In Liu Qiaoer's eyes, everyone is actually the same.
She did not try to curry favor with Lu Yunqing because he was a young master, nor did she look down on Xia Ying because she was a servant.
On the contrary, every time Liu Qiaoer brought delicious food to Lu Yunxi, she would also bring the same portion for her.
Xia Ying was the first maid redeemed by Liu Qiaoer. She knew very well how she spent her time in Nanny Zhang's room.
It is also clear how Liu Qiaoer treats the three Lu brothers.
At the beginning, no one had money. The eldest son was seriously ill, there were many trivial matters, and the two children were young. She didn't know anything, so Liu Qiaoer tried every means to make money.
Although the bun shop is small and makes little money, it does not hurt them.
Several people spent the New Year together, eating hotpot and meat. Liu Qiaoer gave everyone whatever she had.
She never asked Lu Yunxi to repay her, nor did she ask Xia Ying to remember her kindness.
In Xia Ying's opinion, if Liu Qiaoer became the second wife of the Lu family, she would be able to take care of the household affairs and would also make a lot of money for the Lu family.
But who knew, everything changed.
Everything changed after Mrs. Lu and the others came out of prison.
Mrs. Lu changed her mind and thought that Liu Qiaoer was no longer worthy of Lu Yunqing. Aunt Sun also changed her mind and all the promises made in the prison were no longer valid.
It was as if they had eaten dumplings and drunk wine in prison. At the time, they only felt that they were delicious and filling, but afterwards they forgot who had given them those dumplings and wine.
When they had eaten the delicious meat and dishes, they began to complain that there was too little meat in the dumplings and too many dishes, and that the wine was not good and could not compare to the peach blossom wine they made themselves.
They all forgot that if they couldn't even eat dumplings in prison, they might not live long enough to eat good meat and delicious food.
People always forget the pain once the wound has healed.
Xia Ying touched the scar on her arm. She almost forgot about it. Fortunately, the scar was right in front of her, reminding her all the time.
"It only takes three or four days to get from Fengxin County to Yuzhou City, and there are post stations along the way. You prepared so much food, will it go bad in the hot weather?"
Liu Qiaoer shook her head proudly: "No, we have a lot of people, and some snacks can be kept for a day or two, like these dried fruits."
Xia Ying smiled, opened the curtain and looked outside: "The eldest master's body hasn't fully recovered yet, can he ride a horse for a long time?"
Liu Qiao'er was not worried at all: "He was well by the time of the New Year. He was a little weak at that time. He suffered more external injuries. The guards were quite careful and didn't hurt his internal organs."
"After the Chinese New Year, Lu Yunzheng started to exercise again. He wakes up every morning and practices martial arts with Qi Ze. Now he is in great shape."
Lu Yunzheng already had martial arts skills, and his skills were quite good.
Xia Ying added: "I saw him this morning, and he seemed a little different from before."
Liu Qiaoer was even more proud: "I helped him do it. I covered up the brilliance on his face and made him look a little more ordinary. I retouched him to look like Gu Mubai. After all, his future identity will be Gu Mubai."
Gu Mubai's identity is a coachman, and Qi Ze's appearance has also changed. He dresses more casually. Because he is young and has a baby face, he has become a little book boy.
In Fengxin County, many people know Lu Yunzheng, so he needs to wear a mask and sit in a wheelchair to cover up.
But in Yuzhou City, not many people know Lu Yunzheng, so he doesn't need too much decoration. He just needs to look ordinary. He doesn't need to dress up like a peacock like before.
It was boring to ride in the carriage, so Liu Qiaoer took out Go and played with Xia Ying. Xia Ying was indeed worthy of being Lu Yunzheng's maid, and she beat Liu Qiaoer in just a few moves.
Liu Qiao'er refused and regretted her moves several times, as she failed to defeat her.
Gu Mubai was driving the carriage, listening to their chattering and smiling.
"Liu Qiao'er, you can't beat her. Her chess skills are even better than Miss Jasmine from Zuiyuefang."
Jasmine from Zui Le Fang is a Go expert, but I didn’t expect Xia Ying could even beat her.
Liu Qiao'er was very surprised: "Of course, Sister Xia Ying, you are beautiful, gentle, and can read and write, and you are also good at playing the piano, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Why do you want to be a maid? It's such a waste of talent."
The expression on Xia Ying's face gradually became less happy.
With a gentle smile, she neatly cleaned up the carriage that Liu Qiaoer had messed up. The reason she stayed in the Lu family was just for one person.
But she said modestly: "What I learned are just fancy things. If I leave the Lu family, I will be nothing."
Liu Qiaoer thought about it and it made sense. When people stay in one place for too long, they are unwilling to change themselves. The fear of the unknown is even more frightening.
"But if you stay in the Lu family, they will treat you as a maid. Your only way out is to marry the steward of the mansion and live as the concubine of the young master. If someone likes you, it is not easy to marry you as a maid. It's too bad."
Xia Ying didn't know what to say. She couldn't say that her ideal was to be Lu Yunzheng's aunt.
Liu Qiaoer suddenly thought of Gu Mubai who was driving the carriage.
"For example, there is a scholar who wants to marry you. You are currently a maid in the Lu family. He must first get the consent of Mrs. Lu, and then the consent of the rest of the family before he can marry you. How troublesome."
Gu Mubai was listening outside the car and felt the same way.
Liu Qiaoer suddenly asked again: "Sister Xia Ying, I remember that I gave you the indenture contract, you didn't give it to Madam Lu again, did you?"
Xia Ying thought about it, took out her bag, and took out the indenture contract: "No, there is too much silver in this indenture contract. I originally wanted to keep the silver and return it to you..."
Liu Qiaoer had wanted Xia Ying to tear up the indenture contract at the beginning. Now that it was taken out, she was about to tear it up again, but was stopped by Xia Ying again.
"What are you doing? If you tear it up, I won't return the money to you."
Liu Qiaoer smiled and said, "It's okay. I don't care about other people. Once you tear up the contract of selling yourself, you will be free. You don't have to be a maid in the Lu family anymore. You are free."
Xia Ying snatched the indenture contract, thought about it carefully, and handed it to Liu Qiaoer: "I know that the money of the Lu family is all earned by you. The master did not let me stay with you and asked me to go back to the mansion to take care of the young lady and the young master."
"Now that you let me stay, I will naturally take care of you. From now on, I will be your maid."
Liu Qiaoer rolled her eyes and put the contract into her arms: "This idea is good, but I don't need you to be a maid. We are equal. But your contract, whoever marries you in the future, you have to pay back the money."
Liu Qiaoer spoke loudly, and she was speaking to Gu Mubai who was driving.
Gu Mubai laughed after hearing this: "I can't afford it, so just take me in too. Liu Qiaoer, I will be your servant from now on."
After that, Gu Mubai teased, "Miss Qiao'er, are you tired? It's noon now, do you want to come down and have a rest and eat something? I'll serve you."
Liu Qiaoer smiled secretly. Everyone was riding horses except the two of them. Those who were riding cars were tired, so how could those who were riding horses not be tired
We found a spacious place by the river and stopped.
Liu Qiaoer took out the delicious food she brought with her.
It was indeed a rich meal, with fruits, dry food, buns, cakes, and some fruit wine.