Chapter 183: Chapter 184: Twin Sister Flowers

Ancient Wen Heng paid no mind to her small gestures. Instead, he shot Gu Lejia a meaningful look and said, "I hope you keep your word."

Without sparing them another glance, he took Jin Qianqian’s hand. "You’ve been waiting a while, haven’t you? From now on, don’t wait up for me. Just eat once the meal is ready."

Jin Qianqian replied, "I wasn’t waiting long. I just couldn’t stand his sarcastic remarks, so I argued with him a little."

"Next time, if there’s someone you don’t want to deal with, just wait for me to get back and I’ll handle them." Ancient Wen Heng then instructed Liu Xiaohua and the others standing to the side, "Serve the meal."

Looking at the three dishes and one soup on the table, Ancient Wen Heng first ladled a bowl of soup for Jin Qianqian.

"They’re served the same food as us," Jin Qianqian said, gesturing to the spread of meat and vegetable dishes. "Our household is small, so to avoid unnecessary waste, I have Mrs. Huang prepare a set amount each day.

We’ve all been through hard times together, so I don’t understand how Gu Lejia can still find things to complain about."

Ancient Wen Heng scoffed. "He’s forgotten the pain now that the wound has healed. After just a few good days, he’s already letting it go to his head."

Jin Qianqian turned her head to look at the two young girls standing there reservedly. "You went to the estate?"

"I went to check on things. The tutor there said they have a talent for mathematics, so I brought them back for you to train personally. From now on, they will be serving by your side." Ancient Wen Heng glanced at the two maids.

The two were quick-witted. They took a step forward, knelt before Jin Qianqian, and respectfully addressed her as "Madam."

"Get up. We don’t have so many formalities in this household." Jin Qianqian looked at the identical-looking maids, her curiosity piqued. "Are you twins?"

Although their faces were the same, Jin Qianqian could still distinguish between them by subtle differences in their features and their slightly different heights.

"Yes."

"What are your names?"

"We ask that Madam grant us new names."

Jin Qianqian didn’t think she was very good at choosing names. "What were you called before? You can just keep your original names."

The taller girl replied, "Madam, we’re afraid our names are too crude for you to hear. We still ask that you grant us new ones."

Ancient Wen Heng said, "Just give them new names."

Since he said so, Jin Qianqian didn’t press the matter. "Then you shall be called Qingzhu and Qing Lan."

"Thank you for the names, Madam." The sisters exchanged a happy glance and knelt again.

Jin Qianqian frowned at them and said to Little Hua, who was standing to the side, "Take them away and explain the rules of our household to them."

Liu Xiaohua snapped out of her daze and quickly curtsied. "Come with me."

Once everyone had left, Jin Qianqian looked at Ancient Wen Heng thoughtfully. "There’s a story behind those two, isn’t there?"

But Ancient Wen Heng wasn’t in the mood to discuss it just then. "The soup is getting cold. Let’s drink it first. I’ll tell you the details after we finish dinner."

Although the sisters were twins, they were abandoned on the roadside as infants simply because they were girls.

It’s hard to say whether they were lucky or unlucky, but they were found by a passing brothel madam. Seeing that they were identical twins, she had them taken in.

As newborns, they were oblivious, and their youthful innocence earned them extra care from the "flower sisters" of the establishment.

However, these women lived at the very bottom of society and only had professional names themselves, so the names they gave the two children were, naturally, rather crude.

But as the children grew up, the flower sisters also aged, and business at the brothel declined. The two sisters began doing chores around the establishment.

With their own sources of income drying up, the flower sisters’ attitudes changed dramatically. If the twins failed to serve them properly, they would get a harsh scolding at the very least. At worst, they would be beaten and kicked, serving as an outlet for the women’s frustrations.

Eventually, the brothel fell on hard times. The madam, wanting only to cash out and retire, sold off everything that could be sold and dismissed everyone she could.

Girls their age, not yet fully grown, were less marketable than even the flower sisters who were past their prime.

The madam was in a hurry to be rid of them all, so she sold them and the other children raised in the brothel for a pittance to a human trafficker.

But with such a disgraceful history, and not being particularly striking in appearance, the sisters never found a buyer.

Of course, the human trafficker wasn’t running a charity and wouldn’t feed them for free. In addition to learning rules and etiquette, they were burdened with countless chores.

When Ancient Wen Heng bought them, the two sisters were nothing but skin and bones. He had them stay at the estate for a while to recover. Once their appearance was no longer so shocking, and considering their talent for mathematics, he finally decided to send them to Jin Qianqian.

After Jin Qianqian finished hearing the sisters’ story, she sighed inwardly. ’There are so many tragedies like this in the world,’ she thought, ’and for now, there’s nothing we can do to change that.’

"Don’t be fooled by their plain appearance; they have sharp minds," Ancient Wen Heng said, explaining his reasoning. "Your ventures will slowly expand in the future. We’ll need people like them, who aren’t afraid to show their faces in public. With a bit more training in how to handle things, they could one day manage a part of the business on their own."

Jin Qianqian knew that one person couldn’t do everything. With capable assistants, her own life would become much easier. "Let’s give them a trial period. If they are truly teachable, it will mean a good future for them as well."

"Oh, right. A letter came from Dao City today. Do you want to read it?" Jin Qianqian suddenly remembered the family letter tucked in with the ledgers and felt a flicker of curiosity about its contents.

Ancient Wen Heng asked, "Is everything alright with the family?"

Jin Qianqian pursed her lips. "Nothing major at the shop. Xiao Dongzi used the recent profits to purchase another storefront.

However, the letter from Father and Mother was addressed to you personally, so I didn’t open it."

Ancient Wen Heng reached out and gently tweaked her nose. "It would have been fine even if you did. What secrets could I possibly have from you?"

Jin Qianqian replied, "We should still respect matters of principle. They explicitly addressed it to you by name, so it wouldn’t have been proper for me to read it."

"Oh, you," Ancient Wen Heng said, not knowing what else to say. ’If the roles were reversed, I probably wouldn’t have opened it either,’ he thought. "Come on, let’s go read it together."

Jin Qianqian didn’t act coy. She led him into the room and handed him the family letter she had tucked behind the ledgers.

Ancient Wen Heng opened the letter and scanned it quickly in front of her before finally placing it in her hands.

After Jin Qianqian finished reading, she almost let out a cold laugh.

"That Gu Dashishi’s brain is certainly wired differently. Now that he’s suffering the consequences of his actions, he comes looking for you, the big sucker."

It turned out the letter had been written by Gu Shulin on behalf of Gu Yuanjin.

Gu Dashishi had probably gotten tired of his comfortable life and remembered his son over in the Prefecture City.

Behind Li Cuicui’s back, he secretly packed his bags and set off for Dao City in the middle of the night. By the time his family discovered he was missing, it was already late.