Estate.
This was simply turning the heavens upside down.
Fourth Young Miss looked at Concubine Ping.
Wasn't she usually at odds with the Marquis's Lady? Why would she choose to stand on her side now?
Concubine Ping gave Fourth Young Miss a warning glare.
Though the Marquis's Lady usually did not meddle in affairs and devoted herself entirely to chanting Buddhist scriptures, the status of the primary wife remained undisputed. You must beat a dog while considering its master, to say nothing of the fact that Wu Weiwei was chosen by the Marquis's Lady herself.
Did this little fool of a Fourth Young Miss want to provoke the Lady's authority?
Seeing that Fourth Young Miss had been reduced to silence, Wu Weiwei finally turned back to the girls.
In the end, she selected two from the five.
On the way back, Lingfu fought injustice for her mistress.
"Wu Weiwei, Fourth Young Miss is too arrogant! To mock you in front of so many people—"
"Heh, so what if she mocks me? In the end, didn't she lose face just as well?"
So what if her maternal family were imperial merchants? With such an extraordinary family background, her mother still ended up as the Marquis's concubine—what did she have to be so frantic about?
Until they led the people back to Biyun Pavilion, Lingfu finally could not help voicing the doubt in her heart:
"My Lady, why did you choose people like that just now? Could there be some secret in this?"
Wu Weiwei brought her index finger to her lips with a hush, saying, "On Buddha's day, it cannot be spoken, cannot be spoken."
She told Lingfu to take the two newly arrived maids away; these newcomers did not yet understand the rules, so they should spend a couple of days learning before coming to serve in her presence.
After they went out, Wu Weiwei thought of Lingfu's question just now.
In truth, what unspeakable secret was there?
The two maids she chose simply shared a common characteristic: articulate speech and clear eyes.
Maids like these presumably had not been bought off by anyone yet, and only then could they be of use to her.
The He family, peddlers in the capital's suburbs.
"Mother, I'm going to work at the Marquis's Estate tomorrow. Help me sew this sleeve in a moment!"
"Good, good, good. Our Yaya is truly remarkable! Once you enter the Marquis's Estate to work, you will surely be able to become the Heir's concubine-servant just like that Wu Weiwei."
"Mother, a concubine-servant is merely a bed-warming maid; your daughter should at least be the Heir's concubine. You have no idea how impressive Wu Weiwei was in the Marquis's Estate today. I saw her dare to talk back even to my new mistress, the Fourth Young Miss of the Marquis's Estate."
The little girl stretched her neck, vividly describing the scene from the morning.
"Yaya, you said Wu Weiwei became the Heir's concubine-servant—wouldn't her monthly stipend be at least five taels?"
"More than five taels! I heard it's this much."
He Yaya held up a single finger.
"So much..."
Then wouldn't she be taking a huge loss by taking care of her younger brother for less than two taels of silver a month?
No, when Wu Weiwei came back another day, she still had to bring up the matter of a raise.