CHAPTER 360: CHAPTER 354: I AM THE MARQUIS MANSION DOWAGER 43

Fan Yaofang was assigned to sweep and water the imperial garden after she entered the palace.

Moreover, she was in charge of sweeping at night.

Every night, after all the palaces had gone quiet, she would come out to clean the imperial garden, and return to her room before dawn.

The biting mosquitoes in summer, the piercing cold winds in winter.

All these Fan Yaofang could endure.

She would rather suffer in the palace than return home.

Her mother had told her that her maternal family did not care for her mother, and advised her not to rely on her relatives from her maternal side. Her mother also mentioned that her father was unreliable.

She knew that if she stayed at home, she would certainly be sold by her father and stepmother.

Thus, when she entered the palace, she brought the belongings her mother had left her and entered without looking back.

She never thought about advancing through her looks, nor did she think about competing for anything; she just wanted to survive until the day she could leave the palace.

Fan Yaofang once thought this would be her life.

Every day, she carefully saved her monthly salary from sweeping the imperial garden, waiting to leave the palace at the age of twenty-five, either to end her days alone or to adopt a child who could take care of her in her old age.

She never expected that this unchanging life would suddenly change.

One day, after Fan Yaofang had slept all afternoon, she was about to have dinner and then prepare for work.

However, before she could even get her meal, the Chief Eunuch who managed the imperial garden summoned her.

Fan Yaofang was terrified.

With her hair tied back, she said softly, "Eunuch, I, I don’t think I made any mistakes."

A smile appeared on the Chief Eunuch’s face: "Don’t be scared, you’ve done nothing wrong. It’s your lucky day, the Supreme Empress has specifically chosen you to serve her."

"Ah?"

Fan Yaofang was frightened.

The Supreme Empress, a figure she dared not even think about, had chosen her, a mere girl who swept the gardens, to serve her.

It would make sense if she was an Aunt serving in the quarters of some concubine, but she was just a girl who swept the garden at night. How could the Supreme Empress even know about her?

With her big eyes wide open, fear was evident in them.

The Chief Eunuch then realized that this girl who swept the garden every night was quite pretty, though she had never bothered to dress up, or rather, she purposely disguised herself as ugly, so she always seemed unnoticeable.

The Chief Eunuch himself did not understand why the Supreme Empress specifically chose Fan Yaofang.

Now looking at this girl, he began to speculate whether the Supreme Empress saw this girl’s beauty and saw that she was a sincere child, and therefore brought her in to secure favor by helping to serve the Emperor?

With this thought, the Chief Eunuch became even more enthusiastic about Fan Yaofang.

He urged the young eunuchs below him, and soon a new set of palace clothes was brought over.

The Chief Eunuch said with a smile, "There is hot water ready in the room; hurry and take a bath, change your clothes, and don’t delay serving your master."

Despite her fear, Fan Yaofang obediently nodded.

She went into the room, bathed, and changed into the palace clothes which were both comfortable and beautiful in materials and craftsmanship.

The Chief Eunuch had not only given her palace clothes but also brought a set of jewelry.

Although the jewelry was not very valuable, Fan Yaofang had never worn any jewelry since she entered the palace, and now, looking at these, she felt a bit dazed.

She picked a silver hairpin to wear and put on a shrimp bracelet on her wrist before heading out.

With this preparation, she looked much more vibrant, and the Chief Eunuch could see that she had indeed been deliberately ugly before.

Now that she had bathed and put her hair up, this young girl was indeed beautiful.

However, the Chief Eunuch didn’t say much more to Fan Yaofang, hurrying her to leave through the Shunzhen Gate, where a carriage was waiting outside for her.

Fan Yaofang took a small bundle containing some of her commonly used items and boarded the carriage.

It was her first time leaving the palace since she entered, and she couldn’t help but look around while sitting in the carriage.

As the carriage moved further away, the sky became darker.

When the sky was completely dark, Fan Yaofang entered the Imperial Garden.

Entering the garden, she became even more nervous.

