Chapter 44 Sui Hui as a Concubine
After entering the city, Sui Yu found a tea shop where he sat down. The aroma of fried noodles filled the air, and the atmosphere was warm. Most of the people sitting in the shop were business travelers stranded in Dunhuang due to the bad weather. They had no homes or families, and they came here on a leisurely winter day to drink a bowl of tea and chat about their travels.
Sui Yu was so engrossed in the conversation that she bought a bowl of oil tea and sat quietly in a corner, listening. When the chill in her heart was dispelled by the lively conversation, she paid and left.
"Shopkeeper, may I ask, in which direction is Lord Hu's residence?" Sui Yu turned back to ask.
"Which Lord Hu?"
Sui Yu was speechless. She didn't know what Lord Hu's official position was.
The owner of the oil tea shop looked at her suspiciously and asked, "You're not from here? What do you want to see Master Hu about?"
"A cousin of mine works in Lord Hu's mansion. She only mentioned it to me briefly, and I don't know where to go if I want to find her."
"In Bailu Lane in the south of the city lives Hu Jianzhe, and in Dinghu Lane west of Nanshui Street lives Hu Duwei. There are also various thousand households in the military settlements. You can go and ask around."
"Thank you for your guidance, shopkeeper." Sui Yu was very grateful.
Standing on the street, she pondered. That day outside the brothel, Lord Hu had clearly acted according to the wishes of Captain Li's men. This Lord Hu wasn't Captain Hu, but perhaps Supervisor Hu. Thinking that Sui Liang was home alone, Sui Yu turned back. She planned to go to Bailu Lane to ask again tomorrow.
Entering Shisantun, Sui Yu was stopped by the old lady across the street when she opened the door. She turned around and asked with a smile, "Grandma, what's up?"
"Where have you been these days, leaving early and coming back late?" the old lady asked inquiringly.
"Take the camel out for a run." Sui Yu suppressed the smile on her face and said, "Grandma, you're busy. I'll go back to the house to cook."
"I don't work in the middle of winter, and I still eat three meals a day."
She didn't suppress her voice at all, and Sui Yu heard it clearly. She closed the door with a "pah" sound. The old man had a long hand, and he was so idle that he was getting moldy.
Sui Liang and Mao Guan came out of the kitchen and stared at her with wide eyes.
"Are the sawdust I soaked in water good enough?" she asked.
Sui Liang nodded. He pushed open the door of the woodshed and led people in to take a look. He pounded the wood chips for a long time and crushed them into pieces.
The water used to soak the sawdust and sorghum stalks gave off a foul odor, the smell of rotting wood. If you touched a handful, the smell wouldn't wash off. Sui Yu, however, didn't mind. She scooped up a handful of sawdust and walked out to examine it. After repeated pounding, the tiny sawdust had become strands of wood pulp, but it wasn't soft enough.
"Keep it soaking. I'll cook for you." Sui Yu walked towards the kitchen and said, "I drank a bowl of oil tea outside. It tasted delicious. I'll try frying some noodles. Liang Ge'er, come and light the fire for me. Cover the fire with straw slag. Don't use too much fire."
Oil tea is made with fried noodles. Sui Yu scooped half a ladle of gray noodles and mixed it with salt. When the bottom of the pot was heated, she poured the gray noodles in and stir-fried them.
"Move the fire to the west. The fire in the middle of the pot is too strong."
Sui Liang stirred the fire and sprinkled ash to put it out.
The gray flour slowly changed color, and the flour turned brown. The kitchen was also filled with a rich salty aroma. The aroma of noodles was fragrant. Sui Yu took out a large ceramic bowl and scooped up the boiling hot fried noodles.
Adding water to the pot, the clear water mixed with the remaining cooked noodles at the bottom of the pot, turning the water turbid. When the water boiled, the water mixed with noodles became viscous again. Sui Yu scooped a spoonful of water into the bowl and stirred the noodles. The aroma of the hot steam was tempting.
"It would have been great if you had tasted this way of eating earlier. I should have fried two bowls for your brother-in-law to take away. When you are hungry, eat two buns and then have a bowl of oil tea. You will feel full and warm." After the noodle tea was mixed well, Sui Yu used chopsticks to poke a lump of lard into the noodle tea. The lard and noodle tea merged to become the oil tea sold in shops on the street.
Sui Liang had one bowl, and Sui Yu mixed another bowl for herself, which she shared with Mao Guan.
