Chapter 521 Daily Life in the Sun Residence (Part 3)
September 1st, cloudy.
Just after the Chenshi (seven o'clock in the morning), Qingwen came to the small kitchen in the southeast corner carrying a copper kettle, and saw that there were already several maids crowded in there to fetch water.
Seeing Qingwen coming in from outside, the maids hurriedly retreated to the side.
Qingwen did not bother to be polite with them and walked straight to the stove. She only stopped subconsciously when she saw Hibiscus in the innermost circle.
"snort."
Furong raised her eyebrows and snorted coldly, then took a half step back from the stove.
Qingwen took the lead in filling her vacancy and gently placed the copper kettle on the stove. As Xiangling's maid, she should have been ranked behind Furong. However, Sun Shaozong , so naturally he had to use the hot water for washing first.
However, in the past, the hot water was boiled in advance in the small kitchen, and whoever came could use it, and there was no order.
Why are you delayed today?
Seeing the maid boiling water, busying herself in front of the stove with her head down, Qingwen wanted to ask her a few questions, but when the words came to her lips, she remembered her current identity and swallowed the question back.
But she didn't ask, Furong behind her became impatient and scolded: "It's okay for our aunt, but why didn't she even prepare hot water for the second master? If you delay the master's work, who can afford to offend!"
After hearing this, the maid who was boiling water lowered her head even more, but said nothing.
Furong became even more annoyed and cursed again: "Are you deaf, you little bitch? Or do you want me to report it to my concubine and give you a good beating?!"
The maid who boiled the water trembled slightly, and finally stammered: "Don't be upset, sister. This is my first time serving on the stove, and I owe you a few instructions. I don't know if the water will be boiled in the second half of the night. There will be no mistakes tomorrow."
Furong listened to her explanation and was about to say something else, but Qingwen couldn't help but exclaimed: "Caixia? Why is it you?!"
It turned out that the maid who was busy cooking in front of the stove was Caixia, who had been demoted to do menial work as a maid outside.
Caixia finally looked up after she revealed her identity. She grinned at Qingwen awkwardly and bitterly, and whispered, "Yesterday, the concubine showed mercy and let me serve in the kitchen."
Seeing her smoke-stained face, Qingwen couldn't help feeling mixed emotions.
Thinking back to when they were in Rongguo Mansion, their relationship was not very close. Especially after Qingwen learned that Caixia helped Aunt Zhao and Huan Lao San to communicate secretly, she hated her even more.
However, things have changed, and now both of them have been banished to the Sun family by Mrs. Wang. Seeing how destitute she is, Qingwen can't help but feel a little sad.
She opened her mouth to say something to Caixia, but at that moment, the water on the stove began to bubble up and down, so Caixia hurriedly took the ladle and filled Qingwen's copper kettle.
Bang~
Almost at the same time, Furong put the copper kettle in her hand on the stove.
Qingwen knew that it was not the right time to talk, so she could only hurriedly say, "Since we are all in the same courtyard, when you finish your work, why not come over to my place and sit for a while."
As he said this, he hurriedly picked up the copper kettle and gave up his seat in the front row.
Walking around the blooming flower garden and arriving at the west wing, she heard the annoying rocking sound, which not only did not stop, but became louder and faster. Qingwen could not help but blush and secretly spit, then turned around and locked the door again.
Hearing the noise, the Second Master and Xiangling wouldn't need hot water for a while. After Qingwen finished washing herself, she hesitated for a moment and went to the south room first, intending to ask the eldest lady's wet nurse if she wanted to wash herself.
In order to make it easier for people to go in and help take care of the children, the door of the south room is always ajar.
Qingwen was afraid that she would wake up the eldest daughter, causing her to cry and disturb the master and the aunt's "fun", so she pushed the door open quietly and went in.
When I got inside, I saw my sister sleeping soundly in the cradle, and the wet nurse on the bed had her whole body wrapped in a quilt.
There is no need to worry about getting bored.
Qingwen shook her head speechlessly and was about to retreat back to the living room. However, just as she was about to turn around, she realized that something seemed wrong - the bedding kept rolling, and it didn't look like it was just breathing, but more like it was shaking.
Could it be that the nanny is sick? !
Qingwen's heart immediately rose to her throat. The eldest lady was not as strong as the young master. She had just been seriously ill a month ago. If the nurse infected her with some disease at this time, what would happen? !
