On the night of the Cold Food Festival, Baoyu and his sisters played for half the night. At least they broke up and went back.
As soon as Daiyu entered, she yawned a few times and dozed off while washing up. Zijuan was also very sleepy. After serving Daiyu to sleep, she fell on the bed outside and started snoring.
Qingwen came over in her pajamas and saw the two maids in charge of cooking the stove covering their mouths and giggling. She rubbed a finger on each of their foreheads and said,"Little hooligans, you're not doing anything in the middle of the night and are standing here smiling foolishly.”
"Qingwen's rubbing is so painful," Hong Xue pouted and said.”Rubbing his forehead, he said," Today is the Cold Food Festival. You're not allowed to see any sparks. There's no need for a cage stove. That's why we're talking here."”
The little girl beside her quickly nodded." Yes, yes. Sister Qingwen, it's not that we're lazy. It's so cold today, and we're not allowed to use the stove. Sister Xiaohong was just worried that you might get cold.”
Qingwen glanced at the little girl and said,""You little hoof, you are so fast. I heard you two laughing outside. I'm really worried that you're afraid of the cold.”
The little girl didn't dare to say anything else after being choked. She stole a glance at Qingwen and elbowed Hongxue. Hongxue let out an 'oh no' when she was knocked off her feet. She returned her hand and hit her, saying,"Why are you poking at my waist? Qingwen, do you want to die? You dare to go out wearing this? I'll freeze your skin off.”
Qingwen rubbed her hands and said," It's not that powerful. Since I don't need a stove today, I don't need you to serve me. Don't just stand there. If you have other errands to do, go back to sleep. I'm going back to sleep too."”The two girls agreed and dispersed.
It was especially cold tonight. Qingwen lay on the bed and felt her hands and feet trembling uncontrollably. She turned over and took a blanket from the cabinet to use. Finally, she felt a little warmer. In a daze, she vaguely heard someone whispering. He wanted to hold this little girl who hadn't slept all night and teach her a lesson. However, his head was very heavy. He tried a few times but couldn't lift it up. He just struggled to close his eyes.
Hongxue took the night shift and went to the inner room to see Daiyu. Seeing that Daiyu was asleep, she came out to see Zijuan. Zijuan was also asleep. Redsnow shook Zijuan, who immediately woke up. She asked what was wrong and said,""But Young Lady wants tea?"
Redsnow said," Young Lady didn't wake up. It's just that Elder Sister was sleeping too soundly. I came in with such a loud noise, but you didn't wake up."”
"That's right. I was really careless." Zijuan rubbed her face. Today, I played with Baoyu and the others, and even dragged me to have a few glasses of wine. Now, my mind is still muddled, and I just want to fall asleep.”
Redsnow said," That's true. On this day, not to mention the heater, we didn't even drink a mouthful of hot soup. We had to play until this late at night. I think Elder Sister is tired too." Why don't you go to sleep first and change someone to watch over the girl?”
"No need," Zijuan said,"I was napping for a while at first, and now I'm awake after talking to you." Give me the embroidery shed, and I'll take out the girl's handkerchief.”
Hongxue turned over the embroidery shed for Zijuan and advised her not to rush. Tonight was already tiring, and needlework was the most tiring for the eyes. It was better to lie on the couch and not sleep to death. Zijuan only said that it was fine and still told Hongxue to go out for the night.
Hong Xue was originally transferred here from outside. She had followed her mother to the backyard to work the night. Because the two Miss Lin had come, the residence promoted her to work the night in the courtyard of the two Miss Lin.
It was much more relaxing to serve a girl at night than to serve in the backyard. He only walked around the courtyard a few times in the morning and evening to check the door. Because of her cheerful personality, she soon became familiar with the servant girls in the courtyard. Gradually, she also showed her face and served the girl, but she was the most familiar with Qingwen.
With a lantern in hand, Hongxue first patrolled the courtyard. Seeing that the people on duty were not as vigilant as before, she wanted to say a few words, but in the end, she held it in. She thought that everyone had not eaten well today and had worked a lot. At least there were old maids guarding the door outside. It was probably not a big deal to relax in the courtyard.
After patrolling the courtyard, he opened the courtyard door and walked out. After taking a few steps, he met two old women on night patrol. " Who is it?" Redsnow asked. "It's your mother," the woman replied with a smile.”
When Hongxue saw that it was not her mother, who else could it be? She was overjoyed and quickly went up to her mother to pull her sleeve and say a lot.
The old woman next to her said," Good girl, you came from far away, so I didn't recognize you. Looking at you from afar, I thought that you were your eldest servant girl. Otherwise, why would you be chosen to serve you? Your bearing is not ordinary. My servant girl can't compare to you even with a finger."”
Hongxue also smiled and flattered the old woman, saying that it was the old lady's kindness and that the girls were friendly.
The old woman raised her thumb again." Young Lady, you have such a humble character. You should be valued like this."”
Hongxue's face turned hot. She avoided the topic and pulled her mother to ask," Wasn't she in the backyard last night? Why did she come here?"
Hongxue's mother was all smiles. The old woman took the lead and said,""He's transferred over. This is because he values a lady. Otherwise, how could he have the opportunity to transfer from that deserted place in the backyard to such a good place?”
Redsnow didn't understand what he meant. She only smiled and said," It's always night time. However, the backyard is a little quieter. When you come inside, there are pavilions, rockery, woods, and flowers. I'm afraid you'll be even more tired."”
The old woman chuckled and said," Young Lady is serving in the treasure house, so she probably doesn't care about these things. When we work the night shift here, other than the monthly salary, the master always rewards us handsomely during festivals and the three hot and nine cold days. Even if we pass a message to Young Lady, we can get dozens of money to run errands. Just talking about money, it's much better than the work in the backyard.”
