The Concubine's Survival Manual

Chapter 268

Qin Niangzi almost couldn't hold the teacup in her hand, and after taking two or three breaths, she stammered, "Really, did this happen?"

Although she didn't do it obviously, but after all, the second lady had a time with her sisters, and she is not a fool, so why can't she see her abnormality?She glanced at Seventh Lady, and said softly, "Well, but I didn't take it very seriously. Seventh Sister also knows that the second girl in your house seldom walks around in front of people, and I'm afraid the relatives don't know many of them. If I hadn't met me face-to-face through the window, I wouldn't have recognized him."

"She..." Seventh Lady started her sentence, and then felt that something was wrong, she thought about it before she said, "The girl is dressed as a civilian girl?"

The second lady took a sip of tea and said thoughtfully, "The dress is quite nice, but she walked on the street with a bare face and didn't wear a crown. She brought a little maid behind her, and went out from Wanshou Temple and turned into donkey meat. It disappeared in the alley. She didn't look at me."

Although Sijiu City is not big, the Xu family's eyeliner must not spread all over the city. The donkey meat alley is in the east of the capital, and there is an entire Forbidden City separated from the coal alley where Xu's family lives. The possibility of Ping Guogong's discovery is also very high.Seventh Lady couldn't help frowning, and hesitated for a long time before saying, "Second Sister, Yu Qiao died suddenly, relatives were a little suspicious..."

"I just know this level, so I didn't go to Xu's house to talk about this matter." The second lady's tone was full of sympathy, "Don't worry, if this matter comes to me, it will come to me. The rest Well, I don't want to know at all."

For the sake of being a second wife, others really can't find any faults.Seventh Lady agreed with a look of gratitude. "Second sister is still sympathetic to me."

She couldn't help asking again, "Is the girl looking okay? Between her expressions, is she still happy?"

The second lady nodded slightly, "There are many smiles on her face, and the little maid beside her looks neat and tidy, she looks like a girl from a middle-to-lower family."

Seventh Lady let out a sigh of relief, so she didn't mention the matter, she just asked Second Lady, "Have you got a letter from brother-in-law?"

Then he told Er Niangzi, "I'm afraid there will finally be some clues about Fifth Sister's matter."

The second lady's expression changed, and she couldn't wait to ask, "Who on earth is so insane and committed such a heinous crime? Is there any evidence?"

After all, this incident has not yet started in Xu's family, and Seventh Lady didn't go into details, she just told Second Lady some of what Fifth Young Madam did, and Second Lady was already terrified. , with an unconcealable hatred on his face.

"The Zhang family has such courage, so no one else can blame what happened to them." A layer of frost suddenly appeared on her delicate face. "Ms. Zhang is really too bold and reckless. Isn't she afraid that one day her reputation will be ruined and her family will be harmed?"

Seventh Lady really didn't want to probe into Madam Wu's psychology, she said indifferently, "I'm afraid that in her heart, no one can catch her. If she hadn't made a mistake back then, she would have been involved now. It is also difficult for the people below to pull her out along the line."

The two spoke a few more words, and the second lady told the seventh lady, "If there is anything I can say, you can just tell me, as long as we are clear in our hearts, whether there is evidence or not is another matter. "

When she said this, she obviously wanted to use the power of the Sun family and the Yang family to oppress the Zhang family. Seventh Lady didn't know what it was like, but she thought that if the Xu family was convicted, she and Xu Fengjia would also be implicated and down, so she cleaned up again. After losing his mood, Su Rong complied.The second lady discussed with the seventh lady again.

"Seeing that this year is my father's [-]th birthday, and it is sixty years old, the eldest sister wants to celebrate it. It just so happens that the elder brother-in-law Ding You is going to Beijing to resume activities. She plans to accompany her brother-in-law to Beijing. It just so happens that you, My sixth sister and I are both in Beijing. She wrote to my third brother-in-law to ask. This year, my third brother-in-law may not be able to come, but my third sister also intends to come to Beijing to celebrate her birthday. Except for my fourth sister, everyone can come together Gather in the capital and make arrangements for father. What do you think?"

Seventh Lady is a girl who got married in the capital, what else can I say?She nodded with a smile, and then asked the second lady, "What gift does the second sister plan to give? Speaking of which, I have everything at home, and I don't know what to give as a decent gift."

The second lady pointed to the seventh lady, "I think it's very good to send a landscape grid with the word longevity. After the sixtieth year, you can celebrate your birthday, and the furnishings in your father's house will have to be changed. This landscape grid is clever and decent, and outsiders can choose it." Not much trouble."

She winked at Qiniangzi again, and said with a smile, "Take it easy too, don't cause too much trouble for eldest sister and third younger sister."

Seventh Lady immediately understood: the sisters have their own circumstances, and although they all have a lot of money, Seventh Lady and Second Lady are the mistresses of a duke's family, so their actions are naturally different from those of First Lady and Third Lady.If she is too extravagant, the two elder sisters will be very difficult to handle. Besides, there is also the sixth lady in the palace. Right now, she is the most noble person in the Yang family. If I raise the gift specifications up, it will embarrass her .