Thinking of this, she hurried forward and asked, "Sister-in-law, Sister-in-law of the Song family?!"
With just this sound, the shaking of the quilt suddenly froze. After a while, a red face appeared from underneath, and said in a hoarse voice, "You...when did you come in?"
Seeing her like this, Qingwen felt something was wrong. She reached out to touch Sister Song's forehead and asked with concern, "Sister-in-law, are you feeling unwell? Do you want me to tell Second Master and ask him to get a doctor to take a look?"
“No, no, no!”
Mrs. Song quickly stretched out her white arm and shook it like a rattle, saying anxiously, "I'm in good health, please don't disturb the Second Master!"
Seeing that even her neck was red, Qingwen didn't believe it at all. She thought she was hiding her illness for fear of losing her job, so she turned around and went to the master bedroom to report.
Mrs. Song became more and more anxious, not caring that she had nothing to cover herself with, she jumped up and grabbed her, propped herself up and shouted, "Good girl, you...you must listen to my explanation first!"
As he spoke, he whispered a few words into Qingwen's ear.
After hearing this, Qingwen's oval face flushed red, and she spat several times, saying, "Sister-in-law, you are really... really ridiculous! Forget it, I just got some water, you should go outside and wash up, otherwise my sister will be panicked when she wakes up!"
Seeing that she had no intention of pursuing the matter further, Mrs. Song heaved a sigh of relief. She awkwardly took the towel and clothes, and hurriedly packed them up without Qingwen's help. She also folded the messy mattress and hurried to the outer room.
Qingwen had to stay to look after the child, so she naturally did not follow them out. She should have sat on the bed nearby, but when she thought about what the wet nurse had just done, she always felt that the bed was a little dirty.
So she found a stool from the corner and sat down carefully in front of the cradle. Her mind was in a mess and she didn't know what she was thinking about. When she came to her senses, Mrs. Song had come back and was looking at her with a smirk on her face.
"Good girl."
Then she flattered him, "Please don't tell anyone about what happened just now, otherwise I... I won't be able to face anyone!"
This mansion had only been wealthy for a few years, and there were not many servants born in the family, so the wet nurses were hired from outside. They could only go home once every three to five days, and it was not convenient for them to stay overnight at home. As a woman who had tasted the pleasures of sex, it was normal for her to feel a little excited after listening to the lewd music that night.
Besides, there were many wet nurses in wealthy families who could not stand the loneliness and had affairs with the male owners.
After all, Mrs. Song solved her troubles by herself, so it's not like she did anything wrong.
It's just that in the past few days, Mrs. Song has been quite mean to Qingwen, so Qingwen took the opportunity to use the methods of a maid in a wealthy family and gave her a good scolding.
It was not until Sister Song swore to herself that she would follow Qingwen's lead in the future that Qingwen said indifferently, "Sister-in-law, you are too kind. As the saying goes, a distant relative is not as good as a close neighbor. Besides, we are still under the same roof, so it's okay for us to help each other more."
"Yes, yes, yes, we should help each other!"
Mrs. Song nodded her head like a chicken pecking at rice, her face full of relief. It was obvious that although she said she would follow the emperor's lead, she was unwilling to do so in her heart.
Qingwen was used to seeing such expressions every day, so she didn't bother to argue with her. She made the excuse that she had to serve the master and the aunt, and went out to the living room.
At this time, the annoying noise finally stopped.
Just as Qingwen breathed a sigh of relief, she heard Xiangling's timid voice from inside: "Sister Qingwen, please bring in some warm water."
The two were already familiar with each other when they were in Rongguo Mansion, and Xiangling had always been a simple and honest person, so even though Qingwen had been her maid for the past few days, she still treated her like a sister.
Qingwen hurriedly filled a basin with warm water, went forward and knocked on the door. When Xiangling poked her head out with a red face, she handed her the basin and said, "It's not the same as before. I really can't bear to be called sister by your aunt. From now on, just call me by my name."
Xiangling smiled and took the copper basin. She lowered her voice and said, "Sister is a good person with good looks. Who can predict what will happen in the future?"
Having said that, he closed the door again.
This...
Qingwen frowned and thought for a long time. She couldn't tell whether she was resisting or calm in her heart. In short, she had no expectations at all.
Not long after, another maid assigned to this room also arrived. The two of them each took out feather dusters, rags and other items and began the daily morning cleaning routine.
Let’s not even mention what’s happening outside.