"You're already 28. Your brother-in-law left on the 24th. It's been five days. He might have already returned home." Sui Yu repeated.
Zhao Xiping was not far from home at this time. He stayed at a farmer's house and rested for the night. The next morning, he rode his camel again and arrived home after noon.
Zhao's mother looked outside and saw that he didn't bring his wife back, and a smile appeared on her face.
Zhao Xiping felt it was glaring. He stood under the eaves and said, "I'll bring her back next year during the Spring Festival."
"If you want to bring her back, then don't come back." Zhao's mother's face fell. "Accepting her as a family is already the biggest concession I've made."
"Then I won't come back for the New Year next year. If people in the village ask, you can say whatever you want." Zhao Xiping became stubborn again. He stared at the camel being led away by his elder brother, thinking about going back tomorrow.
Zhao's mother saw what he meant, punched him hard, and warned him: "If you dare to run away tomorrow, you don't have a mother like me."
Zhao Xiping had no choice but to give up.
"What kind of magic potion did that woman give you? It's only been a few months? Three months? You slept with her for three months and you only want a wife and not your mother?" Zhao's mother brought him hot soup noodles and said angrily, "What the hell did I raise?"
Zhao Xiping thought she was rude and just ate without saying anything.
Zhao Xiaomi trotted in and asked happily, "Third brother, did you bring me anything?"
The other children also looked on eagerly.
Zhao Xiping took the bundle and handed it over. There were still four buns left in the bundle, and he asked the children to share them.
"This is the money Sui Yu gave you to buy the pig. Seven strings of cash." He pulled off another bundle and handed it to my mother. "Sui Yu said that any leftover from the pig purchase money will be given to you as a filial gift."
Zhao's mother was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling. Then she started to criticize him, saying, "What do you mean she's being filial to me? It's not with your money."
"It's not mine. She earned it from selling buns." Zhao Xiping picked up the bowl and drank the noodle soup. Seeing that his mother and brother and sister-in-law were all in disbelief, he rarely felt like talking and told his family about Sui Yu setting up a stall to sell buns.
"She is sweet-talking, perceptive, thoughtful, and thick-skinned. She is quite suitable for doing business." After leaving Sui Yu, Zhao Xiping became frank when talking about her.
"No wonder my third sister-in-law didn't come back. She was busy making money." Zhao Xiaomi admired her. The private money she saved for three years was less than a hundred coins, while her third sister-in-law earned a hundred coins in three months.
"It's not sold. Criminal slaves cannot do business." said Zhao Xiping.
Mother Zhao was stunned. She hadn't expected this outcome. Looking at the heavy copper coins in the bundle, she snorted, "I told you not to marry her. If she wasn't a criminal slave, would this have happened?"
Zhao Xiping suddenly lost interest in talking. It was impossible to reason with unreasonable people.
"I'm going back to my room to get some sleep." He got up and left.
After the people left, Zhao Xiaomi whispered, "If my third sister-in-law wasn't a criminal slave, my third brother wouldn't even be able to see her."
"You're the only one who knows." Mother Zhao glared at her, turned around and went out to tell the neighbors about her third daughter-in-law making money by selling buns.
"No wonder you didn't come back for the New Year."
"Yes, yes. Business is good during the New Year, and she is reluctant to close the stall." Zhao's mother nodded with a smile.
The person who was lied to by her husband's family that she was making money was now basking in the sun outside the second side door of the Hu Mansion. The doorman who collected the errand fee said that he had sent someone to call someone for her, but half an hour passed and Sui Hui still hadn't come out.
In Yixin Courtyard, Lord Hu put down the warm teacup and stood up to say goodbye to the old lady. Before turning around, he glanced at the maid who was making tea, and the old lady saw him clearly.
After Master Hu left, the maidservant waiting outside the courtyard quietly walked into the porch, grabbed the cleaning boy and asked, "Brother, is Sui Hui in the old lady's courtyard?" When the boy nodded, she said, "Please tell her that someone is looking for her outside the two side gates. It's her cousin."
The boy waved to the maid who was opening the door curtain and said a few words. The maid pointed to the inner room. The boy peeked in and saw the old lady talking to Sui Hui. He turned around and told the little maid, "Have someone wait. The old lady is talking to her. I'll talk to her when she comes out."
The little maidservant cried out "Ah" and turned and ran away.
"The old lady is talking to Sui Hui. Please wait a little longer. She will come out when she is not busy."
