"...Be careful? You should just say that you want to kiss her again, right?"
"Sister-in-law Mingjian, that's exactly what we mean."
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a crisp sound of the tea bowl falling to the ground.
The maids and maids in Mrs. Cheng's yard rushed out in a hurry, and soon only their personal maids were left in the yard, standing guarding the door with their heads bowed and holding their breath in silence.
Looking at the tea bowl lying on the floor, there was a silence in the room.
"The marriage has been decided, how can we break our promise?" Mr. Cheng said in a deep voice.
"Actually, as long as the sedan has not entered the door, the marriage is not finalized." Second Mrs. Cheng said, looking at Mr. Cheng and smiling, "Brother, you also want our daughter to marry a good family, right?"
"How come a promise of a thousand pieces of gold is not a deal? What kind of behavior is it to go back on your promise to a good family?" Mr. Cheng said, looking at Mr. Cheng Er with a bit of displeasure, "Erlang, this is what you mean.
?”
Mr. Cheng Er lowered his gaze.
"You still have to be cautious when it comes to marriage..." he said.
Before he finished speaking, Mr. Cheng slapped the table next to him. He was obviously very angry, and the black rosewood table fell to the ground with a muffled sound.
Everyone in the room trembled with fear.
"You must be true to your words, and you must be resolute in your deeds. You are such a villain!" Mr. Cheng raised his eyebrows and yelled, "Cheng Dong, you know what you are doing!"
This was probably the first time in his life that Mr. Cheng Er saw his eldest brother so angry. He couldn't help but panic. His first reaction was to salute and admit his mistake. Mrs. Cheng Er stretched out her hand to stop him.
"Brother, Erlang certainly knows what he is doing." She said, with a look on the verge of tears, "This is not outside, this is a domestic matter. He is doing it for his daughter and his children. Isn't it human nature?"
Mr. Cheng Er sat up straight, then leaned over and saluted.
"Yes, brother, I have to do this for my dear mother." He said.
Mrs. Cheng laughed when she heard this.
"For his daughter?" she said, smiling as if she had heard a funny joke, but also with annoyance that could no longer be concealed, "What if it was for his daughter that we had to wait until today? For what reason, in your own heart
It’s clear, and others also know it in their hearts.”
"Sister-in-law, what do you mean by this? You need to make it clear." Mrs. Cheng Er burst into tears immediately and said, "I can't afford to be a stepmother!"
At the same time, he reached out and pulled Mr. Cheng's sleeve.
"Erlang, I can't interfere with your wife's marriage. I am an outsider, so there is no place for me to speak."
"Why is there no place for you to talk? You are her stepmother and mother." Mr. Cheng Er sat up straight and said, "Brother, what's wrong with me marrying a good family for my daughter?"
"Erlang, why do you want my daughter to marry a good family? Don't I think the Wang family is a good family?" Mrs. Cheng shouted with a livid face.
"Compared with the Qin family in Shuzhou, it certainly doesn't matter." Mrs. Cheng Er snorted, slowly wiping her tears with a handkerchief.
That’s it! It turns out that yesterday I went out not to buy any clothing materials, but to sell my daughter!
Mrs. Cheng looked at Mrs. Cheng with a sneer.
"Although our Wang family is not as good as the Qin family, we can't be bullied." She said, "The engagement has been concluded. I want to see if the Qin family dares to bear the reputation of being married to a bad person!"
Mr. Cheng also had a serious expression on his face. He glanced at Mrs. Cheng and then looked at Mr. Cheng.
"Have you lost your mind when you only saw the word Qin family? You also know that the Qin family is a good family. How could such a good family marry us? Don't you just think about what's wrong with this?
"He shouted, "After hearing a few slanderous words from a woman, did you panic and do such a frivolous thing?"
Master Cheng Er looked slightly hesitant.
Yes, there is something wrong.
"Brother, do you think so..." He nodded and said hurriedly. Just as he spoke, Mrs. Cheng suddenly burst into tears, covered her face and fell to the ground.
