Chapter 19 Lian Si likes her very much

Although Qin Xu was extremely anxious, she kept in mind her status as a young lady from a prominent family, so this anxiety did not show on her face at all. After rinsing her mouth, she ate two peaches, no more and no less, and then calmly talked to Old Madam Qin about Liu Min's studies, until Old Madam Qin went to bed, leaving this great-aunt completely unfazed.

The moment the lights were turned off at Old Madam Qin's residence, Qin Xu stepped out from behind the gauze curtain and strode confidently toward the Biwu Hall.

The lights in Biwu Hall had been turned off, and there was no sound.

That's perfect.

Qin Xu knew where Yunping lived, so he went there on his own.

Upon entering, I saw Yunping sitting under the lamp, eating something in her hand.

Qin Xu asked with a smile, "What are you eating?"

Hearing voices, Yunping looked up, stood up, and greeted Miss Biao with a smile.

Qin Xu entered the room, and Yunping quickly offered her a seat, saying, "Please sit down, Miss."

Qin Xu smiled and sat down, looking down at the things on the plate on the table. They were dark and shapeless, and he couldn't tell what they were. He could only smell a faint sweet and sour aroma.

"It's jujube cake. Would Miss Cousin like some?"

Qin Xu shook his head, indicating his refusal, "I just ate, I can't eat anything else." Actually, he disliked the food on his plate because it wasn't very clean and he didn't want to eat it.

"What a pity! This is really good. It's sour at first and then sweet, and it's also very easy to chew. It's from a new girl who came here, named Shanlai. She brought it from her own home. There weren't many of them, and she only shared it with a few of her friends. I'm only able to eat these because someone else shared some with me. Otherwise, I could only watch others eat while I was drooling!"

Qin Xu asked with a smile, "Didn't you give it to me?" His expression suggested disbelief.

"Would I dare to cheat Miss Watch?"

Qin Xu laughed and said, "Even if you say that, I still don't believe it. I don't believe that something like giving it to someone else but not to you."

Yunping didn't say anything, she just smiled.

Suddenly, a commotion broke out outside, quite loud.

Yunping quickly stood up and said to Qin Xu, "Miss, please sit down. I'll go out and take a look."

Qin Xu also stood up. "Since we have nothing else to do, I'll go with you to take a look. The old lady has already gone to bed, why is she making such a racket?"

The two of them immediately followed the sound and walked towards the courtyard of Biwu Hall.

I could see a group of people from afar.

"What's all the noise about! The old lady and Lian Si are both asleep. What could be so important that you're making a scene at this hour!"

As soon as Yunping spoke, the crowd automatically made way for her to come over.

A fourteen-year-old girl named Yan Hong, upon seeing Yun Ping, launched into a tirade: "Sister Yun Ping, you've come at the perfect time! Come and judge this! We're all servants, yet while we're busy as bees, she gets to run around playing! She doesn't water the flowers, feed the birds, or even boil water. Just now, when Lian Si asked for water, she demanded the stove be lit! Lian Si waited too long and got angry, giving her a good scolding! But the stove isn't under my jurisdiction! What kind of nonsense is this!"

"Is what she said true?"

Yunping asked sternly, "The maid standing opposite Yan Hong is none other than Lü Ying."

Lu Ying's face turned bright red, and she bit her lip without saying a word.

"That's it then." Yunping sneered. "I think you've really gone mad! What does the young lady want to do? Tell us, so we can all hear it!"

Greenie remained silent, but Crimson snorted coldly.

“She’s climbed the social ladder! She wouldn’t want to do this kind of work anymore! But you haven’t gone to the study yet! If you had gone, you wouldn’t be involved in things here, and we wouldn’t have anything to say. But since you haven’t gone, you have to do your job properly!”

Yunping asked, "What do you mean by 'climbing the social ladder'?"

Yan Hong exclaimed, "She went to deliver something! She must have been completely unaware of our presence! She's so eager to climb the social ladder that she's forgotten all about her place! Doesn't she even look in the mirror? If she really does manage to get a better position, will she be able to stand on her own two feet?"

"Who did she deliver something to?"

"Hey, new guy, take these two bundles and deliver them to Fuzetang!"

"Alright, alright." Yunping put her hand on Yanhong's shoulder, shook it gently, and said with a smile, "Calm down. I know you've been wronged. I'll have her apologize to you later. Don't be angry, be careful with your throat."

Yan Hong snorted and fell silent.

"Okay, that's fine," Yunping turned around and asked another.

"You've made a mistake, and I'm going to punish you. Do you admit it?"

Lu Ying nodded, closed her eyes, and tears welled up in her eyes.

“Since she got scolded because of the hot water, then you can provide her with hot water for a month!” After saying that, he looked around and then at everyone. “Listen up, everyone. We’re employed to do things. If we don’t do anything or make a mistake, we’re in the wrong, and mistakes must be punished! If you’re not happy, go ahead and complain to the old lady! I’m in the right, and I’m not afraid! Alright, everyone disperse!”

The crowd dispersed immediately, leaving only Lüying still crying in the same spot.

Yunping ignored her and quickly walked up to Qin Xu, who was standing not far away. She smiled and said, "Miss, you've kept me waiting. It was a small matter, but it has been resolved."

Qin Xu nodded and said with a smile, "I saw it all. You really are a good person. No wonder the old lady always praises you."

Yunping smiled and said, "Miss, you flatter me."