After the two sisters made an agreement, the second lady was a little sad, "Well, speaking of it, this year is still not enough. Your second brother-in-law was already on the way to Nanyang at that time, and the third brother-in-law, July and August is the autumn flood, he is the river It’s not good to go away without authorization. When my father is 70 years old, we will make it more lively.”

"Fourth Sister is really not coming?" Seventh Lady also felt a little regretful, "When we were in Baifang Garden, we were not close to each other, but now we go out, sometimes I really miss it. In fact, the matter of Fourth Sister-in-law has long been It's been three years..."

The second lady shook her head, "I wrote several letters to her, persuading her to come to the capital and ask her father to come forward to find a quiet nunnery to practice. Among other things, Brother Nine is on the side and will take care of her. She wrote back saying that she In this life, I will spend my whole life in Jiangnan, guarding the tomb of my fourth brother-in-law, and with my fourth aunt looking after her, no one can bully her."

Seventh Lady couldn't help smiling when she thought of Fourth Aunt's demeanor.The second lady said again, "The last time I met my mother for a drink at someone's house, she also said that she planned to move all the people in the Baifang Garden to her hometown, and she wanted to sell the garden so that it would not be a waste of time to take care of it. It would take a year. I said it's not necessary, there are so many people in the family, we have to arrange something to do, besides, there are those industries in the south of the Yangtze River... My mother said that the eldest aunt and the fifth aunt have passed away one after another in the past few years, and only Bo Xiazhong is left in Baifang Garden Xia, Twelve Aunts have been begging her to take her sisters to Beijing for a reunion every day, and Mother has already agreed. If these two go again, there will really be no one living in Baifang Garden."

As she spoke, she showed a rare expression of regret.

Thinking of the scenery in Baifang Garden, Seventh Lady fell silent for a moment, and after a long time, she slowly said, "Oh, after all, it's the yard where I grew up... I still feel a bit reluctant to let go."

It's just that even if he doesn't let go, the elder will definitely go back to the Northwest to spend his later years in peace after retirement, and his daughters are not in the south of the Yangtze River. It is not known where Brother Nine will go in the future. In the next ten years, although Baifangyuan will still be there, But I'm afraid it's also because the family is deserted, and there are always servants who take care of it diligently. Compared with the lively garden full of red and green, and the singing of swallows at that time, it has changed the world.

The eyes of the second lady also shot out the light of nostalgia. She lost her mind for a while, then bowed her head and said, "Oh, in the past few years of marriage, sometimes I would go back and have a look in my dreams, but now I think about it, I want to come back to the old place again. , I was a little scared again."

Paused, then sighed, "I don't know who is hoeing the grass on Wumei's grave every year."

As the wife of the eldest son, Wu Niangzi was naturally buried in the ancestral grave of the Xu family in Yangzhou. Over the years, even though there have been many sacrifices, but the family is far away in the capital, no one has personally visited her grave to pay homage.Seventh Lady was silent for a long time before she said, "Last time I wrote a letter from the two accountants in the south of the Yangtze River, saying that they stopped by to visit Fourth Sister when they were doing business in Yuhang. I went to pay my respects."

The room fell silent again, and after a long time, the second lady wiped the corners of Kai's eyes with a handkerchief, and said in a low voice, "It's getting late, I'm afraid you have a lot of things to arrange when you go back, I won't keep you here."

Seventh Lady knew that Second Lady was referring to Yu Qiao's case, so she stood up and said goodbye, "I'll come to Second Sister to bother you again when Fifth Sister's matter comes to an end."

Er Niangzi held Qin Niangzi's hand tightly and nodded again, but she was speechless, she just sent Qin Niangzi out of the house and watched her get into the sedan chair.

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Qin Niangzi had a lot of worries along the way. After thinking for a long time, her heart was really ups and downs. When she returned to the house, she asked that Xu Fengjia had been called out in the afternoon. There was a hint of impatience.Even when Shiro and Goro came back from school and begged her, "Mother, accompany us to put together jigsaw puzzles, write calligraphy and draw pictures." They were all pushed away by her excuse that they were not feeling well.

The two children are very sensible. Seeing that Qin Niangzi was faintly irritated, he didn't come to bother her. Goro earnestly sought a promise of "playing with you for a day in the future", so he pulled Shiro, "Brother, let's go find big brother , Brother to play."

After the two children had gone down, Li Xia changed tea for Qiniangzi, saying, "It's rare to see you so upset..."

To Li Xia, of course there is nothing to hide, but whenever Qin Niangzi thinks about the death of Xiaoliujiang and the three of them as soon as Yu Qiao's incident happens, she feels a little flustered. She thought about it, but shook her head , "It's nothing, but the second sister mentioned the fifth sister again. Thinking of the fifth sister's death for three years, I feel a little emotional in my heart."

He also shared with Li Xia the current situation of some of the sisters. When the two were talking, Xu Fengjia came back.

