Around noon, Zheng Yunwan brought in two people.
Xiao Yunying turned around when she heard the sound and saw Duan Yingying and Liu Dalei.
"Why did you all come together?"
Luo Xin jumped off the stool first: "Sister Yingying."
Duan Yingying bent down and pinched Luo Xin's little face: "Xin'er is practicing calligraphy."
Luo Xin proudly raised her head and said, "Yes, I know a lot of words now."
Duan Yingying smiled and praised, "You're really amazing, your handwriting is beautiful too."
Liu Dalei handed over a small wooden box, saying, "I asked Duan Yatou to bring me here."
Xiao Yunying slowly stood up and subconsciously took the wooden box: "You two know each other?"
Duan Yingying stood up and said, "This official used to visit Sister Cheng Yue's shop frequently. I saw him twice. This time, he went to the shop to ask for Sister Yun Ying's address, saying he wanted to deliver something. Sister Cheng Yue was worried about Sister Yun Ying's health, so she asked me to come back and check on her."
Do you visit Jinxiu Pavilion often?
Looking at Liu Dalei, who seemed a little uncomfortable, Xiao Yunying suddenly had a flash of inspiration: Could this guy have taken a liking to Sister Cheng Yue?
It's quite possible. How could a county official like him not know the location of his own home and have to go to Cheng Yue to ask?
She looked at the box in her hand: "What's inside?"
Liu Dalei seemed eager to change the subject and quickly replied, "These are two thousand taels of silver notes found in Hu Feng's house. The county magistrate knew that I knew you, so he asked me to deliver them."
Xiao Yunying opened the box, glanced at it, and then casually placed it on the table.
She hadn't calculated exactly how many silver notes Hu Feng had extorted in total, only how much Cheng Yue had used to pay back. She was too lazy to count now, but she figured there must be more than she had, and they wouldn't dare to fool her.
Duan Yingying said, "Sister Yunying, are you feeling better? My mother sent me a message saying that you've been quite ill these past two days."
Since Duan Yingying went to work at Jinxiuge, Cheng Yue felt that she was working too hard traveling back and forth, so she simply prepared a room in the backyard of the shop and let her live in the shop like the other embroiderers. She would come back once every ten days, which is why she received a letter from her mother today.
"See, I'm fine, aren't I? Go back and tell Sister Cheng Yue that I'm alright."
Seeing that she seemed to be alright, Duan Yingying was relieved: "Sister Cheng Yue asked me to bring some things. In the bamboo basket outside, there are some handkerchiefs that I embroidered. Sister Yunying, please don't mind them."
"Then I won't be polite. Please thank Sister Cheng Yue for me, and thank you too."
Seeing her stiff movements, Duan Yingying asked uncertainly, "Does Sister Yunying have any external injuries?"
The fact that Xiao Yunying was taken away by the Minister's wife was kept very secret. Apart from her family and Chen Yuancheng, no one else knew the details.
The coachman she brought that day was a servant of the Luo family. No matter how flustered she was inside, she remained calm on the surface. He didn't tell anyone about Xiao Yunying's disappearance, so Cheng Yue just assumed that she had something to do at Huiweilou and couldn't come back in time. She had no idea that she had been tormented all afternoon.
Xiao Yunying didn't intend to tell them either, and brushed it off with a few words: "I accidentally strained my back while moving things yesterday, but it's not serious."
"And what about your forehead..."
"Oh, I just twisted my back and lost my balance, so I bumped into something. It's nothing serious." Xiao Yunying changed the subject: "Brother Liu, is there anything else?"
Liu Dalei untied the bundle from his back: "Miss, I've been transferred to the county government as an official. I know you must have said something to the magistrate to give me this opportunity. My family doesn't have anything worthwhile to offer. Here are some handkerchiefs my mother sewed and some pastries made from pickled fruits. Please don't find them offensive, miss."
Xiao Yunying accepted it without hesitation: "Thank you so much, Auntie. I've been taking medicine lately and I really need some of these dried fruits and snacks to sweeten my mouth."
Liu Dalei hadn't forgotten her allergy to fennel, and added, "Girl, be careful when you eat it. Don't eat anything you can't eat."
Xiao Yunying smiled and said, "I know."
As she put down her bundle, she remembered something: "Has Hu Feng been punished?"
"He was beaten, twenty strokes of the cane was not a small amount. According to the girl, he was neither killed nor crippled, just suffered superficial injuries, but it will take quite a long time to heal."
Xiao Yunying was satisfied: "That's exactly what I meant."
Liu Dalei said, "The young lady is kind-hearted; she didn't take his life directly."
Xiao Yunying smiled but didn't say anything.
Everyone says she's kind-hearted, but she herself doesn't think she's truly kind.
If someone is truly kind, they won't think about revenge. Their so-called kindness is just because they don't want to easily take someone's life.
She could never overcome that mental hurdle, unable to disregard anyone's life.
However, she also knew that she hadn't been driven to the brink of despair. Otherwise, given the choice between her own life and the other person's, she would definitely choose to live.
Liu Dalei rubbed his hands together: "Miss, I want to talk to you about something private."
Xiao Yunying asked in confusion, "What is it?"
Liu Dalei hesitated for a moment, then glanced at Duan Yingying beside him. The girl, who was very perceptive, said, "Sister Yunying, since you're alright, I'll go home first. It's rare for me to come back, so I wanted to visit my mother and my sister."
"Okay, go ahead."
After Duan Yingying left, Luo Xin, being perceptive, took her writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone back to her room.
Zheng Yunwan poured him a cup of tea and left. When only the two of them were left in the living room, Liu Dalei suddenly became a little awkward.
Xiao Yunying pushed the teacup towards him: "Brother Liu, please speak frankly."
Liu Dalei seemed to have mustered up his courage: "I wanted to ask about Miss Cheng Yue. I think she's still unmarried..."
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