The maid who delivered the food received a bigger benefit and went to find Xie Nanjia reluctantly, saying that the Fourth Aunt had not seen her for many days and missed her very much, and asked her to go to Qingfengyuan no matter what.
Xie Nanjia had already heard the news that the Fourth Aunt was under house arrest, so she knew what she was asked to do without having to think about it.
The Fourth Aunt is the kind of person who uses people forward and never needs them back. To put it nicely, she is a traitor; to put it bluntly, she is the one who kills the donkey after it has done its job. Back then on the farm, the Fourth Aunt promised her in person that she would never treat her badly as long as she could return to the Marquis' Mansion. However, just a few days after she came back, she sent her to the kitchen with a string of beads.
Now that he is in trouble, he thinks of her kindness again. He must be regretting it now.
Xie Nanjia was not so kind as to be a Bodhisattva who saves people from suffering. She changed her mind and thought that since there was nothing else to do, she might as well go and see how Fourth Aunt was doing now.
The staff in the Fourth Young Lady's courtyard are simple. Because there is not much money involved, there are no conflicts of interest and everyone lives in harmony with each other.
Zhao Lanzhi was well aware that she was dispensable in the eyes of her father, stepmother and even the old lady. She was very strict with her servants in her daily life, fearing that they would cause trouble and she, as the master, would be unable to deal with it, resulting in loss of troops and being laughed at.
Fortunately, the people assigned to her are all honest and incompetent. As long as they have enough food to eat, no one will take the initiative to cause trouble.
The only one who has a bad temper is Su He. When she encounters something unpleasant, she will yell and curse, but she still has a good heart.
After Xie Nanjia came, Zhao Lanzhi valued her very much and asked her to serve in the room together with Su He. Because she was also in charge of the Marquis's midnight snack, Zhao Lanzhi did not assign her too much work. She only asked her to chat with her and relieve her boredom besides cooking, so she lived a very leisurely life every day.
She wanted to go see the Fourth Aunt, and she did not hide it from Zhao Lanzhi. She asked Zhao Lanzhi for leave directly. After getting approval, she went to Qingfengyuan alone.
When they reached the gate, Xie Nanjia knocked on the door and called for help. It was Mrs. Wang who answered the door. She didn't recognize Xie Nanjia through the crack in the door and asked impatiently, "Who are you? Auntie is under house arrest and won't see visitors!"
Xie Nanjia smiled at her and said, "Mammy, you don't recognize me. I'm Xiu'er!"
Mrs. Wang was startled, opened the door wider, looked her up and down, and finally recognized her: "Xiu'er, how come you have become so beautiful? I don't recognize you."
When Xie Nanjia was at Qingfeng Courtyard, she wore the clothes she brought from the farm. The Fourth Aunt had no intention of keeping her for long and didn't even give her new clothes. Now that she was at the Fourth Miss's place, it happened that Qin was doing a face-saving job and buying a batch of new clothes for the servants. After she put on the new clothes and dressed up a little, she looked even more beautiful than before.
The Fourth Aunt was eagerly looking forward to Xie Nanjia's arrival. She had been listening attentively to the noise at the door all day long. When she heard Wang Po call "Xiu'er", she immediately urged Yunxia to go over quickly to see if she could bring the person in.
Yunxia reluctantly went to the door, and looking at Xie Nanjia's radiant appearance, she felt very uncomfortable.
In order to gain the appreciation of the Fourth Aunt, she tried her best to please her and perform well. She wanted to suppress Xie Nanjia both openly and secretly, and she also instigated the Fourth Aunt to send Xie Nanjia away, otherwise she would be in trouble in the future.
Later, when Xie Nanjia went to the kitchen, she replaced Xie Nanjia and became the confidant of the Fourth Aunt. The Fourth Aunt was favored by the Marquis during that time, and she was secretly happy that she followed the right person. However, she did not expect that the Marquis' favor came and went quickly. In a short period of time, the Fourth Aunt fell into this situation, and Xie Nanjia, who had been sent out, came back in a glamorous manner, wanting to be their savior.
