In shock and anger, Shen Li couldn't think more, raised the curtain of the car and shouted: "Stop the car!"
Before the carriage stopped, Shen Li was about to jump out of the car, but Mrs. Xie hurriedly stopped her: "My lord, please don't worry, please listen to me again!"
Shen Li had already leaned half of his body out of the carriage. When he saw his wife blocking him, he said angrily with red eyes: "Why are you so nagging? Auntie only has this little flesh and blood. If there is an eventuality, I will never be able to atone for my sins."
Mrs. Xie didn't panic and just said: "I didn't want to wait until Qiao Yue went to relieve herself and be mistakenly identified. I still heard this sentence, 'Lancao, my second brother is going to die.'"
Shen Li opened his eyes wide, slowly sat back in the carriage, and said, "What exactly is going on? Tell me carefully."
Xie said: "I heard from La Yue and Qiao Yue that the other party was wearing a coarse mourning robe and had a white string tied around her bun. She was a teenage maid. When she saw that she had mistakenly recognized the person, she covered her face with her sleeves and ran away."
"You admitted the wrong person, twice?" Shen Li fell into deep thought.
"Not twice, but three times. When Zhao's mother went to relieve herself, she also heard someone outside admitting someone by mistake and saying the same thing." Xie said: "Master, I look at it, it seems like someone is deliberately looking outside. Spread the news."
The maidservant and the foster mother traveling with the mistress would go to the guest's house to use the toilet one after another. It was just for the purpose of inquiring about the news, so Xie arranged for the people accompanying her to go to the toilet under the pretext of going to the toilet. Unexpectedly, it was Lucky hit.
Shen Li was confused when he cared. Even though he heard something fishy in what he said, he was still worried about Shen Rui. He gritted his teeth and said, "No, I want to go back to see Brother Rui."
Mrs. Xie held on to Shen Li's sleeve and said, "My husband is just a junior. Even if I force myself to see Uncle Rui, what can I do? Even if Uncle Rui is really treated harshly, there are still Lao An and his uncle above. Just saying that the funeral was neglected at home and that the servants were indifferent, what else can my husband say?"
Shen Li frowned and said, "Then just sit back and watch? There has been no news about Brother Rui these days. It's obviously really dangerous. My aunt was the most kind-hearted during her lifetime. I guess some loyal servants couldn't stand it, so they used such crude means to warn."
Xie said: "My aunt's important work is not over yet, so many people are watching. If Uncle Rui is really seriously ill, the doctor will come to the door this morning, which shows that it may not be an illness. Even if he is really seriously ill, my husband can't rob someone by himself." No matter what is wrong, it is better to expose it in front of the clan. There are elders in the clan, and no matter what Lao An and Uncle Fourth Fang say, there are people who can suppress it."
She looked at the problem from a woman's point of view, and felt that even if there were some weird things in it, she would naturally think of the quarrel between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, the quarrel between wives and concubines, and the "hate of the house", and she did not think that Lao An could really cruelly harm her legitimate grandson. As for accompanying her Zheng Erniang, who is next to Lao An, comes from a scholarly family and is rumored to be about to be rectified. She knows the principle of "people's words are fearful". Even if she really regards Shen Rui as a thorn in his side, she will not be stupid enough to harm others at this time.
Even though Shen Li is concerned about Shen Rui, he also knows that he is of a lower generation. Even if he is the number one scholar, he has no reason to be superior to his relatives and elders. It is really difficult to stand up for Shen Rui alone.
He thought for a moment, then got off the carriage and said, "You go home first, and I'll go to my great-uncle's house in the fifth room..."
There are many people in the clan who have received favors from the Sun family, so naturally there are not just one or two people like Shen Li who pay attention to the Sun family's biological children. There are many other clan members who are as surprised as Shen Li and his wife.
If the Sun family did not have Yu Yin in front of them, Shen Rui would have no basis for all his calculations, which means that good and evil will be rewarded.
That night, the news that "the second brother in the fourth room was about to die" spread quickly among the clan members.
*
Liu Ya hid in the corner and watched the last female guest coming out of Lao An's courtyard. Fang breathed a sigh of relief and hurried back to the courtyard.
After staying up all night and toiling outside for a long time, Liu Ya's face looked exhausted, and her eyes became darker and brighter. Maybe it was because she saw more people in the afternoon, and her timidity was also reduced a bit.
