After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Further investigation would mean that the people Caijuan Cailuo went to investigate were no longer limited to the people Zhou Ma had recruited in the past, but also people from Zhou Shigong's side.

Of course, those who are loyal to Mrs. Ma of the West Courtyard and those who are loyal to the eldest brother Zhou Jinpu’s family will not be included in the inquiry list.

Among the people around Zhou Shigong, it is very likely that Mrs. Ma has some ears and eyes, but there are not only one or two people Caijuan Cailuo wants to ask, so there is no need to worry about some of them lying.If someone really told an obvious lie, then they would know who the mole was without further questioning.

But to everyone's surprise, the person who finally provided the most useful testimony was not any of the servants in the third room of the Zhou family, but Ma Changnian's wife, who had returned to her hometown with the Hai family brothers and sisters.

Ma Changnian and his wife followed the young masters to visit the third room of Zhou's house today.Ma Changnian had to go back to his master's house to deliver a message on the way, but Ma Changnian's wife stayed in the small house two doors away.This place is very close to the second gate, and next to the doorway leading to the carriage and horse stable. It is located in the front yard. It is the place where the servants rest and wait for orders in the front yard, the carriage stable and the second gate. In winter, There is also a tea stove that stays on day and night, and even people on night watch occasionally come over to warm themselves by the fire and rest.

Ma Changnian's wife was originally a servant of the third family of the Zhou family, and she knew the rules and taboos of her old master's family.Firstly, she was worried that after entering the inner house, she would meet someone with whom she had an old grudge and cause trouble for the new owner's family. Secondly, she was also worried that she could meet her relatives, friends and acquaintances in the small house and chat about the current situation after the separation, so there was no Go into the second door.

Brother and sister Haijiao Haitang are both skilled in martial arts, and they have aunt Zhou Ma to take care of them. There will be no problems in the main courtyard. If there is an order, just call at the second door and Ma Changnian's wife can hear it. It's very special convenient.

However, Ma Changnian went to the concierge to chat with an acquaintance. Ma Changnian's daughter-in-law stayed alone in the hut. It was okay when someone chatted with her. But when the servants of the Zhou family were busy with their duties, she could only stay alone, and it was very difficult. It's boring.In order to pass the time, she had no choice but to observe the situation around the hut. Unexpectedly, she actually observed a lot of things.

She saw Zhou Shigong angrily come out of the second door and talk to the housekeeper. She couldn't suppress her anger when he said the first two sentences, so his voice was a bit loud. Even she heard him shouting in the small house three feet away. The housekeeper drove a carriage over and stopped at the entrance of the main courtyard.

The butler's reply was very short, and Ma Changnian's wife could not hear what he said. She could only guess that he was probably asking Zhou Shigong what happened.

Zhou Shigong had calmed down a bit by this time and spoke in a much lower volume. Ma Changnian's wife didn't hear anything. She only saw him turn around and walk away after giving instructions to the housekeeper, and walked towards the house where the guards were on duty.

The housekeeper stood there for a while, then quickly ran through the aisle next to the cabin and went to the stable.After a while, he personally drove a carriage over and drove towards the second door.

At this time, a servant girl from the inner courtyard who was known to Ma Changnian's wife came out of the second door.

Ma Changnian's wife knew that the servant's man worked in the concierge. She always liked to talk to the man in the front yard from time to time, taking the opportunity to be lazy.But the head of the house, Mrs. Ma, didn't say anything. Even though Mrs. Zhou couldn't stand it, she couldn't do anything about the servant girl.Ma Changnian's wife knew that this servant was the eyes and ears of the West Courtyard, so she would not meddle in other people's affairs.

Then she was surprised to see that when the housekeeper passed by the maid in his car, he grabbed her sleeve and whispered something.

The servant woman looked at him in astonishment, still a little flustered, but after hearing his words, she immediately became serious, looked back and forth a few times, then turned and walked back to the second door.The housekeeper stopped the car and did not continue walking forward. Zhou Shigong soon led a few veterans and came over with ropes. He probably thought that the housekeeper was waiting for him, and said: "Don't wait for me here, hurry up and drive the car to the right place." In front of the courtyard gate, no idlers are allowed to approach!"

