“I have to go out with the Prince again today,” Qi Yue stood up. “I’ve heard quite a bit about what you all need to do daily these past days. Today, Que Zhi, you’ll go look on my behalf to see how well they’re doing. For those doing well… like Sister Tangsi here…”
She smiled at Miss Tangsi as she spoke, and Miss Tangsi hurriedly bowed with a smile.
“Wages will be distributed as usual, plus an extra bonus,” Qi Yue said. “As for those doing poorly…”
She paused here, looking at everyone with a half-smile.
“Then I’m sorry, but we must have clear rewards and punishments, right?” she said.
This was too heavy a responsibility. Que Zhi hadn’t expected to be doing this and hesitated.
Before she could speak, a stewardess spoke up.
“This has never been done before…” the woman smiled. “We don’t know how to judge doing well or poorly… We’re all slow-witted…”
“Haven’t we?” Qi Yue smiled and beckoned to a little girl standing in the corner. “Xiao Die.”
Only then did everyone notice there was a little girl standing there holding a brush and a notebook.
“Young Mistress,” she came over and curtsied.
“She’s been recording what you say you need to do daily and how well you do it. Que Zhi, you take this and go look. This is all what the ladies said themselves, so no one can say you don’t understand and are judging blindly,” Qi Yue smiled.
What? The stewardesses’ faces showed great alarm as they all looked at the little girl.
She had actually recorded what they said! No wonder every time they reported, the Young Mistress looked absent-minded. They thought she was just going through the motions and didn’t take it to heart, but it turns out she hadn’t forgotten – she had it all written down on paper.
What was this? The things they said – they themselves didn’t even remember what they’d said. Those things were just said casually to get by…
Everyone looked somewhat panicked and couldn’t help but look at Nanny Su. After her initial shock, Nanny Su had already regained her composure.
“This makes it easy then. I don’t understand this either and was afraid I wouldn’t do well. Since we have this, that’s good. I’ll just look according to what the ladies said,” Que Zhi immediately breathed a sigh of relief and happily took the notebook from the little girl’s hands. Though the writing was crooked, it was indeed writing. “Oh my, you can actually write! I really didn’t expect it.”
After looking for a while, she recognized that this girl was one she had chosen herself – a house-born servant whose father had originally been an accountant but had long since been relieved of his duties due to illness. Her mother had also died early. This girl was also weak and sickly, and father and daughter just hung around the residence in name only, barely scraping by. That day when choosing little girls, she naturally wasn’t selected smoothly either. The ones pushed forward were all stupid or clumsy. Anyway, the Young Mistress had said she just needed someone with hands and feet who could run errands and speak, so she casually picked this little girl. She hadn’t expected her to be so useful.
Que Zhi immediately felt honored.
“You come with me today and read these to me,” she said immediately.
The little girl didn’t answer directly but glanced at Qi Yue.
Qi Yue smiled and nodded, looking amazed. Children in ancient times really matured early. Such a small girl – look at her awareness, actually knowing to wait for the direct supervisor’s permission before acting.
“Being literate is good. Que Zhi, when you’re free, you should learn from Xiao Die too,” she smiled.
This was permission.
“This servant isn’t that clever – I’m a blockhead and can’t learn…” Que Zhi smiled.
“This servant doesn’t dare. If there’s anything, please just give orders, Sister,” Xiao Die finally said.
Hearing this, the stewardesses knew the matter was irreversible. They had seen all kinds of situations, and after the initial panic, they calmed down, though their faces no longer hid their displeasure.
Fine, actually trying to catch their mistakes – not weighing how much they themselves were worth. Let’s try it then, and let you know what it means to kick an iron plate.
After Qi Yue finished saying this, she didn’t wait for the stewardesses to speak or look at their expressions.
“Disperse then,” she said, getting up and heading outside first. “I should go too.”
Nanny Su and the others stopped and bowed their heads in salute, following her out only after she had gone first.
A’Ru had already packed everything and was waiting under the eaves. Seeing her come out, she followed. Just as they reached the courtyard, two girls walked in.
These two girls looked very unfamiliar to Qi Yue and A’Ru, but the stewardesses’ expressions froze, especially Nanny Su’s.
“Young Mistress, the Prince sent us to ask if you’re ready to go?” one of the girls wearing a jacket and skirt curtsied and said.
As she said this, she couldn’t hide her surprise on her face, as if she couldn’t believe she was delivering this message.
Qi Yue pursed her lips in a smile and suddenly turned around, looking at the stewardesses.
The stewardesses were surprised that girls from the Prince’s courtyard had come over, and seeing Qi Yue’s smile, they couldn’t help but shiver in broad daylight.
“By the way, Nanny Su, the wages can wait until tomorrow, but there’s one thing that must be done today,” she smiled while calling out to Xiao Die.
Xiao Die stepped forward.
“The list of people who never come to report that I had you compile – have you finished it?” Qi Yue asked.
Xiao Die nodded, flipped a few pages in the notebook in her hands, and held it out.
“Give it to Nanny Su,” Qi Yue said without taking it.
Nanny Su watched Xiao Die walking over with an ominous feeling in her heart.
“These people are ones who haven’t come even once since I said everyone should come report daily, or who have only come two or three times. I think not coming to report naturally means having nothing to report…” Qi Yue smiled.
“That’s not true. Some couldn’t get away because they were busy…” Nanny Su couldn’t help but interrupt, already guessing what Qi Yue was going to do.
Qi Yue stopped talking and just looked at her. The smile that usually appeared on her face slowly disappeared.
Under her gaze, Nanny Su’s voice grew smaller and she slowly lowered her head.
“Busy?” Qi Yue finally spoke, laughing coldly. “Are others all idle then? The same stewardesses – others can complete their work and come to meetings, but only these few are so busy they can’t spare half a day? Busy? Or do they simply can’t handle this work? Others can do it, but they can’t? If that’s the case, then let’s have others do it!”
Seeing Qi Yue show a cold face for the first time in so many days, all the stewardesses’ hearts skipped a beat. So this was what she was waiting for – waiting to make an example by killing the chicken to warn the monkeys.
But would these chickens obediently stick out their necks to be killed?
Everyone kept their heads down with changing expressions, but no one spoke up.
“What? Nanny Su, still don’t understand what I’m saying?” Qi Yue asked.
“Young Mistress, these stewardesses are all veteran employees of many years. Isn’t this too hasty…” Nanny Su hesitated and said with a smile.
Qi Yue, who had been about to turn around, stopped again.
“Too hasty?” she looked at Nanny Su. “Fine, let’s take our time talking today.”
Then she looked at the two girls from the Prince’s courtyard who had long been stunned.
“You two tell the Prince that I have household matters to handle today and can’t get away, so I won’t be going,” she said.
At these words, everyone in the courtyard changed color.
“Young Mistress?” the girl was even more speechless.
This was a threat?
Nanny Su and the other stewardesses all looked at Qi Yue in shock. She actually… dared?
When the Prince invites you, that’s giving you face, and you actually…
“Go on,” Qi Yue said, not looking at anyone’s expressions, turning to walk back into the house.
The two girls looked at each other, and seeing that Qi Yue really didn’t seem to be joking, had to grit their teeth and turn to leave.
“Young Mistress, this cannot be delayed,” Nanny Su finally spoke up, hurriedly calling back the two girls.