buy wood
As he spoke, a servant heard the noise and ran over in a panic. He saw Chunzhi kneeling on the ground in a panic, holding her chest with her hands, and a look of surprise on her face: "Master, this... isn't this the maid from the old lady's courtyard?"
"From the grandmother's home?"
Shen Wenzhao glanced at Chunzhi again, thought for a while, and then instructed the servant: "How about this, you lock her up in the woodshed and keep her under guard. When Grandmother wakes up tomorrow, you can hand her over to her for her decision. This way, she won't be disturbed in the middle of the night for a lowly maid."
"yes."
When the servant heard that he was going to kidnap someone, Chunzhi came to her senses from her panic and was frightened. She stepped back in fear and said, "Master, I am innocent. It was the old lady who told me to do this. I only came to serve you in your yard. I looked around when I saw you were not here. Master, please spare me!"
"Young Master!!"
Chunzhi screamed with tears in her eyes, but the lustful man just glanced at her tear-stained face with contempt, and let the servant tie her struggling hands and walk out of the house, with no intention of keeping her.
-
The next morning, no one cleaned the courtyard covered with heavy autumn dew. All the maids and servants were called to the front hall by the head maid, except for Suxi, who was woken up early by Shen Yunqiu to wash, dress, and go out in a tattered wheelchair.
In the front yard of the Shen Mansion, the servants, who were at least fifty years old, saw Butler Liu placing small items such as a red hairpin, a jade fan, three or two earrings and teacups on the stone table in the front yard. They all fell silent with a little fear, wondering what big thing had happened in the mansion.
After displaying all the pearls and jade jewelry in his hand, Butler Liu glanced at the old lady sitting on the steps in the front yard. The old lady nodded with narrowed eyes, and then bowed to Lin and Shen Wenzhao standing beside her. She immediately understood and shouted loudly: "Bring that slave up here---"
Everyone held their breath as two servants approached, holding a young maidservant with a sullen face and disheveled hair. They kicked her in the knee, causing her to kneel in pain. She looked back at the pearls and jade jewelry on the stone table and the old lady sitting upright at the head of the table. Terrified, she kowtowed repeatedly, "Old lady, please forgive me! I was simply greedy for money, and now I've returned everything, leaving nothing behind! I hope you'll spare me this time, considering my diligent service!"
After a while, he heard people whispering behind him. Butler Liu cleared his throat as if warning and spoke in a low voice:
"Chunzhi, if the eldest young master hadn't told the old lady about your theft this morning, would you have sold off the Shen family's belongings at night and then secretly escaped?"
“I…I…”
Before Chunzhi could speak, Butler Liu said, "You are such a bold maid! Not only did you steal from the young master, you even stole from the old lady and the mistress. If you weren't in such a hurry, would you have robbed the entire Shen Mansion?"
"No wonder Chunzhi didn't go back to sleep yesterday. It turns out she was caught stealing!"
"I was wondering why my pair of glass earrings disappeared. Maybe she stole them!"
There was a burst of discussion below, and Chunzhi became increasingly flustered and quickly argued: "I... I didn't intend to sell it, I just took it to have a look, and I will return it after I have seen it!"
"Ridiculous! You've caught him red-handed and yet he still dares to quibble? Come, beat him to death with a stick and throw him out!"
Suddenly, bursts of gasps rang out all around. Chunzhi was already pale with fear and collapsed to the ground. Seeing two servants bringing a bench, she trembled non-stop, knowing that she had no chance of survival. She crawled forward awkwardly using her hands and feet: "Madam, wait a minute, I have something to say!"
Chunzhi saw the old lady open her eyes and kowtowed repeatedly: "I want to report the young master's maid Xiaoxi for stealing. I did this at her behest, not out of my own will. She also hid a Hetian jade bracelet with a carp pattern, which must have been stolen from the Chen Mansion! If you don't believe me, you can go and search!"
As soon as these words came out, everyone was shocked. Xihe knew Chunzhi was trying to bite her. She glanced around frantically but didn't see Suxi. After hesitating for a while, she bravely stepped forward and said, "Chunzhi, don't slander me. Xiaoxi can't steal anything! Don't bite me like that!"
"What nonsense are you talking about? Why don't you get off now?"
After being glared at by Butler Liu, Xihe finally didn't dare to offend him again and returned to stand beside the old lady in shame.
"Xiaoxi?" The old lady murmured, and then she remembered the maidservant beside Shen Yunqiu.
"Isn't that girl here to bring good luck to my second brother? She won't live much longer anyway, and I don't want to commit murder again, so let it go. Lin--"
The old lady then called out, "Didn't you check? Is there any carp-patterned bracelet missing from the Shen Mansion?"
"Mother, all the lost items are here. There is nothing else. Your daughter-in-law has never seen a bracelet with a carp pattern before."
Lin stepped aside, and the old lady's unhappy expression suddenly darkened.
"Well, you dare to blame others to exonerate yourself! What are you two waiting for? Beat this bitch to death!"
