Chapter 4 Her Appearance If Yu Qingxue was a pure and elegant white lotus, ...

*

Half an hour later, Xia Chan packed a few things and moved to Jingxin Courtyard. As soon as she entered the courtyard, she saw Qin Mama waiting for her, and then she was taken to see Yu Qingxue.

Yu Qingxue's room was furnished with only the necessities for daily life, with no unnecessary clutter. Although there were few items and they didn't look particularly eye-catching, everything in them was of the highest quality.

She sat cross-legged, devoutly turning the prayer beads in her hand.

The prayer beads were made of amber, and they must have been polished for many years, as they were smooth and shiny.

The cicada stood with its head bowed, left to languish for quite some time.

After Qin's mother gently reminded her, she slowly opened her eyes and said, "You are a useful person to your mother. She asked you to come and help me because she trusts you. However, your mother is getting old and should not worry or overwork herself. If you need anything in the future, just tell me first. There is no need to disturb her."

The cicada should be respectful.

She added, “The young lady is mentally challenged, so her temperament is inevitably a bit strange. If anything happens to her, you must not keep it from her; you must tell me everything.”

"yes."

"Go down."

Upon hearing this, Xia Chan excused herself and left.

As soon as she left, Yu Qingxue stopped what she was doing, casually placed the prayer beads on the table, took the tea poured by Qin Mama, took a small sip, and immediately frowned, looking at the tea in her hand, "Why is it still last year's tea?"

Around the time of Jingzhe (the Awakening of Insects), some early tea plants are just sprouting new shoots, with tender buds and leaves, and are at their most fragrant.

Among Shen Linlang's dowry was a tea plantation. Every year, when the first batch of new tea was delivered to the mansion, Xie would send it over there immediately.

This year, however, it seems to have arrived a few days later.

"They said we'd have to wait two more days," Qin's mother replied softly.

Yu Qingxue slammed her teacup down, a gloomy look settling over her face. "What do you mean by waiting two days? It's just an excuse. My mother is becoming increasingly indifferent to me. It's true, from childhood to adulthood, she has always seemed to love me very much, but when something happens, I always put myself after my older brother."

"Madam, please don't overthink it. The old lady cares about you; otherwise, she wouldn't have sent Xia Chan over." Qin's mother's voice grew softer and softer, almost inaudible.

"Does she care about me?" She scoffed, her expression darkening. "If she truly cared about me, she wouldn't have forced me to marry into the Su family. Sending Xia Chan here clearly shows she doesn't trust me. In her heart, my brother is far more important than me; where is there any regard for us, mother and daughter?"

Qin's mother dared not respond to this.

The air inside was filled with the sweet scent of sandalwood, and a moment of silence enveloped the room.

She frowned. "Quickly put out this stinking stuff!"

Qin's mother quickly went over to remove the sandalwood incense from the incense burner and lit a sweet-smelling acacia incense. After a while, the acacia incense dissipated the original sandalwood incense.

Yu Qingxue's expression softened a bit. She picked up the prayer beads she had set aside again and, as she turned them, muttered to herself, "Don't blame me for being heartless; this is what they owe me!"

*

Jingxin Courtyard is not large, but it is not small either.

After leaving the main house, turn left and walk a short distance to reach Shen Qinglu's house.

Four charcoal braziers were lit again in the house, bringing back the warmth of early summer.

The beautiful but expressionless girl sat quietly on the edge of the bed, looking as wooden as ever. But when she saw that it was Xia Chan who came in, her empty eyes gradually changed, from dark to bright, like stars suddenly appearing in the night sky.

Xia Chan was instantly captivated and quickly put her things aside to serve her, saying, "Miss, it's late. Let me help you rest."

After saying that, he took off her cloak and was about to comb her hair when he looked left and right but did not see a dressing table. Although he was puzzled, he did not show it on his face and simply combed her hair.

Being so close, I could see her features more clearly, and it was even more impactful.

Everyone in the manor says that the eldest daughter is like a great-aunt and is a rare beauty, but compared to this cousin, the eldest daughter's appearance is still somewhat inferior.

"The girl is really beautiful."

Shen Qinglu's heart stirred slightly, and she touched her face. "Am I pretty?"

"Don't you know, young lady?" Xia Chan asked in return.

Shen Qinglu shook her head blankly, "I haven't looked in a mirror, I don't know."

It turned out that there was not only no dressing table, but also no mirror.

Xia Chan's doubts deepened, and she took an ordinary small mirror from her bundle and placed it in front of Shen Qinglu.

A beautiful face was reflected in the mirror, her forehead covered by bangs.

Shen Qinglu's eyes were dark as she slowly brushed her bangs back with her hand.

This face surpasses Yu Liuzhu's beauty by a few points, resembling Yu Qingxue more, yet the feeling it evokes is entirely different. If Yu Qingxue is an elegant white lotus, then she is a bewitching red lotus.

However, she looks nothing like her former self now.

She is not like herself; there are others who are like her, not to mention two others.

This is absolutely absurd!

