☆ Maid
In her past life, Xiao Banli’s three husbands, as well as their business partners, all had connections to the Ouyang family. Xiao Banli had also worked for the Ouyang Group before. In Y City, when the Ouyang family is mentioned, everyone knows who they are. They are an immortal family, as powerful as a king, with a hand outstretched over Y City, holding it in their palm.
The Rolls-Royce slowly drove into the palace-like villa. What greeted the eyes was an endless expanse of lush grass and flowers. It is said that this location is the most valuable place in all of Y City, with only the Ouyang family owning it, and a beautiful villa standing alone in the area.
“Once you’re in the Ouyang family, no matter which master you serve, remember to speak less, work more, keep your head low, and be obedient. Do you understand?” Zhu Yuanbin turned his head to look at the two people sitting in the large back seat of the car.
“Understood.”
Xiao Banli and Yuan Muxiao replied in unison.
Compared to Yuan Muxiao’s excitement, Xiao Banli appeared very calm. Beneath her calm exterior, her palm had been tightly gripping the hem of her skirt for some time.
When she learned that Zhu Yuanbin had arranged for the other people to be placed in the smaller car, while she and Yuan Muxiao were assigned to the Rolls-Royce, she started to wonder if her face was going to be ruined, but it was this very face that got her into the Ouyang family.
“Hey, why are you still standing there? Let’s go.” Yuan Muxiao nudged the dazed Xiao Banli. Xiao Banli snapped back to reality and followed the group, led by Zhu Yuanbin.
“Did you just stare in awe? This place is amazing,” Yuan Muxiao said, beaming with joy as she admired the villa’s fountain, the garden full of various flowers and plants, and nearby swings and rocking chairs. This villa was designed like an old Western mansion, and it was the only one of its kind in Y City.
Xiao Banli lowered her eyebrows, her hair covering half of her forehead, ignoring Yuan Muxiao’s question.
“Alright, you five will stay here.”
Five.
Xiao Banli quickly looked up and immediately realized that she wasn’t one of the five. Her eyes, still moist, turned to Zhu Yuanbin, “Mr. Zhu, what about me?”
Zhu Yuanbin, who had been smiling, froze for a moment, then burst into laughter, “You? Of course, you’ll stay with me.” He glanced at Yuan Muxiao, his eyes full of amusement, “And little Xiao will stay with us too.”
“Really?” Yuan Muxiao exclaimed, jumping up in excitement.
Zhu Yuanbin laughed heartily and nodded, “Yes, I have two rooms across from mine. You two can each take one.”
Being able to stay by Zhu Yuanbin’s side meant something, and clearly, Yuan Muxiao understood it better than she did. Xiao Banli couldn’t help but think of the face that had appeared so prominently in her past life, the wife of Ouyang Honghui, 28 years old. So, in this life, she had avoided being adopted by that cruel couple, yet she only wanted to live her days quietly and steadily.
“Mr. Zhu, it’s fine for me to stay with them.” Xiao Banli walked over and stood among the five children. The youngest of them was only 7 and a half years old, while the oldest was just 10. She and Yuan Muxiao were the older ones.
The atmosphere on site grew tense as Zhu Yuanbin slowly lowered the corners of his mouth. The children from the orphanage were particularly good at reading the room, and now the five children standing with Xiao Banli all lowered their heads. The 10-year-old boy even pushed Xiao Banli, shoving her out of the way. Xiao Banli now faced Zhu Yuanbin directly. No matter how sweaty her palms were, she could only widen her innocent eyes and look at him.
“What are you afraid of?” Zhu Yuanbin raised his voice slightly, his tone deepening a bit.
Xiao Banli’s shoulder trembled, and from the corner of her eye, she could see Yuan Muxiao’s gloating expression.
“Mr. Zhu, I’m not scared. I’m just timid and insecure. Coming to this big house, I feel so afraid. I’ve never left that high-walled place, nor have I ever stayed in a room by myself. I’m still used to being with others. Mr. Zhu, I can’t change it right now, so please give me some time.”
Zhu Yuanbin narrowed his eyes, looking at the pitiful girl standing before him, barely reaching his chest. He was confused—she had the courage to kneel and ask him to let her into the Ouyang family, yet she didn’t have the courage to live alone in a room. Compared to her indecisiveness, Yuan Muxiao was much more straightforward.
“Fine. If you want to stay here, stay here,” Zhu Yuanbin flicked his sleeve, turned his back, and walked away. He had extended a privilege, but if she didn’t appreciate it, he wouldn’t force it. Beautiful women weren’t scarce, and someone like her, ungrateful, was a first for him.
The person had already walked far away.
Xiao Banli finally let out a sigh of relief and turned to look at the three rooms grouped together. Now there were six of them, which meant two people per room.
