The Fourth Aunt originally thought that she would have to spend a lot of time and effort to persuade her, but unexpectedly, Xiu'er did not complain at all. She just asked her to arrange a good place for her for the sake of their relationship as master and servant.
The Fourth Aunt was surprised, but of course she tried her best to meet her request, so she asked her where she wanted to go.
Xie Nanjia said that she had nothing but good cooking skills, so she asked the fourth aunt to help arrange her to the big kitchen.
The Fourth Aunt was surprised again. She had thought that if Xiu'er wanted to serve some important master, she didn't know whether the master would be willing to do her a favor. But Xiu'er just wanted to go to the big kitchen.
The husband of the new housekeeper, Madam Liu, in the courtyard was the second housekeeper in the mansion. It was a piece of cake to arrange a little maid to the big kitchen. The Fourth Aunt agreed to it on the spot and asked Madam Liu to say hello to the second housekeeper.
After all, they were master and servant, so she had to show some appreciation. She asked Yunxia to bring a makeup box, picked out a pearl necklace from it and handed it to Xie Nanjia. She wiped her eyes and said, "These pearls were tribute from a neighboring country. The emperor gave them to the marquis and asked him to bring them back for the women in his family to wear. The marquis gave them to me secretly and asked me not to tell anyone. You and I were master and servant, and our relationship was extraordinary. You take these pearls. First, I want to thank you for escorting me along the way, and second, I want to leave them as a memory for you."
Xie Nanjia declined, "No need, Auntie. You gave me the jade bracelet as a keepsake last time."
The Fourth Aunt remembered that she was reluctant to take Xiu'er back to Beijing, so she gave her a bracelet to send her away. Later, because she had no confidant to use, she ignored the pleas of Xiu'er's mother and cruelly took Xiu'er away.
The promise that Xiu'er's mother would treat Xiu'er well was still ringing in her ears, but she wanted to drive her away from her.
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but blush and sighed, "Xiu'er, I know I did something a bit too much, but your ideas are too big and often make me feel scared. I am of humble status and cannot withstand the storm. I hope you can understand my difficulties."
Xie Nanjia smiled brightly: "Aunt, don't blame yourself. The current result is not bad for me. The fate between people is predetermined by heaven. It is precious to be able to accompany each other for a while. Xiu'er is very satisfied."
Fourth Aunt couldn't help crying: "Xiu'er, the more you say this, the more guilty I feel. If you encounter any difficulties in the future, just come to me. As long as I can help you, I will do my best to help you."
Xie Nanjia bowed and said, "Thank you, Auntie."
The fourth aunt pressed the pearls into her hands and said, "Stay here for one more night. I'll have someone prepare some delicious food for you tonight. It won't be too late to go there tomorrow morning."
Xie Nanjia agreed and thanked her again.
In the evening, the Fourth Aunt really asked someone to prepare wine and food, and asked a few maids to accompany Xie Nanjia to eat and drink. Because she was the mistress, she did not sit at the table, but offered Xie Nanjia three glasses of wine.
Xie Nanjia was impatient with such false courtesy, but she didn't want to spoil everyone's fun, so she dealt with it reluctantly.
When Su Ju heard that she was leaving, she was reluctant to let her go from the bottom of her heart. After a few drinks, she actually started to cry.
Xie Nanjia was moved by her sincerity and simplicity, and secretly thought that one day when he had a say in this mansion, he would transfer her out.
The people here are too shrewd. A real person like her will definitely suffer if she mixes with a bunch of shrewd people.
When the banquet ended, the moon was already at its zenith.
The maids and servants all went back to their rooms to sleep. Xie Nanjia was a little tipsy, but did not want to sleep. She drank alone facing the moon.
Thinking back on my experiences over the past few days, from the time I woke up at Hongou Manor until now, I have stumbled all the way, and it seems like a dream.
She also hoped that this was really a dream. If so, at this moment, she should be sleeping with her son in her arms instead of drinking alone under the moon in sadness.
Just as I was feeling sad, a figure appeared silently on the top of the wall like a ghost.
Xie Nanjia had no time to react and raised his hand to smash the wine jug in his hand.
The man caught it easily, raised his head and took a sip of wine, then moved slightly and landed in front of Xie Nanjia like a gust of wind.
Xie Nanjia was about to find another suitable weapon, but when he smelled a whiff of ambergris, he stopped in annoyance and looked at Zhao Jingyu's handsome face in the moonlight: "Give me back the wine!"
Zhao Jingyu didn't return it. He lifted his clothes and sat down opposite her, then took another sip from the spout: "Why, do you want to drink what I drank too?"
Xie Nanjia said: "You drank what I left."
Zhao Jingyu said: "I don't dislike you."
Xie Nanjia was not able to gain the upper hand in terms of face, so he said with a straight face: "You are a bastard, sneaking into my aunt's yard in the middle of the night, what do you want to do?"
Zhao Jingyu did not answer but asked: "Who did you learn Kung Fu from?"
Xie Nanjia was stunned: "What kind of Kung Fu?"
Zhao Jingyu said, "You were able to throw the wine jug accurately at my face from such a distance without spilling a drop. It would be impossible to do that without Kung Fu."
Xie Nanjia laughed and said, "What kind of skill is this? When I was at the farm, I would go to the back hills to hunt birds and rabbits when I had nothing to do. I can use a bow and arrow and a slingshot. When I have nothing to do, I can hit a few with a stone."
She and her brother learned military tactics and horse riding and archery from their father since they were young. They also knew a little bit of martial arts, but they had never shown it in front of others.
