"Little master, slow down, don't fall." Chu Qing chased after Da Bao, afraid he might stumble again.
Cai Qing was playing with Er Bao and constantly received disdainful glances from him. However, when she saw Chu Qing running breathlessly after Da Bao, she suddenly felt that playing with Er Bao, despite the occasional disdain, was much better than Chu Qing's situation.
Instantly, her heart felt more balanced, and she increasingly found Er Bao more lovable.
Although Er Bao spoke little and always looked down on her, he was much better behaved, unlike Da Bao who was always mischievous and difficult for her to handle.
"Bang... bang..." A series of knocks at the door made all four people in the courtyard look towards it.
Chu Qing, who was closest to the door, walked over first. Without opening it directly, she called out, "Who is there?"
"Is this Miss Chu Qing? I am sent by the Old Master to deliver some pastries to the two young masters. They are all the young masters' favorites."
Chu Qing's eyes flickered. Still full of vigilance, she did not forget Feng Jin's instructions and shouted loudly towards the door, "Please inform the Old Master that our courtyard already has pastries. Our young madam and young masters appreciate his thoughtfulness, but our lock is broken and cannot be opened for the time being. Steward Wu should return first."
Steward Wu, standing outside the door, was slightly stunned. This Chu Qing was not as easily fooled as Cai Qing. After a pause, he said in a very gentle tone, "Miss Chu Qing, I am truly just here to deliver some pastries to the young masters. Just open the door a crack and let me hand them over. If I return without delivering them, I cannot report back to the Old Master. I am already old, please do not make things difficult for me anymore."
"Steward Wu, it's not that I'm making things difficult for you, but the lock is truly broken and cannot be opened. We can't do anything about it. Why don't you leave the pastries at the door first? When the lock is repaired and the door can be opened, I will bring the pastries in for the young masters to eat. Please rest assured."
Chu Qing responded skillfully, and with a few words, Steward Wu was left speechless and fumbled for what to say next.
"Yes, Steward Wu, our lock is really broken. The wind is strong today, so you should hurry back. Don't stand at the door any longer, lest you catch a cold."
Cai Qing also chimed in to persuade him to leave. The two spoke in unison, leaving Steward Wu no chance to interject.
Whether it was truly the wind or he was angered by the two, Steward Wu sneezed several times.
"Steward Wu, you really will catch a cold. You are old and frail, so you should hurry back." Cai Qing suppressed a smile as she urged Steward Wu to leave.
"Yes! Steward Wu, you should go back first. The young masters need to nap soon, and we will take them back to their rooms."
Chu Qing was also worried that Steward Wu would not leave, so she directly took the two children back to their room. If Steward Wu was willing to wait, she couldn't stop him.
"Alas... you guys... don't go!"
Through the crack in the door, Steward Wu clearly saw Cai Qing and Chu Qing leading the two children into the room. Anxious, he quickly shouted loudly, but it was to no avail. He could only watch helplessly as they took the children back into the room.
A young attendant who had come with Steward Wu saw this scene and hesitated before asking, "Steward Wu, should we go back, or continue waiting here..."
After speaking, he also sneezed. This weather was truly too cold. The attendant quickly hunched his neck, looking like an ostrich.
Steward Wu was full of anger. When asked by the attendant, he became even more enraged. He reached out and hit the attendant on the head, "You blind fool! Didn't you see they deliberately went inside? They don't want us to see the young masters. Waiting any longer is useless. Let's all go back."
"Then if we go back, what should we tell the Old Master when he asks?"
As soon as the attendant finished speaking, he was hit hard by Steward Wu again, "Do I need to tell you these things? Since you are so concerned, then you stay here. All these matters will be handled by you."
Steward Wu said angrily and turned to leave, leaving the attendant dumbfounded. He didn't know whether to leave or stay.
After hesitating for a long time, he remained in place. Without Steward Wu's instructions, he truly dared not leave easily.
He could only stay, enduring the cold wind that made him shiver. He quickly found a sheltered corner to hide, not knowing when this would end.
It was his bad luck. If he had known this would happen, he wouldn't have spoken so much. In the end, he was the one to suffer.
...
"I don't hear any movement outside anymore. Has Steward Wu left?"
Cai Qing listened intently, her ear pressed against the door, moving as lightly as possible, afraid of being discovered by anyone outside.
"Sister Cai Qing, hurry inside. Regardless of whether he has left or not, as long as we don't go out, Steward Wu's people dare not barge in. We just need to wait for the young madam to wake up and let her decide."
Chu Qing stepped forward and pulled Cai Qing back. All they could do now was to stall for time. For everything else, they had to wait for the young madam to wake up to make a decision.
After all, Steward Wu was an attendant to the Old Master and represented him. They, as maids, dared not offend him easily. Everything had to be decided by the young madam.
"You're right. We cannot afford to offend Steward Wu. We were lucky this time to have fooled him. If we are discovered again, there will be no other way to fool him. We should not go out. Let's wait for the young madam to wake up."
Cai Qing nodded hurriedly. She had witnessed Steward Wu's ruthlessness before. Any disobedient or mistaken servants were all dealt with by Steward Wu, and their fates were never good.
A maid she was once close to, simply for discussing the masters' affairs in private, was dragged away by Steward Wu and his men. She received thirty planks of wood and was dragged out covered in blood. No one knew whether she lived or died afterwards.