When Cheng Jiao Jiao went to look for Ouyang Wen, neither Ouyang Wen nor Ji Jin were home. Only two servants she had sent remained in the small courtyard.
They were squatting in front of a stove, roasting potatoes.
The freshly baked potatoes were quite hot, and the two men were chatting enthusiastically.
Da Niu: "Hey, what was that about the carriage just now? The young lord was still injured, and they just took him away like that."
Xiao Shan: "Are you stupid? That carriage was definitely sent by the Zhen Guo Gong Manor to pick him up."
Da Niu: "So the old madam has cooled down?"
Xiao Shan: "Does that even need asking? Which grandmother doesn't dote on her grandson? Not to mention Ouyang family only has this one precious descendant left. It's only because they knew he could rely on Imperial Physician Ji that they would drive the young lord, who had been caned, out of the manor? And now, they're rushing to bring him home for the New Year."
Da Niu: "No wonder the young lord left so quickly, without even leaving a word. What do we say when the young lady arrives later?"
Xiao Shan: "What else can we say? We tell her the truth. With our brains, can we even come up with a beautiful lie?"
Da Niu grumbled: "The young lord is too heartless. He ate our young lady's food for so many days, and he left without a word. Our young lady has been working for nothing all these days."
Xiao Shan sighed: "Who's to say otherwise? But noble families value equal matches. It's better this way, lest a celestial being like our young lady has to become a concubine."
A master and servant separated by a door had their expressions change.
"What nonsense are you spouting?" Qing Er couldn't listen anymore, kicked open the door, hands on her hips, and yelled.
The two servants looked up and saw, behind the scowling Qing Er, stood their actual master, Cheng Jiao Jiao. Caught red-handed talking about their master behind their backs, the two men felt extremely bitter and quickly knelt to beg for forgiveness, not daring to make a sound.
A sour and heavy sadness welled up in Cheng Jiao Jiao's heart, but she quickly suppressed it: "Since the young lord has returned home, you two should pack up and bid farewell to Imperial Physician Ji when he returns. Qing Er, let's go home."
Qing Er responded with an "aye" and followed.
Cheng Jiao Jiao said helplessly: "Leave the food box."
Qing Er was reluctant. Leave what? The young lord ate so many days and didn't seem to appreciate it, it was like feeding it to dogs.
"The young lord may not eat it, but Imperial Physician Ji needs to eat too." To send out things and then take them back as they were, who would that be embarrassing for? She wasn't that stingy.
"Understood." Qing Er had no choice but to comply. However, as she walked to the door, she couldn't help but turn back and glare fiercely at the two servants.
The carriage swayed on the road. Qing Er looked at her young lady's closed eyes and felt quite heartbroken: "My lady, the young lord was out for so many days, it's normal for the old madam to take him back. After all, the New Year is coming, and we can't let the young lord spend New Year's Eve at Imperial Physician Ji's place. Two grown men, who knows how dreary it would be. Don't you think so?"
It was just a pity, it was originally a good opportunity to curry favor.
Cheng Jiao Jiao gave a hum.
"My lady, don't be sad. Perhaps the young lord forgot in his happiness. Maybe he'll send you a message later."
"I'm not sad. I was the one who insisted on pursuing him."
Marrying the young lord could relieve the pressure her third brother was facing because of her marriage. It was just a pity that the young lord didn't take her seriously. That was understandable; after all, the gap in their social status was too great. Even the servants could see that even if she gained the young lord's favor, she would at most be a concubine.
Moreover, in the young lord's eyes, she might not even be considered a friend.
Just a pastime during his leisure hours.
The bitterness in her heart welled up layer by layer, and she couldn't hear anything Qing Er was saying. Seeing her like this, Qing Er didn't know how to comfort her and could only sigh softly.
Half an hour later, a luxurious carriage swayed back into the small courtyard.
Ouyang Wen looked at the food box on the table and was very pleased: "Miss Cheng has arrived! What delicious food did you bring me today?"
Saying that, he reached out to open the food box.
The two servants heard the sound and ran out of their room. Upon seeing Ouyang Wen, both of them widened their eyes: "Young, young lord, didn't you go home?"
"Go home for what?"
"The Zhen Guo Gong Manor. Didn't that carriage pick you up to go home?"
"No, I just went out to run some errands. Where is your young lady?"
"The young lady saw you weren't here and went back." This was bad, would their young lady punish them for giving false reports?
Ouyang Wen was quite disappointed: "She left? I still wanted to bid her farewell." Because Ji Jin caused trouble last night, his letter was still not finished. He thought he would leave tonight, and he could at least see her one more time during the day.
He didn't expect a twist of fate. Alas, why did the Emperor have to summon him to the palace at this particular time?
The food in the food box suddenly lost its appeal. Ouyang Wen waved his hand: "You two go back later. Tell your young lady that I have important matters to attend to. After some time when I'm free, I will formally thank her."
After eating her meals for so many days, a simple return invitation was not enough to repay her.
Da Niu was confused: "Young lord, your injuries aren't healed yet. Are you still going to be on duty?"
Ouyang Wen tossed them a small gold ingot: "Private matters. Keep your mouths shut, and you won't be shortchanged."
A small gold ingot worth ten taels of silver. Divided equally, each would get five taels, which was more than two months' wages for them. The two servants were so happy they showed their teeth, said many nice things in unison, and then took their packed luggage and left.
Cheng Residence
After hearing what the two servants had to say, Qing Er's face lit up with joy: "Your servant said the young lord isn't that heartless!"
The corners of Cheng Jiao Jiao's mouth curved upwards unconsciously. Her heart, wrapped in sourness, suddenly felt like it had been dipped in a sugar jar, so sweet that she almost melted.
This feeling was too unfamiliar, so unfamiliar that even she herself felt a little flustered.
If Qing Ya were here, she would tell her that these little emotions born from uncertainty were the anxieties of love. She had already fallen for the young lord, she just hadn't realized it yet.