Ye Zelin and Hua Fushu, a couple who seemed to be estranged in spirit, each went to a different place after breakfast. Ye Zelin went to Wenxuzhai, while Hua Fushu took Sanqiao for a walk and then to Sifang Pavilion to listen to stories and have tea.
When she returned home, she brought seven or eight lotus cakes with her in a lunch box.
At this time, Ruhuan was still at the gate. Hua Fushu went up the steps and said, "Sister Ruhuan, who are you waiting for? You were at the gate when I left, and you were still at the gate when I came back."
Ruhuan disdained to pay attention to Hua Fushu and glanced away. Hua Fushu was given the cold shoulder and went into the mansion with her lunch box. She walked through the lobby and was about to go back to Penglai Residence, but she was afraid of running into the old man, so she went to Fengquexuan. Sanqiao followed her.
At this time, Dugu Lanxi was counting accounts and checking account books in the room.
Today, Dugu Lanxi wore an orange cross-collared skirt inside and a wide-sleeved long jacket of the same color with a dark nasturtium pattern outside. She sat in front of a pearwood table, moving the abacus beads with her hands, making a crackling sound.
Unlike her usual gentle and generous demeanor, she seemed steady and capable. Hua Fushu watched and then stopped moving, until Dugu Lanxi's maid Liuzhi called her, and then she came to her senses.
Behind Liuzhi were two girls, about fifteen or sixteen years old. One was wearing a rouge-colored jacket and a pale skirt, and had an ordinary appearance. The other was wearing old clothes, but was quite pretty.
Liuzhi ordered the two maids to pay their respects to Hua Fushu, and the two maids saluted respectfully.
Seeing that the flowers were lush, Dugu Lanxi called her in.
Liuzhi and two maids also entered the room, while Sanqiao stayed outside.
The two maids bowed to Dugu Lanxi. Hua Fushu put the food box on the table and said it was for her. Dugu Lanxi and Hua Fushu thanked her.
Hua Fushu smiled and said, "Thank you, sister-in-law. Thank you, sister-in-law."
Dugu Lanxi said, "I was going to look for you, but now that you're here, I don't have to go."
Hua Fushu asked her what was going on, and Dugu Lanxi said, "When you married into our family, you only had one maid, Sanqiao, to serve you as a dowry. I told my mother to pair you with two maids, and she agreed. My father also wanted this, so I asked Liuzhi to find two maids."
She looked at the two girls and said, "These two are the ones. See if they suit your taste."
Hua Fushu declined: "Sister-in-law is in charge of many affairs in the mansion, so she has good vision. However, I only have Qiao'er, and I am not used to having more people to serve me."
Dugu Lanxi was displeased: "How can this be? We are a respectable family after all. As the wife of a major general, how can we not have a few more maids?"
Hua Fushu said, "Sister-in-law, aren't you also a girl from Liuzhi?"
Dugu Lanxi said, "I originally had two or three maids, but they all got married when they were old enough, leaving only Liuzhi."
Hua Fushu refused, but Dugu Lanxi was firm in his attitude. Hua Fushu took a step back and said he wanted to ask the two girls what they could do. Dugu Lanxi agreed.
Hua Fushu asked the two girls whether they had ever been to school.
The rouge-colored girl said that she had learned a few words from her father, a scholar, and the other girl held her head high and said that she had studied for several years with the pedantic gentleman.
Hua Fushu asked again whether they could write, do housework, etc. The two maids answered one by one. The rouge-colored maid lowered her head, while the other one puffed out her chest and held her chin high.
Hua Fushu asked the last question, "Where have you done this before?"
The rouge-colored girl's mother sent her to the Ye family to work as a maid because her family lived in poverty. The other one said that she had served in a wealthy family before, but the lady of that family didn't like her and kicked her out.
At this time, Dugu Lanxi said: "I have experience in serving others, so I can be ordered around easily. Sister-in-law, you want both of them."
