Chapter 39: Cousin, do you want to live with me?
Yusha wanted to see Qiao Mei yesterday, but she ran into a drunk on the way and almost got her buttocks broken. Afterwards, when Mother Chen saw her like this, she considered that she would be working as a prostitute soon and was worried that she and Qiao Mei would cause trouble again. So she asked Yusha to move to the small pavilion in the west temporarily on the pretext of resting, and told her not to serve Qiao Mei anymore, but to concentrate on preparing the music for the first day of the listing.
That day, Yusha used the excuse of sorting out old things to finally get to the outside of the warm room where Qiao Mei entertained guests.
She had heard that the financial sponsor who had secured Qiao Mei's hand today was still that young master surnamed Zhu.
It was now noon, and there was still an hour before the sponsor left. Yusha hesitated outside, still not making up her mind to knock on the door.
She paced back and forth outside the door. Suddenly, the door was pushed open and it was Song Xieqing who walked out.
Yusha saw the man walk around her, walk back to the corridor, and head for the staircase. She asked, "Where are you going, Master Zhu?"
Song Xieqing did not pause when he heard the question. After he took a few steps, he came to his senses and almost forgot that his current surname was Zhu.
He was in a hurry to leave, his feet still pounding. "I'm back."
"Back?" What did that mean? Did Qiao Mei upset him? If so, the madam was unsure how to punish her. After all, she still held a grudge against Qiao Mei for what happened with Lu Jue.
Yusha chased him a few steps and asked, "Did Qiao Mei make a mistake?" Seeing that Song Xieqing didn't react and was about to leave the corridor, Yusha had to add, "I used to be Sister Qiao's maid. Now Sister Qiao can no longer play the guzheng due to a hand injury. Does your Excellency enjoy the sound of the pipa? My daughter will perform as a prostitute the day after tomorrow. Would you like to come and support her?"
At this point, Yu Shafang saw the man looking back, and he finally stopped, "My wife sent someone to look for me, Qiao Lekui did nothing wrong."
Yusha was stunned. When she came to her senses, Song Xieqing was no longer in sight. Only Yusha remained in the corridor. She stamped her foot and spat, "How dare a henpecked man come to a brothel to seek pleasure? These men already have wives, yet they still lust after those weeds and flowers out there. They're truly beasts in human skin."
Yusha didn't delay any longer. She went back to the outside of the warm room. Qiaomei hadn't locked the door yet, so Yusha pushed it open and walked in.
What came into view was the serene scene of Qiao Mei holding a guzheng. Her fingertips gently stroked the strings, but her fingers and wrists were slightly stiff. Because Qiao Mei plucked the strings with very light force, Yusha did not hear the melodious sound of the guzheng.
Qiao Mei's eyes flickered when she saw Yu Sha. Then she casually asked, "Did that idiot Mr. Zhu do anything to you? He seems to have a pretty face, but a bad temper."
Qiao Mei put the guzheng aside for a moment and asked suspiciously, "You have a bad temper? Have you met Master Zhu?"
Yusha rolled her eyes first, and then told Qiao Mei what had just happened. She did not tell Qiao Mei that she did this because she was worried about her, but made up the excuse that she did it to attract sponsors on the first day of listing.
After hearing this, Qiao Mei covered her lips and smiled softly. It was the first time Yu Sha had met her since she had pretended to disfigure herself and was punished by Mother Chen. Naturally, she had no way of knowing about the conspiracy between Master Zhu and her mother. If Master Zhu had not told her, she would have been kept in the dark.
Qiao Mei briefly recounted the incident to Yu Sha. After hearing this, Yu Sha remained silent for a moment before saying, "So, what Master Zhu said was all nonsense?"
Qiao Mei thought Yusha was talking about how Song Xieqing had redeemed her. "Yes, my mother must have agreed to cooperate with Madam Zhu. Madam Zhu then asked her distant cousin to come to the brothel and redeem me as a prostitute."
Yusa frowned, "Cousin?"
