After relieving the soreness in her muscles, the afternoon riding lesson was finally completely over.
Jiang Chuling and Qiuyun took the car back to the Moonlight Tower together, and happened to see Lan Xin waiting at the entrance.
“Miss Jiang,” Lan Xin said, swiftly walking up and taking the large tote bag from Qiuyun’s hand, bending slightly with a smile on her face. “I wasn’t feeling well today, and my mom wasn’t home, so no one came to wake me. I overslept and couldn’t accompany you to the riding lesson.”
“It’s fine,” Jiang Chuling said, seeing that Teacher Lan was still hovering around attentively, giving her some reassurance. “I won’t tell Aunt Chen about this.”
Lan Xin let out a small sigh of relief.
Even though her mother had arranged for her to be here, she also had very high expectations.
Because after the young masters and misses in the estate entered middle school, the position of caring for them would shift from a tutor to a personal assistant.
Her mother still wanted her to continue as Miss Jiang’s personal assistant.
“Thank you for understanding, Miss,” Lan Xin immediately put on a bright smile and returned to her usual demeanor. “I heard from the head chef that some black abalone arrived from overseas today—supposed to be large and plump. Would you like to try some?”
After seeing Sister Xiaoqiu’s steady, peaceful, and composed expression, Jiang Chuling suddenly found Teacher Lan’s clever little remarks and subtle intentions irritating.
“Alright, let’s try it.”
Since she was Aunt Chen’s daughter, Jiang Chuling didn’t want to make a big deal of it. “Sister Xiaoqiu, can you set out the carving knife for me? I’m going to take a bath first.”
Carving wood again.
Unable to stand being idle, Lan Xin saw that Miss Jiang hadn’t given her any instructions, so she quickly spoke up. “I’ll go let the head chef know and check the menu while I’m at it.”
“Okay.” Jiang Chuling had already walked over to the elevator and held the door open with her hand, making Qiuyun realize the young miss wanted her to come up together.
The two got into the elevator. This was Qiuyun’s first time experiencing the weightlessness of the elevator after returning from the dead.
It was quite peculiar.
Jiang Chuling went to take her bath. Qiuyun got the loungewear and a towel, and after the young miss came out, she helped her dress very naturally, then gently dried her hair with the towel until it stopped dripping.
Jiang Chuling was ten years old. Before elementary school, Aunt Chen had taken care of her, and then Teacher Lan had dressed her for the next three years, but none of those experiences were as comfortable or pleasant as having Sister Xiaoqiu help her dress!
Qiuyun grabbed the hairdryer and helped the young miss dry her hair.
Jiang Chuling couldn’t help but compare again.
Sister Xiaoqiu’s fingers were so light and gentle, with no pulling on her hair. The air from the dryer was never too hot—always kept at that perfectly comfortable temperature!
No wonder Sixth Sister offered more money to steal Sister Xiaoqiu away!
“Sister Xiaoqiu, how much is your monthly salary?” Jiang Chuling immediately asked after the hairdryer was turned off.
Qiuyun: “Over eight thousand after tax.”
Jiang Chuling calculated her own allowance and small savings and realized how little eight thousand actually was—it wasn’t even as much as any one of her outfits!
“I’ll give you fifty thousand every month from now on. You can’t be poached by Sixth Sister or anyone else!”
When it came to throwing money around, it wasn’t like she was short on it.
Qiuyun’s eyes curved into a smile, her gaze holding no greed—only fulfillment at the recognition of her abilities from the young miss. “Thank you, Miss Jiang!”
Despite her young age, Jiang Chuling had grown up in a wealthy family and seen all kinds of people. This was the first time she’d encountered someone who made even such a simple act as offering money feel so satisfying.
“But I’m not giving you this money for nothing. You have to stay by my side forever and be my personal assistant.”
Children had such simple thoughts: they wanted whoever they liked to stay by their side.
Even if this meant offending Aunt Chen, the household stewardess, Qiuyun wouldn’t refuse. “Alright, I’ll do whatever you say, Miss.”
Jiang Chuling gathered her now-dry hair behind her head and finally got to the point. “Sister Xiaoqiu, about what happened in the riding ground today—there were so many people around. My parents definitely know by now. What do I do if they call me in for a lecture?”
Qiuyun’s eyes curved again.
The young miss seeking her advice was a very good sign.
“Simple,” she said softly. “The principle of filial piety and brotherly love comes first: filial piety takes precedence, and brotherly love follows. No matter who’s told, you, Miss, are in the right.”
As long as one had reason on their side, in the inner chambers—a realm where force didn’t matter, only human relationships, emotional ties, and bloodlines—one would be invincible.
Jiang Chuling felt completely relieved. She picked up the carving knife and hummed a little tune while starting to carve wood.
Before dinner, Aunt Chen, who had spent the whole day at a parent-teacher meeting and also visited the classroom of the young miss’s fourth-grade teacher, returned.
To be precise, she hadn’t even arrived home yet when she already knew what had happened in the riding ground.
This time, it was indeed Miss Chuyun who had been unreasonable, and Master Jiang and Madam Jiang hadn’t issued any reprimand, but Aunt Chen still called Qiuyun aside privately.
“Xiaoqiu, you’ve only been in the Moonlight Tower for a month. There are many things you don’t know or understand, so I won’t fault you,” Aunt Chen said, her gaze stern as she looked at Qiuyun. “But I hope this kind of thing only happens once. If you ever again encourage the young miss to have arguments with her siblings, you’ll leave the Moonlight Tower immediately.”
If this had been before, the little maid Qiuyun wouldn’t have said a word. But now that she was the young miss’s designated personal assistant, she naturally had to express her own opinion. “Aunt Chen, as someone loyal to the Moonlight Tower, if I see the young miss being wronged, isn’t it also my responsibility to stand up for her?”
Seeing that her intention was to protect the young miss, Aunt Chen’s sharp expression softened slightly. “Your intentions aren’t wrong, but you need to understand that things in a grand estate aren’t as simple as in an ordinary household. You just need to grasp Master Jiang’s and Madam Jiang’s intentions—that the young master and young miss from our branch should set an example of being kind to siblings and getting along lovingly. You don’t need to stir up any unnecessary trouble.”
“Why?”
Even as an old sparrow who had been involved in managing the inner household for decades, Qiuyun couldn’t understand this tactic from Master Jiang and Madam Jiang.
Seeing that Qiuyun was loyal to the young miss, Aunt Chen let some truth slip. “You know, things are complicated in a big family. Our Master is the eldest son of the first wife. With greater responsibility and a heavier burden in both the family and the group, his situation is tough. Eyes are on him everywhere. The second and third branches are constantly racking their brains to pull him down. Old Master Jiang is getting older, and he likes harmony within the family. Master has explicitly forbidden the young master and young miss from quarreling with their siblings.”
A one-size-fits-all policy!
Qiuyun couldn’t help but ask, “And Madam Jiang agreed?”
“Madam Jiang is gentle and soft-hearted in nature. She can’t bear to be harsh to the children, so of course she follows Master’s wishes.”
Qiuyun struggled to suppress the storm of frustration and disappointment brewing inside her.
The eldest daughter-in-law of the main line—a matriarch who would become the head of the household—and yet she could be gentle and soft-hearted?!
No wonder the internal discipline of the children had to be left to Master Jiang to delegate to the people around the young miss.
And Master Jiang, always busy with external matters, could only give broad directives on raising the children, with no time for detailed, case-by-case instruction. The subordinates, trying to avoid getting blamed, naturally did their best to steer the young master and miss away from any conflict with their siblings to avoid trouble for themselves.
“Master is wrong.”
