Sheng Shaoqing spent a long time mentally building up, then patted Mrs. He's hand and said softly, "Good niece, there is nothing we can do about this."
Mrs. He also sighed and said, "Don't talk about the dirty things in my family..."
"Tell me about you. Why do you want to come back to Chenliu?"
Sheng Shaoqing came up with the rhetoric he had prepared and rehearsed last night, and said in a sad tone, "My father died of illness a few days ago. Before he died, he wanted me to return to his hometown to find relatives of the He clan. He was still young when he was lost.
I only remember that I am the son of Chen Liuhe, and that my family suffered a disaster, and most of the rest have been forgotten. Later, when I lived in Beijing, I heard about the case, and I did not dare to disclose my identity, so I had to live incognito."
"It wasn't until a few days ago, when my father was on his deathbed, that I found out that I still had relatives in Chenliu, and that's when I found him."
Sheng Shaoqing looked pitiful and on the verge of tears. Mrs. He finally truly believed that this was really her aunt, and all her doubts since she received the news last night were completely gone.
"But how did Madam know that I was at that inn and that I was looking for me so early in the morning?"
Mrs. He chuckled and said, "You are not my husband, so how can your good nephew do such a good job?!"
"That rogue didn't do his business at noon yesterday and came to the house asking to see his uncle. When he saw his uncle, he started crying and calling his mother for being wronged. It's really unlucky!"
"Which owner complained or smelled of alcohol?"
Mrs. He invited Sheng Shaoqing to take a seat, and then continued, "This bastard has always been like this before. He tricked his uncle into supporting him, but in the end he found out that he was the one who was in the wrong!"
"In the past, your niece-in-law was just an upright person. She could just apologize to others and give you some gifts. But now you are the head of a village. If you still act so wantonly and ignore the official reputation, I am afraid that the same disaster will happen again.
.”
"It doesn't matter what I heard. I actually heard that this matter is related to the He family, and that my cousin's relatives are here to look for me. Then I won't let him bully you!"
Sheng Shaoqing asked tentatively, "Aren't you afraid that I'm lying?"
Mrs. He suddenly turned around and looked at Sheng Shaoqing intently. It wasn't until Sheng Shaoqing got goosebumps and hair all over her body that Mrs. He smiled brightly and looked away, "Let's not tell you why you are here. With your demeanor, you are as good as my great-grandfather."
It’s just a pity that it was carved out of the same mold.”
Mrs. He looked around and said with a sad smile, "What's more, look at me like this now, why are you here to beat such an autumn wind?"
Sheng Shaoqing swallowed guiltily and quickly changed the subject, "Young Master..."
When Mrs. He heard Sheng Shaoqing mentioning her son, her expression suddenly tightened and she said unnaturally, "He has been traveling in the mountains these days. As you know, with spring here, there are more things to do for fun and entertainment."
Sheng Shaoqing nodded, "That's true."
"However," Sheng Shaoqing reminded Mrs. He as if he had just remembered something, "you have to be careful when traveling these days. I passed by Chenliu a few days ago and I heard..."
Sheng Shaoqing lowered his voice and said, "I heard that a few days ago there was a strongman who caused trouble in Chenliu, robbing homes and houses, and even hid the stolen goods in the county governor's house afterwards!"
"These strongmen are really brave, but fortunately the government caught them in time and brought them to justice. They said a few days ago that they would be executed for their crimes!"
"However, although the government has caught many suspects, there is no guarantee that a few have slipped through the net. I came here and saw that the outside is not very peaceful..."
"First, Fengchun Tiancai would cause chaos, and then there would be rampant bandits. I was so frightened that I quickly found a lot of guards and followers to follow, and then I dared to continue coming south."
"By the way, how old is your young master? Does he know any self-defense skills?"
Mrs. He didn't hear what Sheng Shaoqing said at all. She only heard one sentence: "Beheaded on crime." She almost fainted immediately.
Seeing something was wrong, Sheng Shaoqing hurriedly stepped forward to support the shaky Mrs. He, "Madam! Niece! What's wrong with you?!"
Mrs. He slowly regained her breath and asked Sheng Shaoqing with a livid face, "Are the strong men you mentioned..."
"Is it something?"
Mrs. He asked word by word, "Did it happen after Yun Shangshu came to Chen Liu?"
Sheng Shaoqing nodded, "Probably. Right, but those strong men are very strange. I heard they are all children of aristocratic families."
"These dandies really have nothing to do and make trouble for nothing. Now, if they make the imperial court angry, they may end up with the same fate as our He family before!"