This young general has always been easy going, and ordinary servants would never bring him into Mingde Hall, but today he brought Xiao Fuquan into the house, and when the boy entered the house, he looked around furtively, It made everyone secretly laugh.

Only then did Xu Fengjia notice Xiao Fuquan's little trick. He knocked on Xiao Fuquan's forehead, and shouted, "Damn it, you got in here! Why don't you get out?"

Xiao Fuquan giggled, took out two yellowed books from his arms and put them on the table, and saluted Qin Niangzi again, "Mingde Hall is the territory of the Young Madam, if the Young Madam wants Fu Quan to go away, Fuquan will go away." The young lady didn't say anything—"

He glanced at Xu Fengjia, but didn't say anything further, Qiniangzi and Lixia had already been amused by him, Qiniangzi glanced at the secret door and said with a smile, "It's a rare time to come in, let Zhongyuan pour you a bowl of tea. There’s still time to roll after eating.”

Xu Fengjia kicked Xiao Fuquan in vain and sent him away, "Go outside and have your tea, you are not an eyesore to me." Then she went to Qin Niangzi again, flipped the two genealogy books to a certain page and gave them to Qi When the lady read it, it was indeed clear that there were two daughters from a certain family, one for the Wu family, one for the Qiu family, and another genealogy book that clearly stated Qiu Zhi's mother's surname.

Seventh Lady let out a long breath, followed the genealogy, watched Zhongyuan go out with Xiao Fuquan's ear in her hand, and then asked Xu Fengjia in a low voice, "When do you plan to go to Xiaotangshan?"

Xu Fengjia's eyes were cold and hard, he stared at the family tree and pondered for a moment, then he said decisively, "I can't wait any longer, tonight I will go to Xiaotangshan at night, and invite my mother back, it's better to have her here to deal with this matter." Father speak."

Although Qin Niangzi felt that Xu Fengjia was a little anxious, this matter had lasted for three years, and now it finally had an end, even she couldn't help feeling a little impatient, she nodded and said, "Father, you have to find a good one." Excuse... If mother doesn't want to expose this matter in her heart, it will inevitably take a long time. If you behave strangely and make the fifth room suspicious, things will be difficult to handle."

Xu Fengjia said in a deep voice, "Don't worry, I know what to say. Besides, I still don't understand Mother's temperament? She is only more angry than you about this matter, and she is the fifth room..."

That's right, Mrs. Xu probably hates Mrs. Wu Shao even more than herself. If there is a chance to bring her down, how can she let it go so easily?Qin Niangzi smiled and didn't say much, she got up to pack Xu Fengjia's bags, and told him, "I'm going out of the city now, and I'm afraid it will be night when I reach Xiaotangshan, so walk carefully at night, don't be alarmed, the horse catches the cold , it’s not a joke.”

At this time it was already dusk, and Shang Yuan came in to light the lights. Xu Fengjia looked out the window, snorted, and said to himself, "Little Fuquan... Forget it, because he wants to run with me at night." Come on, I won't punish him this time."

Qin Niangzi followed Xu Fengjia's line of sight, just in time to see Xiaofuquan salivating and talking to Zhongyuan, who was usually the most talkative person in Zhongyuan, but instead ignored him, but there was a little shame in the corners of his eyes——through With the lights in the window, the expressions of these two people are clearly visible.

She was about to smile and say, "I think it's the Qilin class's play, and it's not as good as these two people acting now." But thinking of Yu Qiao again, she couldn't help being speechless for a while.Xu Fengjia glanced at her, frowned again and said, "Why do you look at your face, you have something on your mind?"

Qin Niangzi came back to her senses at once, and covered herself, "It's nothing, I just thought that there are so many things to do in the future..."

Xu Fengjia looked at her carefully for a few more times, then patted Qin Niangzi on the shoulder, and said in a low voice, "This matter is over, there is not much for you to worry about!"

He strode out of the room, went to the door and called Lixia over again, and told her, "Don't let your master stare at her without eating, and don't worry about it after eating, just play with the children, and go to bed on time ,understood?"

Li Xia smiled, "You can go out without worry!" Together with Shang Yuan, they pushed Xu Fengjia out of the door, then turned back and asked Qin Niangzi, "Where are these two books?"

Seventh Lady hurriedly said, "I'll do it myself!" As she got up and went to the table, she personally received the two volumes of genealogy into the compartment where she usually placed the loose-leaf books, and locked them again.

Li Xia, Shang Yuan, Bai Lu and other people close to him also had a vague idea about the case of Wu Niangzi, but they didn't ask if Qi Niangzi didn't say anything.Shang Yuan smiled and said, "Young Madam, it's time to have dinner too—you should eat a few more bowls today, lest Shizi think he's not at home, and you won't even be able to eat!"

Seventh Lady forced a smile, and said softly, "Here we come."

She thought for a while, then shook her head in self-consciousness, sighed, and then let go of her thoughts and left the brightly lit Xisanjian.

(End of this chapter)