"Since the young lady has spoken, you may rise! Do not displease her!" Xu Fu declined Su Muqing's offer to help him to a stool. He then bowed and retreated to Huo Qiyuan's bedside.
"Young lady, please have a seat." Madam Zhou's attitude towards Su Muqing was now even more kind and respectful.
"Aunt Zhou, please sit. You all don't need to be so polite. In our village, we don't stand on ceremony. Oh, right! I've been here for a while. I need to go back and check on my younger brothers." Su Muqing pulled Madam Zhou to sit on the stool and then prepared to return to her lodging.
She felt extremely awkward staying here any longer! Besides, she no longer had any spring water on her. It would take until about seven or eight in the morning tomorrow to condense more.
Su Muqing felt she had moved very quickly. However, the middle-aged men in the room moved even faster! With a "swish," they blocked the doorway! Blocking her path!
Su Muqing's eyebrows rose. What were they implying? Were they going to detain her and prepare to kill for medicine?
"Stop. What about the young master if you leave?" one of the hidden guards said, reaching out to block Su Muqing's path.
"How dare you! Who told you to block the young lady?" Xu Fu, seeing that the hidden guards looked ready to make a move, angrily slapped the nearest one, Third Brother.
Although Xu Fu was in his sixties, he had been Huo Sizhun's personal attendant in his youth. His combat skills were not bad. While he was not as agile as he was in his younger days, he still had some martial arts ability.
"Elder Xu, you misunderstand. I, I really just wanted to escort the young lady out!" Third Brother felt extremely wronged. He had originally intended to escort her out. Who knew he would take a solid slap?
He hadn't expected his other brothers to have such thoughts, and coincidentally, they all rushed out together. To anyone who didn't know what was happening, they looked fierce, as if they were preparing for a robbery!
"They are all rough men. I hope the young lady will not take offense!" Xu Fu quickly bowed and apologized.
Madam Zhou also bowed and explained, "Young lady! They are anxious to save their master. They thought you were unwilling to help, which is why they were so rash. We sincerely hope the young lady will forgive their impudence and rudeness!"
Su Muqing was understanding. She felt they were being too polite, constantly bowing and thanking her, which was why she had wanted to leave. Perhaps her movements were too hurried, and they thought she was trying to escape? "I understand, I understand. It's my fault! It's my fault for being in such a hurry to leave. But I'm also worried about my family. And this medicine can only be taken once a day. Young Master Yu Zhi... has already taken his medicine today. After 12 hours, I will give him the second dose."
Xu Fu, who had not yet straightened up from his bow, lowered his waist a little further. "Thank you, young lady. Please bring your family to have lunch with us at noon."
They still wanted to invite her to lunch? Eating with such a formal group of people made her truly worried about indigestion! Su Muqing naturally refused. Besides, she had planned to make some delicious beef for lunch! "No, no, no, there's no need! You don't have to be so polite. It's just a small effort! And I..."
"To the young lady, it is a small effort. To us, it is a gift of life. We hope the young lady will grant our request!" After speaking, Xu Fu lowered his waist even further, his forehead almost touching his knees.
"Alright! I understand. I will come for lunch later. Please get up quickly!" Su Muqing looked at the old man, who had been kneeling and bowing repeatedly within such a short time. She truly broke out in a sweat for him! She quickly went up to help him to his feet.
She felt that the day wasn't even half over, and she had already performed the action of helping others up so many times!
Oh well, it was just an invitation to a meal. She had a premonition that if she refused now, these people would start kneeling and kowtowing any moment!
Her intention was good. She felt that with the current famine, food was hard-earned. But given the situation now, if she kept refusing, she would appear overly delicate.
"Thank you for gracing us with your presence, young lady. We will await your arrival here!" Xu Fu took a step back, politely declined Su Muqing's help, and then personally escorted her to the door.
"Elder, you can just call me Muqing from now on. Or you can call me by my nickname, A Mumu. There's no need to keep calling me 'young lady.' People like us are hardly worthy of the title 'young lady'!" Su Muqing scratched her head and said to Xu Fu.
In the Great Yu Dynasty, only unmarried young ladies from official families or wealthy households were respectfully addressed as "young lady." For people from rural families like hers, they would be called by their surname plus "Da Ya," or "Su Yatou," "Chen Yatou."
Every time she heard people call her "young lady," she felt as if she were acting in a movie! Being called that, she unconsciously wanted to regulate her behavior! She was afraid that if she did anything wrong, she wouldn't be worthy of the word "young lady"!