After hearing this, Mrs. He was about to faint again, but luckily Sheng Shaoqing held her hand down, "What are you doing..."
Mrs. He calmed down in Sheng Shaoqing's arms for a long time before Sheng Shaoqing could help the limp Mrs. He to sit down reluctantly, "Are everything you said true?"
"It's absolutely true! There's been a lot of talk about this outside recently!"
Sheng Shaoqing was very confident that the false and true story he had made up was very convincing upon hearing it.
Sure enough, Mrs. He said with trembling bloodless lips, "Well then. Then why didn't I know?"
"It must be Wang Yuan, the bastard who didn't tell me!"
"I knew it. I knew it," Mrs. He murmured, standing up and pacing hurriedly in the hall, her face turning pale inch by inch, "I just said that I had a premonition recently, and I just said
Know!"
"It must be that Wang Yuan didn't tell me, it must be that he let someone hide it from me!"
"This bastard! For the sake of his official position, he did it! He did it!"
"How dare he lie to me!"
Sheng Shaoqing pretended to be ignorant and asked, "Madam, what are you talking about? Why can't I understand?"
Mrs. He suddenly woke up, grabbed Sheng Shaoqing's hands and said, "Good aunt, you! Tell me what you heard before, I want to hear it."
Sheng Shaoqing had a puzzled expression on her face, and she finally figured it out. This expression was simply a universal shield. After practicing for a long time, she was now able to skillfully switch this expression to her own face.
"I heard this from hearsay, otherwise, like this -"
"I remember I heard it in a teahouse yesterday. Did you send someone to find out?"
Mrs. He immediately shook her head, "No, if Wang Yuan deliberately concealed it from me, if I sent someone to investigate, he would definitely know."
"Just tell me one thing. What you heard is absolutely correct. Chen Liu's case is about to be prosecuted?"
Sheng Shaoqing nodded firmly, "There can be no mistake! When I passed by Chenliu, I heard that the first batch of suspects had been escorted to Beijing. There is no way I could lie to you!"
Mrs. He was trembling all over, trying hard to calm down. After a long time, she explained to Sheng Shaoqing, "I have heard people talk about the case you mentioned, but...it didn't mean that the crime was not serious at that time.
, can the person who is not the mastermind go home after being tried? How come it suddenly..."
"Did you know that the Queen Mother came to Chen Liu a few days ago?"
Mrs. He nodded reluctantly and listened to Sheng Shaoqing continue to talk nonsense, "The Queen Mother was originally going to take Her Majesty to perform the plowing ceremony, and then return to the capital. But..."
"But the Queen Mother was furious when she heard that something like this had happened to Chen Liu before. She ordered the county guard and others to investigate the case severely. If the case cannot be solved, it will be handed over to Dali Temple, so..."
Sheng Shaoqing silently drew a circle in his heart: The Queen Mother is such a good scapegoat!
"I...I understand..."
However, Sheng Shaoqing persisted and asked back, "Niece, why are you so interested in this matter? Could it be that you..."
"We, the He family, are also involved?!"
Mrs. He looked at Sheng Shaoqing with pure eyes and was debating whether to tell her or not. The sound of hurried footsteps outside the hall came in. Mrs. He quickly changed her expression and pretended that she had not heard anything. Even... He
Madam also took the time to turn around and tell Sheng Shaoqing, "Aunt, we just reminisced about old times and never mentioned anything about Chen Liu..."
The man stood outside the door and listened to the corner for a while. When he saw people talking and laughing in the hall, he slowly walked in.
"lady."
Mrs. He didn't even raise her eyelids and sat back next to Sheng Shaoqing, completely ignoring Wang Yuan who looked embarrassed.
Sheng Shaoqing thought to himself that the couple was actually in such a situation, as if the road was overturned and they would part ways if each side went to one side.
Wang Yuan's wife ignored him and had to turn to Sheng Shaoqing and said, "Aunt He family, Wang Yuan is really reckless. I always thought someone was pretending to be from the He family, but I didn't expect that you are really the daughter of my cousin who was lost back then."
"It's also my fault that kid Ayu, he can't speak clearly. I thought someone stuck a green onion in a pig's nose and pretended to be an elephant in this bluestone village."
Mrs. He then spoke up, "Is there anyone here who can pretend better than you?"
"Hey! You!" Wang Yuangang was about to argue with Mrs. He, but he had no choice but to give up due to the presence of an outsider like Sheng Shaoqing.
"I hope my aunt will forgive me for what happened today. I will ask Ayu to come and apologize to you in person soon!"
