Liu Ziqiong guessed exactly what Old Madam Lu was thinking. The purpose of Old Madam Lu's coming to find Concubine Xiao was to see each other.
After Liu Ziqiong mentioned this, Old Madam Lu's mind became half cold, and she sat beside her with a cup of tea, thinking about something in her mind.
"Xiao Jiu, thank you for your help that day, I'm here to thank you."
Luo Jinyan ignored Liu Ziqiong's careful thoughts, and simply wanted to thank her, and handed the purse in her hand to Concubine Xiao, her face flushed slightly, "Xiao Jiu, I embroidered this with my own hands..."
Concubine Xiao took it with a smile, "Thank you, sister Jinyan, this purse is exquisitely embroidered, what's in it, it smells so good."
Xiao Concubine put the purse under the tip of her nose and sniffed lightly, the smile deepened at the corner of her mouth, she could see that she liked the purse very much.
"It's peony seeds." Luo Jinyan saw that Xiao Concubine's dress and pearl hairpin had peony patterns on them. She must love peony flowers, so she put peony seeds into her purse after seasoning. The fragrance was neither strong nor strong. light.
"Sister Jinyan is interested, I will accept this thank you gift." Xiao Yu immediately took off the jade pendant around her waist, handed it to Hongxiu, and hung her purse on her waist.
Luo Jinyan was a little flattered. She knew that Concubine Xiao was of extraordinary status, and she was used to high-quality goods, so she might not be able to appreciate the purse she made. The main thing is that Concubine Xiao is willing to accept it, and Luo Jinyan is already very satisfied.
Now Xiao Concubine is wearing it in public, so it can be seen that she really likes it, otherwise there is no need to perfuse her.
Luo Jinyan also smiled, "The peony is graceful and luxurious, and it is the most suitable for Miss's national beauty and fragrance."
Luo Jinyan praised her sincerely, but Liu Ziqiong didn't listen to that, and she couldn't understand the thoughts of a noble girl like Concubine Xiao even more.
It stands to reason that people with noble status look down on people with low background and no background, and the friends they make around them are also respectful, otherwise they will be laughed at and lower their status.
Concubine Xiao was different, she offended Ling Yiyi as soon as she came, and ignored herself, and even treated Old Madam Lu lukewarmly. Why pay more attention to Luo Jinyan, an orphan.
"My cousin's workmanship is also very good, and Ziqiong sighs." Liu Ziqiong stepped forward and took Luo Jinyan's arm, pretending to be innocent.
"Miss Luo is beautiful, intelligent, well-educated, and Miss Liu is lively and lovely, gentle and generous. You two sisters have their own strengths, and they are both good."
The old lady Lu interrupted with a smile. The atmosphere in the room was a bit awkward. Concubine Xiao was sitting by the side sipping tea, not knowing what to talk about, and occasionally she could make a few words.
After half an hour, Mrs. Lu found an excuse to leave, and then Liu Ziqiong and Luo Jinyan also left.
Hong Xiu scratched her head and looked at Concubine Xiao puzzled, "Miss, why did these three people get together, and I don't know what it means."
Miss Xiao shrugged, "Who knows."
After returning to Liu's house, the smile on Liu Ziqiong's face faded by three points, and Mrs. Liu came forward to meet her, and hurriedly asked, "You are back, but can you find out who Miss Xiao is?"
Liu Ziqiong glanced at Luo Jinyan meaningfully, "Miss Xiao grew up in a wealthy family, and she didn't look down on our thank you gifts at all. I haven't seen any good things. Miss Xiao said don't take this matter to heart, according to me. Look, there is no need to move forward."
Liu Ziqiong vaguely felt that Xiao Concubine was not someone to be provoked, and once provoked, the consequences might not be able to bear it.
Mrs. Liu looked at Luo Jinyan after listening, "Jinyan, you and Miss Xiao look a little familiar, tell aunt the truth, who is Miss Xiao?"
Luo Jinyan lowered her head tightly, "Auntie, Miss Xiao and I really just met by chance, and we don't have any friendship at all. Maybe it's because we have met each other, that's all."
