Chapter 61 See You Again
Everyone finished their meal in a lively atmosphere. Looking at the two girls who were talking non-stop, Mother Liu smiled and said, "It's like you haven't seen each other for 800 years. Let's go to the backyard to chat. There's a kang there and it's warm. Your sister and I will help her put away her boxes and cages."
The backyard was not big, but it was very spacious. There was a well in the middle of the yard, a small vegetable patch on the right side of the wall, and a small door on the left side that was ajar. When you pushed it open, you would see an alley, and you could see the wall of the shop next door. The carriage had just barely entered through that alley.
There are four houses in a row, all with separate doors. "Only my eldest brother's family and a servant live in the backyard. The others go back to their own homes at night. Aunt Gu and I live in the second room, and my second brother and his wife live in the last room. My eldest sister-in-law has already cleaned up the room, and the kang is already heated. Since you can stay for two days, come and stay with us." Cai'er took Su Qing's hand and introduced her like the host.
Pushing the door open, there was a large open room with a kang facing the door and a table next to it, covered with a curtain, two stools and a washbasin stand. It was a bit crowded, and if two more people stood on the floor, they wouldn't be able to turn around. No wonder Qingrui's boxes and cages had been carried into the large room just now.
There were several bundles on the kang, some opened and some not. "Brother Gu is really capable. Aunt Gu was worried that we would live here like this and the people in the mansion would know and be unhappy. Unexpectedly, we arrived the day before yesterday and someone from the mansion came yesterday. Not only did they let us stay with peace of mind, they also bought us a lot of things."
Su Qing thought, this shop was Wang's dowry shop, so naturally Wang had the final say. Qingrui was her eldest maid, so she had to give her some face.
Cai Er asked Su Qing to take off his shoes and get on the kang while she continued to search in the bag. Then she patted her head and said, "Look at my memory. Maybe I forgot it in the box. I'll go look for it."
"What are you looking for?"
"I brought you something nice. Wait a moment." He left the house before he finished speaking.
Just as Su Qing was thinking about cleaning up the things that Cai'er had scattered all over the kang, the door was suddenly pushed open, and a man in blue clothes walked in backwards. He was covered in dust and his clothes seemed to be stained with blood.
The man may not have noticed that there was another person in the room. When he saw Su Qing looking at him, his eyes lit up and he took a step forward, "Why are you here?"
Su Qing felt that the voice was very familiar. At this time, footsteps were heard outside. Su Qing was about to speak but was covered by the man's black hand that smelled of blood. Su Qing felt sick, but unexpectedly remembered who this man was. Why did he cover his mouth every time he saw Wang Xiaoer?
Su Qing motioned him to let go, but Wang Xiaoer didn't care about her, so he let go and looked for a place to hide in the room. Su Qing patted his shoulder and pointed under the table. Wang Xiaoer lifted the curtain and took a look. He was probably hesitant because he thought it was dirty, but Su Qing pressed his waist and pushed him in and lowered the curtain before he could react.
After doing all this, Su Qing pushed open the door and went out, only to see several people dressed as guards coming in through the small door. Su Qing saw that they seemed to be dressed the same as the group of people who were chasing Wang Xiaoer when he first met them.
"Who are you and what do you want to do?" Before Su Qing finished speaking, Gu Hai, Gu He and several shop assistants came over. When they saw so many people in the yard, they stood there and didn't come over. They bowed and said, "The servant in the house stole something and ran away. The master wants to catch him."
Gu Hai took a step forward and said, "This is the shop of the wife of the prince of Huainan Marquis's mansion. You can't find our shop no matter how hard you try. The backyard is full of female relatives, please leave."
When the leader heard Gu Hai say that this was Wang's shop, he lowered his head, thought for a moment, and smiled, "Maybe we saw it wrong. The servant went into the yard next door. Sorry for disturbing us." After saying that, he waved his hand, and several people turned around and walked out. The person walking at the end took advantage of everyone's inattention and quickly ran to the room where Su Qing came out, opened the door, and took a look.
"What are you doing? That's the room for the women." Gu He strode forward and grabbed the man by the back of his collar. The leader turned around and looked at the man, who shook his head at him, "I'm sorry, he's new here and doesn't know the rules. Go away and don't disturb him anymore."
The guy watched a few people walk out of the alley and went forward to lock the small door.
"Qing'er, are you okay?" Mother Liu stepped forward and took Su Qing's hand.
