Hu Xiaoxing was quite pretty.
Qingyin had inquired very carefully, supporting Lu Zhaoling as they walked into the alley, and softly telling her about this Hu Xiaoxing.
"The people in the kitchen know a lot. They say that Hu Xiaoxing has always been ambitious since she was young. She didn't want to be a servant like her father and brother, and she also felt that the Lu family's status wasn't high enough to give her a good position.
So, when she was around ten years old, Steward Hu asked Master Lu to change her status to commoner, so she could live here and be raised as an ordinary girl."
Lu Zhaoling didn't think there was anything wrong with this idea. If Hu Xiaoxing was ambitious and didn't want to be a maid, it made her look at her with greater respect.
"It seems that Steward Hu still loves his daughter." She affirmed.
"It's said that it's because Hu Xiaoxing could show some beauty when she was eight or nine years old. Steward Hu also felt that if she was raised well, she could at least be a concubine for a wealthy family, so he was willing." Qingyin said.
This was what the cooks said. Those cooks doubted whether Steward Hu truly loved his daughter, feeling that he just thought Hu Xiaoxing would be a money tree if she was well-cultivated, and if she married well, she might even be able to help her brother, Hu Dali.
Lu Zhaoling was speechless after hearing this. She had overestimated Steward Hu's awareness and conscience.
"Miss, that's the one."
Qingyin pointed to a house in front of them.
The gate was painted dark cyan, with door god paintings pasted on it, and a plaque with the words "Hu Residence" hung above. Not far in front of the gate was a mulberry tree.
The mulberry leaves were green at this moment.
Lu Zhaoling rarely saw mulberry trees planted in front of the main gate.
Just as they were about to step forward, the door opened, and someone was suddenly pushed out, followed by a bundle of clothes.
Someone inside was cursing.
"Get out of here now, this is my house. Did you really think it was yours? You can't even handle a small matter, what use are you to me?"
The person who was pushed out was a girl, slender, wearing a light blue cloth dress.
She almost fell to the ground, steadied herself, picked up the bundle and held it in her arms, yelling at the person inside the door.
"Do you call that a small matter? You call that wishful thinking, you call that daydreaming! These days, you've been like a piece of trash, just eating, drinking, sleeping, and howling that your hand is useless. I've been serving you every day, cooking for you, doing your laundry, isn't that enough? You even asked me to do that kind of thing! I'm telling our dad!"
When this girl started scolding, her little mouth was also babbling, her voice was quite loud, and her stance was no less than a man's.
Qingyin looked at her and whispered to Lu Zhaoling, "Miss, this should be Hu Xiaoxing."
And the person who pushed her out should be Hu Dali.
Hu Dali hadn't returned to the Lu family after his hand hurt.
Unexpectedly, they happened to encounter the siblings arguing.
Lu Zhaoling's gaze, however, fell on a hairpin in Hu Xiaoxing's hair.
It was a green jade hairpin, glowing with a lustrous sheen in the sunlight.
But in Lu Zhaoling's eyes, that hairpin was also entwined with black death aura and resentment.
She frowned and glanced again at the green jade bracelet that Qingyin had put on her wrist.
The jade color and texture of the hairpin on Hu Xiaoxing's head looked very similar to this bracelet.
Wouldn't that be such a coincidence?
Coming all this way, she had actually found another person related to the Liu family's Thousand Craft Lantern. Even if Hu Xiaoxing was not related to the lantern, the hairpin could still be traced back to its source, and she could always find the owner.
Seeing this hairpin, Lu Zhaoling was too lazy to pay attention to Hu Dali. She shifted her attention.
Over there, Hu Xiaoxing and Hu Dali were arguing again.
Neighbors opened their doors, some standing inside the doors, others coming out to watch the fun.
A woman holding a child saw Lu Zhaoling and Qingyin, and her eyes lit up.
"Oh my, where did these noble ladies come from? They're so pretty!"
The child in her arms was about two years old, with a bit of bluish-grey under his eyes and fine, soft, yellow hair, sucking his fingers and curiously looking at her.
Hu Xiaoxing and her brother argued louder and louder, and the attention of others was drawn to them.
This woman saw Lu Zhaoling and Qingyin because they were closest to her door. She saw them as soon as she opened the door.
Lu Zhaoling looked at the child and smiled slightly. "Madam, is this your child?"
"Yes, yes, my Gousheng." (Dog's Remnant - a derogatory term to signify humility)
The woman was a little embarrassed when she said this. "We poor people don't pay attention to etiquette. I was pregnant with two before, but one died before he was a year old, and the other had no movement while still in my womb. It took a lot of medicine to finally recover my health and have this third child. I asked a Taoist priest, and he said to give him a cheap name so he'd be easy to raise..."
Qingyin tightened her grip on Lu Zhaoling, wanting to move away a few steps.
Were people here so unreserved and overly familiar?
The Miss just asked one question, and this woman actually said so much.
Qingyin was afraid that Lu Zhaoling didn't want to hear so much from the other party, and that the woman's words were somewhat unlucky. Qingyin was also worried that Lu Zhaoling would feel uncomfortable after hearing them.
What if the Miss was afraid of having children in the future?
She felt a little scared just listening.
"It's okay."
Lu Zhaoling patted the back of her hand lightly and walked towards the woman instead.
"It seems that I have some affinity with Madam. Can I see the child?"
Lu Zhaoling stood in front of her, staring at the child.
The child actually reached out to her. "Hug."
The woman was surprised and quickly pressed down his hand.
"Gousheng, be good. Mommy will hug you."
She looked at Lu Zhaoling in surprise again. "My Gousheng doesn't even let his grandparents hold him, he sticks to me all day long. He'll cry when he sees strangers. How, how could he take the initiative to ask you to hold him?"
This was really strange!
She seemed to have thought of something. "Oh my, could it be that my Gousheng is so young and already a lecher?"
Seeing that the girl in front of her was so beautiful, he wanted her to hold him?
If that was the case, then he had to be taught a lesson early!
"Miss..."
Qingyin wanted to block Lu Zhaoling.
What was this woman saying? The people here were so strange.
"It's okay, maybe I just look more approachable." Lu Zhaoling reached out and gently touched the child's head.
There was a thin layer of illness on top of the child's head, which was dispersed by the light shake of her hand.
"Here is a disease-dispelling talisman that can make your child safe and healthy. Madam, would you like to buy it? It's only ten Wen." (a small amount of money) Lu Zhaoling took out a talisman and handed it over.
Originally, the woman was quite happy to see that a beautiful and noble girl was willing to be so close to her child, but when she saw her suddenly take out a talisman and ask for money, she immediately hugged the child tightly and took two steps back vigilantly.
"What's wrong with you, girl? You look so beautiful, but you're doing this kind of scamming thing?"
Qingyin was even more confused than her.
Ten Wen?
When did the Miss's talismans become so cheap!
Even so cheap, the other party didn't want it!
"Your child has long-term contact with yin objects, and is weak and sickly..." Lu Zhaoling was about to explain.
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