Cuihua guessed her intentions the moment her mother raised her hand, so at the last moment, she not only reached out to stop her mother's hand, but also took a step back half a step when her mother was about to make up for the slap with her other hand, and then said: "Mother, I am still a servant of the Xu family, if you injure me and make me unable to do things, it will be a loss of silver." ”

"Mother, if you can afford to pay the silver, then you can fight today, I can't do anything for the third son after the fight, someone in the Xu family must go to you to pay the silver." Cuihua knew her mother's temperament very well, and both sentences poked her mother's heart.

Seeing that her mother was silent, and her hand was slowly lowered, Cuihua glanced at the bolt standing beside her mother, "I am your sister, although I am not the eldest sister, but I am also your sister." With that, Cuihua stopped looking at her mother and the bolt, and walked directly between the two of them, striding away.

After Cuihua walked a distance, she heard the bolt behind her angrily blame and even scold her mother.

After shaking her head in her heart, Cuihua also became worried.

She actually left home when she was six years old to work to support herself, but the previous main family was not good, and it was not until the Xu family came to Xiahe Village nine years ago that she was introduced to the Xu family by a kind lady to work.

In the ninth year of the Xu family, although the work he did before was hard, he was able to eat enough every day.

Not to mention that now she is reused by the third prince and trusted by the third lady, she likes her current life very much, but what should she do when her ten-year contract expires at the beginning of next year?

When Cuihua returned to Shihuan Courtyard with a heavy heart, Xu Jun and Xu Jie had already left, watching Cuihua come back, Xu Shiqiu was just about to ask her why she came back now, but when she looked up, she just happened to find the sorrow between Cuihua's eyebrows.

"You still have something to worry about your temperament?" Xu Shiqiu said this, seeing Cuihua looking up a little embarrassed, he hurriedly continued: "What? What happened to you today that makes you so afraid to speak. ”

"Third son, the servant did encounter something today." Cuihua spoke, and walked a few steps closer to Xu Shiqiu and Dong Shu, "The servant has thought about this matter all the way, and I think I should tell you, but the servant doesn't know how to speak." ”

"It's okay, you can say whatever you want." Before Xu Shiqiu could speak, Dong Shu had already spoken first, and after saying this, she added: "You have been in Shihuan Courtyard for a while, and if you really encounter difficulties now, we will not ignore it." ”

Xu Shiqiu heard the little lady say such words, and nodded along with her.

With Dong Shu's words and Xu Shiqiu's reaction, Cuihua dared to speak.

"The servant went to the town today to inquire about the old Xiucai, and it took a little half a day to finally determine that this old Xiucai met the requirements of the son. was just about to come back, but I met the servant's mother and younger brother at the door of the teahouse. Cuihua said this, sighed before continuing: "My brother saw that I had money to drink tea, so he wanted my mother to ask me for money to buy meat buns for him, but I didn't want to give it, so my mother and brother wanted to rob it." ”

"Huh? How dare they rob it? Xu Shiqiu hadn't seen Cuihua's mother and younger brother, but when he decided to leave Cuihua in Shihuanyuan, he also inquired about Cuihua's family, but he knew that their family was just an ordinary farmer, and they were very poor.

Cuihua nodded first, and then said, "Yes, although the servant didn't let them grab it, they were still slapped by their mother." As she spoke, Cuihua also put her beaten face in front of Dong Shu, and after making sure that Dong Shu saw it clearly, she continued: "Madam, you don't know, I haven't seen my mother for more than three years. I don't like her, she gave birth to three girls in a row to give birth to a son, and our three sisters can't eat enough at home, and we have to do a lot of things every day.

My eldest sister was sold to a cripple by her when she was thirteen years old, and because my brother wanted to eat meat that day, she didn't have the money to buy meat, so she sold her eldest sister. The last time I heard the news of the eldest sister, it seemed that she died of childbirth because she couldn't eat enough, and a broken mat was buried.

I have been working outside to support myself for a long time, and I dared to resist, so I am still alive and well. But the third sister in the family, I know, is a fifteen-year-old girl, who looks no older than her thirteen-year-old brother, and works all day long.

I think that my mother has been raising the third sister, probably planning to sell her when my younger brother gets married, so that I can have money for my younger brother to marry. ”

This is the first time Cuihua has mentioned these things, Dong Shu doesn't know about these things, and Xu Shiqiu didn't inquire so clearly before.

The two of them were just about to speak, but they saw Cuihua and continued: "I said this, in fact, I want to tell the third prince and his wife that my family is really not good, so when my contract time is up next year, can the third prince find a way to keep me." I don't want moonsilver, as long as I can eat enough and have clothes to wear, I will serve my wife for the rest of my life, and I will continue to serve my little son in the future. ”

Cuihua's temperament has always been straight, and she will not hide her thoughts, but after she directly broke her thoughts, it made Xu Shiqiu cry and laugh for a while.

