Chapter 136: 136 found (first update)
Chapter 136 136 found (first update)
The carriage of the Marquis Mansion returned to Yongding Marquis Mansion after burning incense. The servants immediately heard the news that the Lord from Hui'an County had come to stay for a while, which caused a wave of ripples.
After the group returned to the main courtyard, Mrs. Shen casually dismissed Aunt Rong and the wet nurse, leaving only Chu Qianchen and Gu Zhiyan.
The wet nurse looked at Aunt Rong hesitantly, and when she saw her respectful acceptance, she remained silent and followed her out with a low eyebrow.
Grandma Chen sent the two of them out personally and asked the little maid to help them settle down first.
Gu Zhiyan was completely indifferent to this, but still held Chu Qianchen's skirt with one small hand, already pinching two wrinkles in her skirt.
When Chu Qianchen left, so did she;
When Chu Qianchen stopped, she stopped too;
Chu Qianchen sat, and so did she.
Amber felt that the head of Hui'an County was simply the shadow of their girl.
What should I do when I take a bath at night? Amber couldn't help but feel worried.
Mrs. Shen looked at Gu Zhiyan, who had a downcast face, sighed quietly in her heart, and asked, "Sister Chen, how is Qiniang doing now?"
Facing Mrs. Shen, Chu Qianchen shook his head and said frankly: "Qiniang is not doing well right now. She is still young and her absence syndrome may be curable. When she gets older, it will be even more difficult. ”
"..." Shen's expression became more solemn. She knew that Qiniang was Shen Wan's lifeblood.
Chu Qianchen rubbed the top of Gu Zhiyan's head and said: "Qiniang is not actually stupid, she is afraid, so she hid herself and closed herself off."
"It's not that she really can't see or hear the outside world, she just ignores it and is escaping."
"If as time goes by, she closes herself off even deeper, there's nothing I can do about it."
Mrs. Shen clutched the handkerchief and said, "Sister Chen, you said last time that heart diseases require heart medicine..."
Chu Qianchen nodded and said: "We must find the disease that traps Qiniang in order to take advantage of the situation. Otherwise, relying on incense and acupuncture can only make Qiniang's mood slightly more stable and cannot cure her. Qiniang's absence syndrome is caused by Nothing exciting, otherwise, what happened that day at the Military Academy will happen again..."
Shen: “…”
In fact, Shen didn't know much about Gu Zhiyan's abduction back then. She had told Chu Qianchen about everything before, except for one thing. Originally she felt that those nasty things were not suitable to be discussed with an unmarried girl, but now she could not tolerate any further hesitation...
Shen hesitated for a moment, but finally made up her mind, "Qiniang..."
Chu Qianchen seemed to notice something and covered Gu Zhiyan's ears with both hands. Gu Zhiyan blinked with a blank look on his face.
Chu Qianchen smiled at her and mouthed one word: "Be good."
The little girl nodded like garlic.
Mrs. Shen looked at Yuxue's lovely little girl and lowered her voice: "Prince Jing's concubine's surname is Mei. After Mrs. Mei kidnapped Qiniang last year, she sold her... to a brothel."
"Fortunately Qiniang is young..."
"When the palace found her, her face had been destroyed and she looked like this..."
As for how Gu Zhiyan's face was injured, Ms. Shen didn't know. It was conceivable that for a child who was only seven years old, this must be a very tragic memory, which made her close herself. , to escape harm from the outside world.
Chu Qianchen gave a faint "hmm", let go of the hand covering Gu Zhiyan's ears, and fed her another pine nut candy as a reward.
The fact that Gu Zhiyan was sold to a brothel must not be spread.
Otherwise, at such a young age, her life would be over. Therefore, when she mentioned to Shen Wan in Jishi Hall that she needed to know what happened in order to cure it, Shen Wan hesitated and did not say anything.
Anyone can see that Shen Wan loves her daughter so much that she does not dare to risk her daughter's reputation easily.
Mrs. Shen looked at the cousins, raised the corners of her lips slightly, and asked, "Sister Chen, can you take Qiniang back to live with you for two days?"
Before Chu Qianchen could speak, Gu Zhiyan had already nodded vigorously and held onto Chu Qianchen's skirt with his other hand, fearing that she would disagree.
From the moment Shen proposed bringing Gu Zhiyan back to the Duke's Mansion in Mu, she and Chu Qianchen had tacitly made this plan.
Chu Qianchen responded with a smile, and then extended his hand to Gu Zhiyan.
This time, there was no need for her to say those three words. Gu Zhiyan obediently held her hand, holding the candy in her mouth and smiling.
Shen warned earnestly: "Sister Chen, you have a good rest today and don't be as busy as last night. The Ministry of Internal Affairs will come to recruit people tomorrow morning..."