Mother Wang was held back by Shen Rui and never returned to the wing. Liu Ya yawned twice shortly after entering the room. She couldn't help but frowned and said, "I've been resting for a long time. Why haven't I recovered from my sleep?"
Liu Ya rubbed her eyes and said, "The more I sleep, the sleepier I get."
Shen Rui had already stood up, leaning on the bedside, looking at Liu Ya.
Mother Wang frowned and said: "I am sleepy in spring, sleepless in autumn, and I take a nap in summer. I can't wake up in winter and March. This is true. But I slept too much during the day, and I was sleepy at night. My second brother didn't sleep at all today.
You are not allowed to disturb my second brother’s sleep at night.”
Shen Rui had something to say to Liu Ya in private, so he took the opportunity to say, "I want her to stay on duty tonight."
Mother Wang wondered: "Second brother...this girl yawns all day long, I'm afraid she won't be able to bear it anymore."
In order to hold off Mother Wang, Shen Rui stayed up all afternoon and slept little last night. When he saw Liu Ya yawning, he yawned as if he was infected and said, "I can't bear it either."
Mother Wang saw both children yawning, thinking that Shen Rui had slept enough during the day in the previous two days and was sleepy at night. If he didn't sleep today, he would be peaceful at night, so she stopped rambling.
It was already meal time, and there was no one in the big kitchen to deliver food to the cross-yard area. Mother Wang went to pick up every meal.
Although Mrs. Wang was worried, it was time to get the meal, so she gave Liu Ya a few words and went out.
Shen Rui was already hungry. When Mother Wang went out, he immediately took out the paper bag from under the pillow, opened it, picked up two pieces of rock candy and threw it into his mouth.
Liu Ya couldn't bear to say: "Second brother is very hungry, isn't it? My maid secretly left her own food to my second brother. I can't bear to be hungry."
Shen Rui chuckled and said, "You can't eat it. If you eat it, you'll be hungry in the past few days." The rock sugar melted with the spit liquid, and the sweet sugar water went down his throat, making him even more hungry.
However, he did not continue to eat. Instead, he handed the remaining rock candy and the paper bag to Liu Ya and said: "Eat quickly, don't let Mother Wang see it."
Although Liu Ya didn't understand what it meant, she still chewed the remaining pieces of rock candy honestly, crumpled the paper bag into a ball, and stuffed it into her purse.
When Mrs. Wang came back, she carried the food box directly outside and called Liu Ya out to eat as she did the previous two days.
Even though the room is cold and cold, it is still difficult to stop the aroma of the food. The servants can still eat three meals a day, but Shen Rui, the sick little master, can only "not eat after noon" because of "losing fire".
Two meals of porridge.
Shen Rui didn't need to go outside to look at the dining table. He could smell chicken and meat from the aroma. Even though the Shen family was rich, they didn't have everyone eating big fish and meat for every meal. It was just that "Xiangzhuang's sword dance ambition was in Peigong"
", on the surface it is for Mother Wang to eat, but in fact it is for him, the little master, to smell.
For Shen Rui, who was hungry, this was like torture. No matter who arranged it, they were grabbing seven inches of a child. Not to mention a real nine-year-old child, it was Shen Rui, a pseudo-child, who was hungry.
I was drooling all over the place, and I couldn't help but want to go out and grab something to eat.
Shen Rui lay on the bed, pulled up the quilt, covered his head, pinched his nose, gritted his teeth and greeted the ancestors of the Shen family warmly in his heart. But his mind was full of various dishes, and his mouth watered.
The rumbling in my stomach became more and more joyful.
Roast duck, roast chicken, braised fish, braised pork ribs, mutton soup... all kinds of delicious food pictures suddenly flooded into his mind, and Shen Rui's eyes turned red.
Under the torture, time becomes sticky.
When he heard the sound of Mrs. Wang going out, Shen Rui lifted up the quilt and a small amount of sweat broke out on his forehead.
Liu Ya walked in, looking surprised and uncertain.
When Shen Rui saw this, his heart sank and he said, "What? But what's wrong with taking action in the afternoon?"
Because she was afraid that the walls had ears, she originally wanted to wait until night to ask Liu Ya about her plans for the afternoon, but now she couldn't wait any longer. Liu Ya shook her head, opened the window and took a look, making sure that no one was around. Then she walked to the bed, opened her purse, and lay down inside.
