45 Not Qualified
◎I have no right to sit here and say it's okay for anyone.◎
The March spring rain pattered against the eaves, and the smell of earth drifted into the house through the half-open window. Lan Zhu stretched her hand out from under the warm quilt, stretched herself, and slowly opened her eyes.
The sounds of sweeping and talking could be faintly heard in the yard.
Recently, the young lady has divided the maids in the courtyard into two groups and implemented a 'rotating early rising system'.
Originally they had to get up to work after 15:30 every day, but now two shifts take turns getting up early, and the shift that doesn't have to get up early can sleep until 15:30 that day.
She was in the same class with Yinsuo, and Yunsui was in the same class with the two new maids.
Yunsui and her colleagues were on the early shift today, so she'd been able to sleep in soundly until now, feeling incredibly happy. These extra two hours of sleep had given her a boost of energy and made her less easily tired throughout the day. She even had something to look forward to—she always looked forward to the day she could wake up late.
After a moment, she got out of bed, put on her clothes, scooped up the cold water she had prepared the night before and splashed it on her face, completely awake. She neatly combed her hair in the basin, tied it with a red string, and pushed the door open to leave.
The new maids, Cen'er and Pan'er, were sweeping the floor in the corridor, and one was wiping the window frames with a linen cloth.
Lan Zhu put her hands on her hips, stretched her shoulders, and walked forward, asking, "Anything missing in the room? Have you checked everything?"
Cen'er said, "Sister Lanzhu, I see the embroidery thread in the young lady's basket is almost used up."
Pan'er said, "Yesterday the girl said a page fell out of a book and she wanted to find glue to fix it. I looked around and it seems we don't have any."
Lan Zhu nodded to show that she understood, walked lightly into the small warehouse, picked up the basket and prepared to go to the warehouse, but she heard a "woof" sound and her feet sank.
Looking down, she saw a little yellow ball half her arm's length running into the room and sitting on her shoes.
The little puppy that was picked up at the beginning grew bigger with every passing wind and now weighs three kilograms. It relies on its cuteness to beg for food in the yard every day. The girl also dotes on it and always leaves a bite for it of anything it can eat.
She smiled and raised her foot to push it with her toes: "Go, go play somewhere else." The little guy bit her trouser leg reluctantly and walked away staggeringly.
Arrived at the warehouse, waiting to get something.
A young maid from Yunxi Hall came over, her dark eyes flickering over Lanzhu's face. Seeing her radiant, cheerful expression, she lowered her voice and asked with a hint of disbelief, "Sister Lanzhu, I heard... that you can really sleep until half past noon in the Second Young Lady's Courtyard?"
Lan Zhu was startled by the question, then the corners of her mouth curved slightly, and she nodded lightly, her voice brisk: "Yeah. But it's not like this every day. Everyone takes turns to rest every other day."
"That's great!" the little maid blurted out, unable to hide the envy in her eyes.
The world of the rear house, though vast, is but a few courtyards long. It is small, but any slight disturbance is like a whistleblower, always finding its way to the ears of those who are interested.
The Second Miss of Zhuyuyuan was renowned for her generosity towards her servants. Her mistress was gentle and easygoing, yet now she'd come up with a 'rest rotation' rule—truly unheard of, and the envy of others!
Alas, if she had known that she would be treated like this at Zhuyuyuan, she should not have hidden away and let Yunsui take the good job for nothing.
The storeroom brought two bundles of embroidery thread and a box of paste. Lan Zhu put the things in a bamboo basket, picked it up and walked out. Just a few steps out of the storeroom yard, she suddenly heard someone calling her from behind. She stopped and looked back, and saw that the person calling her was the gatekeeper at the west corner gate: "Sister Lan Zhu! There is someone looking for you outside the corner gate!"
"Who is it?" Lan Zhu wondered.
"A woman! She's wearing a rain hat. I can't see her face clearly, but she looks like she's in a hurry. She came here before dawn. I'm waiting for the rain to stop so I can come find you!"
"Okay, got it!" She turned around and walked towards the west corner gate again.
Standing under the eaves of the corner gate, she put away her umbrella and stuck her head out, only to see a thin woman standing against the wall in the wet alley. She was wearing a brown straw raincoat and a conical hat.
