Chapter 52 (Chapter 52)
Once outside, Liu Zhi became much more lively, chattering like a little sparrow as she shared with Li Xiaoxiao what had happened in the county government's backyard a month after she left: "Sister Xiaoxiao, in the month you were gone, Madam, Miss, and I went out several times. We went to the Li family's flower-viewing banquet in the west of the city. Their lotus flowers were blooming so beautifully! Miss even went boating on the lake. Before we left, Miss Li gave us a lot of lotus flowers, but unfortunately, they all fell off after we only put them in the pot for one day, leaving only bare stems..."
"And then there's the Lu family's daughter from the south of the city, who's coming of age. They invited our young lady to be their maid, and she was overjoyed. She even ran into Miss Zheng and Miss Li at Miss Lu's banquet, and they've been exchanging letters frequently lately. A few days ago, our young lady even invited them to our home, and it was quite a lively affair..."
"Madam has bought Miss several new sets of jewelry and clothes; Miss looks so beautiful in them..."
Having been in Biyang County for so long, Liu finally started taking Meng Liniang out to socialize. Besides trying to win over the local wealthy families, her most important goal was to find Meng Liniang a marriage partner.
However, most of the wealthy families in Biyang County don't have any official backgrounds, so it's unclear if any young men could catch her eye.
Liu Zhi glanced around to make sure no one was listening before whispering in someone's ear, "I heard that Madam is actually quite distressed about it. Every time Miss goes out, it costs a lot of money. It's not good for her to wear the same clothes and jewelry all the time. These days, we've already spent seventy or eighty taels just on clothes and jewelry for her. Miss's attire is a matter of face for our household, so we can't be careless..."
As Li Xiaoxiao listened to Liu Zhi gossip about the manor, she headed toward her favorite barbecue stall. Just as she was about to turn the corner, she suddenly saw a familiar figure flash by, heading in the opposite direction from her.
Yu Dayong? Where is he rushing off to?
But the barbecue stall was right in front of them, so Li Xiaoxiao didn't pay any attention and quickly pulled Liu Zhi over, ordering eight skewers of meat in one go.
The meat skewer vendor already knew her; she was a big customer of his. He smiled broadly at Li and said, "Young lady, please wait a moment. I'll definitely pick the biggest skewers for you..."
Li Xiaoxiao and Liu Zhi sat at the stall waiting. Just as she poured herself a cup of tea and was about to drink it, she caught a glimpse of a familiar face out of the corner of her eye. She cautiously looked around and headed in the direction Yu Dayong had just gone.
Li Xiaoxiao nudged Liu Zhi: "Hey, look, isn't that Baoqin?"
Liu Zhi turned around and just saw half of Bao Qin's figure disappear into the alley diagonally opposite, but she still recognized her: "Oh, right, it's Sister Bao Qin, what's wrong?"
The fact that the two of them went to the same place one after the other in such a short period of time is hard to believe, Li Xiaoxiao doesn't think there's nothing fishy going on.
She whispered, "Should we go and see?"
Willow Branch hesitated, glancing at the still sizzling meat: "But our meat isn't ready yet..."
Li smiled and said, "It's alright, just tell the boss to start grilling, we'll go take a look and come right back."
The two told the boss and then secretly followed him.
The alleyways twisted and turned, becoming quieter and quieter, with fewer and fewer people around. Li Xiaoxiao vaguely remembered that there seemed to be a dilapidated City God Temple in this direction. What were these two doing here?
After turning the last alley, the City God Temple was just ahead. Li Xiaoxiao was about to walk out when she suddenly saw Yu Dayong and Baoqin hiding under a tree in front of the City God Temple. Half of their bodies were blocked by the tree, but it was clear at a glance that the two were tightly embracing and kissing.
Good heavens! In broad daylight, isn't this a bit inappropriate?
Li Xiaoxiao immediately stopped, covered Liu Zhi's eyes, and pulled her back.
