Épousez un fonctionnaire de la dynastie Song du Nord

Chapitre 24

He Su said helplessly, "He went to find Miss Qingqing. He took the money from the batch of tea he just sold from the tea garden and went to find Miss Qingqing."

As expected of a young person, full of youthful passion, she said longingly, "Hey, bro, why didn't anyone come to me with the money they earned from part-time jobs before?"

"Because you're not pretty..." the handsome man said, supporting his forehead with his hand as if in helplessness, and was immediately kicked several times. He didn't dodge much and said sentimentally, "Back then, some girls would come to our dormitory in the middle of the night and shout. Thanks to them, the people in our dormitory didn't have to queue up to buy breakfast for several years of college."

"It wasn't bought for you, was it?" He Suchen said bluntly.

"How can you say it wasn't me?" He raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Although it really wasn't me, it was a young man from Jiangnan in our dorm who's rather charming."

Like you now? Although He Suchen thought so, she didn't say it to save face for him, and instead steered the conversation back: "How did you find him for his father later?"

Just as He Sucheng was about to answer, Dongkui walked over from the courtyard gate. She said to He Sucheng in a slightly anxious tone, "Miss, please come out for a while. Second Miss is looking for you urgently."

He Suchen nodded to her brother, then went straight to find Yongjiao. She walked dozens of meters outside the courtyard gate but still didn't see her. Looking around curiously, she saw Yongjiao curled up in a ball, squatting at the courtyard gate, without even a maidservant with her. She hurried over and asked, "What's wrong? Why are you sitting here? Did something happen?"

Yongjiao looked up, her face streaked with tears: "Third sister, third sister's leg is broken..."

Chapter Thirty-Six, Young Master Qin

The promoter function is now open! What are you waiting for? Join now! The winding corridor stretched out, and the path that He Suchen usually found so elegant seemed unusually long today. Yongjiao, with tears in her eyes, ran ahead, panting as she followed.

As they approached the third house, Yongjiao suddenly stopped, and He Suchen, caught off guard, nearly bumped into her. Yongjiao shrank back, "Guazi, do you think... do you think Third Sister will be alright...?"

"No, it'll be alright, it's just a fracture, it'll heal easily." She comforted her, but she was extremely anxious inside. Yongjiao cried the whole way, her words incoherent. She still didn't understand what had happened, but judging from the way it looked, Yuanrou's injury must be quite serious.

It was strange, though. Logically speaking, it shouldn't be Yongjiao, a girl, coming to see her. The other maids should have come to visit her long ago. But it seemed that even Tang's mother hadn't inquired about Yuanrou. She was very uneasy about what had happened.

"It's all my fault, it's all my fault..." Yongjiao murmured repeatedly, the tears in the corners of her eyes had just stopped a little, but they kept sliding down again.

"Don't cry, what happened?" He Suchen took out a handkerchief to wipe her tears, then turned her shoulder and sat down on the veranda. "Tell me what happened first, Little Rabbit. Don't cry, crying won't help. What happened? Don't talk nonsense. Third Sister got hurt by accident, it's not your fault at all."

"It's me! It's all my fault!! If it weren't for my fault, Third Sister wouldn't have been hurt!" Yongjiao said excitedly. She pushed He Suchen's hand away, not even wiping away her tears, and was extremely anxious.

"Keep your voice down, it's not your fault," she was startled. Luckily, this was already Sanfang's territory, and few people usually came and went, so she didn't run into anyone. But because it was Sanfang's territory, she had to be even more careful, because you never know who might be lurking somewhere.

Yongjiao seemed to realize that she had gone too far. She stopped crying, but couldn't help but say excitedly, "It's my fault, it's all my fault. I asked her to play in the garden. It was almost night watchman's, and I wouldn't let her go back. Third Sister was anxious to leave, so I hid in the flower bushes and refused to come out. She came looking for me and accidentally fell in the rockery!"

"It's just a fall, it shouldn't be a broken leg, right?" He Su Chen wondered inwardly. "No maids with you? Just the two of you? How did you fall?"

"I didn't bring anything. We came out alone. It was so boring at home. My mother has been in a bad mood these past two days. My third brother is back, and Guazi, you're not available to play with me, so I had to go find my third sister. Who knew it would turn out like this..."

"How were you sent back later? Did you find someone to carry your third sister back?"

Yongjiao shook her head desperately, "It was Granny Jiang who happened to be passing by. She's so mean! Third Sister was in so much pain she couldn't even speak, she was just crying, and she still had to curse at her!"

Why is Granny Jiang always wandering around the garden? He Su Chen's face darkened. Whenever something happens, Granny Jiang is always the first to notice if it happens in the garden. It's a very suspenseful thing.

“I want to see Rou’er, but I’m afraid to go alone. Do you think she might not be able to walk anymore? Will she become a cripple?” Yongjiao’s voice grew softer and softer until it was almost inaudible.

He Suchen straightened his thoughts slightly: "So, you didn't see Third Sister, and you didn't hear the doctor say that Third Sister really broke her leg? You just saw that she couldn't walk and that's how you came to this conclusion?"

"No, no! Granny Jiang said Rou'er might not be able to walk anymore!" Yongjiao hurriedly explained.

"You believe what Granny Jiang says? Go check on Third Sister first. She just tripped and fell; it's nothing serious. Besides, it wasn't even dark when you were playing. How could she have tripped for no reason? She probably just tripped and fell. It's nothing." She handed her the handkerchief, which was half-wet from Yongjiao's tears, and wiped her tears. She then smiled and said, "Little Rabbit, you really are a little rabbit, so timid. I told you nothing would happen! Look at me back then, I'm fine now, aren't I?"

