Hearing her master's words, Yun'er was briefly stunned before becoming surprised and flustered.
Why would her young lady suddenly transfer her to the kitchen, demoting her from a head maid to a scullery maid, and swap her with Ying'er? Had she done something wrong?
"Ping'er, you will also help in the kitchen from now on." Huangfu Yue's gaze shifted from Yun'er to Ping'er as she instructed.
Upon hearing this, Ping'er was also taken aback, feeling surprised and flustered, her mind filled with confusion.
Why was her young lady also sending her to the kitchen? Had she made any mistakes recently?
Everyone was quite perplexed by Huangfu Yue's sudden decision to transfer Ying'er to her side for service, and then reassign Yun'er and Ping'er, who had always served her, to the kitchen. This included Grand Consort Zheng.
Unexpectedly, Huangfu Yue's "transfers" were not yet finished. She looked at her elder sister-in-law, Zhu Jiayi. "Eldest sister-in-law, you have two young children, Xuan'er and Jing'er, who are precisely at that mischievous age. With only three people serving you, it seems a bit insufficient. I will have Nanny Zou go to your place to serve you."
At this statement, everyone was even more astonished. How could she even dismiss Nanny Zou?
"Yue'er, how can this be? You're sending Nanny Zou to me, leaving yourself without anyone..." Zhu Jiayi's face was filled with confusion, but before she could finish, she was interrupted by her sister-in-law.
"Don't I still have Ying'er by my side? How could I be without anyone!" Huangfu Yue said with a smile.
Yang Wanqian lightly furrowed her brows and spoke, "How can one person serving you be enough..."
"Her serving me alone is enough. I am different from you all; I don't need a crowd to serve me," Huangfu Yue replied to her fourth sister-in-law.
In fact, she didn't need anyone to serve her, but having someone around who could talk and help her with things was always good, so she had asked Ying'er to serve her.
As for Yun'er, Ping'er, and Nanny Zou, she had already decided earlier not to have them serve her and needed to send them elsewhere.
The three of them, their master crying herself to sleep and leaving the courtyard, crying all the way to the garden, crying until she fell into the lake without even realizing it, were still so sound asleep. They were truly unsuitable for serving others.
Therefore, she sent Yun'er and Ping'er to help in the kitchen. As for Nanny Zou, she was getting older, and it was not appropriate to have her do rough or tiring work in the kitchen, so she sent her to her elder sister-in-law's place.
Her elder sister-in-law already had one nanny and two maids. Nanny Zou, as a "newcomer," would likely not be assigned primary service but would only be there to help look after the children, so there was no need to worry about her not serving her elder sister-in-law and the two children well.
"My young lady, did I do something wrong? Is that why you want to punish me and no longer want me to serve you?" Yun'er asked Huangfu Yue pitifully, her face full of anxiety.
"My young lady, if we have made any mistakes, you can punish us, but please don't send us away. We are reluctant to leave you. We beg you to let us continue to serve you," Nanny Zou said, also with a look of pitiable anxiety.
She, like Yun'er, did not want to leave Huangfu Yue. Huangfu Yue was a master who was very easy to serve, never making things difficult, and her requirements were usually minimal.
"My young lady, you can hit us or scold us, just don't send us away. We don't want to leave you," Ping'er was on the verge of tears from anxiety.
How good it was to be the young lady's personal maid. She absolutely did not want to go to the kitchen to help and become a scullery maid, which was exhausting.
"You have not made any mistakes; you are all quite good. It's just that things are not the same as before. The kitchen and my elder sister-in-law's place both need more people, and it just so happens that I don't need so many people to serve me, so I am sending you to the kitchen and my elder sister-in-law's place," Huangfu Yue said, shaking her head.
Their mistakes were not easy to articulate, nor was there any need to do so.
Hearing this, Ping'er hesitated for a moment and then boldly asked, "My young lady, why did you have Ying'er come to serve you? She has never served you before. How can she serve you as well as we can..."
"Ying'er and I are compatible; I want this girl to serve me," Huangfu Yue interrupted Ping'er before she could finish, giving her the answer.
Nanny Zou frowned, "My young lady, but we and Ying'er..."
"Enough! Yue'er, as the master, she can have whomever she wants serve her and whoever she doesn't want serve her. It's not for you servants to comment or ask questions!" Grand Consort Zheng spoke out, cutting off Nanny Zou's words, her face revealing a trace of displeasure and full of authority.
Nanny Zou and Ping'er were so frightened that they dared not speak further. Yun'er, who also wanted to ask Huangfu Yue and persuade her to change her mind, swallowed back the words that were already on her lips and obediently accepted Huangfu Yue's reassignment. The servants of the Prince Dai's mansion all feared Grand Consort Zheng. Although Grand Consort Zheng was not overly harsh with her servants, she could be described as strict.
"Ping'er, Yun'er, you go and help in the kitchen. Help the kitchen staff prepare breakfast for us sooner. Nanny Zou, you also go and serve my eldest sister-in-law...
Don't worry, even though you are no longer serving by my side, your salaries will not be reduced; they will remain the same. So, when you go to the kitchen and my elder sister-in-law's place, work diligently." Huangfu Yue said.
People need incentives to be motivated.
"My young lady, are you saying that you will still give us salaries in the future?" Hearing Huangfu Yue's words, Ping'er and the others were pleasantly surprised. Ping'er immediately asked.
Huangfu Yue nodded and looked at all the servants, announcing, "All the servants in the Prince Dai's mansion will continue to receive their salaries as before. The salaries will remain the same as they were, and the payment schedule will also be the same as before.
Rest assured, follow us diligently, serve us, and do your jobs well. The Prince Dai's mansion will never treat you unfairly."
Continuing to pay the servants' salaries in the future was also something she had considered earlier. These servants had been implicated and unjustly sent into exile; they were unfortunate. She had to treat them better, so their salaries would continue to be paid.
However, other masters in the Prince Dai's mansion did not think as she did. Xu Yuqing was the first to jump out and object, "Yue'er, our Prince Dai's mansion is not what it used to be. How can we still pay these servants their salaries as before? Do you know how much their salaries cost each month? You..."
"Be quiet," Grand Consort Zheng loudly interrupted her second daughter-in-law. "Our Prince Dai's mansion may not be what it used to be, but we will never mistreat our servants."
She looked at her granddaughter and said, "Yue'er, let it be as you said. From now on, we will continue to pay the Prince Dai's mansion servants their salaries every month as before. We cannot mistreat these servants who have been implicated and suffered along with us."
She truly liked and admired this granddaughter more and more. This granddaughter was so much stronger than her other sisters-in-law.
None of these granddaughters-in-law understood that the hearts of people were the most important thing.
The servants of the Prince Dai's mansion were very moved upon hearing the words of Huangfu Yue and Grand Consort Zheng. They all knelt down to thank them, expressing that they were people of the Prince Dai's mansion in life and death, and that they would always follow the masters of the Prince Dai's mansion, serve them diligently, and lay down their lives for them.
Grand Consort Zheng looked at the servants who were deeply moved and grateful, a satisfied gleam flashing in her eyes.
Her husband, the late emperor, had once told her that the most precious and important things in the world were not money, power, or status, nor rare treasures, but rather, the hearts of people!