Chapter Eleven: Unexpected Harvest

  These days even steel is hard to come by, how can this exist?

  Qin Daiyun gazed intently at the object and joked, "Miss didn't ask us to buy something special? This one is quite special. The vendor said an old man sold it to him, insisting on exchanging some wine money, he doesn't know if it's useful or not, eight silver coins were spent on it, apart from this, there are no other strange objects in the basket."

  It seems that this is indeed fate, the old man and the peddler did not recognize the value of the item, so they sold it cheaply. Ruyi and Chunli also simply followed their own instructions and bought something that looked unusual.

  "After making a big fuss all day, I still ended up spending the most money." A rare moment of self-mockery.

  Two maidservants exchanged a smile, lowered their heads and started doing needlework. In this manor, there were really too few things that could be done to help the young lady. The two of them, apart from embroidering pouches, couldn't find anything else to do.

  Qin Dai carefully examined the object in her hand, and the more she looked at it, the more she marveled. What a wonderful thing this was! It was just an iron piece the size of a palm, but upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a small iron box about half an inch thick, rectangular in shape, with two tiny round holes on either side, no thicker than a few strands of hair. On the back of the box, aside from a plum blossom pattern, there were two strange protrusions. The entire box was an unusual black color, yet it emitted a subtle glow. The plum blossom pattern was just a few simple strokes, but it seemed to come alive, as if it had burst into bloom.

  Qin Dai's heart was eager to get to the bottom of things, but she was held back by the presence of the two maidservants, and in the end she endured it.

  "Miss? Miss." Ruyi looked at Qindai's thoughtful expression and found it somewhat amusing. It was just an iron box, did she need to stare at it so intently?

  "Hm?" Suddenly hearing Yu's call, Qin Dai brought her thoughts back. "Something up?"

  "You're really infatuated, this ugly thing, if Chunli hadn't insisted on buying it, I wouldn't have helped you bring it back." Ruyi glanced at Chunli with a smile and said: "I've called out to you several times, but you didn't respond at all."

  "Anything wrong?" Still distracted.

  "It was only after hearing Xiaoxiang say it that I realized the two mothers beside my aunt had gone to visit Dingo's mother in the afternoon, which is why she had some free time to go with us servants to watch the commotion at the peddler's place. At first, I didn't think much of it, but after thinking about it carefully, I felt that something was not quite right." Then, like a good intention, she told about the sharp cry that came from the backyard that day, and also talked about the various abnormalities of the people in the backyard.

  That shrill cry was probably made by her cheap aunt, and as for the reason, no one knew better than she did. She had been on guard against Gong Sun Ce early on, successfully escaping Tong Si Er's bewildering incense, and as for Ruyi being knocked unconscious, she was delighted to see it, for only then would her own actions not be discovered, and if Ruyi couldn't do what she had entrusted her with, she feared that things would go wrong.

  Gongsun Jin saw the black shadow, which was indeed Qin Dai Xin. He had calculated that he would pass through the deserted garden path and struck him at the right time, knocking him unconscious. If possible, Qin Dai Xin really wanted to throw him into the garden and ignore him, but she was afraid someone might pass by and discover him, so she could only drag him back. Fortunately, the villa had brick roads, so no traces were left behind. After returning to Gongsun Jin's residence, she first beat him violently for a while, then tied him up tightly and threw him onto the bed. Afterwards, Qin Dai Xin began rummaging through the boxes and cabinets, taking away many valuable items. Fortunately, in this era, they didn't know about fingerprint identification, so there was no need to worry about finding gloves.

  Just as she was about to return to her own courtyard, she ran into Tong Sier, who had just finished drinking and was on his way back. Thinking that this person was also one of Gong Sunjin's accomplices, she took the opportunity to teach him a lesson as well. She didn't hold back, so it's likely that neither of them got off scot-free. Qin Fengge probably couldn't bear to see her son with a swollen face and nose, which is why she let out such a loud wail. Afterwards, she felt embarrassed about losing face, so she suppressed her emotions and only sent two servant women to secretly investigate, going around the various courtyards to see if they could find any clues.

  "Don't worry about it, let's take things one step at a time!" with an air of nonchalance.

  As Miss thought calmly at home, her heart was very calm, thinking that it's probably nothing big, what she feared was...

  Suppressing the anxiety in her heart, Yiyi said, "The weather is getting colder too, Miss should also make some plans."

  It's been three months since I came here, and three months ago, Ruo Yi probably couldn't have imagined that today would turn out like this. In the past, she would have directly told Qin Daihe what to do and which step to take next. But today, after three months, Miss is no longer the same Third Miss as before; her temperament has changed a lot more than just a little bit. She believes that even if she doesn't spell it out clearly, Miss will still understand her meaning, and probably even has an escape route planned out.

  "Since you're here, make yourself at home. It's not a bad place to be, it's just that the weather is quite chilly today, and winter is approaching soon, so we should prepare some warm clothing." Her eyebrows furrowed slightly, seemingly worried.

  Do I really have to stay here forever?

  "Why don't we make a list and have the two mothers pass it on?" In just three months, Miss seems to have grown taller by quite a bit. Is it true that coarse rice is more nourishing? The former Third Miss was delicate and pampered, how could she endure so much hardship? She was raised in the house like a flower that couldn't be exposed to the wind, although beautiful, but lacking vitality, with less charm. Now, the new Third Miss has grown taller by quite a bit, her eyebrows have a rarely seen spirit, the whole person looks completely different. Such a beauty has an air of mystery that is hard to fathom, and things that can't be obtained or guessed are often the most captivating.

