Chapter 24: Good idea
Su Qing walked out with a bundle in one hand and a basket in the other. Mama Liu followed behind and waited for Su Qing to leave the yard so that she could close the door. When they reached the gate, Su Qing stopped and turned around, "Auntie, can you help ask Sister Jiaohong if the fourth young lady likes to listen to stories on weekdays?"
"Listen to a story?" Mother Liu asked puzzledly.
"Yes, tell the story like a normal storyteller. I wonder if the fourth young lady will like it?" Su Qing just thought about the feasibility of this matter. First, at the age of 12, she is just an elementary school student in modern times and likes to watch those TV dramas and novels. Secondly, since the incident with Wanxiang, she has been thinking about how she can get the opportunity. The heroines in those time-travel novels can either cook or make medicine, or they can enter and exit freely with a space. She has nothing and can't do anything. But telling stories is different. When she was a child, she lived with her grandmother. Her grandfather had only one hobby in his life, which was to listen to storytelling. He also liked to take her to listen. It shouldn't be a problem to deal with a 12-year-old child.
"Oh, Qing'er, your idea is not bad. Find someone to tell stories to the second young lady. If she listens, she won't feel bored and naturally won't have time to bother Jiaohong and the others. Even if she doesn't listen, just send her away. Anyway, she has been making a lot of noise these days." Mother Liu thought this was a good idea and rubbed her hands excitedly, "Let's go and find Jiaohong now."
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Jiaohong stood there listening to what Mama Liu said, then looked up at Su Qing. The little girl was dressed very simply, with a clean face and clear eyes looking at her. She was not embarrassed or uneasy when being stared at by others, but met her gaze with a smile. She had gained some weight since she first met her, and her hair was no longer dry and messy. Although she was still thin, she exuded a vigorous vitality.
Jiaohong also thought this was a good idea. Now they could use every possible means on the Fourth Young Miss. If it weren't for Master Fang Zhi's instructions, the Madam would have sent her back home long ago.
"That's all very well, but who can we talk to in this house? And what can we talk about? After all, we are talking to the young lady, so we can't tell everything. Why not go find a storyteller?"
"Sister Jiaohong, I will tell you, and I promise to tell you interesting things and never let Miss Four hear anything she shouldn't hear."
"You tell? Qing'er, when will you learn to tell stories?" Mother Liu looked confused.
"When I was a child, my father loved listening to books. He would always come back and tell me the stories after listening to them. They were all interesting stories."
"Yes, Jiaohong, wasn't that dish that Qing'er also told his father about last time? Maybe we can give it a try?" Mother Liu became happy in an instant.
Jiaohong didn't say anything, and looked Su Qing up and down again. The little girl stood properly, wearing a half-worn cloth shirt and trousers, with her hands hanging down at her sides. Facing Jiaohong's gaze, she didn't avoid it at all, but smiled at her faintly, with two dimples faintly visible.
"Okay, then I'll find out what the masters mean first, you go back and wait for the news."
Lying in bed at night, Su Qing couldn't sleep at all. She thought about all the healthy stories suitable for children that she could think of and decided to start with "Journey to the West".
Early the next morning, Su Qing looked through the half-open window and saw Mother Wu and Jiaohong walking towards her from afar, and she knew that her chance had come.
Mother Wu used her eyes like a searchlight to shine on Su Qing from head to toe. No, it should be an X-ray, not even her blood vessels and bones were spared. After a long while, she said to Jiaohong, "Take her over there."
Seeing Su Qing was about to follow Jiaohong, Cai'er nervously grabbed her skirt and said, "What's wrong? Qing'er, what happened?"
Su Qing did not tell Cai'er about this matter. Her experience in her previous life told her that the fewer people who knew about something before it was finalized, the better.
"It's okay, I'll talk to you when I get back." Su Qing patted Cai'er's hand and followed Jiaohong out of the kitchen gate.
Standing at the door of the main house, Jiaohong lifted the Xiangfei bamboo curtain and walked in. She only heard someone calling her "Mother Liu". After a while, Jiaohong turned back and lifted the curtain to let her in.
Su Qing kept his head down, not daring to look around, only to feel a fragrance coming towards him, like the fragrance of plum blossoms, pleasant but not strong. He did not stay in the main hall, but went directly to the secondary room to the west. Su Qing did not really know much about these ancient rooms, but just thought that he should go to the second lady's living room.
When they reached the door, a little maid opened the curtain, and Su Qing walked in and stood properly. At Jiaohong's instruction, she knelt on the water-polished floor tiles, bowed her head, and said, "This servant pays respects to the fourth young lady."
"Get up. I heard that you can tell stories. Tell one to me. If you tell it well, you will be rewarded." A lazy voice came from above his head.
"When I was a child, my father told me some very interesting stories. It is my blessing that the fourth young lady can listen to my stories."
Madam Liu was very satisfied with Su Qing's reply. She turned around and said to Meng Qi, "Madam did say that you must drink the medicine well before you can listen to the story."
As he spoke, he gestured to the little girl to bring a pink and white porcelain bowl and serve Meng Qi the medicine.
Meng Qi twisted her body unhappily, asking if the medicine was hot, then asking if the dried fruits were ready, and then saying that if the story was not good, she would spit out the medicine.
Su Qing looked up at the layout of the room. She didn't dare to look around, and only looked within her field of vision. In front of her was a round table carved from the finest sandalwood, with different patterns carved on it. Opposite was the bed, and diagonally opposite the bed was a dressing table inlaid with tortoise shells, which was very gorgeous. On the walls on both sides of the dressing table were two embroidered silks, one with peony flowers and the other with lotus flowers, with a lifelike dragonfly resting on the lotus.
"Okay, I've finished my medicine, go ahead and tell me."
Mother Liu said to Su Qing seriously, "The fourth young lady is recovering from illness. You can't talk for too long. Do you understand?"
"Yes." Su Qing said respectfully.
The little girl next to her took an embroidered cushion and placed it beside the bed. Meng Qi pointed at the cushion and said, "Sit down and talk. If you stand, I have to look up at you, which is very tiring."
Su Qing thanked him and sat on the embroidered cushion. Only then did she dare to look up at Meng Qi. This was the first time she had seen the fourth young lady. She had a childish face, black hair tied up with a handkerchief and spread behind her, and she was wearing a moon-white silk dress. A pair of big eyes were also looking at Su Qing, and Su Qing quickly avoided Meng Qi's sight.
Meng Qi chuckled and said to Jiao Hong: "This girl is so interesting. She wants to look at me but she doesn't dare to."
"Don't blame me, Miss Fourth. This is something that Mother Yu just bought. She hasn't learned the rules yet. If she couldn't tell stories, she wouldn't have the blessing to be in front of Miss Fourth." Jiaohong said with a smile.
Su Qing quickly stood up and said timidly, "I am so petty and I am sorry to disappoint Miss Four."
"Okay, stop talking nonsense and start talking." Meng Qi waved her hands impatiently, "Why don't you sit down? Why are you standing up again? You can't even understand what I'm saying and you're telling a story? Let me know you're lying, so watch your back."
Su Qing greeted Meng Qi from head to toe in her heart. Damn, the prince in her previous life who had a house and a mine at home was not like you. But she calmed down and sat down again.