She hesitated and said, "Who are you?"
The woman raised her head slowly, and the raindrops on her hat slid down from the brim and fell onto the bluestone slabs, breaking into pieces. Her pale and thin face was exposed, her large sunken eyes were full of bloodshot, and her lips were pale and cracked.
She trembled her lips and called out in a hoarse voice: "Zhu'er."
The basket in Lanzhu's hand fell to the ground with a thud. She looked around frantically, and seeing no one, she picked up the basket, closed the door, and rushed out, shouting in a low voice, "Mother Li! You! How did you become like this!"
Mother Li opened her mouth to answer, but Lanzhu raised her hand again, motioning her not to speak. She took two steps at a time and dragged her into a small alley. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief, hold up the umbrella over her head, and ask a barrage of questions.
"What's going on? I told you not to hide from me, but you can't come here! It's a good thing it's raining today so there aren't many people around. If the officer saw us, he'd definitely take you to the government office!"
Lanzhu's tone was still so intimate after not seeing her for a long time. Mother Li's heart, which had been hanging in the air all morning, finally settled down. She held Lanzhu with her wet, cold, and rough hands, half bent over, tears falling down, and she sobbed uncontrollably.
"I knew it, I knew you were thinking of me!"
She raised her hand to wipe her eyes, licked her dry lips, and pleaded in a low voice: "Zhu'er, I won't say more. Considering the friendship we had in Zhuyuyuan before, please help me this time. I really have no other choice. I have borrowed everything I can. I don't know who else to ask except you. When Xiangbao recovers from his illness, I will definitely find a way to pay you back, okay?"
She was so anxious that her words were incoherent. Lan Zhu couldn't help but ask, "Xiang Bao? Take a breath and speak slowly."
"Xiangbao is my grandson." She took a deep breath. "After leaving the mansion, I returned to my hometown. Some time ago, my grandson fell ill and needed someone to take care of him, so my daughter asked me to come over from my hometown to help her run the tofu shop."
"But I didn't expect that Xiangbao's illness was difficult to treat. There was no improvement for over a month. Later, we finally found a doctor who could treat him, but the medicine almost drained our family's blood! I really had no other choice, so I thought of you."
"Zhu'er, can you lend me some silver? Ten taels, no, eight taels will do!"
Lan Zhu had just seen how thin she looked and thought she was sick. But when she heard it was just a matter of money, she immediately breathed a sigh of relief and readily agreed: "I thought it was something else. I was almost scared to death!"
"Just wait for me here and don't let anyone see you!" After saying that, he hurried back with an umbrella to get the money.
Lanzhu is a sentimental person, but there are not many people who can make her nostalgic, except Aunt Wan, the second lady, and Mother Li.
She was only six years old when she was sold into the mansion by a trafficker. Mother Li was twenty-four that year and had a ten-year-old daughter. The steward assigned her to the Zhuyu Courtyard and asked Mother Li to teach her chores, but what could a six-year-old child do? Not even as tall as a broom.
Mother Li is kind-hearted. When she sees her, she thinks of her own daughter. She teaches her little by little, never scolds her when she does something wrong, and even protects her.
To be honest, she was raised by Mother Li, so she was so angry when she found out that Mother Li was not dead but didn't tell her.
Now that Mother Li is in trouble, how can she bear not to help?
After two incense sticks of time, the corner door opened again. She turned into the alley with a purse and put it into Mother Li's arms.
"Here! Take it and use it first. Don't worry about returning it. Anyway, I don't spend any money on food and drink in the mansion, so I won't need it for the time being. You should also take care of yourself. You've become so thin..."
She grumbled and added, "Next time if something happens, ask your daughter to come, don't come here by yourself!"
Mother Li held the purse, untied the rope and took a look. She was dumbfounded. There was a pile of silver coins inside. It was not eight taels, but more like eighteen taels!
"You, where did you get so much money?"
"Eight taels of it are mine, and the remaining ten taels are given by the young lady. Oh, don't worry, I told the young lady as early as the last time I saw you in the tofu shop. The young lady also advised me, saying that you must have your own difficulties and she would not tell the lady." Lan Zhu said.
