After finishing this task, Shi Lan breathed a sigh of relief and returned to her study. She saw Chu Liulang standing by the door and gave him a big smile.
Chu Liulang was checking the accounts when he saw her like this. He paused for a moment, then continued writing and drawing in the book with a blank expression.
Shi Lan was already used to his coffin-like face, so she went straight to the back to fetch a bucket of well water and cheerfully started cleaning the backyard.
As the weather gradually warmed up, Shi Lan spent her days diligently saving money and counting down the days until autumn arrived. Finally, she received a message from the matchmaker: the Pan family had released a group of people a couple of days ago, and the head housekeeper had asked the matchmaker to take some people over.
The matchmaker had a lot of connections, but the most beautiful among them was Shi Lan, so she notified her immediately.
Upon learning that she could enter the Pan family mansion, Shi Lan jumped for joy. Chu Liulang gave her a cold look, muttered something, and then lowered his head to read.
After confirming the time with the matchmaker and sending her away, Shi Lan went to Chu Liulang and told him about her trip to the Pan residence.
When Chu Liulang first heard this, he thought Shi Lan was playing a trick on him, but when Shi Lan revealed her ears, which had been hidden behind her frizzy hair, there were two tiny holes on them.
Chu Liulang was completely stunned. Nowadays, apart from barbarians, only girls would have their ears pierced. He had been with her for so long, yet he had no idea that the child he was eating and living with was actually a girl disguised as a girl.
Shi Lan clutched the hem of her clothes, lowering her head in embarrassment. This era was still very conservative, and although there was a big age gap between the two, such closeness still broke the rules.
Chu Liulang was stunned for a long time before he came to his senses and asked her when she was going to the Pan residence.
Upon hearing Shi Lan say the day after tomorrow, he abruptly stood up and walked outside.
Shi Lan looked at his tall and slender back and sighed.
Chu Liulang was a good man. Although he always had a stern face and didn't pay her much, she hadn't gone hungry since the first day she arrived. He also didn't take back the tips from the customers. Compared to the other shops next door where the work was so tiring that you couldn't even straighten your back, Shi Lan could be said to have the most comfortable life on this street.
As dusk settled, Shi Lan, carrying the door panel, prepared to close up shop when Chu Liulang walked in carrying a bundle.
After the meal, Chu Liulang pushed the bundle to Shi Lan.
Shi Lan glanced at him in surprise. Chu Liulang pursed his lips, remained silent, and walked directly out of the backyard to the front.
The curtain opened and closed again. Shi Lan pursed her lips and opened the bundle.
Inside was a peach-pink ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) and a pair of exquisite embroidered shoes.
Shi Lan was pleasantly surprised when she unfolded the clothes and held them up to her body to measure; the size was just right.
Thinking of the scene of him leaving in the afternoon, Shi Lan smiled faintly.
Before she knew it, the day arrived to go to the Pan residence with the matchmaker. Before she left, Chu Liulang gave her three taels of silver and some copper coins, telling her to be clever there. If she wanted to stay, she should give some favors to others, so she could have an easier time.
Shi Lan nodded, and Chu Liulang continued, saying that one should always do others a favor, which would benefit oneself. Living in a large mansion is different from living here, where there are many intricacies. Sometimes, a single wrong word could lead to someone plotting against you. He told her not to be careless and fall into someone else's trap.
Chu Liulang earnestly instructed Shi Lan, as if he were an elder in the family giving instructions to a nephew who had gone out.
Seeing Chu Liulang, who was usually so sparing with words, rambling on like this, Shi Lan's eyes reddened, but she held back, stubbornly turned her head, waved to him, and then followed the matchmaker away.
Turning a corner, Shi Lan quietly peered out from the alley entrance, where Chu Liulang was still standing, gazing at them from afar.
Upon seeing this, the matchmaker sighed and said, "If you don't want to, then stay. Chu Liulang is a good man. If you stay with him, even if you regain your female form, no one in this market will bully you."
Shi Lan shook her head, wiped her slightly moist eyes, turned around, and followed behind the matchmaker.
Helpless, the matchmaker had no choice but to take her to pick up the other girls and head to the Pan residence together.
After turning through the rows of alleyways and passing through countless towering blue stone walls, the matchmaker knocked on a small side door.
An old woman by the door asked in a hoarse voice who it was. The matchmaker replied with a smile that she was Zhang, the matchmaker who had come to deliver someone on behalf of Liu Mama.
A moment later, footsteps came from inside, and the small door creaked open. An old woman with a wrinkled face glanced arrogantly at the madam, and then looked at Shi Lan and the others with a critical eye.
"Come in," the old woman said, opening the door. "Why are you only arriving now? Didn't Mother Liu tell you to come earlier?"
The matchmaker smiled apologetically and said, "The girls are young, and it always takes some time for them to say goodbye to their families." As she spoke, she placed her hand on the old woman's hand, and their fingers moved slightly. The old woman put her hand into her sleeve, closed the door tightly, and then said, "Come with me. At this time, Liu Mama should be in the side hall."
The matchmaker thanked them repeatedly and led Shi Lan and the others through the covered walkway with its lacquered pillars and green corridors, past the small bridge with its babbling brook. Just as they were about to pass through a garden full of colorful flowers, a beautiful maidservant came up to them. Seeing the group, she stopped and asked, "Granny Zhou, where are you going?"
The old woman who had opened the door earlier greeted them with a smile, calling out "Baoqing," and saying that she was taking someone to the side hall.
Bao Qing glanced at everyone with her beautiful eyes, and said with a half-smile, "Why are you so late? Mother Liu has already finished giving instructions. If you had been any slower, you probably wouldn't have even caught a glimpse of them."
Baoqing's words were clearly a mockery of her status, implying that if she wasn't high enough, she wouldn't even be able to see anyone.
Granny Zhou felt a surge of resentment in her heart, but dared not show it on her face. Baoqing was a capable maidservant by the side of the First Madam, and Granny Zhou, who was in charge of miscellaneous matters, could only fawn over her. Even if she was humiliated or ridiculed, she could only swallow her pride and accept it.
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