Mrs. Liu stomped her feet when she heard the words, and her face immediately changed, "Do you know that your uncle was taken away two hours ago today, saying that he offended a dignitary, and your uncle was framed by someone? People just don't want to let the Liu family go, maybe your uncle will still be in prison."
Liu Ziqiong's heart sank, "Mother, why is it so serious?"
Luo Jinyan became a little anxious when she heard it abruptly, "It's fine, why did this happen suddenly, how is uncle doing now?"
Mrs. Liu squeezed her eyes tightly, staring at Luo Jinyan, "The Liu family has long been in danger, but they have been targeted recently, and now they can't even see anyone, no matter how much money they stuffed, it won't help."
In the past half a day, several thousand taels of silver have been spent, but no news has been found out. Mrs. Liu is as anxious as an ant on a hot pot, not knowing what to do.
"Cousin, you have some friendship with Miss Xiao, why don't you go and beg Miss Xiao, my father can't do anything wrong."
Liu Ziqiong turned her head to look at Luo Jinyan, her face was pale and she hadn't lost her mind yet.
Luo Jinyan bit her lip, "Cousin, I really don't know Miss Xiao well, so I rushed to ask Miss Xiao for help..."
"Jinyan, don't you just see your uncle being unlucky and dying in prison!" Mrs. Liu scolded sharply, "In the past few years in the Liu family, you have had everything you need to eat and drink, and treated you well. So cruel."
Luo Jinyan was anxious in her heart, "Auntie, that's not what I meant. Let's not panic, we should figure out the cause and effect. Who did uncle offend?"
Liu Ziqiong nodded, "Cousin is right, what did father do to offend the nobleman, if he knows, he can prescribe the right medicine to make up for it and save father as soon as possible."
Madam Liu choked when she heard that, she was even more angry, clutching the brocade handkerchief tightly in her hand, with raging anger in her eyes, she couldn't speak to the two of them.
"How do I know the reason? Things in the officialdom are changing rapidly, maybe it's an eyesore, so I figured out a way to get rid of it, and your father was implicated."
Mrs. Liu squinted at Luo Jinyan, her expression flickered slightly, and her tone softened a bit, "Jinyan, just now my aunt was in a hurry and didn't intend to target you. Don't take it wrong, my aunt has nothing to do, so I beg you, since you If you don't have a deep friendship with Miss Xiao, Auntie won't embarrass you."
Luo Jinyan looked at Madam Liu in surprise, not understanding why Madam Liu suddenly changed her attitude, but Madam Liu sighed, supported the maid's hand and went back to the house.
Before Liu Ziqiong figured it out, he naturally refused to give up, so he raised his foot and followed.
There were only mother and daughter in the room, plus two confidant maids, Liu Ziqiong was in a hurry, "Mother, what's going on?"
Mrs. Liu wiped the corners of her eyes, "It's not your father's flirtatiousness. Someone caught him and asked for a ransom of 500,000 taels, otherwise your father's official career will be cut off."
Mrs. Liu was really worried about the Liu family. After a few years of silence, this kind of thing happened again, which made the Liu family lose face.
Liu Ziqiong snapped his tongue and gasped, "500,000 taels?"
"Even if you sell the Liu family, you may not be able to collect the money. Once your father is imprisoned, the entire Liu family will be ruined, and your younger brother will not even think about getting an official career in the future."
The more Mrs. Liu talked, the more annoyed she became, and she wished to drag Uncle Liu over to give him a good beating to relieve his anger. Why did she get into such a troublesome situation? In the past, she just turned a blind eye and closed her eyes when she was messing around at home. , Let the Liu family clean up the mess, Madam Liu is angry and helpless.
"It's so serious..." Liu Ziqiong was astute, and probably understood what Uncle Liu had done wrong.
"Mother, father, he..."
"Your father slept with a girl out of pleasure. This girl was the nobleman's concubine. The girl couldn't bear the humiliation, so she bit her tongue and killed herself. The nobleman will naturally place the blame on your father."
Mrs. Liu blurted out the matter out of embarrassment, Liu Ziqiong listened, her face was hot, she lowered her head tightly, wishing she could find a crack in the ground to get in.
