How can someone travel through time and space and become a beggar?

Qingsong finished unloading his things and was about to get on the carriage and slip away. He was caught by Xia Chu who had just opened the door. "Qingsong? What are you doing?"

"My young master sent these. I'm leaving now." Qingsong smiled awkwardly and turned back. "They are all supplements. My young master is strong and healthy and doesn't need them. It just so happens that the young lady is injured, so I want her to take good care of herself."

Xia Chu looked at the large boxes stacked in front of her and said speechlessly, "You don't need so many, do you? You can take them back. I'm in good health and don't need them."

Qingsong's face wrinkled instantly, and he said bitterly, "Miss Wang, please accept it first. If the young master knew that I brought it back, he would definitely be punished."

"Where's your young master?" Xia Chu didn't want to embarrass him, but this was too much! He'd have a nosebleed after eating this!

"I'm going back to the military camp. I don't know when I'll be back next time." Qingsong knew that she was willing to accept it, so he took her hand and bowed, "Then I'll go back first." After saying that, as if he was afraid that Xia Chu would regret it, he got on the carriage and told the coachman to go quickly.

"Miss..." Cuihua stared at these things in a daze. Even if Master Zhao was wealthy, he couldn't stop there, right? He could open a medicine shop with all these.

The gate was blocked and everyone had fled, so they had no choice but to move things in. Fortunately, the utility room was right at the door, so Cuihua called Cuiya and they moved things together.

This little incident didn't stop Xia Chu from going out. After packing her things, she took Cuihua to Yin Ge Garden. After a short stroll, she returned to her office yard. It was still early, so there weren't many people around.

"Miss!" Cuihua suddenly shouted.

"What?" Xia Chu followed her gaze and realized her maple tree was completely bald! It had once been a thriving tree, but now it had lost every leaf! Only a few scattered leaves remained on the ground. Who had done this?!

Could it be Zhao Huazhang? He just sent maple leaves yesterday, and today his own tree is already bald!

Silly! There's a whole tree of leaves! At least leave a few for me!

Cuihua and Xia Chu were obviously thinking the same thing. She asked in surprise, "Could it be Master Zhao? Did he climb over the wall and pick it yesterday?"

"The young lady is here," Qin Ning walked out and saw that the master and servant had strange expressions on their faces. Then she looked at Feng Shu and knew why.

"Aunt Qin! Where are my leaves?" Xia Chu asked.

Qin Ning seemed to want to laugh, but she held it back. "The day before yesterday, Madam Wang came over and asked Fifteen and Sixteen to pick all the leaves..."

It’s not Zhao Huazhang, it’s Dong Xiaohuan?

"My mother had someone do it?" Xia Chu asked in surprise.

"Exactly," Qin Ning pursed her lips to suppress her laughter. "She also said that you won't climb the tree again once all the leaves are picked."

It was such a good reason that no one could refute it. Xia Chu fell silent. This really seemed like something Dong Xiaohuan would do. "What about the leaves? Are they all thrown away?"

"No." Qin Ning shook her head. "The eldest lady came with us at the time and asked the maids to wash and dry the leaves and make them into bookmarks."

"Is it done?" Xia Chu didn't expect this, but she didn't know what it would look like.

Qin Ning took her to her room, where she found a palm-sized box on her desk. Opening it, she found a variety of colorful floral paper, each adorned with maple leaves, large and small. It looked beautiful and delicate, and even had a hint of fragrance when she sniffed it.

Xia Chu suddenly realized how happy she was. Since crossing over, everything had been smooth sailing, with very few difficulties encountered. Everyone around her doted on her, and there was always someone to help her with whatever she wanted to do.

After a few sighs, Xia Chu shook her head and carefully put the box of bookmarks aside. They were so beautiful, she felt reluctant to give them away. However, she wouldn't be able to use so many of them.