Yunxia was very unhappy, but because Xie Nanjia was their only hope at the moment, she had to put on a smile and greeted her warmly through the door: "Xiu'er, you're back, we all missed you so much!"
Xie Nanjia smiled back and went straight to the point: "I wonder why Fourth Aunt asked me to come here?"
Yunxia said, "The Fourth Aunt is waiting for you in the hall, why don't you come in and talk."
"Can I come in?" Xie Nanjia asked.
Before she finished speaking, a voice behind her said coldly: "You can't enter."
Xie Nanjia looked back and saw a guard he didn't recognize.
It turned out that although there seemed to be no one guarding outside Qingfeng Courtyard, someone was watching from a distance, so as soon as Xie Nanjia arrived at the door, someone saw him.
"Why can't I come in?" Xie Nanjia looked at the guard with a half-smile.
The guard said, "The Fourth Aunt is under house arrest, don't you know?"
"I know." Xie Nanjia said seriously, "It's the Fourth Aunt who was confined, not me. Madam only said that people in the yard can't come out, but she didn't say that people outside can't come in, right?"
"This..." The guard was stunned by her question. Madam had indeed only said that people inside were not allowed to step out of the courtyard, but she did not say that people outside were not allowed to enter.
Qin felt that given Fourth Aunt's usual personality, no one would take the initiative to visit her, so she did not deliberately emphasize whether outsiders could come in.
Xie Nanjia seized this loophole and argued with the guards, who had no choice but to let her in and sent someone to report to Qin.
Yunxia didn't expect Xie Nanjia to come in so easily. Her opinion of her changed, and the smile on her face was much more sincere than before: "Xiu'er, you are so amazing. You must help us. We are all counting on you."
Xie Nanjia just smiled without saying anything and followed her to see the Fourth Aunt.
The fourth concubine was looking out the door of the main house. When she saw Xie Nanjia coming over, she didn't wait for her to greet her. She pulled her over, hugged her and started crying, "Xiu'er, you're finally here."
Xie Nanjia stood there woodenly, letting her cry without saying anything to comfort her. The fourth aunt cried a few times, but seeing no movement from Xie Nanjia, she wiped away her tears awkwardly.
"Xiu'er, why are you ignoring me?"
"Auntie scared me." Xie Nanjia took two steps back, took out a handkerchief, and wiped the place on her lapel where Fourth Auntie's face had rubbed against her.
The fourth concubine's face changed: "Xiu'er, what do you mean, do you think I have soiled your clothes?"
"Yes!" Xie Nanjia said, "This is a new dress I just got. It would be a pity if it got dirty."
Such blunt words made the Fourth Aunt feel embarrassed and sneered, "What an ungrateful girl! Now that you are doing well, have you forgotten who brought you out of the farm
Xie Nanjia smiled and said, "Then Auntie, do you remember who saved your life on the farm? Who was the one who gave you the advice so that you could return to the Marquis' Mansion?"
“…” Fourth Aunt was speechless.
Xie Nanjia added, "My aunt sent someone to tell me something, and it sounded sincere and pitiful. I thought you were really asking for help, but it seems that woman was exaggerating."
"We really do want help." Yunxia interjected.
Xie Nanjia looked at her, then looked at Fourth Auntie: "Is this the attitude of asking for help?"
The fourth concubine lost her patience again: "Don't be so aggressive. After all, I am your master..."
"Then I wish my master good health and longevity, and I'll take my leave!" Xie Nanjia bowed deeply, turned around and left.
"Stop!" Fourth Aunt hurriedly called her, "I was wrong. I shouldn't have broken my promise and sent you away. Just make any demands you want. As long as I can do it."
Xie Nanjia smiled, turned back and said to Yunxia, "You go wait outside first. I want to talk to Auntie alone."
Yunxia felt that her tone was like a master and a servant talking, and she was dissatisfied, so she called the fourth aunt: "Aunt..."
"Just get out when I tell you to!" the Fourth Aunt shouted.
Yunxia had completely seen through her master's ability to burn bridges after crossing them, and she retreated out of the door with a lot of resentment.
