I, the one in the heavens, am here to protect my bottom line in all realms.

The two left together and returned to the yard. They each went to their own room, Fang Mantou, and then reunited to replace Linglong and Liuzhu to go eat.

Linglong and Liuzhu told them that the young lady was still sleeping soundly, and then left, but Zhang Chengyuan and the others were still worried.

They tiptoed in and took a look before leaving with peace of mind.

The two smiled at each other and did not go far. They took a small stool and sat at the door.

Ruyi leaned close to Zhang Chengyuan's ear and whispered, "Xiaoyuan, wait for me. I'll go get the needle and thread. Miss can probably sleep a little longer."

Zhang Chengyuan nodded to indicate that he understood, and sat quietly on a small stool, supporting his chin with his hands.

Ruyi quickly came over with a basket of needles and thread. She took out the handkerchief that she had not finished embroidering and continued embroidering. Zhang Chengyuan turned his head and saw that she was embroidering plum blossoms.

She withdrew her gaze and was stunned for a while. She had embroidered enough when she was brushing up her proficiency in needlework, and she didn't want to touch needlework again in the short term.

But she felt a little bored staying like this, so she gently touched Ruyi's arm holding the embroidery frame with her arm to make her pay attention to her.

Ruyi looked at her doubtfully. She pulled Ruyi's hand, took the thing from her hand, and wrote on her palm:
Ruyi, what do you think I should do in the future? The impact of not being able to speak is too great. I am no longer suitable to stay with the lady.

Although the lady doesn't mind, I can't always ask her to take care of my feelings.

Ruyi waited patiently for her to finish writing every stroke. After understanding what she meant, she was silent for a while.

She has seen how the young lady treats Xiao Yuan, and Xiao Yuan's worries are not unreasonable. Now the young lady still has patience with Xiao Yuan and cares about the master-servant relationship they once had, but this will eventually run out. What will Xiao Yuan do then?
On one side is her loyal master, and on the other side is her good sister with whom she has a close personal relationship. She cannot tell anyone. Now that Xiao Yuan has asked her, should she tell him?
After hesitating for a long time, she spoke: "Xiao Yuan, why don't you go and ask the young lady to change your job? Aren't you good at cooking? You can ask the young lady to manage the kitchen.

There are fewer people you need to interact with there, and it can also make the lady remember you from time to time."

Zhang Chengyuan had naturally thought about this, but she had not made a decision because of the plot. Now that someone was handing her a ladder, she naturally would not refuse.

Her eyes lit up, and she nodded vigorously and gestured a little excitedly, asking Ruyi to help her speak later.

Ruyi nodded and agreed.

After getting the promise he wanted, Zhang Chengyuan stopped talking, looking as if he had finally resolved his worries and was looking forward to the future.

Seeing this, she shook her head and smiled, then lowered her head and continued embroidering the handkerchief.

Linglong and the others hurried back after dinner. As soon as they arrived in the yard, they were seen by Zhang Chengyuan, and they heard their master calling them from the house.

Zhang Chengyuan patted Ruyi's hand and quickly stood up, pushed the door open and went in to serve. Ruyi also quickly put down her sewing basket and went in.

Linglong returned Ruyi's sewing basket and put down the steamed buns. Then she and Liuzhu went to the master's room to serve.

After helping Zhang Yuzhi wash and dress, a group of people came to the yard to bask in the sun.

Ruyi touched Zhang Chengyuan's hand and gave her a wink. Zhang Chengyuan understood what she meant and nodded slightly.

She suddenly knelt at Zhang Yuzhi's feet. Zhang Yuzhi frowned unhappily but didn't say anything. She wanted to see what was going on.

When Zhang Chengyuan raised his hand to gesture, he suddenly remembered Zhang Yuzhi's look of disgust when he gestured in the morning. She put her hand down hesitantly, her expression at a loss for a moment.

As her eyes wandered, she saw Ruyi's anxious expression, and as if she had a backbone in an instant, her eyes quickly focused on Ruyi, full of pleading.

Zhang Yuzhi followed her gaze and felt even more displeased, with her expression becoming serious.

If you see this, you should kneel down beside Zhang Chengyuan and confess to Zhang Yuzhi: "I hope Miss will forgive me. At noon, Xiao Yuan told me worriedly that it is difficult for her to live a good life now. She feels very uncomfortable if she stays with you and needs you to take care of her. I suggested that she change her job. Xiao Yuan thought it was feasible and asked me to help you to agree."

After listening to Ruyi's explanation and Zhang Chengyuan's performance just now, Zhang Yuzhi also remembered what happened in the morning.

Before, she thought that being dumb or not would not have any impact on her, but in fact, there were too many troubles.

Changing tasks is also a good idea: "Any ideas?"

Zhang Chengyuan tugged at Ruyi's sleeve, but Ruyi didn't look at her. She answered her master respectfully, "Xiaoyuan said she's a good cook. I wonder if Miss could let her go to the small kitchen?"

Zhang Yuzhi pondered and murmured, "Small kitchen? Well, if you want to go there, then go."

Zhang Chengyuan quickly kowtowed to express his gratitude, and Ruyi was also happy for Zhang Chengyuan.

Zhang Yuzhi waved her hand to let the two get up. She now had complicated emotions towards Zhang Chengyuan.

She was touched by Xiao Yuan's loyalty to her in her previous life, but also annoyed by the inconveniences and troubles caused by her becoming mute. As a master, she had to be considerate of her, a servant, and could not do whatever she wanted.

Now that she can stay away from her sight, she doesn't have to be reminded of her existence all the time. She thinks this is good.

Zhang Chengyuan, who had noticed her psychological activities, secretly decided to appear less often in front of her in the future.

"Xiao Yuan, how about I demote you to a second-class maid?"

After thinking for a while, Zhang Yuzhi decided to make her a second-class maid like in her previous life, and let her be in charge of the small kitchen. If she still took up the position of the head maid, there would not be enough people to serve her.

It's not that she must have four people serving her, but it's a matter of face. When ladies of noble families travel, the personal maids around them can represent their face. If she only has three personal maids following her, wouldn't her momentum be weakened?

Zhang Chengyuan nodded respectfully to show that he had no dissatisfaction, not to mention that this was what he had planned.

Zhang Yuzhi spoke again: "The monthly allowance remains unchanged, and the room remains unchanged."

Zhang Chengyuan knelt down again to express his gratitude.

"Go ahead, I want to eat some other pastries."

Zhang Chengyuan bowed again and withdrew, going to the small kitchen to think about what other pastries he could make.

After getting rid of Zhang Chengyuan, Zhang Yuzhi felt much better.

Zhang Chengyuan came to the small kitchen where the old woman was taking a nap. She went straight into the small kitchen, looked around, and found a garlic pounding pit. She immediately had an idea.

She rummaged around for the rice, cleaned the garlic press and dried it, then washed the rice, put it in a winnowing basket and put it outside to dry in the sun.

She started looking for other ingredients she needed. Fortunately, although the ingredients in the small kitchen were not very rich, she had all the ingredients for making rice cakes.

She prepared the ingredients and went out to see if the rice was dried. After touching it to make sure it was dry, she brought it back and ground it into powder with a garlic crusher. She sifted it carefully several times with a fine sieve and started making rice cakes when there were no large particles left.

She was not in a hurry because she had previously determined that Zhang Yuzhi was just looking for an excuse to get rid of her, so she did not need to be in a hurry.

(End of this chapter)