Gu Changsheng couldn't bother warming her hands anymore, hastily stepping forward to support her sinking body and checking her hands, although they were calloused, they were still burnt red.
"Cui Hua, don't call me Miss anymore, I am already a mother. If you continue to call me Miss, I am afraid it's inappropriate," Gu Changsheng said, while blowing on her hands. The crucial point was that every time she called her Miss, it reminded her of a modern profession.
"Yes, Madam." This time Cui Hua was obedient, and since she couldn't withdraw her hand from Madam, she simply bent her body in a respectful gesture.
"Cui Hua, may I call you Xiao Cui from now on?" Cui Hua's name was just too catchy, making her feel a bit confused.
"Maid Xiao Cui, thanks to Madam for the name."
When Gu Changsheng saw her lift her skirt as if to kneel, she quickly held her up, sternly advising, "Xiao Cui, you haven't served by my side before, so you may not know, but your mistress is not a stickler for formalities. Even though I've forgotten everything that happened in the past, you shouldn't bother me with these troublesome customs. We're already so fallen. If you keep kneeling at every turn, let me tell you, even if you wear through the ground with your kneeling, they won't treat me as a real noble."
At the end, Gu Changsheng summarized, "Doing such exhausting and thankless tasks, do less of them in the future, no more kneeling."
Xiao Cui nodded, stepping back to keep Gu Changsheng from getting any closer, "Madam is right."
"Madam, please drink the porridge now before it gets cold."
Gu Changsheng frowned at the porridge brought in front of her, a murky bowl, unclear of what it was made, she hesitated to take a bite.
Seeing Xiao Cui anxiously watching, holding her breath, she swallowed the porridge in one gulp.
Damn, that was disgusting!
Life had become unbearable!
"Xiao Cui, what should we plan for our future?" If she didn't know, she should ask, as she urgently needed to see some hope for life.
"The dowry wasn't much, and we left it all at Li Mansion, we can return to our hometown in Liuzhou," Xiao Cui thought for a moment, answering truthfully.
"Is there a place for us to live peacefully and establish ourselves in our hometown in Liuzhou?" Gu Changsheng got interested.
"Yes, there's a medical hall in Liuzhou which is the foundation of the Gu family. Madam didn't bring it as a dowry, just left Old Man Song in charge. The property deed was also left in his care," Xiao Cui thought some more before continuing, "Old Man Song has been with the Old Grand Master since childhood, saw Madam grow up, and is most loyal."
"Haha... I'm not so foolish as to not have a backup plan," Gu Changsheng laughed, her tone becoming a bit less careful.
Xiao Cui was startled, Madam...
"Ahem..." Gu Changsheng quickly coughed to cover up the slip. Ancient people spoke so elegantly and formally, too vexing! "Xiao Cui, let's not speak so formally in the future. Given our current status, we should speak more like ordinary folks, so that people don't think we're putting on airs."
"Madam is noble by nature," Xiao Cui retorted unusually, his face serious, Madam would always be his Madam.
"Xiao Cui, a plucked phoenix isn't as good as a chicken, understand?" If she kept acting like a narcissus, she'd get internally injured sooner or later.
Xiao Cui: "..."
Watching Xiao Cui, who was so clever and lovely, being baffled by her own teasing, Gu Changsheng was quite amused, smiling as she patted her face, "Xiao Cui, you have fine features. Give it some time, and you'll definitely be a beauty, better than your mistress here."
Gu Changsheng clenched her fist; how should she describe her current looks? Ah, that's it, two words: Eco-friendly!
Her appearance was ordinary, only a pair of large Red Phoenix Eyes stood out. She wasn't tall, and her body was not lacking in any area that should be well-endowed. Going out was very safe, definitely conducive to environmental harmony.
Xiao Cui blushed from Gu Changsheng's teasing, hurriedly taking another step back.
"Oops! Wait, did you just say a medical hall? There's a medical hall in Liuzhou that belongs to my family, did you get that right?" Gu Changsheng finally remembered something she had overlooked, and she asked excitedly.
"Yes, Madam's ancestors were physicians, and it was only because the Old Grand Master once did a favor for Li Mansion that they reluctantly took Madam in," Xiao Cui confirmed, forgetting the past might be for the best, so Madam wouldn't be sad anymore.
"Haha..." What is this, like father, like son? Her name was still Gu Changsheng, her ancestors were physicians! In modern times, she started with traditional Chinese medicine and then studied Western medicine abroad at the Imperial Medical College after learning from Yhan's. With such a family background, she needn't worry about explaining her medical skills, indeed life still had hope!
Xiao Cui watched Madam laughing without restraint, saying nothing with her head lowered; this was good, wasn't it?
"Right, Xiao Cui, didn't you say I had a son? Where is he? How come I haven't seen him?" Gu Changsheng remembered something else and looked at Xiao Cui.
Xiao Cui's eyes dodged, and she stammered, "Madam has always disliked... disliked having the Young Master close by, the maid... the maid put him in the maid's room."
"Me? Dislike my son?" Gu Changsheng couldn't believe it, how could that be? What mother wouldn't like her own son, especially when she herself loved children!
"Yes, everyone in Li Mansion says the Young Master is an evildoer and a curse, including... including Madam too..." Xiao Cui didn't know how to put it, only looking at Gu Changsheng, "Madam, have you really forgotten everything? Can't you remember anything at all?"
"I can't remember." Could her son be disabled? That would be a little troublesome, but as his mother, she ought to see him anyway.
"Madam, the Young Master is not an evildoer or a curse, he is obedient, well-behaved, and sensible. The maid was previously not permitted near Madam to serve, otherwise, these words would have been spoken earlier," Xiao Cui knelt down with a thud, her face filled with anxious explanations.
"Get up, get up, go and bring my son to me. Having walked through Yama Raja's Palace and come back only to earn such a son, I am not satisfied without taking a look at him." She pulled Xiao Cui up and pushed her out a couple of steps, indicating her to hurry.
Her heart was still anxious; what on earth was going on? How had her son been regarded as an evildoer?