Chapter 122 The First Confidant
Xie Yuduo was very happy and kept calling the servant over.
The gatekeeper didn't dare to go far. He rushed in and saw the maid lying on the ground sobbing and crying. He was immediately panicked.
Xie Yuduo was furious and pointed at the servant's nose and cursed.
"You bastard thief! What the hell did you do? Who told you to let the thief in?"
Xie Yuduo was anxious and angry, and since he was drunk, he was sweating profusely. The servant had never seen his master so angry before, so he immediately knelt down.
"To answer your question, I just had a stomachache and was away for a while. I didn't realize someone came in."
The servant boy usually greeted and saw off guests, and was quite discerning. Seeing that the master was angry because he had let this maid in, he immediately stood up, kicked her twice, and cursed at her.
"You little slave woman, you deserved a miserable death! You came in here for no reason and brought me bad luck today!"
After a round of beatings and kicks, Yinling lay on the ground crying and screaming like a slaughtered pig.
Xie Yuduo was annoyed by what he heard, and he was too lazy to watch him showing off his courtesy.
"Stop. Take him out immediately and bring him to the housekeeper. Sell him to a human trafficker immediately, the farther the better. You, for deserting your post, will receive thirty lashes on your own. If you do it again, you will receive sixty. Get out!"
After hearing what was said, the servant got up in a hurry and pulled the maid out. Before they reached the door, Xie Yuduo called him again.
The boy quickly turned around and knelt down.
"What else do you want me to do?"
Xie Yuduo didn't want to let Chen Qi know. As the alcohol took effect and he had a headache, he still didn't forget to pay attention to the details.
"Don't look for the steward in the backyard. Go to the front and find... Steward Du and ask him to handle it. Also... have someone guard the door. If anyone else comes in, I'll break your dog legs."
The servant quickly responded and left.
Xie Yuduo was so angry that he felt dizzy. He immediately asked someone to arrange for water to take a bath, changed into new clothes, and smelled his body again and again to confirm that there was no odor. Then he went back to the back.
Two days later, the sun was setting and the ground was covered with thick shade.
In the study in front, the owner of the branch came over to answer the question, but Xie Yuduo did not come over for a long time. Xiaowu saw that it was past nap time, so he came to the backyard to look for him.
As soon as he passed the ceremonial gate of the backyard, he saw Xiao Ling lying on a recliner under the wisteria flowers in the yard with her eyes closed. He didn't know whether she was asleep or not.
Xiaowu tiptoed over, took off the purse from her waist, and gently tickled her nose with the tassel.
Xiao Ling was resting with her eyes closed when she felt her nose itchy. She raised her eyes and saw it was him, then closed her eyes again.
Xiaowu saw sweat on the tip of her nose, so he took out the fan from his arms and fanned her.
"It's so cool in Second Grandma's room, why are you sleeping here?"
Xiao Ling still had her eyes closed.
"Second Master is here."
"That's right, I need to talk to him about something."
As he said this, he raised his leg to leave, but Xiao Ling grabbed the tassel of his purse.
"Manager Du, I advise you not to go in."
Xiaowu took a look and saw that the doors and windows were closed, there was no one in the yard, and there were some faint water stains at the door. He understood what was going on.
"In that case, I'll wait a little longer. Good sister, move over there and let me lie down too."
Xiao Ling didn't move, frowning.
"Bah, you're such a grown-up, don't let me spit on you again."
Xiaowu knew he would be scolded, but he didn't get angry. He just chuckled, turned around, sat on a bench beside him, and unpacked his purse.
"These are fragrant crispy plums from Hangzhou. They're better than the ones in local shops. Try them."
He handed it directly to Xiao Ling's mouth. Xiao Ling put it in her mouth and ate it without even opening her eyes. It was indeed sweet and slightly sour, and it quenched her thirst.
"Is it tasty?"
"good."
"I still have some. If you like, I'll get you a whole box tomorrow."
As he spoke, Xiao Wu reached out to catch the fruit core she was about to spit out, but Xiao Ling just tilted her head and spat it onto the ground.
She straightened up in the recliner and opened her eyes.
"If you really want to show your filial piety, I'll ask you a question, and you should tell the truth."
Xiaowu patted her head with a fan.
"I'm older than you. Just call me brother and I'll tell you."
Xiao Ling snatched his fan, held it in her own hand, and fanned herself, looking straight at him.
