The study fell into silence.
The girl lowered her head, her eyelashes trembled, her cheeks flushed, and her breathing became slightly rapid, as if she could hear the sound of her own heartbeat.
Luo Qingzhou frowned and did not answer.
After a moment of silence, he bowed his head and said, "Second Miss, I should go back to study. Remember to have breakfast."
After saying that, he turned and left.
"Squeak..."
The door opened.
He walked out and soon disappeared through the courtyard gate outside.
The whole house fell silent again.
Outside the window, the sun was shining brightly. A bird fell from the roof and landed on the peach tree in the yard. It tilted its head and chirped, as if wondering about the unusual silence here.
The door of the study was gently pushed open.
Qiu'er came in with the freshly heated porridge and placed it on the coffee table on the soft couch. She stood by and looked at the weak girl on the couch with heartache.
"Miss… "
The girl came back to her senses, lowered her head, and was silent for a while before she murmured, "Qiu'er, I was wrong... I shouldn't have tested my brother-in-law... I already knew that my brother-in-law only felt sympathy for me..."
Qiu'er's eyes turned red, and she couldn't help but say, "Miss, the eldest lady told you this morning..."
The girl shook her head slightly, looking across at the place where the boy had sat opposite her, and said softly, "Impossible... I won't agree, and my brother-in-law won't agree either... My brother-in-law is a living person, not a commodity, how can he be so casual... If I agree, it will be an insult to my brother-in-law..."
After a moment of silence, she showed a hint of self-mockery on her face: "But I still have some extravagant hopes in my heart, so I just...tested my brother-in-law... You also saw that my brother-in-law treats me..."
Qiu Er said unwillingly: "Maybe the son-in-law is just... just afraid of Madam..."
The girl smiled bitterly and said softly, "In fact, I can see from my brother-in-law's eyes that he only has sympathy and respect for me. Other than that... What's more, my brother-in-law is not an ordinary person. He is being wronged here and treated coldly by my sister. He is just dormant temporarily... One day, he will leave here and leave the Qin family, so... He will not have feelings for anyone here..."
After a while.
She suddenly thought of the girl standing under the peach tree outside the window just now, and also thought of the subtle expression on her brother-in-law's face when he handed her the flowers. She was silent for a long time, and then whispered, "Maybe... there are also accidents."
In the reception hall of the Qin Mansion.
Qin Wen Zheng was discussing matters with the Qin family members with a dignified look.
The door was closed and the windows were covered.
Everyone in the Qin family spoke in a low voice, with their brows furrowed and their faces serious.
"There is indeed a problem with the accounts. I have checked. In the past two days, I have caught two spies from the Song family from the second and fourth brothers. But there must be bigger spies hiding in our house, otherwise the Song family would not have been able to take the lead everywhere this year..."
"The most urgent task is to find out the biggest spy first. In the past, every time we held a meeting, we would call the managers of your various mansions and the gentlemen in the accounting office. They are all old people who have followed us for many years. But today, except for us brothers, there are no outsiders here..."
At this moment, someone suddenly knocked on the door outside.
Then, the voice of the housekeeper Zhou Tong sounded outside: "Master, Zhu'er from the Second Miss wants to see you."
The talking in the living room suddenly stopped.
"Wei Mo?"
Qin Wenzheng frowned, thought for a moment, and said, "Let her in."
The door opens.
Zhu'er walked into the hall in a hurry. Seeing all the masters of the Qin family were there, she felt a little nervous, but did not dare to hesitate. She walked quickly to Qin Wen Zheng's side, bowed her head and saluted, then moved closer to him and whispered the instructions that the second lady had just given her.
Qin Wen Zheng's eyes fixed and his expression suddenly turned a little ugly.
"That's all the young lady has told me. Master, I'll take my leave now."
Zhu'er didn't dare to stay any longer and hurried away.
"Brother, what's wrong? You look..."
"Is Wei Mo's illness recurring? Well, let's find some time to take that girl to the capital to have a look."
Qin Wenzheng lowered his head and pondered for a moment, his eyes gleaming, and suddenly he said in a deep voice: "Second brother, third brother, you come with me. The rest of you stay here, we will be back soon."
Everyone looked at each other, confused.
The second and third masters of the Qin family immediately stood up and their faces became serious.
Qin Wen Zheng took the two of them and left in a hurry.
Not long.
The three men entered the hall with an old gentleman with gray hair.
Everyone was even more confused.
The closed door in the hall remained closed until noon.
