Chapter 111.
"Miss, miss, I have already bought the red bean glutinous rice cake."
Liu Zhu's lively voice came. Tangli closed the book in her hand and put it aside. She walked from the inner room and saw the red bean glutinous rice cake on the table.
Tangli smiled, "I think he belongs to the Guo family in the south of the city."
Liu Zhu nodded like a fool, she didn't dare to go against the rules. The miss said she wanted to buy from the Guo family, so she would definitely buy it. However, the Guo family was a bit far away, and she had to take a carriage to go there. The miss was considerate of her, and she still wanted to buy it.
She gave her some scraps of silver to buy some melon seeds and preserved fruits to satisfy her cravings on the way. The miss is really nice.
"Can I buy preserved fruit to eat?"
"Hey, I'm so greedy, I couldn't help but buy some."
Tang Li was not surprised and laughed, "Go back to your room and play with your little sisters. I have nothing to do here and I don't need you."
Liu Zhu stirred the handkerchief in her hand, walked quickly and stood behind Tang Li, "Miss, you have become less fond of using the slave recently. Ever since Tang Yuan came, the miss has become like she is forgetting this slave."
Her words were filled with resentment, as if Tangli was a heartless person, which made Tangli laugh. She said frankly, "Yuanyuan has been with me for five days. This girl looks well-behaved, but is actually naughty. I care about her. I have to be strict, I am afraid that she will harm my flowers and plants, so I pay attention to her very much, I am petty, pretending that it's just because I can no longer think of anyone else."
When Tang Li mentioned that person's name, a smile appeared in her eyes and face involuntarily. She looked at the red bean glutinous rice cake on the porcelain plate, as if she were seeing Tang Yuan. She covered her lips and smiled softly. Her beautiful face was like a camellia blooming with kindness, extremely beautiful and dazzling.
Liu Zhu had a frown on her face when she heard this. She sighed, "Young lady has only met Tangyuan for a few days, and you like this girl so much? After a long time, this slave will really become a pitiful little girl who is not loved by the miss."
Tang Li glared at her angrily and said teasingly, "Stop talking weirdly to me. I want you to be lazy. Are you still unwilling?"
Liu Zhu couldn't hold it back, covered her face and laughed, "How can the miss always see through the slave's mind? I thought that I could pretend for a few days, and then I would be able to take away the miss's pity, but I didn't know that the miss would be like this all of a sudden exposing this slave."
"You also said that Yuanyuan is greedy and playful, but I think you two are just as good as each other."
Liu Zhu waved the handkerchief, "Slave is going to help the miss to call Tangyuan. With her here, the miss won't be able to lose her temper."
Tangli pushed her, "Go quickly."
This Yuanyuan must be sleeping in. This great mission should be left to Liu Zhu.
Liu Zhu trotted to the side room. Before Tang Yuan moved in, this was a study room. Later, Tang Li changed it into a side room, so that it would naturally belong to Tang Yuan.
With the two of them living closer, Tangli can feel more at ease and doesn't have to worry about her all the time.
Liu Zhu knocked on the door, but no one answered. She opened the door without hesitation, thinking that someone would be sleeping on the bed, but she didn't know that it was empty. When she looked closely, it was the person sleeping on the desk by the window. Tang Yuan, the one Liu Zhu is looking for.
She wondered endlessly, what was she going to do if she didn't sleep in a bed?
"Tang Yuan?"
"Tang Yuan, wake up quickly. It's already three o'clock in the morning. If you don't wake up, I'll ask the girl to spank you."
She slept in a daze and was not woken up by anyone's voice but she was woken up by Liu Zhu.
When she fell asleep, she didn't feel any pain in her waist or back. Once she woke up, Tang Yuan's face wrinkled into a ball, she rubbed her stiff neck and wailed, "Oh my god, my whole body hurts."
"It's strange that you don't feel any pain. You slept on the desk all night. I really admire you." Liu Zhu shook her head and joked. She was probably the only one who could sleep on this hard wooden table until dawn.
Tang Yuan said blankly, "It's actually dawn."
She was focused on looking at the sky outside the window, and did not notice Liu Zhu's hurried move to cover her mouth. Tang Yuan stretched, moved all the muscles and bones in her body, and said with a trembling voice, "I don't dare to sleep like this anymore. It's simply more painful than practicing calligraphy."
In the past few days, she had been with Tang Li, and in Tang Yuan's words, she had suffered a lot.