There was no one else in the room, so the fourth aunt softened her attitude and pulled Xie Nanjia's hand: "Hao Xiu'er, I was wrong just now, please don't be angry, I'm going crazy being locked up in this yard, can you at least understand me, okay?"
Xie Nanjia pulled her hand away and helped her sit on the chair: "Aunt, there is no need to do this. Since I am here, I want to help you, but I have a condition. If you agree, I promise that Madam will release you within three days. If you don't agree, just ignore what I said."
The Fourth Aunt looked at her suspiciously, always feeling that she was up to some conspiracy. She was worried that she was being plotted against, so she was hesitant to agree.
Xie Nanjia said, "I just forced my way in, and someone has already reported it to Madam. I'm sure I won't be able to stay for long before I'm kicked out."
The fourth concubine said, "In fact, even if you don't help me, Madam will let me out by the Mid-Autumn Festival."
"Well, in that case, Auntie, just wait patiently!" Xie Nanjia said calmly, "But I won't be able to see the Marquis for more than half a month, and I don't know which beauty will be lucky enough to marry him. I don't know if the Marquis will still remember Auntie by then!"
As she spoke, she walked out. The fourth concubine stood up and held her back: "I promise you, any conditions are fine, but you have to ensure that I can see the Marquis after the ban is lifted."
"make a deal!"
Not long after, Xie Nanjia came out of the room and said goodbye to Yunxia with a smile.
Yunxia didn't expect her to come out so soon, and she didn't know what agreement she had reached with the Fourth Aunt.
But she was too lazy to care about all these. She had already made up her mind that as long as the lady lifted the ban, she would immediately go find the manager to find her a new job, even if it meant spending all her savings. She would not serve this master anymore!
Xie Nanjia walked to the door and asked Wang Pozi: "Mammy, why don't you see Su Ju?"
Mrs. Wang said, "Suju has been transferred to the kitchen."
"So that's how it is." Xie Nanjia nodded and walked out of the yard with satisfaction.
As soon as she left, Qin sent someone over to convey the order that no one was allowed to visit her during the confinement period.
After leaving Qingfeng Courtyard, Xie Nanjia did not go back to the Fourth Young Lady immediately, but went to Sijin Courtyard.
The yard was quiet because the child was asleep and Hualou didn't allow anyone to disturb him, so everyone walked and talked carefully.
Xie Nanjia first found Feng Lun and talked to him for a while, then went to the room to find Hualou, handed her a piece of paper with Fourth Aunt's handprint, and said, "Take this and put it together with the things I gave you last time to keep."
The things she was talking about were the jade pendant given to her by the man in white on the way to Beijing, the gold hairpin given to her by the Minister of Personnel An Yizi, and the white jade fan pendant given to her by Zhao Jingyu.
As for the silver that Qin and the old lady rewarded her, she gave it all to Feng Lun, asking Feng Lun to use it to treat people to wine and tea.
Hualou could only read a few words, and after looking at it for a long time he didn't understand what it was, so he asked Xie Nanjia what it was. Xie Nanjia said, "Please keep it for now, I'll tell you later."
Hualou didn't ask any more questions and went back to the inner room to put it away properly.
In the past, Hualou was responsible for keeping all of Xie Nanjia's precious belongings. Now, although the master and servant cannot recognize each other, she still entrusts them to Hualou for safekeeping. This is a kind of unconditional trust.
And Hualou always obeys unconditionally.
Hualou herself didn't know why, but Xiu'er seemed to have a magical power that made her obedient. No matter what Xiu'er told her, she would always do it and believe it without a doubt.
She was confused about this but could not find the reason. Later she thought that it was Xiu'er's eyes, which were the same as those of the young lady, that made her feel trustworthy, reliable and at ease.
The two sat and talked for a while. Xie Nanjia couldn't wait for the child to wake up, so she had to leave first.
Before leaving, she had heard from Hualou that the person Hualou believed to be the murderer was Lvliu, and it was also Lvliu who wanted to drive Hualou out of the house.
"Green willow, oh green willow," she murmured to herself, "how should I send you off for the last time?"
(End of this chapter)