Qiuyun suddenly understood why the elevator that Assistant Chen wouldn’t even take herself was something Teacher Lan used without hesitation, even eating and drinking the young lady’s portions without any scruples.
So she had a big backer.
Of course, Qiuyun had seen plenty of this kind of family-born servant who couldn’t keep their place. Their usual end was relying on their parents’ decades of loyal service to the masters, barely saving their lives by being sent off to some estate to scrape by.
“So Teacher Lan is Assistant Chen’s daughter.” Qiuyun’s smile became a bit more genuine. “There’s some fruit in the fridge that wasn’t cut in time—left over because Miss had no appetite this morning. Why don’t you take some back to eat, Teacher Lan?”
Teacher Lan was satisfied inside. This newcomer was much more tactful than the previous two nannies. But on the surface, she declined: “Oh, I couldn’t possibly.”
Qiuyun put on a show of hesitance. “Miss never finishes her daily portions anyway—they’re all imported fruits costing three or four hundred each. It would be a waste to let them spoil.”
Only then did Lan Xin reluctantly agree. “Alright, pack some for me, then—just don’t take it all. If Sister Fang and Sister Yuan find out, it won’t be easy to explain.”
“I know what I’m doing.” Qiuyun opened the fridge and picked out a few pieces of each variety for her. “Sister Fang and Sister Yuan are busy with their kids’ summer vacation plans lately. They won’t bother with such small matters.”
Seeing the beautifully packaged fruit boxes, Lan Xin couldn’t help pulling out her phone to take a picture, accidentally capturing a corner of the villa’s living room.
After leaving Bright Moon Tower, she couldn’t resist posting the photo to her university dorm group chat.
Lan Lan Yin: [Image] Just grabbing some luxury fruit leftovers the young heiress didn’t want.
Education Grinder: Whoa! I’ve seen this fruit brand in a blogger’s post—one box costs six or seven thousand, right?!
Lan Lan Yin: No idea. The nanny packed it for me. She gave me several kinds. [Image][Image]
No Sleep Till You Pass: Looks so fresh and full. So jealous. God, please grant me a “Wang Ma” (nanny) too!
Lan Lan Yin: Haha, my mom’s last name is Chen, though.
Early Morning Zombie: Does our mom need another daughter? I’m so done being a homeroom teacher!
Lan Lan Yin: Oh, you think being a young heiress’s governess is easy? You’re running a class; I’m raising a kid. Lessons and breaks—I’m on duty until she rests.
Initially, Lan Xin had wanted to major in economics or business management, but her mother had forced her into a normal university. After graduation, she went straight to work as the seventh young lady’s private tutor.
The job was simple, with insanely good pay and benefits! She dared say no one in her entire university class was doing as well or living as easily as she was!
So, if your family had connections, it was better to follow their arrangements.
Qiuyun watched Teacher Lan leave, then divided the remaining fruit into two portions and sent them to Sister Fang and Sister Yuan’s room.
“Didn’t Miss eat much today?” Sister Fang asked, noticing the quantity was smaller than usual.
Even though Qiuyun hadn’t taken any for herself, it was still less than before.
Qiuyun explained with a wry smile, “I was bringing Miss her fruit drink when Miss Chu Yun rushed out and knocked it over. I had to make a new one.”
Sister Fang’s face showed disdain. “That’s what happens when someone’s not properly raised. Every time Miss Chu Yun visits, our workload doubles.”
Whether it was a stained carpet or spilled snacks, there was never a moment of peace.
Qiuyun was surprised. “Doesn’t Miss Chu Yun have a tutor at home?”
“She does, but can you expect a hired tutor to care as much as her own mother?” Seeing Qiuyun still confused, Sister Fang continued, “You don’t know yet, do you? Miss Chu Yun is the child Mr. Yifeng had with a woman outside. She was only brought back two years ago.”
“Ah?” Qiuyun really hadn’t expected that. In her limited understanding, who would bring an outside child into the house before even marrying?
Not to mention an outside child—in families that were particular, even a concubine’s eldest son wasn’t allowed before the legitimate heir was born!
Take their Duke’s mansion, for example. When the young heir had fathered a concubine’s eldest son right after marriage, every lady and miss in the capital had laughed at their Duchess. Everyone secretly felt relieved they hadn’t married into that den of wolves.
“And Mrs. Ge… allowed this?” Qiuyun asked.
“The child was already born. How could the old master let the Jiang family’s blood stay outside?”
That made sense, really. Since the old master didn’t rely on his youngest son to inherit the estate, a bit of debauchery was forgivable.
After delivering the fruit, Qiuyun didn’t linger. She returned to her room to continue reading until a WeChat message notified her that the meals and desserts had arrived. Then she called Sister Fang and Sister Yuan to join her.
“Until Miss comes of age, I doubt there’ll be any major staff changes in Bright Moon Tower.” Sister Fang raised her tea like a toast. “From now on, we three need to pull together and work as one!”
Qiuyun smiled but didn’t nod in agreement.
A watch worth eight hundred thousand could be converted into three thousand taels of silver based on the price of rice. Yet an assistant manager in the estate, upon hearing the news, felt only embarrassment rather than greed. That alone showed he didn’t find it hard to earn such money.
Combined with her current work benefits, she could imagine how many perks and how much power a head manager of the estate would wield!
For Qiuyun, the peach she had almost touched in her past life but never tasted now seemed even more tempting and sweet.
So, she was not content to remain just a nanny in the seventh young lady’s mansion.
The next day was Saturday.
Since it was the first day of summer break, Jiang Chuling had deliberately given herself plenty of time to sleep in. She didn’t wake until around ten in the morning.
Teacher Lan, urged by her mother, had arrived early at Bright Moon Tower and was sitting in the living room drinking tea and playing on her phone.
Seeing the young lady come downstairs, she quickly stood up and asked, “Miss has no activities scheduled this morning. What would you like to do to pass the time?”
Just awake, Jiang Chuling was still groggy. She rubbed her belly and yawned. “Eat some breakfast. Carve some wood.”
Unseen by the young lady, Lan Xin rolled her eyes internally.
Going back to that stupid wood carving again. Most kids her age were wild with energy, so how could she find something so boring interesting?
After accompanying the young lady through breakfast, Lan Xin yawned as they went upstairs.
The day before, she had posted the luxury fruit photos on her social media, accidentally showing a corner of the mansion. Plenty of acquaintances came to chat her up, and even the campus heartthrob from university had rarely initiated a conversation with her.
The two had ended up chatting until one or two in the morning. Then she had browsed through his six-pack gym photos until three or four before falling asleep. Now, just thinking about watching some kid carve wood made her so sleepy she could barely keep her eyes open!
“Hey, Xiao Qiu!”
Unable to resist her drowsiness, Lan Xin used the excuse of going downstairs to get a glass of water to wake up. She bumped into Qiuyun cleaning the dining table.
“I’m not feeling well. Go keep an eye on Miss in her room for me.”
Qiuyun quickly finished cleaning the table. “Sure, right away.”
Probably because the work benefits were clear and well-defined, people in Bright Moon Tower rarely tried to curry favor with the masters. In her previous environment, that would have been unthinkable.
Maybe to them, the master of Bright Moon Tower was still a ten-year-old girl who couldn’t offer immediate rewards or tangible benefits, so they saw no point in buttering up a child. But they forgot that children grew up one day.