But Sun Shaozong was leaning lazily on the bed, resting his arms on his head, with his hairy legs raised high, fiddling with the small clothes on the horizontal bar, but there was no romance in his heart at all.
After he established his authority in the house of confinement that day, everything in Shuntian Prefecture was calm and peaceful, without any sign of anything unusual.
Either the traitor had a strong psychological quality and was not frightened by this bluff at all; or his previous inference was wrong, and the spies were not on the list found in the house of detention.
If it was the former, then the clue would be broken; but if it was the latter...
"Sir, are you going to get up now?"
A voice as sweet as sticky rice disrupted Sun Shaozong's thoughts. He turned his head to see Xiangling already dressed neatly, and said with a smile: "Today is a day off, you should inform them first, and after breakfast, we will go to the Prison God Temple to visit the flower show together."
Xiangling was overjoyed when she heard this. Yu Qian and Sun Chengye had already moved out early yesterday morning, so they could have gone to the flower show in the afternoon - but seeing that Ruan Rong and You Erjie didn't seem to be in a good mood, Xiangling didn't dare to bring up the matter.
Now that Sun Shaozong had agreed to go with them, he was naturally not worried that the two girls would lose interest.
So she hurriedly called Qingwen in to help Sun Shaozong dress and wash, and then went to the main room excitedly.
When Qingwen came in and saw Sun Shaozong wearing only shorts, revealing his bronze muscles, she felt a little uncomfortable and hesitated with her eyes wandering. She dared not look or touch him, but she made mistakes in her haste and committed several "blind men touching an elephant" mistakes.
Fortunately, Sun Shaozong was currently in his sage time and did not react to her "teasing".
Even so, when Qingwen finally carried the water to the living room outside, her cheeks were as red as charcoal fire, and she could be said to be a rival of Mrs. Song.
She was afraid that the little maid would see something, so she lowered her head and carried the copper basin outside. Just as she was about to throw the water out, she suddenly saw someone in the corridor looking into the house.
"pink clouds?"
Qingwen couldn't help but ask in surprise: "Why did you come here at this moment?"
It was true that she wanted Caixia to come over and talk to her, but the small kitchen was busy in the morning, so how could she spare the time?
Especially since Caixia had just arrived, being lazy like this would make it easier for her to get into trouble.
"I……"
Caixia pinched the corner of her clothes and said awkwardly, "I heard that you went to the mansion over there a few days ago, but... have you heard any news about Master Huan San?"
Qingwen had also heard Yuanyang mention the reason why she was demoted. Seeing that she was still asking about Jia Huan, she suddenly felt angry and threw dirty water on the flowerbed, saying coldly, "You only care about him, but why don't you ask if he cares about you?!"
Caixia had suffered so much these days that she had lost her previous indomitable spirit. Seeing Qingwen suddenly angry, she thought she was still holding a grudge against Aunt Zhao for poisoning her, so she said hesitantly , "The Third Master never harmed Baoyu. It was all Aunt Zhao's fault..."
"Never harmed?!"
Qingwen held the empty basin in her hand and said with a frown, "Wasn't it his fault that he burned Baoyu's eyes?!"
Hearing her bring up this matter again, Caixia gritted her teeth and stiffened her neck and said, "It was your Second Master Bao who first put his hands inside my clothes , and that's why Third Master got angry and stood up for me!"
Qingwen was startled when she heard this. Thinking about how Baoyu had drunk a few more cups that day, he might have done something like this. The anger in her chest was immediately relieved, and even her spirit and energy collapsed. She smiled bitterly and shook her head, saying, "Forget it, forget it. What does it have to do with us now about the two brothers?"
As he said this, he turned around and walked inside, saying, "You don't need to ask me about Huan Lao San's affairs. Just ask Master Xue about it when you meet him that day - he hangs out with Master Xue all day long now!"
"Girl, girl!"
Before he finished speaking, a rough servant came running over and asked with a big smile, "Is the Second Master in your room?"
Qingwen turned around in confusion and asked, "Why? Do you want to see the Second Master for something?"
"We have visitors."
The woman smiled and said, "It's Mr. Xue from Zijin Street. I heard that our master asked him to do something. Now that the matter has been settled, he came to tell us."
This is really the case of Speak of the devil and he will appear.
Qingwen glanced at Caixia, told the old woman to wait outside, and went inside to report. When she came out again, Caixia was nowhere to be seen.