"I can't live anymore, I am a woman who slandered me, Erlang, divorce me, divorce me." She cried, beating her chest.
This was the first time for the three Cheng family members to see him falling to the ground and crying like this. They were all stunned and at a loss for a moment.
"You, what are you doing?" Mrs. Cheng shouted.
"What a decent person you are! What a decent person you are!" Mr. Cheng's face turned green, he rolled his sleeves and shouted, "You come from a family of poets and writers, look at what you look like!"
Mrs. Cheng Er just rolled on the ground crying.
"I have been slandered by a woman like Daji. How can I talk about poetry and writing? Erlang, you divorce me, divorce me. I have no shame here." She cried, "I, I have no shame."
I went back, I..."
She cried and stood up again, looking around.
"Forget it if I die, I won't have to tarnish your Cheng family."
He yelled, got up and hit the doorpost.
Mrs. Cheng saw clearly and quickly hugged her, feeling anxious, angry and ashamed.
"Why are you crazy!" she yelled, raising her hand and slapped Mrs. Cheng Er.
The crisp slap made the room quiet.
Mrs. Cheng's second wife, with her clothes disheveled and her hair messed up, covered her face and looked at Mrs. Cheng in disbelief.
Mrs. Cheng also looked dazed, looking at her hands.
She had slapped such a slap countless times in her heart and dreams, but this time it actually came true...
"You, what are you like!" She came back to her senses and said with strength.
If you ruin this fool's marriage, you will ruin their future, and you will ruin Qiniang's future marriage. If someone wants to ruin Qiniang's marriage, I will fight her to the death!
This is the woman who has been pretending to be a gentle and dignified eldest sister, enjoying the benefits that should belong to their second wife, and accepting her respect with peace of mind, and all she gets is just a little bit of fur from her when she is in a good mood.
When giving alms, you must also express your gratitude in a flattering manner, otherwise you will be considered ignorant and dishonest!
She will live like this for the rest of her life! She will always be a vassal for the rest of her life!
Why! Why!
"Wang Shiniang, who do you think you are and dare to hit me!"
Mrs. Cheng Er raised her hand and hit him hard.
Mrs. Cheng quickly turned her head to avoid it, but was hit on the temples, and her hairpin fell away.
There were screams in the house, and the servants and girls outside the door could no longer ignore it. They rushed in and shouted to persuade the two ladies who were fighting together in a panic to separate.
This scene made the two men of the Cheng family dumbfounded. They were squeezed around in the chaos, kicked over several times, the tea bowl was stepped on, and the room was filled with cries, shouts and screams.
Why did it suddenly happen like this? What on earth is going on?
In Mrs. Cheng's yard, Mrs. Fu came out of the house and saw several servants whispering in front of the courtyard door. She coughed heavily and watched as the servants stood away in shock.
"What are you doing so sneakily?" Madam Fu said in a low voice with a serious face.
Several servants looked at each other with uneasy expressions.
"Ms. Fu." One finally stood up and said, but hesitated to speak.
"Say." Madam Fu said with a frown.
"The eldest lady and the second lady seem to be fighting..." the woman whispered.
A fight started?
Madam Fu stared in shock.
Are you kidding me?
"Really, there's a lot of noise there... Do you think you should tell the old lady?" the woman said.
Before Madam Fu could speak, someone spoke behind her.
"Tell me what?"
The women looked over in surprise and saw an old woman standing out from the corridor at some point, holding a bowl in her hand.
She is over sixty years old, with white hair, wearing crow-green clothes, with a thin face and a gloomy expression. While looking at the people in the courtyard, she raised her hand and took a sip of the soup in the bowl.
Madam Fu and others hurriedly took a few steps forward.
"No..." Mrs. Fu opened her mouth to say, but she was interrupted by Mrs. Cheng after she uttered a word.
"Say!" Mrs. Cheng raised her eyebrows and shouted angrily.
"The first lady and the second lady are fighting." Madam Fu opened her mouth and said without hesitation.
