Fragrant willow catkins

It was getting dark. Ningxu returned to the dormitory after dinner. She had been lying on the bed for a while when she heard a knock on the door. She thought it was Zhu'er who came back so she ignored it. But after a while, the person outside did not come in and continued to knock on the door. Ningxu then realized that someone was looking for her.

But I didn't expect that when I opened the door, the second wife was standing outside.

"Second Madam... why are you here?" The people living here are servants, and the masters are not supposed to come here.

The second lady smiled kindly, "Can I come in?"

"Ah? Oh! Of course!" Ningxu opened the door and stepped aside. The second wife walked in and Ningxu closed the door.

After the second lady came in, she looked around their room and said, "Rumeng, are you a local?" The second lady looked around for a while, then walked to the table and sat down.

Ningxu came to her and stood in front of her, "Replying to the Second Madam, no."

"Come, sit down." The Second Madam took Ningxu's hand and led her to sit on the chair in front of her. "Where are you from?"

Ningxu: “This…” Ningxu’s eyes were wandering. She only knew the geographical location of the capital, so she couldn’t make it up.

After thinking it over, Ningxu decided to tell a story with a mixture of truth and lies, "Madam, I broke my head some time ago and I can't remember some things. It was a shop owner on Zhengnan Street who saved me, so I was able to settle down in the capital."

Second Madam: "Then this scar...was also left from that time?" Second Madam raised her hand and touched the scar on Ningxu's left cheek. Her face was confused, as if she recalled some bad memories.

Ningxu nodded.

Second Madam: "Is the name Ru Meng your real name?"

Ningxu: "It should be... No way... This name was given by a noble person." Ningxu was not good at lying. She did have the skill of telling lies, but when someone who wanted to get close to her asked her in a straight face, she felt embarrassed to lie.

Second Lady: "You look like someone."

Ning Xu looked at the Second Madam in confusion. Who did she look like? How could she make the Second Madam so emotional?

Second Madam: “You look a lot like me when I was young, a lot... really... really..." The Second Madam became more and more excited as she spoke. Ningxu could clearly feel the Second Madam’s hand trembling uncontrollably as it stroked her face.

Ningxu: "Madam, what's wrong with you?..."

The second lady took a breath, as if she noticed that she had lost control, she withdrew her hand and forced a smile. "Rumeng, are you willing to come to my courtyard?"

Ning Xu: “Can I?” If I went there, Mo Xi would make a huge fuss.

The Second Madam: "Of course, I see that you have a cheerful personality and are not afraid of anything, so I want you to accompany Mo Tang. Tang'er is a little introverted, so children of the same age don't like to play with him. If you go, you will have a companion."

Ningxu: "Then the Fifth Miss..."

Upon hearing this, Madam Mo Xi's face turned a little unhappy, "Don't worry about her, she is in her father's yard, not in mine."

Huh? The couple still live in two separate courtyards?

Ningxu: "Do I need to go to the kitchen later?"

Second Madam: "No, of course if you want to find a good partner you can go to the kitchen. If you go to my courtyard, you only need to accompany Tang'er every day."

Ning Xu: "Don't worry, Madam! I promise I can complete the task!"

Just like that, Ningxu successfully became Young Master Mo Tang's personal...maid? No, a servant is more appropriate.

The Second Lady chatted with her about some family matters. When Zhu'er returned to her room, she was a little surprised to see the Second Lady. Seeing Zhu'er coming back, the Second Lady said she would not disturb them and went back to her own yard. Zhu'er followed behind Ningxu and asked curiously.

On the second day, the news that Ningxu was assigned to the Second Madam's courtyard reached the kitchen. Ningxu got up early and went to the kitchen. Everyone was a little surprised to see her and thought she would go directly to the Second Madam's courtyard.

"Rumeng! Go to the Second Madam's Courtyard and work hard! Try to get promoted to the next level!"

"Rumeng girl, you are the one who has leveled up the fastest that I have ever seen. You are worthy of being me!"

"It's good to go. It's not good for girls' skin to be in this fume-filled place all day."

Everyone was talking one by one, and Ningxu listened carefully with a smile, "Thank you everyone! I will find time to come and play with you, don't forget me!"

Although the housekeeper was also happy for Ningxu, she still pulled Ningxu to the wall and whispered, "Rumeng, the Second Madam's courtyard is not like the kitchen, so you must be careful in everything. The Second Madam is a princess of the dynasty, and if you do something wrong there, it will not be the same as here. I can protect you here, but no one can protect you with the Second Madam."

Ningxu: "Aunt, I know. You know I'm so smart. I won't let myself suffer any loss."

The steward said: "That's good. You must be careful, ah."

Ningxu: “I know!”

Ningxu hurriedly greeted them and went to the Second Madam's courtyard. The Second Madam was indeed a royal relative. There was a large lake in front of her courtyard. The decoration in the courtyard was also different from other places in the palace. It was as if the royal palace had been moved out.

A maid greeted Ningxu at the door. Ningxu followed her in and suddenly heard a child crying. The maid took her and ran in that direction and happened to run into the second lady.

"Ru Meng, follow me in."

The Second Madam and Ningxu opened the door and saw Mo Tang sitting on the bed crying, as if he had just woken up. "Mother!" Mo Tang stretched out his two little hands, wanting the Second Madam to hold him.

The second lady sat down beside the bed and held him in her arms, and Mo Tang stopped crying.

Second Madam: "Ah, in order to cultivate Tang'er's independence, I have been sleeping separately from him since I returned to the mansion. Tang'er cries every morning when he wakes up, but he gets better after a while. Tang'er is too introverted, and many doctors have been to see him but none of them can find out what's wrong with him. But the Queen's sister-in-law said it's called autism."

Ningxu frowned slightly when she heard such a modern term. The second wife's sister-in-law, the second wife is a princess, the emperor's brother is the late emperor, so the sister-in-law is the empress dowager? The empress dowager knows about autism, and she is the previous goddess. Could it be that the empress dowager also came from a different time?

Ningxu: "Second Madam, the sister-in-law you are talking about? Is it... the Queen Mother?"

"Yes." The second lady nodded and looked at Ningxu.

Hearing Ningxu's voice, Mo Tang realized that there was another person in the room, so he raised his head stealthily in the second lady's arms and looked at Ningxu.

With just one glance, Mo Tang instantly sat up from the Second Madam's arms, jumped off the bed, ran barefoot to Ningxu, and hugged Ningxu tightly. "Sister Ningxu, you finally came to see Tang'er, Tang'er missed you so much!"

Ning Xu looked at the young master in front of her at a loss. She had never mentioned her real name to anyone. How did this child know it? Could he have traveled through time as well? That was not right. She didn't know such a young child in modern times.

"Young Master, how do you know that my name is Ningxu?