The First Volume of Qinghe County

  The young book boy, under Ximen Qing's orders, carefully rolled up the three sheets of rice paper with a complex mood and put them in the large box in the study room, along with the treasures of Da Su, Liu Yiqiu, and Wang Jinggong. Looking at his master's excited appearance, it seemed that he really took himself seriously.

  "These few words are not as good-looking as what I wrote." Shu Tong'er thought secretly.

  Of course, this couldn't be said out loud. Shu Tong'er decided to keep the secret in her belly and prepare to share it with Hua Tong'er later: "Master, it's time for dinner."

  "Oh, is it already this time?" Ximen Qing looked out the window at the sun that was almost invisible, and only then did he realize that he had been "studying" in his study for nearly half an afternoon.

  What a pity! Ximen Qing had originally planned to go to the Pavilion of a Hundred Flowers.

  My chrysanthemum girl, you must wait for me!

  The young book boy suddenly clenched his fists, looked up at a 45-degree angle, and let out a long sigh towards the sky, startling his master: "Master, what's wrong with you?"

  Ximen Qing finally came back to his senses and pretended to cough: "Nothing! I was just stretching."

  "The old master is so handsome even when he's holding his waist, it makes the younger ones envy him!" The young book boy flattered excessively, although he was young in age, but his skills were very deep.

  Shut up, I'm not gay! And you're only 12 or 13 years old, tsk tsk tsk!

  What is wrong with Laozi?

  Ximen Qing's eyes swept back and forth over the young face of Shu Tong'er, causing Shu Tong'er to become "greatly flustered in her heart" and unable to help but think: "Is Master going to take me now?"

  Luckily Ximen Qing didn't continue, but instead asked thoughtfully: "Has your wife had dinner?"

  The young servant boy was stared at by Ximen Qing and didn't know what to do with his hands and feet, stuttering in response: "Madam... is eating in her own room."

  "Hmm." Ximen Qing nodded: "Got it."

  Wu Yue's wife indeed had a guilty conscience and didn't even dare eat at the same table as him.

  In the hall, a large table had already been set up, with over a dozen plates piled high. Ximen Qing took a rough look and could basically tell what ingredients were used in each dish, only then did he sit down with ease.

  Yes, two maids serving dishes, and one specifically responsible for picking food for herself, with three to five people standing by, ready to help at any time. This setup is almost as grand as an emperor's meal.

  Why eat alone?

  Ximen Qing stuffed a piece of meat into his mouth and only then remembered that Wu Yueniang hadn't come, not to mention the fact that one of his concubines, named Zhuo Dian'er, had passed away just last month. No wonder no one was accompanying him for dinner.

  "Hmm, you few... come and accompany old master to dinner!" Ximen Qing's mouth was full of food, waving his iron chopsticks, pointing randomly: "Eating alone is still not interesting."

  One person eats, eight people watch, this kind of strange footwork, Ximen Qing is quite unimpressed.

  Those maids looked at me, I looked at them, each one trembling with fear, who dared to come forward? The maid who was preparing to serve the dishes behind also stopped in her tracks and didn't dare to come forward.

  Ximen Qing used to be moody at home, one minute he was fine eating dinner, the next minute he would strip the maid of her clothes, kneel on the ground and whip her, listening to her cries while having his meal!

  But what he didn't know was that the master in front of him had already changed.

  Ximen Qing furrowed his brow and swallowed what was in his mouth: "If you don't bring one more, I'll just point randomly!"

  As soon as the words came out, several maids quickly communicated with each other through eye contact and took a step back in unison, highlighting the maid who was about to serve the dishes. One of the maids even stretched out her hand and gave that maid a push, pushing her to the side of the table.

  "Oh, someone's here, bring a stool." Ximen Qing saw the little maid and said in a strange tone, "Sit down, sit down, sit down," as if calling out to a child watching goldfish.

  The maids took action without a word, one taking the dish from the maid's hand and placing it on the table, another rolling up her sleeves to bring over an embroidered stool, while another pressed the maid down onto the stool and handed her a bowl and chopsticks.

  That maid was like a toad startled by thunder, shrinking into a ball on the embroidered stool, how could she utter a word?

  Why did all the other maids immediately unite and hand her over as soon as she came in? They were also weak and vulnerable at Ximen's residence, subject to the whims of others.

  Ximen Qing looked at her with great curiosity, put down his chopsticks and asked in a soft voice: "What's your name? How old are you?"

  Because from memory, Ximen Qing really couldn't recall the name of this maidservant, perhaps it was because there were too many maidservants in the mansion and he hadn't paid attention to her before.

  "It's a good thing she came over, otherwise one of us girls would have gotten a whipping today." A maid whispered to another maid behind her.

  "It's not possible, anyway she is also a person without a backing, who else can be used?" The maid replied in a very low voice.

  Although these two sentences were spoken in a very low voice, Xi Menqing still heard them clearly and couldn't help but feel a lot of doubt in his heart.

  "In response to the old master's words, I'm called Xue Er..." The maid neither sat nor stood, and could only lower her head to answer, with a chattering of teeth in her voice, clearly frightened: "I'm sixteen this year."

  Ximen Qing secretly shook his head, this little girl looks like she's not even sixteen years old, her figure is clearly that of a thirteen or fourteen year old, probably because she didn't eat well during puberty, it's really pitiful. On the other hand, looking at the little girl who pushed earlier, she actually has a plump and chubby appearance.

