Chapter 40: Something Big Happened
The two returned to Changxia Garden, and upon seeing that the courtyard had quieted down a bit, Qin Dai's furrowed brow finally relaxed. Ruyi was diligent and thorough, not only sweeping the courtyard from inside out but also putting everything in the house in order. Fortunately, she had made preparations beforehand, hiding away things that couldn't be shown off, leaving only the mouse hole in the corner of the wall unscathed.
"Miss, why are you so late today?" Ruyi took the cloak and helped Qin Dai remove her headdress and accessories. Miss always thought that jewelry was too heavy, as soon as she returned to the house, she would take them all off. This habit was not one of hers before, but Ruyi had also gotten used to it, and actually thought that Miss looked better when she was unadorned.
Chunli turned around and poured her a cup of hot tea, placing it on the kang table.
After removing all her gold and silver jewelry, Qin Dai's heart suddenly felt much lighter.
"I just went to Aunt's place." Chunli quickly replied.
"As you wish." Qin Dai's heart was slightly stunned, and her voice became unnatural. This house...
"Yes." Ruyi hastily came before her and listened to her orders.
Qin Dai Xin looked at the spotless room, with everything neatly arranged and the bookshelves and display cabinets full of treasures. Her collection of books was growing day by day, yet they were still perfectly organized, as if taking up no space at all. On the flower stand, a few porcelain vases held several buds of forced plum blossoms that were just beginning to unfurl, releasing their cool fragrance into the air. She couldn't help but ask in puzzlement: "Didn't we just have Chinese New Year? And wasn't there a special day before that for cleaning the house?"
She remembered that from the 23rd to the 30th of the lunar month, there was a program every day, such as worshipping the stove, sweeping the house, stewing meat and making noodles, wasn't it like this here?
Ru Yi put her hand on Qin Dai Xin's forehead and touched her own, muttering: "Not hot either!"
Qin Dai Xin rolled her eyes and shook off her hand, saying: "I'm not feverish at all!" Then she sat on the windowsill kang, peeling an orange.
Ruyi smiled wryly and said: "Miss, you used to be indifferent to these things, but you've never been so muddled before! You have worries, don't you?"
As she still looked puzzled, she continued: "Once we enter the twelfth lunar month, every household starts preparing everything needed for the New Year. We have to prepare new clothes and accessories for the young ladies and gentlemen in each courtyard, as well as various gifts for visiting relatives during the New Year. Since all purchases are made by the steward's office in the mansion, now we can only sweep the courtyard. After a while, we will be busy selecting fabrics for the young ladies' clothes, making dresses, and preparing gifts for visiting other mansions during the New Year. Until three days before the New Year, we start the grand cleaning, paste window stickers, hang lanterns, and the young ladies in the household have to fold plum blossom branches, while the young gentlemen wash their hair with water infused with peach kernels and apricot kernels...
"Stop." Qin Dai's mind was reeling, as if her head had expanded. The things Ruyi said, she had never even heard of them before.
In this parallel space of unknown era, how many more strange and bizarre things are there?
"Miss, miss?" Ruyi looked at Qin Daihe who was in a daze, feeling a bit worried.
"I'm fine."
Looking at her absent-minded appearance, I thought this is far from being nothing!
Chun Li quietly pulled Ruyi aside and told her what had happened at the Su's place.
Ru Yi looked at Qin Dai Xin who was in a daze and asked softly, "Is she worried about the temple matter or is she worried about Xiu Mei and Season Mama?"
"I don't know."
This girl, obviously followed us, but when we got back, she pretended not to know anything, it's really...
Ru Yi gave Chun Li a sideways glance, worriedly looking at Qin Dai Xin who was lying on the couch, her expression seemingly somewhat perplexed.
"Miss, don't think about it, nothing can be rushed." Ruyi walked to the bed and softly consoled her. Seeing Qin Dai's unresponsive expression, she thought she had sunk into deep thought again, and hastily said: "Why not go out for a walk and clear your mind?"
Want to go out for a walk?
These four words were like a thunderclap on a clear day, and Qin Dai's heart was severely struck.
She turned around and gave Ruyi a fierce stare, scaring him so much that he involuntarily took two steps back.
"What did you just say?" What's going out for a walk?
Ru Yi swallowed and whispered: "I mean, why don't we go out for a walk to clear our minds."
"You mean we, or I, can go out for a walk?" Qin Dai Xin asked word by word, her expression somewhat eerie.
