The room was so small that Jiao'er could see Song's every move clearly. She was sitting on the only limping chair in the room, drinking porridge from a bowl.
The porridge was incredibly bitter; it was made by boiling bitter greens and mushrooms with a mixture of flour and ash until it was mushy, without even adding salt.
If you don't eat this, there are other foods you can eat.
Jiao'er had no choice but to swallow it. When she was fleeing, she was so hungry that she ate wild grass and tree bark raw. Being able to eat this kind of gruel was a luxury. She never expected that only a few years had passed and she would forget the suffering of fleeing.
Seeing that Song was drinking brown sugar water, she secretly brought some to He Tian.
The little girl was unhappy.
They also insisted on having a drink.
"Here you go, take this half bowl and drink it. You can drink the rest after you give birth, so you won't run out of milk to feed my grandson."
Song handed the bowl to her daughter.
He looked very impatient.
Even the beloved child didn't mind.
Since she came to the He family as a maid, she had eaten a lot of Song's leftovers and was already used to it. She picked up the bowl, took a small sip to taste it, and her mouth, which was originally bitter and sour, suddenly became sweet. Jiao'er breathed a sigh of relief and then drank the brown sugar water in one gulp.
"It's so delicious, so sweet! Mom, can you make me another bowl tomorrow?" Jiao'er said, still wanting more.
She even licked the undissolved brown sugar from the bottom of the bowl clean.
"No, there's only a little brown sugar left. If we keep soaking it, it'll be all gone. Just bear with it." Song took the empty bowl, squatted down by the vat, scooped up a basin of water, and prepared to take it outside to wash the pots and pans.
"Tch, so stingy." Jiao'er rolled her eyes at her.
I went back to bed and lay down.
She utterly despised He Tian beside her.
She wished she could stay as far away as possible, but the bed was too small, and when she lay down, her shoulder still pressed against He Tian's skinny arm.
Her shoulder ached from the bump, but luckily He Tian didn't feel anything; Jiao'er handled it like a radish.
She grabbed his arm and threw him at him with a "thud."
He Tian's arm was resting quietly at his chest.
He has no control over it at all.
He could only watch himself being humiliated. He wanted to get angry, but when he saw his daughter's swollen belly, he swallowed his curses.
Let's talk about it after our baby is born.
For his son, and so that he could turn his life around.
You have to be patient and appease your precious child.
"Is it crowded? I'll move in a bit," He Tian asked her in a flattering tone.
"Mmm," Jiao'er replied casually.
He Tian immediately began to move his upper body, like a maggot, twisting and moving inward.
Soon, the two fell asleep.
Breathing sounds rose and fell, while Song was squatting at the door washing pots and dishes.
After moving, the He family's original three meals a day were reduced to two meals.
So if you eat lunch in the afternoon, you don't need to eat dinner.
As the weather turned colder, time seemed to pass faster than in summer. The once light blue sky donned a new inky black coat, and to get a clear view, it turned on a pale yellow moonlight, the faint light shining through the darkness onto the earth.
The once bustling streets are now deserted.
All around was quiet.
Everyone drifted off to sleep.
At that time, in the Yan family mansion.
Yan Xia sat on the bed, holding a booklet, and carefully flipped through it. The booklet contained pictures of various clothes in many colors and styles.
"Auntie, go to bed early. Reading at night is bad for your eyes."
Just as Yan Xia turned to the next page of the booklet, Xiao Ji came over. She rubbed her tired eyelids and advised Yan Xia to get some rest.
"Go to sleep. I'll finish reading the rest and then go to sleep. There's not much left. I need to decide on the style of the school uniform tomorrow," Yan Xia replied without looking up.
"Alright, Auntie, don't stay up too late. Remember to put out the candles, or the fire will be a disaster." The weather is dry, and just now when the patrol officers passed by the town, they were banging their gongs to remind the people to be careful with their candles.
Xiao Ji was indeed sleepy, so she had to get up early.
If I don't sleep well, I won't have any energy all day.
It will cause delays.
Since she had gotten to know Yan Xia quite well, she didn't force herself to stay up all night with her.
After giving her instructions, Xiao Ji went back to her little bed and went to sleep. Her breathing gradually deepened, accompanied by the occasional croaking of frogs outside.
Autumn is not like summer.
Two months ago, the frogs in the courtyard pond would croak incessantly every night.
It's finally much quieter now.
Yan Xia finished reading the remaining booklets, which was a quarter of an hour later. She selected three sets of school uniforms: the beginner class uniforms were all peach-colored ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), the advanced class uniforms were smoky pink embroidered auspicious cloud fairy skirts, and the graduating class uniforms were more pretentious white egret-colored shirts paired with pomegranate skirts of the same color.
Wearing it makes one look like a noble and aloof fairy.
Yan Xia stretched and yawned twice. Tears welled up in her eyes involuntarily, and the soreness made her feel uncomfortable.
Yan Xia imitated what Xiao Ji had just done.
I gently rubbed my eyes.
She put the booklet on the table, put on her shoes, went to urinate, blew out the candle, and went to sleep.
When I woke up, it was already bright outside.
After Yan Xia finished washing up with Xiao Ji's help, she went to the main room to eat breakfast.
As the weather gradually turns cooler, the scenery in the courtyard becomes desolate.
The lush leaves of summer have now turned yellow, and some are even falling in large clumps.
Fallen leaves are scattered everywhere on the ground, and the once vibrant flowers have almost all withered. At first glance, they look like an old, bald man who has lost his former vitality.
He looked somewhat forlorn.
Yan Xia no longer wore the light gauze dress of summer, but changed into autumn clothes. Today, she wore a tea-colored embroidered beaded brocade dress with light gold patterns of clouds and auspicious symbols. The skirt was made of light jade-colored pleated antique satin, which was not as flowing as the light gauze, but it was not heavy either. The quality of the material was extremely good, and it did not have a single crease when she walked.
The outfit wasn't particularly bright or flashy, and was rather simple, so Xiao Su styled Yan Xia's hair into a more elaborate cloud-shaped bun. A crimson imitation peony beaded silk flower was placed in the center of the bun, and a gilded silver beaded hairpin was inserted on each side. Xiao Su originally wanted to add some more hairpins and small hair ornaments, but Yan Xia stopped her.
Ancient jewelry was very heavy.
If you wear a full head of it, it might look nice, but you'll forget about your neck.
She has something to do today; she's going to visit the school with Jinyu later.
Wearing too many masks is tiring.
Yan Xia selected a pair of tassel bird earrings from the jewelry box, put them on, and then left the house.
Jin Yu was sitting at the stone table in the courtyard, waiting for her.
"Xia-jie, you look so beautiful today." The two walked side by side to the door, and Jin Yu whispered a compliment to Yan Xia.
"You're so sweet-talking." Yan Xia glanced at him with a slight smile.
The carriage was already waiting at the door. The two of them got into the carriage one after the other, and Yan Xia sat inside.
To avoid suspicion, he sat outside with the servant who was driving the carriage.
Once everyone was settled, the carriage headed towards the end of the city.
Along the way, they passed through streets of all sizes. Shuangqiao Town, as the main town of Jiashu County, was particularly crowded.
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