"Mother, what should we do now? Miss Xiao and us have no relatives and no reason, so we may not be contaminated with these trivial matters. Besides, Miss Xiao has everything, what can we do to impress others?"
Liu Ziqiong and Xiao Concubine came into contact twice. Although Xiao Concubine is young, she is very steady in speaking and doing things, and has a careful mind.
The corners of Mrs. Liu's mouth curled up, "Just now I purposely tested that damn girl Luo Jinyan. Since she refused to ask Miss Xiao for help, the Liu family can't raise her for nothing. It's time to repay the Liu family."
Liu Ziqiong's eyelids twitched, and she looked at Mrs. Liu in puzzlement.
"Since a beauty caused trouble, let's prescribe the right medicine and send a beauty to put out the fire. Luo Jinyan is a pretty girl, and she is quite useful."
If Mrs. Liu hadn't seen Luo Jinyan's beauty, she might be useful, she would have dismissed her a long time ago, and now she can only gamble with Luo Jinyan.
Liu Ziqiong moved her lips, but she still didn't continue to speak after all, which was acquiescence to Mrs. Liu's meaning.
"The only person in Quanzhou City who can talk is Uncle Luo. The Luo family has only one golden grandson, and he has not married again since he was twenty. If Luo Jinyan has that blessing, being the daughter-in-law of the Luo family is also a blessing obtained in eight lifetimes. "
When Mrs. Liu mentioned the Luo family, Liu Ziqiong's face turned pale, "Mother, do you really want to send my cousin to fill in the house for Young Master Luo?"
Young Master Luo Luo Lin is twenty years old this year. He married a wife three years ago. Unfortunately, his wife only lived for one year before she was frightened to death.
There is a folk song in Quanzhou City, it is better to be a beggar woman than Luo's wife. Luo Lin is old man Luo's heart, doting on her since she was a child, Luo Lin is actually not bad in appearance, on the contrary, she is handsome and unrestrained.
It's just that Luo Lin has a hobby that makes people shy away. She likes to keep some poisonous snakes and beasts at home. The whole house is full of snakes and ants, and all of them are very poisonous. They have already killed several maids. It is said that the original wife He was bitten by a poisonous snake and died without treatment.
In the past three years, the matchmaker has been proposing marriage for Luo Lin. Uncle Luo's request is very simple, regardless of status, as long as she is a woman and can carry on the family line.
Every time the matchmaker came to the door, she found many girls, and those girls cried and shouted that they would rather die than marry, so they delayed again and again, and within three years, they did not get a girl.
"Then what can we do, sell the property or let your father go to jail and ruin the Liu family's future?"
Mrs. Liu's eyes flashed brightly, "Luo Jinyan is an orphan girl. It is her blessing to have the opportunity to marry into the uncle's house. She can also repay the Liu family and save your father. It kills two birds with one stone. What qualifications does she have to refute? I It's her aunt, so the marriage is naturally up to me."
Liu Ziqiong came back to her senses, no wonder Mrs. Liu was aggressive towards Luo Jinyan just now, she insisted on questioning Miss Xiao's identity, it turned out that the ulterior motives were not drinking, and she was deliberately probing.
"But if cousin doesn't agree..."
Mrs. Liu raised her brows when she heard the words, "Then she can't let her make the decision. Don't look at your grandmother who protects Luo Jinyan on weekdays. Compared with your father, your grandmother will definitely not abandon your father for Luo Jinyan."
Liu Ziqiong's tightly knit brows eased, and he breathed a sigh of relief, "What mother said is that my cousin is affectionate and righteous, and my father has always treated her cousin well, so my cousin should nod in agreement."
Mrs. Liu snorted, and went directly to Mrs. Liu, Xiaozhi moved her with emotion, and Mrs. Liu sighed, and only asked the Liu family to prepare some decent clothes and jewelry for Luo Jinyan.
Madam Liu hurriedly nodded in agreement, and while it was still dark, she sent someone to find a matchmaker and handed Luo Jinyan's Geng Tie.
The matchmaker was startled, and couldn't believe her ears, "Mrs. Liu, are you really Miss Biao and Young Master Luo?"
