Yijuan cloud

Chapter 13 Xing'er is back

My heart skipped a beat, was it Xing'er?Or the person sent by my parents to pick me up?

The second young master said earlier that if Xing'er was really in Gaoyou County, he could go back and forth in a few days, but maybe the search was not smooth and there was no news.

Instead, Mr. Fan went to Hangzhou to hold office and help me find the whereabouts of my family. Since he left early, he had already been there for more than a month. It was not impossible to return.

My mind was spinning rapidly, and I felt so excited that I couldn't help but straighten my back. I thought to myself, soon, I will be able to escape from slavery and return to my normal life!
"Miss." I suppressed my excitement and looked at Cao Yingshan with a smile.

I looked at her, as if I was going to leave now, and once I left, we would never see each other again, and I felt a little reluctant to leave her.

Perhaps my gaze was too bold and direct, which was different from my usual low-brow look, which made Cao Yingshan feel unhappy.

She glanced at me sideways and said leisurely: "Look at your arrogance. If you don't know, you would think that you are visiting relatives of the emperor. I won't tell you that your family encountered rebels. How many people died? Can you keep things?" How much is it? Even if it’s not much, it’s just a small household, so what’s there to be proud of?”

I lowered my eyes and smiled: "What you are talking about is that the Cao Mansion's wealthy compound is of a magnificence that I could never have imagined before. People are not grass and trees. How can they be ruthless? The servants are just happy to see their families."

Cao Yingshan then waved her hand: "Okay, okay, let's go."

I quickly ran towards the corner gate, thinking in my mind:

In the future, when my family comes to redeem me, I'm afraid Cao Yingshan won't let me go. Then I will go to the Second Young Master to beg for mercy. If that doesn't work, I will go to beg Young Master Fan. Cao Yingshan will always listen to Young Master Fan.

After thinking about it, I was shocked to realize that I had already had such a plan in my heart: to find Mr. Fan!Ask him to come forward!
But this is not a trivial matter. How can I be sure that he will help me?Thinking of this, I suddenly felt discouraged.

The warmth in his eyes when he looked at me came to mind again under his cold face, and I had an intuition that he would do it.

Thinking about it, I ran, and when I looked up I found that I had reached the corner gate.

Under the cover of snow, a small black door was ajar.

A young boy came over to welcome him and said with a smile: "The girl's brother is here. He just arrived in Yangzhou City and came to meet the girl. The second young master was tripped up by something, otherwise he would have come over to have a look."

Breathing lightly, I took out the veil first, opened it and revealed the monthly money I had saved, which was fifty taels and five hundred copper coins.

Just as he was about to give the boy a dozen copper coins, he backed away when he saw it and said: "Girl, put it away quickly. The second young master gave me a reward. Your brother has been standing outside for a long time. Go and see him quickly." Bar."

If he doesn’t want it, I won’t give in anymore, alas!Because I am short of money, I really can't be generous.

Moreover, Xing'er was found first, and then my family will be found in the future. There will be many times when they need money!
Reaching out to push open the corner door, I saw Xing'er, dressed in dark green clothes, looking anxiously into the Cao Mansion. When he saw me coming out, his eyes lit up, and he rushed towards me with open arms: "Miss!"

I staggered when he hit me, and then he hugged me tightly. I couldn't see his face, but I knew he was crying. He was whimpering and just called me: "Miss, miss..." …”

I couldn't help crying, but when I heard him cry, I couldn't help but laugh.I thought he would make some progress, but I didn't expect him to cry so much.

I raised my arms to wipe my eyes, pushed him away, and pulled him aside to stand.

Xing'er has grown taller, and is already as tall as me. There is a trace of wind in the corners of his eyebrows, which actually adds a bit of heroism and stability.

His eyes were red, looking at me from top to bottom, and then from bottom to top. After a while, he said, "Miss, why did you become someone else's slave?" After saying that, he lowered his head and said, "How can you bear this? Come on? I used to have so much money at home, how could I serve others?"

"Isn't I doing well? Let me ask you, before I entered Cao's house, I found a traveling doctor to heal you. He said he cured you, so you came to Cao's house to see me. What happened next? Why did you go to Gaoyou? ?”

Xing'er didn't answer me, his eyes fell on my chilblained hand. He reached out to hold my hand and put it in his to warm it, but his hand was much cooler than mine. He also noticed it and put it away. He breathed a sigh of relief and released it.

I touched his clothes: "Why are you wearing so thin clothes? I will give you money later, and you can buy a thick coat to wear."

He smiled and shook his head: "I'm not cold."

After a pause, he added: "I stole the roast chicken that the eldest lady had on her birthday. I thought it was unnoticed, but I didn't expect it to be discovered... Later, I left that picture with my mother. I handed you my banknote and didn’t know anything. Occasionally when I woke up, I never saw you again. I just saw the face of an uncle. He fed me medicine and talked to me. I didn’t know what he said. What was it? Later, I heard a lot of noise on the street. The noise lasted for a long time, but it was silent again. When I woke up, I found myself lying in a ruined temple. It was three entertainers who saved me. . I searched all over Yangzhou City for a long time, but couldn't find the eldest lady, so I had to follow them out to make a living."

