Xia Lu, who tripped and fell to the ground, burst into tears. At the same time, Agnes's scream also shocked the entire mansion.
After a while, the servants gathered around and asked in panic what happened. Alice, who heard the noise, immediately jumped up from the bed where she was resting, rushed downstairs, and then rushed in front of her sister and daughter.
.
She soon discovered that her sister had tears in her eyes, and her daughter Xia Lu was being held in her arms.
"What happened?" she asked tremblingly.
"I was playing with her just now, but she accidentally fell and hit the stairs..." Agnes answered with a cry.
"Xia Lu...Xia Lu..." After hearing the bad news, Alice almost fainted. She hurriedly took her still crying daughter from her sister's hands, and then carefully checked Xia Lu's injuries.
Fortunately, the injury was not serious, just a little scratch on her body. Alice looked at her daughter again, and after confirming that there was nothing unusual about her, she finally felt relieved.
Then, she looked at Agnes, who was still crying, "Agnes, why are you so careless?"
Although she was a little reproachful, her tone was not harsh - if someone else had caused her daughter to be hurt by such carelessness, Alice would definitely be furious, or at least hold a grudge in her heart; but when the culprit was her sister, the situation was different.
It was the same. Not only did she immediately forgive her sister in her heart, but she also subconsciously found many excuses for her.
After all, it's normal for a little girl to have hairy hands and feet. It's not surprising that she can't take good care of her children.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." Agnes was still crying and kept apologizing to her sister, "Sister, I didn't mean it, I just... I just didn't notice."
"Okay, don't cry." Seeing her sister crying so sadly, Alice softened her heart even more, "Xia Lu is fine, just a little scratch on her skin. Children, this kind of thing is bound to happen! When we were children,
Who wouldn’t get hurt? There’s nothing to be afraid of, just be careful in the future.”
Then, she half-seriously joked with her sister, "But you have to learn a lesson. After all, you will be a mother in the future. If your child is accidentally injured, you will be sad."
"I'm so sad right now!" Agnes replied sobbing, "Please, forgive me."
"Agnes, don't make such a fuss, I forgive you." Although Alice was very distressed by her daughter's injury, in order to appease her sister, she still forced a smile, "Okay, I'll take Xia Lu to deal with it first, and you can rest as well.
Just give it a try."
Then, she took the initiative to kiss her sister's cheek, "It's okay, it will be over soon, don't worry."
After saying that, she asked the servants to return to their work, and then she took Xia Lu to the storage room where the medicine was stored to bandage the wound.
Everything returned to calm, Agnes became a person now, and no one paid attention to her actions anymore.
Moreover, because she cried pitifully because of guilt, everyone was sympathetic to her mood, and no one would come to disturb her, which gave her even more convenient freedom.
This is her purpose.
She knew that she had done something evil - in order to achieve her ulterior motives, she actually used despicable means of injuring her niece. This made Agnes, who had always been proud, suffer a great blow in her heart.
Precisely because she felt guilty from the bottom of her heart, her tears deceived everyone, even her smart sister didn't notice anything unusual.
Is it worth paying such a high price?
She didn't know, but she knew that now she had no other way to go, and she couldn't go against her father's request, because she also didn't want her family property to fall into the hands of others.
Maybe it's selfish, but it's better than having nothing.
She knew that her time was limited, so she suppressed the grief and guilt in her heart, quickly walked up the stairs, and then followed the familiar path in the corridor directly to her sister's bedroom.
Her movements were so dexterous and swift, like a female cat hunting, and her prey was only that one thing.
As she expected, after hearing her daughter's painful cries, Alice lost her usual caution in panic and rushed down the bedroom door without even closing it. Now she walked in without any obstruction.
She had been to her sister's bedroom countless times and was already familiar with the furnishings. Without any confusion, she walked to the bedside table and opened the middle drawer.
There will be a locked box inside to store important items, and the key will be under the bedside table - this is what she accidentally discovered when she was a guest at her sister's house.
At that time, she was innocent and naive, but she never thought that one day she would actually run into her sister and become a thief?
Fate does often play cruel jokes on people.
……………………
"Okay, baby, it's okay..."
While comforting her daughter, Alice carefully bandaged her wound and applied medicine. With her efforts, Xia Lu recovered from the pain and smiled through her tears.
For children, this is just an ordinary stumbling block in their growth. It has happened before and will happen again in the future. It is nothing worth remembering deliberately.
Just when Alice was glad that her daughter was okay, she noticed that there was another person at the door. She looked up and found that it was her sister Agnes.
At this time, Agnes still seemed to have not recovered from the blow just now, her expression was dull, and she was a little distracted.
"Agnes?" Alice put her daughter down and called her sister over.
"I'm sorry." Agnes walked to her sister dejectedly, and then apologized to her again.
"I already said it's okay, so what does it mean if a child falls twice?" Alice comforted her sister nonchalantly, and then placed Xia Lu in front of her sister, "Look, Xia Lu is fine at all, she doesn't blame you.
.”
Just as her mother said, Xia Lu smiled and stretched out her hands to her aunt, as if asking her to hug her.
Looking at her niece's innocent eyes, Agnes reached out and picked her up again, then kissed her cheek,
Originally this was the happiest thing for her, but now it made her feel a little bit sad.
At this time, Agnes no longer wanted to tease Xia Lu, and she hurriedly said goodbye to her sister.
Alice also saw that Agnes was upset now, but she thought her sister was too guilty, so she didn't feel strange, so she comforted her sister a few more words and then let her go.
Agnes hurried back home and immediately came to the study. By this time, the Duke was already waiting impatiently.