Xiaowu was startled when he saw how serious she was.
"Tell me now, why did the Second Master ask you to sell a maidservant when everything was fine the other day?"
When Xiaowu saw her asking this, he looked away slightly unnaturally.
He knew the inside story and was ordered to cover it up. Xiao Ling was the second mistress's most trusted confidant, so he couldn't tell her and ended up lying.
"Second Madam asked me this yesterday, and I told you everything. Didn't you hear it? Because she broke Second Master's favorite things in the study, and Second Master got angry and kicked her out."
Xiao Ling snorted coldly.
"Bah! That's just to appease our good-natured and soft-hearted Second Mistress. I don't believe a word of it. Second Master has always been careless and never gets angry about breaking things. He chases away the maids and beats the servants. Do you think I don't know? If he really broke things and sold the maids, why didn't he come to the backyard to find me? I'm asking you to go. What? Are you the manager in charge of buying and selling maids?"
Xiaowu smiled.
"Isn't Miss Ling busy? I just happened to be passing by, so the Second Master just let me handle it. It's not a big deal."
Xiao Ling lay back down, her narrow, sharp eyes looking him up and down.
"Why did you send someone to steal clothes from the back and fetch water for no reason? You'd better tell the truth. If you dare to hide a single word from me, I'll smash your head."
Xiaowu originally wanted to do it secretly, but she still found out. Seeing that he couldn't hide it anymore and was afraid that she would become suspicious, he had to tell her everything.
Xiao Ling listened and nodded.
She originally thought that the Second Master and Yinling were having some illicit affair, and since she saw that the Second Mistress didn't pay any attention, she decided to find out for herself.
"Just explain it clearly. As expected, I wasn't mistaken. That girl is truly restless. I chased her out to the garden, and she, clueless, found her way to the study. If it weren't for the fact that our Second Master is so rare, she would have found a good opportunity. Beating her and driving her out isn't unfair."
Xiaowu stepped forward and pushed her, begging her to keep it a secret.
"My dear sister, I'm only telling you, don't let Second Mistress know. Second Master was furious and had his study cleaned inside and out. He replaced everything that could be moved with new ones, and even mopped the floor three or five times. Didn't you see that he hasn't slept in the study lately, and he hasn't even been drinking as much."
Xiao Ling lay back down, closed her eyes and covered her face with a handkerchief.
"That depends on my sister's mood."
Under the flower vines, mottled light and shadows fell on the handkerchief, dotted like scattered gold and jade.
Xiaowu was moved by what he saw and leaned over. He was about to say something to Xiaoling when suddenly the door opened and Xie Yuduo pushed the door open and came out of the main room, straightening his sleeves as he walked.
Xiaowu quickly straightened up and moved away from her.
Seeing him here, the Second Master knew something was going on up ahead, so he raised his hand, motioning for him to go out with him. Xiao Wu responded, left his purse and fan to Xiao Ling, and walked away.
Later, Xiaowu also secretly looked for Xiaoling several times, pestering her, begging her for this and that, and giving her a lot of things. Xiaoling had originally not intended to tell the Second Mistress, but after seeing how much he tried to please her, she finally confessed and promised to keep it a secret for him. That's all.
As summer passed and autumn came, the weather became cooler day by day, and Xiao Ming'er grew up day by day. Chen Qi took her daughter and Yu Jing out to banquets, socialize everywhere, and took the opportunity to find a boyfriend for Yu Jing.
After much deliberation, Xie Yuduo finally decided to choose the only son of a merchant family in the neighboring province.
This family was originally a business partner of Xie Yuduo. They owned more than a dozen shops and were very wealthy. The boy was only sixteen or seventeen years old and was handsome. Chen Qi specially arranged a banquet and asked Yu Jing to meet him. Both parties had no objections, so the matter was settled.
However, because that family had just lost an elder and was in mourning, it was not convenient for them to formally arrange the marriage. So they sent some expensive gifts first, and the two families also held a few banquets. They agreed to send the betrothal gifts at the end of next year and get married in the early spring of the following year.
Seeing that Yu Jing was finally engaged, Chen Qi heaved a sigh of relief and busied herself with preparing her dowry. Yu Jing also moved to the front yard to live on her own, waiting patiently for her brother and sister-in-law to arrange her engagement and marriage.
It’s the end of the year again and it’s busy.
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