I listened carefully and thought to myself: "It seems that the doctor has kept his promise, but something happened during the period and he and Xing'er were separated." I said: "Thanks to those three kind people, we can reunite. I'd better thank you tomorrow." He also told me how I came to be a servant in Cao's house.

With that said, I took out the bag of silver and gave it to Xing'er and said, "Xing'er, go to Hangzhou to find my family. I know the money is not enough. Save some money. Don't be anxious on the way. If you don't have any money to spend, Now, write me a letter and I’ll send it to you. I really can’t wait any longer. You must stop doing such sneaky things and look for part-time jobs in those taverns and inns. Then go on. It’s hard work. Wait until we get back. Home, all the hard work is worth it!”

Xing'er just lowered his head and stroked my hand, and he nodded when I said something.

After talking for a while, Xing'er left. I watched his back disappear before going back.

Entering Cao Mansion again, my mood became even lower.

Fortunately, Cao Yingshan went to find her mother, and I was able to have some free time alone.

But sitting in my room, my heart still couldn't have a moment of peace. I was pacing back and forth, and when I saw a piece of rice paper spread on the table, I walked over and started writing.

While I was engrossed in writing, a little maid knocked on the door and came in, saying: "The people in the Second Master's courtyard said that they brought some gadgets for our lady outside. They said that although the things are not valuable, they are exquisite and need to be found by a careful person." Go over and get it, I’ve named my sister to go.”

I put on my cloak and walked towards the second young master's yard with low spirits.

When passing a rockery, I suddenly heard a voice saying: "Miss Lin."

I turned around and was surprised to see Mr. Fan walking towards me with a calm expression.

Behind him was a boy dressed as a servant. Although his head was lowered, I could tell it was Xing'er as soon as I took two steps closer!

I looked at Mr. Fan in astonishment. He stopped a few steps in front of me, looked back at Xing'er, and said coldly: "He wants to cut off two of his fingers to redeem you, and then take you to Hangzhou to find him." Your family.”

I was stunned for a moment before I realized what he was talking about. I hurried over and took one of Xing'er's hands, which was intact. Then I took the other hand, which was still fine.

"Why?" I was anxious, but my voice was soft and restrained, "Who wants to cut off your finger? How can you redeem me?"

Xing'er knelt down towards me and called me in a choked voice: "Miss."

I looked at Xing'er in surprise.

"The people who rescued Xing'er were three entertainers, all young, led by a girl named Meng Ni'er."

I slowly looked at Mr. Fan, looking at him steadily with a calm expression.

He looked at me at first, then quickly lowered his eyes, tightened his lips, his Adam's apple rose and fell, and said in a deep voice:
"After Xing'er was rescued by them, he swore that he would follow Meng Nier in his life. If he lived for a day, he would sacrifice his life for Meng Nier. I happened to come back today and went to the teahouse to drink tea. I saw a man coming up Lou, his face looked very similar to the brother in your portrait, so he followed them upstairs and heard their conversation. From what they said, it seemed that they had made a fortune, and Xing'er wanted to share it with him to redeem you. He said that after he sent you to Hangzhou to find your family, he would come back to find Meng Nier and the others. He was about to cut off two of his fingers as evidence when I stopped him."

After watching him finish speaking, I took Xing'er and walked a few steps aside. I lowered my voice and said, "I won't allow you to work for that girl named Meng! You are a slave born in my family, and you will be a member of our Lin family in this life." ! You don’t need to redeem me, Mr. Fan went to Hangzhou to find my parents, and we will both be able to go back soon!"

Xing'er cried: "Miss, the Lin family is gone! The Lin family is gone! We can never go back!"

I glared at him angrily.

Mr. Fan's voice rang in my ears: "...I found your family's ancestral home, but it has been occupied by refugees and is in a mess. I searched many places, but no one has seen your family. According to my guess, Not long after you moved out, you encountered rebels, and you and Xing'er fled the scene. Your family was probably robbed by the rebels. It's a long way to go to Hangzhou, and in troubled times, I'm afraid you no longer know where you are."

My tears fell one after another, and I looked at Xing'er vaguely. We could never go back.

"If the whereabouts of your family are unknown, and your life and death are unknown, it may not be a good thing for you, a girl from a girl's family, to redeem your body and go out. It is better to be stable in the Cao family." Mr. Fan said.

His voice was very far and very close, clear and vague. I even suspected that it was not what he said, but what I said in my heart.

I wiped my eyes, took Xing'er's hand, and said with a smile: "It doesn't matter, Xing'er, I am very good in Cao's family, and the food and clothing are better than in our family, but it's you, I won't let you give it to anyone Serve your life, ask that Meng Nier to come to see me someday, and I will ask her how I can repay her life-saving grace. I have two taels of silver a month, and I will give it all to her, will she still be happy?"

(End of this chapter)