Liu Zhi, having seen nothing, asked anxiously, "What happened? What happened?"
Li Xiaoxiao shushed, "Not suitable for children."
What does that mean? Liu Zhi didn't understand. Taking advantage of Li Xiaoxiao's inattention, she darted forward and peeked out. Her face immediately turned bright red. Just as she was about to scream, Li Xiaoxiao covered her mouth: "Don't scream!"
Liu Zhi blushed so much she was almost crying: "Sister Xiaoxiao, how could they, how could they do this?"
Li Xiaoxiao pulled her back, saying, "Oh dear, things between men and women are hard to explain. Can we just pretend we don't know anything?"
Liu Zhi stamped her foot: "But my grandmother said that the lady intends to betroth Xiu Mei to Yu Dayong, and their horoscopes are already compatible."
The servants who signed the contract were considered engaged once their birth dates were matched. It was only because Yu Dayong followed Magistrate Meng to the countryside to promote agriculture that the engagement was delayed. Otherwise, if they had just asked Mama Mao to cook two tables of dishes for one meal, the two would have gotten married.
Li Xiaoxiao was shocked: "When did this happen? How come I didn't know?"
Liu Zhi said, "It was after you were transferred to serve by the young master's side that Madam asked Aunt Luo about it, and Sister Xiu Mei also nodded in agreement. My grandmother said that when the adults come back, they will pick a day to prepare two tables for their wedding."
What are we going to do now? How did Yu Dayong end up with Baoqin?
Li Xiaoxiao was puzzled: "Xiumei is Aunt Luo's maid, and Baoqin is the eldest young lady's maid. They are about the same age and background. If Yu Dayong has his eye on Baoqin, why doesn't he just tell Madam?"
Liu Zhi couldn't understand either: "That's right, if he liked Sister Baoqin, as long as he mentioned it to Madam, Madam definitely wouldn't force him to be with Sister Xiumei. What is this now? What do the two of them think of Sister Xiumei?"
Li Xiaoxiao stroked her chin: "Do you think Yu Dayong is eyeing what's in the bowl while also wanting to marry two women at the same time?"
Liu Zhi immediately frowned in anger: "He's dreaming! He's just a coachman, while Sister Xiumei is a second-class maid. If we were still in the capital, he wouldn't even be worthy to carry Sister Xiumei's shoes. Sister Xiumei would at least be able to marry a minor steward in the outer courtyard. Now that she's going to marry him, he should be secretly happy. He even wants to marry Sister Baoqin at the same time?!"
Li Xiaoxiao said, "Then what is he doing? Does Baoqin know that he is engaged to Xiumei?"
Liu Zhi said, "How many people are there in our inner courtyard now? Even Xing Ge and Tao Xiang, who are in charge of cleaning, know about it. Bao Qin is with the eldest young lady and Aunt Luo every day, how could she not know?"
Li Xiaoxiao said, "She's already aware of all this, yet she's still willing to do this? Does Yu Dayong really have that much charm?"
To be honest, she didn't have a good impression of Yu Dayong.
He was obsequious in front of Magistrate Meng and Meng Guanqi, but when facing the common people, he would show the face of a servile lackey.
Li Xiaoxiao once witnessed him snatch a bowl of egg drop soup from the cupboard of a village chief's house, even though the village chief had said it was prepared for his daughter-in-law who had just given birth.
But Yu Dayong acted as if he hadn't heard and poured the whole thing into his mouth. He then threw the bowl on the ground and smashed it. He said fiercely to the village chief, "You dare to be so careless in entertaining the county magistrate, leaving us hungry. What's wrong with giving us a bowl of egg drop soup? If you have a problem with that, go ahead and complain to me. Let's see if the county magistrate will arrest you and give you a beating!"
The village chief was terrified and kept apologizing carefully. Yu Dayong spat and said, "Bad luck!" He pushed him aside and strode out the door.
