Chapter Seventy: Wound One of My Own and I Shall Annihilate Your Entire Army

As soon as Su Jingluo stepped into the room, she saw two groups of maids engaged in a chaotic brawl, with no clear sense of friend or foe. Their hair was disheveled, and some had their clothes torn and tattered. Su Jingluo herself couldn't distinguish between sides, as she didn’t recognize any of them.

“Stop this at once! The Princess Consort is here, and you still dare to be so unruly?” Ruihuan, who followed her in, shouted furiously before Su Jingluo even had a chance to speak. Ever since the Prince had started treating the Princess Consort much better, Ruihuan’s own confidence had grown.

At Ruihuan’s loud command, the two sides reluctantly separated and knelt in a neat line on the floor.

After Su Jingluo took her seat, she looked at the maids below with an impassive face.

“Introduce yourselves,” she said. She didn’t know the new maids and needed to distinguish between friend and foe before dealing with them.

“Greetings to the Princess Consort. I am newly assigned here, and my name is Alan,” a girl of about fourteen or fifteen answered, giving Su Jingluo a proper kowtow, her forehead hitting the ground with an audible thud, sincere and resolute. Of all present, she appeared the most battered—her face bore deep scratches from fingernails, some bleeding, her eyes were swollen, and her hair and clothes were in disarray.

“Stand up. How long have you been here? What can you do?” Su Jingluo asked. She couldn’t judge the girl’s fighting prowess, but she’d clearly been the most involved in the altercation, defending herself with all her might.

“I’ve been in the residence less than a month. My family is poor, so I came hoping to earn something to help at home. I’m clumsy at most things, but I can wash clothes and clean the yard. I’m not good at hairdressing,” Alan replied. Though respectful, she showed no shyness; her words were clear and her voice strong. Girls like her, sent from home to work as maids, were usually just earning money for their families, and could leave once they reached a certain age. In short, contract workers—though not quite like in modern times. If anything happened, they’d pay compensation; if they made mistakes, beatings were inevitable. For serious offenses, they’d be sent to the authorities.

“Very well. From now on, you’ll follow Ruihuan and work in the inner quarters,” Su Jingluo said. She found the girl clever and daring, and since she was new and untainted by past factions, decided to keep her close. With such tigerish energy, she’d make a good enforcer—Ruihuan was too soft, always on the verge of tears.

“Thank you, Princess Consort! Thank you!” Alan was overjoyed. Serving at the mistress’s side was entirely different from being an ordinary maid; it meant she was now part of the trusted inner circle.

“And the rest of you?” Su Jingluo looked at the four still kneeling maids.

“I am Qiuhong, also newly assigned to serve the Princess Consort. I’ve been in the residence for three years, and my household registration is within the Prince’s estate. I can do hairdressing, grinding ink, and preparing decoctions,” Qiuhong said, presenting her credentials clearly before Su Jingluo could even ask. Maids with their registration in the estate were usually kept close, as they belonged to the household for life—essentially private property, reliable for long-term service. Judging by her unscathed face and tidy clothes, Qiuhong hadn’t participated in the fight.

“Very well, you’ll remain in the front court to help clean the courtyard,” Su Jingluo decided. Three years in the estate made her an old hand. She hadn’t gotten involved in the fight—either she was loyal to Lin Feifei and her maidservants, or she stayed neutral, unwilling to take sides. She was probably hedging her bets, afraid that Su Jingluo’s status might change, which could make her own life in the estate difficult. Self-preservation was wise, but calculating from the start could, in her mistress’s eyes, border on betrayal.

Qiuhong was stunned by the assignment, her face turning pale, but she could only answer with a dejected “Yes.”

“And you three?” Su Jingluo asked again, seeing that the others remained silent.

“I am Yue’er, I am Chunhong, I am Yan’er—all of us serve in Lady Lin’s quarters,” the three answered quietly. Their clothes were torn, hair disheveled, and makeup smeared; each bore varying degrees of injury. It seemed the three of them had attacked Alan together.

“Send them to the woodshed. No one is to release them without my command,” Su Jingluo ordered. Three against one was shameless—they needed to be taught a lesson. She wanted Lin Feifei and her servants to see that anyone who bullied Su Jingluo’s people would pay dearly for it: hurt one of hers, and the entire group would be wiped out.