Chapter 35: Knock Knock
Su Qing quickly opened and sorted out her bag, putting her clothes one by one into the unlocked cabinet opposite her bed. She held a blue purse filled with her meager monthly allowance and the two taels of silver that Mother Liu had forced upon her when she left.
She was about to put the purse into the cabinet, but after thinking about it, she took it out and put it in her arms. This was all her wealth, and who knew who lived in this room. After tidying up, she looked in the bronze mirror and walked out when she saw nothing was wrong.
Although Jiao Xing just told them to rest after they came back and go to the meeting in the evening, Su Qing knew that if she really listened to her, she would be stupid. At this time, the yard was in chaos, and even Yuan Dong went to help Jiao Hong pack up the fourth lady's boxes.
When she arrived at the yard, besides Baocheng's family, there was another old woman who was talking to Baocheng's family with her back to her.
"What's the big deal? Since she's your niece, she's our own child. Besides, we're all following the arrangements of Mama Liu and Miss Jiaohong for the work in the back room. Just don't worry, old sister."
Turning his head, he saw Su Qing coming out and said with a smile, "Qing'er, didn't you get some sleep?"
"No, I thought everyone was busy, so I came to see if there was anything I could help with." The old woman turned around after hearing the conversation between the two people. It turned out to be the woman from Guangzhu's family, Ruchun's aunt.
Guangzhu's family looked at Su Qing with a half-smile on their face. Su Qing thought that it was this woman who came up with Ruchun's plan to bully her, so she was on guard, but she smiled at Guangzhu's family without showing it, saying, "Aunt, why are you here? Is there anything you need help with?"
Guangzhu's family only knew Su Qing. Although they had met her a few times from a distance, they had never spoken to each other. Now, when they heard Su Qing greet them, they couldn't help but look her up and down. Was she really innocent or too thoughtful? Then they thought, this was a blessing in disguise. She shouldn't know that Ruchun's family was plotting against her.
"I have good news for you. Ruchun has come to the Fourth Young Lady's courtyard and will live in the back room like you. That's great. The three of you from the West House are now working together. You must get along well with each other in the future."
"Where is Miss Ruchun?" Bao Chengjia asked with a smile.
"Take Miss Chunyi to show her to Mother Liu, and I'll bring her back to greet you later."
"Oh, no, no, no. Madam has just returned, and my sister has a lot of work to do, so go and do it first. You don't have to worry about me at all."
The two of them talked for a few more words, and seeing that Ruchun still hadn't come back, Guangzhu said a few more words of request and left.
Su Qing saw a lot of things piled at the door of the three rooms extending from the back house. When she was about to ask what belonged to Bao Cheng's family, someone came into the yard and brought in several more things. Su Qing understood that these were the miscellaneous things that Meng Qi had collected in the west house, including the tree root she mentioned. It turned out that this was the warehouse where the fourth young lady kept her sundries.
Seeing Bao Cheng's family going to help direct, Su Qing also followed and moved the small items onto the shelves.
"Anything else?" asked Bao Chengjia.
The two maids wiped the sweat off their faces and said, "There are still some small things. The maids will carry them in later. The living things will be put directly in the back garden. How could the fourth young lady take so many things in just one visit to the west mansion? I think this storehouse may not be enough."
Su Qing tactfully poured two cups of tea and handed them to the two maids. Bao Chengjia hurriedly introduced Su Qing to them. When they heard that Su Qing had just arrived, the two maids asked curious questions, all of which were about how she got in and what her family was like.
As they were talking, a maid walked in. Su Qing looked up. Haha, they were all people she knew. The one walking in front was Wanxiang, followed by Ruchun, and there was another one called Chuaner, who had followed Meiru to the west residence to do odd jobs.
Wanxiang walked in and said to the Baocheng family with a smile, "I am the newly promoted third-rank servant of the Fourth Miss. My name is Wanxiang. We have brought these things of the Fourth Miss here. May I ask which one is Aunt Baocheng and where are these things?"
When Baocheng heard this, he rushed over and said, "Just put it in the house, and we'll put it back in place later."