Uh! Looking at his master's gnashing teeth, Rong Yi unconsciously retreated two steps.
"I was saying... if Miss is feeling uncomfortable, she can go out for a walk." Ruyi felt a bit nervous, not knowing where he had said something wrong to make Miss behave like this.
Go for a walk. Upon hearing these four words again, Qin Dai's heart felt that the suppressed anger deep within her suddenly vanished.
In her perception of the ancient society, women were not allowed to go out of the house. Girls from families with a certain social status were even raised in seclusion and rarely saw the sunlight outside. Except for the rare Tang Dynasty, which dynasty's women did not stay at home obediently? The scenes in TV dramas where girls often went out and caused trouble were simply fabricated.
This is great, why didn't you say it earlier? It's been a torment for her to stay in this courtyard all day, facing the hypocritical faces of the Qin family, almost suffocating her.
It turns out that this grand and majestic atmosphere of the Tang Dynasty can be taken outside for a stroll.
It's not actually Ruyi's fault. Since Qindi woke up, although her personality has changed a lot and she is now very different from before, who would have thought that something like soul transference could happen? Even Qindi, who had seen advanced technology, found it unbelievable, let alone Ruyi, a young maid who had never seen anything like this before.
So Ruyi had no idea that the master she had been serving for half a year had actually changed to another person, so how could she tell Qin Daihe those things that everyone knew?!
"It's a good decision to go out for a walk." Qin Dai's bad mood suddenly disappeared, and it was better to know than not to know. Besides, since she came over, she was either sick, injured, or punished to the countryside, and there really wasn't an opportunity to go out.
"Shall we go out now, Ruyi and Chunli? How about it?" Qin Dai's heart was a bit impatient. Since arriving here, she hadn't had the chance to get a good look at the local customs and people, let alone know what Taizhou was like as a town. Although she had gone to the Jia residence a few days ago, she had been sitting in the carriage the whole time and hadn't had the opportunity to see the sights on the street. As soon as she heard that they could go out for a walk, Qin Dai's usual calm demeanor changed, and she became somewhat eager to try new things, her personality becoming more lively.
As she thought so, the unease in her heart disappeared without a trace. No one knew how she had spent these few months. After Miss woke up, her temperament changed greatly. Compared to the original spoiled and arrogant Qin Dai Xin, this new Qin Dai Xin who rarely spoke and never lost her temper seemed even more difficult to serve. Yiyi always felt that her own missus seemed to have changed, becoming unrecognizable, if not for her appearance remaining the same, Yiyi wouldn't have connected her with her own mistress at all.
Just now, she suggested that Miss Qin go out for a walk to clear her mind. She felt that Qin Dai Xin's reaction to this proposal was very strong, seemingly surprised, and at the time, she had some doubts in her heart. Now, with Qin Dai Xin's curious and happy appearance like a little kid, the doubts in her heart disappeared.
Even if she grew up after meeting setbacks, she was still the third lady of the Qin family who had been pampered since childhood! In the past, whenever it was time to go out of the house, she would be as excited as she is now.
"Miss, you've been at your aunt's place for almost a meal's time. It's about time to go out now, but it's not enough fun yet, and we should be back soon. We can only go out twice a month, so let's not waste it. Why don't we invite the old lady and madam tomorrow, and have breakfast outside too?"
Originally, it was only possible to go out for two days a month. However, having some time is better than none at all, and something is better than nothing!
Qin Dai Xin accepted Yu Yi's proposal and decided to go after finishing her morning greetings tomorrow. Yu Yi and Chun Li looked at Qin Dai Xin with joy, and they also became happy together.
Outside the door came the sound of hurried footsteps, a little girl with braids rushed in, saw the warm atmosphere inside, and was immediately stunned on the spot.
"You're usually taught to be like this, but you don't understand any discipline." Ruyi looked at the little maid and her tone unconsciously became three points more severe: "What's going on that makes you so flustered?"
Xiao Yatou was even more frightened by Ruyi's stern voice and expression, her mouth opened for a long time but she couldn't utter a word, and tears welled up in her eyes.
Chunli hurried over to comfort her, asking softly, "What's wrong?" They were about the same age, and normally got along well together. Plus, Chunli was outgoing and not as serious as Ruyi, so the younger girls had always been close to her.
Xiao Yatou saw that Chunli's expression was full of concern, and only then did she dare to speak up, taking a glance at Qin Dai and thinking: "Something big has happened in the mistress's courtyard."
