Chapter 30 You look like an old friend of mine

Lu Ji liked the snacks she made the most. She made a lot of them today and kept one plate for Lu Ji. She put the rest into a snack box, which Qin Xiaoning planned to give to the zither player in the mansion.

Things in the East Mansion might be a bit bumpy during this period, so she doesn't plan to go to the private school for the time being. She will first return the zither that the zither player lent her. Although she has only been in the private school for a few days, the female zither player has always been kind to her. She returned the zither and gave her some snacks to show her gratitude.

Qin Xiaoning wiped the piano carefully with a towel, picked up the snack box, and was about to go out when she was stopped by Song Zhi.

The little maid took the zither from her arms, and then picked up the snack box, saying, "I'll help you with these tasks."

Qin Xiaoning wondered: "Why are you suddenly so nice to me?"

Songzhi joked, "You are the prince's favorite concubine now, so I have to curry favor with you."

Seeing that she was struggling to hold two things, Qin Xiaoning took the snack box from her again and joked, "I am a concubine with no power or influence. At most, I can whisper in the master's ear. You are not worthy of currying favor with me."

"Don't you know that the most powerful wind in the world is the pillow wind?"

Songzhi joked, then leaned close to Qin Xiaoning's ear and said, "Aunt Amber came to find me this morning and told me to follow you from now on."

Qin Xiaoning was confused: "What do you mean?"

Songzhi glared at her and said, "Just let me be your personal maid. Maybe it's the prince's intention. Aunt Amber also said that the salary will be one hundred coins higher than before." As she said that, the little maid stuck out her tongue at Qin Xiaoning and said, "Anyway, for the sake of money, I happily agreed."

Qin Xiaoning raised her hand and poked her head: "Is this all you have? Huh, our friendship is not worth that one hundred coins?"

Songzhi retorted with a grin, "What does friendship have to do with money?"

Qin Xiaoning ignored her and walked out the door. Song Zhi quickened his pace to catch up with her and said seriously, "A Ning, I will follow you from now on."

The two chatted and laughed all the way out of Qingsong Garden, and arrived at the zither player's residence after taking a winding path.

The zither player's surname was Su and her given name was Wan. When she was a young girl, she worked as a musician in the Shangyin Bureau of the palace. It was said that she was later awarded to the lord of a wealthy family by a nobleman. As if she had suffered some harm, she never remarried after leaving the wealthy family. She has been single ever since then and specializes in teaching the art of zither to the noble ladies in wealthy families.

Female teachers were hard to find these days, and any wealthy family would have to spend a huge sum of money to hire one, so although Ms. Su was alone, she lived a rich and comfortable life.

The mansion treated the zither player with courtesy by providing him with an independent courtyard to live in. Although it was not large, it was elegant and tidy, with two main rooms made of green bricks and brown tiles. The courtyard was filled with the pleasant fragrance of flowers, and there were several lush banana trees planted under the corridor.

Seeing a beautiful lady like a fairy coming, the maid at the door hurried out to greet her. She bowed slightly to Qin Xiaoning, with a hint of doubt on her face, and asked tentatively, "What's your name, young lady? Are you looking for Madam Su?"

The mansion is huge, and there are at least several hundred maids and servants in it. Qin Xiaoning has always been low-key, so it is normal that some people don't recognize her.

Qin Xiaoning smiled faintly at the little maid and replied, "I am not a lady in the mansion, but someone close to the prince. My surname is Qin. Just go in and report to Mr. Su, and say that Miss Qin is here to look for her."

It turned out that she was the prince's concubine.

The woman's words and actions were all like those of a noble lady. The maidservant had misunderstood her and hurriedly apologized to Qin Xiaoning. Seeing that she was kind, she could not help but subconsciously look at Qin Xiaoning again, secretly marveling at her beauty. She did not dare to delay and replied, "Miss Qin, please wait a moment." Then she hurried in to report.

Just after the little maid went in for a while, she saw Miss Su coming out of the room. Although she was nearly forty years old, perhaps because she was immersed in the sound of the piano all day long, Miss Su had fair skin, beautiful looks, graceful figure, and outstanding temperament. She looked like a girl in her early twenties, and there was not a single bit of the vulgarity of a middle-aged woman on her body.

