in spring

Chapter 290
Zhuo meditated, slowly picked up the tea bowl, and took a sip: "Those are the children of the rich and powerful, no matter how bold they are, they dare to be so bold, but our family...we are relatives by marriage , Thinking about it, they don't dare to do too much."

How could Chunying reassure her?He hurriedly said: "Although that is the case, but... they were just a little slower when they got out of the way, and they came over with a whip. If they don't know someone, it can be said that they don't know their identity, but they bought Zhuangzi earlier. The matter, his family has obviously come to find Numaid's father and Zeng Guanshi, how can they not recognize it? Now that they recognize it, why do they want to use the whip for a small matter? Numaid's father was only slightly injured, but Zeng Guanshi couldn't even get out of bed Yes. My wife said that these young masters have a sense of propriety, but the slaves really don’t look like them. These young brothers have been used to living a high and rich life since they were young, and they happen to be young and energetic..."

Seeing that Zhuo's expression gradually changed, Chunying hastily added a sentence to clear herself up: "This servant is not complaining in front of his wife because his father suffered a slight injury. I am really afraid. Thanks to my wife's praise, this servant has also learned a little bit." The housekeeper's fur, plus the fact that he heard people talking about it in the West Mansion before, he knows a little bit about the outside world. The adults behind these brothers have never been on the same side as the Lord Hou of the West Mansion, let alone the matter that the master was sued before , and they are inseparable from the few of them, and they all have a grudge! Daxing area is not fertile and fertile, and the neighboring villages are small, why do they prefer to buy Zhuangzi there? "

Zhuo put down the tea bowl, and slowly wiped the corners of his mouth with a handkerchief.The other girls in the room seemed to feel that the atmosphere was a bit dignified, and knowing that they were discussing a serious matter, they retreated quietly.

Qingluan is one of Zhuo's confidantes, but she didn't leave. She looked at Zhuo and then at Chunying, laughed dryly, and said, "Maybe it's just a coincidence? The Zhuangzi is dozens of miles away from the capital. The property under the name of our mansion doesn’t produce much, and the owner doesn’t live there, so even if they have evil intentions, what can they do?”

Chunying shook her head: "The thing I'm afraid of is not what they want to do, but... with them around, the things in the village... I'm afraid they won't be able to hide it!"

Zhuo immediately remembered that the "secret" transaction between Lijiazhuang and Nanyuan was no longer a secret, but it violated the law after all. If her husband's political opponents knew about it, it would be embarrassing to expose it. of.If the emperor trusts her husband, this trivial matter can only be regarded as innocuous, and she can also smear herself to win the trust of the emperor, but the problem is that the emperor seems to be a little suspicious of her husband, and when the husband returns to Beijing to wait for a new appointment, this incident happened. This kind of thing is very bad!

She made a decisive decision: "This matter cannot be delayed! Invite Aunt Xu to come!" Qingluan immediately turned around and left.Seeing that only she and Zhuo were left in the room, Chunying spoke again: "Madam, even if you accept the sale, there will be traces left. But there are quite a few Zhuangzi nearby who do this sale. Among them are the royal family. If there is a trouble, most of these families will be fine, and those with less confidence will be brought out for questioning. Our family has Prince Jing's mansion as the backer, so we can be regarded as relatives of the royal family, so it should be fine. Madam, please don't worry too much. But... Those sons and boys have already harassed the common people. If no one stops them and kills, the emperor may be angry! I'm afraid that those people will not be willing to admit their crimes at that time and will bite back .”

On the surface, she was trying to comfort Zhuo Shi, but in fact, she was aggravating the danger a bit.Having experienced those two visits by angels, how could Chunying not know that the emperor had suspicions about the male master of the East Mansion?Besides, compared with the Hou's Mansion, the East Mansion is separated from Prince Jing and his wife by another layer, so they can only be regarded as members of Concubine Jing's natal family, not far from the royal relatives.The emperor was also jealous of the second master, and might use this as an excuse to leave the second master idle.

Seeing Zhuo's expression that seemed to be moved by her words, Chunying wanted to try harder, but she swallowed the words again.You still have to be careful about how you do things. If you talk too much, it may arouse the suspicion of the second wife. At that time, not only will you fail to achieve your goal, but you will also cause trouble to your upper body.Anyway, now she is almost sure that the Zhuo family will definitely order the Li family village to stop the secret transaction with Nanyuan. Manager Zeng was injured again, and he has no ability to turn the light into the dark.Once this matter is over, he will have no excuse to threaten his father.Then when the second master comes back, the second old lady and the second wife should reward the whole family when they are happy. When the time comes, brother-in-law Lu will come to ask for grace again, and there will be no response.

