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Chapter 6 pt 2 Su Wannaing
When she
woke up the next day, Shen Wen hurriedly went to pay her respects. She had to
ask Yang to leave the house, and as she walked, she made up all sorts of
excuses in her mind, and thought of ways to get Shen Xiang and Shen Zhuo to go
out with her.
When they
entered the hall, both the old Furen and Yang Shi were already seated.
Shen Wen realised that she was late, but before she could apologise, Yang Shi
said happily, "Wen Er is here today? Are you feeling better?"
The old Furen
quickly waved for Shen Wen to come over and said with concern, "It's
better for Wen Er to sleep a little longer, you can see that your eyes are
still green underneath."
Yang Shi also
looked and frowned as she said to Shen Wen's maid, "Let the Second Xiaojie
sleep more tomorrow and don't wake her up."
Shen Wen
quickly said: "I was the one who wanted to come over to pay my respects.”
Yang
Shi smiled: "Wen Er is so disciplined." She turned her head and
brought over two sealed envelopes and said: "The youngest daughter
of the Marquis of Pingyuan, Zhang Yunjin, has sent an invitation for Wen' Er
and Xiang' Er to come over her house, saying that she knew that the Teaching
Mama had left and asked you guys to go and enjoy the chrysanthemums. The Eldest
Gongzi of their house has also sent an invitation to Yi'er and the
others, so you guys should go on the 17th day."
Shen Wen
thought that Yang Shi had not received an invitation. It was clear that the
Pingyuan Hou Fu did not want to elevate this invitation to the status of
a social gathering among adults, and only positioned it for the interactions of
their young children.
Shen Wen had
been waiting for this invitation for a long time and wanted to see if she could
meet the "Eldest Xiaojie" at the Marquis of Pingyuan's residence.
Shen Xiang and
Zhang Yunjin often exchanged letters and other things, but Shen Wen, a
seven-year-old of herself, really didn't have the opportunity to write. She
could only sometimes ask Shen Xiang about Zhang Yunjin, saying that she missed
her because of the candy she had given her. Now that this post has finally
come, Shen Wen doesn't have to make up an excuse to leave the house.
Yang Shi
added: "You must not be naughty and cause trouble when you are in
someone's house, don't disgrace the Hou Fu."
Naturally,
the children promised to do so.
The night
before she left for the Pingyuan Marquis' residence, Shen Wen waited until the
maids around her were all asleep and left the house again. This time, she
brought a packet of pastries and a special scarf to wrap around her face.
When she
arrived at Wanhua House, she ran back and forth a few times to make sure that
the environment where she had originally found out her route had not changed
significantly. Then she went to the small courtyard where she had last seen Su
Wanniang. Inside, it was quiet and it seemed that Su Wanniang had not been
punished today. She went to the courtyard to the west, which was obviously the
residence of the servants, and the courtyard and rooms were very small. The
night is quiet and the other courtyards are noisy, but here it is silent.
Shen Wen
dropped down from the outer side of the north room and went to the slightly
open window, listening to the sound of several people breathing in the room.
Shen Wen knew that the servant's door was not locked, so she opened the door
slightly and slipped into the room.
Shen Wen, who
had excellent eyesight in the night, looked at the first girl who was a little
girl. Then she looked at another one, who had a chubby figure. When she reached
the third one, her appearance looked like Su Wanniang, so she gently touched
her shoulder. Su Wanniang slept uncomfortably and woke up immediately. As soon
as she opened her eyes, Shen Wen covered her lips with her hand.
As Su Wanniang
looked at the small figure in the darkness, she immediately thought of the girl
who had spoken to her that night. She had been thinking about what she had
heard from the girl that night for days and could not believe it but could not
help but look forward to it. She told the disciplinarian mama that she
had to think about it. The old Pimp loved her qualifications and thought it
would be better to let her be willing, so she allowed her a few days and
stopped torturing her every day.
Su Wanniang
sat up and Shen Wen whispered into her ear, "Get dressed, I'll take you
out." Su Wanniang was sure it was the girl. With a jolt, she fumbled to
put on her clothes and shoes.
Shen Wen took
Su Wanniang's hand and slowly walked out of the house. When they reached the
courtyard, Su Wanniang looked at Shen Wen, who was obviously not very old and
not even close to her shoulder height, so she stopped and said, "Little
sister, don't get into trouble, I've run away many times, there are many of
them and the road is not good, you should go back quickly."
Shen
Wen took her hand tightly and said, "Don't be afraid, follow me."
Su Wanniang
felt that Shen Wen's hand was soft and warm, and nodded her head, thinking that
if there was a chance to escape, she would try even if she had to take a
beating. This child could walk through the courtyard, perhaps she was the child
of a nobleman, so she thought she would not be punished if she was caught.
Shen Wen
pulled Su Wanniang through the courtyard, which was much more strenuous than
her flying around the walls. Luckily, she had already chosen her path and knew
where to go, no matter how intricate it was. Sometimes hiding in the rockery,
sometimes in the shadows, there were twists and turns before they reached a
small, locked door in the backyard.
