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Finally, it was only after Zhang's mother yelled that the girls left with sweet smiles, saying they were going to cook or something.
And Yan Ruyu, the eighth-rank master, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Chapter 93 What Kind of Person Do You Want to Marry?
Su Changan was actually relieved. After all, someone just tried to touch his face, and his sister even said something like, "How can you be so young?" and then tried to touch his chest.
Thank goodness they're all gone.
But Su Changan glanced at those sisters.
I did see a few people with blue eyes, but they didn't look like Han Chinese.
But Su Changan was not surprised. After all, Maomao said that they were all from the Western Regions, so that was normal.
Mother Zhang looked at Su Changan, then at Yan Ruyu, and smiled, saying, "Don't be surprised. I brought these girls from the Western Regions. They are bolder than those in the capital. I treat you as my sisters. Maomao has mentioned you two to us many times, saying that you, Xiao Anzi, are the only friend in the imperial kitchen, and you, Xiao Yanzi, are the one working in the palace, right?"
Hearing the name Xiaoyanzi.
Su Changan couldn't help but laughed out loud.
Yan Ruyu was stunned for a moment, but still nodded: "Yes, I work in the Chixia Army."
Mother Zhang was a little stunned, but before she could say anything, she saw a little girl coming up with a tray, so she scolded, "Hurry up! You're keeping the guests waiting! You're so slow! The guests have been here for so long!"
The girl looked younger than Su Wan'er. She was thin, walked with a limp, and was wearing a green dress. She was not very pretty and was not cute at all.
After placing the tray on the table, she tiptoed slightly to place the tea bowl next to Su Changan, then glanced at Yan Ruyu who was standing there, and the girl put the tea bowl aside.
After that, he bowed to Su Changan and Yan Ruyu, then turned and walked away.
When Zhang's mother saw this, she cursed, "You don't even know how to ask questions!"
After she finished scolding, Zhang picked up the tea bowl, took a sip and said, "This child is called Qing'er, just like Maomao. I picked him up in an alley in Beijing. I was illiterate, but when I held him in my arms I accidentally called him Qing'er, and the child stopped crying, so I gave him this name. That's how Maomao got his name too. Beijing looks prosperous, and many people yearn to come here, but behind the scenes there are a lot of abandoned children like Maomao and this child. If they're lucky, they'll be picked up and adopted, but if they're unlucky, they won't survive a night, or they'll be eaten by hungry stray dogs in the alley, or they'll be picked up and thrown into the ghost market, and they won't know how they survived."
After that, Mother Zhang smiled and said, "However, the capital is still good, much better than the Western Regions. There is only sand over there, but here we have good food and accommodation."
When Su Changan heard what Zhang's mother said, he thought of what Maomao had told him, that she was picked up by Zhang's mother in the Western Regions, but Zhang's mother said that Maomao was picked up in the capital.
But after thinking about it, especially looking at Qing'er's small figure, I felt inexplicably sad, but when I thought about my own mother and brother, it seemed that I was not much better.
Compared to those children that Zhang's mother mentioned who were unlucky and didn't survive the night, this is still good.
But after thinking for a while, Su Changan looked at Zhang's mother and asked, "Then why do you want to go back? I think Maomao is reluctant to leave you."
Mother Zhang smiled and said, "No matter how good it is, it's not home."
Su Changan was stunned when he heard this.
Yan Ruyu was also moved.
Mother Zhang smiled and said, "What can I say? I thought this place wasn't my home with these girls. Actually, I just learned to talk like those scholars and express my feelings. But I couldn't stay here any longer, so I left like a jerk."
But after she finished speaking, Mother Zhang looked at Su Changan and Yan Ruyu and said, "My words were a bit rough, please don't laugh at me."
Su Changan was about to say something when some of the sisters who had just left came back.
They were still talking and laughing, either holding wine or fruit in their hands.
Qing'er followed behind him, holding a bowl of Hu pancakes in his hand.
However, he didn't stand firmly and fell.
But thanks to the blanket on the floor, it didn't matter if the Hu Bing fell on the ground.
But when Zhang's mother saw it, she immediately scolded him, "Fall, fall, fall! You fall down every day, and you've broken so many things! Sooner or later you'll fall down yourself, and then I'll have to find a doctor for you. You've seen so many doctors since you were a child."
Qing'er glanced at Mother Zhang and lowered her head.
When the sisters who helped Qing'er up heard the scolding, they immediately looked at Zhang's mother and said, "She just fell down, it's nothing serious! And what's wrong with you spending some money on us? We've already made a lot of money for you."
Mother Zhang was furious: "What a bunch of ungrateful bastards!!"
The older sisters were used to Mother Zhang's behavior, so they smiled and took Qing'er out again.
Mother Zhang shook her head, stood up with a frown, and pulled Su Changan over there, saying, "Let's eat first, the food is ready. These spendthrift girls insisted that Mao Mao was coming, so they bought a bunch of things yesterday and are waiting for him."
Then she pulled Su Changan and Yan Ruyu to sit down, and Mama Zhang put some fruits and other things in front of them, then she took the mustard cakes and put them over, poured wine for them, and then started Urging Su Changan and Yan Ruyu to let go of eating and eating, just like my own home, don't be polite!
What are you saying? Your two calls of "sister" touched my heart. You are much better than those little girls.
As she said this, Mrs. Zhang took two sips of wine, saw Qing'er standing there, and immediately cursed her for being useless, then asked Qing'er to come over and sit down.
Then, several sisters came over and sat down.
He still looked at Su Changan and Yan Ruyu and asked them questions.
At first, he was asking Su Changan and Yan Ruyu about some of their own matters, but as he asked, the question turned to Maomao.