Mother Li's eyes felt sore and she wanted to cry again.
She gritted her teeth, tied up her purse pocket, and said, "Zhu'er, I want to tell you something."
-
Near noon, the drizzle stopped and a few drops of water from the eaves dripped into the small puddle in front of the steps.
Chu Yufu loved to smell the fragrance of grass after the rain. When the rain stopped, she opened the window and leaned on the couch to read a medical book. While reading, she took out a silver needle from the sheepskin bag and tried to prick her hand.
Even though she said acupuncture didn't hurt, the maids were still too scared to look at the gleaming needle tips and ran hand in hand to the corridor to do their work.
When she saw Lan Zhu coming back out of the corner of her eye, she asked with a smile, "What took you so long?" without even looking up.
Lan Zhu stood there in a daze, her eyes fixed on Chu Yufu. Her lips moved a few times before she uttered a dull, "...Girl."
Chu Yufu paused holding the needle, looked up at Lan Zhu's empty eyes, frowned, stood up, closed the window tightly, pressed her down on the couch, and whispered, "What happened? Is there not enough money?"
Lanzhu opened her mouth, swallowed, and then tried to tell her what she had just heard from Mother Li, with an uncontrollable sense of helplessness in her voice.
The story begins a year ago when Aunt Wan was seriously ill.
The aunt was sick, and the doctors who were invited said that she would not die and would only live for half a month at most, so they had to prepare for her funeral. So Mother Li reported the matter to Mrs. Wu.
That night, Wu came and asked everyone to leave, saying that she had something to say to Aunt Wan.
Mother Li had been serving Aunt Wan since she entered the mansion. Naturally, she knew that the Madam and Aunt Wan had never gotten along. She was worried, so she didn't dare to go far and secretly hid behind the window at the corner.
Then she heard Wu laugh like crazy for a long time, and then said:
...Relying on your looks, you really think you can hold some status in the master's heart... But Taoist Yuquan said, "Your horoscope is unlucky for your husband, and you have no son in your destiny." That's enough to kill you! Compared to his career, you are nothing...
It's wrong to hate people. You'll think you fell out of favor because you gave birth to a daughter until you die. I...have been kind today, so you'll understand...
Hearing this, Mother Li's legs went weak and she knelt down by the window, her knees hitting each other with a dull thud, and Mrs. Wu's voice in the room stopped abruptly.
A moment later, Mrs. Wu pushed the door open and walked out. When she reached the corner, she glanced at her. The coldness in her eyes frightened Mother Li so much that she still remembers it vividly.
It was not known if it was due to the shock, but Aunt Wan died just two days later. Mother Li also fell seriously ill. The itinerant doctor who was invited to take a quick look at her and, seeing that she was breathing out more than inhaling, directly asserted that she was incurable. So the servants wrapped her in a straw mat and carried her to the charity cemetery outside the city to die.
Thank God, she survived the night in the charity cemetery. The next day, she found herself able to struggle to get up. She staggered to her daughter's home and never dared to return to the Chu Mansion.
Lan Zhu's voice sounded like she was talking in a dream: "So, so, girl! Auntie is not, it's not because she gave birth to a daughter..."
Should I blame the mistress for being cruel? Or should I blame the master for being cold and indifferent? That was your concubine who had given birth to your child, and yet, just because of a Taoist priest's criticism, she was treated like a piece of trash and completely forgotten.
Should I feel sorry for my aunt who was plotted against and died, or should I feel more sorry for the girl?
She had been in this courtyard since she was six years old, watching her aunt yearn for him day after day, watching her become more and more haggard day by day, watching the girl grow up in her aunt's hatred and love.
She was a little confused.
Chu Yufu leaned quietly against the window, staring at the hem of her skirt, and remained silent for a long time.
She really wanted to hug Lanzhu and comfort her, telling her not to be sad and that it was all over.
But the second girl sitting here now is not that second girl, and she has no right to say it's okay on anyone's behalf.
【Author’s words】
[Rabbit head with erect ears] Thank you babies for the nutrient solution! Speaking of which, is today's content too heavy? I'm scratching my head.
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