After that, no matter how much Chunzhi cried and begged, it was of no use. The two servants roughly tied the frightened woman's hands and feet to a bench, and tore off a piece of cloth to cover her mouth. Then the servants raised the two long sticks in their hands high and then dropped them, dropped them again, and raised them again. The blood on the spikes splattered everywhere, and the sticks like dense raindrops kept hitting the woman's back, lower back, buttocks and legs. Bang after bang, the thick padded jacket was stained red with blood in a short while. Everyone present was scared pale but did not dare to leave without permission, for fear that the old lady would attack them next.
After an unknown amount of time, the girl lying on the bench had turned as pale as paper, and even the cloth stuffing her mouth was soaked with blood that had leaked from her clenched teeth. The servant stepped forward to check her breath and nodded to Butler Liu.
"See? Since the establishment of the Shen Mansion, the family tradition has been strict. From now on, anyone who dares to steal property, plot evil, or intends to escape will end up like this! Do you hear me?"
“I heard it…”
There were sparse responses from the audience, and everyone was still in fear. Butler Liu waved his hand, and the maids and servants dared to leave, fleeing in all directions. The servants also untied the ropes and prepared to throw the body out, but were suddenly stopped by Lin.
"Wait, leave the body behind and retreat!"
The servant didn't understand why but still left as ordered. Lin turned around and saw the old lady's unhappy expression.
"Ms. Lin, what are you doing? Why are you keeping this unlucky slave for the New Year instead of throwing her away?"
"Mother, you don't know." Lin took two steps forward and whispered something in the old lady's ear. The old lady immediately understood and called two servants: "Go, cover the body and carry it out of the mansion through the back door. Send it to the back door of the Qingzhou government office!"
"yes!"
The two servants were ordered to drag the body away, but no one noticed the even more frightened look on Xihe's already pale face beside the old lady.
-
At the same time, just as the sun was about to rise, the spotless blue sky evenly spread the soft autumn sunlight over every street in Qingzhou.
In the East Market, Suxi absentmindedly pushed a broken chair with one end higher than the other into the alley in the East Market where wood was mined. He felt inexplicably creepy in his heart, as if he was being chased by a ghost.
"Hey, Shen Yunqiu, why did the maid in charge ask me to go to the front yard so early this morning? I didn't go, so I won't be punished, right?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Yunqiu half raised his head and looked through the porcelain white mask at the worried face of the girl above him with frowns on her face.
"So you've been so quiet all this time because you were thinking about this. Don't worry, no one will dare to touch you while I'm here. It doesn't matter if I'm gone one day. I'm not disloyal and will arrange to send you away in advance."
Suddenly, a warm feeling surged in his heart, but Su Xi showed an expression of anger, and poked Shen Yunqiu's half-raised head back with a finger.
"Pah, pah, pah, what unlucky words! We are friends now, after all. When I leave, I will naturally get you out of that den of wolves and tigers!"
"You still have some conscience. It's not at a loss for the young master to protect you."
Shen Yunqiu joked, but he always felt that he was not so happy when he heard the little girl say this. Instead, he felt a little disappointed, as if he was hurt by some words.
"By the way, what did you say your name was last time?"
"A stream."
"Little Creek..."
Shen Yunqiu muttered to himself, clutching the corner of his sleeve nervously, but he didn't know where this inexplicable tension came from.
Actually, he did remember the name. He asked again because he was afraid that if he suddenly changed his mind, she would tease him again, or if she asked him repeatedly, so he asked again to avoid embarrassment.
After all, they were so familiar with each other that they slept in the same room every day. He didn't want to call her "little girl" or "little maid" anymore. He wanted to call her by her name.
"Then I will call you Xiaoxi from now on?"
For a long while, the girl neither answered nor refused, but the speed of her wheelchair slowed down and finally stopped in front of a shop selling wooden furniture.
Su Xi pushed Shen Yunqiu in and saw the shopkeeper lying on the counter counting chips. He looked around and carefully observed the furniture sold in the store.
This street was packed with lumber shops, but this was the only one that sold pre-cut lumber. A sign hung high above the shopfront proclaimed "Century-Old Brand." Inside, the walls were lined with sideboards, neatly arranged with wooden spoons, chopsticks, puppets, and mallets used by the elderly for back pounding. On the ground on either side of the aisle lay larger items: ebony chests, pine chairs, and sandalwood tables. They were simple in design, yet they exuded a solemn, elegant, and truly remarkable presence.
Su Xi immediately lowered his head, and after receiving Chen Yunqiu's nod of agreement, he asked:
"Boss, do you have wheelchairs for sale?"
"They're for sale. Go to the second floor and see for yourself."
The fat and big-eared shopkeeper continued to fiddle with the abacus in his hand without even raising his head when he heard the sound, muttering the formula in his mouth, with a worried look on his face.
"Why can't I understand this...this account? It's always a little off..."
The shopkeeper was tapping the abacus in his hand when he noticed a shadow blocking the light from the account book. He looked up and saw a young girl of about thirteen or fourteen lying in front of the counter, staring at the account book in his hand. When he looked closely, the shopkeeper was startled by the long scar on the girl's face and staggered back two steps.
"You...how can you be so rude, woman? I told you there's something on the second floor, why don't you just go and see for yourself? Why are you peeping at others doing their work? You scared me to death..."
"Thirty-five taels."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