  At the same time, Ximen Qing felt that his whole body was not feeling right, because in Ximen Qing's original memory, there were never the two words "pity", and suddenly he lost his appetite, and the idea of having someone accompany him to eat had long since disappeared.

  "Go down." Ximen Qing overcame his physical discomfort and forced a smile.

  Xue Er was at a loss for what to do, and the fat maid came forward, picking up Xue Er like a small dog from the embroidered stool: "The master is calling you, are you deaf or something?"

  Xue'er suddenly came to her senses and knocked her head against Ximen Qing: "Master, I'll go down first, the stove is still waiting for me to burn fire."

  She was originally a little maid who did chores and cooked meals...

  Ximen Qing waved his hand and Snowy, feeling relieved, ran out of the hall in a flash. The fat maid hummed a sound from her nose and then retreated to one side.

  Ximen Qing was extremely dissatisfied with the actions of this fat maid. After searching his memory for a while, he finally remembered that this fat maid was brought over by Wu Yuefang when she married into the family and seemed to be called Dongmei. This attitude is clearly arrogant.

  The book says that this kind of maid will eventually be used by the old master, but it seems that even Ximen Qing himself didn't take a liking to such goods.

  What is Wu Yue's daughter hiding from herself? The Winter Plum in front of her is a good breakthrough.

  Ximen Qing looked at Dongmei with a seemingly amused but actually annoyed expression, only to see that this chubby maid seemed to have misunderstood his intention. She twisted and turned for a while, almost making Ximen Qing feel nauseous. He hastily took two mouthfuls of rice to calm himself down, considering the meal finished.

  The dishes were all taken away, and a pot of hot fragrant tea was brought up. Ximen Qing drove all the maidservants out, and he himself leisurely drank a mouthful of tea, looking at the sky outside which had almost turned dark, suddenly missing his original life.

  No LOL, CF, at least come up with a few episodes of American drama or something as spiritual food.

  Ximen Qing only then realized what it means to rise with the sun and rest with the sunset. As night was falling, there were no more entertainment activities, so going to bed early was the normal thing to do.

  What is meant by communication basically relying on shouting, public security basically relying on dogs, heating basically relying on shaking, and entertainment basically relying on...

  Pfft pfft pfft, I'm a local tyrant, apart from communication which is basically yelling, the back is still different from those losers.

  Ximen Qing shook his head and suddenly discovered a serious problem: where would he sleep tonight.

  The study was simple, with only a few books and paintings for company, and his own tastes were not yet so refined.

  Wu Yue-niang, good bed, bad person. Must I personally deliver myself to resolve that sex-starved woman's grievances? Inadvisable.

  The Hundred Flowers Pavilion, Chrysanthemum Girl? It's probably already open by now, never mind.

  It seems like there's only one place suitable for myself to go.

  Ximen Qing thought for a moment, stood up and walked out of the main hall, heading towards the backyard.

  There is a small building in the corner of the backyard, where Zhuo Di'er lives. There's no one else, but the bed is good, at least you can sleep soundly.

  As for the talk of ghosts and gods, Ximen Qing naturally didn't take it to heart. People from his era had long since stopped revering ghosts and gods, instead worshipping money and power.

  The two maids at the gate cleverly took lanterns to light up their master, and saw Ximen Qing going towards the small building where Zhuo Dian'er used to live. They were all somewhat surprised, but it was not good to ask anything.

  Arriving at the small building, Ximen Qing saw a very faint light inside and casually asked: "Is there anyone else living in this small building?"

  "In addition to Master Lao's words, there is also a maid living inside who says she wants to keep vigil for her master." A maid replied.

  Ximen Qing nodded: "Today I'll stay here, you all go back."

  The two maids looked at each other in dismay, thinking that their master was missing his deceased wife, so they just kowtowed and left.

  Ximen Qing pushed open the door under the moonlight, and inside there was only a small lamp lit, with a flame no bigger than a soybean, no wonder it was so dim.

  "Ah!" The maid must have heard him coming and hastily trimmed the wick, then came over to kowtow to Ximen Qing: "Master, why did you come here today?"

  The small body was prostrate on the ground, and a familiar voice seemed to carry a hint of joy. Ximen Qing couldn't help but sigh and say: "I thought it was someone else, but it's actually you. Get up and talk."

  Xue Er got up with a start: "Master, since mother passed away, no one has come to this place, and it's been neglected. Even the offerings have stopped."

  "So you're the personal maid of Lao Er." Ximen Qing seemed to have dug up something from a corner of his memory: "I want to find a safe place to sleep, I'll stay here tonight."

  Xue Er became flustered: "Master, these bed sheets haven't been changed yet, and the room hasn't been scented..."

  "It doesn't matter." Ximen Qing looked at Snow gently, this was a loyal maid.

  Xue'er bit her lower lip, as if she had made some kind of decision, and hastily ran to the large bed inside: "Master, let me warm your bed for you."

  Ximen Qing had not yet reacted, when Yuxiang had already stripped off her clothes. In the dim light, a small white body slipped into the bed, only revealing her head: "Only begging master to have mercy..."

  This is what they call "being kept", will you warm the bed!!!!!