It was cold in winter, and Liu Qiaoer redeemed Xia Ying for one hundred taels of silver.
Although Xia Ying was also a maid, she was not familiar with Liu Qiaoer. When she came out and looked at the strange yet familiar person in front of her, she felt a little confused.
"Who are you? I don't know you."
After being sold and beaten, Xia Ying gradually became more alert.
Looking at the haggard woman of the same age as her, Liu Qiaoer sighed softly: "Don't be afraid, I am also a maid of the Lu family. I will take you to see someone."
The four maids of the Lu family, Chunxiang, Xiaying, Qiuyu and Dongling, were all carefully trained by Madam Lu from the servants of the Lu family, and were specially trained to serve their masters.
Their status is second only to their masters.
Except for Chunxiang who serves Madam Lu, Xia Ying serves the eldest son Lu Yunzheng, Qiuyu serves the second son Lu Yunqing, Dong Ling serves the eldest daughter Lu Yunxi, and Lu Yunyang follows Madam Lu.
It was just that something happened to the Lu family, and after Dong Ling got the news, she claimed to be sick and couldn't come. Later I heard that she got married.
At present, Liu Qiaoer didn’t know many of the maids in the Lu family, but she knew these few of them, but she only found Xia Ying.
Xia Ying was a very cautious person. She followed Liu Qiaoer all the way home and was familiar with the surrounding environment.
"Are you going to Aunt Zhang's house? Is Aunt Zhang okay?"
The Lu family was raided, and Madam Lu asked Nanny Zhang to take the young master away. Xia Ying was also present at the time.
Unexpectedly, Liu Qiaoer said, "Madame Zhang has returned to her hometown, and the house is left for me to live in. The young master and the young lady are also here."
After hearing this, Xia Ying slowly let down her guard and looked at Liu Qiaoer again. She seemed to remember something.
"Oh, I recognized you. You are the maidservant beside the eldest lady. Your name is... Qiao'er."
Liu Qiaoer nodded.
Xia Ying's eyes turned red and tears came out.
"The Lu family was in chaos at the time. The master and the two young masters were taken away first. Madam was at a loss as to what to do. It was Aunt Sun who suggested sending the two children away first. Only then did Madam let Aunt Zhang take the young master away."
Aunt Sun asked Liu Qiaoer to take Lu Yunxi away.
As he was talking, he returned home.
Although the yard is small, it is kept tidy and clean. As soon as you enter the side door, you can hear the sound of Lu Yunyang reading aloud from the room on the right.
"When people are born, their nature is good. Natures are similar, but habits make them different..."
Through the gap in the window, Xia Ying saw Lu Yunxi was also in the room, sitting cross-legged on the kang, just opposite Lu Yunyang, sewing a sock in her hand.
Xia Ying excitedly grabbed Liu Qiaoer's hand: "I didn't expect you to take such good care of them..."
Liu Qiaoer: "It's what we deserve. Madam Lu treats us well."
"Come with me."
Liu Qiaoer led Xia Ying to the house diagonally opposite and knocked on the door.
Xia Ying's familiar voice rang out in the room: "Come in."
Xia Ying suddenly covered her mouth and opened her eyes wide in disbelief.
"Young Master..."
Didn't they say he was dead
I didn't expect it to appear here.
Liu Qiaoer helped Xia Ying open the door. Xia Ying slowly walked in and saw Lu Yunzheng sitting in a wheelchair. The scenes of her time at the Lu family instantly emerged in her mind.
In the Lu family, Xia Ying would be with Lu Yunzheng almost every day.
Starting from the morning, she helped him get up, served him meals, accompanied him in the study to study, and also picked him up and dropped him off at school.
The Lu family was raided and Xia Ying was sold. She had hoped that the eldest son Lu would clear the Lu family's name and redeem her, but she unexpectedly learned that the eldest son of the Lu family had died in prison.
At that time, she looked like she was about to die, like a blooming flower that withered in an instant.
She lived like a walking corpse for the rest of her life. If she didn't have a younger brother to support, she would have died long ago.
Now seeing Lu Yunzheng again, she felt both excited and sad.
The man was not dead, but his face was ruined, his legs could not walk, and the light in his eyes was gone. The young man who had amazed everyone was gone.
"Sir, sir, I am glad to see you at last."
Xia Ying quickly came to Lu Yunzheng, knelt down with a plop, bowed deeply, and then fell to the ground, crying bitterly.
Liu Qiaoer looked at Xia Ying's series of movements, then at her posture of saluting, and suddenly felt that something was wrong, but she couldn't put her finger on it for a while.
Looking at Lu Yunzheng again, he just pursed his lips. He was not excited at all, and it seemed that he was just surprised.
"Xia Ying, get up quickly... Why are you like this?"
Xia Ying knelt there, sobbing and telling Lu Yunzheng what happened after the Lu family's property was ransacked. Lu Yunzheng felt extremely sad.
In fact, the people who suffered the most during house searches in ancient times were the former servants of the family, because they would face the fate of being sold again.
Those who are slightly pretty will enter music brothels, or even worse will become military prostitutes, and they will not live for more than a few days.
Gu Mubai, who had been sitting nearby, waited until Xia Ying had almost finished crying before asking, "Is this your maid? Xia Ying?"
Lu Yunzheng sighed and let Xia Ying get up. His dark eyes fell on Liu Qiaoer.
"You found her and redeemed her?"
"It cost me one hundred taels of silver. This is the indenture..." Liu Qiaoer nodded, staring at Lu Yunzheng with her clear eyes.
Lu Yunzheng raised his beautiful eyebrows and said, "I'll borrow this money. I'll pay you the interest on it, nine out of ten."
Liu Qiaoer smiled happily and took out a pen and paper: "Write an IOU."
Lu Yunzheng readily followed suit and actually wrote an IOU to Liu Qiaoer.
Gu Mubai was shocked by their actions.
"Isn't she a maid of the Lu family? Isn't it natural for her to share the worries of her master? Why does she have to write an IOU?"
Liu Qiaoer looked at Xia Ying again and finally realized what was different between her and her.
From the beginning to the end, she never regarded Lu Yunzheng as her master.
It is natural for friends to help each other, and it is also natural to settle financial accounts.
Survival is difficult in the end times. No one cares about other people's life or death. If you help someone, you must be rewarded. No one's money comes from the wind.
But in ancient times, slaves were the private property of their masters and had no independent personalities, so Xia Ying was humble at heart.
Although Liu Qiao'er was a maid, she never felt that she was humble.
"She is not a slave of the Lu family. I owe her, and I should repay her."
Lu Yunzheng's bright eyes swept across Liu Qiaoer's face, and a beautiful curve appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"Qiao'er, go take Xia Ying to wash up. I have something to tell you later."
Liu Qiaoer took Xia Ying to the kitchen, washed her, and gave her her clothes to wear. Then they came to Lu Yunxi's room, where she was warmly received again. Liu Qiaoer looked at the window of the room opposite, feeling uneasy.
Xia Ying is here. She is a maid of the Lu family. Liu Qiaoer is also a maid of the Lu family. Could it be that Lu Yunzheng wants to set rules for her
If Lu Yunzheng really treated her as a maid, then she would never be able to realize her deepest wish in this life.
But she couldn't cross that class gap.
It seems that the stories in novels are all lies. In ancient times, people paid great attention to the matching of family backgrounds and the equal strength of men and women when getting married.
After settling Xia Ying, Liu Qiaoer returned to Lu Yunzheng again.
"Qiao'er, from now on I will be Gu Mubai, a poor scholar. After passing the imperial examination next spring, I will go to Beijing."