Chapter 120 Begging Tong'er
Everyone in the mansion knew that Siqin had gotten a stomachache and soiled her master's bed while serving Lu Yunzhang, and the story was a joke that circulated for a long time. Naturally, everyone knew that she had been punished by the eldest mistress to clean the toilet.
Siqin blurted out, "It was our second madam who sent me. She's making a headband and needs some nice patterns. I remember Sister Tong'er has a lot of patterns, so I told her. That's why she sent me to borrow some from Sister Tong'er. Please tell her, Auntie."
Upon hearing that the old woman was sent by her master, she said, "Wait here," and went inside to deliver the message.
Siqin stood outside with a bitter smile.
Back when she was in the Earl's mansion, she was a second-class maidservant by Qiao's side, while Tong'er was just a little maidservant who followed the Third Miss into the mansion halfway through. Her status was far inferior to Tong'er's, and she could only call her "elder sister" whenever she saw her.
Now, in just a few months, their roles have been reversed. She has become the one with a lower status and has to call Tong'er "elder sister".
Tong'er had just finished helping Yu Qingci with her washing and dressing when she saw a maid come in and secretly beckon to her. She went out and asked:
"What's up?"
The little girl tiptoed and whispered something in her ear. Tong'er frowned and said, "Just say I'm busy and don't have time."
After saying that, she went back into the house, and the little girl went outside to deliver a message to the old woman guarding the gate.
Yu Qingci vaguely heard what Tong'er said and casually asked:
Who's looking for you?
Tong'er: "Siqin is outside. She said she wants to borrow some flower patterns from me. I don't want to see her so late."
Yu Qingci frowned and thought for a moment. Siqin wasn't the type to gossip, so there must be something she really needed to come over at night.
However, she didn't have the saintly heart to care about Siqin's affairs, and seeing that Tong'er didn't seem to want to pay attention, she didn't take it to heart either.
After a while, the little maid who delivered the message quietly came in again and waved to Tong'er. Tong'er went out and came back a while later with a frown and an impatient look on her face.
Upon seeing this, Yu Qingci asked, "Didn't you send the person away?"
Tong'er: "Who knows what's wrong with Siqin? She's staying outside and won't leave, insisting on seeing me."
Yu Qingci's lips curled into a playful smile: "Perhaps it's something urgent. Why don't you go out and listen to what she has to say?"
When Tong'er heard the young mistress say this, she nodded and said, "Then I'll go out for a bit and see what she has to say."
Siqin waited anxiously outside. When she saw Tong'er come out, she ignored Tong'er's impatient expression and went up to her, saying:
"Good sister, you've finally agreed to see me."
Tong'er's face fell as she said, "I dare not accept Miss Siqin calling me 'sister.' Tell me, what do you want? If it's still about borrowing flower patterns, I'm sorry I don't have any here."
After saying that, he turned around and was about to go back.
Siqin hurriedly blocked her way, saying, "Wait, Sister Tong'er, I really have something to discuss with you, it's very important. It's not convenient to talk here, could you please let me in first?"
After saying that, he looked around worriedly.
She came without telling the second wife's family. If she were seen and the news reached the second wife's ears, she would probably be punished by her again.
Tong'er frowned and thought for a moment, but instead of asking the old woman to open the door and let her in, she went out herself.
The two women took a few steps to the side and stood facing each other. The old woman guarding the gate and the little maid who delivered the message could see them, but they couldn't hear what they were saying.
Tong'er: "Alright, let's talk here. I need to go in and serve Madam. Speak quickly, I'm very busy."
Siqin gritted her teeth and knelt down in front of Tong'er: "Sister Tong'er, please put in a good word for me in front of the young mistress and let me get back."
I know I was blinded by greed and did wrong before, and I regret it terribly now. I beg you, young mistress, to take me back. From now on, I will serve you faithfully and will never dare to do anything to betray you again.
Tong'er opened her eyes wide in disbelief and said, "Get you back? It's easy to say. You've already been given to the Second Madam, how can you get you back? Besides, haven't you already been taken as a concubine by the Master? Even if the Second Madam is willing to send you back, what if the Master remembers you one day and comes to ask our Young Madam for you again? Will our Young Madam give you back then?"
Siqin's pretty face flushed red with embarrassment, but she still explained:
"No, Master didn't actually take me as his concubine. That night, I'm not afraid of Sister Tong'er laughing at me, but everyone in the mansion knows that I got a stomachache the first time I served Master, and I even angered him in the end. So I'm still a virgin."
Please, Sister Tong'er, put in a good word for me with the young mistress and let me get back. You don't know how much I've done with the second mistress..."
"Enough!"
Tong'er coldly interrupted her, saying, "If Miss Siqin has forgotten what happened before, I don't mind reminding you that from the first time you betrayed the young mistress and joined forces with the second young lady and the young master of the Qiao family to frame our young mistress, you should have known that you were not qualified to stay by the young mistress's side."
Why would Lady Nanping send you, a meritorious servant, to our young mistress as a dowry maid? Your former mistress has abandoned you and no longer wants you. All of this is your own fault. How dare you return to our young mistress's presence?
Siqin cried with tears streaming down her face: "I had no choice back then. We maids can only obey our masters' orders, otherwise we will be sold off. I had no other choice but to do those things."
"Now that I've been punished, Sister Tong'er, please, for the sake of us both coming from the Earl's mansion as part of the dowry, put in a good word for me with the young mistress."
Tong'er remained unmoved, looking at her and saying, "Back then, when you helped those people harm our young mistress, did you not think about what would happen to you? If it weren't for our young mistress's vigilance, who knows what kind of fate you would have caused her? Now you think you can forgive us just because you say you know you were wrong? You're really dreaming."
"You can leave now. Ever since the young mistress handed you over to the second mistress, your life or death has been none of our concern."
After dismissing Siqin, Tong'er returned to her room and told Yu Qingci what had happened, ending with a disdainful remark:
"Siqin really has the nerve to say that. She actually wants me to speak well of her to the young mistress and ask her to come back, saying that she was blind before and wants to come back to serve the young mistress again. What kind of good idea is she thinking?"
Wasn't she so eager to curry favor with the Second Miss back then? Now she's shamelessly trying to turn back to us. What does she think Guanlan Pavilion is? Where does she get the nerve?
Tong'er is still fuming.
Yu Qingci: "Did she tell you what happened?"
Tong'er shook her head: "She wanted to say it, but I didn't want to hear it. It's nothing more than being mistreated by the Second Madam and being unable to finish scrubbing the toilets in the Second Chamber. It's better not to hear it."
"That's good. There's no need to worry about it anymore."
Knowing that Siqin was not doing well, Yu Qingci put it out of her mind and stopped paying attention to her.
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