I'm already a concubine, who wants to fight with you?

Chapter 65 Redemption
After Xie Fei finished choosing, Mrs. Zheng did not rush to leave and continued to chat with the old lady.

"Speaking of which, Shirong and Yuan'er have been married for several years, but why haven't they had a child?" Madam Zheng said, "I have a prescription here, and Sihui got pregnant with it."

The old lady had no expectations for offspring. She said, "The child is grown up. He can do whatever he wants. I can't control him."

Xie Fei listened with his head down, thinking that this old lady was indeed too "Buddhist".

Since he doesn't care about his son and doesn't hope for an heir, could it be that he has some deep hatred for General Pei and wishes that the fourth branch of the family would have no descendants?

Mrs. Zheng did not mention it again. After exchanging pleasantries for a while, she left.

Xie Fei also wanted to leave, but the old lady didn't say anything, so she had to stay with her.

After a long while, the old lady said, "Ban is frivolous and stupid. You should not have too much contact with her."

Xie Fei said: "Mrs. Ban looks down on people like me. Even if I want to curry favor with her, she won't pay any attention."

The old lady said nothing more, closed her eyes and continued to recite.

Following Mother Deng's suggestion, Xie Fei bowed and left the Buddhist hall.

As she walked, she wondered if she could push the morning's chores to Su Lu.

She had just acquired so many treasures that she just wanted to go back and count them, wipe them with a silk handkerchief, and admire them. They were more than any ginseng or ganoderma lucidum and could prolong her life.

However, Su Lu jumped out and took her to check the accounts.

It was not until the evening that carriages drove in from outside the city and entered the main street with the sound of wheels.

Xie Fei was exhausted and said weakly: "I only get three taels of silver a month for my labor intensity. Is that reasonable?"

Anyway, she is the housekeeper now, so it’s not too much to give herself a salary increase, right?
Su Lu couldn't help but smile, and when she heard the hawking outside, she lifted the curtain of the car to take a look.

"Girl, there's a place selling candied haws over there. You're not going to talk about it this afternoon. Do you want to try some?"

"Of course I have to buy it if I come across it." Xie Fei stopped the carriage and asked someone to buy it.

She bought about ten strings, and even the old woman and the coachman each had one string. If they didn't like it, they could take it back and give it to the children.

Anyway, it's Pei family's money, so it would be a waste if not used.

Su Lu didn't eat it either, and held it in her hand all the way.

Xie Fei bit off a hawthorn, and the sour and sweet taste melted in his mouth, refreshing his mind.

"Miss Sulu, do you not like eating candied haws, or do you want to take some back for your sister-in-law?"

Su Lu said: "I have only one younger brother, and he loves to eat."

"As I remember, you were sent by the old lady's family? Are your parents still alive?" Xie Fei asked casually.

Su Lu lowered her eyes and said sadly, "My brother and I are born slaves of the Ji family. After our parents died early, we were the only ones left to depend on each other."

Xie Fei paused and stopped asking.

He is also a miserable person.

When the carriage arrived at the gate of the mansion, Su Lu got off first, and then helped Xie Fei down.

Xie Fei's butt was numb after sitting in the carriage for too long. He stretched his muscles after standing firmly.

At this moment, two men craning their necks to look behind the stone lions at the gate caught her attention.

The two people were an old man and a young man. The older one was in his sixties or seventies, with gray hair on his temples and a hunched back.

The youngest one was no more than 20 years old, with a scholarly air and a rather honest look. They seemed to want to go up and ask, but they hesitated and kept wandering outside.

"Miss Sulu, send someone to ask what those two people do?"

Su Lu also saw it and asked the servant to go and ask.

The servant asked quickly and was told that Li Die'er's grandfather and brother went to the Marquis' Mansion and couldn't find anyone. When they learned that Li Die'er had married into the Pei Mansion with Miao, they hurried back.

Xie Fei winked at Su Lu, who understood and told the servant to take the two men in through the back door first, and then go to Songyueju to report.

In the main hall, Xie Fei drank tea and looked at the two of them first.

The two men knelt on the ground, not daring to look at Xie Fei even through the screen, they were extremely terrified.

Xie Fei had an idea in mind and asked, "Who are you to Li Die'er?"

The young man quickly said, "My lady, I am Li Die'er's brother, Jiang Si, and the man next to him is Li Die'er and my grandfather."

Xie Fei tilted his head and asked Su Lu in a low voice, "Isn't it a surname?"

Su Lu whispered, "My dear, Li Die'er's original name was Jiang Xiu. She sold herself to the Marquis' Mansion and was assigned to Miao Xiaoniang, who then changed her name."

Xie Fei understood, and asked the two loudly, "Li Die'er has sold herself to the Marquis' Mansion, and married into our Pei family with her master. Now she is the master's concubine. What is your intention in coming to look for her at this time?"

Old man Jiang let out an "ah" and looked like he was about to pass out.

Jiang Si was also surprised and said quickly: "Madam, please calm down. Grandpa and I have no other intentions. It's just that Li Die'er hasn't contacted our family for several days. We are really worried, so, that's why..."

In fact, Li Die'er has always kept in touch with her family.

Her parents died early, and she and five or six brothers and sisters were raised by Old Man Jiang.

But Old Man Jiang is also a widower. After the death of his son and daughter-in-law, he has to support his family and take care of a bunch of young grandchildren, which is really beyond his ability.

During those years, the imperial court levied heavy taxes, and the little food that could be harvested from the land was taken away by the government. Several grandchildren starved to death or died of illness, leaving only Jiang Xiu and Jiang Si.

Old man Jiang knew very well that if he continued like this, even the last two seedlings would be lost.

So he spent all his money, looked for connections everywhere, talked a lot, and wore out several pairs of straw sandals. Finally, he found an opportunity, sent the youngest Jiang Xiu to the marquis's mansion, and signed a contract to sell her.

He thought that being a servant in the marquis's mansion would provide him with food and clothing, which was better than starving to death outside.

Later, just as he wished, Jiang Xiu grew up in the mansion with bumps and bruises.

Jiang Xiu also did not forget his grandfather and brother. He lived frugally for a time and would convert any reward he received into silver and send it back home.

Jiang Si was supported by his younger sister. After several years of hard work, he passed the imperial examination and became a scholar. With this title, he could at least work as an accountant in a wealthy family in the local area.

Some time ago, Jiang Xiu, who changed her name to Li Die'er, wrote a letter home to complain that she was assigned to serve Miao, who had an impatient temper and would kick and stomp her if she made the slightest mistake. When she was annoyed, she would whip and beat her with a stick.

She really couldn't bear it anymore and begged her grandfather and brother to save her.

When the grandfather and grandson received the letter, they were extremely anxious, but how easy was it to redeem Jiang Xiu?
Fortunately, the family that Jiang Si lived with was willing to help him and agreed to lend him thirty taels of silver. Together with the few taels he saved from his frugal life, it should be enough for Jiang Xiu to escape from slavery.

Taking the silver, the grandfather and grandson hurried to the capital. When they inquired at the marquis's mansion, they were told that Li Die'er had already arrived at the Pei Mansion.

After listening to the two people's story, Xie Fei was still not sure whether what they said was true or false.

There are families like this who, upon learning that their family members have been punished, find excuses to cause trouble at the host's house.

The host was too lazy to argue with these ruffians and just gave them a few taels of silver to send them off. They didn't care about the life or death of the family members and left with a smile after taking the silver.

(End of this chapter)