Qiao Mei nodded. "I asked a question today. According to Master Zhu, my mother originally wanted to ask Madam Zhu's husband to come, but he had a cold and was not able to come. Coincidentally, her distant cousin was visiting relatives in Huaicheng, so Madam Zhu asked Master Zhu to make the trip. Although Master Zhu seems cold and taciturn, I think he must be a warm-hearted person. Otherwise, how could he help? Besides, Master Zhu is very polite to me. You, please don't say he has a bad temper."
Did she misunderstand him? She was openly scolding him just now.
Yesterday, Lu Jue mentioned this person, and Yu Sha told him the truth about the rumors she had heard. She had never imagined that this person was really related to the Zhu family. Miss Zhu was willing to help, which showed that she was kind and gentle.
Yusha asked, "Then why did he leave an hour early?"
"I don't know."
Qiao Mei also found this strange. Mr. Zhu did not explain the reason when he left, so she did not want to delve into it.
As she lowered her head, she noticed that the soles of Yusha's shoes were relatively clean. Qiao Mei pondered for a moment and said, "Yusha, I know you don't like me very much, but as your sister, as your former master, there are some things I must tell you now. Once you become the top-ranked person in this building, I'm afraid I won't be able to see you again."
Upon hearing this, Yusha stared at Qiao Mei thoughtfully with her naturally charming eyes.
"I know you've been getting up at 3:00 AM for many days, carrying your pipa to the outskirts of the city to practice. But Yusha, if you become a prostitute, you won't have to do this anymore. If you go to court, many eyes will be watching you, both inside and outside the building. Besides, the journey to the outskirts of the city is long and not very safe. Yusha, your pipa playing is like the pure music of the upper realms. When you become a prostitute, you can practice in the attic during the day. You are beautiful, and although you have a sharp tongue, you have a clever way of dealing with men. In time, you will surely become famous in this city."
"Yusha, when you were eleven or twelve and had just entered the brothel, Mother Chen took you into my pavilion. Mother scolded you for accidentally breaking a porcelain cup, but I didn't ask her to forgive you... I'm sorry. Now, you know Mother's temper very well. If I had tried to dissuade her, even if she went easy on you now, she might have called you out to a secluded place and tormented you someday."
Yusha raised her lips and smiled. She lay straight on the soft couch in the hut and said, "I don't like to be taught by others, so you don't have to say anything more."
Yusha had not mentioned getting up early to practice playing the pipa on the outskirts of the city, so why would she want to say that?
The people in the brothel only thought that Yusha was extremely talented and was born with the ability to play the piano beautifully. In fact, when she was twelve years old, she spent all her savings to buy a broken pipa. Every day before dawn, Yusha would carry the pipa on her back and walk to the outskirts of the city. The road was bumpy and if it rained suddenly, her shoes would be covered with mud.
She was clumsy, completely clueless about music theory, and slow to learn. She wasn't the brilliant genius people claimed she was, but so what? If no one saw her tireless work, then she was simply gifted.
She desperately didn't want Qiao Mei to know, as she always outshined her. However, they shared a pavilion, and she was Qiao Mei's maid. How long could she keep it a secret? Yusha knew that if Qiao Mei hadn't deliberately indulged her for many years, she, as a maid, would never have been able to find time to practice pipa. For this reason, her feelings for Qiao Mei were always complicated and subtle.
"Well, maybe you're more insightful than me." Qiao Mei looked at her and said solemnly, "I know it was you who found Madam Zhu on behalf of my mother. After all, she's such a shameless person..."
"Yusa, thank you."
The pavilion was silent for a moment. Yu Sha's tone was indistinct, "Tomorrow will be my last day as a prostitute, right? Will you come here to redeem your mother? The sun is shining brightly. Once you leave, there will be no one left to compete with me for this building."
She snorted and said the farther the better.
…
Zhu Hao went to the clothing shop to help in the morning and discussed the details of the wedding day with Liu Rutang. At noon, he returned to the mansion to embroider a wedding dress for Li Yuan's mother.
