"You haven't even entered the Marquis's mansion yet, how can you already call yourself his lady?" Zhao Zhangru couldn't help but roll her eyes when she heard Miao Ansu's words.
"The Marquis just acknowledged the two of us a moment ago, isn't it just the formal concubine contract that's missing?" Miao Ansu's cheeks flushed red, but she refused to admit defeat. At this moment, she already regarded herself as a concubine of the Marquis's household!
Even the servants in the Marquis's mansion addressed her as Lady Miao when they saw her just now. Although Miao Ansu repeatedly waved them off, she felt very pleased inside.
"Then how about this!" Zhao Zhangru saw Miao Ansu's proud expression, her eyes shifting as she said, "From now on, you take care of serving the Marquis at meals, and I'll be responsible for protecting his safety…"
She wasn't yielding out of humility—Zhao Zhangru thought that standing beside the Marquis serving him food and wine was far more tiring than practicing martial arts for an hour!
"Who says you get to decide who serves him?" Miao Ansu gave a speechless pout. "Even Sister Zhao's opinion doesn't count! Only if the Marquis wants someone to serve him can that person serve…"
"Oh, so now it's Sister Zhao again?" But Zhao Zhangru caught a detail from Miao Ansu's words. She sat upright with a puzzled look and asked, "Didn't you always just call Cousin Dou Zhao or Shou Gu directly before?"
"That was before!" Miao Ansu blushed again and said, "Now that we're all sisters of the Marquis's mansion, naturally there must be rules! If other concubines come in later, they have to call Sister Zhao 'Madam' or 'Lady.' But since Sister Zhao and I grew up together and are as close as real sisters, calling her 'Sister' sounds more intimate!"
There was a little cunning in Miao Ansu's reasoning. Since she called the Marquis's principal wife Sister Zhao, her status would be higher than the other concubines in the future. At least her emotional closeness with the Madam wouldn't be matched by others!
"Oh! Right! There must be rules!" Zhao Zhangru nodded, feeling that Miao Ansu's reasoning made some sense.
But the next moment she realized something was wrong!
"No way!" Zhao Zhangru suddenly slapped her forehead. "I'm Shou Gu's cousin sister! Am I supposed to call her 'Sister' too? Wouldn't that be reversing the proper order?"
"Reversing the proper order?" Miao Ansu laughed outright. "The principal wife is the highest. When you see Sister Zhao, you have to call her 'Sister.' Of course, if it's hard to say, calling her 'Madam' is fine!"
"In that case, I'll just call her Madam!" Zhao Zhangru awkwardly scratched the back of her head.
Sigh! She had thought of everything before except the relationship among sisters!
Looks like she had lost out — the one who was once her cousin Dou Zhao was now her elder sister…
"What sister or not sister?" Just then, Dou Zhao came out of the main hall and overheard their conversation. She laughed and said, "Do we really need to be so formal with our feelings?"
"No, no! We can't break the mansion's rules right from the start, or you wouldn't be able to command respect!" Zhao Zhangru said, moved by Dou Zhao's words but shaking her head like a rattle. "In front of outsiders, I'll call you Madam; when it's just us, I'll call you cousin. Is that okay?"
"Good!" Dou Zhao was touched by Zhao Zhangru's consideration and nodded firmly while holding her hand.
"Sister Zhao! Has the Marquis rested yet?" Miao Ansu craned her neck to look behind Dou Zhao but didn't see Wei Tingyu, so she asked disappointedly.
"Yes! The Marquis said he didn't need rest, but after being out all night, he must be exhausted. I forced him to go to bed!" Dou Zhao smiled helplessly.
"You're so anxious, you act like this if you don't see the Marquis for a while!" Zhao Zhangru looked at Miao Ansu and said, "Why don't you go check if the Marquis is sound asleep? Stay there to serve him in case he wakes and wants water?"
"What status do I have now? How dare I follow into the inner room!" Miao Ansu blushed and shook her head gently.
Since she hadn't formally entered the mansion yet, it was one thing to serve the Marquis at meals, but staying in the bedroom was a whole different matter! A woman too easygoing would cause rumors about her character!
"Don't worry, I know what's in both of your hearts!" Dou Zhao took their hands and said, "Wait a little! This afternoon I will personally take the betrothal gifts and money to your families and officially bring you two into the Marquis's household as concubines!"
"Okay!" Miao Ansu and Zhao Zhangru smiled and nodded.
If all went well, by this evening, the three of them would truly be sisters!
…
As Dou Zhao expected, when she went to Miao and Zhao families separately that afternoon to request for her two close friends to become concubines for Wei Tingyu, they met little resistance.
Especially the Miao family!
Originally, Miao Ansu was a rather free-spirited girl in her family, otherwise she wouldn't have been allowed to stay with Dou Zhao for years at their grandmother's estate.
When they heard the Marquis's mansion was requesting Miao Ansu as a concubine, they were immediately delighted and agreed!
Dou Zhao and Miao Ansu were childhood best friends, and now with Dou Zhao as the Marquis's wife personally vouching for her, the Miao family felt relieved.
Although they had never paid much attention to Miao Ansu before, they welcomed this chance to connect to the Marquis's household, which was a great opportunity for the low-status merchant family!
The Zhao family was a bit more difficult.
Zhao Zhangru's father, who was also Dou Zhao's maternal uncle, cared greatly about his daughter. When he heard she was to enter the Marquis's mansion as a concubine, he instinctively objected.
But Dou Zhao personally assured him that Zhao Zhangru would be a noble concubine, different from an ordinary one, and she would take good care of her cousin.
Also, Zhao Zhangru stubbornly threatened to cut ties if her father disagreed. In the end, her uncle had no choice but to consent.
Still, out of love for his daughter, he repeatedly urged Dou Zhao to take good care of her and made sure the two cousins would help each other in the mansion without conflict.
Dou Zhao and Zhao Zhangru naturally nodded and promised…