The housekeeper responded and drove the carriage into the inner house through the small side door for carriages and horses next to the second door. Zhou Shigong and the veterans went in directly from the second door.

No one noticed that in a nearby hut, there was Ma Changnian's wife squatting beside the tea stove, watching what happened in the yard outside the window from beginning to end.The window sill blocked her figure, and the light in the room was dim. The housekeeper had no idea that she was exposed.

After hearing what Ma Changnian's wife said, Cailuo immediately pulled her into the main courtyard and asked her to repeat what she had seen and heard in front of Zhou Ma, Zhou Yijun and Haitang.

After hearing this, Zhou Ma was furious: "This is unreasonable! He is the most trusted confidant of the master, how can he betray the master?!"

Zhou Yijun also had a look of surprise: "Hasn't the housekeeper been with my grandfather since he was a boy? He was a book boy when he was a boy, became a follower when he grew up, and now he is his grandfather's housekeeper. My grandfather trusts him so much. , I value him, why should he work for the old lady? Can the old lady still let him be the housekeeper?!"

Haitang had a guess: "Maybe he was the one who arranged for Mrs. Ma to be with my great-uncle, but my uncle didn't know about it. In the past, my great-uncle and Mrs. Ma had a harmonious relationship, and it didn't matter what the background of the confidants around him was. But now Everyone in the family knows that my great-uncle has fallen out with Mrs. Ma, and demands that those around him be absolutely loyal to him. Even if the housekeeper's status is improved and he holds great power, he is still worried that Mrs. Ma will tell his true identity? That way, right? He will probably be replaced and decades of hard work will be wasted."

Zhou Ma did not think so: "He and the master have had a master-servant relationship for decades. Even if he was arranged by the old lady to work for the master, as long as he is loyal to the master, who will find fault with his origin? The old lady In charge of the whole family's affairs, which servant was not arranged by her old man? The master just needs loyal hands to do things, but he is not a fool. How could he replace his confidant who has been with him for many years for such a trivial matter? He does not believe in the master and does not understand his character. For a decades-old servant to do something like this, it is a hundred times more abominable than a newly promoted person!"

Zhou Yijun said: "Even if he had difficulties in the past, he didn't have to report this matter today. My grandfather didn't want to do anything bad to the old lady, he just tied up Zhang Pinggui, a fugitive. The old lady didn't know about it, but the housekeeper Just pretend that he doesn't know. He obviously didn't have time to tell the news, so he still wanted to find someone else to tell him, and rushed to betray his grandfather... This man can't be kept! Grandma, you must tell your grandfather about this. Don't Be soft-hearted!”

"Why are you so soft-hearted towards a traitor?!" Mr. Zhou Ma snorted heavily, "In the past, I didn't even know that he was also the person arranged by the West Courtyard. Several times in the past, I privately begged the master to help Brother Er. My nephew and my nephew didn’t even say no, but the old lady found out the next day and called me over to scold her, saying that the Zhou family has never walked through the back door for in-laws... It must be this old ghost who leaked the secret!"

Before they didn't know Zhang Pinggui's true identity, Mrs. Ma specifically kept him at home for several days, and said that she wanted to help him make connections and find a good job... At that time, she didn't say that the Zhou family There is no such rule anymore.The sons of her son's old tribe were closer and more noble than her step-daughter-in-law's brothers and nephews!
Zhou Ma became very angry when he thought of the injustice he had suffered.Now that she had caught the housekeeper, she certainly couldn't let it go easily.There is no confidant around Zhou Shigong who is more qualified and experienced than the housekeeper.When he was replaced, she just promoted her favorite candidate and truly got the power of housekeeper.At least, she can be sure that her person will definitely not be a traitor from the West Courtyard!

There was a commotion outside the door, and then Haitang and others heard a familiar man's voice.

Zhou Shigong and Hai Jiao returned from the Zhenguo Palace.

(End of this chapter)