Rebirth: Ordinary Life and Living

Zhou Xinyue quietly ran out of the courtyard and found that there was no one guarding the area. She curiously asked Erdan, "What's going on? Didn't the mistress say that we should be under house arrest? Why is there no one outside the courtyard?"

Erdan smiled and said, "Grandma Li came two days ago and quietly dismissed them, asking them to follow the master to a banquet outside the city. The master is very busy all day, either fighting outside or coming back for a banquet. In short, he is very busy."

Goudan nodded and said, "Grandma Li is so nice. By the way, where is Sandan? Let's go see him. I want to take a walk too. Oh, by the way, which road can avoid seeing those people I hate?"

Erdan smiled and said, "Don't worry, they will be under house arrest for three months, so you don't have to worry about meeting them."

Zhou Xinyue happily pulled Erdan and said, "Let's go, take me to see Sandan, hehe, I haven't seen him for a few days, I miss him so much. Let's go, let's go, hehe!"

Erdan said hurriedly, "Slow down, slow down, I still have peach cakes in my hand! Slow down, don't spill them, it's a pity, Dan girl."

Zhou Xinyue had been locked up for a long time, and she was as happy as a bird that had been released. This mansion was actually not very big, but not very small either. The houses were very simple and low-key, and there were very few flowers and plants planted in the yard, basically all of them were vegetables. The servants were weeding and fertilizing in and outside the yard.

As long as there is a little bit of wide space, there are green cabbages everywhere. Only in the narrow space in front of the house occasionally can you see some unknown small white flowers, which are not particularly outstanding.

Zhou Xinyue asked curiously: "Why are all the places in this yard where flowers can be grown filled with crops?"

Erdan replied in a low voice, "The eldest lady is very simple and has always been frugal in running the household. Half of the vegetables used in the meals of the people in the mansion are grown by the people in the mansion themselves, which saves a lot of money for the mansion. But the eldest lady's health is getting worse day by day, and her eye disease is getting worse and worse. She has less and less energy to take care of these things. After all, she is old, so she let the fourth concubine take charge of the household. However, the fourth concubine and the eldest lady have completely different ways of managing the household. Although she retains some of the eldest lady's ideas, in fact, she has already had a different way of doing things in private."

Zhou Xinyue nodded and said, "Looking at their plump and chubby faces, I know their meals must be good. Alas, it's easy to go from frugality to luxury, but it's hard to go from luxury to frugality. The wealth that the lady has accumulated throughout her life is really a bargain for them."

While they were talking, a man in brown clothes carrying a load of firewood accidentally bumped into Zhou Xinyue when they were walking through a corridor in a small courtyard. Zhou Xinyue was almost knocked down. The man was about fifty years old with white hair on his temples. He looked up and saw that it was Zhou Xinyue. His eyes were full of shock. He suddenly whispered, "Why are you here? It's so dirty here. Don't get your dress dirty. Does it hurt? Are you okay?"

Zhou Xinyue didn't recognize him and looked at him with strange eyes. She saw a strand of hair on his left forehead covering the left side of his face, which made him look very mysterious. Erdan was also shocked. This man never talked to them. He usually helped in the kitchen yard. He was busy with firewood, swill and manure in the house. He never talked much to others. Now he suddenly whispered so many words, which shocked Erdan.

The man felt the strange looks from the two of them, and perhaps he also realized that his words were out of line and his behavior was wrong, so he quickly lowered his head, said nothing, fiddled with his messy hair, and hurried away.

Zhou Xinyue watched the man leave and turned around and said, "Does this person know me? He spoke as if he knew me."

Erdan shook his head and said, "I don't know him. He usually helps out in the outer courtyard, doing things like emptying swill and manure. He doesn't like interacting with people and rarely talks. I was also shocked by what he said just now."

They all looked at the direction the man left, with a puzzled look in their eyes, then continued walking away.

After passing through one courtyard after another, I finally arrived at the lower courtyard behind the left court. This courtyard was obviously a little dirtier and messier, with a lot of old and broken furniture, unwanted things in the mansion, and a lot of miscellaneous things piled up. This courtyard was not big, with only one room, the windows were leaking, and the floor was full of debris, so it was barely enough to step on.

Zhou Xinyue felt distressed when she looked at this courtyard. She felt very uncomfortable. Although the courtyard where she lived was not very good, at least everything was good. But this courtyard was so desolate and dirty. Sandan lived here. Zhou Xinyue felt so sad that she couldn't express it in words.

Erdan said, "Wait for me, I'll go call him and see if he's in there."

Zhou Xinyue said hurriedly: "No, I'll go in with you."

After that, Zhou Xinyue and Erdan walked in together. There was no bed inside, nor any tables, chairs, or benches. Only half of the room was filled with abandoned rotten furniture and rotten wood. There was only a small space on the left side of the room. The floor in the corner was covered with thick straw, and on the straw there was a cotton quilt, the kind with five or six holes in it.

Erdan looked around habitually and said, "No, he's not here. He should be helping in the kitchen, or going to get some water."

Zhou Xinyue said with red eyes: "Sandan lives here? Is he cold at night? Is he afraid?"

Erdan covered his mouth and laughed, "How could that be? He's used to it."

Zhou Xinyue said with red eyes: "What about you? Where do you live?"

Erdan smiled and said, "I live here."

Zhou Xinyue followed Erdan into the room. From the side of the abandoned furniture, she leaned sideways and saw a small area in the right back corner through the gap. It was not very large and was also covered with a lot of straw, like a bed. There was a large quilt on the straw and a set of extra servant clothes on top, which should be used by Erdan to change. The small place was very clean. There was also some broken dressing utensils on a broken table, including only half a comb and half a bronze mirror.

Zhou Xinyue couldn't hold back her tears any longer and her nose started to sore.

Erdan was surprised and said, "Goudan, what's wrong with you? Why are you crying?"

Zhou Xinyue cried for a while, wiped her tears and said, "Sister, why do you live in such a place with Sandan? I really feel..."

Zhou Xinyue choked up and stopped talking.

Erdan wiped Zhou Xinyue's tears and said, "Goudan, this place is already great. Really, we are so happy and lucky to have such a place to live. We can have a roof over our heads, a warm quilt, and a quiet life with our own door and yard. We don't have to go hungry and have food to eat, and we can grow up safely and securely. Goudan, all these are thanks to you, don't you know? If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have such a happy life. I also want to thank the lady for taking care of us. We are very grateful and thankful."