With this thought in mind, Xiao Su felt relaxed and happy. She hummed a little tune and strolled through the street with her bamboo basket on her shoulder. When she passed a stall selling purses, she was attracted by the exquisitely embroidered purses and stopped to carefully select one.
"Xiao Su?"
Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out behind her.
Xiao Su turned her head to look.
It turned out to be Xiao Qing, whom I hadn't seen in a long time.
She looked thinner and her complexion was somewhat sallow. She was accompanied by an older woman.
"It really is you! Wow, you've gained a lot of weight in the past two months. Looks like the food at the Yan residence is pretty good." Xiao Qing patted her belly and said to Xiao Su with a hint of pride.
"Yes, we eat really well. We have unlimited rice and meat every day. Our master treats us very well." Xiao Su replied honestly with a smile, without thinking much about it.
Although she and Xiaoqing weren't on the same path, they had spent so many years together and had developed some feelings for each other, so there was no need for them to break up.
"You're out buying things for your master so early in the morning? Tsk tsk, being a maid must be tiring, right?" Xiao Qing saw her carrying a bamboo basket and assumed she was running errands for Yan Xia. She then clicked her tongue twice with a sympathetic yet disdainful expression, seemingly mocking Xiao Su for being foolish enough to eagerly become someone's maid.
Unfortunately, Xiao Su didn't realize that Xiao Qing was concerned about her, and she hurriedly explained.
"No, I'm not tired. There's not much work to do at the manor. Every day, I get up, serve the master breakfast, and then clean the master's bedroom. That's about it. I can even rest in bed for a while at noon. If the master isn't at the manor in the afternoon, I just wander around in the courtyard. I'm quite idle. Today is my day off, so I thought I'd go out for a stroll. I just received my monthly allowance a couple of days ago, and the master also gave me a birthday gift. I thought I'd give the master a gift in return, so I came out for a stroll early this morning. You know, my embroidery skills aren't very good. I saw that the embroidered purses at this stall are quite nice, so I wanted to pick one out to give to the master."
Xiao Su spoke with an honest expression.
"Monthly allowance? She still gives you a monthly allowance? You signed a contract with no future, how much can she give you? You might as well save that little bit of money yourself. If she has a change of heart and lets you get married, you can have a dowry. Then your in-laws will look at you with more respect."
Listen to me, don't return the gift. What's the point? What kind of birthday present could she possibly give you? Don't be so silly all the time; you might get sold out without even realizing it. I told you to listen to me and get married, but you insisted on becoming her maid. Look at you, so happy to finally have a day off! After I got married, I get to rest every day. Sigh, I just got pregnant, and my mother-in-law insists that my maid accompany me out for a stroll, saying she wants to buy me some new clothes.”
After Xiaoqing finished speaking, she touched her stomach again. It was perfectly flat, and no one knew what she was touching it for.
Her face showed a smug and somewhat proud expression, as if Xiao Su, who stood in front of her, was a fool, while she herself was incredibly clever.
Xiao Su felt a little unhappy when she heard this. She wanted to explain clearly because she didn't like others misunderstanding her master.
But upon hearing the last sentence, he managed to suppress the urge to retort.
After all, Xiaoqing is pregnant.
Health is important.
It's best not to argue with her. Let her think what she wants. In the end, the master is the best, and she knows that in her heart.
Life isn't something you live for others to see.
Xiao Su swallowed what she was going to say and instead offered congratulations. "You're pregnant? You're going to be a mother so soon? Oh my god, congratulations, Xiao Qing."
"Yes, I'm pregnant. I was just about to go to my mother-in-law's shop after shopping. She said she wanted to take me to the best clinic in town. I told her, why waste that money? I'm pregnant, I should just wait for my due date to come and give birth, right? But my mother-in-law insists. I heard that the doctor at that clinic can tell the gender just by taking my pulse, and he charges one tael of silver for each consultation. It's very expensive. Oh dear, these purses you're looking at aren't very nice. Why don't you come shopping with me? You can help me buy some clothes and pick them out."
Xiaoqing glanced at the stall. Although the embroidery was indeed quite good, it was still just a stall item and not worth much money. It couldn't compare to the precious purses sold in shops. She curled her lips in disdain and pulled Xiaosu away.
Regardless of whether Xiaosu was willing or not.
"Since you're free today, just keep me company. It's been so long since we last saw each other. Do you miss me? Sigh, although I'm doing well, women aren't so free after marriage. And you're a maid in the Yan household. Who knows how long it will be before we see each other again? Oh, the clothes in this shop are quite nice. Let's browse here first."
After Xiaoqing finished speaking, she stopped outside a shop, her eyes suddenly brightening.
Because the ready-made clothes sold in this shop are all made of fine silk and satin, and look extremely luxurious.
This was the first time she had gone out since marrying into the Wei family.
I'm incredibly excited.
Xiao Su wanted to refuse, but seeing how happy she was, she didn't want to discourage her, so she could only let her pull her into the shop.
I accompanied Xiaoqing as she tried it out.
In fact, what Xiaoqing just said was true. Ever since she became pregnant, He Shi, who used to dislike her, suddenly became kind and gentle. She stopped letting her do chores and even allowed her to eat at the table. She even said that she would make her two nice outfits to wear when she had her baby's one-month celebration. However, no one in the family knew how to sew, so they had to buy ready-made clothes instead.
Madam He held extremely feudal views. She did not allow Xiaoqing to go out alone, so she sent Xiaochun to accompany her and gave Xiaochun the money to pay for.
They only gave me three taels of silver in total.
They could only buy old-fashioned patterns or colors of silk clothes that didn't sell well.
But Xiaoqing didn't know that.
She really thought she could just pick any one of them.
"Xiao Su, look, how is this? Doesn't it look good?" Xiao Qing came out of the shop's back room. She had changed into the shop's clothes, a scarlet high-waisted floor-length dress embroidered with colorful butterflies, and a silver-red short jacket over it. It was a matching set.
Xiao Qing walked to the bronze mirror and admired herself from left to right.
Although the bronze mirror in the shop was large, it could only reflect the upper body, and even then, the reflection wasn't very clear.
So Xiaoqing casually asked Xiaosu if she looked good.
"It looks good. You're slim, and this dress makes your waist look even thinner. It suits you perfectly," Xiao Su replied truthfully.
"You think so too? It really looks good. Come here, touch it. This dress feels cool to the touch. It'll be so cool to wear in the summer. See? That's what happens when you don't listen to me. You were supposed to come with me to find a good family to marry into. Now you can wear it too."
Xiao Qing was overjoyed. In her twenty years of life, this was the first time she had ever worn silk clothes. Looking at Xiao Su beside her, who was still wearing the old clothes she had worn when she left, Xiao Qing felt incredibly proud.
His tone was smug as he spoke.
When Xiaosu heard this, she grinned. Actually, she deliberately wore old clothes today because she was going shopping. What if she dressed too nicely and the price didn't come down?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