Butler Zhou and the guards stood in the corridor outside with solemn expressions, and no servant dared to approach.
There wasn't even a maid to serve tea and water.
This meeting lasted until the evening.
When the door of the hall opened, the old man who had been energetic before had weak legs and needed someone to help him out.
As everyone came out of the hall, a servant hurriedly came to report: "Master, a pleasure boat was burned during a poetry gathering on the Moshui River last night. The eldest daughter of the Song family and her maids were all burned to death and are missing. The second son of the Song family, Song Zhe, was attacked in Xiangyuan Alley, a hundred meters away from the Song Mansion last night. His chest and head were shattered and he died on the spot..."
When everyone in the Qin family heard the two pieces of news, they were all shocked.
As soon as the old man who was supported by Qin Wenzhen heard the second piece of news, his legs suddenly went limp and he collapsed to the ground, fainting on the spot.
Qin Wenzheng's face suddenly became even gloomier when he saw this scene: "It seems that the one who contacted him last night should be the precious second son of the Song family. But who killed him?"
Third Master Qin whispered, "Brother, we only found out about the meeting with this old guy last night after interrogating him today. Could it be that someone knew about it in advance? And then waited for the little guy from the Song family on his way back and suddenly killed him?"
Fourth Master Qin heaved a sigh of relief and said, "It's a good thing he died! If that little bastard from the Song family had sent all our secrets back, it would have been too late for us to adjust now. I don't know who helped us so much. If anyone knows, our Qin family must thank him very much."
Qin Wen Zheng frowned and thought secretly.
Master Qin, who had been silent, suddenly said, "Brother, if we hadn't handled the incident last night well, our Qin family might have suffered heavy losses this time, so the person who killed the Song family kid couldn't be an outsider. Even if he was an outsider, he must be someone close to our Qin family, or someone who has received a great favor from our Qin family. Ordinary people wouldn't help us like this, after all, that kid is the most precious son of the Song family in Mocheng."
"Could it be that he encountered robbers on the road? They wanted to kill him for money? It may have nothing to do with our case."
"It shouldn't be, it's such a coincidence. And I heard that the boy also practiced martial arts, he is not a mediocre one. And, you just heard that the boy died miserably, his chest and head were smashed, and the person who killed him was obviously determined to kill him."
Master Qin Er suddenly said, "Brother, Mr. Sun has been with you for more than 20 years. He has been in our family since my father. He has always been conscientious and loyal. No matter who it is, no one should doubt him, right? And he has always been very careful in doing things. How could he suddenly reveal a flaw? Just now, Wei Mo asked that maid to come over... What did she say to you? Did Wei Mo find out?"
Qin Wenzheng frowned and did not reply. After a moment's silence, he said, "You all should go back. You haven't eaten for a whole day. Go back and eat. I'll go see Wei Mo."
Fourth Master Qin said with a smile, "Big Brother, you won't even invite us brothers to have a meal?"
Qin Wenzheng waved his hand, ignored him, turned around and left. After walking a few steps, he turned to the housekeeper Zhou who was guarding the door and said, "Mr. Sun just had a sudden illness and died. Go bury him in the small courtyard where he lived. After notifying his family tomorrow, dig him out and bury him with honor."
As soon as these words came out, the old man who was lying motionless on the ground suddenly trembled, climbed up with a pale face, and cried out: "Master, please spare me! Master, please spare me! I was wrong, I was really wrong..."
"Bang!"
Butler Zhou kicked him on the head, knocking him unconscious again.
Then he took his men and dragged him to a small garden at the back, dug a hole, and buried him in it.
These days, the death of a slave is like the death of a dog, no one will care.
What's more, slaves are private property and can be disposed of at will.
Qin Wenzheng was thinking about things all the way and came to the secluded courtyard where his second daughter lived. However, after standing at the door for a while, he did not go in. When he was about to turn around and leave, Zhu'er suddenly saw him in the door and said in surprise: "Master, you are here, why don't you come in? The young lady is writing in the study and hasn't rested yet."
Qin Wen Zheng hesitated for a moment, then had to walk in again.
Entering the courtyard and looking through the open window, I saw a delicate girl in a plain white dress sitting quietly in front of a eucalyptus table, writing. Her face was slightly pale and her body was so frail that it made people feel distressed.
Qin Wen Zheng entered the house and stood at the door of the study, but did not go in.
Just as Qiu'er was about to go in and report, he asked in a low voice, "What is Weimo writing?"