For example, do cats in the palace always run around picking up bugs?
Su Changan nodded, but then added that it was nothing as other palace maids in the palace also had their own special hobbies.
This made the sisters feel relieved. They were worried that the cat would be bullied because of its temper.
But when it comes to this, one sister asked: "Is it a headache to be friends with our cat? This little girl has a very venomous mouth sometimes. I wonder if she came up with this on purpose to tease us."
Although he asked this, his face was full of relief, as if he was thankful that the cat had friends.
Su Changan nodded seriously: "Yes, it is indeed poisonous."
Another sister said, "Hey, let me tell you about this girl. If she keeps being mean next time, don't do anything to her. Just take away those strange things she has collected, and she will immediately give in. That's how we dealt with her."
Su Changan nodded, thinking about throwing away the snake first when he got back.
But one of the sisters frowned and said, "However, shouldn't all the maids in the palace be ugly like Mao Mao? How come you are so beautiful but become a maid? It's a pity. If you were to dance, you might be better than the courtesan Liu Baishi."
Hearing this, a sister of Bian'er said: "Yes, mother, you can redeem Xiao Anzi, buy her out of the palace, and then let's deal with it well, and after earning a lot of money, we can settle down in the capital. This way, we can stay in the capital again, and we don’t have to be separated from Mao Mao. Qing’er can also be by our side.”
As he said this, he reached out and rubbed Qing'er's head affectionately.
Mother Zhang drank several glasses of wine, her face flushed. "Don't joke about this kind of thing! These little rascals have been following me for so long, but they still don't know how high the sky is or how deep the earth is!"
When the sisters heard this, they laughed, then looked at Su Changan and said, "The more I look at you, the better you look. Maomao said you are also a pitiful person. It seems that we are the ones who suffer, while the officials in Luoan City are the ones who enjoy the benefits."
While speaking, he looked at Su Changan with great pity.
The other sister glared at the sister who said this, and then said, "Why are you talking about this? Say something happy! Sister Anzi, let me tell you about Maomao's childhood. When you go back, you can tell her about it if you have nothing to do!"
Su Changan nodded: "Okay, that's what I want to hear."
The sisters laughed immediately. Looking at Su Changan, they felt that he was not only good-looking but also cute. No wonder he became friends with cats.
Then, he began to tell Su Changan and Yan Ruyu the story of Maomao's childhood.
As they were talking, a few more sisters came in. When they heard this topic, they immediately joined in and started talking.
Su Changan and Yan Ruyu listened with great interest.
Of course, during this time, I would also ask Maomao how she is doing in the palace.
When they heard Su Changan say it was good, the girls breathed a sigh of relief and continued to talk about Maomao's embarrassing childhood stories.
At the end, the table was full of dishes, and all the sisters came over, and they also joined the ranks of telling Su Changan about cats.
Maomao was the last to come, carrying a large basin of mutton and water.
But just came in.
I heard someone mention that when she was a child, she fought with a cat and was beaten until she cried. In the end, she drew a cat in the yard and stomped on it, saying that it was a matter of revenge.
When Maomao heard this, she put down the water basin and mutton and rushed over, frantically trying to stop her sisters from saying this.
But how can it be stopped?
After several sisters caught Maomao, they began to tell Su Changan about Maomao's childhood in front of Maomao even more unscrupulously.
Maomao listened, and could only struggle but couldn't break free from the hands of the older sisters, and blushed very rarely.
Su Changan listened with great interest.
It’s really interesting to see cats like this, because it’s so rare!
There were laughter, play, food and drinks.
It doesn't look like a farewell at all. Instead, it looks like the cat is bringing a friend back to its home, and the family is treating its friend warmly.
Su Changan and Yan Ruyu were a little uncomfortable with these generous sisters at first, but now they are slowly getting used to it.
YouQi just thought it was interesting to hear them talking about cats.
Mother Zhang didn't say a word from beginning to end. She just drank wine and ate Hu Bing. Occasionally, when she saw Qing'er sitting there with a silly smile and not eating, she would scold him. But when she saw Qing'er start to eat, she stopped eating and continued to stare at the scene in front of her with squinted eyes.
Just looking at Maomao covering Cuicui's mouth and trying to stop Jingman, he looked flustered.
Mother Zhang smiled.
We kept chatting. After all, there were only girls at the table, and it was probably because they had drunk quite a bit of alcohol.
A sister named Cuicui was the first to bring up the topic of marriage. She said that when she came to the capital, she actually hoped to marry a scholar and then, like what was described in the storybooks, take care of her husband and children.
There is also a sister named He He who said that she wanted to marry someone from the capital city because when she was a child in Dunhuang, she heard people talk about how great the capital city was. But now she doesn't want to do that anymore because she feels that the capital city is not that good and her home is still better.
Another sister said that she could marry anyone because she just wanted to be with everyone and never be separated.
Another sister said that she had thought about being noticed by a man from an official family, marrying him, and living a life of ease and comfort. But now she doesn't want to do that anymore, because after living in the capital for so many years, she feels that those mansions are not something that ordinary women like them can marry into.
You say something, I say something.
Su Changan and Yan Ruyu were listening on the side.
Everyone says 'I've thought about it', but no one says 'I've done it'.
No one even wanted to stay in Luoan City.
Looking at these girls, Su Changan inexplicably thought of the conversation he had with Su Wenqing before.
Su Wenqing told him that many people came to Beijing because of its reputation, but after arriving there, they returned disappointed.
It’s just a small dream, but not everyone can realize it.
Cuicui looked at Su Changan and asked, "Xiao Anzi, who do you want to marry in the future? You are so pretty, it would be a pity if you don't marry the right person."