Continuing until she reached the dwelling of the Supreme Empress, Fan Yaofang took a deep breath, telling herself to stay calm.

She stood outside the house, waiting for the nanny who brought her to go in to announce her arrival.

At this time, the sky had already turned particularly dark, and many ox-horn lanterns, along with numerous palace lamps, hung outside the residence of the Supreme Empress, making it look much brighter.

Outside the house, the sounds of insects and the whooshing of the wind could be heard, the breeze was somewhat cool.

Yet, Fan Yaofang was still sweating profusely.

She was clutching a small bundle tightly waiting, when the curtain opened and a young girl in a light blue dress came out.

The young girl was exceptionally pretty, with an endearing quality about her.

Fan Yaofang looked at the young girl, feeling a sense of familiarity.

Then, she remembered, this young girl somewhat resembled her mother.

"Sister."

The young girl came over and sweetly called out.

Fan Yaofang was stunned: "Are you calling me, miss?"

"Yes."

The young girl smiled, took Fan Yaofang by the hand, and led her inside: "My mother is Tang Xu, your Aunt."

Fan Yaofang then remembered she had an Aunt named Xu who had married a third-place winner in the past, and had since been living in Jiangnan.

And now she understood why the young girl looked so familiar; she resembled her mother. Naturally, being a niece, resembling her aunt made sense.

Upon entering the room, when Fan Yaofang saw Anning sitting in a chair smiling at her, she didn’t know why, but she felt a sudden sadness and tears began to fall.

She quickly knelt down and performed a kowtow: "This servant pays respect to the master."

A palace maid came over to help Fan Yaofang up.

Anning scrutinized Fan Yaofang for a moment, then said to the attendants around her: "You may leave us, I wish to speak with Miss Fan."

Soon, the palace maids and the nanny withdrew.

Anning stood up, smiling, and took Fan Yaofang’s hand: "Do not fear, your great-great-grandmother is my dear sister. Technically, you should call me ’Grand Aunt.’"

Fan Yaofang blinked.

She finally understood everything.

So the Supreme Empress was a relative of her family, no wonder she was specifically summoned to serve here, aiming to secure her a promising future.

After all, serving the Supreme Empress would grant a palace maid considerable respect should she leave service, whether she marries into a good family or becomes a nanny in the house of some dignitary.

"Grand Aunt."

Fan Yaofang softly called out.

Anning patted her hand with a smile: "Do not fear, follow your Grand Aunt, and I will indeed seek a future for you."

Duke Zhongyong’s Mansion

Tang Bai held the letter from Anning for a long time, his expression severely gloomy.

"Master."

Mrs. Li nudged him: "What’s wrong?"

Tang Bai sighed: "Grandmother says the Emperor is demanding the repayment of our debts, and I recall our family still owes a considerable sum to the court. We must pay it back, but, our coffers are nearly empty now."

Mrs. Li also started to worry: "Let’s sell some of the larger, cumbersome items. In any case, it will help us gather some amount."

Tang Bai shook his head, pondered for a long while, and then clenched his teeth.

"It’s settled. For our household’s future and for the lives of our people, I’ll risk it all this time."

Soon, Tang Bai summoned Tang Pei and Tang Tao.

The father and sons discussed for a while, and the next day, Tang Bai left the city for the Manor bought by Anning outside the city.

Many veterans who had followed Tang Fang in battles earlier resided there, along with their descendants.

These people were always supported by Tang Bai and were extremely loyal to him.

Tang Bai gathered these people and gave them detailed instructions.

In the following days, Tang Bai, along with Tang Pei and Tang Tao—who had taken leave—each led a team to raid the residences of several primary servants including Mrs. Song and Ms. Zhang, as well as the stewardships of the household.

This inspection was a shock to all.

Tang Bai had never expected that the servants harbored such audacity, completely disregarding their masters, stealing countless assets.

From just the household of Liu Da, one of Mrs. Song’s servants, they seized ten thousand silver taels, as well as deeds to more than ten houses, and several manors’ land deeds.