Hua Fushu took a special look at the three Qiaos outside and said, "I don't want either of them. The two of them combined are not as good as my Qiao'er. Sister-in-law, Qiao'er can wash clothes, cook, and clean. She is well-educated and has beautiful handwriting. Even Ye Zelin praised her. She is also good at needlework. I already have one who can do it all. Taking another one would be redundant."
The two girls were dejected.
Dugu Lanxi was determined and insisted that Hua Fushu choose one of them. Hua Fushu couldn't bear it any longer and had to agree to choose one.
Hope suddenly appeared in the eyes of the two maids, and soon the rouge-colored maid lowered her head.
Hua Fushu looked at the two of them. The pretty girl looked at Hua Fushu with a smile.
In the end, Hua Fushu chose the rouge-colored girl. The other one was quite dissatisfied and glared at the rouge-colored girl.
Hua Fushu said to the rouge-colored girl, "I chose you, so you have to follow me from now on. I don't ask for your loyalty, as long as you are diligent and don't betray me."
The rouge-colored girl nodded.
Hua Fushu asked her what her name was, and the rouge-colored girl replied that her name was Ru Lian and she was fifteen years old.
Dugu Lanxi said, "The character 'Ru' in your name offends our daughter's taboo. You must change your name. Lotus means pure and elegant, so you should be called Lizhi."
Hua Fushu had no intention of judging people by appearances. "Lizhi? The word 'Li' doesn't fit. Change it to 'Li'. It has the same pronunciation but different characters. It should be 'Lizhi'."
Although Lizhi was not very satisfied, he still accepted it.
Dugu Lanxi changed the name of the other maid to Yuzhi and ordered Liuzhi to send her to Feiyuan to be trained by Madam Xu, while Lizhi was taken away by Hua Fushu.
The three of them returned to Penglai Residence, with Hua Fushu and Sanqiao in front and Lizhi following behind. When they left Fengque Pavilion, Sanqiao asked, "Miss, why did you choose Lizhi instead of Yuzhi? Lizhi is a stranger, while Yuzhi has been around for a while and knows how to serve others."
Lizhi looked up at Hua Fushu's back and heard her say, "That girl named Yuzhi holds her head higher than a peacock, relying on her experience. She thinks I will choose her? What a joke. The maid I want is not one who is arrogant and thinks she is the master. That girl said she used to be a maid in a wealthy family. I see that she is delicate and tender, so I am afraid she is not used to doing rough work. She is probably serving the master closely. She also said that she was kicked out because she was not liked by the mistress of the house. Either she has dirty hands or she has a bad relationship with the master. This is why I don't choose Yuzhi."
After saying that, Hua Fushu turned around and looked back. Lizhi hurriedly stopped, looked at Hua Fushu, and lowered his head again.
Hua Fushu said, "Having Qiao'er as my maid is enough for me. As for you, I had no choice but to take you in. If you follow me, you must do your duty. As I said before, I don't ask for your loyalty, but as long as you are diligent and down-to-earth, I will naturally treat you well."
Litchi replied yes.
Hua Fushu then asked her where she was from and how many people were in her family.
Lizhi answered them one by one, and Hua Fushu said, "Today is the Shangsi Festival. You should go back and celebrate with your family. Come back tomorrow and find Qiao'er. She will arrange things for you."
Lizhi agreed, and Hua Fushu asked Sanqiao to give her one or two taels of silver. Lizhi thanked him profusely and left the house to go home.
Hua Fushu and the other person returned to Penglai Residence. Not long after, Hua Fushu felt a little sleepy. Looking at the bed, he didn't want to lie down at all, so he found a place to sleep.
At this time, at the gate of the general's mansion, a black horse was slowly coming from the distant street. The young man on the horse was handsome and as bright as the moon in the sky.
Ruhuan hurried down the stairs, and the young man also quickened his pace, and the two came towards each other.
The young man smiled softly, and Ruhuan's heart was blossoming. No words could describe the joy of the brother and sister meeting each other after a long time of separation.
"Ruhuan." The young man called Ruhuan.
"Fourth brother, fourth brother..."
Ruhuan kept calling.
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