"Hey, something happened to my master, and the Liu family is in chaos. Jin Yan is a very independent and filial child, and she insists on marrying into Luo's family. Now only old uncle Luo can help her into Liu's house. "
Madam Liu feigned reluctance and wiped the corners of her eyes. The matchmaker curled her lips in disdain. The Liu family obviously has a prostitute daughter. If she really wanted to save someone, wouldn't Miss Liu be more suitable
Luo Jinyan's eight achievements were not voluntary. Mrs. Liu's public beating of Luo Jinyan hadn't passed yet. Luo Jinyan was an orphan, so she let Mrs. Liu have the final say.
Hey, the matchmaker sighed, what a pity for Luo Jinyan.
"Success, I will go to the Uncle's residence early tomorrow morning to ask what the uncle means, and I will tell you as soon as I get the letter later."
After saying that, Mrs. Liu squinted and leaned close to the big maid, who immediately took out a bulging purse from her bosom and handed it to the matchmaker, who accepted it with a smile on her face.
"Thank you, Matchmaker Li."
Matchmaker Li waved her hands, said some polite words, turned her head and left Liu's house, spat angrily before leaving, and cursed Mrs. Liu for being too mean-spirited, and she abused a helpless orphan girl.
Luo Jinyan was completely kept in the dark, walking up and down the corridor anxiously, worried about Uncle Liu, bit her lip, and then shook her head.
Xiao Jiu has already helped her twice, how could she be ashamed to ask Xiao Jiu again, if she caused trouble to Xiao Jiu and caused something bad, Luo Jinyan would feel even more disturbed.
The little girl Cai Ling hurried over, her petite body was like a cat, she was very flexible, "Miss, this servant just saw Steward Liu sent Matchmaker Li away, and Madam even went to the old lady's place specially during dinner, In less than an hour, the old lady declared that she was unwell and should not be disturbed, no matter how the servants looked at it, it was a bit strange."
Cai Ling is Luo Jinyan's only trusted maid. She grew up with her. She is also very clever and can often inquire about various news from the young maid.
Luo Jinyan's eyelids twitched, and she had an ominous premonition. She had long felt that Mrs. Liu was a little different today, as if she was testing something.
"Cai Ling, you go out of the house immediately and stare at Matchmaker Li, and see where she goes tomorrow morning."
"Yes, this servant will go out quietly."
Luo Jinyan kept comforting herself, maybe she was thinking too much, Mrs. Liu was probably discussing the marriage for Liu Ziqiong.
But the more she thought about it, the more uneasy Luo Jinyan became. At this critical moment, how could Mrs. Liu have the heart to say goodbye to Liu Ziqiong, let alone marry Liu Ziqiong in a hurry. Liu Ziqiong is Mrs. Liu's heart, and she will definitely not wrong her .
There was only one possibility, Luo Jinyan bit her lips tightly, and stood quietly in the corridor, when the breeze came, blowing a cool chill on her face, she trembled all over, and couldn't calm down for a long time.
The night passed extremely slowly, Luo Jinyan didn't close her eyes all night, her fingertips turned white from being held.
"Miss!" Cai Ling ran into the door, Luo Jinyan stood up with a bang, "Which house did Matchmaker Li go to?"
Cai Ling's eyes were red, and she couldn't help crying, "It's...it's the Luo family."
When Luo Jinyan heard the words, the corners of her lips were pale, and she smiled bitterly, it really wasn't because of Liu Ziqiong.
"Miss, they are too much, let's leave here immediately before no one notices, so as not to be ruined by them."
Cai Ling was angry and aggrieved, why did she treat her lady like this, the fault was not caused by her lady, so Liu Ziqiong should be allowed to marry!
Before Luo Jinyan could think about it, two women came and stood guard at the door, stomping on Cai Ling, angrily going forward to argue.
"Cai Ling, step back!" Luo Jinyan said in a deep voice, "Auntie will be here later, go and prepare some tea."
Cai Ling had no choice but to follow Luo Jinyan's orders. Cai Ling could leave, as long as Luo Jinyan was still in the house, and the two nuns did not make things difficult for Cai Ling.