Qiu Su frowned and looked up. Pink Lantern secretly took a step back and said fiercely, "What are you looking at? Haven't you ever seen a beautiful woman before?"
Ah, she hadn't seen them before. Qiu Su stood up, put her hands behind her back, coughed lightly, and said, "Miss Fen, do you know where those people who just came back live? Oh, and there was a white dog too."
What did you call me?
Qiu Su was puzzled and blinked, asking, "What is your surname, young lady?"
"Lu!" Pink Lantern curled her lip. "He doesn't even know Prime Minister Lu. What a country bumpkin."
Qiu Su was unwilling to say more and got up to leave, but then she heard another female voice say, "Miss Lu, what is this young lady doing standing in the courtyard? Please come in and sit down."
Pink Lantern glanced at Qiu Su, her expression softening slightly. "Sister Zhu Yuan, Brother Pei Yuan is back."
"I heard about it from someone." Zhu Yuan turned to look at Qiu Su. "And who is this young lady?"
"The savage that Pei Yuan brought back."
Zhu Yuan was much more gentle. She glanced at the pink lantern with some disapproval, then turned to Qiu Su and said, "Miss, please come inside and talk."
Qiu Su scrutinized Zhu Yuan, and indeed, she was a woman of delicate beauty. Even her earlobes seemed translucent in the sunlight. Her hands were incredibly slender and delicate; Qiu Su looked down at her own claws, now even more unsightly after the scabs had fallen off, and felt a pang of envy. But they were too frail, suggesting some kind of ailment, as if a gust of wind could topple them. How could Pei Yuan possibly lay a hand on such a remarkable woman? Wasn't he afraid of drawing blood with just one bite?
Qiu Su suddenly felt that her lips were dirty, and her chest was also filthy. This courtyard was not as good as Qingfeng Village, not good at all.
"I have other matters to attend to, Miss, you should go back to your room and rest." Qiu Su said, then turned and left the courtyard. She heard Pink Lantern give a heavy snort behind her, cursing her for being rude.
Women usually clash when they meet, but strangely, Pink Lantern and Bamboo Kite get along harmoniously. Judging from Pink Lantern's demeanor, she even seems to give way to Bamboo Kite a little. Since she treats the person next to Pei Yuan as her older sister, it seems Bamboo Kite is truly favored by that scoundrel Pei Yuan.
It's truly impossible for a man, especially one born into a wealthy family like him, to be twenty-one or twenty-two without a woman. Even if his family didn't have a fragile bamboo kite like this, they would still have plum blossom kites, orchid kites, chrysanthemum kites, and paper kites. She really has lost her mind; how could she not have thought of this? Sigh, what was she doing before? Too late, isn't it? Once you enter the gates of a noble family, it's like entering a deep sea.
"Susu?"
It's all Zhou Tong's fault. Of all people to rob, he had to snatch the prime minister's son. Speaking of which, if he's the prime minister's son, why didn't he raise an army and wipe out Qingfeng Village?
“Susu.”
Alas, where has her poor mountain lord been placed?
"Susu!" He Zhuo took a step forward, grabbed Qiu Su's shoulders and shook her, frowning and asking anxiously, "What's wrong with Susu?"
"Ah, I was just about to look for you. Where do you live?"
"The west courtyard. Susu, why are you wearing these clothes? Where's Pei Yuan? Where did he go?"
Qiu Su glanced down at her brown maid's uniform—oh, still a third-class maid who wasn't allowed into the main courtyard—and blinked, saying, "I just grabbed a change of clothes. Where's Huang Tao? Did you make some bone broth for the mountain lord?"
"Don't worry about it, I'll take care of it." He Zhuo's grip tightened, and he glared at her, saying, "Tell me, where did that scoundrel Pei Yuan go? Shouldn't you have gone to the main hall with him?"
That word is well used; he really is a scoundrel.
Qiu Su pushed He Zhuo's hand away, "I just met someone."
Who is it?
“A…very beautiful person.” Qiu Suwei tilted her head and thought for a moment, then frowned and said, “He Zhuo, did Uncle He arrange for you to come to Beijing for something?”
He Zhuo lowered his head. "My father wants me to find a job in the army."
"Huh?" Qiu Su was a little confused. "Go to the army to find a job? What kind of work will you do?"
He Zhuo glanced at Qiu Su, pressed his lips tightly together and said, "I want to go too."
"I see." Qiu Su put her hands behind her back. "How did you come to this idea?"
“A man of ambition should fight to the death on the battlefield. If I stay idle like this, it will seem... I will not leave for a while. Once Susu is settled here, I will enlist in the army.”
"Perfect timing, I also need your help with something."
“Susu said.”
Qiu Su looked around, and He Zhuo instinctively bent down and leaned closer. Qiu Su whispered something in his ear, and He Zhuo was surprised, "Father mentioned it, saying we should be wary, but it's probably just a lie."
Qiu Su nodded. "But what if it's true? Be careful, we'll talk about the rest later."
He Zhuo nodded, staring at Qiu Su's face, which had become much thinner, for a long time. He reached out to touch her cheek, but when she flinched slightly, he moved his hand to her ear, gently tugged at a loose strand of hair, and said with a smile, "Su Su's hair isn't combed properly."
"Ah." Qiu Su raised her hand to take it and tucked it behind her ear, then smiled and said, "That Mei helped me comb it."
He Zhuo looked bitter, but smiled and said, "Susu, whatever makes you happy. Don't let others make you feel wronged. And from now on, don't let a servant torment you anymore."
It feels so good to have someone care. Qiu Su, in a good mood, slowly turned around in place, wrinkled her nose, and said, "The color is a bit off, but it's quite thick."
"Hmm, the color of poop, made of burlap sack material. This is also clothing from the Prime Minister's family; if word gets out, people will laugh themselves to death."
"Poop-colored?" Qiu Su grinned. "You really are something else!"
"My wife is so hard to find."
Qiu Su's smile froze. She lowered her eyes, composed herself, and turned to look. Oh dear, what a disgrace! It wasn't just Pei Yuan; there were several servants, along with Pink Lantern and Zhu Yuan, who was being supported by a maid.
If you're not feeling well, just lie in the yard. Why are you wandering around outside? Qiu Su wasn't good at dealing with these things and was too lazy to socialize. She just nodded to Pei Yuan and then did nothing more.
"Aren't you coming over?"
Qiu Su walked over subconsciously, but when she reached Pei Yuan, she secretly despised her own feet.
"Oh, I wanted to see the Mountain Lord." Qiu Su took two steps back. "I haven't seen him yet."
"My wife, please meet my parents first, and we can go see them together later." Pei Yuan took Qiu Su's hand and said to Zhu Yuan, who was standing to the side, "You go back to the courtyard first, and I will come to see you later."
Zhu Yuan nodded, curtsied slightly, smiled at Qiu Su, and quietly turned to leave. Pink Lantern, however, looked clearly displeased.
"Qing'er just instructed the maids in the manor to do some work? You've worked hard, Qing'er. You should go back to the manor and rest early."
"Brother Pei Yuan~~"
Qiu Su shuddered, and a fine layer of goosebumps rose on her skin. Good heavens, so incredibly soft and bouncy, who could resist?
Pei Yuan remained expressionless and led Qiu Su back.