Chapter 31 Ready to go
Cai'er sat on the bed and watched Su Qing pack her simple bag in silence, tears dripping onto her coarse trousers.
Su Qing sighed, put down the bag in his hand, sat next to Cai'er, and put his arm around her shoulders. "Don't cry, it's not like we won't see each other again. I've asked Mama Liu to take care of you in the future. Don't worry, with Mama Liu here, Mama Yu won't sell you again. After Madam left, there's not much work to do in the West House. When you're free, go to Mama Liu's place to help with the work and talk to her. Mama Liu is a very good person, and so is Second Sister-in-law. With your personality, I believe they will like you."
Cai'er still didn't say anything, just leaned her head on Su Qing's shoulder. Su Qing could feel her twitching when she cried.
"Besides, Sister Qingrui said that next spring there will be many people like her who are old enough to get married, so they will have to buy another one. Then we will see if Mother Liu can help. Maybe we will go to the East Palace."
Cai Er then whispered, "I thought we could be together for a long time, but I didn't expect it would only be two months. Those house-born kids looked down on us who were bought from outside, and now you're leaving, leaving me alone, all alone... I feel bad, but with you here, I have someone to talk to at night."
"I know, I know. We are not in a hurry. We have a long time to live. God has arranged for us to be together. Otherwise, how could we be sold here together when we were at the human traffickers' place? I believe we will have plenty of opportunities in the future. Just listen to me. With your personality, Mother Yu will not be tired of you. You just need to work hard. With Mother Liu around, you just need to do your job well. We'll talk when we get the chance."
Su Qing took her hand back, and Cai'er looked up at her. "Remember, you have to walk your own path and seize your own opportunities. If I can do it, you can do it even better. Don't worry, when you go to the East Palace, I will definitely think of you as long as I can help."
Cai'er nodded vigorously, then smiled and said, "I'm reluctant to let you go, but I also envy you. When I heard that you were assigned to the Fourth Young Lady, I was still unconvinced. I thought that we came here together, and you are inferior to me in every way, so how come you got the upper hand? Then I thought again, I really don't have your ability, I'm just being stingy, Qing'er, I'm really happy for you now, don't think about me when you get to the East Mansion, even if Sister Qingrui is here, you still have to strive for everything on your own, figure yourself out first, and stand firm before talking about other things."
Su Qing's eyes suddenly became wet when she heard Cai'er's heartfelt words. The words of the little girl whom she had known for only two months were much better than those of her glass sisters in her previous life. That's why they said that people in ancient times were so honest.
Just like Liu Mama's family, they became godparents yesterday, and their attitude towards her changed immediately. In fact, even if she helped Liu Mama last time, it would have been enough to give her some gifts and some favors, but Liu Mama's family really treated her as a family member. For this pure feeling, Su Qing felt very lucky. The uneasiness, fear, resentment and confusion she had just experienced in this strange world, at this moment, all disappeared from Liu Mama's family and Cai'er, making her feel warm.
With this warmth, the next day, Su Qing went to say goodbye to Mother Liu first, and then let Cai'er hold her hand and reluctantly went to the fourth young lady's yard.
There were many people busy in the yard, but it was not chaotic. Mother Wu had packed some of the things she didn't use on a daily basis a few days ago, and now only some of the things she used were left. Jiaohong directed the little maid to put labels on the boxes one by one. Jiaohong had beautiful handwriting and knew the most words in the fourth young lady's yard.
Over there, Qingrui led the maids to move the living things from the Fourth Young Lady's small garden onto the cart.
"Be gentle, everyone. I won't tolerate even a hair less." Meng Qi pointed at the girl holding the bird cage and said loudly, scaring the little girl so much that she stood there as if she was holding a treasure and didn't dare to move.
"Oh, Fourth Miss, it's windy and dusty here. Please go back to the house and wait." Mother Liu lifted the door curtain and came out and said softly.
"Where's mom?" Meng Qi stood on the steps without moving. "Hey, hey, I have to take back that red flowerpot, and that wooden root. I want my third brother to carve a pen holder for me. Remember to load it on the car."
"The prince's wife is with the lady. She said that she asked you to get up and look for her." Meng Qi nodded, and just as she was about to turn around, she saw Su Qing standing at the gate of the courtyard.
"Qing'er, why are you here just now? Come on, tell me another story before we get on the bus."
Su Qing hurriedly stepped forward, bowed to Meng Qi and said, "I just finished handing over the errands in the kitchen, and I wanted to come over to see what I could do."
After seeing Meng Qi finish speaking, Madam Liu turned around and walked forward along the corridor, saying to Su Qing, "You don't have to do anything. Put your things away and go tell the fourth young lady the story first."
Su Qing agreed, looking at the cloth bag in her hand, she didn't know where to put it for a moment, "Give it to me, you go quickly, don't let the fourth lady wait anxiously." Su Qing looked up, and saw Wanxiang smiling and stretching out her hand to her.
Su Qing was stunned at first. In her memory, Wanxiang had never smiled at her. No, it should be said that she didn't even bother to talk to her and acted superior.
"Oh, then thank you, Sister Wanxiang." Su Qing was a little surprised by Wanxiang's initiative, but since she had shown such a warm welcome to him, he certainly couldn't just ignore her. Besides, they would be working in the same courtyard in the future, so at least it would be fine if they could get along on the surface.
"Why do you care what she says? I wonder what she said to deceive the fourth lady." Ruchun said resentfully as she stood nearby.
Ruchun also went to the East Palace this time because of her aunt Guangzhu's family, but she did not serve the master. She would have to go there first to decide what to do. From what she heard, if she could not stay in the lady's small kitchen, she would be assigned to the big kitchen or the tea room.
Unlike the busyness in the courtyard, Su Qing stood at the steps of the main house in the fourth courtyard, listening to the laughter and chatter in the house, and felt that fate was playing tricks on him. The reluctance and grievance he felt when he first came here were defeated by reality. This is the gap between people, especially in this feudal society. Being able to stand under such a hot sun is a good job for many poor people.
So, we still have to move forward, just like a friend in my previous life who loved playing mahjong. She would look at the big cards every time she played, and would not even look at the small cards that could obviously make her win. In the words of that friend, there is always a dream to pursue, what if it comes true? Yes, I have achieved a small step, haven't I?
By the time Su Qing finished telling Meng Qi a story and returned to the yard, everything had been loaded onto the car and the sun had risen high. Mother Wu came over to inform them that they would set off in a quarter of an hour, and everyone picked up their bags and headed for the gate.
Many neighbors gathered at the gate to watch the excitement. Meng Shao helped Song get on the carriage, followed by the fourth lady. The wife of the prince, Wang, was helped by Meng Wei to get on the carriage, and Jiang took Young Master Lang's hand and got into the second carriage. Then the maids and servants who served the masters followed and got on the third, fourth...
Just as everyone was getting on the bus, Su Qing slowly turned around and looked at the place where she had lived for more than a month, the place that changed her destiny. She wondered if she would have the chance to come back, and what the situation would be like if she came back.
The servants of the West House stood in a row at the door. Su Qing saw Mama Liu and Qin behind her at a glance, as if she saw a strand of her silver hair shining in the sun. She stretched out her hand and waved desperately across the crowd. Mama Liu also raised her hand, covering her mouth with one hand and responding with the other. Su Qing smiled broadly at Mama Liu and turned to get on the carriage.
Mother Liu never imagined that she did not adopt her goddaughter with pure intentions, but ended up in that position and lived a life that she had never dared to imagine in several lifetimes.
After Meng Shao mounted his horse and gave the order, the large group of people rode out in a hurry, following the loess road all the way to the east of the city.