Li Xiaoxiao happened to be passing by the kitchen and witnessed the whole thing from the window.
Taking food from a new mother and acting so self-righteously caused Li Xiaoxiao's impression of him to plummet.
She had only been back in the county town for two days when she discovered he was two-timing her, which made her impression even worse. She shook her head and said to Liuzhi, "Whether it's Xiumei or Baoqin, I don't think Yu Dayong is good enough for either of them."
She told Liu Zhi about Yu Dayong stealing the egg drop soup.
Liu Zhi frowned upon hearing this: "How could he be this kind of person?! Doesn't he have a problem with his character?"
Li Xiaoxiao wholeheartedly agreed.
Liu Zhi asked worriedly, "What should we do? Should I tell Grandma?"
Li Xiaoxiao thought for a moment: "How about we find an opportunity to sound out Xiumei and Baoqin? If we tell Granny Qi directly, Madam will know, won't she?"
Liu Zhi thought it made a lot of sense: "Sister Xiaoxiao, you are very thoughtful. If we tell my grandmother directly, she will definitely report to Madam immediately. If Sister Xiumei and Sister Baoqin have any misunderstandings or difficulties, we will have done something wrong with good intentions."
Both of them felt that Xiumei and Baoqin had been deceived by Yu Dayong, and they needed to find an opportunity to properly persuade them not to fall into the trap and help count the money.
As a result, they didn't have time to find an opportunity, and the accident happened the next day.
Yu Dayong stole a horse and fled with Baoqin under cover of night. Along with the two of them, a large bag of clothes and jewelry that Liu had recently spent a lot of money to buy for Meng Liniang, as well as Meng Liniang's savings over the years, also disappeared.
As Meng Liniang's personal maid, Baoqin was in charge of the keys to her trunk.
She stole all the valuables, leaving behind only a suitcase with a few old clothes, and disappeared without a trace with Yu Dayong.
When the report reached Liu, she rolled her eyes and fainted from anger. Granny Qi frantically tried to revive her, pressing her philtrum and calling for a doctor, but it took a long time. Liu's voice trembled as she cried, "Send people to chase them! Catch them back! Beat them to death! Beat them all to death!"
The servants stole from their master's house and ran away without permission. As the master, Liu had the right to beat them to death.
Granny Qi hurriedly said, "Zhao Jian has already ridden off to chase after them. Yu Dayong is with Baoqin; the two of them on one horse are definitely not as fast as Zhao Jian. He'll surely catch up with them..."
Meng Liniang came to pay her respects and attend to her illness, dressed in small, worn-out clothes. Her eyes were swollen from crying. She hadn't expected that she would only have her personal maid left by her side, and Baoqin had even betrayed her. Now she didn't even have a suitable summer dress...
When Liu saw her, she felt her anger, which had just subsided, rise again: "When did Baoqin start having an affair with Yu Dayong? Didn't you, as the mistress, notice anything amiss?"
Aunt Luo hurriedly said, "Madam, you have wronged Miss. How could a maid dare to let her master know if she had ulterior motives? If we had known that Baoqin would elope with Yu Dayong, how could we have agreed to his marriage with Xiumei? It was you who personally agreed to it, Madam."
Liu was so upset that her heart was pounding. She knew perfectly well that she had agreed to the marriage between Yu Dayong and Xiumei. She was just heartbroken that all the money she had spent on Meng Liniang had gone down the drain!
Then there's Aunt Luo, who stays at home all day and never goes out. She lives with her daughter, and there are only four people in the entire West Wing. When Baoqin acted strangely, Meng Liniang could say that she was too young to understand, but as a concubine, shouldn't she have noticed something?
Liu felt utterly overwhelmed. What was going on every day? The family was already struggling enough, and now this had happened. How was she supposed to keep running the household?!
Just as she was about to scold Aunt Luo, a scream suddenly came from outside the west wing: "Help! Sister Xiumei has hanged herself!"
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