Although she was illiterate, she was smart. Seeing such a student, Tang Li, as a master, became a little addicted. She wanted to teach Tang Yuan every day, so that she could be reborn as a real "Qiao Yuan" as soon as possible.
Because Tangli has no intention of taking her current identity as her own, she does not need to follow the plot or maintain her character, so the identity of the second miss of the Qiao family will be returned sooner or later. Everything she has done so far is just paving the way.
Tangyuan didn't know about her plan. In the dark, Tangyuan thought that being a maid would require her to read and write.
Liu Zhu held back her smile, her eyes narrowed into slits as she smiled, "Wait for me for a while."
"Why?"
Liu Zhu ran out without looking back, and didn't even have time to talk to Tang Yuan. She couldn't wait to share the happiness brought by Tang Yuan with Tang Li.
The sound of her footsteps made Tangli unable to ignore it, "Why are you alone?"
Liu Zhu urged Tang Li, pointed outside and said, "Miss, come and see."
"What happened to make you laugh like this?"
Tangli's curiosity was aroused by her and she couldn't help but speed up her pace.
When she saw Tang Yuan slowly clearing away the pen and ink on her desk, all the truth came to light.
"Miss!"
Tang Yuan's apricot eyes were half-squinted, and she saw that she hadn't woken up yet, and what she was doing now was just subconscious. But after she smelled Tangli's unique incense, Tangyuan's mind suddenly became clear, and she was no longer the confused person.
Tangli's teachings these days, as well as Tangli's voice from time to time, made her involuntarily pay attention to Tangli, secretly observing and understanding Tangli's every move, so she was no stranger to the fragrance of Tangli.
Her almond-shaped eyes widened, and then she thought that she had not yet dressed up, which made her face turn red with embarrassment. She hurriedly turned her back to Tangli and said hesitantly, "Why did the miss suddenly come to the slave's room?"
Tang Li teased: "This is not my first time in this room. Maybe you have forgotten that I personally decorated this room for you."
[Anyway, it's a study room that's not often used, so just give it to her, it doesn't matter. ]
That voice sounded in Tang Yuan's ears again. At first it sounded like hers, but it was her heartfelt voice after all. But as it appeared more often, Tangyuan had another feeling. Inexplicably, this voice made Tangyuan feel like it was her own voice, as if she was listening to herself. This guess shocked Tang Yuan to the point where a thin layer of sweat broke out on her forehead. It was really scary. Because the voice in her heart was telling her story, but the strange thing was that the voice sounded like she was speaking it out. Anyone who experienced this would be scared to death.
The more Tang Yuan listened, the less panic she felt at first. Gradually, she figured out some tricks.
Every time her inner voice appeared, miss was praising herself. Normally, this inner voice would be mute and unable to speak a word.
So the miss is really a very strange person.
When she is kind to her, she always curse her in her heart.
Perhaps, it is possible that the miss has contracted a strange disease that is extremely rare in the world.
Tang Yuan thought of this and sighed regretfully.
Her pretending to be mature was a very cute expression in Tang Li's opinion. Tang Li walked up to her, hands behind her back, her eyes fell on Tang Yuan's ink-stained right cheek, and said jokingly, "Why did you sigh suddenly? But you blame me for letting you practice those big characters yesterday."
Tang Yuan wanted to turn around, but Tang Li quickly grabbed her arm and whispered, "Still want to run?"
Tangyuan had no other choice but to lower her face to prevent Tangli from seeing her unwashed face. She didn't know that the ink on her face was caused by boredom last night. When inspiration came to her, she couldn't help but take out the scrap paper she had previously written on, and drew on it the koi carp in the pond behind the house, and a turtle she found. Later, she drew and drew and she felt sleepy, yawned and closed her eyes. The next thing she did was sleep until dawn.
So she carefully looked at the ink on her face and thought it might be a koi carp.
Tangli pinched her chin with her fingertips, rubbed her face with her other hand, and said with a smile, "Dirty-faced cat."
Tang Yuan covered her cheeks and argued, "This slave hasn't washed herself, so she must be a dirty-faced cat."
"You didn't tell her?" Tangli looked at Liu Zhu who had taken out preserved fruit to eat at some point, and received Liu Zhu's nod.
Tang Li smiled brightly, pushed the confused Tang Yuan to the mirror, pointed at her face, and said, "Let's see if it's a dirty-faced cat that stole a fish."
