Su Jingxuan returned to the passenger ship after half a day, followed by two female servants and three strong men.
To Su Xuerong's surprise, the down-on-his-luck scholar actually followed behind Su Jingxuan.
Moreover, judging from Su Jingxuan's expression, he seemed to have already developed a liking for this scholar.
Whether she sensed something or not, as Ling Qingxue and Su Jingxuan boarded the passenger ship, her gaze drifted toward the cabin window. She saw a slender, snow-white wrist resting by the window, with a lustrous white jade bracelet gleaming softly in the dim light.
But in Ling Qingxue's eyes, that fine mutton-fat jade bracelet was far inferior to its owner...
Whether it was because she noticed his gaze or not, the person inside the window stepped back, her enviable jade-like wrist disappearing into the dark cabin.
Su Jingxuan, who was standing next to him, couldn't help but sigh, "This time, we are very grateful for Mr. Ling's help. Otherwise, I would have really been deceived by that vicious broker."
Ling Qingxue withdrew her slightly disappointed gaze and said to Su Jingxuan, "I am deeply grateful for your kindness, sir, which is why Ziyang was able to stay on the ship. I have no way to repay you, so I can only use my experience to help you make a decision. From now on, you can just call me Ziyang."
Su Jingxuan led his group to the main room and said to Madam Zhou, "Ziyang helped me choose a reliable brokerage firm and hired these five people. Please make arrangements for them, Madam."
He never expected that Ling Qingxue was actually a scholar who had passed the imperial examinations. Unfortunately, due to the chaos of the times, his status as a scholar from the previous dynasty had become a mere empty title.
Zhou looked the five people over and found them to be honest and reliable. She then arranged for the middle-aged maid to be in charge of relaying the family's food and drink information on the ship, while the young girl was assigned to serve Su Xuerong.
The other three men were strong and healthy, so they were temporarily assigned to be guards.
He hesitated when he saw Ling Qingxue following behind his husband.
Su Jingxuan said, "Ziyang is from Tongguan. He was grateful for our help this time, so he promised to do whatever he could for us along the way..."
Seeing the change in her husband's attitude, Zhou didn't say anything more and nodded, saying, "Thank you."
She then went to the boat captain and bought second-class cabins to settle everyone in.
Ling Qingxue remained standing at the cabin door, but she couldn't see the owner of the jade wrist from before. She only heard the babbling of a toddler coming from the curtain on the west side, and she was taken aback.
It turns out she was already married and had children...
A strange sense of loss welled up inside me and then faded away.
Su Xuerong overheard Zhou's arrangements from inside the room and didn't worry about them much.
My parents have lived in Linjiazhuang for many years and are already very adept at managing their servants.
However, she was thinking about how to get involved with Ge Huai'an's soon-to-be-deceased fiancée.
After a while, Madam Zhou let the middle-aged maid and the young girl in to meet Su Xuerong.
The middle-aged maidservant, surnamed Li, was from Sizhou. Because her husband had passed away and she had debts to repay, she had no choice but to sell herself at a brokerage firm with her daughter. Su Jingxuan happened to meet her there and rented the two of them together for five years.
The mother and daughter felt lucky to see that the Su family members all had kind faces, and immediately knelt down and kowtowed.
Su Xuerong said softly, "Please rise, both of you. I will need your help in the future."
The mother and daughter got up and looked ahead, and saw a young woman of seventeen or eighteen years old sitting on the couch. She had beautiful hair and fair cheeks, and her face was as beautiful as the moon and flowers, comparable to Chang'e.
The two were stunned for a moment.
Su Xuerong never expected that the girl in front of her was actually Xiuchun, who had always been loyal to her in the palace in her previous life!
In the moment the fire was raging, Xiuchun clearly had a chance to escape, but to save her, she shielded her with her body, and the two were engulfed by the raging flames together...
Just as Yan Xiuchun was marveling at the stunning beauty of the woman before her, she suddenly saw that the woman's eyes were filled with intense emotion as she looked at her, and two streams of tears, like jade beads, rolled down her cheeks.
"Arong, what's wrong?" Zhou felt uneasy and stepped forward to ask.
Su Xuerong hurriedly wiped away her tears with her handkerchief and looked at Xiuchun and the other girl with a smile: "It's just because I saw that you look like an old friend of mine. What's your name?"
"My surname is Yan, and my given name is Xiuchun!"
Su Xuerong said, "Very good, you can stay by my side from now on."
His tone was calm, but his heart was surging with emotion.
Having been given a second chance at life, she is very grateful to God for bringing back the people who loved and cared for her in her previous life. She is determined to protect them well.
When Madam Li saw that her daughter had won the young master's favor, her eyes immediately welled up with tears.
Zhou was somewhat suspicious. Her daughter had grown up by her side since she was little. When had she met an old friend who resembled Xiuchun?
But because there were outsiders present, she didn't ask too many questions and took Li Shi out first.
Seeing Xiuchun's shy expression, Su Xuerong took her hand and whispered, "Don't worry, I will definitely protect you and your mother."
Even without Xiuchun saying anything, she knew about her family situation.
However, in her previous life, she never saw her mother, Lady Li, again after she was bought and sent to the palace, but it is speculated that her fate was also tragic.
Su Xuerong was slightly taken aback when she recalled Su Jingxuan's words.
In other words, Xiuchun and her mother, Li, were fortunate enough to be bought by her father, thanks to Ling Qingxue?
She was momentarily stunned.
It seems that after being reborn, the wheel of fate is turning in the same direction, but somehow it also seems to have changed because of her transformation...
Xiuchun was extremely grateful to her new master for treating her so well.
Su Xuerong pulled her aside for a while and they had a private chat. Xiuchun gradually became more familiar with her.
"Xiuchun, my parents haven't had much of an appetite lately. The food on this ship is not very good. Could you go and find someone for me?" Su Xuerong knew Xiuchun's ability to get things done, and after getting to know her, she gave her this task.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com