Hong Li was originally just an ordinary laundry maid in the Marquis of Pingyang's Mansion. Because she was good at straw weaving, she was promoted by Su Yuanyuan to be a second-class maid by her side.
Su Yuanyuan's favor for Hong Li even once exceeded that for Hong Zhu. Later, because Hong Li accidentally broke a jade bi given to Su Yuanyuan by the Prince of Jin, in a fit of anger, Su Yuanyuan punished her to clean the chamber pots and never brought her back to her side.
After what happened at the Thousand Autumn Banquet, Su Yuanyuan was forced to enter the Lu Mansion as a concubine and needed to choose a maid to accompany her.
However, at that time, all the servants in the Marquis's Mansion avoided her like the plague. The maids in her courtyard even defected to Su Qingyu. Only Hong Li stood up and was willing to go with her.
Su Yuanyuan thought Hong Li would hate her for the chamber pot punishment. It was not until she entered the Lu Mansion that she learned that it was actually Hong Zhu who deliberately framed Hong Li for breaking the jade bi. The purpose, of course, was to prevent Hong Li from taking her position as the head maid.
During her days in the Lu Mansion, she had a very hard time. Maybe Lu Chuan was afraid of Mrs. Qin, so he never came to her courtyard. The entire backyard was under the control of Mrs. Qin, and no one stood up for her.
If it weren't for Hong Li, she wouldn't have survived until the Lu Mansion was raided. She would have been tortured to death by Mrs. Qin on the first night she entered the Lu Mansion.
She was blessed by God and got a new life, but what about Hong Li?
Exile was the most severe punishment for the living. The exiles had to walk on foot from Shengjing to the cold and remote Xingzhou Commandery within a limited time. Not only was the environment extremely harsh on the way, but they couldn't even rest when they were tired. When they were hungry or thirsty, there was nothing to eat or drink. Even if they were seriously ill and on the verge of death, they had to crawl to the destination.
If God had eyes and if Hong Li was still alive, let this poor and loyal maid have a good ending in the future.
Su Yuanyuan sighed and silently hoped in her heart.
...
At the foot of Kenan Mountain outside Xingzhou Commandery in the Great Chu State, a group of emaciated and ragged people were waving hoes and laboring in the cold and hard fields again and again.
There was a character "slave" branded on their faces and fetters on their feet. They were the family members of the Lu Mansion who had been exiled from Shengjing to Xingzhou Commandery.
As the sun gradually set, after a day's labor, these prisoners would be escorted back to their living quarters by the officials and wait to repeat the punishment the next day.
Since most of these prisoners were servants, women and children who didn't know any martial arts and had no ability to resist, the officials had long since relaxed their vigilance towards them.
Therefore, they didn't notice that a thin figure like a piece of paper quietly slipped into the twilight and rolled down the hillside.
It wasn't until all the prisoners were escorted back to their quarters and the officials in Xingzhou Commandery counted the heads that they found one person missing.
The on - duty official immediately reported this discovery to the prefect. In the tent, the prefect of Xingzhou Commandery was hugging two women in his arms. Hearing this, he raised his drunken face and asked,
"Who's missing?"
The official replied, "It's said that she was just a maid beside a concubine in Shengjing before."
The prefect said indifferently, "A maid. Her life is worthless. Maybe she just couldn't bear it and died outside. Well, an insignificant person. If she's missing, just let it be. There's no need to take it to heart."
The official could only say, "Yes, my lord."
In a forest outside Xingzhou Commandery, the figure that had quietly disappeared hid in the dark and observed for a while. When she found that the city was quiet and no one was alerted by her disappearance, she secretly let out a sigh of relief. Then she got up from the ground and staggered towards Shengjing.
...
In the Marquis of Pingyang's Mansion in Shengjing, a woman in a cyan dress was led by Zining towards the Bamboo Grove Courtyard.
Since the woman's appearance and figure were unremarkable, she didn't attract much attention while following Zining. But when they passed by the Returning Wind Garden, they suddenly ran into Su Qingyu.
Zining stopped, curtsied to Su Qingyu and said, "This servant pays respects to the eldest miss."
Su Qingyu was first surprised, then smiled and said, "Sister Zining, you don't need to be so polite. Get up quickly."
"Thank you, eldest miss."
Su Qingyu looked at the woman behind Zining and asked, "Sister Zining, what's this?"
Zining replied, "Madam didn't sleep well last night and her headache flared up again. This servant heard that there's someone in the market who is good at massage, so I specially invited this person to relieve madam."
"Didn't mother say that she was going to the palace to visit Aunt Concubine Tong today?" Su Qingyu blurted out subconsciously.
