The Return of the Pampered Wife

Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Worse than servants?

"Xiaojie*, are you planning to sleep all day? Xiaojie must get prepared! It's nearly evening!" An Er shook Ru Huo crazily trying to get her to wake up. 

Ru Huo shook the sleep out of her head and woke up. 

"Is something wrong? Because I really want to sleep An Er."

An Er looked exasperated. "Xiaojie, you are supposed to decide Er xiaojie, and Li yiniang's punishments today. They are inside the ancestral hall. Xiaojie needs to choose new servants and choose a new yiniang to help xiaojie. Laoye also wanted xiaojie to make a public appearance to clear off doubt and give xiaojie a fresh start. After, xiaojie needs to go to the palace to receive a decree and join the party to celebrate xiaojie and Crown Prince's engagement."

Then, Ling Ran came in and brought water to wash off. After getting prepared in a willowy purple and white dress with jade hairpins in her hair, Ru Huo ate breakfast that Wang mama brought in and rinsed her mouth out with tea after. 

( ^ Picture of her dress is above) 

Ru Huo headed to the receptionist hall to take a look at new servants. When Ru Huo entered, the servants were in a neat row ready for examination. Since her father wasn't there, Ru Huo headed to the head seat and sat down beckoning each servant closer to take a look. There were four general groups of personalities. Shrewd, hardworking, arrogant and respectful. The slightly prettier yatou* were too full of themselves, believing they were meant for greater. No matter how much they hid it, Ru Huo could see the arrogance in between their brows and although she was slightly dissatisfied, she accepted all of the servants. After assigning the maids their positions, everyone was given proper clothes, a white and purple silk dress. Ru Huo took Wang mama, Ling Ran, and her other personal servants to see Er xiaojie and Li yiniang and left An Er to oversee the rest of her new servants. 

(* = Servant girls or used to refer to a girl)

The closer they got to the ancestral hall, the louder the shouting became.  

"You lower class bitches! How dare you imprison me here? Do you know who I am? I am the Er Xiaojie of the Prime Minister Fu and daughter of Furen!"

"You ungrateful dogs! You fed from my hand when I was the sky now you betray me? When I am Furen, you are all going to be sold away!" 

"Aiya! Who is Furen? I don't see a Furen here! I only see a mad dog and a lowly yiniang! Do I see wrong?" Ru Huo asked Wang mama. Wang mama merely nodded her head stiffly and replied with, "Da Xiaojie does not see wrong!"

Hearing this, Dongfang Wou You and Li Yue Xu were seething from anger. 

"Dongfang Ru Huo, you bitch! If not for you, I would be crown princess! I would be the legitimate Di daughter! I would be Empress! My mother would be Furen! You, a mere dog that followed us is the fiancé of the crown prince? I don't believe! Hehe!" Wou You went mad. The few days she stayed in the ancestral hall, one could visibly see the effect that the cold nights, the light breakfast and copying scriptures did to her. Her eyes were red and bloodshot, face yellow and wan, hand smeared with ink, hair and clothes unkept, and maybe a trick of the eyes, looked skinnier. 

Li Yiniang was no better, however, her hair and clothes were still kept better than Wou You who was spoiled rotten by Li Yiniang since birth. Wou You had never gone through any hardships since birth; parties were attended in Ru Huo's place which gradually made people think of her and the Di daughter, never once did anyone ridicule her for being a shu born. Maids flocked around her, she ate high quality food not even Ru Huo got as the Di daughter, and everything was better than Ru Huo. Even the Furen's dowry left for Ru Huo, full of royally bestowed gifts, land, money, jewellery, brocade, and high level medicine was taken away by her. 6 chests full to the brim with royal bestowments, 8 chests full of jewellery, 10 chests full of money, 15 full of other precious materials! After all, Ru Huo's mother was Song Xue Yu! The precious treasured daughter of the General Song household!