Ink Burns

Chapter 13 The Third Time of Being Ungenerous

The next day at noon, they had lunch. The food at the post station was very simple, one meat and one vegetable. The meat was stewed meat in sauce, in small pieces, tied tightly with straw stalks and stewed until soft. He Shanyue didn't eat red meat. Miss Wang forced two portions into her mouth. After eating, she felt bored and sat at the door with her legs crossed, picking her teeth, feeling very melancholy: "I still want to eat the porridge."

As soon as he finished speaking, Pang Kai arrived.

Huang Zhi, the maidservant of the Cheng residence, smiled and said, "When the master heard that Miss He was from Shantang Street in Suzhou, he agreed immediately and ordered that a bullock cart be prepared to pick you up today."

Those who bring good news should be rewarded.

This Miss He was very generous. The first time she gave her a piece of silver the size of her little fingernail, and when she delivered food to her, she also gave her a pair of small silver clove earrings. She came to announce the good news today, so there must be a big shipment of goods.

Huang Zhi just waited.

The people packed their packages leisurely, got on the ox cart, and entered the gate of Cheng Mansion, but they still did not receive the reward they deserved.

Huang Zhi was a little anxious, but he couldn't ask for it, so he could only follow the tall and slim Miss He closely.

Some people, when they are anxious, keep silent and sweat in secret; some people, when they are anxious, are like peas pouring out of a bamboo tube and can't stop talking.

Huang Zhi is the latter.

"You are assigned the spinning garden in the back hall. A hundred steps to the left is the west courtyard where the girls usually study. Your room is the most upturned room in the back hall, facing north and south. Madam thought you still have a maid to take care of, so she specially arranged a connecting room for you with a partition in the middle, so it is convenient for changing clothes, dressing, and getting up at night. It is not like other rooms, with doors facing windows, and you can see everything at a glance."

He Shanyue followed Huang Zhi and listened quietly, without any reaction to paying money.

Huang Zhi was a little unhappy, but she thought about the pair of lilac earrings, which were made of real silver, not the damn silver-covered brass. Although she was a maid, her body was precious. In addition to gold and silver, brass and tinplate would cause rashes on her body!
She was wearing lilac earrings, which were swaying under her eyelids, making her look very cute.

Huang Zhi was even more anxious, and rolled his eyes: "The person living next to you is Miss Zhou."

He Shanyue stopped and asked in confusion: "Miss Zhou?"

Huang Zhi saw that He Shanyue was interested, and couldn't help feeling proud. She blinked and said, "Yes, Miss Zhou."

He Shanyue said "Oh" and didn't ask any further questions. He walked inside along the wall.

Huang Zhi was stunned for a moment, then became even more anxious. He hurriedly chased after him and lowered his voice, "This time, we invited two female painters, one is you, and the other is Miss Zhou. Miss Zhou's family background is slightly better, with all the right people in her family, and she is also from Songjiang Prefecture, but in terms of appearance, manners, conversation, or painting skills, she is definitely not as good as you! Madam said that you will have five days to decide who to keep in the end."

"Five days?" He Shanyue repeated, turning her head, smiling warmly and gently: "Madam, have you ever told me the criteria for judging? Is it to see who teaches the girls better? Or who is better at drawing?"

Huang Zhi didn't know either. She was kicked out after the master spoke last night.

The master and mistress at home never like too many people to serve them when they are talking.

She couldn't come up with anything to say, so she could only stammer, "Madam didn't say it either, maybe it was based on chemistry?"

Check the eye? Check the eye once, twice, or three times?
If you invite a great scholar to examine and select a man who is studying for an exam at home, it is understandable.

A mere female teacher who teaches her daughter painting, selected and picked again, from Songjiang Prefecture to Suzhou Prefecture, and asked six generals to set up five checkpoints - this is unreasonable.

What exactly is the Cheng family screening?
He Shanyue lowered his eyes slightly. Miss Wang Er behind him was very unhappy: "You are teasing me! Three days or five days! We will go back to Shantang Street to paint fake paintings. Five days will cost at least eight cents of silver!"

Huang Zhi repeatedly said, "Keep your voice down! Keep your voice down! Others don't know, not even Miss Zhou knows!"

He Shanyue stopped Miss Wang Er from cursing, pursed her lips and smiled, and asked casually: "Madam only looked at me and Miss Zhou?"

This question can be answered, Huang Zhi hurriedly said: "No, no, there are four or five people!"

"Do they all have all the necessary things, and do they have elderly family members who are still alive?" He Shanyue asked. "They are all girls from the towns around Songjiang Prefecture. Some have few families, only parents; some have families with many people, young and old."

Huang Zhi felt a little regretful that he had told He Shanyue about this in a hurry just to get the money.

He could only turn around and change the subject, pointing to the vaguely visible eaves and towering red pillars outside the hanging flower gate: "That is the study and outer hall of the family. Our house cannot have three courtyards, so there can't be a real door here, so we made the corridor very long and separated it with a screen wall. You don't come here on weekdays. Although there are people watching, you have to transport things through this side door in the morning and evening. It's annoying to death with people coming and going."

He Shanyue did not ask any further questions. He smiled kindly to show that he understood, but his eyes followed the long corridor and the upward corner of the wall until they came to a large blurred block of color.

When we arrived at the wing rooms, we found that they were indeed connected inside and outside. The room on the right was still empty, perhaps because Miss Zhou had not arrived yet. Some of the houses on the left were locked and some were half-open, but the door stones and window frames were very clean, and it was obvious that someone lived there permanently, most of them were private rooms of prominent women or maids in the family.

Miss Wang Er went in to clean up, cursing.

He Shanyue took out a delicate object from his sleeve pocket and handed it to Huang Zhi.

Huang Zhi turned his hand and took a look with his peripheral vision.

It is an exquisitely crafted silver cicada with antennae as thin as silk, moving in the air, very cute.

But she was not happy about finally getting the reward money. Instead, she felt a little uneasy.

"That's how my mother-in-law speaks, swearing and sounding fierce and vicious, but she doesn't mean any bad things, so don't take it to heart, little sister." He Shanyue said modestly.

Huang Zhi was stunned. So it wasn't a reward for her revealing the news, but an apology from that damn woman who cursed? —— She suddenly felt relieved.

He Shanyue continued to smile and said, "This thing is not valuable. I'll play with it. I remember I also took a silver leaf to match it. When I finish packing, I'll find a chance to make you a set."

Huang Zhi was excited.

Silver leaf!
If you say that the silver cicada is just beautiful but actually hollow and worthless, then the silver leaves are worth that much silver!

Huang Zhi walked away happily holding the silver cicada which was smaller than a fingernail at the beginning.

He Shanyue stood at the door with a smile on his face, counting and looking at the rows of red brick and tile houses of the Cheng family from left to right.

Miss Wang Er took out a broom and said, "You have been playing around with this little girl for so long. Even if you don't give her money, aren't you afraid that she will be angry?"

There were people passing by outside, so He Shanyue had to keep the smile on her face gentle and decent.

"I was generous once, I was generous twice, but I was reluctant to be generous a third time—"

He Shanyue paused: "She will only think that the fault for not being generous for the third time is not mine, but hers."

Thinking this way, Huang Zhi would become anxious and flustered, and would keep trying to make up for it, testing the waters, and showing goodwill without any bottom line.

Only then can he tell her everything he knows without her asking any questions.

He Shanyue turned and went into the house.

No one saw it.

She finally didn't have to laugh anymore.

(End of this chapter)