As she was talking, Nanny Chen came in hurriedly and looked at Chu Qianchen with a look that was hard to explain. Chu Qianchen was very interested and immediately took Gu Zhiyan's little hand and left.
As she walked, she was still talking to Gu Zhiyan:
"Qiniang, I have a kitten there. Do you like cats?"
"Nod if you like it."
"Its name is Yueying, but you can't touch it casually. It recognizes life..."
“…”
Chu Qianchen's melodious and clear voice outside gradually faded away.
Nanny Chen subconsciously glanced in the direction she left. With just one glance, Mrs. Shen keenly guessed that what she was about to say was related to Chu Qianchen.
Mrs. Shen put down the tea cup and motioned to Nanny Chen with her eyes to tell her.
Grandma Chen collected her thoughts and then started to report the business: "Madam, the former steward of Wanyan Courtyard, Grandma Yu, has been found. Their family is in Kun County, twenty miles away from the capital."
"Grandma Yu's husband's surname is Lu, and the couple has only one son. Now the Lu family is also a well-known family in Kun County. They have built a big house, and their son opened a small restaurant in the county. The two My grandsons are all studying in private schools, and the family has hired slaves to serve them, and they live a very prosperous life."
Mrs. Shen's expression suddenly turned serious and she asked, "When did the Lu family's small restaurant open? How big is it?"
"It was five years ago." Grandma Chen had already inquired about it and immediately replied, "It's just a small restaurant like Hu's Tavern in the next street. The business is just average."
Shen: “…”
Mrs. Shen picked up the tea cup and drank the tea slowly, thinking deeply.
In an honorable family like the Chu family, the housekeeper and her family all have children, and only children born in the family will be chosen to be the girls' personal servants, including the eldest maids.
When it was found out that Nanny Yu was released, Mrs. Shen also had her whole family checked. Nanny Yu's man was named Lu Dawei. Lu Dawei used to be the eldest follower of the Marquis. He had been in bad health a few years ago. He and his son were released by the Marquis about five years ago. Only Aunt Yu was left until last year, when Aunt Jiang made the decision to release her.
Even if Chu Lingxiao showed extra kindness and rewarded Lu Dawei and his son with a sum of money, this amount of money would be enough for the Lu family to open a small restaurant. In just five years, how could they save such a large sum of money? !
Even if she didn't need an abacus, she could calculate the annual income of a small restaurant. It would not exceed twenty taels at most, and it would certainly not be enough for the Lu family to live like a rich squire.
Based on this alone, Mrs. Shen and Grandma Chen felt that something was wrong.
Therefore, there must be something wrong with the Lu family, or they must know some secret, which made Chu Lingxiao and Aunt Jiang give such a large "reward".
It was obviously the scorching summer, but there was a slight chill on the soles of Shen's feet, and there was an indescribable feeling in her heart.
Knowing people but not their hearts, no one can be sure whether the person they have been sleeping with for more than ten years is a human or a ghost.
Seeing that Mrs. Shen was silent, Grandma Chen added: "That kid from Qingtai is still keeping an eye on people in Kun County. He didn't dare to alert the snake, so he only sent a servant back to the capital to report the news."
The Qingtai that Nanny Chen was talking about was her youngest son. Because Mrs. Shen asked her to investigate in private, she asked her son to do the errand in person.
Mrs. Shen raised her head and ordered with a firm look: "Send someone to bring that Grandma Yu back... No."
Halfway through her words, she suddenly changed her words and said, "It would be better for you to quietly return to the Duke's Mansion and ask my mother to send a few people to Kun County to handle this matter."
The implication of Shen's words was obviously that she didn't trust anyone in the Hou family. Naturally, Nanny Chen heard it and immediately responded: "Yes, madam, don't worry, I will definitely do this for you." Done properly."
Shen's eyes were dark, and she picked up the teacup uneasily, then put it down without drinking. She was always uneasy and felt as if something bad was hidden in a thick fog.
She didn't dare to think deeply, fearing that the result would make her collapse.
Grandma Chen was about to leave when she was stopped by Mrs. Shen: "Wait a minute!"
"You must not tell anyone about this matter," Ms. Shen warned solemnly, "including the eldest girl."
"Yes, Madam." Grandma Chen bowed her knees and responded.
The main room outside the Toji Room was empty.
Grandma Chen stopped outside the curtain, sighed slightly, then turned and walked out of the hall, but she saw a familiar figure on the corridor outside the hall.
A young girl wearing a begonia red embroidered silk gown with flowers and embroidered silk skirts stood under the eaves, her posture elegant and graceful.
(End of chapter)