"but……"
Qin Lian hesitated for a moment, looking at the people still busy in the kitchen, hesitating to speak.
The aunt smiled and said, "Girl, the old lady also knows that the banquet is about to be held. I just went over to chat with you for a few words without wasting time."
"Okay then, Auntie Lao will lead the way."
Having said this, Qin Lian also knew that she had no reason to shirk.
She made an excuse with Shi Feng, saying that she wanted to go out, and followed her aunt to a quiet courtyard in the backyard of Liu Mansion.
This courtyard is different from other courtyards. You can smell the smell of sandalwood as soon as you walk in. Qin Lian immediately sees the Buddhist hall in the middle of the courtyard, and cigarette smoke is floating from there from time to time.
"Girl, please come this way."
Auntie led her in the front.
Qin Lian followed her into the Buddhist hall. When she opened the door, she saw an old lady with silver hair kneeling there piously to pray to the Buddha.
Hearing the sound of the door opening, the old lady kowtowed to the Buddha statue slowly and unhurriedly.
After she finished kowtow, her aunt walked over and helped her up, whispering, "Old madam, Miss Qin is here."
"good."
The old lady put on the prayer beads in her hand and looked back at Qin Lian with a smile on her kind face, "Girl, come here and let me have a look."
"..."
Qin Lian hesitated in her heart, but seeing the old lady's kind expression, she still walked forward.
"Okay, okay, she's a good girl." The old lady held her hand and the smile on her face became even brighter.
She took Qin Lian to sit next to her and asked her aunt to prepare hot tea and cakes.
Qin Lian's sharp eyes discovered that the cake on the table was their Cyclamen's signature chestnut cake.
"These pastries are so delicious. I didn't like these sweets in the past, but your pastries are the only one that I never get tired of eating."
"As long as the old lady likes it."
Qin Lian was always vigilant, but to her surprise, the old lady didn't talk to her about anything else and kept chatting the whole time.
Seeing that it was getting late, the old lady let her go back, and stuffed her with a handful of lotus seed candies before leaving.
Qin Lian was confused for a while and didn't know what the old lady of the Liu family meant.
"Girl, look at that pear tree."
Just after coming out of the Buddhist hall, the aunt suddenly pointed to a bare tree in the yard and said, "This tree was planted by the old lady when the third young master was one year old. At that time, the third young master was crying all day long, but the amazing thing is, The third young master will calm down as long as he drinks pear juice."
"But the doctor said that children should not drink too much pear juice, so the old lady planted a pear tree with her own hands, and sent the pears produced to the third young master every year. In the blink of an eye, it has been so many years."
Qin Lian looked curiously.
Seeing that winter was approaching, the fruit trees in the yard had already lost all their leaves, and there was nothing visible on the bare branches. She didn't know why her aunt told her this.
The aunt was a smart person, and saw her doubts in her eyes, and her smile deepened, "Girl, there is no need to worry, the old lady loves the third young master the most. The girl is the third young master's friend, and naturally she is also the old lady's guest."
"It's getting late, and the girl has something to do. I'll take you back first." The aunt said, "Girl, don't worry about other things. With the old lady here, everything will be solved."
"Thank you, Auntie."
Qin Lian thanked her, but she didn't think so in her heart.
If the old lady wanted to help her, she would have taken action long ago, and there was no need to wait until now. It was just that she felt that Madam Liu had made the matter too big, and the old lady had to take action.
Qin Lian lowered her eyes and felt that it was really tiring to deal with Liu Fu here. No one inside seemed to be sincere.
Thinking like this, she suddenly remembered that last night, while she was sleeping hazily, she saw a person sitting by the bed, looking at her with a worried face. That person seemed to be Liu Yuan.
Speaking of which, Liu Yuan did help her several times, and the relationship between him and Mrs. Liu seemed not to be good...
This man's life in the Liu Mansion may not have been as good as the outside world said.
Qin Lian's eyes darkened and she followed her aunt back to the kitchen without speaking.
It was already approaching noon. Guests coming to the Liu Mansion for the banquet had already arrived one after another, and the kitchen began to get busy.
Qin Lian was only responsible for helping out. She was busy all afternoon and didn't even have time to take a sip of water.
When the banquet officially started, she found a chance to rest. She sat outside the kitchen and ate the noodles that had mostly cooled down. Looking up, she could vaguely see the excitement of the banquet hall from here.
The people who came to attend the Liu family’s winter banquet today were all celebrities and distinguished guests. I heard that even Mr. Xiao was invited. This is also the first time the Liu family has hosted Mr. Xiao after Mr. Xiao took office. All the invitations sent to the Yamen were Returned.
Maybe Mr. Xiao doesn't want to make the relationship with the Liu family too rigid.
Qin Lian drank the noodle soup and was about to go back to the kitchen to continue working. But at this moment, a little maid came over and said directly, "Are you from the kitchen? Come here and help me get some." Side dishes.”
"good."
Qin Lian agreed without much thought after meeting the people of the Liu family. She took the people to the kitchen, picked some side dishes and followed her there.
It was dusk now and the weather was getting cold again.
Because of the banquet, many lanterns were hung in the corridor, and the dim candlelight shone on the corridor.
Qin Lian followed the maid all the way to the courtyard. From a distance, she saw several beautifully dressed girls sitting in the pavilion talking and laughing, including Song Xiao.
Seeing Song Xiao, Qin Lian stopped walking and thought to herself that something was wrong!
She has not forgotten this Song Xiao. This person wants to make things difficult for her because of Liu Yuan's relationship. Meeting her at this time will definitely not do anything good.
"Come here."
The maid who was walking in front noticed something was wrong with her and turned around to ask.
There was no one else around, and Qin Lian couldn't make it even if she wanted to go back at this time.
"fine."
She calmed down her emotions, followed the maid to the pavilion, and put all the side dishes on it.
During this period, many appraising eyes fell on her, which made her feel very unnatural.
Qin Lian lowered her eyes, and she could more or less guess what Song Xiao said to these young ladies from aristocratic families, causing these people to treat her like a monkey.
After putting all the side dishes one by one, Qin Lian wanted to go back.
"Wait a minute."
One of the ladies from the aristocratic family suddenly spoke, with a joking look in her eyes, "I've long heard that Cyclamen's food and wine are excellent, but I don't want to go to that kind of place to eat on weekdays. I've never been there. Why did I see Cyclamen today?" The food and wine here seem not to be as good as those at street stalls.”
"how do I say this?"
Others asked curiously.
"Look, there's a hair here." She pointed, and there was indeed an inconspicuous hair on one of the side dishes.
