Chapter Twenty-Five Go

  I want that girl.

  Mrs. Cheng felt as if she had just heard this sentence a few days ago.

  "Uh... is that the young mistress's maid?" she asked.

  Cheng Da nodded his head.

  "Is it just for this?" asked Madame Cheng.

  "He said it was," Old Master Cheng said.

  It's obviously far below everyone's expectations.

  "Never mind, just give it to him if he wants it, after all, it's not our family's servant girl," said Mrs. Cheng. "When the enemy advances, we retreat; when the water comes, we build a dam. If he speaks up, we respond; if he doesn't speak up, we don't move."

  Speaking of which, I thought of that little girl.

  "Besides, that girl, since she came, has caused so much trouble in our family. We can't tolerate such a girl," she said.

  Cheng Da nodded his head.

  "Go and tell that girl to follow her real master." he said.

  The women took their orders and left, but soon came back.

  "Sir, madam, there's no need to say any more. The girl is just outside the door and has seen Master Zhou on Saturday," she said.

  Madam Cheng smiled slightly.

  "That's just right, it's their own family business, let them handle it themselves." She said with a smile, shaking her fan and looking at Master Cheng Da, "I don't know if that girl is willing to go this time or not."

  "Go home with the young master?" asked Ban Jin in surprise.

  Zhou Lang nodded.

  "Great!" exclaimed Ban Jin with great joy, "I'll go tell my wife right away."

  Turned around and wanted to leave, thought of something and stopped in his tracks again.

  "Master, has Sir agreed?" she asked again.

  "You're not one of them, how can they agree or disagree." said Shūroku with a frown.

  He was taken aback for a moment.

  "But she is their family member." She asked.

  Zhou Lang frowned even more.

  "What daughter, I'm talking about you." he said.

  "Huh?" Han Qian was stunned, looking at Zhou Liu Lang, "Aren't you supposed to take my wife away?"

  "Are you stupid?" Zhou Liulang scrutinized the girl, frowning with a hint of impatience. "Is your mother's surname Zhou? Hurry up and pack, we need to leave before dark."

  He said and turned around, striding away.

  Ban Jin stood still, his ears buzzing.

  Jiang Niang had woken up very early, and when she heard the fourth aunt instructing the little maid, she quietly got out of bed by herself. The rustling sound startled the maids outside, and she also overheard their hushed discussions.

  Quietly opening the book, unlike the painting on the screen and only two lines of words, a dense mass of text rushed into her eyes. Cheng Jiaoniang felt dizzy in front of her eyes, and her heart was turbulent. She closed her eyes for a while before she recovered.

  To look or not to look?

  Quietly gazing out at the scenery for a moment, Cheng Jiaoniang lowered her head once again.

  Half a day's time passed quickly.

  That nauseating feeling won't appear again. Covering with palm, reading line by line, the words won't jump around in front of my eyes anymore.

  Although she eventually only read one line of words.

  That's enough for half a day.

  Jiang Nang raised her head and saw that it was almost dusk outside, with the setting sun dyeing the sky red.

  The anxious muttering of the woman outside came again.

  "Why haven't you come back yet?"

  "Will it make a difference..."

  "His daughter is an idiot, can't leave people alone..."

  "Shall we go in and take a look..."

  Jiang Yao quietly looked out of the window and closed her book.

  "Come in." she called out.

  The voices outside suddenly stopped, and the yard seemed so quiet that even breathing couldn't be heard.

  After a moment, someone came in trembling and flustered.

  "Miss." The maid knelt down and cried out in a trembling voice, not daring to lift her head.

  "I want to change clothes." said Cheng Jiaoniang as she looked at her.

  "Yes." The maid responded, lifting her head. As the sun set in the west, the brilliant afterglow of the sunset shone on the woman sitting on the floor, momentarily dazzling.

  My goodness, it looks so good and doesn't smell either...

  Those people are all deceiving!

  Half of the celery hurriedly stepped into the door.

  "Has the young lady woken up?" she hastily asked. Before her words had even fallen, she saw the maid on the corridor turn around to look at her.

  Ban Jin's voice suddenly stopped.

  "Girl, white water." The maid replied, withdrawing her gaze and kneeling down to place the teacup on the low table.

  Jiangniang stretched out her hand to take the teacup.

  He quickly regained his composure and hastily walked a few steps forward before kneeling down.

  "The girl wants to drink cold water." She said, stretching out her hand to hold the teacup first and testing.

  "It doesn't matter, we can wait a bit," said Cheng Jiaoniang.

  He immediately withdrew his hand and sat up straight.

