A Maid's Survival Story in a Noble Family Mansion? Rich Landlords Are More Appealing.

As soon as they stepped out of that low door, the scene before them stunned them both.

A plain blue cloth-covered carriage was parked there, with two expressionless, ramrod-straight guards standing beside it.

Beside the carriage, Amber was covering her face with a handkerchief, sobbing softly, talking to Shunzi, the young master's servant. Several chests belonging to Amber were already piled up on the carriage.

Shunzi was carrying two blue cloth bundles. When he saw Linglong and Qiuyue carrying the boxes out, he quickly went forward to help carry the boxes onto the carriage.

"Sister Linglong, is this your only suitcase?"

"Well, I only took some personal items with me. It's such a long journey and it's not convenient on the road. I gave the rest of the miscellaneous items to the sisters in the courtyard."

Shunzi didn't say anything more after hearing this. He first handed a bundle to Amber, who was still sobbing, and said, "Sister Amber, this is what the young master instructed you to give."

Then he turned to Linglong and handed her another bundle, speaking more respectfully: "Sister Linglong, this is for you from the young master. He also instructed that a guard be arranged to accompany you both out of the city."

Hearing this, and glancing at the two guards standing there, both of whom were unfamiliar faces, Linglong's expression darkened.

Amber looked up, her eyes brimming with tears, and grabbed Shunzi's sleeve: "Shunzi, young master, is he really not coming to see us one last time?"

Shunzi calmly withdrew her sleeve and lowered her eyes: "Sister Amber, the young master is busy at school and really can't find the time to come and see you off."

"Busy," Linglong silently repeated to herself.

Everyone present understood that this carriage and bundle were the young master's final act of care, and also a demarcation of their relationship.

Her original plan to find an inn and a security escort agency now seemed superfluous.

Linglong took the bundle, then turned to Qiuyue. Seeing her reddened eyes, she felt reluctant to part with her, but simply patted the back of her hand and whispered, "That's enough for now. Getting back to your post is more important. Remember my words, be careful in everything you do."

Qiuyue's tears finally fell, and she nodded heavily, choked with sobs and unable to speak.

Linglong didn't hesitate any longer, turned around and got into the carriage first, finding a seat. Amber, also urged silently by Shunzi, got into the carriage, sobbing, and sat opposite him.

The carriage curtain was drawn, blocking out Qiuyue's figure waving incessantly from outside the door. A guard cracked his whip, and the wheels began to turn.

Qiuyue couldn't resist and ran a few steps after the car. "Sister, once you're settled, please remember to write to me!"

Linglong sat upright without turning around; she simply peered out through the swaying curtain.

She spent twelve years in Kyoto, from the age of eight to twenty, but she rarely actually explored the city. When she accompanied her mistress out, she would sit in a sedan chair and steal a few glances through the swaying curtains.

Thinking of this, Linglong sat in the carriage for the first time, lifted the curtain, and looked out openly.

"I'm gone."

She told herself that plans can't keep up with changes, but this path ultimately leads to freedom.

As the carriage drove towards the south gate, Amber's sobs never truly ceased.

At first, the sobs were suppressed and intermittent, but as the carriage moved further and further away from the Marquis's residence, the crying gradually loosened and became an uncontrollable, desperate lament.

She covered her mouth tightly with a handkerchief, her shoulders trembling violently, and tears streamed down her face like broken beads, soaking a large area of ​​her front.

Linglong sat opposite her, initially just silently looking out the window, trying to ignore the noise around her.

"This is never going to end!" Linglong felt a surge of annoyance. She knew Amber was heartbroken, but what good did this crying do, besides harming her body and mind?

"Have you cried enough?"

Her tone wasn't gentle; it was even somewhat cold and hard. "Even if you cry yourself blind and your voice becomes hoarse, this carriage won't turn around, and the capital won't be any closer. What good will it do besides making you feel worse?"

Amber was speechless at her sudden words, and looked up at her with her eyes, which were red and swollen like peaches, looking blank and aggrieved.

Seeing her pitiful state, Linglong finally softened. She sighed and softened her tone.

"Amber, you and I both know that once you leave the Marquis's mansion, everything from the past is as dead as yesterday. If you truly have the courage and fierce spirit, you could simply throw yourself into this carriage and die, which would be clean enough to fulfill your feelings for the young master and to restore the Marquis's mansion's reputation. But if you don't have that courage..."

She paused, her gaze fixed on Amber's unfocused eyes, and said, word by word, "Since you dare not die, and have no other choice, you still have to live the rest of your life as usual. Tears are the most useless thing, so wipe them away and save your strength to think about how to live from now on."

Amber was stunned by her words, staring blankly at Linglong's calm profile, forgetting even to cry, her body still twitching as if out of habit.

She leaned against the carriage wall, staring blankly into a certain place, as if her soul had been ripped away.

Linglong ignored her and leaned against the wall, weighing the blue cloth bundle Shunzi had given her in her hand. Just as she was about to untie it to take a look, Amber across from her suddenly spoke again, her voice hoarse:

"Linglong, tell me, how could the young master be so heartless?"

Linglong paused in untying her bundle, and the irritation she had just suppressed resurfaced.

Is this the start of another round of lamentations?

"I originally thought that even if I couldn't stay by the young master's side, the madam would at most send me back to the manor in the suburbs of the capital, to live under my parents' noses, considering how many years my parents had served her."

Amber's tears welled up again, this time out of pure panic. "But I never expected that Madam would actually send me back to Kaifeng Prefecture, such a far place. I don't know anyone there. I've never even met my uncles back home. How is this any different from being an exiled prisoner?"

"Back to Kaifeng?" Linglong was truly surprised when she heard this.

She had always assumed that once they left the city, the guards would first take Amber back to her parents in the outskirts of the capital, and then escort her back to Kaifeng.

"Aren't you from the capital? Aren't your parents...?"

"My parents came to Beijing from Henan with the old lady many years ago!"

Amber didn't seem to care about Linglong's answer and just kept talking to herself.

"I understand what Madam means. My uncles and aunts are all still working at the old residence in Kaifeng Prefecture. She doesn't trust my parents to keep an eye on me, so she insists on sending me back to my hometown to have those relatives watch over me, afraid that I might try to find the young master again."

“…………”

Linglong listened quietly to Amber's self-talk and instantly understood everything.

Madam's move was truly a stroke of genius. Sending Amber back to her hometown, where she was still under the supervision of her relatives, not only preserved her reputation for sparing her life but also completely eliminated any possibility of her having any further involvement with the young master.

Linglong glanced unconsciously at the front wall of the carriage and said, "Even if the young master is sentimental, he could just send an ordinary servant to escort us."

Why would they need to use such a powerful figure? It turns out that the guard's main task wasn't escorting, but rather escorting.

The goal is to ensure that Amber, this disobedient "bird," is obediently sent back to her old home in her "cage," without any mishaps along the way, and certainly not allowed to escape.