Lan Xin started out as a third-class girl, worked hard and cautiously, and finally climbed to the position of a first-class girl. However, no matter how hard she tried, she could not compare to Lu Tao, whose mother was Xiao Hou Ye's wet nurse, in front of her master.
But there was nothing she could do about it. She had no one to help her in the house.
However, Lan Xin didn't take it to heart at first, because she didn't plan to be a maid all her life. She worked hard and just wanted to save more money for her brother to study. She hoped that her brother would be able to get a good name in the examination, and then she would be able to be an official lady.
However, things didn't go as planned. Xu Fang failed in repeated attempts and even had the idea of giving up studying. Miss Lan Xin's dream was about to be shattered. She had to make two preparations. While urging Xu Fang to try again, she also put her mind on Go about your errand.
She said: "If my brother is unable to find a way to study, if I want to find a good way out, I can only rely on the princess. However, Jin Ling Yin Ling and Lu Tao have people in the house to help me. No matter how hard I work, I can't help you." You can't get in front of them, so you can only manage your own network secretly. But if you don't stand out, you won't be able to win people's hearts, and Lu Tao just has some conflicts with the little girls."
Although Lu Tao's words and deeds are harsh, rewards and punishments are clear, so he is not disliked by others.
But Lan Xin must use this to highlight her kindness.
So she secretly instigated the relationship between everyone and Lu Tao, exaggerating the small conflicts. Gradually, everyone's impression of Lu Tao changed from harsh to mean.
And she became a considerate and kind-hearted person in the eyes of the girls.
"Girls are willing to get close to me. No matter what I do, I will be praised and sought after by others. The princess has also given more rewards to the slaves. Seeing that this is effective, the slaves target Lu Tao more and more, and Lu Tao becomes more marginalized. , the more popular this slave will be!"
After hearing this, Princess Rongling couldn't help scolding: "Despicable!"
Lan Xin was dissatisfied, "They don't need to work very hard to win the respect of their master, but slaves have to work several times harder. This is unfair in itself. The slaves use small tricks just to help themselves and do not harm other people." People's interests, even Lu Tao, didn't suffer any loss. The princess pampered her in the same way, and she just got scolded a few more times by the girls."
This was the first time Li Qingyi heard such an argument. He looked at her and said, "But how do you know that Lu Tao won't be sad because of being excluded behind her back?"
Lan Xin snorted, "Sad and sad, I won't lose a piece of flesh. Isn't this slave secretly just as angry, helpless, and depressed?"
Chang Ning was speechless, "It's your own fault that you're depressed. It's you who caused Lu Tao's sadness. How can this be the same!"
Lan Xin was disdainful, "This is just a trivial matter."
Princess Rongling was furious, "A small thing? It seems that in your eyes, only killing someone is a big deal!"
"My slave didn't want to kill Lu Tao, but..." Lan Xin pursed her lips and was silent for a long time before saying, "Originally, I had already accepted the current situation, but Mother Zhong suddenly passed away at this time."
The death of Mother Zhong brought a ripple to the peaceful and orderly days.
When Lu Tao buried her head in her knees, she cried and said to Lan Xin, "From now on, I have no relatives."
Lan Xin suddenly realized that Lu Tao's situation had become the same as hers.
Although the feelings of the past are still there, Mother Zhong is no longer there after all. The role of a dead person is certainly not as great as that of a living person.
"Lu Tao was so distressed by Mother Zhong's death that I took the initiative to take over some of her errands. I was so tired every day that my legs and feet were wobbly just to get praise from the princess. The princess really valued her slaves more. , the errands that were previously only done by Lu Tao were gradually handed over to the slaves. The slaves were secretly happy and felt that the future was promising, but the princess suddenly said that she would accept Lu Tao as her adopted daughter and find a small official for her. Husband’s family.”
Lan Xin gritted her teeth unconsciously when she said this, "My slave's efforts have failed once again, and Lu Tao still didn't have to do anything and was arranged well by the princess, but Lu Tao was still not satisfied, and even talked to me Said she didn’t know whether she should marry out of the house!”
Princess Rongling heard this and couldn't help but look at Li Qingyi.
They were right.
Lu Tao was really hesitant about whether to stay or go.
But she definitely didn't know that her thoughts greatly stimulated Lan Xin.
Lu Tao easily got what Lan Xin wanted, but she said she didn't know whether she should want it or not!
"At that moment, my servant hated Lu Tao so much! But because there were so many people around me, I had no place to vent, so I asked the princess for a day off to go out to visit relatives. I ran to a deserted place and cried hard. I scolded Lu Tao, threw the little doll with Lu Tao's birth date on it and trampled it on the ground! Originally I just wanted to vent, but who would have thought that someone would see this scene!"
Princess Rongling knew the important point was coming and immediately asked: "Who saw it?"
Lan Xin looked gloomy, "They were a man and a woman. They both wore curtains and hats. The slave didn't see their faces. The woman's voice sounded about the same age as the slave. The man was tall and thick, and he stood behind her without speaking."
