tallest building

Chapter 161 Sending People Here

Sang Er sent a letter to the Cui family.

After hearing from the servants, Cui Baozhu's stepmother, Leng Shi, guessed that Cui Baozhu intended to commit suicide.

He couldn't help but sneer, "What a chaste and virtuous woman! She's willing to die for a man, completely disregarding her parents and siblings. She's just as stupid as her dead mother!"

“Madam, isn’t it inappropriate to leave the second young lady outside?” the butler asked.

"Even if it's just for show, it has to be for outsiders. Take Madam Hu with you! I don't need to teach you what to say, do I?" Madam Leng said. "Bring that shameless slut back to me. From now on, let's see if she dares to step out of this door again!"

“Madam, that’s true, but what if the Second Miss insists on not coming back?” the butler asked. “We can’t just break off relations, can we?”

“Yu’er is ill, and Master is overwhelmed with worry every day. If she had any conscience, she wouldn’t be so willful,” said Madam Leng. “She’s with Madam Wen now, so we can’t force her too much. But as long as Madam Wen doesn’t speak up, you just need to coax her back.”

So the steward of the Cui family took his maids to Wuqiu Nunnery.

The maidservant entered, first greeting Wen Mingqian and then expressing her gratitude: "Madam Wen, we are truly grateful for your great kindness. However, it is too late today, our young master is ill, and the master has not yet returned. It is also inconvenient for Madam to come, so we sent this old servant and the steward to fetch the second young lady. Madam and the master will definitely come to thank you in person tomorrow."

"There's no need for thanks. We're old friends," Wen Mingqian said with a smile. "Saying thank you would be too formal. But your second young lady has just taken her medicine and fallen asleep, and she's sweating a lot. The nun said she absolutely mustn't be exposed to the wind again, or her life would be in danger. Why don't you stay here for now? It's a nunnery anyway, so there's no need to worry about damaging the second young lady's reputation."

The attendant chuckled twice and said, "Even so, our master and mistress will surely be concerned. Besides, how could we let you take care of the sick? That would be too inappropriate. We brought several quilts; just make sure you're wrapped up securely."

“You’ve really thought of everything,” Wen Mingqian said. “But even if it’s very well-prepared, there will still be some drafts.” “I’ve already told you, don’t stand on ceremony with me. If your wife is worried, she can come here to look after the Second Miss. Anyway, there are plenty of empty rooms here, and my maid and I can just move to another room.”

Seeing that Wen Mingqian refused to let Cui Baozhu leave from beginning to end, the servant who was accompanying her could not force her to leave, so he could only say, "Since that's the case, then this old servant will stay!"

She was afraid that Cui Baozhu would say something inappropriate, so she stayed by her side to take care of her, thinking that this would prevent it from happening.

Little did she know that Cui Baozhu had already told Wen Mingqian the truth.

That night, Cui Baozhu indeed had a high fever. Sang Er and Mama Hu took turns taking care of her, feeding her medicine, giving her water, and wiping her body, keeping her busy all night.

The next morning, Huiming came over and said that someone had come looking for Wen Mingqian.

When asked what kind of person she was, she said she was an aunt with a little girl who looked about twelve or thirteen years old.

Wen Mingqian thought for a moment, realizing he didn't recognize anyone like them, but still said, "Then I'll trouble you, young master, to invite them in!"

After a while, Huiming brought the mother and daughter over. Wen Mingqian recognized them immediately.

The woman was over thirty years old, and although she wore coarse cloth clothes, they were clean. The girl beside her was clearly her daughter; she was somewhat shy, but her eyes, which she secretly glanced at Wen Mingqian, were filled with curiosity and friendliness.

"Greetings, madam. I am Sun Liushi," the woman introduced herself. "I am the wife of Sun Xiucai, the accountant of the second branch of the Gong family."

"So it's Sister-in-law Sun," Wen Mingqian said with a smile. "Is everything alright at home?"

"It's all good," Sister-in-law Sun smiled. "I came to visit my wife a couple of days ago, but I had something to do at home and couldn't leave for the time being."

“You have elderly parents and young children to support, and Scholar Sun is always busy with his affairs. The family is counting on you alone.” Wen Mingqian understood her very well.

“Actually, I should have kowtowed to my wife long ago, but I got lazy and kept putting it off, and I really feel bad about it. My husband told me that my wife is now staying here with only one maid. So he thought of having my eldest maid come and serve her, as a way of showing our care.” Sun Xiucai’s wife was also an honest person. Her whole family was grateful for Wen Mingqian’s help and always wanted to repay him.

Now that he heard that Wen Mingqian had divorced, Sun Xiucai thought of sending his daughter over to help.

"Thank you for thinking of me, but I don't have much to do here. One girl is enough. This child is still young and should stay with her parents." Wen Mingqian said, looking at the little girl. "What a good child."

“My lady, please don’t be shy. We discussed this in advance before bringing her here, and besides, she came of her own volition. She’s been urging me to come for days,” said Madam Sun. “If you don’t believe me, you can ask her.”

"My lady, please take me in! I can do any kind of work at home. Besides, my parents have said that you have been very kind to us, and we should repay kindness. I am not a child anymore and will not be attached to my parents. If I do anything wrong, please punish me as you wish. I promise I will only make one mistake and will never make a mistake again."

The little girl had a clear, melodious voice and spoke clearly; she was clearly a clever girl.

"What a bright child! What's your name? Can you read?" Wen Mingqian asked her.

“My name is Sun Aoshuang, and I can read. I learned by listening to my brothers when they were studying,” the girl said. “You can test me, my lady.”

“No need to take the test, I believe in you,” Wen Mingqian said. “Your name is good, it means you have backbone.”

“My wife likes my name, so let me stay by your side!” Sun Aoshuang said. “I will do my best.”

“Yes, my lady, you should at least keep her here! If you don’t like her, you can send her back,” said Madam Sun.

Wen Mingqian knew it was difficult to refuse such a kind offer. The Sun family were principled; they had brought their child so earnestly, and if he simply refused, it would only hurt their feelings. So he said, "I like this child very much. Since you two are willing, then let him stay with me for now. However, there's one condition: my maid receives two taels of silver a month, and this child will receive the same. But he will remain a free person. If he has any other plans, he only needs to let me know in advance. If you can agree to these two conditions, then I will keep him; if not, then so be it."

"Oh dear! How can you give her so much money? This won't do, she's so young! She can't do much work." Madam Sun blushed.

She originally wanted to repay Wen Mingqian, but she didn't expect Wen Mingqian to offer such a high salary, so it turned out that her family had taken advantage of him.