Chapter 29: Abandoned Woman, Didn’t You Keep Her?
At night, Song Baoyuan patiently coaxed the two children to sleep and left the house directly.
Liu'an trotted into the study and immediately reported, "Sir, the lady has passed away."
"She left?" Jiang Keyu closed the file in her hand, looking dissatisfied. "Didn't you keep her?"
"She stayed!" Liu'an said hurriedly. "Madam Yao, I, the little one who keeps the door, Xiaojiu, begged Madam to stay! But... what good are our words? Madam refused."
His voice grew quieter and quieter, more and more like a mutter. "It's one thing for you not to greet my wife when she returns. But when she's leaving, let alone trying to keep her, you won't even personally see her off. Is that really okay?"
Jiang Keyu was annoyed, "How can I show up like this?"
Liu'an stole a glance at him. "My dear, you're a handsome man. Even in this state, you're not ugly. If Madam saw you, she'd definitely feel sorry for you. And if Madam knew you were beaten for her, she might even stay without you having to tell her."
Jiang Keyu was upset and pressed her fingers between her eyebrows. "Did the Madam leave any words when she left?"
"Yes." Liu'an almost forgot. "Madam said, if you are too busy to leave, you can let the young lady go to the private school with the young master in the morning. She will pick up the young lady on the way. After the young master finishes the private school, the young lady can come back with him."
"No more?"
“No more.”
Jiang Keyu frowned, thinking, "What does she mean by this? Is she missing Sui Sui? Or is she understanding that I don't have time. Or... is she dissatisfied with my ability to take good care of Sui Sui?"
Liu'an raised his eyebrows and said dryly, "I don't know."
"Then get out!"
"oh."
Liu'an tiptoed out of the study and closed the door.
The evening breeze was blowing gently. On the way back to the old house from the Jiang Mansion, Song Baoyuan, sitting in the carriage, thought of the day of her divorce.
She also passed through this road. At that time, her eyes were blurred with tears and she could not see any scenery outside the car.
“Stop.”
The driver didn't understand what was going on, but he still pulled the reins and stopped.
The wind by the river was even cooler, making people calm down. Song Baoyuan decided to walk alone, so she got off the carriage.
She walked along the Guandu River, her long black hair and skirt fluttering in the wind, her steps slow.
She suddenly stopped and a familiar figure appeared in front of her.
The dock workers in front were carrying something, more than a dozen people were carrying something unknown, but it looked very heavy because everyone bent down the moment the cargo was put on their shoulders.
Song Baoyuan stared at them as they walked back and forth on the steps on the shore.
Among the young figures, one was Zhang Lao.
She knew that Zhang Lao would go to do another job after finishing his work at the teahouse, but she didn't know what job he would do.
Ships loaded with cargo are coming in continuously. We have to finish moving all the cargo tonight, but I don’t know when it will take.
…
3:15 PM.
"call!"
After moving all the goods, Zhang Lao breathed a sigh of relief.
"Let's go!" He waved to the people behind him who were sitting on the steps to rest.
As he walked, he twisted his neck and pounded his shoulders.
He walked into the noodle stall and sat down with great ease. Before he could say anything, the stall owner served him a bowl of noodles that was larger than what was usually served to customers.
"Thank you, uncle."
The noodle stall owner patted his shoulder and said, "Eat early and go back to rest."
"Hmm." Zhang Lao picked up his chopsticks, stirred them, and asked casually, "Uncle, how is your business today?"
"That's it. There's no good or bad about it." The noodle vendor wiped the table. "Anyway, every day, when you're done eating, I'll close the stall."
Zhang Lao smiled, picked up a piece of noodles with chopsticks and slurped it up.
A carriage passed slowly by.
*
In the early morning, the teahouse was not open yet and just opened its doors to let in the breeze. As soon as Song Baoyuan went out, she ran into Zhang Lao who came to work.
"Good morning, Madam Song!"
Song Baoyuan looked at him with a smile on his face and was stunned for a moment. "Didn't I tell you that there's less work before you receive guests, so you can come later. Why are you here so early?"
"Butcher Sun injured his hand a while ago, so I cut meat for him. The meat sold quickly this morning, so I came here early."