The recent hard work has made Zhu Hao increasingly weak. Miaoli goes to Zhongchuntang to get prescriptions and medicine for her. Zhu Hao sits in Dexian Pavilion embroidering peach blossom patterns on the red satin in her hands.
The peach blossom on one end of the cloth is now almost finished. At that time, the task of cutting and sewing can be handed over to the tailor in the shop.
Zhu Hao put down the silver needle, picked up the still warm tea on the table and took a sip. She was about to continue embroidering when she heard the faint sound of door cymbals.
Zhu Hao opened the door of the attic a crack. The draft coming in from outside gave her a headache. Zhu Hao took a cloak from the wooden shelf on the side and then walked out of the inner room.
Because she was concentrating on embroidering, she didn't pay attention to the time. Zhu Hao just thought that Song Xieqing had returned home. However, she quickly dismissed this idea. If it was Song Xieqing, why would he knock on the door?
But Miaoli should have been carrying the key ring, so the person knocking on the door was definitely not Miaoli.
Zhu Hao opened the door with suspicion. The man who came in was neither tall nor short, with fair skin. He had black hair tied up high, and looked like a handsome young man.
Lu Jue was originally curious about what this young lady who was famous in Huaicheng and Linzhou last year would look like. Since she dared to go against the You family, the local tyrants in this city, she should be strong and tough, but when the door of the house opened, he saw a woman with a sickly pale face and an extraordinary appearance.
Today was a warm and sunny day, yet she wore an apricot-yellow cape, tucked under her collar, looking very cute. Lu Jue lost his mind uncontrollably and couldn't help asking, "Good girl, do you know how to play mahjong?"
Zhu Hao was silent for a moment, then said calmly, "Just call me Mrs. Zhu, and..." She felt completely baffled, "I don't know anything about mahjong."
"It's okay, it's okay." Lu Jue opened the door wide and entered the inner courtyard without Zhu Hao's permission. Zhu Hao already had a husband, so this was not appropriate for the two of them.
Before Zhu Hao closed the door, Lu Jue leisurely sat down on the brocade stool and did not forget to greet her, "Miss Haohao, please sit down. You look pale and weak. Well, it's not a big deal. There are countless famous doctors in Qizhou Prefecture. I will order them to come and treat Miss Haohao someday."
This person's behavior and conversation were extremely wild. Furthermore, knowing her name, Zhu Hao pondered, "Qizhou Prefecture?" She examined her closely, and saw she was about seventeen or eighteen years old, dressed elegantly, with delicate skin and a delicate complexion. She had heard Liu Rutang talk about the young master of the Qizhou prefect's family, so Zhu Hao asked, "Why did Master Lu come to the Zhu residence?"
Could it be that Lu Jue already knew what she and Liu Rutang were planning? Did he come to her specifically to ask for her?
Lu Jue let out a long "eh". Before he introduced himself, the beauty in front of him guessed it immediately.
Not only does she have bright eyes and bright eyebrows, she is also smart and wise. Most importantly, she is very frail, and it is just right for her to be raised in his large mansion.
Oh, Pei Yingchen is really something. He only mentioned the name of the victim in the Huaicheng burial case, but never mentioned that the girl was so beautiful. If he had told him earlier, he would have taken the young lady into his mansion and made her his wife before she got married. After all, a man should play with a beautiful woman.
However, Lu Jue thought again, so what if he was married? He didn't care about these worldly things at all, it was just a game of mahjong.
So, Lu Jue shamelessly asked, "Would you please come back to Qizhou with me? I'll find a famous doctor to treat your illness, okay? If you follow me, you'll have endless gold and silver to spend, and servants to serve you. You'll only need to please me on a daily basis, and you won't have to work hard, nor will you have to live under the guise of others. It's okay for you to have a husband, so you can divorce me. I won't nag you about this matter."
"Well, my good girl, do you want to live with me?"
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The author has something to say: Xiao Song has five seconds to arrive at the scene
I just graduated and became a social animal, so Zundu has been too busy recently T^T
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