After a little deliberation, Chun Ying had already figured out the next plan, then quietly looked at Zhuo Shi's expression, waiting for her order.

Zhuo remained silent all the time, his eyes were uncertain, and there was a hint of worry in his eyes.

After a while, Qingluan and Aunt Xu came back.The latter had just met Li, and Zhuo ordered, "Isn't Zhuangzi in Daxing doing business with Nanyuan? You go and tell Mr. Xu, send an urgent letter and order them to stop immediately! Respond to the beasts." All the prey should be cleaned up, and all the huts used for breeding must be dismantled, leaving no traces! This matter is of great importance, so Director Xu should send two reliable family members to supervise it, the sooner the better!"

Aunt Xu was surprised, but she didn't pay attention to the sale of two or three hundred taels of silver that year, so she readily agreed, and was about to do it, but was stopped by Mrs. Zhuo: "Don't make too much trouble!" Don’t let the people in the other village know about the movement, even the people in our own village..." She paused, and then continued, "Even the people in our village should be disturbed as little as possible. When things are cleaned up , just let the wind out, let's simply sell this Zhuangzi!"

Chunying was secretly taken aback.She originally only planned to let the second wife issue an explicit order to stop the business between Lijiazhuang and Nanyuan, but she did not expect that the other party would simply sell Zhuangzi.Thinking of the simple and kind people in the village, she hesitated a little.There are a bunch of lawless playboys making trouble around there. If there is no Dongfu as a backer, will they be bullied?
Bowing her head and thinking for a while, Chunying said cautiously: "Ma'am... If the Zhuangzi is sold... the village has been doing this business for a long time, and the tenants in the village know something about it, if someone coaxes them to tell it..."

Zhuo's face was serious: "I'm afraid if I don't sell it, I'm afraid if I sell it, it's better to sell it clean! What's the matter with the tenants? Can they still report us?!"

Seeing that she seemed a little impatient, Chunying quickly apologized and said with a smile: "It turns out that the servants thought too much and forgot the difference between officials and people. Ordinary people don't have the guts. It's just that the servants are thinking about the new master's house in the neighboring village... ...I'm afraid that they will plot against the master and wife, intimidate and lure those tenants to talk nonsense and so on... But after selling Zhuangzi, it is indeed much more worry-free, and it would be even better if the buyer is someone who the princes and brothers would not dare to provoke."

Zhuo couldn't help laughing: "Where can I find such a family? If it's a good farm, it's fine, but this village has four seasons, except for round-grained rice and mulberry, other products are common. How can those high-ranking and wealthy families value it? Sell ​​it to Xifu?" At this point, she felt that this method was not bad.Hou Ye's family members are much stronger than her husband, so they won't suffer greatly from it!
Chunying originally thought about the Hou Mansion, but then thought that when the owner of the Dong Mansion was away, the Hou Mansion sent people to manage Daxing's Zhuangzi, but they didn't squeeze out any money. I'm afraid I'm not happy either.So she said: "It's the mulberries that grow well! Every year when the mulberry season comes, only our family and the other two produce the best ones in Beijing. I heard that the nobles in the palace eat other mulberries. The goods supplied by the two families! After hearing about this, the maidservant thought, it would be great if we could get in touch with the Siyuan Bureau in the palace. How respectable would it be for our family’s Zhuangzi to supply the mulberries used in the palace? Although it's just a dream, even the palace loves to eat this food, those royal relatives probably like it, they heard that our family sells Zhuangzi, they will definitely come to buy it!"

Zhuo's heart moved, and he faintly had an idea.Aunt Xu next to her has already bent down, and whispered in her ear: "Ma'am, when Eunuch Qiu sent people home last time, he mentioned that the mulberries sent by our house are good, even the palace doesn't have such fresh ones... He seems to be familiar with the eunuch of the Siyuan Bureau..."

Zhuo gave her a wink, and said: "You go to deliver the letter first, otherwise... we will discuss it later!" Aunt Xu agreed, turned around and took a deep look at Chunying, and then left quickly.Chunying squinted her eyes, pretending to be puzzled and asked: "Ma'am... didn't you say you want to sell Zhuangzi?" Seeing that she didn't understand, Zhuo smiled: "I want to sell, but the buyer... ...I'll find it first, wouldn't it be easier to sell it?" Chunying pretended to have suddenly realized: "It's the servant who is confused."

