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

Chapter 550 Lamentation
Ma returned home shortly after dark.

The third room of Zhou's family was now in a mess. After she finished her business, she didn't want to cause any trouble to her eldest sister. She just ate some snacks to fill her stomach and left. When she got home, there were hot noodles and hot dishes prepared by her granddaughter Haitang. , the two new side dishes are also delicious.

She praised a few words, had eaten and drank enough, and then told her grandchildren about her experience in the third room of the Zhou family.

What she was most concerned about during this trip was naturally the weaving workshop.

Zhou Ma didn't pay attention to the fact that his family would suddenly move to Zhuangzi, so he was quite in a hurry. She is also concerned about the weaving workshop. This is an industry that can bring in money!
The current economic situation of the third family of the Zhou family is not good, and Mrs. Ma has almost lost all the property left by her ancestors. The private houses left by the latter were all given to Zhou Shicheng by Zhou Shigong. Zhou Jinpu and the Ma family also want to jump out and fight, regardless of No matter what the result, it is impossible to merge it into a public school. Now that Zhou Ma is the head of the house, she has to increase income and reduce expenditure for the family. Otherwise, how will she live? How to support my daughter and how to hand over a good family fortune to my son? It was rare that her younger sister Ma was willing to contribute, and she knew that her brother-in-law Hai Xiya was good at business, so she naturally wanted to seize this partnership opportunity. Even if her husband Zhou Shigong insisted on moving to a villa and disrupted her plan, she would not give up her plan to open a workshop.

Zhou Ma bravely squeezed out a sum of money and asked Ma to use it to start the lint business. The money earned this autumn and winter will be invested in shares together with the principal, and a weaving workshop will be built next spring. She would have people find the buildings needed to build the workshop. She will even be responsible for the selection of weavers. The rest was left to my younger sister Ma. Although she had managed the house, she really didn't have much experience in running a business. Instead of holding her back, it would be better to leave everything to the knowledgeable girl to worry about, and she could just sit back and wait to collect the money.

Ma brought back a small box of silver ingots and a famous post from her brother-in-law Zhou Shigong, feeling quite satisfied. She also said: "I wonder if Jin Lin's wife is interested in business? When she comes home, I'll ask her. Her mother-in-law is out of town, but she always stays at home, and she has a mandate. Workshop If something happens and you need someone from the officialdom to support you, it’s convenient to go find her.”

Haitang agreed with her grandmother and helped her move the box of silver ingots into the inner room and locked it in the kang cabinet.

When the three of them sat down on the kang again, Haitang glanced at Hai Jiao, and Hai Jiao said knowingly: "Grandma, did you hear any other news while you were at my aunt's house?"

"What's the news?" Mr. Ma blinked, "Are you talking about why their family moved to the village? Wasn't it Mrs. Gui who made the fuss? But the Duke and Mrs. Guo coaxed the people down. , She hasn’t come to make trouble yet, otherwise your aunt will not have peace at home. "

Haitang smiled and said: "This matter is no longer news. Isn't it just for this that my aunt and my family moved to another village? What my brother wants to ask is something else. He just came back from the Zhenguo Palace. It was said that there was some gossip about Zhou Shuyi in the mansion, but I couldn't hear it clearly. My brother thought that instead of asking the young masters at the Zhenguo Palace, it would be better to come back and ask if there was any news about Zhou Shuyi. , Her family will definitely be able to trust her. Grandma, you go to your aunt, there is no reason why you don’t know.”

Ma glanced at her grandchildren, and Hai Jiao smiled dryly at her, but she glared at her: "Well, I thought you wanted to ask something, but it turns out it's her business. Well, I didn't even plan to mention it to you. Your great-uncle didn't even mention it to you. I don’t want outsiders to know about it, and I feel ashamed when I talk about it.”

