Before anyone in the room could react, she pointed at Yvonne Brooks and Sophie Brooks and said, “And you two—since both your elder sisters have spoken up and I’ve agreed, I can’t let you be wronged either. I’ll give you sisters Chengxin and Mingdang, so no one can say I’m playing favorites. Besides, you’re both grown now, and having only two second-class and four third-class maids isn’t enough. For now, I’ll add one more, and after the New Year, I’ll add another. As for third-class maids, that’s easy—just gradually add more as you see fit.”

As soon as she finished, everyone in the room smiled and thanked her, all saying the old lady doted on her granddaughters. Several maids also came forward to kowtow. Seeing that the three girls, except for Zhenlong, had each gone to stand beside their new mistress, Ms. Turner turned to Mrs. Carter and said, “Lan’er has just recovered, and her courtyard is far away. With only Hongluo there, it might not be enough to keep things in order. You should check in on her often, keep an eye on things for her, so no one gets the idea that her maids are unruly and gives them a scolding out of displeasure.”

It was already close to noon, and after chatting and laughing for a while, a maid came forward and quietly asked Mrs. Carter if it was time to serve the meal. Ms. Turner happened to overhear and instructed that all her granddaughters stay for lunch to make things livelier. Hearing this, Lauren Brooks took the opportunity to rub her temples, showing a hint of fatigue. Sure enough, Mrs. Carter glanced at the young ladies and reminded everyone that Lauren Brooks had only just recovered from her injury.

With this reminder, Ms. Turner naturally looked Lauren Brooks over and nodded, saying, “Very well, Lan’er is tired today. She should go back and rest. Let her three sisters stay and keep this old lady company.”

Lauren Brooks declined a couple of times, then agreed a bit embarrassedly. After bidding farewell, she left the room with Fiona Quinn and the newly arrived Ruby Hall. Stepping out from the warm room heated by the kang, she couldn’t help but shiver, even though she was already wearing a cloak. Leaving the courtyard and walking down the narrow path to the corner, she was almost at the Zining Residence of the second branch when she suddenly heard someone calling from behind. Turning around, she saw a maid hurrying over, holding a large coat.

“Third Miss, just now the old lady asked what you wore to keep warm when you came in. The servants answered, and the old lady said it was too thin, so she immediately had me search the chests and found this crane cloak.” As the maid spoke, she shook out the cloak and smiled. “This was a gift from the Princess of Jin last winter, but since the old lady has many clothes and the color is too bright, it’s never been worn. It’s made of rose-purple silk with a lining of gray squirrel fur—very light and warm. Since Third Miss is frail, you should wear it now.”

Having just recovered and come out today, Lauren Brooks had only done so to avoid being criticized for etiquette and to get a sense of the people and situation. Yet on her way back, she’d received a box with four gold hairpins and a second-class maid, and now someone had chased after her to deliver a crane cloak. She felt more and more uneasy.

In her memory, she had always felt only awe, not closeness, toward her ancestor Ms. Turner, and Ms. Turner had always treated her as just another granddaughter, certainly not as well as the younger generation of the second and third branches. Yet today, she was being given special attention, which couldn’t be explained away by her recent recovery or any supposed affection. Hearing the maid say the old lady said there was no need to thank her, she half-heartedly let the maid help her put on the cloak. As she was tying the sash, she noticed two old women peeking out from Zining Residence, but they quickly withdrew.

Just as the maid had said, the crane cloak was both light and warm. The rose-purple silk was embroidered with peony patterns in gold thread, the edges outlined with black thread in cloud motifs, and the lining was all soft, thick silver squirrel fur—much warmer than her own velvet cloak. Wearing this new cloak as she passed the entrance to Zining Residence, she caught several people in the courtyard secretly watching her, and she began to get a sense of things. When she finally returned to Jinxiu Pavilion and entered her own room, she let out a long sigh of relief.

Although Ruby Hall was a second-class maid from Ms. Turner’s quarters, in the marquis’s household, aside from the old masters and mistresses, the highest-ranking maids with the younger generation were only second-class, so she was naturally regarded differently. The remaining maids like Evelyn Young came out to greet her. When they learned that Ruby Hall had been personally requested from the old lady by their mistress, they were all a bit stunned, especially Evelyn Young, whose eyes flashed. Only when Lauren Brooks told her to prepare a place for Ruby Hall did she snap out of it and lead her away.

Compared to the luxury of Liaoxiang Courtyard, looking at her own Jinxiu Pavilion now, Lauren Brooks couldn’t help but smile wryly, thinking even the charcoal fire here wasn’t as strong as over there. After taking off the crane cloak and changing into a regular cotton jacket, she held the cloak in her hands and examined it carefully, finding it was indeed brand new.

Fiona Quinn came over carrying the jewelry box and asked in a low voice, “Miss, should I put these two pairs of gold hairpins in their usual place?”

Only then did Lauren Brooks look up. Seeing that only Fiona Quinn was in the room and it was quiet outside, she glanced at Fiona Quinn and, instead of answering, suddenly asked directly, “When I asked the old lady for a maid, you didn’t seem very happy about it?”

Fiona Quinn was startled, quickly shook her head vigorously, and immediately dropped to her knees: “This servant wouldn’t dare!”