Tangli leaned against the mirror, looking down at Tang Yuan who was frightened. The tail of her eyes was raised, her eyes were tender with doting, as if they could make people drunk.
Tang Yuan had a sad face and was about to complain when she glanced into Tang Li's eyes.
She swallowed nervously and said in a soft voice, "Why are you looking at me like this, miss?"
"So cute."
[So stupid. ]
Tangyuan was about to cry but had no tears, she was hanging her head and feeling dejected. Oh my god, which of the miss's words should I believe?
"Yes... Really?"
"Of course, how could I lie to you."
[There is no need for me to lie to a fool like you. ]
Tang Yuan's eyes were complicated, and for the first time, she held Tang Li's hand and said sincerely, "Miss, I will take good care of you."
How could such a good girl get such a strange disease?
By chance, she let hee hear it, so she discovered the secret.
If it weren't for me, I'm afraid the miss would never know that she has a strange disease in her life.
Tangli blinked in confusion. She seemed to be touched by her words, but she looked like she was... pitying her. What went wrong? It always felt weird.
She didn't know what was going on, so she could only cover up her embarrassment with a smile.
At this time, the sound of Liu Zhu cracking melon seeds gave Tang Li a chance to make a rescue.
She frowned and said sternly, "What kind of melon seeds do you taste? They are quite fragrant."
"...Which the miss let the slave choose?"
"That's OK."
Tangli took the opportunity to pinch Tangyuan, then tapped her cheek and said, "Wash it clean and remember to come see me later."
[Tangtang, what you said is very inappropriate~]
"I said wash your face!"
[Hey-hey. ]
Tang Li squinted and said, "Don't you want to eat red bean glutinous rice cake? Come and see me so you can eat it."
She left gracefully, and her fragrance also disappeared from the tip of Tangyuan's nose.
Tang Yuan still kept covering her face with her hands. She looked towards the door, tilted her head and fell on the mirror, muttering to herself, "Actually, it's not just the miss who is sick, I am also sick."
She kept scolding herself in her heart, as she looked very much like the two people she showed. With such a duplicitous character, I should probably hate her. But whenever something like this happens, I will only be angry for a short while at most, and then I won't be angry at all soon. Because the anger caused by the miss will be healed by her other actions, just like what I said a few days ago, after the death of my parents, the miss is the best to me.
Therefore, I forgive her for her strange illness.
So much so that I felt I was sick.
"Hey, when will the miss get better?"
By then, I will definitely be cured.
*
Yuzhou has a lot of spring rain in march and april, and the carriages come and go and the wheels are muddy.
Tangli stepped off the carriage and stepped on the low stool, holding the oil-paper umbrella in her hand. She had just met the steward of the shop, and the coldness on her face had not faded away, making her cold and noble. The beautiful face under the oil-paper umbrella flashed past, the salesman who came here was so amazed that he probably lost half of his soul.
The vendor who was anxious to close his stall and go home was suddenly stopped by the salesman, who asked, "Brother, who was that girl just now?"
"Miss Qiao Er from Yuzhou, who else can there be besides her?"
The salesman stopped smiling and said absentmindedly, "So she is Miss Qiao Er."
Today Tangli has a frosty look on her face and a strong aura. Not even her delicate goose-yellow clothes can withstand the coldness inherent in her body.
She opened the bead curtain and threw the account book directly on the table.
She stood in front of others, Liu Zhu took off her cloak to keep out the cold, Tang Yuan also handed her hot tea, Liu Zhu winked at Tang Yuan, who had been favored recently.
Tang Yuan said softly, "Miss, let's have a sip of tea and see if my tea-making skills have improved recently."
Tangli raised her eyebrows and sighed: "I have raised a group of greedy worms, which makes me sick."
Liu Zhu agreed, "That's right. If the water is clear, there will be no fish. It's just a little greed. The miss has always turned a blind eye, but now the goods and silver in the granary are not up to par. She is too brave!"
She is now in charge of the dowry shop left by the Zheng family. It is not a big business, but at least it can make their lives in mobei more comfortable. Tangli doesn't mind spending more time. Anyway, this dowry shop will be better in the future. It's also Tangyuan's.
After hearing this, Tangyuan understood. After Tangli finished drinking her tea, she raised her hands and patted her back, saying, "Muss, take your slave with you next time you go out."
Liu Zhu's black eyebrows stood up, she wanted to choke Tang Yuan, but she was worried about Tang Li's presence, so she just endured it.
