But Mrs. Song was really kind to Liu Qingyun.
Fifty taels of silver, that's the annual income of the servants in the mansion.
She really regarded Liu Qingyun as the lady of the Song Dynasty.
However, Liu Qingyun has not been home for several years. Lu Ling remembered that Liu Qingyun's home was not a good place.
She would never go back unless something happened.
Lu Ling asked: "What happened at Miss Cousin's house?"
Bai Zhi shook her head and said, "Nothing happened. My cousin said she was homesick and wanted to go back for a visit."
homesick? I heard that her father beats her every day. Does she want to go back and get beaten?
Seeing that Bai Zhi's expression remained unchanged, Lu Ling guessed that Liu Qingyun had some plans but did not tell her.
Nodding, Lu Ling said: "Okay, I will ask Uncle Liu to prepare a car to take my cousin back tomorrow."
Uncle Liu was the groom of the Song family who prepared a carriage for Lu Ling to go out.
He is the new person after Lu Ling took charge of the family.
Early the next morning, Liu Qingyun went to say goodbye to Mrs. Song.
Mrs. Song took Liu Qingyun's hand and said, "If your father beats you after you go back, just come back and tell me to see if I don't show him any favors."
Liu Qingyun smiled and said: "Aunt, after all, I haven't been back for three years. I guess my father won't be such a bastard."
But when she said this, she had no idea in her heart.
Mrs. Song nodded and said, "Bring some good things to your brother. It won't be easy for him to follow your father alone. It's just that I, as an aunt, can't bring him a man as well."
Liu Qingyun nodded, went to say goodbye to Song Wenzhou again, and then went out in the carriage driven by Uncle Liu.
The carriage had just taken a few steps when it suddenly heard a dog barking outside.
Liu Qingyun couldn't help but lift the car curtain and look out, only to see a very familiar face - Mrs. Zhang who used to work as a cook in the Song family, but was fired by Master Song because she offended Lu Ling.
What she was wearing at this time was not as good as what she had worn in the Song Mansion.
She was sitting in her small yard, holding a handful of melon seeds in her hand and eating them.
There was a dog tied with an iron chain next to her. The dog looked very ferocious. It was baring its teeth and barking at Mrs. Zhang, wanting to rush over and bite her.
Mrs. Zhang snorted beside her and cursed angrily: "Beast, I've raised you for so many days and I still can't support you. If you grin at me again, I'll stew you tomorrow!"
Liu Qingyun thought that since Mrs. Zhang was fired because of Lu Ling, she must have hated Lu Ling in her heart, so she was also his friend.
So she said to Uncle Liu: "Stop the car."
The carriage stopped and she got off the carriage. Bai Zhi asked: "Miss Cousin, what are you doing?"
Liu Qingyun took out five taels of broken silver from her purse and said, "Sister-in-law Zhang has stayed in the Song family for many years, and I eat more of her cooking. You can give this money to her for me."
Bai Zhi didn't know what Liu Qingyun wanted, but she didn't ask any more questions and gave the silver to Mrs. Zhang.
Sister-in-law Zhang took the money and said happily: "Okay, my cousin is still generous. She is really the kind of girl from a wealthy family. She is not like Lu Ling, who has a small belly."
Liu Qingyun was very happy to be praised, and she also praised her sister-in-law's cooking for being delicious.
The two chatted for a while, and then Liu Qingyun got on the carriage again and asked Uncle Liu to take her to buy some pastries and other things to take back.
Her home was originally in a small village on the outskirts of Weicheng, half a day's drive from Weicheng. She arrived home in the evening.
As soon as I got off the carriage, I saw a small, dilapidated yard.
Liu Qingyun's eyes trembled slightly, and an inexplicable sadness surged in her heart.
This yard was once her home and her safe haven. Since her mother's death, it has become dilapidated.
The yard was overgrown with weeds, the stone brick floor was broken, and several wooden boards were crookedly pieced together, barely supporting a rickety door.
The small flower bed that was originally filled with flowers now only has a few wild grasses swaying gently in the breeze.
The lanterns that once hung under the eaves have long since disappeared, leaving only a few dead branches whining in the wind.