Ruchun looked up and saw Su Qing, snorted disdainfully, and followed Wanxiang into the warehouse. Chuaner nodded slightly as a greeting.
Su Qing just felt a headache. She originally thought that Ruchun would not come to the fourth young lady's courtyard, but she came before dark. If she would rather stay in the lady's courtyard, what's the point of coming here?
Su Qing had no intention of saying anything more to Wanxiang and Ruchun. She followed the two old women and thought about going to the yard to see what she was doing. She had to let those people see that she was doing some work. As the saying goes, if she had powder on her face, she had to put it on.
Just as I was about to go out, I heard Wanxiang's voice from behind me, "Sister Qing'er, wait a moment."
When Su Qing heard Wanxiang call her "Sister Qing'er", she felt goose bumps all over her body. She turned around and looked at Wanxiang and Ruchun standing in the yard, and Baocheng's family and Chuan'er fiddling with things in the warehouse.
"Just now when I saw Ruchun coming, I was thinking that we are really destined to be together. Sister Qing'er, I have known sister Ruchun since we were young. She is the most straightforward. Today I will be a peacemaker. We came from the West House together, and we are now working in the same place and living in the same courtyard. No matter what happened in the past, let it go. Who hasn't made a few mistakes? Just correct them. Ruchun, put that aside and listen to your sister. From now on, the three of us sisters should work together well and not let outsiders bully us."
After hearing this, Su Qing raised his eyebrows. What do you mean by just let it go after making mistakes? Who hasn't made a few mistakes?
"Others may not know about the earrings, but I think you two know the most about it. There are no outsiders here, so why are you talking about these useless things? It's pointless to try to cover up the truth." Su Qing said to Wanxiang with a serious face.
Turning back to Ruchun, he said, "Do you dare to swear that whoever wears that pair of earrings, no, puts them in the box, will have her ears rotten and fester, and she will become deaf and unable to hear any sound. If you dare, I dare."
Ruchun had never expected that Su Qing had such a side to her and was stunned by her two words.
"Don't act like a victim in front of me in the future. You are really good at lying with your eyes open. I really want to ask you how you did it. Don't think that other people are fools. Your sister must have entered the West Mansion by now. How did I get in your way? I am a person, but I am not someone who can be bullied. If I hear others slander me with this matter in the future, we will see what happens."
After Su Qing finished speaking, she looked at Wanxiang again and said with a smile, "Sister Wanxiang is really kind-hearted. What I don't know is that you have a deep sisterly love for each other. You care about the earrings like spring, but you are also concerned about my face. But I know how you can ask questions knowing the answer. What good will it do for you to stir up trouble here?"
Wanxiang's expression changed slightly and she looked at Su Qing with a frown.
"Although we all work in the Fourth Young Lady's courtyard, we just need to do our own part well. I don't have the ambitions of you two. You should go your own way. There is no need to drag me down, and don't try to use me as a scapegoat. I am alone, and I will not offend others unless they offend me. If someone makes me uncomfortable, don't blame me for being rude." After saying that, he turned around and walked out the door.
"Sister Wanxiang, look, it's not that I don't want to make peace with her. Look at how she's being reasonable. I, I..." Wanxiang looked at Su Qing's back thoughtfully, and said to Ruchun, "I originally thought that we came together to be a peacemaker, so that we can have someone to help us in the future. But it seems that, Ruchun, is your earring really missing?"
When Ruchun heard Wanxiang say this, her face flushed red and she murmured and could not speak. Wanxiang ignored her and turned around and left the yard. Ruchun did not know that Wanxiang knew what she had done. She always thought that no one else knew, so Wanxiang's question made her feel guilty. She originally wanted to use this as an excuse to control Su Qing. After all, she would also work in the back room in the future. Su Qing would show up at the Fourth Young Lady's place every day, so she would always have to find something wrong with her.
Whether Su Qing admitted it or not, only her mother and her aunt knew about it. But she was wrong. How could Su Qing and Wanxiang know about it? She tried to recall whether she had told anyone about it. But she couldn't remember.