Chapter Six Old Love

  Miss Ba's body was covered in dust, her hair disheveled, and she looked extremely disheveled. Especially with her awkward and timid demeanor, she didn't seem like a young lady from a wealthy family, but rather a simple and virtuous woman from an ordinary household.

  Everyone saw it with their own eyes and thought that she was raised outside and couldn't be brought to the main hall. On her first day in the mansion, she had already caused such a commotion.

  The lady looked at Honghua for a long time before speaking, "How did you serve her? How much hardship has Eighth Miss endured?"

  Rui'er hastily explained, "Originally, I was going to help Eighth Miss change her clothes, but Eighth Miss heard that someone was looking for her all over the garden and didn't dare to delay..."

  The lady scolded Rui'er, "You've been in the mansion for quite some time now, and you're also capable in front of the master. How can you be so muddled? Those who know think that you haven't thought it through thoroughly, while those who don't know assume that you're intentionally deceiving the master."

  Rui'er knelt down, "The slaves dare not."

  The madam turned her head to Rong Hua, "Quickly have the maids attend to your grooming," she paused, "It's also my fault for not telling you about Master earlier, who would have thought that you'd meet him so soon."

  Mrs. Dai stretched out her hand to pull Ronghua's hand, and Ronghua's fingers trembled involuntarily. Mrs. Dai immediately opened a loving smile, "Look at you, your hands are icy cold, you must be scared, right? It's all because of Jinxiu's mishandling."

  Miss Ba hastily explained, "No, it's just that I walked far away and Jinxiu couldn't find me."

  "An Ge didn't bully you, did he?"

  "No." Miss Ba replied honestly.

  The old lady nodded, "That's good, Jinxiu is not feeling well, I'll let Chunyao follow you. Wait a while and I'll give you Mama Yatou, then there won't be an incident like today."

  Miss Ba lowered her head and said, "Yes."

  The old lady smiled, "This child, from now on this will be your home, don't be so formal. Tomorrow is a good day, I just happen to want to take a stroll with your second sister in the garden, you come too, and I'll introduce you to the sisters of the manor."

  Miss Ba nodded again.

  Just as they were talking, another maid came in to report, "The young mistress has arrived."

  The lady was taken aback for a moment, how did Shu Hua come again? Did someone tell her what happened here?

  The big sister came in and stared at the eighth sister's face, if she hadn't heard it from the second sister, she wouldn't have known that this eighth sister was actually named Rong Hua, just like the fifth sister.

  The elder sister took a glance at Rong Hua and suddenly smiled. Although they were both called Rong Hua, this eighth sister who was born outside the mansion was far inferior to the fifth sister. At first glance, this eighth sister seemed shallow and unattractive, unlike the fifth sister who had a quiet beauty with a hint of elegance, her bright eyes shining like a crescent moon, possessing a rare intelligence that few women had.

  A woman like Eighth Sister is only good for show, suited to be a concubine of a wealthy family, and will only receive temporary favor.

  Thinking of this, Shu Hua's tense face gradually had a hint of a smile.

  Ronghua paid her respects to the eldest young lady, and Shuhua responded casually. Just then, Chunyao returned from running an errand for the second young lady, and Madame Wang instructed Chunyao to take good care of the eighth young lady. After Ronghua left, Shuhua said a few words to her mother and also departed.

  The whole house was suddenly empty.

  The mistress ordered all the maids to withdraw and walked into the green silk room, with Chen Mama following her.

  The lady rubbed her shoulders a few times, and Chen's mother hastily took over to massage them. "Ma'am, about tonight's matter..."

  The madam said faintly: "Go and check if anyone else besides Jinxiu has been to the fifth young lady's room."

  "Is that so? Do you think it has anything to do with Eighth Miss?" It seems the lady of the house is still worried that someone in the household will stir up trouble, taking advantage of what happened to Fifth Miss back then...

  "A newly arrived maid wouldn't know about that matter." There's even less reason for her to go into that room.

  "Ah, yes, looking at Miss Ba's appearance, she doesn't seem like someone with ulterior motives either. She probably has nothing to do with this matter."

  The lady looked at Chen Mama from the dressing mirror on the table and said, "I've told you many times, don't make rash judgments about people."

  Madam Chen nodded, "The mistress is right." There's no one in this household who doesn't think of themselves, and over the years she had seen her fair share of people with honey in their mouths and swords in their bellies.

  "It's hard to predict human nature." The madam smiled coldly, "But there will always be a time when the truth comes out." She had originally planned to keep Rong Canghai in the dark for a while, but who would have thought that something like this would happen today.

  In front of everyone, if she doesn't bring out something to make up for this pitiful appearance, it will seem that she is being too harsh.

  Tomorrow, she will formally introduce the other young ladies in the garden to Ronghua, which is equivalent to her acknowledging Ronghua's status as a young lady.

  The lady rubbed her eyebrows and decided to give the girl a sweet treat for now. The girl was sensible, so that's all there was to it. If she wasn't, then let her be pleased for the time being. People who are too pleased often forget themselves.

  "Chen's mother asked in a low voice: 'What about Jinxiu?'"

  The madam sighed and said, "For now, let's find a place in the mansion to take care of her first. If she recovers, we'll keep her here; if not..."