Having said all that needed to be said, Chunying chatted with Zhuo Shi for a while, and seeing that she was a little tired, she helped her to thump her shoulders and loosen her bones, and at the same time motioned Qingluan to stand closer to see her technique.After a while, Zhuo became comfortable, and Qingluan also learned it. After rubbing it for a while, the former was quite satisfied: "I heard that you have this unique skill, but it is the first time to enjoy it. Why didn't you teach my girl earlier? I will benefit from it sooner rather than later."

Chunying smiled and said: "It's just a coincidence that I just remembered it today. Fengming and Qingluan are both good at serving people, and slaves don't dare to fight with axes. Look at how fast Qingluan is learning! It's better than slaves, The slaves will stop showing their ugliness." Qingluan turned her head and gave her an angry look.

Zhuo had just decided on a major event, and she was in a happy mood. After hearing a few words from Chunying, she couldn't help laughing and said: "You are too modest, my girl is a good hand at things, if you are talking about serving people, you may not be able to do it in time." Here are you guys. You have been out for some time, the old lady is probably looking for you, go back quickly, and persuade her more, old man, I will send someone to send soothing soup tonight."

Chunying agreed, and retreated respectfully. On the way back to Songyiyuan, she had to resist the desire to turn up the corners of her mouth.

Within a few days, she heard the news from Qingluan that the second wife had sold Daxing's Zhuangzi.The buyer was not the Siyuan Bureau, but an internal supervisor surnamed Hu, and Qiu Neijian acted as a middleman.As for whether there is an agreement between Hu Neijian and the Siyuan Bureau, it is not known.But what is certain is that this Eunuch Hu is someone who can be used by the imperial court, no matter how bastard those powerful children are, they dare not provoke him.But Chunying thinks that Hu Fei has a good relationship with him, so she feels that he should be trustworthy. With this master, the villagers in Lijiazhuang will not suffer too much.In addition, the house that Hu Fei bought is in the town of Qingrundian, not far from Zhuangzi, so in the future... it will be convenient to come and go...

Chunying lowered her head to cover the blush on her face, continued to chat with Qingluan, and then "inadvertently" mentioned her father's "leg wind": "Maybe it's too cold, it seems to be getting worse because of the cold air. Fortunately, Zhuangzi is sold now, and he doesn’t have to manage the farm affairs, so he has some free time to recuperate at home. But moving back to the city in winter is too tiring, and my house in the back street has long since disappeared.”

Qingluan said: "Why is this so difficult? Tell your wife, even Mrs. Xu, someone will arrange a house for your parents. But there are not many vacant houses on the back street, and both houses have bought new servants. I need to find a place to settle. There are several young masters in the Li clan who live in the back streets. If your family wants to live more spaciously, you will probably have to settle down in a farther alley. You two Doesn’t Uncle live in Gouwei Alley? There should be a house nearby.”

Chunying sighed: "I think it's difficult. My second uncle is because he works in the young master's house. I'm afraid there are not many vacant houses in the back street. Even if there are, it's a small place with one or two rooms. I want my parents to live in it." How much time do you think it will take to renovate those old houses that no one lives in?"

Qingluan was very surprised: "Then we won't start construction until the winter is over at least. Could it be possible to ask your parents to celebrate the New Year in the countryside? Or spend it with your sister and brother-in-law?"

Chunying hurriedly said: "Can you ask for me? Now the master is coming home soon, and it's the twelfth lunar month. My wife and Aunt Xu are both busy, so I'm embarrassed to bother them. The room is enough for my parents and me, and there is It is enough for my younger brother to live together, I think... there should be three rooms, right?"

Qingluan went to inquire, and the result was naturally disappointing.The three houses connected together, which can live in people and are worthy of the road, have the status of Guiqian Zhuangtou, and they can't be found in all the back streets.Chunying naturally expressed that it was okay, but Zhuo, who heard the news "accidentally", naturally thought: Has the number of male and female servants in the two prefectures reached this level?The manpower should be reduced.

She just mentioned it to the maids around her, and Chunying soon found out, and immediately sent a letter to her sister and brother-in-law, and the next thing is to wait for the return of the second master.

(End of this chapter)