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Chapter 717: Chapter 722 Insider_1
Ancient Chinese New Year also had many customs, such as welcoming the Jade Emperor and worshiping the God of Wealth, and so on.
All of these were taken care of by Tan Zhenghong, and Qiao Duo’er just needed to be in charge of enjoying herself.
As long as she kept coming up with new ways to feed Chen Yiling until she was full, her duty would be done.
It was only the fourth day of the first lunar month when Lord Qin went to the Government Office. Originally, the Yin Family should have been executed in the last month, but due to the New Year taboo against taking lives, the execution was postponed for a few days.
However, those days were not wasted, as Yin Zheng disclosed another important person and provided evidence.
But that person had such a significant background, it was tied to the Crown Prince, and if not handled properly, it could shake the very foundations of the state.
Yu Zheng had no choice but to invite him over to discuss strategies.
On the sixth day of the first lunar month, the Embroidery Room started up again, and, as the boss, Qiao Duo’er could no longer stay cooped up at home.
Qiao Duo’er arrived at the Embroidery Room in the afternoon when work started, and the Embroidery Ladies greeted her with New Year wishes.
Thanks to Duo’er, they had experienced the most prosperous New Year of their lives.
Qiao Duo’er responded to each one, without showing any trace of pretentiousness.
After a while, Fat Aunt spoke up loudly, "Let’s all quiet down, Duo’er must have something to say to everyone."
"Actually, it’s nothing major, just to tell you that our shop is about to open for business, and I hope everyone will take every embroidery piece seriously. If your embroidery work is well-received, I’ll have a reason to raise your salaries," Qiao Duo’er said with a smile.
The New Year had just passed, and everyone surely hadn’t picked up their pace yet, so she needed to offer the Embroidery Ladies some reassurance.
"Does that mean our salaries are going up?" Qin Clan’s lady asked excitedly.
"You’re not correct; the better the quality of our embroidery, the higher the salary will be."
"Our Embroidery Room will also have its own special store, so we cannot afford to be sloppy; otherwise, we’ll be smashing our own signboard."
"You’re right, our embroidery pieces need to sell, so that Duo’er can afford to pay us."
The reaction from everyone was good, and Qiao Duo’er was relieved.
She discussed with Fat Aunt the need to increase the silk product ratio, as the store in Mansion City wouldn’t be able to cope otherwise.
By this time, the Embroidery Ladies had entirely forgotten about just having celebrated the New Year.
After talking about these two matters, Qiao Duo’er said her goodbyes. She had just stepped out the door when Ruo Lan came chasing after her.
"What is it?" Qiao Duo’er stopped and asked.
"Mrs. Tan, I like quiet, and I want a private room," Ruo Lan said directly.
Now her morning sickness was getting stronger, and she wouldn’t be able to hide it much longer if there were others in the same room.
Qiao Duo’er replied indifferently, "The Embroidery Room is only so big, where do you think there’s space for a private room?"
She couldn’t possibly offer her the privy, after all.
Seeing Ruo Lan, Qiao Duo’er suddenly remembered something—that was why Ruo Lan was chased out of the Niu Family.
During this time, Chen Yiling had the news reported back from people she had stationed in Mansion City.
The outcome was that Ruo Lan did not take a leave of her own accord but was driven out for offending the mistress of the house.
Coincidentally, the family Ruo Lan had been with was Wang Yun’er’s marital home, which was the Niu Family that had moved to Mansion City just last year.
And this Niu Family was not in the west of the city but rather to the north.
If it wasn’t for the mistaken geographical location, this information could have been obtained before the New Year.
The inside story dug up by the spy was that Ruo Lan broke valuable tea sets, and in a fit of rage, Lady Niu turned her away.
But Chen Yiling thought this reason was not justified.
If a Maid made a mistake, the punishment might involve deducting salary or selling her; there was no way they would give her a Servitude Contract and let her go back.
If that were the case, wouldn’t the master’s family lose both money and manpower?
The only possibility Chen Yiling could think of was that Ruo Lan had done something dishonorable for the master’s family, and furthermore, had some leverage over her.