“Girl, look, aren’t you beautiful?” Xia Chan’s words broke her thoughts.

She smiled at her new self in the mirror. "Indeed, I'm beautiful."

*

A night of chaotic dreams.

She was sometimes in the orphanage where she had lived as a child, and sometimes in the home of her adoptive parents. The scenes changed again and again, from the dazzling neon city to the secluded mansion.

When she opened her eyes early in the morning, she turned her head blankly and saw a splash of green on the table, wondering what day it was.

There were a few bamboo stalks, arranged in a porcelain vase, their green a dignified shade. In a while, when new shoots sprouted, this green would blend with the freshest, most vibrant green, creating distinct layers of green—that's the origin of her name.

Xia Chan heard the noise and came in. Seeing that she was awake, she hurriedly came forward to serve her.

"Miss, the old lady sent someone earlier, saying that she had something to attend to today and would come to see you after she was done."

She lowered her eyes and remained silent.

Xia Chan opened the wardrobe and picked out clothes for her.

There aren't many clothes in the closet; they're white, green, cyan, and blue, but there's no red. Not even bright red, not even pink, light red, or peach.

"Young lady, which outfit would you like to wear today?"

She didn't have many choices, so she randomly pointed to a green one.

As Xia Chan combed her hair, she pointed to her bangs and said, "Pull them up."

Xia Chan did as she was told, combing her hair before looking for hair ornaments. She found that there were no other hairpins besides a few jade hairpins, so she simply used a hairband to fix and decorate it, which suited her better.

She looked at herself in the mirror and felt utterly unfamiliar with herself.

This is her, yet not her.

The intertwining of past and present lives, the bridging of the present and the past, is both bizarre and strange. The only saving grace is that she is still alive and has a healthy body.

Breakfast was prepared by Xia Chan herself. Although it was all vegetarian, it was much better than the last meal. Both the appearance and the taste were quite good.

"Xia Chan, it's so good to have you." Her eyes shone brightly, radiant and sincere.

Xia Chan was stunned by the smile on her face. While marveling at her stunning appearance, she also felt great sympathy for her. "It is my blessing to serve you, Miss."

A favorite servant of the matriarch of the household was suddenly transferred to serve a cousin. Regardless of her personality, intelligence, or idiocy, her status as the daughter of a disgraced official meant she had no future.

If even masters are treated this way, what about servants?

This is no blessing, it's clearly bad luck.

But Shen Qinglu would never break through this barrier. Her name is Qinglu, which, in her view, is not the green of bamboo, but the green of green tea.

"My good fortune is yet to come. If you follow me, your good fortune will come too."

Xia Chan was both surprised and excited that she would say such a thing.

This young lady might really be getting better soon!

She continued eating, then suddenly, as if remembering something, asked Xia Chan, "Have you eaten?"

Xia Chan was surprised but also touched. "I've already eaten something, so this is all for you." "Then I'll finish eating."

She ate the same amount of food as yesterday, and as usual, finished it all. She thought to herself, no wonder her body is so healthy and her blood is so abundant; it must be because she can eat so much.

Through the slightly ajar window, the green of the bamboo once again came into her view. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and clearly smelled the fragrance of the bamboo.

When I opened my eyes again and saw the person who came in, my gaze returned to emptiness.

Upon seeing her, Yu Qingxue was clearly stunned and subconsciously pinched her palm.

It turns out this child looks so much like me!

Back then, she was exceptionally beautiful and was known as Lady Jade, enjoying immense prestige and success. When her brother married into the General's Mansion, her status rose accordingly, and she thought she could secure a desirable marriage, until her family forced her to marry into the Su family.

What the Yu family owes her, let this child repay!

She frowned and glanced at Xia Chan. "I sent you here to serve the young lady, not to make decisions for her. Take her hair down and comb it back to how it used to be."

Although the cicada was puzzled, it still responded with a "yes".

Shen Qinglu stared blankly at Yu Qingxue, his dark eyes fixed on her, and he spat out each word clearly, "You are a bad person!"

Yu Qingxue was terrified. "You... what did you say?"

In response, Shen Qinglu ignored her and continued walking away.

Xia Chan hurriedly followed and asked, "Miss, where are you going?"

"I need to find my grandmother. I need to find my grandmother." Shen Qinglu pointed outside the courtyard, her steps never faltering.

“You just fell into the water yesterday, and you’re still not fully recovered. It’s still cold outside. What if you catch a chill?” Yu Qingxue chased after her, her brows furrowed with annoyance.

Qin's mother tried to stop Shen Qinglu, but Shen Qinglu suddenly pushed her away. While Qin's mother was falling to the ground, Shen Qinglu had already left the courtyard.

"Grandma, I will follow you, Miss." Xia Chan said, and then chased after her.

"Madam, what should we do?" Qin's mother had already gotten up, her face full of anxiety.

Yu Qingxue's face instantly turned ashen, and she clenched her fists tightly. "She's asking for it!"

That's no wonder she got it!

A note from the author: