Chapter 62: 62. Chapter 62: Disaster Comes from the Mouth

62. Chapter 62: Disaster Comes from the Mouth

The group left Linlin Commandery and entered Jiangfu Commandery, with no wind and no rain.

The sky wasn't overcast, nor was it blazing hot; a gentle breeze constantly brushed their faces along the way. What should have been scorching weather became a bit cooler due to the clouds drifting overhead.

"Miss, miss, over there in the field, there are so many flowers!"

"They're lovely to look at; do you want to go see them?"

Not long after the group entered Jiangfu Commandery, Cuiyu, who didn't want to stay in the carriage, ran off to play.

I don't know what tricks she used, but she even managed to coax Granny Shen and Granny Ma into staying, and the two of them even eagerly taught the little girl how to ride.

Even more astonishingly, Wang Deshun, the palace eunuch, also took a liking to the little girl, somehow obtaining a young colt just come of age for her.

As for Cuiyu being able to frolic freely, Shen Yunyao truly envied her to no end.

However, she didn't have that opportunity.

Whether as the Shen family's legitimate daughter, or as the future princess consort's wife, the Xie family's young madam, she had to pay attention to her personal image.

As people often say, what you gain is destined to make you lose something else.

"Cuiyu, do you want to learn painting?"

After hearing Cuiyu's words, Shen Yunyao didn't answer her question; instead, she responded to the other's question.

"Learn painting? Why?"

"Miss, I'm clumsy; I might not be able to learn it."

Although Cuiyu didn't know why her mistress suddenly said that, she always felt it wasn't something good.

"It's fine; I see you learned horseback riding quickly, so painting isn't actually difficult either."

"Once you've learned, you can paint all the scenery we see along the way, which would be just as if I, your mistress, had seen it with my own eyes!"

"...?!"

After hearing Shen Yunyao's words, Cuiyu was instantly dumbfounded, standing there stunned, her expression seeming to say, "Miss, are you playing with me?"

"You silly thing, I was just teasing you!"

Shen Yunyao raised her hand and tapped Cuiyu's little head.

She isn't mentally unhealthy; she doesn't resent others living happily.

On the contrary, seeing Cuiyu enjoy life so freely and leisurely made Shen Yunyao feel happy as well.

In a sense, Shen Yunyao treats Cuiyu as her alter ego.

Because of Cuiyu's presence, what should have been a dull, boring journey gained much more joy.

However, Shen Yunyao wasn't completely idle either.

On this journey to the capital, there were many attendants; besides the dowry entourage, there were also the dowry maids who needed to live with her in the Xie household.

What Shen Yunyao needed to do was observe them, thereby understanding which of these people could be trusted and which required careful arrangement.

Especially the dowry maids who would follow her into marriage with the Xie family needed to be examined with extra caution.

Shen Yunyao observed them for only two days before picking out the two with the strongest jealousy.

Whether before or after arriving here, Shen Yunyao has always believed that people should understand their status, know what position they hold, and act accordingly.

One's seat determines one's mind—this is an unchanging truth.

This saying is crude, but no one can deny it's true.

Wanting to climb upward is human nature.

After all, water flows downhill, people climb upward.

But before you can change your position, you must disguise yourself well, so others can't see through your intentions at a glance.

That's really foolish!

Just like these two maids eliminated by Shen Yunyao.

Simply because Shen Yunyao favored Cuiyu, the two of them secretly spoke many ill words about Cuiyu.

Shen Yunyao allowed them to feel jealousy, even permitted open and covert rivalry between them, but she could not tolerate those who were superficial and couldn't keep their mouths shut.

Disaster comes from the mouth!

Sometimes, this disaster doesn't just involve yourself; it also implicates your family and friends.

Therefore, for those who can't control their mouths, stay as far away as possible.

The two maids felt wronged, even speaking up for Shen Yunyao, thinking that Cuiyu, as Shen Yunyao's personal attendant, only cared about her own play and was utterly neglectful of her duties.

In the end, they even said that Shen Yunyao's indulgence of her wasn't kindness—it was harming her.

Even, harming others harms oneself!

This meaning is already clear: saying that Cuiyu lacks propriety, she will, due to her own lack of propriety, harm her mistress Shen Yunyao.

Listening to the two maids' heartfelt loyal words, Shen Yunyao waved her hand indifferently.

Does Cuiyu lack propriety?

Wrong!

This girl's propriety is actually excellent.

If she lacked propriety, how would Granny Shen and Granny Ma, who once served the Empress Dowager, have looked upon her favorably?

On the contrary, this girl is proper when she ought to be.

Whenever propriety isn't required, she is definitely free to frolic.

Just like now!

When traveling, where do all these rules come from?

She—Shen Yunyao, as the mistress, cannot indulge her own nature to play, but Cuiyu has no such restriction. As long as Shen Yunyao doesn't stop her, she is free.

As for Cuiyu going to play without attending to Shen Yunyao?

At this moment, Shen Yunyao's side was not limited to just Cuiyu as a maid.

Six candidate dowry maids are here!

This was originally their opportunity to showcase themselves.

But these two missed the chance and only chattered.

"Granny Shen, go find Zhao Fugui and have him arrange two people to send these two little maids back to the Shen Family!"

Shen Yunyao didn't want to hear their nonsense any longer and directly drove them away.

Seeing this, the two little maids already understood that whatever they said would be useless.

The two knelt on the ground and hurriedly begged for mercy.

"Miss, we know we were wrong!"

"We will never dare again!"

Originally, eight people remained at the Shen Family; the two were first selected by Shen Yunyao. Now these two have been following along to Jingcheng, but unexpectedly, on the road, because of their chattering, they ruined their own futures—how could they not regret it?

"Perhaps you really won't dare anymore!"

"But unfortunately, here you have no chance!"

Just admitting fault and begging for mercy after doing wrong is enough?

Then the cost of making a mistake is far too low!

At this moment, Cuiyu obediently stood beside Shen Yunyao, very well-behaved, showing no joy or panic on her face; her excellent deportment could be seen in a glance.

If it were another maid, she might already have broken into a smile by now.

After all, these two were punished for speaking ill of her behind her back!

However, Cuiyu was not in this situation.

As for the other four maids, they were even more careful in their words and deeds.

The lessons from the overturned cart, twice!

Although only these four maids remain who went to the capital together, who can guarantee they will ultimately prevail?

After all, as long as the matter hasn't been finally decided for a day, anything could happen.

Even if they become dowry maids and enter the Xie Family together, they can only be even more careful in their words and deeds to avoid breaking the rules.

The rules of the Xie Family in Jingcheng, as the two grannies said, are extremely strict.