Tang Li was reluctant to let her beat her on the back. She held her hand and stopped her, explaining, "How about I take you two to the temple fair after my counting is over?"
"Okay!" Liu Zhuke liked the temple fair, it was very lively. Since the miss didn't leave her behind, she and Tang Yuan could still coexist peacefully.
Tangyuan is also a child at heart. Whenever she hears that she will have the opportunity to go out and play, she will pat her chest and boast.
Tang Li tried to save her face and stopped her, saying, "Don't talk for now. Wait until you can be patient and learn counting from me attentively."
Tangyuan stuck out her tongue, picked up the tea cup and said with a smile, "I'll go and pour the miss some tea!"
"It's done."
Not to mention drinking tea, even poison Tangli can coax Tangyuan to be serious and make progress. Tangli thinks poison is also delicious.
Tangli looked at the account book, her expression becoming more and more mocking.
At this time, Liu Zhu asked Tang Li, "Miss, there is something I don't understand."
"Um?"
Liu Zhu hesitated to speak, but finally spoke, "There are not many well-educated maids in Yuzhou. The married Qiu Yu and slaves grew up with miss, so they are literate and know how to settle accounts. But that is not the case with Tangyuan. I have been with the miss for a few years, but she is now sixteen and will eventually get married. Why are you so concerned about her?"
Tangli smiled, "Liu Zhu, literacy will make you sensible, and settling accounts will make you useful. These are the most obvious benefits. Even if you get married, you can use these to change your situation. That's right. Let's be straightforward, do you know why the old Cao family asked Qiu Xue to marry?"
Liu Zhu murmured, "Because Qiu Xue is good at embroidery, is literate and understands etiquette, and is a kind person."
"That's right, so what's wrong with improving your abilities?"
Tang Li added, "In other words, even if you don't get married, you can still use your own skills to support yourself. Then you should understand now why I want to teach Yuanyuan these things."
"Your slave understands."
Liu Zhu's eyes were full of energy and she said, "It's not difficult to understand what the miss says. Every time my aunt says something, I can't understand it and I always get scolded by my aunt."
"You deserve it", Tang Li said with a smile.
There is a compartment in the side room, which is where tea is made.
Tangyuan didn't mean to listen to the conversation between the two of them. She refilled her tea and rushed over here, and happened to hear what Tangli said.
She frowned, getting married? I have never thought about it, it feels like a very distant thing. My parents have talked about it before, but now that I have been sold as a slave and became a miss's maid, maybe one day I make her angry, and she can just casually marry me away!
No, no, no, I know about Qiu Xue mentioned by Liu Zhu and I have seen her before. It was manager Cao who asked her to get married, not the miss who insisted on marrying Qiu Xue.
I remember clearly what Qiu Xue said that day.
She used to only have to take care of the miss, but now she has to take care of the whole family. She is not tired at all. She also said that her family is very good to her.
Anyway, I don't want to serve a large family!
"Miss, I don't want to get married." She broke in.
Seeing her expression of resistance, Tang Li couldn't help laughing and asked, "I didn't let you marry anyone else either."
Tangyuan surrounded Tangli, looking longingly. Her pretty round face wanted to be pinched. She said, "I don't want to get married, so just stay with the miss. Miss doesn't marry and stay how nice it would be to have Liu Zhu and this slaves together."
If I don't get married, I don't have to serve a large family. If the miss doesn't get married, then you should still serve her as usual. Only such a life can be looked forward to.
Liu Zhu stared at her helplessly, "What nonsense are you talking about? How can a miss not get married? There is still a marriage related to the miss."
Tangli didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so she forced her to sit on her lap, tied her arms around her waist, and said, "Am I usually not nice to you?"
Tangyuan was thin skinned and couldn't help but blush, because Tangli was so close to her that she felt like she was going to be dizzy from the fragrance.
She was extremely weak, "Good... very good."
"Then you said you wanted me to break your legs." Tangli's free arm stroked down her waist, as if she wanted to hold her ankle.
"Slave... I know I was wrong."
Tangli raised her red lips and said, "I will punish you to warm the bed tonight."
"April... still needs slave to warm the bed?"
"No?"
"Not bad."
If I had known earlier, I would have been loyal!
It would be better to be scolded by the miss in her heart!
It's better than now...
Wow, my heart is beating so fast, it's all miss's fault.