In the hall, Mrs. Cheng Zhu took the tea, took a sip, turned her head and frowned and said, "You are really good at fooling me with this tea?"
"I don't dare, but this is the only thing left in the house," Mother Li knelt down hurriedly. "There is also the monthly money of the servants, and I really can't withdraw it, so I just came to trouble Madam."
In normal times, a person like Mrs. Li who serves someone like me usually pays one tael, while the servants next to her pay anywhere from 500 to 800 yuan. In the past, it was not considered a burden, and during the New Year and festivals, you can get some extra.
It’s just that it’s not as good as it used to be—
She slightly tightened her hand holding the tea cup. Finally, she could no longer deceive herself and knew that she could no longer maintain her old style. Feeling annoyed, she threw the tea cup to the ground with all her strength.
Broken porcelain pieces and tea burst out in Mother Li's hands, making her flinch.
After all, she had been with the Cheng Zhu family all her life, and she didn't want to see this. She sighed and felt distressed, "Madam——"
Mrs. Cheng Zhu held her forehead, took a few deep breaths, and said after a long time, "I understand, you go to my room, take out some of the dowry and pawn it, let's pay for it for now."
Mother Li pursed her lips, lowered her hands and said, "Yes."
The broken porcelain pieces at her feet had not been cleaned for a long time. The more Mrs. Cheng Zhu looked at them, the more annoyed she became. She was about to have an attack when Mr. Cheng stepped over the threshold covered in wind and frost, and he did not know how many places he traveled.
She hurriedly went up to him and took the cloak he had taken off. When she passed the mess, her heart skipped a beat.
However, in the past few days, Mr. Cheng's silver hair has grown a lot. He rubbed his eyebrows with his fingers and looked tired, "Nothing happened in the house today?"
Mrs. Cheng Zhu was silent. At this time, Mrs. Li was taking the hairpin from her room and going out. When she saw the master coming back, she greeted him first and then went to do her own thing.
Mr. Cheng stared at the direction of Mother Li's departure for a long time and said, "It's time to reduce the manpower in the mansion."
"No," she was startled, then retorted, "There is nothing in this family that does not require help from anyone. I don't care about this, so I don't know."
He put down his hand and patted the desks hard, "Look at how many people are still here in this mansion. What are you doing raising so many people who are freeloaders?" The eldest son is not here, the princess is married far away, and Aunt Mei is recuperating in Changyu.
, there is really a lot of scattered things in the house.
She knew what he said was true, and a look of sadness flashed in her eyes.
How did it end up in such a situation?
Mr. Cheng let out a long sigh. After all, she has been with his wife for so many years. It would be false to say that she has no feelings at all. He comforted her casually, "Don't worry too much. Qiu'er's literary talent is extraordinary, so she wouldn't do such a thing."
Bad behavior.”
I don’t know if I meant this to her or to myself.
Hearing this, her eyes flashed slightly, and she suddenly recalled the scene a few years ago when she ran into Cheng Xingqiu burning letters in the house. However, he had his back to her at that time and did not see her coming and leaving quietly.
I'm afraid then there will be some problems. Otherwise, if it is an ordinary letter, why would you burn it?
She didn't dare to say anything, so she only agreed, "That's right, sir." Then she was speechless.
In fact, when she saw that he didn't mention anything about what he had gained today, she knew that he had been rejected again. If the Cheng Mansion was not like this, she could still go to the Zhu family.
But let's forget about a daughter who is usually married. She violated her father's request and insisted on marrying Mr. Cheng. Now even if she puts down her face, the Zhu family will no longer recognize her.
After much deliberation, I have asked for everything I should ask for.
A thought suddenly flashed through Cheng Zhu's mind, and she looked happy and said, "Isn't Sister Yi just getting the favor of the saint now? How about we go to Xinyang to help her?"
The more she thought about it, the more she realized that this method was feasible. Maybe if Sister Yi gave the emperor a few words of advice, Qiu'er would be fine.
"Confused!" Mr. Cheng frowned and scolded sternly.
His rebuke was like pouring cold water on her. She was agitated, but she didn't know why.
"Don't you understand yet?"
She opened her lips and said, "What, what."
"You used to tease that child like that, but now that you have been favored, you will help you in turn when you become the emperor? It's not yet certain whether this matter has something to do with Yi'er." He said with a gloomy face.
Cheng Zhu was stunned, "What should we do?"
What should we do? Just take it one step at a time.
Mr. Cheng originally wanted to have a nice conversation with her, but he didn't want her to be so stupid that she still couldn't distinguish the form. Some people were impatient when asked, so they walked away.
Cheng Zhu couldn't keep anyone, so he followed him all the way to Taiji.
Just then Cheng Rui came running over, holding two bouquets of wild flowers with his clumsy fingers, and held them up to her, "Mom, flowers." He was not fully aware of the fact that the Cheng family was about to fall. Although he hadn't seen his brother for a few days, there were still many flowers around him.
The maid coaxed him and said that the eldest young master was on business, so he believed him.
This idiot became the only one in the Cheng family who still had a smile.
The tip of Cheng Zhu's nose was slightly sour, so he sent his attendants to take him to play somewhere else.
.
But Ruan Yuyi got the promise, put on the power fence, and left the palace with the wood incense.
After leaving the palace gate, she sent the sedan chair back and planned to walk to the nearby market. When she could vaguely see figures under the white gauze, she knew she had arrived.
She had never been here before, so she didn't know where to find a doctor.
Mu Xiang was about to stop someone to ask for directions when Ruan Yuyi suddenly caught a glimpse of a dark shadow from the corner of her eye, so she held her hand and walked with her to a deserted place.
Finally, Ruan Yuyi stopped and raised her voice slightly, "If you still follow me, please be careful and I will file a complaint with your master."
The few guards hiding in the dark couldn't help but hold back their breath, but made no move. They couldn't be sure whether they had really discovered their whereabouts or were trying to test them. If they went out at this time, it would be difficult to explain to His Majesty.
She was extremely patient and stood quietly, waiting for the guards to come out.
Under the stalemate, the guards hidden everywhere still came to her and bowed in salute. One of them looked embarrassed and said, "Young men are just servants."
She had no intention of embarrassing them, "You don't have to follow me. I will explain to your master." The wind lifted the white gauze, faintly revealing her small chin underneath.
"This... the young ones are going back like this. It's hard to explain to the master. It's not safe for you alone."
She lowered her voice slightly and said, "Your master promised me not to send anyone to follow you. You have been noticed by me. Now you are looking for a place to hang out or go back. As long as you don't follow me, I will just pretend you have never seen you."
She glanced past the guards with solemn faces, paused, and then said, "Your master doesn't want to break his promise. If I tell him, he won't be able to explain to me."
After weighing the pros and cons with them, she said no more and waited for the guards to make their decision.
There was hesitation in their eyes. In fact, the only ones sent to protect this person this time were their brothers. Even if they did as she said, neither of them said anything, and the new emperor was far away in the palace.