"It's okay. They just came in and you guys came over."
"Pay more attention to this door. Don't leave it wide open like this, or it will attract other people's attention." Gu Hai listened to Liu's words and nodded.
Su Qing stood there, watching everyone enter the front room, then quickly turned back and pushed the door open.
Squatting down and pulling aside the curtain, he saw Wang Xiaoer lying there in a very awkward position, tilting his head to look outside. When Su Qing was about to speak, she stretched out her hand and pinched her nose hard. Just when Wang Xiaoer opened his mouth and gasped but didn't dare to speak, Su Qing let go of his hand and said viciously,
"Next time you dare to cover my mouth, you'll be dead." Su Qing stood up and clapped his hands, walking out as he spoke, "They left, but I don't know if they went far. Find a way to get out, my sister will be back soon."
Wang Xiaoer crawled out from under the table, calmed himself down, and tested his injured right arm. It was fine. Just as he was about to push the door, it suddenly opened and Su Qing came in from outside with a small box in his hand.
Wang Xiaoer was stunned at first, but before he could ask anything, he saw Su Qing quickly soaking the towel in the basin. "Where are you injured?"
Seeing that Wang Xiaoer didn't move, he frowned and said, "Do you want them to catch you by following your blood trail?"
Wang Xiaoer followed Su Qing's gaze and saw a pool of blood on the corner of the table where he had just hidden. He then glanced at his right arm and saw blood oozing out, dripping onto the ground.
"Hurry up, maybe my family will come over soon, and then I won't be able to help you."
Wang Xiaoer also reacted and quickly exposed the wound. Su Qing looked at the knife wound, which was not deep but quite long, and quickly wiped the blood around the wound with a towel and took medicine from the box.
Wang Xiaoer watched Su Qing treating his wound in a very calm and methodical manner. He showed no surprise or fear when he saw the wound, and he did not scream. The wine poured on him made Wang Xiaoer take a breath, but he dared not make a sound.
After Su Qing finished treating the wound and bandaging it, she didn't see Wang Xiaoer speak for a long time. When she looked up, she saw that the boy was staring at the wound she had bandaged for him.
"Let's go." Su Qing picked up the towel and wiped the blood on the ground. Wang Xiaoer murmured, "It's really beautiful."
"What? What did you say looked good?" Su Qing turned to look at him.
Wang Xiaoer grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, "I think your wraps are really pretty."
Su Qing snorted. Of course, I learned first aid in my previous life.
A few days after Qingrui got married, Cai'er entered the small kitchen of Shanzhi Hall. Su Qing took out 200 yuan and invited Cai'er and Chuan'er to dinner. Cai'er also brought a fire-making maid named Shanling whom she had just met in the small kitchen. The four of them wanted to become sworn brothers immediately after the meal.
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Looking at the willow branches swaying in the wind, Su Qing lamented that he had been traveling through time for a whole year. Should he hold a ceremony to celebrate?
During this year, everything was developing in a good direction. I was promoted to the second rank a few days ago, and now I can follow Meng Qi to visit various wealthy families in Beijing.
Mother Liu has not returned to the West House since she came to see Qingrui off for marriage. After meeting Mother Wu, she was arranged to work in Song's small vegetable garden, growing some vegetables for Song to pick and pass the time when she had nothing to do.
Wanxiang's parents were also transferred to the East Palace. Everyone knew that this was done by Jiaolian's family, but Wanxiang refused to admit it. Although everyone knew that Jiaolian's brother had taken a fancy to Wanxiang, for some reason he had never come to propose marriage. This time when her parents came, everyone thought they were here to discuss marriage, but the couple had been working in the palace for almost a month and there was no movement.
Su Qing looked at Wanxiang coldly, thinking that she was using Jiaolian's family as a stepping stone. With her appetite, how could she look down on Jiaolian's brother? Jiang was just found out that she was pregnant a month ago. Wanxiang had been taking the task of going to Canglang Courtyard recently. She didn't know if she had any clues. Even when she was promoted to the second rank before her, she didn't react very strongly.
Ruchun had come a few times, and at first Wanxiang had spoken to her warmly and even given her some small items. But later, the time they spent together became short, and she became impatient. A few days ago, Ruchun came again, and Wanxiang simply stopped seeing her.
Su Qing watched Ruchun leave somewhat lonely that day, and suddenly felt that this was an opportunity.