noffsinger Chapter 212 Farewell
Chapter 212 Farewell
"Miss, ma'am?"
Cui'er's voice rang out in the water. Suddenly breathing in the fresh air, the cousin sat up with lingering fear, gasping for breath.
"Miss, what's wrong with you?" Cui'er realized something was wrong, put down the night light and quickly walked to Xiu Jin's bed.
The feeling of surviving a disaster was still in her trembling limbs. The cousin calmed herself down and looked in the direction where the thing in her dream was gradually approaching her.
The dawn light shone on the empty blue bricks, leaving nothing behind.
While I was thinking, Cui'er put her warm hand on my forehead, with a worried look on her face:
"Miss, are you not used to sleeping after coming to your house? Looking at your complexion, I think you have caught a cold. Cui'er, can you go find a doctor to check it out?"
Xiu Jin shook her head: "It was just a nightmare..."
I can’t sleep now. This courtyard is not big, but there are a lot of people interacting with each other.
Although she was just a cousin with a low sense of presence, due to the relationship with the eldest concubine, she still had to get up early to pay her respects to the concubines on all sides.
Watching Cui'er use a small brush to dip the rouge cream in the metal box and gently apply it on her cheeks to cover up her pale complexion, she looked no different from usual.
The neatly dressed cousin first came to the eldest lady's living room. It was daybreak and the night watchmen had not yet gone out to the streets. The maids and servants in the mansion had already started their busy day.
When she entered the hall, Xiu Jin saw the third young master sitting next to the eldest wife.
He seemed to have come waiting for her specially, with an undisguised look of joy on his face. He quickly stood up and patted his sleeves.
Today, Tang Nian'an took off his Western suit and put on a long gown to follow the local customs. His spirit and neat short hair, which was different from other scholars, made him look particularly handsome.
"Cousin, what a coincidence! We meet again."
Tang Nian'an walked forward with a smile.
Having studied abroad, he is open-minded and straightforward in his feelings. Also, having spent some time in the army, he has a very stubborn personality. He has already decided in his heart that Xiu Jin is his destined wife.
After sending his cousin off last night, he went to his mother's room to confess his feelings, hoping to get the approval and blessing of his elders.
The eldest wife is able to manage the entire mansion so well, so her emotional intelligence and skills are naturally not low. The youngest son is a person who cannot hide things, and he had already seen through the third young master's thoughts.
My cousin is the only daughter of my younger sister, and her brother-in-law is a well-known wealthy businessman in Jiangnan. It is not an exaggeration to say that he is extremely wealthy.
The wife's family knew everything about the couple, so the eldest wife was most relieved. In her opinion, the two were a perfect match, with talent and beauty.
The eldest wife, who had been pretending to be hesitant, gave in after the third young master's constant persuasion, admired her youngest son's ecstatic expression, and nodded with satisfaction in her heart.
"Good morning, Third Young Master." The cousin lowered her head, feeling a little reserved in front of her elders.
Hearing this distant address, Tang Nian'an's mouth fell. Before he could say anything, the eldest wife spoke up: "Xiu Jin, why call me Young Master? It's so strange!"
The woman held her cousin's fair hand, patted the back of her hand gently, and smiled kindly: "Just call this naughty monkey brother or Nian'an."
"Yes."
In the blind spot of the eldest wife's vision, Xiu Jin's playful eyes seemed to speak, mocking his nickname of "naughty monkey".
Tang Nian'an smiled foolishly and scratched his head. He didn't know what to do next and just wanted to follow his cousin.
Walking out of the living room, the cousin lifted her skirt and stepped over the threshold, dodging the hand of the third young master who wanted to support her, deliberately ignoring him, covering her mouth with a handkerchief to hide the corners of her mouth, and walking faster and faster.
"Hey! Wait for me, Xiuxiu, be careful not to fall!"
Tang Nian'an unconsciously jogged behind him, not too far away, with his hands stretched out, not knowing what to do. He didn't know whether to let go or not.
"Hmph, you dare to curse me?" Xiu Jin was angry, with red eyes, and glared at him, almost making the Third Young Master lose his soul.
"Besides, who is so familiar with you?"
The cousin did not forget the word "Xiu Xiu". She turned around and threw the handkerchief in her hand at the third young master.
Tang Nian'an had been jogging when Xiu Jin suddenly stopped. He was startled and braked suddenly. Before he could steady himself, a handkerchief fell from the sky and covered his head accurately.
There was a faint scent of plum blossoms. The Third Young Master resisted the urge to take a deep sniff and put the handkerchief in his arms, following behind with a silly smile on his face.
"I'm going to pay my respects to the ladies. Why are you following me?"
"I'll go and pay my respects to Auntie, too."
"..."
With the cousin's tacit consent, the third young master approached cautiously, keeping a safe distance, and used his talkative skills to share his life abroad and in the army.
These interesting things had a fatal attraction to her as an unmarried young lady, and for a moment, the two of them walked in the garden in extraordinary harmony.
In the following time, everyone in the mansion, from the master to the maids and coachmen, knew that the third young master liked the cousin.
With the master's tacit approval and the eldest lady's willingness to help, everyone was optimistic about this tacit relationship.
Specifically, there were a few more efficient maids around the cousin, and exquisite furniture and jewelry hairpins flowed into the storage room of the wing.
However, in contrast to Xiu Jin's energetic spirit, her body was becoming increasingly thin.
The third young master would come to see her almost every day, and he would sneak out of the house to play several times. For the cousin, her original life was boring, she would either read books or embroider.
It was not until the appearance of the Third Young Master that she learned that there was a place called the British Empire on the other side of the ocean.
Every foreign girl can walk on the street, go shopping, go to school and study openly.
Tang Nian'an also bought Xiu Jin a dress with puff sleeves and delicate light pink lace edges, as well as her first pair of pearl white high heels in her life.
When she appeared in front of Tang Nian'an in a gorgeous outfit and with a bright smile, he said that she was more beautiful than all the foreign girls he had ever seen.
She laughed and scolded him for being smooth-talking, but in her heart she felt as if she had tasted nectar.
That day, the two held hands and danced in circles until late at night.
Tang Nian'an then told her dejectedly that he would join the army to participate in the latest Northwest Campaign and would not be back until three months later.
Xiu Jin stammered, but she didn't say anything reluctant. She held Tang Nian'an's hand and whispered, "Cousin, come back safely. I'll be waiting for you here."
"Xiu Xiu, it's okay. Three months later, I'll bring you some Polygonum flower candy. It's crispy and you'll definitely like it."
Tang Nian'an put his hand on the back of Xiu Jin's head, but he couldn't bear to kiss her. He just rested his forehead on the back of his cousin's hand tenderly, and walked away, looking back every few steps.