  Although it is her right to take things from the Qin's house, it is not the best way. The process is difficult and she will be bullied by others, let alone getting what she wants, which may not be good either.

  "Take a look! Didn't you bring something from the mansion?" She didn't have any concept of these things, her food and clothing had always been taken care of by Ruyi and Chunli, she basically didn't pick. Even in her past life as Mo Li, she didn't have the habit of indulging, not that she wasn't capable of it, but rather she never had the mood to indulge.

  "This is all my fault. I was in a hurry when I came and didn't think to bring the winter clothes."

  Qin Dai secretly smiled, this girl is still leaving herself some face. She wasn't in a hurry, probably didn't think she'd have to wait so long!

  "Will they send it over to the mansion?" Qin Dai's mouth curled up with a mocking smile, they were probably trying their best to forget her existence, where would they still remember someone like her.

  "It's easy to say that the quilt is fine, but the clothes are probably useless even if they're sent over. Miss has grown a lot taller, and all her clothes need to be replaced from inside out. The countryside is not like the mansion, it's cold in winter, and we need to prepare windbreakers and cotton robes too." This is still the simplest preparation, but if we follow the usual rules of the mansion, the difference will be huge. Yiyi is worried, what if Old Madam doesn't agree? Do they really have to stay here forever?

  Chun Li put down the embroidery in her hand, got up and went to the tea room where the maidservants were hiding, not long after she came back stamping her feet, probably because it was extremely cold outside and her feet were frozen. She put down the hot tea and a plate of small pastries in her hands, turned around and glanced at Ruyi, making a secret signal with her eyes.

  She's whispering to Ruyi! Is she afraid of being seen?

  The weather is getting cooler and the two girls are always worried that they will catch a cold, so they pay close attention to her daily life. No one knows what it was like when she was with her husband, but people say that she used to have a bad temper, would get angry and throw tantrums, which made things difficult for the couple. However, after her husband's downfall, she never left his side...

  "What are you two whispering about? Tell me too." These childish tricks could deceive her eyes, what a joke.

  Ruyi stared at people with a few points of anger. This girl, also not behind the young lady's back, good and well, isn't this adding to her troubles?

  The two of them hesitated for a while, but in the end they couldn't resist Qin Dai's "torture" and confessed honestly.

  It turned out that Chunli went to the tea room to get some food and had a few words with the servants in the Zhuangzi, but the other party just said a few cold words. With Chunli's temper, she naturally wanted to refute them, but after all, she was young and couldn't compete with those rural women who were like rough-skinned hags. And she wasn't like Ruyi, who knew how to put on airs as a house servant, so she ended up losing out. After returning, she thought about letting Ruyi go and teach those few women a lesson, but just as she was making eyes at her, she was caught red-handed by Qindai.

  "Miss, it's not just the clothes that are a headache." Chunli pouted, looking indignant. These servants had clearly been embezzling Miss Ke's monthly allowance; how could this go on?

  After all, he's just a kid. Although he does everything with a sense of propriety, he still can't compare to being mature and steady, after all, he's only twelve years old.

  "What's wrong?" Before Qin Dai Xin could ask, Ruyi couldn't help but speak up. She had taught her countless times not to always wear her heart on her sleeve, as a slave, besides doing her duty, she also needed to learn how to hide her emotions.

  "For the past three months, every day has been just vegetables, not a bit of meat. Miss's chin is so pointed it could pierce people, how can this be okay?" After finishing speaking, she muttered another sentence under her breath, but her voice was really too soft, Qin Dai didn't quite catch it.

  "What's wrong? Can't eat anymore?" Looking at her sulking face, she looked like a little wild cat that had just been scolded, and it was quite funny.

  Chun Li's face turned red with embarrassment, and she hastily shook her head: "When I was a child, following my parents to escape the disaster, even grass roots and tree bark were edible. What choice did I have? I'm just worried that Miss won't be able to bear it."

  Ru Yi is also worried, the young lady is already thirteen years old, but has never had her period, and recently suffered a shock and fell ill, fearing it has been affected, now she can't even eat well, how can she get enough nutrition?

  "What kind of person is used in the kitchen?" This gang's food really needs to be improved, eating green vegetables every day, how can they keep up with their physical strength? Without good physical strength, where does she get the energy to train.

  "It's from the government office, originally for the aunts to do small stoves, and also quite famous in the government office." This sentence obviously has a teasing tone.

  "Oh?" Qin Dai's interest was piqued, "What did you say?"

  Ru Yi suppressed a smile and said, "This old woman was originally also a maid in the mansion, but somehow she was assigned to be the wet nurse of the young master. She could have been a capable housekeeper, but she had a fondness for wine and would often drink a few cups when there was nothing else to do. Her addiction to wine was even stronger than that of the masters, and after drinking, she would think about gambling with small amounts of money. Because of this, she often caused trouble and laughter. Although her bad habits were hard to change, she was skilled at cooking, so she remained in the kitchen."

  "It's also a bad luck." Qin Dai'er heard this and had an idea. At this moment, she suddenly heard the little maid outside report that Li Mama from her aunt's side was asking to see her.