Seeing that Ma Shi knew it, Hai Jiao stood up with a smile and diligently poured her a cup of tea. Haitang also cooperated very well and crawled up behind her grandmother and held her shoulders: "Grandma, our family members are chatting privately at home. What is taboo? My great-uncle doesn't know about it anyway. Just tell us?" "

Mrs. Ma enjoyed the filial piety of her grandchildren and sighed: "E Yuan didn't think this was a taboo thing. He just thought about how prosperous Zhou Shuyi was at home before she left the government. The whole family pampered her and everyone talked about her. She will definitely have a good future in the future, let alone a general's wife! Who would have thought that she had to choose such a husband, and she had to listen to her mother's words and go down this dead end, and now she is only in her thirties. , it ended up like this, which is really sad." Haitang blinked and lowered his voice: "So, she is really... gone?"

Hai Jiao also asked in a low voice: "But is it the emperor's will?"

"How could it be the emperor's decree? Who is she, Zhou Shuyi? Is she worthy?!" Madam Ma spat, "The decree was given by the Queen Mother! But it was also a secret decree, to save face for the Yingchuan Hou Mansion. No one knows. She has been sick for half a year, so it would not be unusual for her to die from the illness. However, she was actually sent away by a piece of white silk. Seeing the Queen Mother avenge her, who paid any attention to her? Even if her mother confessed, she was still an accomplice. ”

Although General Zhou didn't say it explicitly in his letter, everyone in the third room of the Zhou family knew it. Mrs. Yingchuan Hou must have threatened her with Zhou Shuyi's children before she would accept her fate. But so what? Although the decree was given by the Queen Mother Zhou, there must be the emperor's instructions behind it. How could it be possible if Zhou Shuyi didn't want to die? ! If she disobeys, the Yingchuan Hou and his wife will have to take action. She dared to attack Yingchuan Hou and his wife and harm their children, but now they did not add insult to injury, but only advised her to die herself for the sake of their children's future, which was already considered very kind.

At least Ma felt that the Yingchuan Marquis Mansion was very kind: "The Yingchuan Marquis Mansion also organized a funeral for her. Although they didn't make any big arrangements, they had everything they should have. Because her children all followed her man. After taking office in Jiangnan, Mrs. Yingchuan Hou also asked her maid to act as a filial daughter and wear sackcloth for her. This was something that could not be helped. It was still hot when she died, and the Yingchuan Hou Mansion only planned to stop Ling Qi. They will be sent out of the city on the same day. How can her son and daughter catch up? But when they return to the capital, they can still send their mother's coffin back to Chang'an in time.

The general and his wife were in the capital on Thursday and attended the funeral as representatives of Zhou Shuyi's family. They commented that the ceremony was quite decent. This is not because the Yingchuan Hous and his wife have any friendship with their sister-in-law, but for the sake of their own reputation, and also to give face to the Zhou family. General Zhou accepted the love of Marquis Yingchuan and mentioned this when he wrote home. In his letter to Zhou Shigong, he emphasized the knowledge and interest of Marquis Yingchuan and his wife. Zhou Shigong and Zhou Shicheng naturally knew this and would never dare to be dissatisfied with their sister's death.

This is all what Zhou Shuyi asked for, and it was the palace's intention.

Haitang noticed something mentioned in her grandmother Ma's words: "Should Zhou Shuyi's coffin be sent back to Chang'an for burial?"

Ma waved her hands and said: "Of course! Even though the Marquis of Yingchuan and his wife took care of their sister-in-law's posthumous affairs decently, the things she committed are really shocking. Who would be willing to bury such a poisonous woman and sinner in this world?" In her ancestral grave? So the Empress Dowager ordered her family to send Zhou Shuyi back to Chang'an and bury her next to her mother. At any rate, Zhou Shicheng's family would still take care of their mother's grave and offer incense at all times. Under the Nine Springs, it won’t be too desolate.”

Hai Jiao raised an eyebrow: "Zhou Shuyi is willing to die for the future of her children. Is it possible that her children don't intend to offer incense to her?"

Ma said: "Then it depends on the filial piety of her children. After all, the Yingchuan Marquis Mansion is not going to pay. Her man knows that she is dead and is still in Jiangnan and has no intention of returning to Beijing. I really don't know what she did back then. Want to choose such a person?”

(End of this chapter)