Zhang Lao's harmless smile was tinged with a hint of pride. "Butcher Sun even praised me for my nimbleness and said I didn't embarrass him."
Song Baoyuan was unconsciously infected by his good mood, but she couldn't hide her surprise in her heart, "How can you still smile so happily when you work so hard every day?"
Zhang Lao shrugged. "I'm a rough man who works hard. I only understand three principles in my life."
He counted on his fingers, "Revenge when there's a grudge, repay kindness when there's a favor, and be content with what you have."
He said as he walked into the teahouse, "Expect less, don't overthink things, and look at the bright side of things. Then you'll naturally be able to laugh every day!"
He said it casually and left, but Song Baoyuan stayed there for a long time.
Until an excited shout came from behind, "Madam Song!"
Song Baoyuan turned around and saw Gao Luoshu running towards her, "Time for breakfast!"
He showed the plate in his hand, which had some strange-looking buns or steamed buns on it.
"Does it look good?" he asked expectantly.
Song Baoyuan was silent for a long time.
"This is what I learned from Miss He Yue this morning. I made these star buns and moon buns especially for you."
Song Baoyuan: "..."
She looked up in surprise, "Why is Mr. Gao doing this?"
"Of course it's to show my usefulness." Gao Luoshu was very excited. "Try it!"
"Mr. Gao, you don't have to do this."
"What Young Master Gao?" Gao Luoshu spread his hands behind him. "I'm just like them. I'm your buddy now. Why are you so distant with me? You should call them what you should call me."
Song Baoyuan looked embarrassed, "High..."
Gao Luoshu was suspicious and his expression froze, "You don't know my name, do you?"
"Of course not!"
"Then if I go by last name, what's it?"
"Luo Shu."
“Hey!”
In an instant, Song Baoyuan was stunned and opened her eyes wide.
Gao Luoshu nodded with satisfaction, but when he saw her looking at him like that, he felt his face getting hot again.
He turned his face away and touched his ears, which had turned red without him noticing. "I also learned how to make rice cakes from He Yue. I'll give them to you to try."
After he said that, he ran to the kitchen.
Song Baoyuan's eyes were dull and she didn't react for a long time.
It took her a long while to remember why she went out.
She looked in the direction Chengcheng came from yesterday, eagerly waiting.
After waiting for half a minute, she saw the Jiang family's carriage and immediately went back to the teahouse to get the food box.
When he came out again, the carriage just stopped in front of the teahouse.
Jiang Chengyou jumped out nimbly and shouted in a high-pitched voice, "Mom!"
Song Baoyuan squatted down to greet him and hugged him tightly, but no one else got off the carriage.
She asked, "Didn't your sister come with you?"
Without waiting for Jiang Chengyou to answer, Lu'an, who had escorted Jiang Chengyou here, said, "I'm afraid that you, my lady, will be too busy with the teahouse business to handle it, so my husband has taken the young lady to the Dali Temple."
"Is that so?" Song Baoyuan nodded, freeing her hands to hand over the lunch box, and instructed Jiang Chengyou, "I made some delicious snacks for you. Take them to private school and share them with your friends. Got it?"
"I know." Jiang Chengyou said obediently.
Song Baoyuan smiled and touched his face, "Then go quickly."
"Goodbye, mother!"
Jiang Chengyou looked back every few steps.
Song Baoyuan watched him leave until the carriage turned the corner.
When she was about to go back, she found that there were two more people behind her.
The two were dressed simply and looked like a couple, blocking the entrance of the teahouse.
"You two." Song Baoyuan walked around to them, "Is there anything wrong?"
The man grinned at her and said, "Girl, this is a teahouse, right?"
"yes."
"Then, is there a girl named Zhou Heyue here?"
Song Baoyuan suddenly became alert and took a step back. "Who are you?"
"I'm her brother." The man said kindly, pointing to the woman beside him, "This is her sister-in-law. We're mainly here to see her."
"Look at her?"
"Yes, no matter what misunderstandings we had before, she is the only sister we both have, so of course we have to come and see her."
Song Baoyuan seemed to be in deep thought.
"I'll be leaving after just one meeting!" the man emphasized. "I won't disturb your business!"
Song Baoyuan hesitated again and again, but finally agreed, "Wait here for a moment."
