Chapter 337: Sending a Letter

Mrs. Chen pulled Gu Fei into the house. "Daughter, it seems to me a few of them are truly useless. Why don’t we sell them?"

Gu Fei smiled. "Mom, it’s alright. When our family business expands in the future, even this many people won’t be enough."

"From now on, if you need anything done, just tell them. Mom, you’re getting older, and it’s time for you to relax and enjoy life."

Mrs. Chen sighed. "How could I dare to enjoy such a life?"

"I was just thinking, your grandma... if she hears we’ve bought servants, I’m afraid she’ll start making trouble again."

Gu Fei smiled. "Don’t worry. If she raises a fuss and demands a servant to wait on her, just ask her if she wants an older servant woman or a young maid. I’ll just buy one for her."

Mrs. Chen said, "We already have a few idle ones in this household. You’d buy another?"

Gu Fei shook her head. "These servants are a family. It’s best not to separate them. If Grandma wants one, I’ll buy a new one. If we split this family up and have them carrying tales between two households, it’ll easily lead to gossip."

Mrs. Chen clapped her hands. "That makes perfect sense! Why didn’t I think of that?"

"My daughter is the clever one."

Gu Fei glanced at Lan Zhi, who was sitting in the main hall embroidering silently. She lowered her voice, "Mom, we should finalize the wedding for Second Brother and Lan Zhi sooner rather than later. Now that there are servants in the house, I’m afraid Lan Zhi will—"

Mrs. Chen understood. She was afraid Lan Zhi wouldn’t be able to hold her head high at home and might start seeing herself as one of the servants.

She nodded. "Alright. Their birth characters have already been matched. Tomorrow, I’ll have Liu Zhuangtou’s family send her the betrothal silver. You can help her prepare some dowry, and once we’ve picked a date, we’ll hold the ceremony."

After settling matters at home, Gu Fei didn’t have to wait long before Yan’er and Fang Fang finished packing up. They then followed Gu Fei back to the inn.

Gu Fei had Yan’er and Lian’er manage the counter. Yan’er was literate, so she could handle registration and bookkeeping, while Lian’er would collect the money. ’It’s just like the setup of an accountant and a cashier in a company from my past life.’

After giving them their assignments, Gu Fei returned to her room. Fang Fang ground the ink, and she began to write a letter.

Once the letter was written, Gu Fei placed it in an envelope and wrote "For Xiao Yu" on it. After a moment’s thought, she put it inside a second, outer envelope.

Coming out of her room, Gu Fei beckoned Yan’er over. "Go to the back gate of the Prince Qi Mansion and find a servant named Laifuzi. Give this letter to him and tell him to pass it on to Brother Stone, who serves the Young Master Heir."

Yan’er was taken aback for a moment. ’Isn’t my new master’s family just a farming household? How do they have connections with people from the Prince Qi Mansion?’

Seeing her hesitation, Gu Fei asked, "Can you handle this? Remember, this letter can only be given to Laifuzi."

Yan’er nodded hastily. "I understand. I’ll go right now."

Gu Fei gave her a handful of copper coins for the carriage and a piece of broken silver. Yan’er secured the letter and went out.

Yan’er took a carriage to the back gate of the Prince Mansion. Smiling, she gave a small curtsy to the servant on duty. "Good day, sir. I’m looking for Brother Laifuzi. Could I trouble you to ask him to come out?"

The servant glanced at Yan’er. "I am Laifuzi."

Yan’er laughed. "Oh, my apologies for not recognizing you! Stone, the Young Master Heir’s attendant, is my cousin. I have a letter here, and I’d be grateful if Brother Laifuzi could pass it on to him for me."

She passed over the letter and the piece of broken silver together. Laifuzi accepted them and nodded. "Rest assured, miss. When Brother Stone returns, I will give it to him. May I ask your surname, miss?"

Yan’er thought for a moment. "My surname is Gu."

When evening fell, Xiao Yu finally returned. Laifuzi found Stone and handed him the letter. "Earlier today, a Miss Gu, who said she was your cousin, asked me to give this to you."

Hearing the surname Gu, Stone understood instantly. He had told Miss Gu before that if she ever needed to contact the Young Master Heir, she should go to the back gate and find a servant named Laifuzi, who was one of them.