The next day, Xiao Banli and the five others, including Yuan Muxiao who had her own room, were sent aboard a flight to Europe. All the servants working at the Ouyang family had to receive Western education and undergo rigorous training before returning to work for the family. Just before they boarded the plane, each of them signed a lifelong work contract. Xiao Banli stared at the contract for a full ten seconds before signing her name at the bottom.
From this moment on, she, Xiao Banli, was still Xiao Banli—one of the Ouyang family, not the beautiful daughter of Mo Qilan and his wife, not Lin Yujia, Yang Cheng, or Gu Qing’s wife.
—
Six months later
The Ouyang family held a grand coming-of-age ceremony, with distinguished guests from Y City—powerful and influential tycoons. Beautiful cars drove through the long driveway, and the underground parking spaces slowly filled up one by one.
Zhu Yuanbin hurriedly walked down the corridor, with seven petite girls following behind him. Two of them were slightly taller than the others. One of them, with emerging beauty, was hard to ignore and made people take a second glance. The other, a bit taller still, had half her face covered in acne, making it appear pockmarked and unpleasant, causing people to turn their eyes away. The other half of her face was hidden behind long hair, and whenever the wind blew, the delicate skin underneath caught people’s eyes. Unfortunately, all anyone saw was the acne-ridden left side of her face.
“Faster, faster. Go to the hall, Liu Qin, these people are for you to use.” Zhu Yuanbin pushed Xiao Banli and the others toward the hall.
“Great, you’re a timely help, Yuanbin. Thank you,” Liu Qin said, looking at the few children before her, her eyes gleaming as she scanned them up and down. When her gaze landed on the acne-covered girl, the corners of her mouth stiffened. “Yuanbin, no, this child can’t stay in the hall. She… she looks like this…” ‘It’s too disgusting.’
Zhu Yuanbin’s eyes also flicked over Xiao Banli’s face, and he said with disdain, “She’s indeed not fit to be in the hall. Look, find somewhere in the kitchen for her, even if it’s just cleaning the toilet.”
Liu Qin agreed, “Alright, the kitchen is missing someone to wash dishes.”
“You go to the kitchen.”
Xiao Banli followed the direction of her finger, dodging the bustling crowd, and walked toward the tightly closed kitchen door under the curious and disdainful gazes of the six children.
As soon as she opened the door, a strong smell of cooking oil and smoke hit her face.
“That…”
“Go over there and wash those dishes.” A large, plump hand pointed to a nearby dish rack, not even glancing at Xiao Banli as it instructed her.
The dish rack was huge, piled high with dishes, all jumbled up. The faucet was running, and vegetable leaves floated on the surface of the water. There were also chunks of meat in the sink, a complete mess. Xiao Banli rolled up her sleeves and began picking up the greasy dishes one by one.
“This year’s coming-of-age ceremony isn’t as grand as last year’s. We even cooked eight fewer pigs.”
“Ridiculous. Don’t you see whose coming-of-age ceremony it was last year and whose it is this year? The whole Ouyang family, the third master, is perfectly fine but goes to become some painter. Being a painter sounds noble, but in the Ouyang family, it’s just beneath them. The master has no status, which drags down his children and wife, who live in the shadow of his actions.”
“Exactly. Last year, the eldest master brought gifts from Europe for the young master and young miss, but he specifically left the third master out. Isn’t that obvious neglect and disfavor? That’s why the servants working under the third master never have a good life. Now, there are no more than three servants in the third master’s household, and no one wants to work there. They even cut their wages in half.”
Amidst the sounds of the frying pan sizzling and the exhaust fan buzzing softly, Xiao Banli quietly washed the dishes in the sink. The Ouyang family has six masters, and the conversation in the kitchen was about the third master of the Ouyang family, Ouyang Hongcan. It was said that he was a carefree and reckless man, traveling the world with his easel.
Later, he became a world-famous painter. Life is never perfect, though. He loved his easel but didn’t love his wife, so he abandoned her and their children in this palace, traveling alone. This also led to his wife and children living a dark life in this grand palace.
“Hey, are you done? If you’re done, take this soup to the young master.” The chef, who had spoken the loudest earlier, placed a steaming bowl of soup in front of Xiao Banli.
Xiao Banli quickly placed the dish she was holding back into the dish rack, carefully picked up the bowl of soup, and looked up at the chef. The overweight chef rolled his eyes, and when he saw Xiao Banli’s face, he immediately gasped, stepped back in fright, and patted his chest in panic. “Damn, what an ugly monster, you scared the life out of me.”
Xiao Banli remained silent, just looking at him.
“Go out through that door, walk straight ahead and turn right. The first door on the right is the one you need. And, don’t look up at the young master. Put down the bowl and hurry back out. There’s plenty more for you to do here.”
Xiao Banli nodded and walked toward the small door he had pointed to.