Holding two rice cakes.
Shen Rui swallowed and said, "Didn't you say you don't have to leave it for me? You should eat it soon."
Liu Ya whispered: "It was given by my mother. She said she was afraid that the little maid would be hungry at night, so she asked her to eat when she was hungry. But when she was eating, her mother said she had no appetite, so she only used two chopsticks and gave her most of the remaining bowl of rice.
My little maid, my little maid has eaten enough food for two, how can she be hungry again?"
When Shen Rui heard this, he couldn't help but be stunned.
Liu Ya whispered: "Maybe Mother Wang left it to the second brother, but she didn't dare to say it, so she borrowed the hand of the maid?"
Shen Rui sighed softly: "Mother Wang is a good person."
It seems that Lao An really has bad taste. He chose this old man and a young man. One looks dull and the other is clumsy, but they are both good-natured people. Otherwise, he really needs to arrange two evil servants to take charge. I think
It is not easy to survive from a desperate situation.
Liu Ya was still young and didn't know the dangers of this job. Wang's mother was an old man and was used to ups and downs. She should have guessed Lao An's intention in choosing her and Liu Ya to "serve" Shen Rui. The old man and the young man
, are all alone, and have no other related people in the Shen family. Whether they let these two people "take the blame" or have other measures, it is extremely cheap.
Of course, Mother Wang's willingness to speak more to Shen Rui and leave food for him, thus "betraying" Zhang Lao'an's arrangements in disguise, was not just because of kindness. But there was no need to deal with the stakes involved.
Liu Ya said. After realizing this, Shen Rui's heart became heavier and heavier. From the time the old man and the young man "served" him, the fate of the three of them was closely related. Maybe he thought too much and made a false alarm, maybe
Really life and death are connected.
When it was time to watch the lantern, Mrs. Wang came to put down the curtain again and told Liu Ya to go back to the wing.
Shen Rui called Liu Ya into the tent, and the two of them met and talked about the afternoon in a low voice.
"In the afternoon, six wives came to Lao An's courtyard, followed by about twenty foster mothers and maids. Seven people went to the toilet, three foster mothers and four maids. Most of them were from Lao An's courtyard.
The sister inside took her with her, but after all, she was going into the toilet, so it was not easy to accompany her in, so she was waiting far away in the corridor. The maid followed the instructions of the second brother, and the foster mother waited for her to enter the toilet and called out to the maid sister.
Just treat it like admitting the wrong person, and talk about it before the other person comes in." At this point, Liu Ya said in confusion: "Why do we have to tell each other one by one? If we encounter two people in a family using the toilet, wouldn't we expose it when we talk about it?
"
Shen Rui said: "If you only make a show for one or two people, if you meet someone who is honest and does not cause trouble, wouldn't it be unfair to bury the matter as a secret in your heart? It is just to expose it. The more strange it is, the more attention it will attract."
."
The two masters and servants can be regarded as "sharing weal and woe". Liu Ya is a little more courageous than last night and couldn't help but ask: "Second brother is not afraid that a lady who has a good relationship with Lao An will tell Lao An this."
Peaceful?"
Shen Rui said: "The more friends you have with Lao'an, the easier it is to overthink it. If you know that Lao'an can cruelly attack your grandson, who would dare to be friends with her unscrupulously? Such private things can be said behind the scenes.
After all, we can’t say it on the table.”
Liu Ya seemed to understand, but she felt at ease, but she was so sleepy that she couldn't open her eyes as she talked. Shen Rui thought of something and said, "Has that orchid grass ever bullied you?"
Due to age taboos in Lao'an, the foster-mother servant who worked in Lao'an's yard only wore hot mourning for three days before changing into plain clothes. Shen Rui asked Liu Ya to choose a name for the maid, and Liu Ya chose
Orchid grass.
If the matter is leaked, Liu Ya can cover it up a little bit by hiding his face, but that Lancao will probably not be able to escape punishment.
Liu Ya lowered her head and whispered: "When the maid was on duty there, she always made her do her work, and also robbed her of food. She often poked her with a hairpin."
Shen Rui laughed "haha", and the master and servant settled in their respective places.
After a while, Liu Ya fell into a deep sleep. In order to cope with tomorrow, Shen Rui had no choice but to endure it and endure it with his eyes open.