Chapter 131 The Secret of Fangzhou
"What is this?" Yongqingbo asked, startled, grabbing the black donkey's hoof.
The old lady snatched the black donkey hoof from her hand, stuffed it into her sleeve, and said in a serious tone, "It's a newly bought back scratcher, I didn't hold it properly."
The black donkey hoof didn't work!
The Earl of Yongqing looked suspicious: "Where would a tickle be that short?"
Before I could even get a good look at it, the old woman took it away. That dark thing didn't really look like a back scratcher.
“It looks new.” The old lady changed the subject. “Why is the Lord so indulgent towards the sixth girl? That girl is always causing trouble. If she is not strictly disciplined, who knows what kind of trouble she will cause in the future.”
"Sixth Sister knows what she's doing."
"Measures?" The old lady felt the urge to pull out the black donkey hoof again. "The measures that the Earl is talking about are like going out and hitting the nanny next to the First Madam of the Prime Minister's residence? Don't say it was Fangzhou who did it. If the Sixth Girl were honest, would Fangzhou have dared to do that?"
"I heard from Sixth Sister that she will go to the Prime Minister's residence tomorrow to apply medicine to that old woman. Sixth Sister agreed to the Prime Minister's request without hesitation, which shows that she is a responsible person. Madam, please don't be too harsh on her."
"Is this considered harsh? What about the rulers that Xuan'er and the others were punished with when they were learning the rules?"
"Sixth Miss is different from them." Seeing that the old lady wouldn't let it go, the Earl of Yongqing's face darkened. "Don't keep going on and on. If you don't believe that Sixth Miss knows what she's doing, you should at least believe that I do. Everything I do is for the good of the Earl's mansion."
"Lord, sir—"
"Can I still make the decisions for this family?" Uncle Yongqing asked casually, then turned and left.
The old lady was furious, and her breathing became heavier.
They returned to Lengxiang Residence in silence, and Qiuheng took a few sips of the tea that Qingluo offered.
Granny Yu suddenly bowed deeply: "Sixth Miss, as your governess, I failed to stop Fangzhou in time, which led to someone coming to our door, embarrassing the Old Madam, and humiliating you, Sixth Miss. I have no face to stay at Lengxiang Residence any longer..."
"Granny Yu," Qiu Heng called out calmly, "Grandmother is very angry today."
Granny Yu met the girl's indifferent gaze, puzzled by her words.
"I mean, Grandmother is in a bad mood, so it's better to avoid trouble."
Granny Yu was taken aback.
She resigned as the sixth young lady's governess, and of course she had to tell the old lady. But the sixth young lady was right; the old lady was angry, extremely angry. Wasn't it just asking for trouble for a servant like her to bother her with her own affairs?
So... should this governess continue doing the job?
But as soon as she said it, Granny Yu was caught off guard and couldn't save face.
Fortunately, the girl's calm voice rang out again: "I am very satisfied with Granny Yu. It would be too troublesome to adapt to a different person. Granny Yu, please continue to teach me."
Granny Yu breathed a sigh of relief: "If Sixth Miss doesn't mind, then I'll shamelessly stay for now."
"Granny Yu must be tired from going out. Go and rest."
"This servant takes her leave."
After arriving at the resting room, Granny Yu realized that her relationship with the sixth young lady was not that of a governess and her student, but rather that of an ordinary servant and her young mistress.
How did I end up like this without even realizing it?
Granny Yu rubbed her loose skin, and the image of the calm and composed girl floated into her mind.
It's the Sixth Sister!
The sixth sister never acted like a student, and she never panicked in the face of trouble. She was not a student at a disadvantage, but a pillar of strength.
Realizing this too late, Granny Yu felt at ease: since she was only doing the job of an ordinary servant, she didn't need to hold herself to the same standards as a governess, which made things easier for both her and the Sixth Miss.
In the inner room, only Qiuheng and Fangzhou remained.
"Fangzhou, have some tea." Qiuheng poured a cup of tea and handed it to him.
Fangzhou took the teacup and gulped it down, then stared blankly at it.
Qiuheng pulled Fangzhou to the dressing table, pushed her to sit down, and picked up a wooden comb.
Fangzhou then came to his senses: "Miss—"
"Your hair is all messed up from the fight," Qiu Heng said, untying Fang Zhou's hair tie and combing it gently.
"I'll do it myself."
Qiuheng pressed Fangzhou down: "Don't move, it'll be done soon. Back home, didn't we often comb each other's hair?"
When I first brought Fangzhou home, we were about the same age, but Fangzhou could cook delicious food and style her hair beautifully.
As for her, all she does is play and have fun.
Although Fangzhou insisted on calling her "girl," they were actually friends who grew up together.
Fangzhou stared at herself in the mirror as her long hair was pulled up, tears streaming down her face.
"Girl, aren't you going to ask me why I've gone mad?"
Qiu Heng put down the comb and said in a relaxed tone, "Everyone has secrets, but if you want to talk about them, I'd love to listen."
Fangzhou wiped away her tears and revealed the secret she had kept hidden in her heart.
“My great-grandfather was a royal chef in the palace. Later, he was implicated and forced to leave the palace. He then moved south and settled in Liangshui. My grandfather inherited my great-grandfather’s skills and opened a pastry shop. One day, a woman and two men came. The woman was Granny Su.”
Mentioning Granny Su, Fangzhou no longer concealed her hatred: "She said in a very picky tone that her young master was not feeling well and wanted to eat savory pastries. She heard that my family's pastry shop was the most famous, so she came to take a look. At that time, she tasted a few pastries and seemed very satisfied. She even gave extra money. She came again the next day and actually asked my grandfather to close the shop and make pastries exclusively for her young master!"
"Is her young master Madam Yang's son?"
"It should be. She said they came from the capital and were only staying in Liangshui for a few days because her young master wasn't feeling well. My great-grandfather took my grandfather south to avoid trouble. My grandfather ran a pastry shop and was living a comfortable life. Also, my parents were buried in Liangshui, so of course he wouldn't abandon all that to serve a pampered young master..."
Fangzhou bit her lip before continuing, "After Grandfather refused, the guards brought by Granny Su smashed up our shop. When Grandfather went to report it to the authorities, he was beaten with a rod. Knowing he had offended someone he couldn't afford to offend, he hurriedly took me away from Liangshui to Suiyun County. But Grandfather was furious after being beaten and soon fell ill... I cried out to heaven and earth in vain, so I had no choice but to sell myself to bury Grandfather, but no one would even buy me, until I met you, young lady..."
When she knelt down and begged people to buy her things, many people shook their heads.
"This chubby girl must be lazy and greedy. If we buy her, she'll eat our family out of house and home."
She felt wronged and heartbroken.
No, she's just been spoiled too much by her grandfather, eating snacks all the time. Now that she doesn't have a grandfather anymore, and can't eat his snacks anymore, she'll lose weight.
Please, please, someone buy her and let her bury my grandfather.
In despair, a particularly beautiful little girl pointed at her as she cried and said, "Daddy, I don't want the donkey anymore, I want her."
She bought the donkey after the girl gave up buying it herself. She will do many things to make sure the girl doesn't regret it.
The girl's name is Aheng.
"Gathering fragrant herbs on the islet, the girl says that fragrant herbs are the same as fragrant herbs. How about you be called Fangzhou? From now on, Aheng and Fangzhou will always be together."
She has a new name and a new home.
Her new name is Fangzhou.
Fangzhou and Aheng will always be together.
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