Mrs. Cheng's eyes widened.
"What..." she yelled, and then she stopped after uttering a word. The soup bowl in her hand fell to the ground, and she held her neck with both hands. Her eyes widened, she opened her mouth and made an ahh sound, and the person fell backwards.
"Old lady!"
"Come quickly! Call the doctor!"
"Old lady, old lady!"
There was a bang and chaos in the yard.
When the Cheng family, which had always been dignified and quiet, was in chaos, Nan Cheng, who had always been chaotic and noisy, was quiet as never before.
Looking at the young lady sitting in front of a simple thatched hut, the old man respectfully stepped forward to salute.
"Madam, I'm so sorry, we still haven't found it." He said, a little uneasy.
"He didn't come back?" Cheng Jiaoniang asked.
The old man nodded.
"We were all looking for him on the street," he said. "We don't know where he hid, but we couldn't find anyone."
"It happened before. He disappeared for several days and then came back." Someone next to him said.
Cheng Jiaoniang looked over.
"Yes, yes, little liar...Cheng Ping has indeed been like this before. He hid when he got into trouble, and then came back after a while." Someone else nodded and said.
"Won't he not come back?" Cheng Jiaoniang asked, "Didn't you say that he was not originally from the Cheng family?"
"I'm really not sure whether he is a member of the Cheng family. This child came here a year ago. He said that his father or grandfather is from our Jiangzhou Cheng family. He went to seek a life and settle down outside, but he missed his former home, so Cheng Ping came to find him.
Yes, that's what he told Mr. Cheng, and he didn't know what proof he had, so he believed him and left him here," the old man said.
"Where did he come from?" Cheng Jiaoniang asked.
The people in Nancheng obviously didn't care much about this person with the surname coming from out of town, and the origin of Cheng Ping didn't matter to anyone, but after being shocked by the reward yesterday, the old man had obviously made a thorough inquiry yesterday.
"Shuzhou." He said without hesitation.
Cheng Jiaoniang sat motionless and did not speak any more.
When she didn't speak, others didn't dare to speak anymore, and everything was quiet.
"I see."
It seemed like a long time and it seemed like a breath, Cheng Jiaoniang said.
Everyone present relaxed and breathed easier.
"Then..." the old man asked tentatively.
"Then keep looking and wait slowly." Cheng Jiaoniang took over his words and said.
Upon hearing this, Manager Cao immediately stepped forward and handed over another bag of money.
"This is hard work," he said.
Then, he gave me money again, but the old man dared not take it with trembling hands.
"Don't dare, don't dare." He said repeatedly, "I'll give you money after you find the wife."
Manager Cao glanced at Cheng Jiaoniang and saw that she had no other instructions, so he stopped forcing her and put it away as she was told.
"Well, I'll tell you when there is news." He said.
The old man thanked him repeatedly, but the person in front of him did not get up and leave. Cheng Jiaoniang still sat motionless.
"Madam, look at you..." the old man said with some hesitation.
"I want to sit here." Cheng Jiaoniang raised her head and looked at him and said, "I won't disturb you, right?"
The old man hurriedly waved his hand, let alone sit down, as long as you are willing, you can stay without disturbing me.
The people around dispersed, and Manager Cao waved his hands hesitantly and led the people back, leaving a gap for Cheng Jiaoniang, who was sitting on a wooden pier in this messy, low and cramped place.
"Madam, are you okay?" Someone finally couldn't help but asked in a low voice.
Manager Cao looked at the little lady sitting there as still as a stone sculpture. Her hood was put up by Banqin, and her wide dark cloak hung long on the ground. The sun was bright, but it fell on the little lady's body.
There doesn't seem to be any warmth at all.
Sitting like this, it seems that I will sit there until the end of time.
Nothing? It’s strange that nothing happens!
Manager Cao shook his head, but who could guess the deep thoughts of this weird little lady?
Let her do whatever she wants. Manager Cao stood up straight and looked calm. (To be continued)