Qin Xu smiled, then suddenly changed the subject, asking, "I think I heard Shan Lai's name just now. Is she involved in this? I met her at the old lady's place. She seemed very honest and didn't seem like the type to cause trouble."

Yunping said, "Although she was involved in this matter, she can't be blamed. She was also implicated."

"The fact that you're speaking up for her like this shows that she really is a good person."

"If she's not good enough, why would the old lady give her to Liansi? Miss, you probably don't know yet. Just buying her cost the old lady five hundred taels of silver. When she went home, the old lady gave her a lot of things and even asked Aunt Zhao to accompany her. She also used the mansion's carriage, which shows how much she values ​​her. She's also very capable. Liansi likes her very much and is afraid of tiring her out, so she doesn't ask her to do any work."

Qin Xu was silent for a moment before smiling and saying, "If the old lady and Lian Si both like it, then it must be a good one. It's a pity that we only met briefly before and didn't even get to talk."

Yunping's smile was much more genuine than before. "She's already sold here, so why worry about not seeing her again?"

Qin Xu smiled slightly, "I can't wait any longer. I want to see her now, but I don't know if she's asleep yet."

Yunping laughed and said, "We are servants, and Miss is the mistress. When the mistress calls upon the servants, how can the servants not respond?"

Shanlai had gone to bed early, but she couldn't fall asleep. So when someone called her, she immediately got up, dressed, and asked, "What is it?"

"Miss Biao is calling you, you should go quickly!"

Upon hearing the words "Miss Cousin," Shanlai immediately recalled the pretty face beside Old Madam Qin. She must be the old lady's grandniece. He wondered what business it was of looking for her.

The door opened, and standing outside was a girl I had never seen before.

Upon seeing Shanlai, the girl immediately frowned and asked, "Why did it take so long? Does Miss Shanlai have to wait for you?"

Shan Lai was taken aback.

It's no wonder she was treated this way. She was bought by Old Madam Qin for five hundred taels of silver, and everyone knew she was going to be the young mistress. Everyone treated her kindly and did their best to flatter her. This was the first time she had ever experienced such harsh treatment.

This is her fault. She became too proud and lost her sense of self-importance, taking other people's kindness for granted. When others weren't as kind to her, she became uncomfortable. This is really wrong of her. As the saying goes, "One is born in hardship and dies in comfort." She must always be vigilant.

"I'm sorry, I thought everything was fine, so I went to sleep. It took me a while to get dressed, it wasn't intentional..."

The girl snorted, glanced at Shan Lai sideways, and turned to walk away.

Shan hurriedly chased after him.

They hadn't walked far when Qin Xu was in Yunping's room. Besides the two of them, there were a few other maids chatting and laughing together.

The girl walked ahead, and as soon as she entered the door, she called out, "She's here." As soon as she finished speaking, the laughter stopped, and only the footsteps of Shanlai and the girl could be heard.

The room was dimly lit by only one lamp, and there were many people, many of whom were standing with stern faces and no smiles. They just stared at people, like stone statues in a deserted temple, cold and devoid of human warmth. When Shanlai was stared at by them, he couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine and his scalp tighten, making each step extremely difficult.

Shan Lai recognized Qin Xu's face, so he stopped two or three steps in front of her, bowed, and called her Miss Qin.

Qin Xu smiled warmly, looking very friendly. "Why are you so far away? I can't even see you clearly. Come closer, let's talk."

Shanlai then took another step forward.

Yunping spoke up at this moment, asking the girl who had led the way, "Where have you been? It's such a short distance, why did you make Miss Biao wait so long?"

The girl mumbled, "I...she..." She stopped talking, but everyone could hear the grievance in her voice; it wasn't her fault.

If it wasn't her fault, then it must have been Shan Lai's fault.

Shanlai also thought it was her fault, that she was too slow, and she had complained about it earlier.

Shanlai couldn't bring herself to ask others to take responsibility for her mistakes, so she quickly said, "It was my fault. I went to bed and it took a lot of effort to get up again, so it's not her fault."

The cloud screen remained silent.

Shanlai felt uneasy.

Qin Xu then laughed and said, "How can I blame you? It's my fault. It's so late, and I still had to make you come over."

What mistake has the master made? Shanlai is self-aware enough to know this.

"It's my fault. I went to bed too early. I shouldn't have done that."

"Oh dear, stop talking about right and wrong. Is it something important? I called you over because I wanted to talk to you. I've wanted to talk to you since we were at the old lady's. Is your name Shanlai? How old are you?"

Shanlai hurriedly replied.

How did you end up here?

Shanlai briefly explained.

"So you're a filial daughter! In a few years, someone might even write a biography about you! You can write, how can you not be considered an extraordinary woman? How did you learn to write? And you write so well. Even though Lian Si was taught by Mr. Guan, she's not as good as you."

Shanlai brought up that same old, tired cliché again.

After hearing this, Qin Xu sighed, took Shan Lai's hand, and asked about other things.

She seemed to really like Shanlai, talking non-stop. Even when others couldn't take it anymore and left, she still held Shanlai's hand and kept asking questions.

She was a mistress, and although she couldn't sleep well at night, she could catch up on sleep during the day. But Shanlai was different.

The next morning, Shan went to Yangshengxuan, where Liu Min asked her, "Why is your eyelid so heavy? Didn't I tell you to go to bed early?"