  "Daughter, do you want to change your clothes?" She asked hurriedly as another thought occurred to her.

  "I've already done it for the mistress." The maid, still kneeling in the corridor, said hastily, with a hint of excitement, as if she had accomplished something extraordinary.

  Half of celery oh sound.

  Jiang Yao gently picked up her teacup and slowly took a sip of water.

  "Girl, what do you want to eat tonight? I'll make it for you." Half Cinnamon said with a smile.

  Jiang Yao looked at her.

  She lowered her eyes and didn't dare look straight at him.

  "Leng Tao." said Cheng Jiaoniang.

  Half of the celery bowed its head in response.

  "I'll go and do it now." She said as she stood up.

  She had just walked down the steps when a servant woman came from outside the door.

  "Miss Half Cinnamon, Second Master's people asked if you're better now?" she said.

  Ban Jin's body suddenly stiffened, his face turned white.

  "Please tell Master that I'll let Madam do it again." she said in a trembling voice.

  Jiang Nang put down her teacup.

  "Half-chin sister, if you're busy, just go first, I'll let the kitchen do it." The little girl said beside her.

  "I'll take care of it!" Han Qian shouted back.

  The girl was startled and looked at Banqin with tears in her eyes, even more puzzled.

  Ban Jin turned his head down and hurriedly walked towards the kitchen.

  "It's all right," said Chiang Niu, "you can go."

  Ban Jin turned around and knelt down, kowtowing and crying loudly.

  The maids outside the door and the servant girls under the corridor were all shocked.

  What's wrong?

  "Miss, miss." Half of the celery cried out in a choked voice, shouting as she crawled forward on her knees, "I won't go, I won't go, I'll go tell Master Liu right now."

  She said and got up and ran out in a hurry.

  The girl stared in amazement.

  "What's going on?" she asked in puzzlement.

  No one answered her.

  Ban Jin had already run far away, and the servant woman outside the door followed her as well.

  The girl did not turn her head to look at Jingniang.

  A woman with loose hair and wearing a loose-fitting plain-colored satin robe sat quietly, her expression unchanged, as if she had seen nothing and heard nothing.

  Knowing how to eat, drink, defecate and sleep is already quite good, I suppose fools don't understand joy, anger, sorrow and pleasure.

  "Tell the kitchen I want to have liangpi," said Jingniang.

  See, I told you!

  "Yes." The maid replied in affirmation.

  This fool doesn't know the difference between big and small, doesn't smile or get angry for no reason, won't hit people or make a racket, just sits quietly, eats and drinks, waits on you to take off clothes and put them on, it's really too easy to take care of.

  The girl walked away with quick and happy steps.

  Jiangniang sat in the hall, holding a teacup motionlessly.

  Looking at the crying half-vegetable, Zhou Liurang frowned.

  "I'd have thought you a hero among the perfumed and powdered, yet you're crying like this - what's wrong?" he said, grabbing the reins and mounting his horse.

  Hero? Are you referring to yourself? Young master actually thinks so highly of himself?

  But...

  "But what about my wife?" Ban Cui cried out.

  "Without you, the Cheng family won't have any other daughters-in-law?" Zhou Liulang couldn't help but chuckle. Smart and clever was one thing, but women's common problem was still too annoying.

  "But daughter has been with me since she was a child..." Half Cinnamon cried out.

  "Since childhood, it's either you or no one else. Can't she survive without you? Now that you're gone, can't she live on?" Zhou Liulang frowned and said, "Who in this world can't live without whom? Don't be self-important, that's just deceiving yourself!"

  Ban Jin lowered her head and wept, feeling as if her heart, liver, and lungs were all going to shatter.

  Yes, she is not a member of the Cheng family, she was bought by Old Lady Zhou, so she should be a member of the Zhou family, that's where she should go back to.

  "You're not leaving, I still have a long way to go. If you don't leave, it's fine, I'm not lacking one person like you!" Zhou Liu Lang shouted, "It's just that seeing you abandoned here is a pity!"

  Half of the celery was silent and did not dare to speak, raised his head and looked at the young man on horseback.

  The young man looked down at her from a height, shining brightly in the twilight.

  Ban Jin turned his head and looked inside the door.

  The girl has improved a lot now, but if she doesn't remind herself, she can only remember people and things within three or four days.

  Then, in three or four days, she will probably forget that there was ever a person named Ban Cui.

  She lowered her head and wiped away tears.

  "Yes." Half of the celery hung its head and bowed down, choking with sobs, "The slave listens to the young master, the slave has nothing, no need to collect it."

  The sunset gathered its last rays of light, and dusk enveloped the earth.