Sui Yu thanked her and moved a stone to sit against the wall and continued waiting.
"...You are a smart girl who can write, calculate and make tea. You were a lady from a wealthy family. It would be a waste of your beauty and talent to let you serve in my room." The old lady held Sui Hui's hand. The girl had a gentle temperament, spoke softly, and looked good. If her son had not been interested in her, she would really be reluctant to let her go.
"Old Madam, you are kind-hearted. It is my blessing to serve you." Sui Hui said with her head down.
The old lady smiled and shook her head, saying, "What's the point of saying you're lucky or not? You're a slave, so how can you be lucky? We've been master and servant, and you're a sweet girl. I pity you. Go serve your master. If you follow him, he'll free you from slavery and give me a grandson. Then you'll have a place to stay."
The words were clear, and Sui Hui blushed.
The old lady knew she was happy at first sight. She smiled and clapped her hands, saying, "I'll have someone buy you two nice sets of clothes. You don't have to do rough labor these days. Take good care of yourself. I'll have the eldest lady come and pick you up on a good day after the New Year."
Sui Hui knelt down and kowtowed, "Thank you, old lady, for your pity."
"Take good care of the master and don't make the mistress angry. I won't protect you if anything goes wrong." The old lady warned again.
Sui Hui agreed, and when she saw the old lady closed her eyes, she quietly left the room.
"Sister Sui Hui, a maid just came to deliver a message. Your cousins are here to see you and are waiting for you at the second side door." The servant had been keeping an eye on her and came to report the moment Sui Hui came out.
Sui Hui's heart was still pounding. She thanked him softly and walked out of Yixin Courtyard. She clutched her chest and calmed her thoughts. After what had happened, she just wanted to lie down in bed and rest. If it was Sui Ling who came to see her today, she wouldn't have left the house.
"Hello uncle, I heard that my family came to see me. Are they still here?" Sui Hui asked kindly.
"Yes, right outside the door."
Sui Yu jumped to her feet upon hearing the sound. She pounded her waist and walked over with Sui Liang by her hand. When she saw him, she said in a dragging voice, "It's so hard to see you. I waited until the sun went down."
Sui Hui smiled apologetically, "You know, the master has orders, so we don't have the freedom."
Sui Yu thought so too. Without saying anything more, she looked Sui Hui up and down. It was indeed the feng shui of a wealthy family that nurtured her. Sui Hui had become fair and clean again. She wore a dark green silk dress that looked like a camellia after a frost. With her head lowered and a smile on her face, she had the temperament of a lady from a noble family.
"My cousin said something was wrong with you and asked me to come and see you. I don't think there's anything wrong with you." Sui Yu muttered.
"You went to see my elder brother?" When Sui Hui heard that it was related to Sui Wen'an, she suddenly seemed like a different person. The smile on her face faded and a look of panic appeared on her face.
"Well, I went to see him the day before yesterday and gave him some food and a pair of shoes." Sui Yu sighed, "He has lost a lot of weight."
"It's more than just thin..." Sui Hui covered her face. She walked away from the door. She had no one to talk to, and she was about to burst into tears. She cried, "Sister Yu, I went to see my eldest brother a few days ago. I, I'm worried that he won't live to see the next year."
Sui Yu sighed.
"Just now, the old lady asked me to serve Master Hu..." Sui Hui held Sui Yu's hand and said, "I plan to follow your aunt's path. When I get pregnant, I will ask Master Hu to cancel my brother's slavery."
Sui Yu was shocked. She looked at Sui Hui and said, "No wonder my cousin said something was wrong with you. You've already..."
Sui Hui nodded. This idea had occurred to her the first time she visited her elder brother. She had gone to great lengths to climb from a laundry maid to the old lady's side, just to show her face in front of Lord Hu. She knew what attracted men to her.
"Are you willing?" Sui Yu asked.
Sui Hui nodded heavily, "I chose this path myself."
"That's good." Sui Yu didn't know what to say.
"Sister Yu, please visit my elder brother more often. When I get the favor of Lord Hu, I will help you and Sister Ling escape from slavery." Sui Hui held Sui Yu's hand and asked solemnly.
The temptation was too great. When Sui Yu was about to nod and agree, she thought of Zhao Xiping. She hesitated for a long time and said, "I'll prepare the things and ask Sui Ling to deliver them when the time comes."
"I know my sister's personality. If she were reliable, I wouldn't ask you for help."
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