"Hey, have you heard anything lately?" a maid whispered mysteriously in the courtyard.
"What are you guys talking about? I wanna hear too," said another maid who passed by. Seeing the two chatting, she joined them out of curiosity.
"It's that maid in the next yard. Her name's Xiaoqing, I think. I heard she got beaten by the steward again," the first maid whispered into the second's ear.
"Really? I heard about that a few days ago. She got beaten again?" the newly - joined maid asked in confusion.
"Yeah, it's her! She's still being beaten in that yard. I just passed by and heard her screams," the maids got more and more excited as they gossiped.
Churi Huaizhu heard their conversation from afar. Although she often heard such things recently, she never had the time to interfere.
This time, hearing Xiaoqing scream so miserably, she guessed the girl must have made another big mistake.
Churi Huaizhu saw the three maids chatting away and not leaving. She walked a few steps towards them.
They were so engrossed in their chat that they didn't notice Churi Huaizhu approaching.
"Ahem, ahem," Churi Huaizhu pretended to cough.
The maids heard the sound, turned around, and seeing it was the second mistress of the Wangquan Villa, they were terrified. Gossiping about others in the Wangquan family would lead to punishment.
"Good day, Mistress!" they quickly knelt down and greeted Churi Huaizhu.
"Are you all that idle?" Churi Huaizhu asked with a tone of suspicion and reproach.
The maids got up quickly and scurried away to do their own jobs.
Churi Huaizhu stood there for a moment, stunned.
"Ah! It hurts so much! Please forgive me, steward..." The screams came again. Churi Huaizhu felt as if her eardrums were being pierced. The more she heard, the more jarring and uncomfortable it became.
She couldn't stand it anymore. It didn't seem right to stand by while others were suffering. So she headed towards the front yard.
Sure enough, as soon as she entered, she saw a bloody scene. Xiaoqing was being whipped by the steward. She rolled on the ground in pain. But even after so many punishments, she still broke the rules of the Wangquan Villa and didn't seem to change her ways.
When the steward saw Churi Huaizhu enter, he felt something was wrong. "Mistress, are you here to meddle in her business again? This maid has been repeatedly taught but never corrected. She's stolen many times," the steward said in a harsh tone, seemingly reluctant to let Churi Huaizhu save her again.
"Steward, leave her to me. I'll discipline her properly for you," Churi Huaizhu said calmly.
Standing there, looking like a proper mistress, she forced the steward to let the maid go.
"You little girl, you're always so lucky. Since the mistress has spoken, I won't interfere anymore," the steward said helplessly. He wondered why Churi Huaizhu always came to save this repeatedly - offending girl. It all seemed more than just a coincidence.
"Thank you, Mistress! I... I'll never forget your kindness!" Xiaoqing stammered. She patted the dust off her body and slowly stood up.
"Know your mistakes and correct them! If you do this again, the Wangquan Villa may not tolerate you," Churi Huaizhu said loudly.
Suddenly, Xiaoqing knelt on the ground with a thud.
"Mistress, I have nowhere else to go. Please let me be your personal maid. Otherwise, I won't be able to support my family," Xiaoqing pleaded tearfully.
"I... but I don't need a personal maid," Churi Huaizhu thought that she had been independent since she entered the mansion. She didn't like being constantly served by someone.
Xiaoqing kept kowtowing on the ground. "If you don't take me in, I'll have no place to stay in the mansion."
Seeing this, Churi Huaizhu was really conflicted. Finally, she had to nod and take Xiaoqing in.
"Thank you, Mistress! I'll serve you well!" Xiaoqing's voice was full of excitement. She finally found a place to stay.
Churi Huaizhu took Xiaoqing back to her room. Xiaoqing was very diligent and tidied up the room.
Suddenly, Xiaoqing had an idea. She remembered what she had heard before: Churi Huaizhu had lost her child after falling into the water and it would be extremely difficult for her to conceive again.
"Mistress, I know some ways to condition the body. Here's a prescription. It can nourish your body and increase the chance of conceiving in the future," Xiaoqing said while wiping the table.
Churi Huaizhu was a bit skeptical. After all, she was a modern person and knew something about medicine. The difficulty from infertility to conceiving again was unimaginable.
"Then leave the prescription with me. I'll see if it's effective for my body," Churi Huaizhu said calmly.
Churi Huaizhu looked at the prescription on the table. It seemed okay. They were all tonics, but she didn't know if there would be any side - effects if taken together.
Churi Huaizhu cared a lot about her body. She took the prescription and went to the pharmacy in the Wangquan Villa when Xiaoqing was not around.
"Please check if there's anything wrong with this prescription and tell me the effects of these herbs," Churi Huaizhu stood in the pharmacy, looking around at the drawers of various sizes.
"Please wait a moment," the pharmacy apprentice took the prescription and ran into the inner room to ask his master to check it.
After a while, the apprentice came out. "These are all tonics. When used together, they're great for women," he said.
Hearing this, Churi Huaizhu finally felt relieved. It seemed that Xiaoqing hadn't lied to her.
"Then please prepare a few doses of these herbs for me."
In the following days, Churi Huaizhu took these tonics on time every day, hoping they would have some effect on her body. She also made some tonic soups for Wangquan Baoye. They were both trying their best.
Churi Huaizhu was indifferent to fame and fortune in the Wangquan Villa. She didn't fight for anything, which made many elders like her.
The steward took care of the major and minor affairs in the Wangquan Villa. Even for small things, she handled them properly. Her reputation in the Wangquan Villa was getting better and better.
Recently, Liuxia Yun also heard about Churi Huaizhu's situation from the servants. Seeing her living so well and gaining a good reputation, Liuxia Yun was extremely angry.
"Go spread some rumors about Churi Huaizhu in the villa. Say things like she can't carry on the Wangquan family line, that as a concubine, she acts like a mistress and uses her position to bully others. A sparrow like her can never turn into a phoenix... Say as many unpleasant things as you can. Go!"
Liuxia Yun was grinding her teeth in hatred, and her personal maid had learned her ways well.