Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 45: Hongyu's Thoughts (Please collect and read on Monday)

Fortunately, Chen Siyuan had just lifted up the teacup in his hand, otherwise he would have spat out a mouthful of tea.

He looked at Xiangling in surprise and saw that the girl was wringing her hands, her head lowered, her face flushed. She glanced at him briefly, then quickly lowered her eyes and said in a whisper, "Master, I... I'm not feeling well these days."

I understand. It turns out that it’s my period.

Chen Siyuan said gently, "But is it time for a good time? It's not very comfortable. Drink less water these days and drink only warm water."

If he had said this in his previous life, he would have been called a scumbag, but now Xiangling is very grateful.

With a hint of guilt on his face, he said, "Thank you for your understanding, sir. I'll call Hongyu over."

Chen Siyuan said, "You don't need Hongyu. At worst, you can just go to the warm room to rest at night."

Xiangling kept shaking her head and said, "No, no, no, don't pollute my house."

Things were different now than in the past. When a woman had her period, she would usually use a cloth belt to relieve the pain. Richer families who were more particular about the matter would find a white cloth wrapped with plant ash or silver frost charcoal ash. It was inconvenient for women to move around while wearing it.

Chen Siyuan knew Hongyu was clever, not as naive as Xiangling. He was currently burdened with worries, and it was inevitable that Hongyu would discover some clues over time. Therefore, Chen Siyuan had only allowed Xiangling to stay alone in the room these days, leaving the affairs of the courtyard to Hongyu, and never mentioned asking her to keep watch at night.

He wanted to say something more, but seeing Xiangling refused to agree, he said helplessly, "Alright, then you can just rest well these few days and don't have to come to the room to serve me."

"Well, thank you, sir."

Xiangling bowed and went forward to pour tea for him before reluctantly leaving the room.

Not long after, there was a light knock on the door. Chen Siyuan answered and saw Hongyu opening the door and walking in from the outer room. Chen Siyuan looked up and saw that Hongyu had a light powder on her face and rouge on her lips. She looked shy and had a unique charm.

Chen Siyuan thought to himself, thinking that in the original novel, Hongyu had the audacity to leave a handkerchief for Jia Yun, which showed what kind of character she had. Now that she had carefully dressed up, it was clear that she was in love with him.

But now he was under a thunderstorm, and if he wasn't careful, he would be shattered to pieces. He really didn't want to distract himself by playing the role of a playboy in front of Hongyu. Because he nodded slightly, he said, "I'm going to the study. If you have nothing to do, you can rest here first."

After Hongyu responded, Chen Siyuan stood up and went into the study.

Hongyu appeared calm, but she was actually apprehensive. Even if she was brave, she was only fourteen or fifteen years old. Coming to Master Yuan on her own initiative was already unprecedented. How could she dare to be so bold as to do anything more?
During these days, while Chen Siyuan was away, Hongyu had become quite familiar with Xiangling. She spoke carefully, unwittingly drawing out all the details of Xiangling's affairs, and vaguely eavesdropped on what had happened that night.

Although Xiangling showed some smiles the day after her arrival, she never really had anything to do with Master Yuan, which shows that Master Yuan was a man of tenderness and care for women. Furthermore, with her tall stature and distinguished appearance, if it weren't for her family background, how could she have been treated like a third-rate maidservant outside Master Bao's room?
Besides, Master Yuan was only temporarily in trouble. The girls praised his poems, and even Master Bao was amazed, which shows that Master Yuan is talented. He is about to enter the Imperial College, and with the help of the master, even if he doesn't pass the imperial examination, he can easily get a small official position.

In this way, wouldn't it be better than having a boy with you in the future?
The Lin family had been in business for generations, and Hongyu's parents had both been stewards. Hongyu's generation had to rise higher; they couldn't just keep going backward. How could they rise higher? This servant's superiors were from the Lai family, so becoming a steward's wife was the only way to rise higher. And that only by changing family backgrounds could they truly rise higher.

Take Aunt Zhao, for example. She was once a mere maid, but once she entered Master Jia Zheng's chambers, she was now fed and clothed like a mistress, and even had servants around her. The maids and wives secretly laughed at Aunt Zhao's folly, but who wouldn't envy her for suddenly becoming a half-master?
Hongyu was a clever woman. After spending a few years in the Qixianzhai quarters, she had long since given up the idea of ​​clinging to Master Bao. A while ago, she was still thinking about finding a young man from the Jia family, but she hadn't expected Master Yuan to show up.

After just one look that day, Hongyu was determined, even though she argued with her parents about it. Regardless, she had finally come to Master Yuan's place, and immediately earned his trust and respect, with all matters of the courtyard entrusted to her. But how could Hongyu be content with being a mere maid? She longed to rise to prominence, like Aunt Zhao.

Coincidentally, today was Xiangling's day, and it was finally Hongyu's turn to be on duty. She was naturally nervous and expectant.

After tidying up the desk, Hongyu watched the flickering candle in the study, then found a pair of scissors to trim the wick. Glancing over, she saw Master Yuan frowning as he read, looking very intently.

Hongyu thought to herself again that her master was indeed an ambitious man, and who knew that he might be able to pass the imperial examination one day.

After trimming the wick, Hongyu simply found a stool to sit on and waited for an hour.

It was dark outside, and Hongyu was puzzled. She thought that Master Yuan had never been so attentive in the past, so why didn't he rest today?

While he was thinking, he saw Chen Siyuan stand up and stretch his body. He closed the book and rubbed his eyebrows a few times. Then he said, "Let's get some water to wash up at night."

"Hey." Hongyu responded and hurried out to fetch some water.

She carefully helped Chen Siyuan wash up, then filled him with hot water to wash his feet. After Chen Siyuan got into bed, Hongyu quickly washed herself. When she entered the west room, she saw that Master Yuan had already fallen asleep with a steady breathing.

Hongyu pursed her lips, feeling quite annoyed. Then she thought, this was only her first night watch, and she had never been close to Master Yuan, so she couldn't be compared to Xiangling.

With a sigh of relief, Hongyu shed her outer garments and retreated to the warm room, where she lay on her side under the covers, lost in thought. She was a woman of strong will; once she made up her mind, she would persevere. Glancing at the bed, she muttered to herself, "There's no rush; there's still plenty of time to go."

After an unknown amount of time, Hongyu vaguely heard some noise while half asleep and half awake. She quickly got up to look and saw Chen Siyuan groping around for a candle.

Hongyu hurried downstairs, found a tinder and lit the candle, then saw Chen Siyuan holding a flint, looking very embarrassed.

"I was thinking of lighting the lamp myself, but I ended up waking you up."

Hongyu couldn't help but laugh and said, "Master, what are you talking about? How can you sleep soundly while on night duty? You let the master handle everything by himself?"

Chen Siyuan said, "I don't need to be so strict here. You can sleep when you need to. If there is anything, I will call you."

Hongyu smiled and said, "Thank you for your consideration, sir."

Because she stood up in a hurry, Hongyu's undershirt was slightly open, revealing the honey-colored bellyband underneath. The white area under her neck made Chen Siyuan slightly dazed, and he hurried to relieve himself.

Hongyu realized it later and wrapped her clothes tightly around her, her face full of shyness. Then she secretly raised the corner of her mouth towards Chen Siyuan's figure. She thought to herself that although she could not compare with Xiangling in terms of appearance and character, she was still a top-notch maid in the mansion. Surely it was because they were not familiar with each other.

　Monday's ranking, please collect, read and vote. Thank you thank you ~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)