Princess Rongling frowned and was very confused. Apparently she had no idea about the origins of this man and woman, "Did they threaten you?"
Lan Xin's face turned ugly: "The woman picked up the little doll on the ground and said that it was the art of hating victory. If someone found out, she would behead her head. She used this as a threat and asked me to steal the short arrow of the young marquis. "
Princess Rongling was puzzled, "If you report the matter to me, I may not be able to resolve the matter."
Lan Xin raised her head and looked at her, "Really? If someone really forces the slave to return to the house and accuses the slave of practicing the art of hating victory, will the princess really pretend that nothing happened and settle the matter for the slave?"
Princess Rongling was silent.
If such a thing really happened, she might not take Lan Xin's life, but she would not let Lan Xin serve him by her side anymore.
Then everything Lan Xin has done will be in vain.
Lan Xin smiled bitterly, "This servant anticipated the princess's reaction, so she agreed after the other party promised enough benefits."
"What benefits did they give you?"
"Three thousand taels. The other party first gave the slave one thousand five hundred taels, and the remaining half will be handed over to the slave after the promise is fulfilled."
"Three thousand taels, and you are allowed to betray the master and frame Yang'er?"
"Three thousand taels is nothing to the princess, but to the slave, it is enough to spend half a lifetime. Moreover, the slave feels that with the Marquis and the princess interceding, even if the young Marquis really kills someone, it will not be a big deal. He is sentenced to death, not to mention a guy like Mr. Lin San, who is eager to exchange this matter for some benefits, and cannot be so aggressive as to insist on the life of the young Marquis."
Princess Rongling didn't know whether to scold her for being cowardly or to praise her for being smart, "You do have a clear plan! But why did you kill Lu Tao!"
"The slave accidentally broke his own nail when he stole the short arrow, but he was too nervous at the time and didn't notice it until he handed the short arrow to the man and found out after returning to his residence. The slave didn't know about the nail. Where did it break? He immediately cut all his nails short and wanted to search in the young marquis's study, but before the slave could find a chance, Master Lin San took the short arrow to Dali Temple to beat the Dengwen drum. Lu Tao I immediately ran to the young marquis’s study to check, and immediately found half of the slave’s broken nail.”
Although the girls in the house cannot dress up too much, they will find ways to dress themselves up within the allowed range.
A big girl like Lan Xin doesn't need to do any rough work on weekdays, so she will leave her nails in a nice shape and dye them with impatiens juice to make her fingers look slender and beautiful.
"There are two impatiens flowers in the princess's room. The slaves usually collect the fallen petals and crush them to dye their nails. However, everyone likes to use pink impatiens flowers. That day I But on a whim, I used purple impatiens juice to dye my nails slightly blue. Because the slave's name has the word "blue" in it, I kept it fresh and didn't wash it off. Who knows, it's just like this It's unfortunate...that I caught up with this."
Princess Rongling wouldn't pay attention to the girls' nails. After hearing this, she looked at Jin Ling Yin Ling.
The two girls had been so shocked by what Lan Xin said that they couldn't help themselves. Seeing the questioning look from their master, they just nodded and were almost speechless.
Princess Rongling asked Lan Xin again, "Since Lu Tao found the evidence, why didn't she report it immediately? Did you stop her?"
Lan Xin smiled self-deprecatingly, "My slave secretly made small moves to squeeze out Lu Tao, but it was her close friend who secretly handed her the handkerchief. When Lu Tao found something suspicious, she naturally wanted to ask me what was going on. I said, I didn't do things well before. I accidentally broke my nails, so I simply cut them off. Someone must have picked up my nails and wanted to blame me."
Princess Rongling heard this and sneered: "You are a good eloquent!"
Lan Xin lowered her eyes, "Lu Tao believed what I said and decided to secretly investigate the real murderer. But I couldn't wait any longer. I took the opportunity of going out to buy things to go home and tell my brother about it. I knew he would definitely not If he agrees with me to silence Lu Tao, just tell him that I have already killed Lu Tao, and if he doesn’t help me transport the body out of the house, I will be the next one to die."
"My brother had no choice but to agree. So I put a little bit of croton in Lu Tao's food that night. Sure enough, Lu Tao had a stomachache in the middle of the night and got up and went to the hut. After she went out, I lit the tonka in the incense burner. Followed her out.”
When Princess Rongling heard this, she couldn't help but cover her chest. Li Qingyi asked for her: "How did you kill Lu Tao?"
Lan Xin seemed to think of the situation at that time, and she couldn't help but wince.
"The slave first knocked her unconscious with a clothes-washing mallet, and then covered her mouth and nose, causing her to suffocate to death...Then the slave put her into a night incense bucket. In the early morning, her brother replaced Aunt Wang to collect the night incense. , took the body out of the city, everything went smoothly, so smoothly that I thought God was helping me..."