Although it sounded rich, she was still a servant in the courtyard. It was not appropriate for her to ask about a few hundred dollars. Hong Xue suppressed the joy in her heart and looked at her mother. Her mother smiled and nodded.
"Are you going east, Miss?" the old woman asked. We just came from that side and were very agile. There were no stray cats. It's so cold tonight. Miss, don't waste your time. Hurry up and go to the courtyard.”
Redsnow looked over and saw that there was indeed no movement. The trees and flowers by the roadside did not move at all. They were dark and lifeless. When she turned around to look at the courtyard door, the orange light of the two lanterns on the door seemed to be more magical than usual. It was as if people would feel hot all over once they touched it and were not afraid of the cold at all.
Redsnow rubbed her hands and said," That's right. Miss didn't sleep well today. I'll go back first."”As she spoke, she took out a purse from her sleeve and stuffed it into her mother's hand."I originally wanted to wait for Second Young Lady Lin to return before taking leave to go back. Since I met her today, I'll bring her back.”
Her mother took it with a sigh. She felt that it was pressing on her hand and was about to open it. When Hongxue saw that her mother was about to open the purse, she quickly squeezed her mother's hand and said,"Ever since I came to Young Lady's side, I've really gained a lot of knowledge. The first rule is that I must study. My younger siblings are still young. Mom, send them to the private school to study. Don't be stingy with the money. If they can read, they will have a bright future when they serve their master.”
Hongxue's mother's eyes were red as she said,""The school isn't cheap. It costs two taels of silver a year…"
Redsnow also wiped away her tears and scolded,""Mother is too short-sighted. So what if it's two taels of silver a year? My younger brothers and sisters have learned, so they're naturally better than me.”In a moment of anger, her tone became heavy, and both of them cried.
The old woman quickly tried to persuade them, saying," Who is the person serving Young Lady? Just listen to what she says. Two taels of silver is nothing. I'm afraid it's not enough for Young Lady to earn in a month." In the future, if your son or daughter is chosen by the master, wouldn't you live well? You can't bear to part with two taels of silver for something that others can't even pray for?”
Hongxue's mother acknowledged the old woman and said to Hongxue,""Then, then, then I'll go back and ask your father to send your brother to school.”
Although Hongxue was annoyed that her mother could not bear to send her three younger siblings to study, she also knew that the money she earned was not enough. She wanted to let her parents eat and wear well first. At least her two younger sisters could wait until they entered the residence to learn from the masters. That was it.
Because they had stood there and talked for quite a while, Hongxue bid farewell to her mother and went into the courtyard. Instead, she became more clear-headed and her limbs were light. She always wanted to find something urgent to finish before she could settle down.
She entered the room and placed the lantern on the table. She opened the curtain lightly and saw that Zijuan had fallen asleep and the embroidery shed had fallen to the ground. She quickly walked over, picked up the embroidery shed, and called out softly,"Sister Zijuan."
Zi Juan fell asleep and didn't wake up. She didn't take the embroidery shed that Hongxue handed over. She didn't react at all.
Redsnow thought that if Zijuan went to sleep today, she would definitely be the most vigilant if she were to keep watch. She still turned around and put the embroidery shed back into the box lightly. Just as she was about to put it in, she thought, since there's nothing to do, why don't I embroider a few needles for her? But if she recognized it tomorrow and asked, what would she say?
I saw that Sister Zijuan's embroidery was good, so I couldn't help but want to embroider a few stitches too.
Qingwen's embroidery is even better. Why can't you help but embroider a few needles on her embroidery shed when I don't see you in the past?
I was idle and wanted to find something to do. I happened to see the embroidery shed that Sister Zijuan had left on the ground, so I helped to do something?
A servant girl from the outer room who worked the night shift didn't go to sleep for no reason, but instead mixed in with the silk of the girls who came and went in the inner room and fiddled with it. What kind of ulterior motive was this?
What was his motive? This question seemed to ring in his ears, scaring Redsnow so much that she jumped and clutched her chest. Her heart was pounding like thunder. She turned her head and saw that Zijuan was still sleeping soundly. Only then did she heave a sigh of relief.
Redsnow sat down on a stool with the embroidery shed and took off the needle. Looking at the flower on the embroidered handkerchief, her hands moved involuntarily. She embroidered half a leaf and suddenly woke up. She was so scared that her head was covered in sweat. She quickly removed it carefully. She looked at the needle hole and suddenly burst into tears.
Her looks were given by her parents, and her luck was bestowed by the heavens. She could not blame anyone for it. If she had studied needlework seriously back then, even if she had only learned half of Qingwen's skills, wouldn't she still be on Miss Lin's side?
In the end, he couldn't blame others for being inferior to others. He had to blame himself.
Hongxue was facing the embroidery shed and hurting herself. Suddenly, she heard a long sigh, which sounded like it came from her heart. For a moment, she felt even more sad. Not to mention the dozens of tears that fell, it was more than two hours before his heart calmed down.
She wiped her tears and thought to herself that the heavens had blessed her to enter the courtyard, and that she could meet and interact with the lady every day. As long as they got familiar with each other in the future, she would be able to be promoted. When he was promoted to the second class, he would think of a way to get his sister in. At that time, he would have one money a month here. His mother would also earn some, and his sister would also earn some. The family would be fine. He just didn't know what kind of regulations this promotion was. It would take a few years.
Just as she felt that the future was bleak and slowly bleak, there was suddenly a sigh. Hongxue heard it clearly. It was not from her heart, but from the other side of the tent!
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。