“Okay, okay!”
When Song Baoyuan entered the house, she first saw Zhang Lao, who was cleaning the pillars, and called out to him, "Don't be busy yet. Go to the kitchen and find He Yue. Tell her that her brother and sister-in-law are here. Ask her if she wants to see them."
Zhang Lao immediately put down the rag.
"Wait." Song Baoyuan thought for a moment and then said, "If she sees you, just follow her. If anything happens, you can take care of her."
"good!"
Seeing Zhang Lao leave, Song Baoyuan stopped caring about it.
Sitting by the window, I saw the "stars" and "moon" on the table again.
...Has this Mr. Gao always been so confusing?
*
Because his nephew had a headache this morning, Xu Pingsheng took him to see a doctor, so he arrived at the teahouse a little late.
He saw three people standing at the entrance of the teahouse from a distance, but he only recognized He Yue.
Before they got close, they saw one of the men grab He Yue's arm and start pulling her. When she resisted, the unfamiliar woman grabbed her other arm. Unable to resist the force of the two, she was dragged back.
Xu Pingsheng hurried over and asked, "Who are you?"
He Yue seemed to have grabbed a life-saving straw, and cried out, "Xu Xiucai, save me, don't let them take me away!"
Zhang Lao arrived a step too late. "Let go! What are you doing? Snatching people in the street!"
"I'm her brother. I want to take my own sister away. What does it have to do with you?"
The shouting man was quite strong and pushed the frail Xu Pingsheng away.
The woman stepped forward to stop Zhang Lao from interfering, "You dare to touch me? I'm calling you molestation!"
"You..." Zhang Lao was suddenly at a loss and his face turned red.
The man pulled He Yue away with brute force. When Xu Pingsheng stepped forward again, he was pushed to the ground and kicked.
"Xu Xiucai!" Zhang Lao was startled and quickly pushed away the woman in front of him.
The woman immediately exploded, fell to the ground, and shouted at the top of her lungs: "She's molesting me! She's hitting me! Everyone, come and see!"
The noise attracted countless people to watch, and Song Baoyuan naturally heard it as well.
"Call your boss out! His guys beat someone up! Everyone, come and see! The boss has to pay!"
Song Baoyuan followed the sound, and the silent Cen Zhou and the confused Gao Luoshu followed her on her left and right.
"What are you shouting about?" Gao Luoshu spoke first, pushing through the crowd for Song Baoyuan.
Song Baoyuan saw Xu Pingsheng with blood on his forehead at a glance.
"Everyone, please judge for yourself. This is my sister. What girl wouldn't marry at such an old age? We, her brother and sister-in-law, have worked so hard to fulfill our parental duties and found her a well-off family. Now we want to take her back. What's wrong with that?"
Song Baoyuan gestured to Zhang Lao to take Xu Pingsheng back to treat her wounds first, and said calmly, "Not to mention that the family you're looking for isn't a good one at all, but she herself doesn't want to get married, are you planning to force her into marriage?"
"Why aren't they considered a good family?" the man said angrily, "They gave a full 100 taels as a betrothal gift!"
He turned his head and faced the crowd again, "My sister is not unwilling at all! She was just deceived! That's it..."
He pointed at Song Baoyuan and said, "I was deceived by this woman. She was divorced by her husband's family, so she can't bear to see other girls marrying into good families!"
Song Baoyuan's expression froze. "You, what nonsense are you talking about!"
"Watch your mouth!" Gao Luoshu stepped forward and slapped the man's pointing hand away.
The man's eyes widened. "You want to hit someone again?"
He immediately sat down on the ground, crying and wailing with the woman, "They beat me up! They lied to my sister! And they took advantage of their numbers to beat me up!"
More and more people gathered around.
"You are complete scoundrels!" Gao Luoshu was furious.
He Yue was at a loss.
Song Baoyuan's voice was drowned out by their cries, and the sound of pointing and talking around them became more and more frequent.
Cen Zhou had a cold face, and the sharp edge of a dagger flashed across his sleeve.
"Everyone, please be fair! This abandoned woman can't stand seeing others doing well, and she even lied to my sister! They took advantage of their numbers and not only beat me, but they also beat my wife!"
“…”
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