Reborn in Each Other’s Bodies: A Mother and Daughter’s Deadly Revenge - Chapter 48

When Auntie Zhu saw her daughter return with a dejected face, she immediately grew anxious. She hurried forward, grabbed Qingtian’s hands, and pressed her with questions.

“Sweetheart, why are you back? Did something happen?”

Qingtian’s eyes grew hot at the sight of her mother. In a low voice, she recounted what had just transpired.

The more she spoke, the more she felt life had dealt her a cruel hand. She buried her face in her mother’s shoulder and sobbed.

Auntie Zhu’s emotions were complicated.

When the family had first learned that Qingtian had been assigned to serve the Sixth Young Miss, they had been overjoyed.

After all, the Sixth Young Miss was known for her kindness and generosity.

They had assumed Qingtian would become a first-rank stewardess in Hibiscus Court, with a bright future ahead. The entire family had urged her to serve the young mistress with absolute devotion…

Yet not long after, when the Sixth Young Miss was accidentally injured, the Fifth Young Master had immediately tried to beat the servants in a fit of rage—and the Sixth Young Miss hadn’t lifted a finger to stop him.

Auntie Zhu had felt a chill in her heart then. Her daughter had served the Sixth Young Miss with genuine dedication, even more attentively than she had served Madam.

And now this had happened. Auntie Zhu, too, began to think staying by the Sixth Young Miss’s side might not be a good idea.

But she was at a loss for what to do and could only comfort her daughter.

The sorrow in the room dulled the aroma of the roasted meat. Just then, Qingtian’s sister-in-law, Cuihua, returned.

Cuihua was in charge of supplying the estate’s afternoon tea and snacks, so mornings were her free time.

Earlier, her mother-in-law had sent word for her to come home after finishing her duties. Assuming Auntie Zhu had prepared something delicious, Cuihua had secretly packed some cheese pastries and headed back.

She hadn’t expected to find her sister-in-law there—nor that her mother-in-law and Qingtian would be hugging and crying.

Cuihua, who had risen to a minor stewardess position in the kitchens at a young age, was clearly ambitious and shrewd. She first glanced around to ensure no one was nearby, then bolted the door and closed the windows before asking what had happened.

Though the Zhu family was lazy and gluttonous, they had one redeeming quality: they stuck together.

Hearing about Qingtian’s mistreatment, Cuihua was furious.

“Little Sister, do you want to leave the Sixth Young Miss’s courtyard?” she asked after venting her anger.

Qingtian looked at Cuihua with hopeful eyes. She now understood that staying with the Sixth Young Miss was no good—but where else could she go?

Auntie Zhu also watched Cuihua anxiously. Cuihua pressed her lips together and spoke.

“Lately, I’ve been seeing Qingxin in the kitchens all the time—either asking Stewardess Fang to prepare tonics for the Eldest Young Master or ordering special pastries. The items aren’t expensive, but they’re troublesome. She lingers in the kitchens for hours every day…

“You know how Madam ‘sold off’ most of the Eldest Young Master’s stewardesses and senior maids. Qingxin’s behavior has apparently won his favor. Now, aside from his personal attendant, he treats her most warmly. The kitchen staff whisper that in a couple of years, she might just climb the ranks and become a concubine—”

Auntie Zhu looked shocked, while Qingtian’s face twisted in disdain.

The Eldest Young Master was only ten years old! How shameless of Qingxin to have such designs on him!

But if Qingxin wanted to become a concubine, aside from the master of the house, the Eldest Young Master was her only option.

She wouldn’t dare scheme against the master—so among the young masters, only the Eldest Young Master, as the legitimate eldest son, was a viable target.

Cuihua lowered her voice further. “Little Sister, be honest with me—do you want to become… a concubine?”

Qingtian shook her head firmly.

Her parents were longtime servants of the estate, so she had grown up here. She knew all too well how concubines lived.

A concubine was little more than a plaything. If she won the master’s favor, she might enjoy a few good days—but if not, her life would be worse than that of a lowly servant.

Take the estate’s most senior concubine, Concubine Fu, for example.

Aged and faded, childless, she was confined to a tiny courtyard. She rarely tasted meat, her face sallow and thin.

In winter, she was given only smoky stove coal—and even that only on the coldest days. Hers was a miserable existence.

True, Madam’s recent reforms might have improved Concubine Fu’s lot slightly—but without power, influence, or silver to rely on, the moment discipline slackened, the servants would run wild again, and her life would turn difficult once more.

Of course, a favored concubine could live well—just look at Concubine Bai and Concubine Hong.

But Qingtian had no illusions about herself. She was average-looking—hardly the type to thrive as a “beautiful concubine.”

Besides, Qingtian genuinely believed that being a respectable servant was a fine path. Marrying a capable steward in the future would ensure a comfortable life—why take the risk of becoming a concubine?

At this thought, Qingtian had a sudden epiphany—there was another way out for her.

But the idea made her face grow warm. After a pause, she fidgeted and said softly,

“Sister-in-law… I’d like to return to Madam’s side. Or find a position like yours or Mother’s…” She lowered her head slightly.

Auntie Zhu’s expression turned troubled. “Madam just assigned you to the Sixth Young Miss—it won’t be easy to go back—”

But Cuihua immediately grasped the subtext of Qingtian’s words and smiled knowingly.

“Returning as a maid would be difficult. But if you were to marry a capable steward, you could go back to Madam as a steward’s wife—or take on another managerial role and leave the Sixth Young Miss behind. That would be ideal…”

Auntie Zhu’s face lit up with joy. She slapped her thigh and laughed.

“You’re so clever—why didn’t I think of that?

“Qingtian is already fifteen—it’s time to consider marriage. We’ll find her a handsome, healthy, capable steward with a good temperament…”

“Thank you, Mother… Thank you, Sister-in-law…” Qingtian murmured shyly.

In truth, a trusted maid usually remained in service until seventeen or eighteen—some even married in their twenties.

After all, training a competent maid took years—a mistress wouldn’t let one go just as she became useful.

And the maids themselves preferred to stay longer. The more time they spent with their mistress, the deeper the bond—and the more rewards they received.

If they ever faced difficulties later, their mistress might even lend support. In short, staying longer only brought benefits.

But this only applied if one served a good mistress.

If, like Qingtian, a maid held a hollow title without her mistress’s trust, staying was pointless.

Better to use marriage as an excuse to leave early and forge a new path.

With this realization and her family’s support, Qingtian returned to Hibiscus Court with a lighter heart—beginning a half-hearted routine of “the body is in Cao’s camp, but the heart is with Han.”

As Qingtian’s attitude shifted, the other servants in Hibiscus Court gradually followed suit. Outwardly, they remained respectful to Sheng Mingzhu—but behind her back, they grew increasingly lax and perfunctory.

But that, of course, was a story for later.