After sitting for a while, Qiu Niang and Hong Niang came over. They first expressed concern for her injuries, then began to report on the chores and guests of the past few days. The two of them had been housekeepers in the past, and they handled these small matters with ease, so there was nothing for Xia Chu to worry about.

"There's nothing wrong here, Miss, you should go back and rest." After Qiu Niang finished explaining what happened, she looked at her arm worriedly and advised her.

"I don't have anything important to do. I'm just sitting around doing nothing." Xia Chu said, standing up and preparing to walk around. "You go and do your work. Don't worry about me."

"Yes." Qiu Niang glanced at Cuihua, "Take good care of the young lady."

"Cuihua knows." Cuihua nodded.

Strolling to Bailu Courtyard, I found Qiufen and Bailu whispering to each other. Xiachu cleared his throat and made a noise, startling Bailu and Qiufen, who quickly turned back to greet him.

"What are you two whispering about?" Xia Chu didn't blame them, but was curious instead.

Bailu breathed a sigh of relief, came over and bowed, saying, "Miss, a guest came to Bailu Court today. He was alone and asked for two jars of wine. He cried while drinking. I was just discussing with Qiufen what to do, whether to go in and take a look or just ignore it."

Alone? Crying after having some wine? Xia Chu listened carefully and indeed could hear a few sobs. Perhaps she had encountered something sad, she thought, "Don't bother her, just prepare some hangover soup."

"Yes." Bai Lu responded.

Xia Chu walked outside Bailu Courtyard. The crying became clearer, and she seemed to be mumbling something, but she couldn't make it out clearly. She didn't want to listen too much, as she felt like she was intruding on someone else's privacy.

Maybe crying it out will help, every family has its own problems.

Thinking of this, Xia Chu turned and left. Before leaving, he told Bai Lu to wait outside the courtyard and to go in and take a look if there was anything wrong.

It's all fine to drown your sorrows in alcohol or cry your heart out, but I'm afraid you might do something stupid because you can't think straight.

Bai Lu's eyes widened when she heard this, and she nodded repeatedly to indicate that she would definitely guard it well and rush in if anything went wrong.

"Don't be too nervous, just in case. Maybe I'm worrying too much." Xia Chu patted her shoulder and turned to the listening room.

Dongzhi had just finished telling a story, shook hands and bowed before leaving. Lichun took over. After training, Lichun could also tell a few stories. She didn't have Dongzhi's ability to change her voice, but she was cute and articulate.

The stories she picked were all funny and amusing, and her exaggerated expressions could make the guests laugh out loud.

She and Dongzhi each have their own characteristics, and many customers like to come to her place.

The other maids were a bit envious. After all, storytellers earned a lot of money, and when the customers were pleased, they would give them tips. Small, insignificant pieces of jewelry, or small change. Xia Chu had initially refused these rewards, but Qiu Niang and Hong Niang disagreed. The venue and the stories all belonged to Yin Ge Yuan. If the storytellers didn't take any money at all, then their earnings would be too easy, and the other girls would feel uncomfortable.

Not only do they want to take it, but they also want to take the lion's share. They had all been bought back in the beginning of summer, so having the monthly allowance was very good.

After much deliberation, Xia Chu decided to accept the reward. Yin Ge Yuan would take six, and the storyteller would take four.

Even so, Dongzhi and Lichun were both grateful. The other girls also expressed their desire to tell stories, so Xiachu simply let those who were interested practice on their own.

At the end of each month, everyone will come up to the stage to try out their storytelling skills. The best storyteller will be on stage the following month. This will be a monthly rotation, so everyone has a chance.

This move greatly inspired everyone, and everyone was very excited. Unfortunately, some people were illiterate and got stuck at the first step of memorizing the story.

Qiu Niang was worried that they would be too preoccupied with storytelling to properly work, so she repeatedly emphasized that practice was only allowed during the hours when Yin Ge Garden was closed. If she caught anyone not properly entertaining guests and only focusing on reciting stories and telling stories, they would be disqualified.