The backdrop can also be propped up.

343. Escaping the Huang Mansion 9

Lu Renkui took the bonsai out of the wooden box and placed it on the octagonal table. After asking the other maids who served Wang Shi, Lu Renkui handed the large wooden box to a maid who was in charge of miscellaneous items, and then went to find Shui Qiu at the Fourth Madam's place according to his memory.

Upon arriving at the Fourth Madam's courtyard, Lu Renkui first found a maid dressed in a rose-red dress who was tidying up in the courtyard and asked her where Shuiqiu was.

"Sister Shuiqiu is guarding the door of Fourth Madam's room," the maid in the rose-red dress replied.

“Then I’ll trouble you to call Sister Shuiqiu for me,” Lu Renkui said. “Sister Fengyue said she’s waiting for Sister Shuiqiu at the Red Pavilion, so I don’t want to keep her waiting too long.”

Upon hearing this, the maid nodded and went to find Shui Qiu.

The maid, dressed in a rose-red dress, found Shui Qiu and repeated Lu Ren Kui's words from inside Mu Wan Qing's body.

Shui Qiu frowned upon hearing this—Feng Yue must have something to discuss with her, and she had even chosen the Red Pavilion as the location, but at this moment she had to keep watch outside the Fourth Madam's room.

After thinking it over, Shuiqiu decided that it wouldn't hurt to leave for a while, so she said to the maid in the rose-red dress, "Yuexia, wait here and be alert. Fourth Madam has a headache today. If she needs anything, prepare it for her and bring it in."

Yuexia agreed, and Shuiqiu looked up and saw Guixi, who was still standing at the door serving the young lady.

When Lu Renkui saw Shui Qiu looking up at her, she quickly took two steps and walked up to Shui Qiu.

When Shui Qiu saw Gui Xi approaching, she confirmed again, "Did your Sister Feng Yue really tell me to wait for her at Hongxuan Pavilion?"

“Yes.” Lu Renkui nodded.

"Okay, you can go now." Shui Qiu said as she started walking out of the courtyard.

Seeing that Shuiqiu had left, Lu Renkui thought about the tasks Fengyue had entrusted to her. She had already completed two of them, and now there was still one left to do—that was to go to Granny Wang and distribute the jewelry to the various ladies.

Unexpectedly, as soon as Lu Renkui stepped out of the courtyard, he saw Master Huang walking over with two personal servants.

Her unease was confirmed. Seeing that she couldn't escape by turning around, Lu Renkui immediately lowered her head and bent over, praying that Master Huang hadn't seen her face, saying, "Greetings, Master."

"Get up," Master Huang said, looking at the young maid. Although she had hurriedly lowered her head, he had still seen her face, which was covered in dust and looked rather unsightly.

"Go back and wash your face properly, don't embarrass your master." Master Huang didn't look closely, and after saying this, he stepped into the Fourth Madam's courtyard.

Having gotten away with it this time, Lu Renkui breathed a sigh of relief and went to find Granny Wang to give her hair ornaments.

After picking out a few valuable-looking ornaments, Lu Renkui carried the wooden box containing the ornaments back to Huang Muyan's courtyard.

At this moment, Huang Muyan was sitting at her desk by the window, which was wide open. There were paper and pens on her desk, but she had no mood to write anything. She just looked up with her brows furrowed, as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. In the morning, "Xiao Wan" said that she would go for a walk outside after putting down the trays, and Huang Muyan agreed, but she hadn't come back yet, which was a bit strange.

Huang Muyan couldn't sit still any longer. She opened the door, intending to go find "Xiao Wan," when she saw "Xiao Wan" carrying a wooden box into the yard.

"Xiao Wan, you're back." Huang Muyan breathed a sigh of relief when she saw "Xiao Wan" return unharmed. "Where did you go just now?"

“I was just called over by Sister Fengyue to do some work,” Lu Renkui replied. “I helped her move a big wooden box, called Sister Shuiqiu for her, and distributed jewelry to the ladies with Granny Wang.”

"How did you end up contacting me?" Huang Muyan asked again.

"I happened to be passing by Sister Fengyue's door when she called me over to do some work," Lu Renkui continued, then opened the wooden box containing various ornaments. "Sister Huang, where should I put these ornaments for you?"

"Put these things in the small wooden cabinet in my room, on the first shelf." Huang Muyan looked at the ornaments and mentally calculated how much money she could get by pawning them.

Following Huang Muyan's instructions, Lu Renkui placed the wooden box containing the ornaments on the first shelf of Huang Muyan's room cabinet, and then found clothes for Huang Muyan to match—because this matter would probably take a long time.

Huang Muyan wanted to wear something that would be easy to move in, but it was Old Master Huang's birthday tonight, and if she didn't dress formally enough, she would definitely be scolded.

After looking around for a while, the two finally chose a cheongsam with a wide hem.

After choosing her outfit for the evening, matching accessories became much easier. Huang Muyan picked a simple silver hairpin without too many ornaments. She was only wearing a cheongsam, so there was very little room to put things in it. She decided to simply stick a minimally decorated hairpin in her hair and use it as a shovel to dig in the dirt.

Lunchtime arrived, and Huang Muyan led Lu Renkui, who was inside Mu Wanqing's body, to the dining hall for lunch.

Upon arriving at the dining hall, Lu Renkui peeked inside and noticed two more people; they must be Huang Muyan's second and third brothers.