High-class maid

Shen Xing'er opened the door, passed Yuan Dali's house, and arrived at the deepest part of the alley. She could already hear the sound of sweeping coming from the courtyard. Shen Xing'er breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed she had arrived at just the right time and hadn't disturbed Uncle He.

"Uncle He, are you home? Is anyone home?" Shen Xing'er gently knocked on the door and called softly. In winter, people don't get up early, and she was afraid of making too much noise and waking up the neighbors.

When He Bo heard someone calling him, he guessed it was the girl the young master had mentioned. He quickly threw the broom on the ground, clapped his hands, and ran to open the door.

"Uncle He, hello. I came here with my mother last time. Do you remember me?" Shen Xing'er looked at the slightly chubby man in front of her and couldn't see any sign of the illness that Song Wenyang had mentioned.

"Ahem, please come in, young lady. I remember you. It's windy outside, you should come home quickly." Uncle He stepped aside to make way for Shen Xing'er to enter the house. Shen Xing'er was about to politely decline, but after hearing Uncle He's cough, she thought for a moment and followed him inside.

"Girl, come to the kitchen. It's warm there. Why did you bring so much meat? How can I finish it all by myself?" Uncle He opened the curtain and ushered Shen Xing'er into the kitchen.

"It's alright, please take your time eating. This stuff will keep." Shen Xing'er said politely.

"Why doesn't he ask me what I'm here for? Why isn't he surprised at all that I'm here?" Shen Xing'er thought to herself, seeing He Bo's calm demeanor.

"Young lady, please sit down. I'll go get you some tea." With that, Uncle He was about to go out to get some tea leaves.

"Uncle He, please don't bother. My parents didn't know I left home today. I'll give you the things and then go home," Shen Xing'er said, standing up to stop him.

"Alright, alright, since you have other things to do, I won't stand on ceremony with you. May I ask what my young master asked you to bring me?" Uncle He turned around, sat on the bench, and asked.

"Young Master Song asked me to bring you a painting." Shen Xing'er handed over the painting in her hand.

He unfolded it in front of her, and his eyes quickly welled up with tears.

"Please forgive my foolishness, young lady. It's just that I haven't been back to Jinling for many years, and I was a little overwhelmed when I saw my hometown. Please don't laugh at this old man."

Shen Xing'er thought of him living alone in the capital, suffering from many illnesses, and not daring to show his face in public. She felt a pang of sympathy and shook her head, saying, "There's nothing to laugh at. Young Master Song sent you the painting to ease your homesickness. The fact that your eyes welled up with tears proves that he painted it well."

"Haha, you young people really know how to talk. You're right, my young master has always been good at painting." Uncle He carefully put the painting away and said proudly.

"Speaking of which, it's been more than ten years since I've been back to Jinling. When I came to the capital with Miss, I never thought of going back, but who knew that the older I get, the more I miss home?" Uncle He looked up at the roof and said with a look of reminiscence.

Shen Xing'er assumed he had been alone for too long and had no one to talk to, so she didn't interrupt him and listened to He Bo's speech with a smile.

“When my young master was little, he always wanted to go out and play, but the master kept a close eye on him. He only allowed the young master to study and write in the mansion every day. The young master was so bored that he begged me to take him out of the mansion. I had no choice but to take him through the dog hole in the front yard. Later, the master still found out and gave us a good beating.”

He Bo recalled, and then couldn't help but laugh.

Shen Xing'er also chuckled. She never imagined that Song Wenyang, who seemed so serious and reserved, had crawled through a dog hole when he was a child.

“Miss, could you help me write a letter to the young master? He’s been in Jinling these past few days, and to avoid suspicion, I haven’t dared to go out and ask someone to write a letter for me. Now that you’re here, I feel relieved,” said Uncle He.

“Okay, no problem, but could you please bring me some paper and pen?” Shen Xing’er readily agreed.

"Wen Yang, Miss Shen sent me a painting today, and I was delighted to see it. It's so lifelike; I felt as if I were in Jinling. Miss Shen also brought me a piece of cured meat, weighing a full two pounds. This letter was written for me by Miss Shen, and she's wearing a gilded hairpin..."

"Uncle He, is there no need to write this anymore?" Shen Xing'er stopped writing and asked.

"Yes, yes, yes, I've written too much. You can add a sentence about taking care of yourself, and also ask him when he's coming back," Uncle He said, scratching his head sheepishly.

"Alright, I'll take this letter to the post office when I have some free time today. Is there anything else you want to give Brother Song?" Shen Xing'er asked.

"No, I'll go get the money for delivering the message for you. Thank you for making this trip, Miss Shen."

"No need, no need. Brother Song has helped me a lot. It's just delivering a few letters for him. It's no trouble at all," Shen Xing'er waved her hand and said.

“That won’t do. If Wen Yang writes to me in the future, I’ll have to trouble you to read it to me!” He Bo said.

By the time Shen Xing'er came out of Uncle He's house, the sun had already risen. She pulled her cloak tighter around herself and hurried home.

"Xing'er, where have you been? Your father and I have been looking for you for so long." When Shen Xing'er returned home, she saw her mother, Wang Shi, standing at the door waiting for her. Although the sun had just risen, the cold winter air still caused a layer of mist to cover Wang Shi's eyelashes.

"Mother, I went to give the painting to Uncle He. I left early and didn't wake you and Father." Shen Xing'er said as she pushed Wang Shi back into the house.

"Oh, I almost forgot if you hadn't mentioned it. Was it the painting that Young Master Song gave us on the day we said goodbye?" Madam Wang asked.

"That's right. If we give it to him earlier, all we have left to do today is look at the shops."

"Alright, alright, hurry back to the kitchen and eat. The food has been ready for a while," said Madam Wang.

After the family of three finished their meal, they drove their carriage to the street.

"Dad, let's go straight to Chang'an Street. We're going to buy shops anyway, so why not just buy some on Chang'an Street?" Shen Xing'er suggested.

Shen Kun nodded and said, "That's what I was thinking too. I asked a middleman to help us find a shop on Chang'an Street."

"It's all thanks to Xing'er. Otherwise, how would we have the money to buy shops on Chang'an Street? We would never have dared to dream of it before. My daughter is truly a lucky star," said Madam Wang, looking at Shen Xing'er with affection.

"No way, it's all thanks to my parents' good upbringing. I'm a lucky star, so my mother and father are even luckier stars!" Shen Xing'er flattered.

Shen Xing'er's flattery made Wang Shi and Shen Kun laugh heartily, and Wang Shi became more and more convinced of what the fortune teller had said.

"Let's park the carriage here." Shen Kun parked the carriage in a courtyard that specialized in looking after carriages, gave the caretaker five coins, and then took his wife and daughter to the street.

"This is it." Shen Kun led them to a shop, where a middleman quickly came out to greet them.