As soon as Liu Qingyun stepped into the courtyard, she was involuntarily gripped by a sense of fear.
When the maid Bai Zhi saw such a dilapidated little courtyard, she couldn't help but look at Liu Qingyun with a subtle look.
Liu Qingyun stopped walking when she reached the yard, as if there was a ball of glue stuck to the soles of her feet, unable to move forward.
She stood at the door and shouted into the dilapidated door: "Liu Yi!"
Liu Yi is her brother.
I called several times, but no one answered.
Bai Zhi said: "Miss Cousin, I think there is no one at home."
As soon as he finished speaking, suddenly, the shaky door was pushed open from the inside, and then a skinny boy of fourteen or fifteen years old with a bruised nose and face walked out.
Liu Yi's face was bruised and bruised, with blood stains hanging from the corners of his mouth. His clothes were in tatters, with a lot of dirt and sweat stains on them.
Behind his barely-covering clothes, the scars on his arms and back were exposed. Some looked like they had been beaten with a stick, and some looked like they had been pinched.
When Liu Yi saw Liu Qingyun, tears flowed down his face and he choked with sobs: "Sister, you...are back..."
Liu Qingyun looked frightened and distressed. She quickly stepped forward and took Liu Yi's hand, asking distressedly: "Why are you like this? Was he the one who hit you again? Where are the others?"
When Liu Yi saw his sister, he was like a child who had been abused seeing his mother whom he had not seen for many years. He choked up uncontrollably and threw himself on Liu Qingyun and kept crying. There was blame in his tone, but more of joy and thankfulness: "Sister , you finally came back to see me, in the three years since you left, I almost couldn’t see you!”
Liu Qingyun hugged her skinny brother, gently stroked his back, and blamed herself: "It's my sister's fault, I shouldn't have left you to go to your aunt's house alone."
Liu Yi cried and asked: "Sister, are you here to pick me up and go to your aunt's house with you?"
"I..." Liu Qingyun choked for a moment.
Liu Yi pulled away from Liu Qingyun and looked directly at her, his eyes full of hope: "Sister, take me to my aunt's house. I don't want to stay at home anymore. Dad beats me every day. I won't starve to death." I'm going to be beaten to death..."
As he cried, he raised the back of his bruised hand to wipe his tears.
Liu Qingyun quickly took out her handkerchief and carefully wiped the tears on his cheeks.
Seeing Liu Yi's appearance, Uncle Liu and Bai Zhi couldn't help but feel the tips of their noses sore, and they both turned their backs and walked out of the small courtyard.
"Sister? Are you here to pick me up?" Liu Yi's eyes flashed with a small spark of hope.
"I..." Liu Qingyun looked embarrassed, "I'm not here to pick you up..."
When Liu Yi heard this, the fire in his eyes extinguished little by little, and the tears stopped falling.
Seeing Liu Yi's extremely disappointed look, Liu Qingyun couldn't help but feel distressed. She quickly took out a purse from her body, stuffed it into Liu Yi's hand, and whispered:
"This is twenty taels of silver. Take it and hide it. Don't let him find it, otherwise he will use it to buy wine again. Whenever you are hungry, use this silver to buy some food. Remember , come back after eating, and don’t let him see you.”
Liu Yi's dull eyes lit up again. He quickly opened his purse and took a look, and said in surprise: "Sister, this is the first time I've seen so much money!"
As he spoke, he stuffed his purse into the patched coarse cloth and held the collar tightly with his hands, as if he was afraid of being snatched away.
Liu Qingyun added: "I also bought you some food, which we didn't eat when we were children, and two sets of winter clothes for you to wear."
After finishing speaking, Uncle Liu had already walked to the two of them carrying some food and clothing, smiled at Liu Yi and said, "Master Biao, where do you put them?"
Liu Yi looked at the big bag of food with bright eyes and said quickly: "Give it to me, give it to me!"
As he spoke, he went to take a large bag of snacks from Uncle Liu's hand, eagerly opened a bag of rice cakes, grabbed two pieces and stuffed them into his mouth.
