Twin Maidservants

As they talked, the two arrived at the Brokerage Office.

After entering, Ma San expertly led Lu Shaolin to the area where maidservants were sold.

Ma San stepped forward and spoke with a clerk for a few moments, then returned with a thin booklet.

"Hall Master, this is the roster of maidservants available for purchase."

Ma San handed over the booklet.

Lu Shaolin took it. It contained only three pages.

He opened it and looked through it. It detailed their names, ages, heights, weights, and skills—quite comprehensive.

Lu Shaolin swept his gaze over it, skipping everyone under 150 centimeters. He was only looking for maidservants, but they still had to be pleasing to the eye!

At last, he spotted two names at the end.

Nian Chun: 165 centimeters tall, 106 jin, fifteen years old, skilled in calligraphy and painting.

Nian Qiu: 168 centimeters tall, 108 jin, fifteen years old, skilled in calligraphy and playing the zither.

These two were good—they were even twins!

And both knew calligraphy, so they could teach Ling'er to read and write.

There was no helping it; the Great Xia Dynasty did not have private schools for girls either.

"I'll take these two!"

Lu Shaolin pointed at the final two names.

"Hall Master, aren't these two girls a little too frail?"

Ma San took the booklet and glanced at it.

"They'll do. They can teach Ling'er to read."

Lu Shaolin waved a hand.

Ma San took the booklet back and began speaking with the clerk.

After hearing Ma San out, the clerk cast Lu Shaolin a look normally reserved for a gullible fool, then nodded at Ma San.

Lu Shaolin could not be bothered to argue with him. My taste is nothing like yours.

"Hall Master, these two girls are descendants of disgraced officials. No one has bought them in the past year. Their shoulders can't bear a load, their hands can't lift a thing, and no matter what they eat, they can't put on weight. How about we choose someone else?"

Ma San tried to persuade him.

"Stop yammering. Are you the Hall Master, or am I?"

Lu Shaolin said impatiently.

"Yes. Then let's go see them now. If they are willing, we can sign the contract."

Ma San hurriedly said.

With that, he headed toward the clerk, while Lu Shaolin followed behind him.

The clerk led them to a row of wooden huts in the rear courtyard and called out, "Zheng Nianchun! Zheng Nianqiu!"

As soon as he finished calling, two tall young girls hurried out of one of the wooden huts. They had delicate oval faces, elegant brows, phoenix eyes, cherry-red lips, and wore coarse gray dresses.

The two girls curtsied to the clerk. "Sir."

"A household has taken a liking to you two. See whether you find them suitable. You must understand that opportunities are rare. If you miss this one, who knows when the next will come?"

the clerk said coldly.

"Yes, sir."

One of the girls nodded, her voice cool and clear.

Having spoken, the girl looked toward Lu Shaolin and Ma San. From where they stood, she immediately knew Lu Shaolin was the master of the household.

The girl carefully studied Lu Shaolin. He had sword-like brows, starry eyes, a rugged face, and clear eyes, without the air of someone who thought himself above others.

Lu Shaolin touched his nose and smiled faintly. Being scrutinized so closely by a girl in the bloom of youth made him feel rather awkward.

"Sir, we are willing!"

Seeing Lu Shaolin's smile, the girl turned and spoke to the clerk.

"Since that is so, sign the contract!"

The clerk beamed as he pulled a contract from his robes and spread it out on the wooden table beside them.

The contract's terms were clear, and it was made in triplicate.

One copy for the servants, one for the household, and one retained by the Brokerage Office.

Once the contract had been signed, the clerk looked at Lu Shaolin. "Sixty taels of silver in total."

Lu Shaolin took out three twenty-tael ingots and handed them over.

The clerk accepted them and gave Lu Shaolin the household's copy of the contract.

Lu Shaolin casually tucked it into his robes.

"Very well, the contract is complete. You two may pack up and leave the Brokerage Office with your master!"

The clerk spoke to the two girls, then headed toward the front courtyard.

"Greetings, Master!"

The two girls curtsied to Lu Shaolin and called out softly.

"Mm. Call me Young Master instead. I'm not used to being called Master."

Lu Shaolin said with a smile.

"Yes, Young Master!"

The two girls looked at each other and answered in unison.

"Go pack your things. I'll wait for you here."

Lu Shaolin waved a hand.

"Yes, Young Master!"

The two girls nodded and turned toward the wooden hut.

After waiting a while, the two emerged carrying small bundles.

"Let's go!"

With a broad wave of his hand, Lu Shaolin took the lead out of the Brokerage Office.

Ma San walked at his side, while the two girls followed behind Lu Shaolin.

"Which one of you is the elder sister?"

Lu Shaolin slowed down and turned to look at them.

"I am the elder sister, Nian Chun. Young Master, if you look closely, you'll see that my younger sister has a small tear mole beside the corner of her eye."

The cool-voiced girl replied.

Lu Shaolin looked at the younger sister, Nian Qiu. Sure enough, there was a tiny tear mole beside the corner of her left eye.

Under Lu Shaolin's close gaze, Nian Qiu's delicate cheeks instantly flushed crimson.

Her eyes darted away, and her small hands vigorously kneaded her bundle.

Lu Shaolin smiled slightly and withdrew his gaze. She was quite timid and bashful.

Upon returning to the Pavilion, Lu Shaolin introduced the two girls to Dong Jia and Dong Linger, telling them simply to follow Dong Jia's instructions.

Dong Linger was overjoyed, shouting that she now had two older sisters to play with—two older sisters who looked exactly alike.

Three women made a play; now there were four women in the Pavilion, making it livelier than any stage.

By lunchtime, the girls were already calling each other sister this and sister that, becoming thoroughly familiar.

With the twins helping out, Dong Jia immediately had much less to do.

Nian Chun and Nian Qiu were also assigned rooms on the second floor, in the bedroom beside Dong Jia's.

After lunch, Lu Shaolin sat in the sitting room drinking tea while the three women cleared the table.

As for Dong Linger, she had already run into the courtyard to play.

While he was drinking tea, Nian Qiu entered and shyly walked behind Lu Shaolin.

"What is it?"

Lu Shaolin asked in confusion.

"Sister Dong and my sister are in the kitchen, so I came to attend to you, Young Master."

Nian Qiu's voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz.

"No need. I don't have anything for you to do."

Lu Shaolin said with a smile.

"Young Master, let me massage your shoulders. We specifically learned it at the Brokerage Office."

Nian Qiu said in a soft, delicate voice.

"Sure."

Lu Shaolin nodded.

Soon afterward, a soft touch came from his shoulders.

A pair of fair, tender hands began kneading Lu Shaolin's shoulders.

In truth, Nian Qiu's massage had no real effect. Lu Shaolin had four layers of skin membrane protecting him; with her strength, how could she possibly knead him?

"Young Master, your body is so hard."

Nian Qiu's pretty face turned red again.

"You don't need to use force. Just press lightly."

Lu Shaolin said indifferently.

As she continued massaging him, Lu Shaolin began to feel sleepy. He had Nian Qiu stop, then carried the Black Iron Spear to his third-floor bedroom, leaned it against the bedside, and fell onto the bed to sleep.

He slept until dinnertime.

After dinner, with nothing to do, Lu Shaolin went to take a look at the Study on the second floor. To his surprise, it contained quite a few books.

There were geographical records, accounts of local customs, and more.