"I understand what you mean, you don't want to go home, because you haven't lived at home since you were a child, and your mother is not good, you don't like home, so you don't want to go back." Xu Shiqiu saw that after he said this, Cuihua nodded vigorously, couldn't help but smile, and continued: "Okay, I will show my mother this matter, and there must be someone around my mother who can handle this matter." ”

As soon as Xu Shiqiu's words fell, Cuihua immediately smiled stupidly, and after laughing, she remembered to watch Xu Shiqiu tell Xu Shiqiu what she inquired about Lao Xiucai.

"The two old Xiucai in the county who meet the requirements of the son are older than the one in the town, and the old Xiucai in the town is said to be very good at writing, but his life is not good, and before every exam, he is either sick or has an accident at home, so he has been delayed until now.

A few years ago, he had been working as a husband in a family in the county, but then the head of the family lost money in business, and he has not found a job since the end of last year, relying on his old wife to sew and dismantle and wash his life.

However, the town's reputation about him is very good, when he was eighteen years old, he was married, and later at the age of twenty, he was admitted to Xiucai, and others saw that his wife was not pregnant, so they wanted to send him a concubine in the name of sending a servant, but he refused.

Now he is forty years old, and when he was thirty years old, his mother had not yet given birth, so he wanted to buy a young girl and come back to have a child, but he was still rejected by this old showman.

Because of this, although Lao Xiucai has not been admitted to the lifting of people for many years, and now he has no job and cannot earn money to support his family, his old wife still does not abandon him and accompanies him to endure hardships to support his family. ”

Xu Shiqiu didn't take it to heart when Cuihua first said it, and when he heard Cuihua mention that his fate was not good, and he had no children for many years but still didn't take a concubine, Xu Shiqiu immediately had a good impression of this old show.

"Xianggong, this old Xiucai and his wife are really good, and they have not left each other for so many years, if we can, we will invite him, okay?" Dong Shu suddenly spoke, looked at Xu Shiqiu after saying this, saw him looking at him in a little surprise, and hurriedly added: "I don't think a person like him will teach bad children." After saying this quickly, Dong Shu's ears couldn't help but be a little red.

"Okay, listen to the lady." Xu Shiqiu understood that the little lady was good to his wife because of this old show, so she would persuade herself, otherwise, according to her temperament, she would never lie to herself about these things.

As soon as Dong Shu saw Xu Shiqiu's expression, she guessed that Xiang Gong was afraid that he had seen through his thoughts, "It's not that you listen to me, just ...... That is, if the conditions of this old talent and the other two talents are similar, I hope that Xianggong can choose this talent. Dong Shu's voice became quieter and quieter, but in the end she insisted on speaking.

"Well, that's what I mean, as long as this talented man's literary style is really good and his temperament is not old-fashioned, the husband will choose him for the sake of not abandoning his old wife for so many years." Xu Shiqiu made his words clear, and Dong Shu and Cuihua, who heard his words, immediately showed a happy smile.

Because of Cuihua's matter, Xu Shiqiu and Dong Shu took Cuihua to the main courtyard again that night and told Mrs. Xu about it.

"If you think that the green flowers are well served, then the mother will pay the money to buy her completely. According to her father's temperament, as long as the money is appropriate, there will definitely be no problem.

It's just that if she buys Cuihua, then she will be a slave of the Xu family, and in the future, she can only be assigned to the male servant of the family, and the children born can only be servants of the Xu family.

In the future, if the heir of Cuihua is smart, he will not be able to participate in the imperial examination for at least three generations. ”

Old Mrs. Xu watched Xu Shiqiu and Dong Shu just finish saying this, and before the two of them could speak, Cuihua, who was standing behind them, took the initiative to grab the words and said, "The servant is willing to be the servant of the Xu family." As she spoke, Cuihua walked out directly from behind Dong Shu and knelt down for Mrs. Xu with a 'poof'.

"Old lady, the servant really likes to stay in the Xu family, likes to serve the third prince and his wife, and the servant will have to serve the little boy in the future, and the servant doesn't want to leave the Xu family." Cuihua spoke, and her eyes turned red.

She is eighteen years old this year, and since she came to the Xu family at the age of nine, she really regards the Xu family as her home.

Looking at Cuihua kneeling in front of her, Mrs. Xu also thought of what she looked like when she saw Cuihua for the first time.

According to her previous selection criteria, she can't look down on someone like Cuihua.

But that day, she saw in the eyes of Xiao Cuihua the perseverance that she would never leave if she didn't succeed, and it was as if she saw herself many years ago.

"Cuihua, you have also been in the Xu family for nine years, you can like the Xu family so much, I am very happy, it proves that I, the hostess, manage this family very well." As Mrs. Xu spoke, she didn't forget to gesture to the servant woman standing behind her, and after the servant woman helped Cuihua up, she continued: "However, this is not only a matter related to your life, but a matter that there is no way to change your nationality within three generations." ”

"Old lady......"