"Aning, come in quickly." Ms. Su stood in the corridor with a gentle smile on her beautiful face, and waved warmly at Qin Xiaoning.

Qin Xiaoning lifted her skirt and slowly walked up the stairs, saying, "I'm here to return the piano."

Su Nu led Qin Xiaoning into the house and said with a smile, "Why are you in such a hurry? I don't have any other good things here, but I have a lot of these zithers. Didn't I tell you that if you find them useful, I will give them to you." It was the first time that Qin Xiaoning came to Su Nu's place. The house was decorated very elegantly. The furniture was all made of yellow pear wood, exuding a faint wood fragrance. There was a large desk with the four treasures of the study on it, all of which were top-grade. On the zither stand in front of the window, there were more than ten zithers of different sizes.

Qin Xiaoning sat down on the rose chair and replied with a smile: "I appreciate Mr. Su's kindness to me, but your piano is too expensive. It would be a waste for a beginner like me to use such a good piano. A few days ago, I asked the steward in the courtyard to help me buy a piano from outside. I will return this one to you first."

As he spoke, he looked around Ms. Su's room and praised, "Mr. Su's room is decorated so elegantly, like the residence of a fairy from the otherworldly world."

Su raised her hand and poured a cup of fragrant tea for Qin Xiaoning, and replied with a smile, "A Ning is really good at talking. I am alone and have no worries. I just can spend more time on this."

Then he asked, "Why haven't I seen you come to the private school recently?"

Qin Xiaoning smiled and said nothing.

Seeing this, Su Nu guessed, "I heard something happened in the East Palace a while ago, but..."

Qin Xiaoning nodded and said, "It is indeed because of this."

Su Nu sighed slightly when she heard this: "Even a decent family like the Ningguo Mansion can have such a playboy."

After sighing, he comforted Qin Xiaoning, "But you don't have to feel bad about this. This is the fault of Mr. Lu Qi. The Duke's wife is a very reasonable person. I think she will definitely not allow the people of the East Palace to embarrass you."

It had been seven or eight days since this incident happened, and indeed no one had come to harass her. Qin Xiaoning also guessed that someone was blocking her in front. Although it was not her fault, she still felt bad in her heart.

Qin Xiaoning whispered, "I'm just afraid that the Fourth Madam will be difficult to deal with, and the Duke's wife will be wronged because of this."

Ms. Su smiled and replied, "A Ning, you are really lucky to meet such a good family."

Qin Xiaoning nodded and said, "I entered the mansion when I was seven years old, and the people here are really nice to me."

"That's because you're doing it for the best, so everyone treats you well." After saying that, Su got up and went to the inner room. After a while, she took out a beautifully embroidered handkerchief and gave it to Qin Xiaoning: "I embroidered this when I was free a while ago. I think it suits you very well, so I'll give it to you."

Qin Xiaoning took the handkerchief and saw that it was a very delicate double-sided embroidery. One side had colorful butterflies flying, and the other side had two lines of poetry. It was simply a work of art that was so exquisite.

"Mr. Su can do double-sided embroidery?"

Su smiled and replied, "I learned it from a friend before." Then she asked Qin Xiaoning, "Can you do it too?"

Qin Xiaoning's mother also knew this craft and had taught her before, but she was young at the time, and although she had learned it, she had not grasped the essence of it.

"I know a little bit. I learned it from my mother when I was a child." Qin Xiaoning said.

Upon hearing this, Ms. Su asked, "What's your mother's name?"

Qin Xiaoning replied: "My mother's surname is Jiang, and her given name is 'Yuan'."

Su nodded slightly when she heard this, and said nothing else, "If you like it, I will embroider a half-arm for you later."

Since meeting Mr. Su, Qin Xiaoning could feel that he had always been particularly good to her. She was curious and asked with a smile, "Why is Mr. Su so good to me?"

Su stared at the familiar face of the little girl and could not help but fall into memories of the past. She looked dazed and murmured, "You look a lot like an old friend of mine."

(End of this chapter)