bayedsolid Chapter 141 Woodshed
Chapter 141 Woodshed
Xiao Wei wiped her hands, took out a small bundle from the small box behind her, took out a pair of gloves and put them in, put a few oranges in, handed it to me and said, "Then please help me take this pair of gloves to her. I learned to crochet, and she asked me for a pair of gloves, but this happened before I finished knitting. She has to do rough work in the woodshed, and a pair of gloves can at least help her get by."
I took it and said, "Okay, Xiaowei, I'll go now. You stay here and if anyone comes looking for me, tell them I'm on a mission from the young master."
Xiao Wei nodded obediently: "Go ahead, girl. Xiao Wei understands."
I picked up my bag and just went out when I saw Ruofeng coming towards me with a lunch box.
When he saw me, he smiled and said, "I just happened to come to give you some dumplings, fresh from the kitchen. Where are you going, young lady?"
I approached him and saw that there was no one around, so I whispered to him, "You've come just in time. Come with me. I need to go to the woodshed."
Ruo Feng's smile disappeared, and he spoke hesitantly: "Miss...are you going to visit Miss Sen Ying?"
I replied, "Exactly. I have something else to ask you. Let's go quickly and talk on the way back."
Ruofeng walked beside me carrying a lunch box and said, "Well, I don't know much. If you ask, I will tell you everything I know."
He and I walked out of the yard and headed towards the woodshed.
I asked, "Let me ask you, when you went to Aunt Zhao's place to look for Miss Senying that day, did you ever hear why she was taken away by Madam Rui Er?"
Ruo Feng shook his head, "I don't know. I just went to the door, and the gatekeeper was an old man who was familiar with me. When he saw me, he told me that Miss Sen Ying was taken away by Madam Rui Er and a group of maids. When I heard that, I hurried back to find Miss Jing Ye, but she was unable to bring her back, and only told us not to discuss this matter again in the future."
I asked again: "Did Miss Jingye go there by herself? How long did she stay there?"
Ruo Feng replied, "She went there on her own. It took her about... an hour to go there and back. I saw that she looked unhappy when she came back. When I asked her about it, she refused to say anything. She just told us to just pretend that this person never existed in the mansion."
When I heard this, it seemed like a serious mistake. It had been so long and I couldn't remember what rules the housekeeper had taught me that would lead to such a punishment, so I decided to go to Senying to ask for details.
We walked from the brightly lit area to the deep and dark corridor, and after turning two corners we arrived at the woodshed.
It was Chinese New Year, and the woodshed was supposed to be busy, but by this time everyone in each house had already taken their firewood away, so there was no one at the door of the woodshed except for a guard, who was only accompanied by two big red lanterns hanging above his head.
Seeing us coming, the guard blinked his eyes and said with a smile: "Oh, it's New Year's Day, what brings little Ruofeng here? This sister is...?" After saying that, he kept looking me up and down.
Ruofeng took a step forward and blocked me, saying, "Brother Chu, watch your eyes! This is Miss Lanxiang from the Second Young Master's courtyard."
The man surnamed Chu was all smiles: "I have always heard of Miss Lan's great name. Seeing her today, I can see that she is indeed worthy of her reputation."
I ignored him, and Ruo Feng interrupted him and said, "We want to go in to visit Senying, please make way."
The man surnamed Chu's face changed, and he picked up Qiao'er and said, "Hey! This is a very important place in the firewood room. It is my responsibility. I cannot let anyone come in and out at will!"
Ruo Feng took out a silver ingot from his bosom, walked up to him and handed it to him, whispering, "It's just a small gift. Keep it for Brother Chu to buy wine for the New Year."
The man surnamed Chu smiled again, took the silver, weighed it, and then stepped aside, saying, "Go west after entering the door. It's the second room in the third row."
Ruofeng and I went in. I saw that the surroundings were almost the same as the last time I was locked up, except that the season had changed and it seemed even darker and more desolate.
After walking a distance and thinking the guards could no longer hear me, I asked Ruo Feng in a low voice, "Why is he so arrogant? How dare he openly accept money?"
Ruo Feng sighed and replied, "Miss, you don't come here often, so you don't know. Although the firewood room is a rough job, it is still responsible for the firewood of the entire mansion. Especially in winter, the cold houses in the side courtyards are often deducted. If you want to get firewood for lighting or heating, you have to pay them monthly. So it's not surprising for them to take bribes."
I was shocked and asked, "How could such a thing happen? Is there no one to take care of it?"
Ruo Feng looked around and whispered, "The firewood room is managed by Madam Rui Er. The people below take the money and give her a commission, so she just turns a blind eye."
I said "Pah!" and thought to myself, "If the upper beam is crooked, the lower beams will be crooked too!" I made a note of it in my mind and when the time is right, I will report it to Tu Shanjing and add another real crime to this Madam Rui Er's crime.
Soon I reached the place the guard had mentioned. I saw that the rooms on both sides were dark, with only the second room having a dim candlelight flickering. I walked over and was about to knock on the door when I heard a man in the room jokingly say, "Sen Ying, whether or not we can eat dumplings on New Year's Eve depends entirely on you!"
"It's New Year's Day, can you please let me be quiet?" Sen Ying's voice sounded coldly.
"Okay, okay, my aunt, whatever you say is fine!" The man walked closer with a smile, followed by a rustling sound.
Before I could figure out what was going on, Ruofeng coughed lightly, walked up and knocked on the door: "Miss Senying, are you here? I'm Ruofeng, and Miss Lanxiang and I are here to see you."
There was silence in the room for a while. Soon, a pair of footsteps walked to the door. The door opened with a creak. Sen Ying, wearing a gray-blue coarse cloth dress and a black cloak, stood at the door with his hands wrung.
Her face was a little yellow, her hair was a little messy, she was not wearing any makeup or jewelry, and her eyes turned red when she saw me.
I looked past her into the room and saw a middle-aged man dressed like the guard at the door standing inside awkwardly, stroking the handle of the food box on the table.
"Excuse me, Brother Jiang, our girl has something to say to Sen Ying, could you please step aside for a moment?" Ruo Feng said to him.
He chuckled, revealing a row of yellow teeth: "Brother Ruofeng, we are not allowed to receive guests here normally. Today is New Year's Eve and they have made an exception. I hope you can understand and forgive us and don't keep us here for too long. I'll stay here in the courtyard." After saying that, he picked up the food box, glanced at Senying lightly, and walked out from our side.
Ruofeng handed me the things he brought, coughed, and said, "Girls, please have a private conversation. I won't go in. I will stay outside to guard the door for you and talk to Big Brother."
I nodded and pulled the warbler into the door.
I put the things on the small table, and when I saw the door was closed, I quickly held her hand, which felt very rough. I asked, "What's going on?!"
Senying's hand shrank, but she didn't pull it back. She just left it there. With red eyes, she begged, "Sister, save me!"