Then she quickly added, "Mother is unwell. Why didn't she send someone to tell me? Mother must be worried about me. Sister Zining, I'll go with you. I know medicine. Let me treat mother."
Zining quickly said, "Madam said that the eldest miss was wronged last night and still has injuries. So there's no need to trouble the eldest miss. Madam also said that if she met the eldest miss on the way and the eldest miss asked, she should tell the eldest miss to take good care of her injuries and not to worry about her."
Actually, Su Qingyu didn't want to show her face in front of Mrs. Tong either, so she simply said, "Okay. Please convey my words to mother for me, saying that Yu'er understands. Please mother take good care of her illness and don't worry about Yu'er's affairs anymore."
Zining smiled, curtsied again, then turned around and left with the woman.
When the woman passed by Su Qingyu on her way out, Su Qingyu didn't care at first, but a faint sandalwood fragrance came from the woman, which made Su Qingyu pause for a moment.
Her gaze followed the figures of Zining and the woman, and her face showed a thoughtful expression.
Lvyi beside her asked in confusion, "Miss?"
Su Qingyu shook her head and said, "It's nothing. Let's go back to the room."
In the Bamboo Grove Courtyard, Zining led the woman into the main house, dismissed all the maids, and closed the door tightly. Then she said to Mrs. Tong who was reclining on the couch, "Madam, the Taoist priest Wen Qing has arrived."
The woman behind Zining stepped forward, made a hand gesture and bowed to Mrs. Tong, saying, "Wen Qing pays respects to madam."
Mrs. Tong had stayed up all night until dawn, and her body had reached its limit. When she saw the Taoist priest Wen Qing, she quickly got up and supported the other person, saying, "Taoist priest, you don't need to be so polite. Please get up quickly. Zining, go and pour tea for the Taoist priest."
Zining knew that this was a hint to send her away, so she responded with a "Yes" and bowed out.
When only Mrs. Tong and the Taoist priest Wen Qing were left in the room, Mrs. Tong tightly held the Taoist priest's hand and said miserably, "Taoist priest, please save me!"
The Taoist priest Wen Qing said, "On my way here, I heard from Miss Zining about your troubles. But Miss Zining didn't tell me in detail. Please tell me what happened last night again."
Mrs. Tong immediately described the dream she had had in great detail.
The Taoist priest Wen Qing listened very carefully, and the more he listened, the more solemn his expression became.
After Mrs. Tong finished speaking, her face was already covered with tears. She said, "In the dream, the child always said she was in pain. The cries made my heart ache. She was born to me after ten months of pregnancy. Mother and daughter are connected. Seeing such an ending for her, I naturally feel bad. But as the mistress of the Marquis's Mansion, I also have my difficulties. She said I didn't love her, but did she ever think about me?"
"Taoist priest, what should I do to resolve this matter?"
The Taoist priest Wen Qing said seriously, "From what madam said, your daughter had extremely strong resentment when she died, and her body couldn't be buried. I'm afraid she has turned into a fierce ghost and can't be reincarnated. That's why she came to you."
"As the saying goes, the person who tied the bell should be the one to untie it. Everything in the world pays attention to the two words 'cause and effect'. In my opinion, if you want to resolve this, you need to fulfill your daughter's wish, appease her soul, and let her be reborn, then this matter can be settled."
" 'Wish'..." Mrs. Tong murmured these two words and then asked, "How can I fulfill her wish?"
The Taoist priest Wen Qing said, "In my opinion, lead her soul back home and then hold a Buddhist ceremony to release her soul. Then your daughter can rest in peace."
Mrs. Tong quickly said, "As long as I can resolve this knot, I'm willing to do anything! I'll leave everything to you, Taoist priest!"
Just as they were about to discuss in detail, they heard Zining's voice outside, saying, "Zining pays respects to the marquis."
"Is madam in?" A mellow voice followed.
Mrs. Tong's face suddenly changed. She didn't expect the Marquis of Pingyang to come to her courtyard at this time. She exchanged a look with the Taoist priest Wen Qing, then lay down on the couch, while the Taoist priest Wen Qing sat beside her and gently kneaded her temples.
Outside the house, Zining replied, "My lord, after the eldest miss came back last night, madam learned that the eldest miss was wronged at the Thousand Autumn Banquet and went to the eldest miss's room overnight. Maybe she caught a cold on the way. After coming back, madam felt a bit of a headache and asked this servant to find a doctor who is good at massage. Now the doctor is treating her inside."
Sure enough, the Marquis of Pingyang said, "Nonsense!"
The sound of footsteps immediately came towards the house. A moment later, the door was pushed open, and a tall figure walked in. It was the Marquis of Pingyang, Su Shian.