Ci Jinzhi

  Chapter 3 Dreams

  Xiao Lian watched the girl silently pull the thin quilt to cover her body, but her feet did not move.

   "Why are you pretending to be my girl?" She stepped forward, stepping on the wet ground without noticing her embroidered shoes.

  Xin You raised her eyes, her eyes were calm: "I didn't. I said that at the time, I don't know you, you misidentified the person."

  Xiao Lian raised her eyebrows, a little annoyed: "Then why did you follow us?"

  Xin You looked at her with a mocking look on her face: "Can I resist?"

  Xiao Lian couldn't help but hesitate when thinking of the scene at that time.

   At that time, the girl was brought back by the second master forcibly.

  After a while of silence, Xiao Lian bit her lips: "Rest for one night first, and you can follow me to explain to the old lady in the morning."

  As the night deepened, the sound of insects came in through the Ruyi window lattice, clear and continuous. Xin You looked at Xiao Lian, and she was sure that she was a loyal maid who protected the lord, and she had a good heart.

  She was ready to have a good talk.

  Seeing that Xin You didn't speak, Xiao Lian hesitated for a moment, and stomped her feet: "Forget it, talk about it when you recover!"

  Xin You pulled the corner of her lips, and a faint smile appeared: "Do you think they will believe it?"

   "Of course—" Xiao Lian blurted out, but seeing the face that was almost exactly the same as her own girl, she couldn't continue.

  At this time, looking carefully, the facial features of this girl and her own girl are still slightly different, but she was too excited to find someone during the day, and there was a difference between disheveled hair and undressed and well-dressed, so I didn't think much about it.

   "Your voice is also different from my girl's—" Xiao Lian's voice dropped.

   There is a difference, but it is not big. At least, although she heard a little difference, she thought it was because of the girl's physical discomfort. As for the old lady and the others, it might be harder to detect than when she spends time with the girl day and night.

  Xin You tightened the thin quilt, and said in a cool tone, "If they don't believe it, I'm afraid they won't be able to keep you by the side of 'Miss Kou'."

  Xiao Lian's face turned pale, thinking of the girl's wet nurse, Nanny Fang. Back then, Nanny Fang accompanied the girl to Beijing with her, but after she made a mistake, she was sent to Zhuangzi, and she and the girl never saw each other again.

  If the old lady didn't believe her, she would definitely think that she was hysterical, and her fate might not be as good as that of Nanny Fang. And once something happens to her and the fake girl is at the house again, who will know the girl?

   "If they believe it—" Xin You paused.

  Xiao Lian unconsciously opened her eyes wide, staring at that familiar face.

  Xin You stared at Xiao Lian, and asked word by word: "Are you sure, they want your girl to be alive?"

  The blood on Xiao Lian's face faded instantly: "You, what do you mean?"

Compared with Xiao Lian's panic, the girl under the candlelight looked very calm: "The three girls from the Shaoqing Mansion climbed the mountain together with Ms. Kou, and only Ms. Kou slipped and fell off the cliff. Think about it. What do you say?"

"Impossible, my girl is the only granddaughter of the old lady, and the old lady loves her very much. The old lady also said that she would betroth the girl to the eldest son, and make her more intimate..." Xiaolian retorted subconsciously, but her face became more and more ugly .

  Yeah, obviously the four girls climbed the mountain together, why did only her girl fall off the cliff? Is it really the girl's bad luck?

  There are so many people in the Shaoqing Mansion, the only real outsiders are Kou Qingqing's master and servant. Once suspicions come together, they will grow wantonly like spring grass after rain.

   "How about making a deal?" The girl leaned against the head of the bed with a plain brocade quilt, her expression calm.

  Xiao Lian's heart calmed down for no reason: "What deal?"

   "When I get better, I will accompany you to find Miss Kou on the pretext of visiting Grandpa Wang. Then whenever I find your girl, I will cooperate with her and quietly change my identity back."

  Xiao Lian couldn't help but nodded.

  Compared with the result of the quarrel now and the unknown result, this is naturally safer.

   "Then what do you want?" Xiao Lian asked with concern.

  Xin You bent her lips, she was clearly smiling, but it made people feel bitter: "I came to Beijing alone, just in need of a place to stay. Until I find Miss Kou, just let me stay here temporarily."

  She didn't know who the murderer of her mother was. To seek revenge in this unfamiliar capital, she needed a safe identity rather than a place to stay.

  What better cover than being someone else?

  Xiao Lian's expression kept changing, she pursed her lips and made a decision: "If...if my girl is gone, you can continue to live as a girl, but I have one condition."

  Think about it calmly, the girl fell off such a high cliff, how many chances are there of surviving?

   With tears in her eyes, Xiao Lian choked up and said, "Please help me find out if my girl's fall off the cliff was an accident!"

  If she is the only maid left, let alone secretly investigating, whether she can stay in the Shaoqing Mansion is a matter of the master's words. This girl wants to gain a foothold as a girl for the time being, so she doesn't need a "girl" by her side.

  Xin You nodded: "Okay."

  Xiao Lian looked relaxed, and asked, "I don't know what to call the girl?"

  Xin You lowered her eyes: "I borrowed the identity of Miss Kou, so my name doesn't matter."

  Xiao Lian was silent for a moment, then bent her knees: "Girl, maidservant will continue to wipe your body."

  Xin You nodded and said softly, "Thank you very much."

   "It should be." Xiao Lian walked to the door, and asked the little maid to change a basin of hot water again, and wrung out the towel to wipe Xin You's body.

  It's just entered May, but this night is a bit sultry, and suddenly the chill hits her shoulders, Xin You was stunned for a moment before realizing that it was Xiaolian's tears.

   After wiping her body, Xin You felt much refreshed when she changed into Miss Kou's undressed undershirt.

   "The servant girl is resting outside, you can tell me if you have something to do." Xiao Lian put out the candle and walked out lightly.

  Although Xinyou slept through today, she soon became sleepy and fell asleep in a daze.

  In the dream, the veins in both hands were bulging due to exertion, and the soft pillow embroidered with orchids was moved away, revealing Xiao Lian's face that had already died of anger.

  With a loud noise, Xin You suddenly opened her eyes and sat up.

  Thunderstorms rolled outside the window, and it rained.

  Summer rains always come so unexpectedly. Yu hurriedly knocked on the window lattice, Xin You listened attentively, and faintly heard suppressed sobbing.

   It turned out that Xiao Lian hadn't slept all this time.

  Xin You glanced at the door and thought of the dream just now.

  It wasn't a foreseeable dream, but the picture seen during the day was too profound, and it reappeared in the dream.

  Because of the reappearance, she noticed more details, such as Xiaolian's clothes. In the picture, she only saw Xiaolian's upper body, with white velvet flowers in her hair, and her clothes were all white.

  For example—Xin You looked down and landed on the soft pillow at the head of the bed.

  The soft pillow is still stained with her body temperature, and there are traces of her sleeping on it. The corner of the apricot satin pillow towel is full of orchid leaves blooming faintly.

   It turned out to be this pillow.

  Xin You reached out and picked up the soft pillow embroidered with orchids.

  (end of this chapter)