When Su
Wanniang saw the small door, she was excited, but when she went up and pushed
it, she felt the iron lock under the bolt and her heart went cold. The door had
not been used for a long time and the lock was rusted, and the high walls on
both sides were difficult to cross. She sighed and said in a low voice to Shen
Wen, "Little sister, let's go back, thank you very much."
Shen Wen
looked up at Su Wanniang and whispered, "What I have said, you must
remember it well." After saying this, she closed her eyes and observed the
iron lock in her mind, looking for a point that had long since rusted to
brittleness, and concentrated her consciousness power to strike it and there
was a faint sound inside the iron lock. Shen Wen gestured, Su Wanniang once
again broke it with force, and the iron lock opened with a sound.
Su Wanniang
drew a gasp backwards.
Shen
Wen could have pried or sawed the lock open beforehand, but she needed Su
Wanniang's trust. Su Wanniang was ten years old, she was only seven, and she
had to establish credibility for herself.
Su Wanniang
gently removed the iron lock, pulled the bolt hard, and then slowly opened the
door. The creak at the door pivot was extra loud in the night and she broke out
in a cold sweat. Shen Wen took her hand again and walked briskly through the
late night streets. When she encountered someone or a night watchman, Shen Wen
always pulled her ahead to hide in doorways or dark nooks and crannies.
After walking
for more than three quarters of an hour, Su Wanniang was panting and stumbling,
even though she had received some training in dancing and had better endurance
than the usual girls. Shen Wen stopped, but Su Wanniang gasped and said,
"We can't stop ...... they have dogs ...... that can come after us
......"
Shen Wen
nodded her head and whispered, "Come, I'll carry you."
Looking at
Shen Wen's short body, Su Wanniang shook her head repeatedly and said,
"No, little sister, you can't carry it."
I'll just
carry it for a while," said Shen Wen. “Besides, when it's dawn and there
will be more people, the scent on the ground won't be easy to find. We don't
have to go too far."
Su Wanniang
hesitantly leaned on Shen Wen's back. Shen Wen was half bent over from the
pressure and could not use her lightness, but her footsteps were still light.
The two of them went on for a while, and when they arrived near a tall
building, Shen Wen put Su Wanniang down and pulled her into the shadows around
the corner of the alley. Shen Wen bent down, grabbed some dirt from the ground
and handed it to Su Wanniang, saying, " Put some paint on your face."
Su Wanniang
didn't hesitate this time and rubbed the dirt on her face. Shen Wen pointed to
the tall building and said: "That's the Gui Xiang Garden where dim sum is
sold. I should be there at the end of the weishi hour(1-3pm) today. When you
hear my voice, come out and shout that you don't want to fall into the Spring
House and ask for help. Remember, don't say anything about your father. Also,
pretend that you do not know me, and say nothing about what I have done to
anyone, not even your mother."
Shen Wen's
tone was mature and sophisticated, very much at odds with her short stature and
childish voice. But it was then that Su Wanniang realised for the first time
that she really had hope, and could not help but tremble with excitement as she
nodded her head repeatedly
Shen Wen
continued, "I should come today, but in case I can't come today, I will
definitely come tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, do you believe me?"
Su
Wanniang nodded firmly and said, "I believe you, even if you don't come
tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, as a beggar I will still wait here, as long
as they don't catch me."
Shen Wen took
out a packet of pastries and handed it to Su Wanniang. Just as she was about to
leave, she turned back and asked, "Can you hear my voice? Do we need to
say a specific word?”
Su Wanniang
looked at Shen Wen and said, "I can." She took Shen Wen's hand and
said, "Little sister, if you can redeem me from Wanhua House and allow me
to settle my mother and my brother, I can work for you as a maid for the rest
of my life.”
Shen Wen shook
Su Wanniang's hand back and said, "I can definitely redeem you, you must
not go home before then, they are probably waiting for you at home. When you
become my maid, you will be able to take care of them. Besides, I don't want
you to be a maid for the rest of your life, I just want you to help me for ten
years.”
Su Wanniang
nodded and said, "I understand, be loyal and do not betray. Don't worry,
even if I am not your maid now and you can't come. If they catch me, I won't
sell you either.”
Shen Wen
looked at Su Wanniang and said, "If they catch you, it doesn't matter if
you sell me or not, you don't know who I am yet anyway. I just like you, I will
still bring you out, only I won't let you be my maid anymore."
Su
Wanniang held back her tears, nodded and said, "Miss, go now, it's not
good if it's dawn." She changed her title.
Shen
Wen said seriously, "As I said, only a maid in name. I treat you as a
sister, so you should still call me little sister."
Su
Wanniang said, "Little sister, you must ...... be careful."
Shen Wen also
whispered, "You too, be careful to hide, let's see each other this
afternoon." After saying this, she turned and ran away. Su Wanniang stood
there in the darkness for a long time, holding the packet of pastries, before
finding a hole in a dilapidated wall and hiding inside.
Shen Wen reckoned that it was really getting close to dawn, and ran furiously
all the way to Hou Fu in time for the early hours of the morning. When
she returned to her bedroom, she hurriedly undressed and put her clothes away,
only to squint for a moment before the maids got up. Today they were going to
the Pingyuan Marquis' residence, so Shen Wen couldn't sleep in.
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