Qiu Er hesitated for a moment before answering respectfully, "Miss is writing... the lyrics written by the uncle."
Qin Wenzheng's eyes moved, and he was silent for a moment, then he said, "Does that kid... come here often?"
Qiu Er shook her head, glanced at the young lady inside, and whispered, "The son-in-law doesn't come here often. He is always forced to come here by the lady. Sometimes the young lady goes to look for the son-in-law, but can't find him."
Qin Wenzheng frowned: "Why is that guy so arrogant?"
Zhu Er, who was following behind, snorted, "My uncle is so arrogant, he always ignores my young lady, he is so hateful. Master, you have to say something about my uncle."
Qin Wen Zheng was stunned, thinking that the boy had indeed gone too far, but after thinking about it carefully, he felt that the boy was right.
Brother-in-law and sister-in-law should keep their distance, right
"I'll find a chance to talk about him."
Qin Wen Zheng nodded and thought to himself: Find an opportunity to see if that boy is dissatisfied with Jian Jia and whether he intends to leave the Qin Mansion.
"Dad, you're here."
After Qin Weimo finished writing the poem about plum blossoms, he heard the sound outside. He stood up and wanted to walk over, but his body went limp and he almost fell.
Qiu'er and Zhu'er rushed in and supported her.
Qin Weimo said softly, "I'm fine. Daddy, are you here now for something?"
Qin Wenzheng looked at her silently. After a moment, he shook his head and a gentle smile appeared on his face: "It's okay, I just came to see you."
Qin Weimo smiled slightly and said softly, "Daddy, just attribute all the credit to Weimo."
After a pause, he whispered, "If in the future... Wei Mo does something out of line, or something that damages the Qin family's reputation, I hope Daddy..."
Qin Wenzheng smiled and said, "Just do whatever you want to do. If you need Daddy's help, just tell me. You know the Qin family's reputation and interests better than they do. Daddy doesn't take these things too seriously. As long as you are doing well, Daddy will be satisfied."
Qin Weimo bowed his head slightly and said softly, "Thank you, Daddy. Actually, Weimo knows that Daddy has given up his business and cut off many interests in the past two years, without fighting or competing... In fact, it is all for us..."
Qin Wenzheng sighed and looked at her lovingly: "Wei Mo, in fact, in our Qin family, you are smarter than anyone else. If it weren't for your body... Don't worry, we will go to Kyoto soon, and Dad will find a good doctor for you..."
Qin Weimo looked at him and said, "It should be more than just Dad and I going, right?"
Qin Wenzheng was silent for a moment, then said, "Let's all go."
Qin Weimo whispered, "So Daddy has been planning this for a long time... This Qin Mansion is coveted by so many people, there must be some secret, right?"
She raised her head again and said, "Daddy, you don't have to tell me. Wei Mo doesn't want to know. Wei Mo just wants to know that everything Daddy said... Including my brother-in-law?"
Qin Wen Zheng frowned slightly and said nothing.
Qin Weimo looked at him, his voice soft but full of stubbornness: "If my brother-in-law doesn't go, then Weimo won't go either..."
Qin Wenzheng moved his lips, as if he wanted to say something, but he didn't say it in the end. He just said, "You should have a good rest and get well. There is less than a month left before the Chinese New Year. The princess will come to Mo City to celebrate the New Year. It should be very lively at that time. Okay, don't think too much. Daddy is going back."
After saying that, he waved his hand and turned to leave.
Qin Weimo looked at the empty door and stood quietly in the room for a long time.
Then, Fang slowly turned around and looked at the short poem on the table.
She was stunned for a moment, then sat down in front of the eucalyptus table. She raised her bare hand, picked up the pen, and was about to dip it in ink when she suddenly felt a tightness in her chest, and with a "cough", she spat out a mouthful of blood.
The words on the rice paper were instantly dyed red.
"Miss!"
Qiu'er and Zhu'er screamed, their faces changed and they started crying.
Outside the window.
The sun sets and night falls.
The girl raised her head and looked outside.
The plum blossoms leaning against the eaves survived the cold winter, but ultimately could not make it through the spring when all the flowers bloomed, and have begun to wither...
"I'm so useless..."
The girl murmured softly, her pink lips stained red.
Like the red plum blossom that once bloomed.
Blooming in the ice and snow, withering among the flowers.
I just don’t know if it will be like the little poem on the rice paper that was stained with blood, “broken into mud and crushed into dust”, but still… fragrant as before.