  Can only be lifted out of the mansion to recover from illness, it's hard to get back in. If you can't recover and die, it's just a matter of settling with a few dozen taels of silver.

  Mrs. Chen nodded and slowly walked out, instructing the maids to go in and attend to Madame's sleep, and then went to settle down Jinxiu.

  Rong Hua and Chun Yao hadn't gone far when Big Sister called out to Rong Hua from behind.

  Rong Hua had no choice but to turn around and walk away with Chun Yao.

  The big sister's gaze revolved around Rong Hua's face for a while, the fiery line of sight made Rong Hua suddenly feel like he was being appraised.

  Rong Hua respectfully bowed to Da Xiaojie.

  "Come on, sister, no need to be so polite," she paused, "Everyone says that Eighth Sister is unlucky, having been away from home for over a decade." Her tone shifted as she smiled faintly, "But I think Eighth Sister is the luckiest. Who doesn't know that Chunyao was Mother's top maid? Even I wanted her, but Mother wouldn't give her to me. Now she's assigned to you, isn't that a huge blessing?"

  "In the future, Eighth Sister will have a good life, and she must remember the good things about our household."

  Ronghua's eyes jumped suddenly, and there was a special meaning in the words of the eldest sister. Could it be that soon after she entered the mansion, they already had some arrangement for her?

  The young lady seemed to want to say something else, a servant girl had already hurried over and said, "Young lady, the groom has arrived."

  The young lady's face couldn't help but reveal a hint of happy smile. Her husband's family background had brought her infinite glory, and her husband himself was warm and elegant, attracting the envy of countless people.

  Rong Hua raised her head.

  Not far away, someone was carrying a lantern and guiding the way, with a tall figure slowly following behind.

  How many times had this scene appeared in her dreams, only for that person to become increasingly distant and vague, yet now he was standing right in front of her, within arm's reach.

  His smile was always gentle, like the pear blossoms with mottled light, slanting down. Time seemed to flow like water, and in three years he had changed his appearance, still as warm as before, but the previous smile seemed to be covered by something, leaving only a shallow expression on his lips.

  At that time she was copying book lists in her father's study and ran into him by chance...

  Later on, whenever she saw him, he would always send her a smile from afar. She didn't dare to respond, but deep down, it was sweet.

  Now, things have changed beyond recognition. She is dead and gone, he is already a married man.

  The emotional connection has long been broken.

  Rong Hua gently bowed her head and curtsied, "Hello, brother-in-law."

  "Big sister said: 'This is my eighth younger sister, you haven't seen her yet.'"

  Zhao Xuanhuan's smile was somewhat dim and not very enthusiastic, "Eighth sister."

  The young lady's mood was exceptionally cheerful, and some of the annoying things had long been thrown away. "I was just about to ask Chun Yao, how did you make that filling for the pastry, so that the kitchen ladies in the mansion can learn from it."

  Chun Yao glanced at Miss Ba and didn't dare take credit, "That dish was originally not something I came up with, it was Miss Ba who taught me how to make it."

  "It turned out to be Eighth Sister." The eldest sister was somewhat surprised.

  By his side, Zhao Xuanhuan suddenly spoke up, "Is the name of the pastry also what you thought?" Under the lamp light, Ba Mei mei lowered her head, revealing a slender and elegant neck, which made him feel a kind of familiar quietness. Upon hearing his words, Ba Mei mei lifted her head and looked straight into his eyes.

  This kind of questioning is exactly the same as before, especially his voice, suddenly soft and gentle, with a hint of a smile, "Not, also heard from others."

  In Ba Mei's reserved gaze, a hint of smile flickered, causing Zhao Xuan Huan to pause for a moment. In the blink of an eye, he regained his faint smile, "This pastry's name is well-chosen."

  Shu Hua said: "Let Chun Yao teach the kitchen maid, you like it, and she will often make it for you."

  Zhao Xuanhuan smiled, "No need, just for the novelty."

  Rong Hua stood still on the spot, waiting for Zhao Xuan and Shu Hua to slowly walk away from her side.

  Chun Yao walked her back to her residence while asking her, "How did you end up meeting Master?"

  Ronghua didn't speak, the first day in the mansion was more bumpy than she had imagined, if it wasn't for thinking of her elder brother, she probably wouldn't have passed so easily, but ended up making Jinxiu fall ill.

  Ronghua returned to her residence, the previously quiet house had become lively, four mothers and four rough servants all stood in a row, seeing her they hastily paid their respects.

  The madam is quite good to this illegitimate daughter born outside the mansion, and the servants she has assigned are indeed the same as when she was Miss Five.

  The night was deep, and the maidservants had attended to Ronghua's sleep. Chunyao was waiting on her in the outer room.

  The lamp was blown out, and after a period of darkness, the moonlight that had seeped in through the window frame gradually became visible.

  The bustling mansion returned to calmness.

  Rong Hua closed her eyes and smiled secretly, a smile slowly blooming at the corners of her mouth, radiant with splendor.

  Those who think she is timid, weak and shallow will be shocked when they see her for sure.

  She is no longer that dazzling Miss Five, no, she has learned to conceal her brilliance, and restraint is for the sake of being even more dazzling one day.

  She will no longer be defeated by her humble origins, she wants to control her own destiny.

  Because I have to stay up late to code today——, classmates must collect ahhhhh! Only then can my heart be balanced.