Yongjiao forced a smile, but before it could fully bloom, she burst into tears. He Suchen sighed helplessly and tried to comfort her for a long time. Finally, his half-coaxing and half-deception had a slight effect. Just as they were about to go find He Yuanrou, someone suddenly turned around the corner of the corridor.

She had very faint, slightly upturned eyebrows, was of average height, wore a purple-gold crown, and deliberately left two small tufts of black hair around her ears. She wore a light gray robe, had a fairly straight nose, and her right cheek was sunken, revealing a dimple.

This was a man in his mid-twenties, with thin lips and a slightly wicked smile on his face. When he saw Yongjiao and Su Chen leaning against the pillars, he quickly walked up a few steps and said, "So it's my niece. What brings you here?"

He Suchen didn't know who he was. She took two steps back with Yongjiao, but Yongjiao tugged at her and stepped forward herself, saying, "I came to see Third Sister. Is she feeling better?" The man looked troubled. "Not really. You should go and see her. Her mother is hiding in her room, feeling very sad."

Yongjiao's face paled, her body stiffened, and she hurriedly bowed. He Suchen had no choice but to follow suit. The man smiled wickedly, nodded, and then left.

He Suchen looked at Yongjiao with suspicion, and was about to ask who he was when Yongjiao burst into tears and said, "This is my third aunt's cousin. He's a womanizer. Let's ignore him and go."

The place was very close to the third family's reception room. Yongjiao sobbed all the way there, but found the room empty. A little maid was dozing in the back room. He Suchen went over and woke her up. The little maid was startled, but seeing that it was just two girls, she composed herself, wiped the drool from her mouth, and quickly got up and curtsied. Yongjiao looked around but didn't see anyone, so she asked, "Where's Third Aunt? Where's Third Sister? Why is no one in the room?"

The little maid moved her lips slightly and said, "Grandma just fell asleep. Eldest Miss went to meet Miss Qin, and Third Miss is in her room." Yongjiao kicked a chair leg forcefully, grabbed He Suchen, and headed towards the west wing, kicking and slamming doors and thresholds as she went, deliberately making a lot of noise. When she reached Yuanrou's room, the two little maids were sitting on the floor, asleep on the veranda. Yongjiao was even angrier. She kicked the door open with a bang, waking the two maids. They seemed not to be fully awake yet, their sleepy eyes half-open. Yongjiao grabbed Suchen and strode inside, ignoring them completely.

The room was dark, but the furniture was opulent, very much in Liu's style. A corner of the bed curtains was lifted, revealing a small section of arm, pitifully thin. He Sucheng took a deep breath, stepped forward, and pulled the curtains off!

·················

Yesterday on the train, I met a Malaysian woman, around 24 or 25 years old. She was fluent in English, Malay, Cantonese, Hokkien, Teochew, and Hakka, and also had a basic understanding of Chengdu dialect. She could understand Spanish and French.

I'm jealous of her! I'm jealous of geniuses!! Ugh!! I was so angry when I talked to her! I'm afraid of meeting geniuses, and I'm afraid of comparing myself to them, because I'm not smart...

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Unknown

The promoter function is now open! What are you waiting for? Join now! The light pink curtain was suddenly lifted, and the two looked inside nervously. They thought they would see Yuan Rou sleeping in bed, but instead, she was sitting on the pillow with her hair unkempt and wearing pajamas. When she saw the curtain being lifted, she seemed to be so frightened that her heart stopped beating, and she desperately hid in the corner.

He Suchen, still clutching the tent flap, was taken aback by the sight. In just seven or eight days, Yuan Rou's already small face had become haggard, her eyes filled with panic and fear, and her mouth was dry, as if she hadn't had water for most of the day. Upon seeing the two of them, Yuan Rou caught her breath and relaxed.

Yongjiao was clearly unprepared for this scene and didn't react for a while. She reached out and pulled up Yuanrou's skirt to check how well the bandage was done. Yuanrou couldn't dodge, and her pale, slender right foot was immediately exposed to the air. She said weakly, "No, don't do this..." and then her foot shrank back.

"Why isn't a doctor here to bandage you?! Are you alright? Are you feeling better? Should I go and tell Grandma to send a doctor over to take a look?" Yongjiao was anxious. Although she had let go of the hem of her skirt, she still clung to it tightly.

Yuan Rou quickly pulled her foot back, sat back down, and hugged her knees with both hands. "It's okay, I'm much better, really okay, Second Sister, don't worry, it's really okay..."

Yongjiao glanced at her legs with suspicion, as if looking for some evidence, but based on what she had just seen, Yuanrou's feet, though slender and pale, were clearly not bruised or swollen, as if she really was perfectly fine, just as she had said.

If that's the case, why was her gaze unfocused that day, and why didn't she respond to her calls and cries? Granny Jiang's words were harsh and vicious, her outward respect masking her undisguised desire to drive her away. Yongjiao, still worried, insisted, "I'll go tell Grandma to have her fetch a doctor to examine you!"

Yuan Rou's face turned pale. She shook her head desperately and grabbed Yong Jiao, refusing to let her go: "I said I'm fine, Second Sister. Are you deliberately preventing me from resting properly? I'm really fine, just a little tired."

Yongjiao didn't believe it. "You were clearly in trouble that day. Otherwise, why couldn't you come to your senses no matter how I called you? You were dazed and confused, your hands were gripping your feet, and your eyes wouldn't move. How could you be alright? Who are you trying to fool?!"