Zhao Jingyu looked at her suspiciously, but seeing that she looked frank, he stopped pestering her: "In that case, I'll take you with me on this autumn hunt. You should do your best and kill more prey to make me proud."
Xie Nanjia asked: "Why should I give you honor?"
"..." Zhao Jingyu was stunned by her question, blinking her peach blossom eyes and thinking for a while, "Because you are my girl!"
Xie Nanjia laughed: "How come I am your girl?"
Zhao Jingyu said, "Have you not yet realized that this Fourth Aunt can't protect you at all? Why don't you come and serve me? I guarantee that no one in the Marquis' Mansion will dare to bully you."
"Forget it!" Xie Nanjia sneered, "I've fooled you once before, you're such an untrustworthy and moody young man."
"..." Zhao Jingyu said awkwardly, "I didn't mean to leave you last time. I wanted to rush back to see the Crown Prince's wife off for the last time."
Xie Nanjia's heart skipped a beat and she looked at him doubtfully, not believing that he really came back to see her off.
The two of them had no connection except for pigeon soup. Could it be that he traveled a long distance back to give it to her just for a few mouthfuls of soup
She didn't believe it. After all, she had seen with her own eyes how lazy this man was.
Besides, Ah Ying had told her that day that the second young master left in anger after hearing that she had a bad character and was pregnant before marriage.
"You don't believe me?" Zhao Jingyu asked.
Xie Nanjia smiled politely: "I believe it, but the Second Young Master is late, and the Fourth Aunt has arranged for me to go to the big kitchen. I will go there to work early tomorrow morning."
Zhao Jingyu had already heard about this from the secret guards, and he came here specifically for this matter.
What's so good about the big kitchen? It's full of old hags who take advantage of their age and do nothing but gossip with dead eyes. He couldn't understand why Xiu'er would take the initiative to suggest going to that kind of place.
He didn't believe that she really went there to show off her cooking skills.
Even if I have to use my cooking skills to cook specially for him, wouldn't it be more relaxing than serving a whole family
"It doesn't matter. As long as you want to talk to me, I will immediately ask Wei Jun to talk to the manager."
"No thanks." Xie Nanjia declined. "I think the big kitchen is great. I appreciate Second Young Master's kindness. You don't need to worry about me."
She went to the big kitchen because there were many gossipy women there, so it would be convenient for her to find out the news about the painting building. Besides, her seventh seventh day would be in a few days, and her father, mother and brother would all come over. She was transferred to the big kitchen so that she could see her relatives by serving dishes.
She thought they were going crazy.
Zhao Jingyu came with great enthusiasm, but Xie Nanjia didn't appreciate it and poured a basin of cold water on him. He was so angry that he smashed the wine pot and grabbed Xie Nanjia's neck: "Do you think I'm easy to talk to, or do you think I'm impatient? You challenge my patience time and time again. Do you really think I won't be reluctant to kill you?"
Xie Nanjia was caught off guard, but she did not panic. She just lowered her eyelashes and said timidly, "It is my fault. Second Young Master was thinking of me with good intentions. I should not have offended you. Please calm down, Second Young Master. I will let you deal with me as you wish."
Zhao Jingyu was stunned for a moment. If he remembered correctly, this was the first time he heard Xiu'er call herself a slave. It seemed that what happened during the day really hit her. She was once so proud, but now she finally bowed her head in front of power and regained her childhood caution and cowardice.
If there was one person Xiu'er was not afraid of, that person was him. He didn't care about her rudeness or whether her respect towards him was real or fake. He just liked the way she dared to act smart in front of him despite her humble status.
Now that he was angry, she actually began to call herself a slave in front of him.
Although he knew that this was the transformation she had to go through if she wanted to gain a foothold in the Marquis' Mansion, he still felt uncomfortable.
He slowly loosened his hands, took a few steps back, jumped up, spread out his clothes like a big bird, and disappeared outside the high courtyard wall in an instant.
Xie Nanjia was in a trance for a moment, then looked in the direction where he disappeared and sighed.
She didn't know what was going on. Every time she saw Zhao Jingyu, she subconsciously treated him as her younger brother and had no respect for him at all. As a result, her words were too casual and she repeatedly hurt his self-esteem.
Fortunately, he is not a bad person by nature. If he were really as bad as the rumors say, she would have lost her head long ago.
It seems that I have to be more careful in the future. When I see Zhao Jingyu again, I must treat him as the second young master and correct the status between the two of us. I can't provoke him with excessive words.
Just as I was thinking about it, the door suddenly opened, and the night watchwoman came out rubbing her eyes and asked, "What was that noise just now?"
Xie Nanjia hurriedly explained, "I drank too much and accidentally broke the wine jug. I'm really sorry for disturbing your rest."
When the old woman saw that it was her, she knew that she would be sent to the kitchen tomorrow. She didn't have the heart to scold her and just told her to go back to her room and sleep.
Xie Nanjia returned to his room and fell into a deep sleep, drowsy and drunk.
Zhao Jingyu returned to the west wing and sat there sulking for a while, until Mr. Hu came walking on the moon. Only then did he put his mind to it and followed Mr. Hu to study the art of war seriously.
Early the next morning, the second steward sent a servant to pick up Xie Nanjia for the sake of the fourth concubine.
Xie Nanjia packed up her things, packed a small package and slung it over her shoulder, said goodbye to Fourth Aunt and everyone in the courtyard, and amidst a chorus of farewells that were either real or fake, she followed the servant to the big kitchen.
After walking out of the door of Qingfeng Courtyard, she looked back, feeling a mixture of emotions in her heart. From now on, she would live alone in this backyard, and her life and death would all depend on herself.
(End of this chapter)