"There's no need to apologize to me. After all, he didn't take advantage of anything. However, I heard that the Chenliu Wang family has a strict family tradition. But when I saw it today, I realized that the rumors were not true. In the busy market, everyone
He dared to molest a daughter of a good family without any regard for his own face, and the words he said were simply unpalatable!"
"If he really wants to repent, let him apologize to the shopkeeper."
Once Wang Yuan's words were out of his mouth, he couldn't take them back, so he had to accept them in full and agreed, "What my aunt taught me is that in the afternoon, I will prepare a generous gift for Ayu to come to your door to apologize!"
"I heard that my aunt came to Chenliu to find her relatives?"
Sheng Shaoqing nodded happily, "Yes."
Wang Yuan probed again and asked, "Is the Yuan family my aunt is marrying from Cangzhou?"
Sheng Shaoqing nodded happily again. Anyway, Yuan and Yuan are the same, who would know that she, Mrs. Yuan, is actually Mrs. Yuan?
A hint of joy flashed across Wang Yuan's face, and his aunt was a little more enthusiastic when he said, "That's no wonder!"
"Yesterday, I heard from many shops in the town that a big customer came from our hometown and was extremely generous. Who did I think she was? It turned out to be our aunt!"
Sheng Shaoqing and Mrs. He looked at each other awkwardly. Mrs. He choked back and said, "What does it have to do with you?"
Wang Yuan walked up to his wife with a smile and said, "How can it be okay? Your aunt is naturally my aunt. If the family doesn't talk to each other, my aunt's dinner will be served at the lower house, so you can reminisce with my wife.
.”
"you!"
When Mrs. He saw that this man was trying to be attentive again, when she thought of the fact that he had deceived her son and was about to be sent to the capital for questioning, she felt angry and immediately wanted to grab the hot teacup at hand and smash it.
Wang Yuan, however, caught his wife's wrist very familiarly and said in a low voice, "There are outsiders here! Save some face for me! Besides, you can't change your move and you will throw tea away every time.
Damn it! How many sets have been replaced at home? How can I withstand such a fall from you?"
"you!"
"I'll throw it down!!"
Mrs. He smashed several tea cups one after another with a "bang bang bang" sound. Even the tea cup in Sheng Shaoqing's hand could not escape the bad luck. She snatched it away and left it on the floor with a crisp sound.
"Wang Yuan!"
"Hey! What are your orders, madam?!"
Seeing that the man in front of her was still laughing and joking, Mrs. He felt a sense of sadness in her heart. She had been a couple with him for more than ten years. She had seen him go from being upright to being upright, and she had seen him begging for mercy everywhere, even even
Even my own son could be given away as a gift.
However, this relationship between husband and wife seems to be nothing more than a joke now.
Wang Yu felt aggrieved for his uncle time and time again. He had an arrogant aunt whose family was in decline and had no one to support her. But if Wang Yuan himself didn't have this intention, how could Wang Yu dare to say this?
"Qing'er has been out of town for a few days for fun. As a father, why don't you ask about your son's whereabouts?"
Wang Yuan looked embarrassed and said, "Why do you say this in front of your aunt?"
"What? I'm just asking where your son is. Why are you nervous?"
"My aunt said that when I passed by, Chen Liu heard that there was some unrest recently. I'm worried about Qing'er. I want to ask you, what's wrong?"
"It's nothing," Wang Yuan hesitated and avoided Mrs. He's eyes. This fact should not be known to outsiders, otherwise, it would really be a disaster for the whole family!
When Mrs. He saw Wang Yuan's reaction, she gave up completely and said to Sheng Shaoqing, "The banquet has been prepared in the back courtyard, aunt, please come to the table."
When Wang Yuan saw that Mrs. He no longer asked any more questions, he breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Yes, yes, there are also aunt's housekeeper and accountant, let's go together. After all, we are from the Yuan family, so we can't wait any longer."
Sheng Shaoqing looked at Wang Yuan's face that was completely different from that in the morning and asked with a little amusement, "Wang Xiangzheng didn't believe that I was Madam's aunt before. How come you are now calling each other more affectionately than my niece?"
Wang Yuan smiled and said, "That's because I can't see Mount Tai. As soon as you left, Mrs. Yuan's letter was delivered to me, asking me to make some conveniences for my aunt here so that she can find her relatives with peace of mind. But
Unexpectedly, a flood washed away the Dragon King Temple, and the whole family no longer recognized each other."
"If I had known that you were my wife's aunt, I would have sent someone to notify you before you came so that we could pick you up!"
"How can it cause all these unhappiness later on?!"
