Deeply and earnestly thinking about
Concubine Yun's voice in the Peony Pavilion was incessant, and the person in the Vanilla Garden, just across the wall from her, was tired of hearing it. Master Liu simply said indifferently, "Don't pay any attention to her. She's just a crazy woman. She's pregnant with the Liu family's child. Just bear with her."
The Liu family didn't have many descendants, and the side branches had gradually died out, leaving only Master Liu's branch. Unfortunately, the legitimate son, Liu San, was a sickly child, and now they could only support the illegitimate son brought back from Yangzhou.
Aunt Xiang was a gentle and sensible woman. Master Liu asked her to be patient, so she endured it.
She endured it, but her maid wanted to speak up for her.
Before Master Liu even left the vanilla garden, he heard Lian Qiao say, "Everyone is saying that Concubine Yun is pregnant..."
Lian Qiao was interrupted by Concubine Xiang before she could finish her words. Master Liu turned around with wide eyes and pointed at Lian Qiao, scolding her: "Keep talking!"
Dragonflies were circling low in the sky. Seeing that it was about to rain, Yulan gathered her clothes and ran back.
"Sister Yulan..."
Someone called out to Yulan. She looked around before she spotted Yuping hiding in the shadows in the corner.
"Sister, can you please let me go to the North Courtyard?" Yuping took Yulan's hand and stuffed a purse embroidered with gold thread into her hand. After weighing it, she knew there was a lot of money in it.
"Did Aunt Yun hit you?" Yulan thought about the last time she visited Yuping with good intentions but was humiliated, so naturally she didn't look happy.
"No, my sister treats me well, so I just want to follow her and do things." Yuping smiled sweetly, with two dimples at the corners of her mouth.
Now you're calling me a good sister? Yulan scoffed and said, "I can't make the decision on this matter. Sister Yuping, please find someone else."
She stuffed the purse back into Yuping's hand and walked forward without looking back.
"Good sister, please."
Yuping knelt on the ground and grabbed the corner of Yulan's clothes, tears in her eyes, looking at Yulan with a pitiful look. Yulan was also confused and told Yuping to get up quickly, as it would be bad if someone saw her.
But Yuping just couldn't get up. She tilted her head, tears welling in her eyes as she begged, "Sister, help me."
"Why save her? When will it be Yulan's turn to be in charge of the North Courtyard?" Haitang pulled Yulan behind her when she saw this. She was tall and strong, and she was like a wall between the two of them.
"Sister, if you can make the decision, please save me." Yuping changed her mind and grabbed the corner of her clothes, still begging bitterly.
"The Second Young Master is naturally in charge of the North Courtyard. If you sincerely want to come, let's go see the master."
When Haitang said this, Yuping burst into tears and sobbed, "No, I can't run away now."
"What's wrong with Aunt Yun?" Yulan asked, poking her head out from behind Haitang.
"That little bitch Lian Qiao honestly let the cat out of the bag... I'm afraid the master won't let us from the Peony Pavilion go. I beg you sisters, for the sake of our past work together, to save my little sister's life." She handed over the purse with both hands and continued to plead, "If you think it's not enough, I have other things in my room. Feel free to choose."
Yulan and Haitang looked at each other, unsure what to do. Despite their previous grudges, they didn't want to stand by and watch someone die. Ultimately, Yulan felt a surge of guilt, feeling that it was the document left by Aunt Chuanfang that had harmed Concubine Yun and the others in the courtyard.
"You go back first, and we'll think of a solution. The Second Young Master is a loner, and we're not sure."
"No. If the master doesn't tell me the evidence, today..."
"Then how do you explain Aunt Yun?" Haitang interrupted.
"Just say that the Second Young Master insists on taking me away! How about that?"
how?
"Nothing." Liu Er sat in front of the desk with a dark face and looked at Yulan.
"Second Young Master, just consider it a good deed." Yulan offered him a cup of ginseng tea in a flattering manner. "Young Master, you must have worked hard studying today. Drink some ginseng tea to replenish your body."
Liu Er looked at Yulan holding the ginseng tea above her head with both hands, and his heart softened. He sighed deeply, took the ginseng tea and took a sip. "Her parents are at the farm?"
"yes."
"Let her go to the farm to visit her parents and take shelter."
"Life is hard in Zhuangzi. She went through so much hardship to move from Zhuangzi to this house. I'm afraid..." Yulan didn't finish her words. Seeing that Liu Er's face had darkened even more, she didn't dare to speak anymore.
"There's no other way. Tell her she can only choose between suffering and saving her life."
Liu Er turned his back on her and stopped looking at her.
He was angry at her for not knowing the difference between important and unimportant things and not knowing how to protect herself. He was angry at her for having to beg him for help because of such a thing. He was angry at her for not understanding him, and her little bug didn't understand him.
"Yulan, do you think I'm unkind?"
Liu Er stood with his hands behind his back, facing away from Yulan.
Yulan couldn't see his expression clearly. She bit her lip and hesitated, not daring to speak. After a long silence, a thunderbolt struck at the perfect moment, and a rain that had been brewing for a long time fell down painfully.
Without getting an answer, Liu Er turned around helplessly and looked at Yulan, watching her standing there obediently.
Never mind, maybe in Yulan's eyes he is just a master.
"It's raining heavily outside, are you planning to go back with an umbrella?"
Yulan nodded.