"How's it going? Did you get it?" He asked directly as soon as he saw his daughter.
Agnes said nothing, but took out a piece of paper from her sleeve and handed it to her father.
This is the trophy she got after all her efforts today - a loan note from Poncena Bank.
According to Alice's previous request, the loan for her family was released in batches, so there were several such bills, but Agnes did not need to take them all out. She only took one out and took it home.
As evidence to trace the source.
The Duke took the note and looked at it carefully and nervously.
He confirmed that it was indeed genuine and not a forgery. There was a signature on the signature line, but it was not very scrawled, and there was no full name, more like a "monogram".
But even so, it was enough for the Duke, because he could compare it with other Poncena Bank notes in circulation and find out the person.
"Did Alice notice?" Then the Duke raised his head and asked his daughter.
"No, I did it very carefully." Agnes didn't want to repeat what she had just done, so she answered briefly, "But... with my sister's personality, I'm afraid she will find something wrong sooner or later."
"Yes, she is such a person." The Duke nodded with deep approval, "So we don't have much time left. I will find that person today, and you can quickly visit her again tomorrow and then find a way.
Put this thing back."
Agnes nodded silently, knowing that this was the best way.
"Agnes, you did a good job..." The Duke breathed a sigh of relief. The feeling of finding a ray of light in the dark tunnel made him feel extremely good. "After all, you have not let me and your mother down."
the love for you."
Agnes bit her lip, but still didn't say a word.
The father also knew that his daughter was in a bad mood at the moment, so he didn't say anything more. Instead, he waved his hand and asked his daughter to leave, "Okay, you go and take a rest first."
However, Agnes did not leave immediately. She hesitated for a moment, and then asked her father, "Dad, what other clever ideas do you have next? Even if we really find out the lender behind the scenes, what should we do?"
How to convince him to cooperate with us instead?"
Agnes's question went straight to the point, but her father didn't want to clarify his thoughts with her. He just sighed, "What else can we do? We can only understand it with reason and move it with emotion... I believe,
Considering our family’s reputation, if we lower our face and plead with him, I’m sure he will consider it.”
Agnes blinked. Although she was simple in nature, she was not completely ignorant of the ways of the world, so she felt that her father's idea seemed a bit too naive.
Those bankers are only interested in profit, how could they help their family because they are moved by a few words from their father? Even if they can persuade him, God knows what hidden conspiracy is behind it, and it might be more terrifying than my sister.
However, when she wanted to ask again, her father seemed not to say more, so Agnes had no choice but to suppress her doubts and walk out.
In the final analysis, she was helpless and could only hope that her father could create a miracle.
Next, during the day, the already old Duke, like clockwork, energetically rummaged through boxes and cabinets, and then asked his cronies to collect notes from Poncena Bank. Although others did not know what he wanted to do,
But since he had orders, he had no choice but to obey them.
And just after dawn the next day, he called his daughter to the study.
Looking at her father with bloodshot eyes, Agnes couldn't help but feel a little distressed.
"Dad, are you okay?"
What responded to her was her father's smile.
Because of the wrinkles on his face and the bloodshot eyes, the smile didn't contain the usual kindness, but instead had a bit of ferocity that made Agnes feel horrified.
"It's okay...I'm okay...hahahaha..."
This smile coupled with this laughter made Agnes even more creepy. She even worried for a moment whether her father had gone crazy. "Are you really okay?"
"I'm fine..." After laughing for a while, the Duke finally stopped laughing and regained his usual composure.
Then, he took the note from the side and handed it to Agnes.
"Take this note back as soon as possible, and be careful not to let your sister find out."
"You succeeded...?" Agnes immediately guessed the meaning.
"Yes, I succeeded... We are saved, my daughter. Hahahaha..." Because he was so proud, the Duke couldn't help laughing again, "Sure enough, God has not abandoned me yet, and our family business can be saved.
!Ha ha ha ha!"
The harsh laughter made Agnes feel nervous, but at this moment she couldn't help but feel a little more happy.
Although so many things have been sacrificed, at least... at least everything seems meaningful.
I think I'm repaying my parents' kindness.
With this feeling of joy, she took the note from her father and carefully put it back into her sleeve.
Next, she had to find a way to distract her sister and secretly put the note back like yesterday. However, after the first experience, she had a better idea. Just one or two minutes would be enough. It was difficult.
They cannot be compared.
The Duke watched his daughter leave with his bloodshot eyes wide open. After her daughter disappeared, he rang the bell again and called his butler over.
"Do you have any orders, Your Excellency?" the butler immediately asked respectfully after arriving in the study.
"Go to Mr. Bowen's house in person, confirm his whereabouts, and report back to me immediately after he returns home." The Duke did not waste time and gave a brief order to his confidants.
"Which Mr. Bowen?" The butler never responded.
"Bovan from the Bank of Poncena! It's him!" the Duke's eyes widened, and then he shouted impatiently.
At this time, his face looked so ferocious that the housekeeper was so frightened that he could hardly stand still. He nodded quickly and bowed, "Okay, I understand...I'll go right away!"
Then, as if fleeing from a ferocious beast, he turned around and fled from the study.
After the study fell into silence again, the Duke suppressed his feelings of anxiety and joy.
At this time, the fatigue of staying up all night made it difficult for his old body to support him. He only felt that his eyelids were particularly heavy and he just wanted to rest quickly.
Ancestors of all generations, I hope you have spirits in heaven and bless me with everything going well.
He muttered silently in his mind, then lay directly on the table and fell into a deep sleep without any image.