A Worker in the Marquis’s Estate

Before her family fell into ruin, Liu Qianqiu: “Work? No way! I'd never work for the rest of my life!” After her family fell into ruin, Liu Qianqiu: “Cousin, can a maid at the Marquis of Ji'an's estate really earn one and a half taels a month?” More than that. It wasn't until Qianqiu entered the marquis's household that she learned the lowest-ranking servants earned one and a half taels, while senior maids made at least two. On top of that, they could pick up extra work, and the masters would reward them separately. From then on, Qianqiu was either keeping watch for the flirtatious young master, covering for her mistress's affair, or running around delivering letters for the young lady. Before long, she'd saved quite a bit each month. She'd done the math. After two or three years of hard work, she'd still have enough for a dowry and a good marriage, as long as that damned bookkeeper, Zeng Luwei, would stop finding fault with her! * Things can change faster than you can calculate. One day, an old family friend of the marquis, the Yuan family, came to ask about her. They seemed interested in taking her as a bride, and she was about to rise to great heights! She flew into Zeng Luwei's room and shook him awake. Catching him off guard, she slapped him hard twice. “Zeng, I've put up with you for long enough! What gives you the right to charge me for every broken dish? You black-hearted bastard of a servant! A servant for life, a servant for generations!” Who could have guessed that on the day the marriage was to be discussed, her cousin would come back with news? “It seems this good match won't work out. Zeng Luwei refused.” “Him? Who does he think he is? What gives him the right to refuse?!” “He's the master's illegitimate son. He's the second young master.” Zeng Luwei was restored to his rightful place and became the second young master of the Marquis of Ji'an's household, while Qianqiu became a senior maid in his chambers. That night, Luwei glanced at the maid beside him, glaring with deep resentment, and casually dropped his account book. “You got a raise, so why aren't you happy?” Qianqiu gritted her teeth and joined her hands behind her back, miming a strangling gesture. “I can't stand that you were a fellow beast of burden yesterday, and have turned into a master today!” “You could become a master, too. That depends on whether I'm in the mood...” He turned around, his smile dark. “I heard you cried in front of the young master of the Yuan family. What did you say? Tell me.” * Liu Qianqiu's Work Diary: I hate Zeng Luwei. Why? Because my own failure is frightening enough, but a coworker's success is even more upsetting. I'm jealous! Zeng Luwei's Work Tips: I love Liu Qianqiu. No reason, really. She likes slacking off and cutting corners, and I like sneaking glances at her smile. A scheming but timid little maid × a grim, unsmiling official's son The romance is the main focus. * * Upcoming story divider Next novel: Why Pretend We Never Met? Zhutai has been married for five years. Her husband is handsome and upright, and all in all, married life has been pretty happy. The only flaw is that their neighbor, surnamed Zhu, is extremely annoying! Her happy life fell apart one evening, when a maid took her to a little courtyard to catch her husband in the act. The courtyard gate was open. Zhutai pushed her way in and rounded the screen wall. Hearing her husband's hearty laughter from inside, her heart suddenly ached. He never laughed like that at home. A woman's gentle voice followed, and her husband called her “Yunong.” Tears were about to spill from her eyes. Wait! Yunong... That name sounded strangely familiar... Just then, a handsome young man in fine clothes, with sharp brows and bright eyes, stormed in from beyond the screen wall, radiating murderous intent. Their eyes met, and both were horrified. The young man was Zhu Ren, her neighbor. Yunong was his wife. Zhutai couldn't help laughing through her tears. Zhu Ren, Zhu Ren, so you're a two-timing bastard, too. * The Zhu family had held high office for generations. Zhu Ren was the second young master of the family, and Zhutai thought there was something seriously wrong with him. Once, he hid behind a wall pretending to be a maid and silently listened as she criticized every member of the Zhu family. What girl doesn't gossip about other people? He had to go out of his way to listen, and after she caught him, he held a grudge. He always looked at her with a gloomy, resentful expression. He was definitely planning to get back at her! From then on, Zhutai avoided him like the plague. But now they'd both been betrayed. As the saying goes, “We are both wanderers in this world, so why pretend we've never met?” Zhutai decided to let bygones be bygones, invited him to sit on the steps, and proposed that they plan their revenge together. Zhu Ren gave her a sidelong look. “Good. Better for me to wrong the world than for the world to wrong me. Have you got a plan?” Zhutai stared blankly and shook her head. “You're the one who's read more books. You think of something.” Zhu Ren: “Why don't we treat them the way they treat each other? Give them a taste of their own medicine.” Zhutai: ... In the end, she was still so angry that she slapped her hand down and declared, “That's what we'll do! We have to make that pair of cheating dogs furious!” A cryptic smile appeared on Zhu Ren's face in the dim moonlight. * Please visit my author page for my completed novels. Theme: Striving to improve