Nowadays, Mrs. Xu does not have a close maid or maid by her side. The servants in the family are all eyeing the vacant positions, but Mrs. Xu has no intention of promoting anyone else.
Everyone secretly speculated that perhaps they were heartbroken by Hanqiao's betrayal and no longer trusted anyone, right?
Nowadays, the daily service in the room is done by a few older maids, rotating in pairs.
They had never done any work as personal servants. In the past, even when they stayed in the house, they always followed Hanqiao's arrangements.
Although they usually know how to do things very clearly, they are far less able to figure out Xu's thoughts than Han Qiao. Therefore, everyone is very worried when they are on duty, for fear that they will do something wrong and make Xu unhappy.
Today is the turn of Manqing and Mancui to be on duty. They have a very good relationship on weekdays and work well together. After serving Mrs. Xu for lunch, Manqing took the dishes away and Mancui came in with tea. .
Mrs. Xu didn't touch the teacup and sat at the table blankly, not saying anything, but her eyes always glanced towards the door subconsciously.
The moment he touched the door, he moved away quickly as if he was being burned.
The room was so quiet that Manqing stood aside and didn't dare to express her anger.
Mancui felt uncomfortable under the atmosphere in the room, and finally bravely said: "Slave, can I wait for Madam to take a nap for a while?"
"Why did you sleep after eating just now? Now all I have to do is eat and sleep every day. I'm almost like a pig!" Mrs. Xu said impatiently.
Mancui's face turned pale and she immediately fell silent.
Mrs. Xu had no time to pay attention to her, and she was feeling very sad at this time.
If it had been in the past, this would have been the time when the stewards from all over the place would come to report matters.
She used this time every day to finish all the things that needed to be done for the day, and she was almost done eating. She could just take a nap at this time.
But now that those stewards have gone to Shuangtang Courtyard, she, Mrs. Shen, has now been completely ignored by Mrs. Shen.
Mrs. Xu gritted her teeth with hatred when she thought that Mrs. Shen looked like she was planning to stay here forever.
As long as she is around, it will be difficult for me to stand up.
Even if Shen Tianshu gets married in two years, it is still unknown whether the housekeeping rights will be returned to him.
Xu was lost for a long time, and then tried to cheer up and asked: "Yuan Lin has been going to the academy for several days this time, why isn't he still on vacation?"
"Madam, isn't it almost the Mid-Autumn Festival? The young master said when he came back last time that he could have half a month's holiday during the Mid-Autumn Festival, so there was no holiday before."
Mrs. Xu thought about it for a moment, and remembered that something like this had happened. When she thought that it would be half a month before she could see her son, the spirit that she had just lifted up sank again.
This life is really hopeless.
Thinking of this, the figure of Zhao Haijun suddenly flashed in Xu's mind.
If I had married Zhao Haijun back then, would I have been happier now?
Thinking of this, Mrs. Xu shook her head.
Even if Zhao Haijun has always been in love with her, the Zhao family is so poor, how can they live a good life!
Seeing Mrs. Xu shaking her head, Manqing thought she was dissatisfied with the tea, so she quickly said: "I'll go get you a cup of tea right now."
Xu's thoughts were planned and she suddenly came back to her senses. She stood up suddenly in shock and wished she could give herself a slap.
How crazy! What on earth are you thinking!
"Madam..." Man Qing was so frightened that she took two steps back.
Xu actually didn't know what she was going to do. She just wanted to get rid of Zhao Haijun's figure that had been lingering in her mind. When she saw Man Qing looking at her with panic in her eyes, she made a random excuse and said: "I just finished eating." I can’t sleep well, so I went out for a walk to eat, and then I’ll take a nap when I come back!”
"Yes!" Man Qing secretly breathed a sigh of relief, quickly greeted Man Cui, and followed Xu out together.
No matter what you do, it's better than sitting in a room without talking.
"The weather has gotten a lot cooler recently. It would be good for Madam to go out for a walk more often when she has time. She will look better if she gets some sunshine occasionally..."
After going out, with the sunshine, Mrs. Xu's face was no longer as dull as in the room, and Mancui talked more.
Although Mrs. Xu had no interest, she walked to the back garden without any hesitation.
When Mancui saw that Mrs. Xu was not angry, but actually went to the back garden, she felt even more happy. She quickly followed and said, "I heard that many new flowers have been added to the back garden recently, and there are also many potted chrysanthemums. It seems that they are still there." What kind of rare varieties are there...uh..."
After entering the back garden, the master and servant immediately stopped in their tracks, and Mancui suddenly choked in the middle of her words.
Hanqiao's face flushed and she stood up from Shen Zhonglei's arms. She hurriedly arranged her messy clothes and hurriedly saluted and said hello: "I have met Madam."
Xu's slightly bloody face turned pale again. She didn't even look at Han Qiao, her eyes kept falling on Shen Zhonglei.
Shen Zhonglei just brought Hanqiao here to see the flowers, and the two of them got together somehow.
At first he didn't think there was anything wrong, but Xu's straight eyes made him feel inexplicably guilty.
Mrs. Xu saw that Shen Zhonglei's eyes changed from open to evasive, and then she finally felt that she had the upper hand. She raised her chin slightly and said coldly: "Master, in broad daylight, you should pay attention to your identity and don't be fooled by some unworthy people." The little hooves on the countertop are broken..."
These words are obviously talking about Han Qiao.
Hanqiao lowered her eyes and lowered her head when she heard the words, feeling aggrieved but silent.
Even if she said that it was Shen Zhonglei who took the initiative, so what? Not only would she not get any kind treatment from Mrs. Xu, but she would also offend Shen Zhonglei. It would be better to take the blame honestly and get some benefits from Shen Zhonglei afterwards.
Shen Zhonglei was about to explain, but he heard Mr. Xu continue: "This is the back garden of the house. I'm afraid the master has forgotten that there are three daughters at home who have not been married to each other, right?"
Hearing this, Shen Zhonglei immediately lost his mind and couldn't even explain himself.
Xu took advantage of the truth this time and vented some of her grievances while speaking.
"Some people should not think that they are lawless now that the old lady is backing them. If you dare to engage in such coquettish behavior at home and teach the girls bad things, the old lady will be the first to forgive you!"
Upon hearing this, Hanqiao immediately knelt down and said, "Thank you madam for your teaching. I will definitely keep it in mind. I will definitely restrain myself in the future and will always advise the master."
She originally wanted to rely on Shen Zhonglei's presence to unite the Xu family.
Unexpectedly, Mrs. Xu took advantage of the situation and said: "It's good if you can admit your mistake. Kneel here for an hour to reflect on it! Mancui, you stay and watch her, kneel for an hour before letting her go back."
Hanqiao didn't expect that Mrs. Xu would punish her in front of Shen Zhonglei. She couldn't help but turn to look at Shen Zhonglei, with a look in her eyes asking for help.
Shen Zhonglei didn't want to get into trouble with Mrs. Xu because of this trivial matter. It would be bad if he got into trouble in front of the old lady.
And thinking that he would only kneel for an hour, which was not a long time, he remained silent and acquiesced to Xu's decision.
Although the weather is not as hot as it was a while ago, autumn tigers should not be underestimated.
Hanqiao knelt for an entire hour, feeling dizzy and sweating profusely from the sun, almost fainting, and was carried back to the room by two little maids.
She collapsed on the couch and let the two maids help her change clothes and wipe herself.
When a maid was cleaning up the dirty clothes she had taken off, she suddenly said in surprise: "Auntie, have you come to Kwai Shui?"
Hanqiao said in a daze: "How is it possible? It's not yet the day..."