Fengqi crabapple

Chapter 31
Haitang stretched out her hand to rub her face, and Ji'er stepped forward and locked the door.After a while, a concierge came out and asked, "Who are you looking for?" Just as Ji'er was about to speak, Haitang stopped her and said with a smile, "I'm looking for your old lady."

The concierge looked her up and down, closed the door, and went inside to ask for instructions.After a while, he opened the door again and led Haitang and the others inside. They passed the hanging flower door, followed the corridor, and entered a side hall. They saw a middle-aged woman sitting in the middle, and a man sitting next to her. The young lady with her hair full of hair and the little girl is making tea for them.

Haitang looked up and saw the woman sitting in the seat with a pointed face and raised eyebrows. She had dark hair and pale skin, and a pair of pink and phoenix eyes that were still a bit charming. She thought that this must be her aunt.I just heard the concierge salute and say: "Second Madam, I have been brought here."

"You are looking for our old lady? The old lady is old and weak. Now I am the head of the house. If you have something to say, it will be the same." The second lady said.

Xie San taught her: When you are scared, just smile and others will not see that you are scared.

Haitang was blessed, took a deep breath, and said with a smile: "My name is Cheng Haitang, my father is General Cheng Yu, and my mother used to be the head matron here, Yao Jinyu. I was taken from my mother 15 years ago. I took her away, and now that I have come back to recognize you, please go and inform the old lady."

With a "dang" sound, the young lady next to her dropped her tea cup to the ground. She turned pale, stared at Haitang with dumbfounded eyes and said loudly: "This is impossible! My sister has died a long time ago, how dare you pretend to be!"

The second wife, Pan Xiuying, was also shocked. After looking carefully, she discovered that Haitang's appearance did resemble Mrs. Yao's.But she quickly calmed down: "You also said that it happened 15 years ago. Suddenly a big living person appeared and casually said that she was the young lady in our house. There was no witness and no physical evidence. What should we do? believe?"

Haitang knew that she wanted to see the token, but was not in a hurry: "I have asked someone to tell my father the whole story in Xuanfu Town. Soon after my father returns home, the truth will be revealed. When I visit my grandmother, I will explain it to her in detail." "

"The old lady is unwell and is recuperating. It is not suitable to see guests. Besides, I can't just go to the old lady without knowing the cause and effect." Pan Xiuying declined.She also wanted to see how much reliable evidence there was.

"Mom! This person is obviously a liar! Why don't you call her out quickly? Why are you making noise with her?" Cheng Xiangjin next to her was so angry that she wanted to do it herself and push Haitang out of the door.

It turned out that when Cheng Haitang's mother was pregnant with her, the old lady took the initiative and raised Pan Xiuying, the niece of the old lady's natal family, to be Cheng Yu's aunt. Later, something happened to Cheng Yu, and Pan Xiuying panicked, fearing that she would not be rich, so she lost her life.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Pan Xiuying asked the coachman to throw her wife, Yao, mother and son into the wilderness outside the city. Unexpectedly, the coachman wanted to save trouble and fled with the money after leaving the city. This gave Yao Jinyu the opportunity to be treated by Gu Quan, and Cheng was later released from prison. Yu found it.But she only brought back her three-year-old son Cheng Hanbai, and her newborn daughter Cheng Haitang was missing.

After Cheng Yu was demoted three levels in a row, he went to Xuanfu Town to take office.After Mrs. Cheng returned home, she lingered on her sick bed and missed her young daughter. Within half a year, she ran out of oil and died.

Pan Xiuying was secretly happy that she had a chance to correct herself, but Cheng Yu had been at the border for a long time. He only had one month of rotation every year, so there were very few opportunities to meet.When she was pregnant in ten months and gave birth to her daughter, she fully expected that Cheng Yu would take notice of her and make her his wife, but Cheng Yu never mentioned it.After waiting for a few years, her daughter Cheng Xiangjin gradually grew up, and Pan Xiuying no longer cared about her.After the first wife's legitimate daughter was lost, the family only had the first wife and her, the daughter of a concubine, and no other heirs.

The old lady loved her, so Cheng Xiangjin was always raised as a legitimate lady.The old lady is very old. Although Pan Xiuying is an aunt, she has been in charge of affairs in the house for many years. Therefore, the servants in the house call her the "Second Lady", and Cheng Xiangjin has become a serious girl.

Not to mention the preference for sons over daughters in the Celestial Empire, it is the distinction between concubines and concubines that makes the biggest difference.The legitimate son can inherit the family business, but the concubine can only get a one-time settlement fee when he gets married.A legitimate daughter is given a dowry of ten miles of red dowry when she gets married, but a concubine gets married without a dowry and can only bring her own personal money with her.

Cheng Haitang disappeared for 15 years. Pan Xiuying and Cheng Xiangjin had already planned that when Xiangjin got married, they would choose a husband and buy a dowry as a legitimate lady.A legitimate lady appeared out of nowhere, why don't you return to your roots?

Cheng Xiangjin is 14 years old this year, and she is about to tell others. Cheng Yuzheng has a third-grade official position, and naturally has many opportunities to marry well.If she returns to her status as a concubine, her marriage will naturally be lowered, and her grand marriage will become a waste of time.

Pan Xiuying said calmly: "Recognizing a relative is a big deal. The master will not come back until a few months later, so I can't be your master. It's getting late today, so why not arrange for you to rest in the front yard and make plans tomorrow."

"Mother!" Cheng Xiangjin was furious.Pan Xiuying ignored her and called the housekeeper Cheng Li to make arrangements.Haitang said solemnly: "I am a woman. Living in the front yard is very inconvenient and can easily cause gossip. Please make other arrangements!"

Pan Xiuying suppressed the anger in her heart: "Then you can temporarily stay in the side room next to the west wing tonight! Butler Cheng, take her there."

Haitang didn't say anything more and took Ji'er Shuang'er over.

This Cheng Mansion is a large courtyard with three entrances. The male master is not at home, and the main room has been vacant for a long time. The east wing is Cheng Hanbai's residence, and the west wing naturally lives in Cheng Xiangjin.Pan Xiuying has always been an aunt. She lives in a house with a yard at the end of the landlord's house in the back house, while the old lady occupies the room with a yard at the west end of the house in the back house.

Cheng Yu only has this concubine, so the backyard is naturally spacious.But she didn't want to let Haitang get her status in vain, while her biological daughter would not be left behind.

The master has not come back yet, Pan Xiuying feels that it is not too late.

(End of this chapter)