"Excuse me, how old are you this year, young lady?" Fu Xia asked curiously from the side.
Xie He blushed and said, "I'm already twenty-three."
Shen Yunjiao raised her eyebrows in surprise and said, "You are five years older than me."
Xie He looks like a young girl, even though she's already twenty.
That's amazing.
However, it is also very possible that the lack of good food in Qingxin Pavilion is why she has not developed properly.
Xie He, Xie He, this name doesn't sound very familiar.
In the capital, only the Xie family, a prominent and aristocratic clan, belonged to Xie Yunwen, a Grand Secretary of the Guanwen Hall.
"Are you Xie Xueshi's daughter?" Shen Yunjiao asked uncertainly.
Xie He was taken aback at first, then nodded and said, "Yes."
"I just don't know if my father still acknowledges me as his daughter," Xie He said with a bitter smile. "I've been away from home for fifteen years."
Xie He's words were full of bitterness and melancholy.
Shen Yunjiao couldn't help but ask, "You were only eight years old when you were sent here?"
An eight-year-old child was sent to Qingxin Pavilion to become a Taoist nun. Xie Yunwen is really unfit to be a father.
“Yes, my father sent me here when I was eight years old, ostensibly to cultivate my character and teach me manners, but actually they just wanted an excuse to abandon me,” Xie He said slowly. Seeing the atmosphere getting a bit heavy, she realized she had accidentally said too much and quickly shut her mouth, then stopped talking.
Seeing that she was unwilling to continue the conversation, Shen Yunjiao did not press her for details. Instead, she asked Fuxia to take some more milk fruit and snacks from the box and bring them to Xie He's room to eat.
Xie He didn't take Shen Yunjiao's things for nothing. She volunteered to lead Shen Yunjiao around the courtyard, introducing the place as they walked, "My room is next to yours. You can come find me if you're ever bored."
They walked to the middle of the courtyard, where they hung their clothes to dry. Diagonally opposite was a small kitchen courtyard, but the door was tightly closed. Xie He said that basically no one cooked there; the firewood they chopped would be sent to the main kitchen courtyard of Xuanqing Temple.
"We have to chop firewood ourselves?" Fu Xia asked incredulously, her eyes wide.
"Huh? Don't you know? Everyone who lives in Qingxin Pavilion has to chop firewood in the morning, and in the afternoon when they have free time, they have to do needlework, making insoles and embroidering handkerchiefs." Xie He blinked and answered.
Upon hearing her say that, Shen Yunjiao's heart sank.
I knew Xiao wasn't so kind; she sent her to the mountains for a vacation, only to suffer.
Shen Yunjiao looked at her delicate, tofu-like hands. These hands were meant to save people, not to chop firewood!
Fu Xia was also on the verge of tears. She knew how to start a fire, but chopping wood was something only maids did. She had grown up in luxury with a young lady, so how could she possibly wield an axe?
Seeing that both master and servant looked devastated, Xie He smiled and comforted them, "It's alright, I'm strong enough to help you chop firewood."
"It's okay, we can manage on our own—"
"You'd better not let her help you, she's a murderer." A loud voice suddenly came from behind.
Shen Yunjiao turned around and saw a woman dressed in flamboyant clothes walk out with her arms crossed. She glanced at Xie He disdainfully and said, "Murderer, get back to your room. I feel bad just looking at you!"
Xie He's face paled, and her lips trembled as she shook her head at Shen Yunjiao, saying, "I'm not a murderer! I'm not!"
She shouted at the woman again, "Qin Youran, don't talk nonsense!"
"If you weren't, why did your father send you to Qingxin Pavilion? I heard from my family that when you were little, you pushed your stepmother into the water, intending to harm the child in her womb." Qin Youran sneered, then turned her gaze to the newcomer Shen Yunjiao, "What crime have you committed?"
She likes to hold her head high when she speaks, with an extremely arrogant demeanor.
Shen Yunjiao grew increasingly annoyed and couldn't help but coldly reply, "What's it to you?"
"You!" Qin Youran narrowed her eyes and snorted coldly, "You're no good either, associating with a murderer who plotted against his stepmother and stepson."
After saying that, she spat and walked away.
"Girl, why is this person like this?" Fu Xia said angrily, tugging at Shen Yunjiao's sleeve.
Shen Yunjiao gently patted Fu Xia's head reassuringly, and then saw Xie He standing there stiffly with a pale face, and couldn't help but ask with concern, "Miss Xie, are you alright?"
Xie He forced a smile at Chen Yunjiao and said, "I'll go back now."
After saying that, she turned around and walked straight back to her room without looking back.
Fu Xia whispered to herself, "Miss, is Miss Xie really such a hateful person? She doesn't seem like it."
As Shen Yunjiao watched the thin figure gradually disappear, she said softly, "I think there must be more to this story."
"Let's go back and continue tidying up." After Shen Yunjiao finished speaking, she was about to take a step when she suddenly felt dizzy and unsteady on her feet.
Fortunately, Fu Xia reacted quickly and caught her, saying, "Be careful, young lady."
"It's alright." Shen Yunjiao struggled to stand up. "Let's go back."
"Miss..." Fu Xia called out worriedly, "Your health is so weak now, what should we do?"
Shen Yunjiao sighed softly.
There was nothing she could do.
Physician Jiang had warned her that once the Gu worm left her body, it would take away a lot of her vital essence and yang energy. Her body was already in poor condition, and now she didn't know how to take care of it.
Fortunately, Physician Jiang prescribed a medicine for her, but since she couldn't leave the house, she naturally couldn't get the medicine.
It seems I need to find an opportunity to ask someone to deliver the prescription to my brother, so he can help me get the medicine and send it over.
The next morning, a series of rhythmic knocks woke up Shen Yunjiao and Fu Xia.
Fu Xia quickly got out of bed and, still half asleep, ran to open the door.
Xie He was carrying a basket of firewood on his back and another basket in his hand. When he saw Fu Xia, he immediately smiled and said, "Is your young lady awake? I brought you some firewood. When the Daoist nun brings you breakfast later, you can take the firewood with you."
After putting on an outer robe, Shen Yunjiao got off the bed and walked up to Xie He. "I'm so sorry to trouble you like this."
When she saw the bundle of firewood, she was surprised. "Did you chop all of this yourself?"
"Yeah, I'm used to it. I'm quick and don't make any mistakes." Xie He smiled at her apologetically.
Shen Yunjiao graciously accepted Xie He's kindness, thanked her, and then noticed that there were two large bundles behind her.
"Why did you chop so many?" Shen Yunjiao asked curiously.
"Uh, that belongs to Qin Youran," Xie He stammered.
"Why are you helping her chop as well?" Shen Yunjiao sensed that something was amiss and asked directly.
If she helped Shen Yunjiao chop wood because she had feelings for her, Shen Yunjiao would naturally repay her in other ways.
But Qin Youran's attitude was extremely bad yesterday, and she said such nasty things, so why did Xie He still help her?
Shen Yunjiao found it very strange, and just then, Qin Youran's maid shouted from outside, "Xie He! Where's the firewood you chopped for my mistress? Why hasn't it been brought yet?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com