Unexpectedly, Liu Er pointed to the soft couch beside him and said, "Let's wait until the rain stops before leaving. You can pick out the spices in the cabinet and the books on the bookshelf. You'll catch a cold if you go back now."
Yulan looked at the umbrella in the mortar, then at the soft couch, and unexpectedly sat on it. She tiptoed to her seat, and her cheeks flushed again when she thought of Liu Er lying on the couch day and night. She also thought of the ambiguous word "like" that Liu Er had said that night, and of the pair of pearl earrings in the sandalwood box.
"Second Young Master, do you want to teach me how to write again?" She asked in a low voice, her face flushed and her eyes lowered as she looked at the water stains on the ground.
Liu Er smiled, and Yan Mo asked Yulan to come over.
Yulan's handwriting is no longer crooked and shapeless, but it can't be said to be beautiful.
Liu Er found a copybook and stood behind Yulan as before, holding her sleeve and writing strokes on the paper one by one.
In fact, his handwriting is not that good. The rain outside the window blurs the ink on the rice paper.
"Let's write another one."
"Okay." Yulan nodded softly, the pearl pendant on her earlobe swaying. The light in the room was dim, and the luster of the pearl was particularly warm and bright, contrasting with her hairy cheeks.
"Do you like it?" Liu Er was lost in thought, his pen stagnating on the paper. "If you like it, I'll give you more in the future."
Liu Er leaned too close, his breath lingering in her ear, the tip of her ear red as blood, and the coolness of her pearl rubbed against her burning cheek, intentionally or unintentionally. Yulan's mind was a mess, unable to think properly. She was led by the nose, responding to whatever Liu Er said.
The rain outside the window has been falling for a long time, so long that Yulan no longer knows how many pages she has written, and so long that the rain has gradually become hazy.
Seeing that Liu Er had no intention of stopping, Yulan pretended not to notice the rain gradually getting smaller under the eaves, and pretended not to know what she was doing. All she could see was a piece of rice paper, on which were densely written her name and the Second Young Master's name.
She was just a maid, while Liu Er was the son of the Liu family, destined to inherit the family fortune and become the future head of the Liu family. Knowing the vast difference in status, Yulan feigned ignorance, clinging to their fleeting reliance. She didn't want to be Concubine Yun, nor did she want to be Madam Qin. She didn't want to jump from one cage to another.
Liu Er treats her well now, but just well. She seems to want more.
She looked at Liu Er. His profile was very handsome, with a high nose bridge and thin, cool lips, with a sharp outline as if carved with a knife.
His mother must have been very beautiful, right? Yulan secretly guessed this in her heart, because Master Liu's birth was average.
I heard that Liu Ersheng was on a boat in Yangzhou, which was no different from her.
So why is the difference so big?
How could he be the son of the Liu family, while she was just a maid?
If she were a man, capable of carrying on the family line, would her father have recognized her? Her mother wouldn't have been left lying on a straw mat in the courtroom.
Magnolia was indignant and unwilling to accept the situation.
As he thought about it, the strength in his hand holding the pen suddenly increased a little, and he drew a stroke on the paper with unstoppable force.
"Pay attention." Liu Er taught softly.
Yulan turned her head, and the pearl on her earlobe gently rubbed her cheek again, making her suddenly alert.
"I won't write anymore." Yulan's thoughts had long been in disarray, drifting thousands of miles away. She curled up on the couch with her back to Liu Er as if she was angry. She didn't know where the nameless anger came from, and suddenly she didn't want to pay attention to Liu Er anymore.
Liu Er was also confused. After thinking for a while, he said to comfort her, "If you are tired, don't write anymore."
Seeing that Yulan still had her back to him, Liu Er knelt on one knee beside the couch. He pondered over and over whether he had done anything wrong just now. After careful consideration, he said, "I lost my sense of propriety just now. I shouldn't have held your hand. Don't worry, I won't do it again in the future."
Yulan was silent for a long time, perhaps calming down. She turned around and was met with a pair of sad, moist eyes. Liu Er was kneeling on one knee, looking up at her, gently pulling at the corner of her clothes.
Yulan pulled the corner of her clothes, tidied up her hair, stood up from the couch, and said in a calm tone, "Second Master, I was disrespectful just now."
Liu Er remained on one knee, gazing up at Yulan. He felt a little confused. It was Yulan who was clearly apologizing. Why did it feel as if Yulan had just slapped him? Had his bug suddenly bit him?
He suddenly laughed, staring at Yulan infatuatedly, and slowly said, "From now on, when it's just you and me, you don't have to call yourself a slave, and you don't have to call me Second Young Master."
Yulan frowned and was slightly stunned, tilting her head, not understanding what nonsense he was talking about.
"In this room, there are only Feichun and Qingbai. Is it okay without the Second Young Master and Yulan?"
He looked up, begging. The humility engraved in his bones made him afraid that Yulan would leave him.
"good."
Even Yulan herself didn't notice that the corners of her mouth were slightly raised.
The next morning, Yuping came again, crying and making a scene, refusing to go to the farm. Yulan was so annoyed that she picked up the broom she had used to cause a scene in the kitchen that year and chased Yuping out.
"Hey, is Sister Yulan starting to show off her skills again?" Bao Fu cracked melon seeds while watching the fun.
"Brother Fu is joking again. It's just sweeping the dust." Yulan smiled gently.
Everyone in this house knows how to laugh the most.
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