The morning light slanted through the window lattice, instantly brightening up the once dim room.
Meng Ruyi had stayed up late last night, so it was particularly hard for her to get up this morning.
Thinking that she had to visit Zhang Yunyun today and discuss last night's plan with Brother Xiao Song, Meng Ruyi took a deep breath, rubbed her eyes, and finally managed to drag herself out of bed.
She yawned and waited for Lianqiao to do her hair.
Watching her hair being neatly combed in the mirror, Meng Ruyi couldn't help but sigh, "Lianqiao, your hair - styling skills are getting better and better."
Hearing this, Lianqiao's lips curled up slightly. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at Meng Ruyi, and her hands moved even more smoothly. "Thank you for your praise, Miss. If there's anything you like in the future, just tell me. I'll learn it."
Meng Ruyi nodded with a smile. After seeing the hair - bun taking shape, she got up and looked at herself in the mirror several times, clearly satisfied.
After breakfast, she would first go to Zhang Yunyun to see if there was any new information.
As Meng Ruyi stepped out of the threshold, Baizhi, who had been standing beside, could no longer hold back her curiosity. She leaned towards Lianqiao and asked suspiciously, "Huh? Did the Miss say something to you last night? Why do you look so happy this morning that your mouth is almost splitting from ear to ear?"
"Really?" Lianqiao didn't deny her question. Instead, she turned to look at her, pursed her lips, and said, "Baizhi, I have a question for you."
"What?"
Baizhi was confused. There was still a playful smile on her face, but seeing Lianqiao's expression gradually turning serious, she felt a sense of unease. "What... What's going on? Don't scare me."
"Do you want to follow the Miss forever?"
"Of course!" Baizhi answered without hesitation. "How could I ever leave the Miss?"
"What if you had to leave your family and go to a very far place with the Miss?"
Baizhi was caught off - guard. The moment she heard this question, she stood still, her expression frozen. "This... How far? Can we still come back?"
Lianqiao laughed. Her expression was a bit ambiguous as she stared at Baizhi without answering her question.
Baizhi fell silent. Looking at Lianqiao standing there, although they were sisters who had been together day and night, their eyes met, but she felt that Lianqiao had never seemed so far away. It was as if the moment Lianqiao asked that question, she had suddenly become a stranger, making Baizhi's heart beat faster.
"I..." Baizhi's voice gradually faded. For some reason, she avoided Lianqiao's intense gaze and continued, "I will."
"Really?"
"Really!" Baizhi's tone became firm. Lianqiao raised her eyebrows in surprise. She didn't expect Baizhi to be so determined. So her eyes softened.
"Of course I'll stay by the Miss's side."
Baizhi had a family, and she had signed a flexible contract with the Meng Mansion, not a permanent one. This meant that if the master and mistress were kind, her comings and goings wouldn't be overly restricted.
Lianqiao initially thought that Baizhi wouldn't follow Meng Ruyi forever, but now it was a pleasant surprise. It was always a good thing for everyone if the old servants could stay.
"How could I ever leave the Miss?" If it weren't for Lianqiao in front of her, Baizhi would have rolled her eyes. "The Miss is the best to me. Although my parents aren't too bad to me, they're not that good either."
"If it weren't for you reminding me, I would never have saved any of my own money." Baizhi sighed, her heart heavy. "They wished I could send back all the food I ate every day. Since I came to the Meng Mansion, I've always sent my monthly allowance back home. I never thought that I also needed to live."
"Until you reminded me that time, I realized I should keep some money for myself." Baizhi said, her voice heavy and tears glistening in her eyes. "I didn't tell you that month. After they found out the money was less, they came directly to the mansion. Fortunately, the Miss was with me at that time. When she saw them coming, she thought they were trouble - makers and drove them away."
"You..." Lianqiao was shocked and uncertain. Seeing the tears in Baizhi's eyes, she was startled. "How could this happen!"
She always thought Baizhi's family treated her well, and she had never heard Baizhi say anything bad about them. She didn't expect that although Baizhi usually seemed carefree, she actually kept all her grievances to herself.
"Sigh." Baizhi just sighed and didn't continue. "Forget it. That's how it is."
There was no use talking about these things. At least she still had the Miss now.
"We have to think of a way." Lianqiao said as she took out a handkerchief and gently wiped away the tears under Baizhi's eyes. Her eyes were as gentle as water.
"We have to warn your family before we leave." Lianqiao's eyes turned cold. "We can't leave such a problem for the master and mistress."
"Okay." Baizhi said, her tears flowing even more. Her voice trembled. "Please help me, Sister Lianqiao."
Lianqiao didn't say a word. She stepped forward and hugged her.
Baizhi couldn't hold back anymore. She hugged Lianqiao and cried loudly. Worried that people outside might hear, she suppressed her sobs, her body trembling. Although she cried violently, she felt relieved.
...
Meng Ruyi saw Lianqiao only after she had finished breakfast.
"Huh?" Seeing that Lianqiao had changed her clothes, Meng Ruyi asked, "Did something happen? Why did you change your clothes?"
"You have sharp eyes, Miss." Lianqiao laughed cheerfully. "I was just cleaning up the water from last night and accidentally spilled it, so I got my clothes dirty. That's why I went back to change before coming here."
"I'm glad you weren't hurt." Meng Ruyi said. Then she seemed to remember something and said to Lianqiao, "No. You should take some money and go buy a few sets of clothes with Baizhi tomorrow."
Lianqiao was delighted but refused. "Miss, the mansion distributes fabric every season."
As the senior maid beside Meng Ruyi, her food, clothing, and daily necessities were of the highest quality.
"No." Meng Ruyi raised her eyebrows and smiled at her. She said seriously and gently, "If you don't go buy them, I'll choose them for you myself."
"...Okay."
Lianqiao followed Meng Ruyi's steps and no longer refused her kindness. "Then I'll thank you for your kindness, Miss."
Thank you, Miss.
Lianqiao felt a warm swelling in her heart. Looking at Meng Ruyi's back, she secretly swore.
In the future, she would never leave the Miss and would follow her to the death.
Meng Ruyi had no idea what had happened. There were so many things going on recently, so she had a lot on her mind.
One moment she was thinking about one thing, and the next moment she had to deal with another.
When she arrived at Zhang Yunyun's uncle's house, the doorman at the gate recognized her. Seeing Meng Ruyi, he greeted her with a smile, "Miss Meng, you're here. Come in quickly. I'll go tell Miss Yunyun right away."
With that, he opened the door and asked a young maid to lead her in. Then he quickly turned around and ran towards Zhang Yunyun's residence.
The maid directly led Meng Ruyi to Zhang Yunyun's place.
It was a small courtyard. As soon as Meng Ruyi entered, she looked around carefully. It wasn't extremely luxurious, but one could tell that a lot of thought had been put into it.
As soon as she entered the door, there were seasonal flowers on display, and the overall decoration was pleasing to the eye.
"Come in quickly."
As soon as Meng Ruyi stepped into the courtyard and before she could see clearly, she saw Zhang Yunyun standing at the door of the room, looking at her in surprise.