When Miao saw Sima Lian's tears, she felt disgusted and said with wide eyes and frowned, "What's wrong with you?" She just refused to accept the girl's handkerchief, but she cried as if she had done something wrong to her. If this got out, her reputation would be ruined. Others would definitely say that she, the mistress, bullied a concubine's daughter.
Madam Wen panicked, covered Sima Lian's mouth, knelt on the ground and said anxiously: "Madam, please don't be angry with her. This child is timid, ignorant, and naive. She has embarrassed you. I will teach her a lesson later!"
Miao was annoyed and waved her hand, saying, "Go back! If someone doesn't know, they would think that I, as a wife, have done something to her."
Madam Wen hurriedly hugged Sima Lian and went downstairs. When the two of them left the room, Mingyu heard Sima Lian crying in the yard, and then she disappeared, as if Madam Wen had covered her mouth and nose to stop her from crying.
Mingyu lowered her head and pretended not to hear. The tragedy of this timid concubine's daughter was that she had the bad luck to meet a mistress who was not so gentle and amiable. But in other words, if Miao was gentle and amiable, Sima Lian would not have developed such a timid and cowardly character.
No matter how pitifully Sima Lian cried, Mingyu could not help her, and Comrade Cuihua was still very dissatisfied with Mingyu.
After Madam Wen and her daughter left, Miao took Luo Lingxiu and Mingyu to pay respects to the old lady. On the way, she complained to Luo Lingxiu angrily, "Look at the girl's behavior. She is not presentable. She is like a porcelain. Did I scold her or treat her harshly? She didn't need to come to pay respects. I also hired a teacher to teach her the piano. It would be fine if she didn't know how to be grateful, but she came to me to wipe her tears. She deliberately wanted to piss me off to death!"
Luo Lingxiu was a little puzzled, "Why are the two of them suddenly showing their affection to their aunt?"
Miao sneered, "The little girl is fourteen years old this year, and she is at the age of engagement. The mother and daughter are anxious and can't sit still, so they are eager to come and please her now."
Luo Lingxiu laughed, and affectionately took Miao's arm, pulling Mingyu behind her, and said to Miao in a flattering way, "It's still up to my aunt to decide what happens to them."
Miao smiled and patted Luo Lingxiu's hand, her eyes and eyebrows showing her pride. Mingyu walked calmly behind them, trying to pretend that she didn't hear their conversation.
In the afternoon, Mingyu sneaked into Furong Garden and sat there alone. This time she had no books to read. The last book she read was a collection of poems that she found in a box she brought from home. Master Bao scared her so much that she fell into the pond with the book. She climbed out but could not read the book anymore.
The late spring sun was shining warmly. Mingyu climbed up the rockery in Hibiscus Garden. The highest point of the rockery was a stone surface of two square meters, which was relatively clean and flat. Mingyu lay on it, shielding her face with a silk fan to bask in the sun. She was now in the stage of growing up, so she needed to bask in the sun more to prevent calcium deficiency. After basking in the sun on the front side, she turned over and continued to bask in the sun on the back side... After a while, Mingyu felt sleepy and fell asleep.
In a daze, Mingyu seemed to hear the voice of her sister-in-law Luo Lingxiu, "You, is this how you see me?" The voice was excited and anxious.
Mingyu woke up with a start, and lying on the top of the rockery, he looked left and right, and finally found the source of the sound. It was on the corridor on the west side of the rockery, only two meters away from Mingyu.
In addition to Luo Lingxiu, also present was her husband Sima Hong.
Mingyu covered her mouth and nose with her hands, fearing that her heavy breathing would be heard by the two. If she saw these two whispering, she didn't know how to deal with her.
After a long while, Master Bao's voice finally rang out, "You are my sister-in-law." Just a short sentence, and nothing else.
Luo Lingxiu's voice was filled with tears, she felt very aggrieved, "You only come to blame me... What can I do? A girl's marriage is decided by her parents. I can only accept who my parents tell me to marry. Who knows the pain in my heart?"
Master Bao gritted his teeth and said, "I have never blamed you. Since you have married my eldest brother, you will always be my eldest sister-in-law. The past is the past. Don't talk to me about it!"
Luo Lingxiu covered her mouth and started crying, "You know very well that the person I want to marry is not him! I... He was not nice to me at all... He left on the second day after we got married. He was gone for a year and didn't even come home... The whole family was laughing at me..."
"Sister-in-law!" Master Bao interrupted Luo Lingxiu's sobbing, and emphasized the two words, "You are my sister-in-law. I have respected you since I was a child. You... don't do anything to disappoint your brother."
Luo Lingxiu stopped crying, her voice tinged with resentment, "Cousin, you have such a cruel heart! You are just like your brother, both are heartless and ungrateful! When you and I were communicating at the beginning, I always thought that you had me in your heart, and you would not change your mind. You, you now..." She was panting, as if she was very emotional.
Luo Lingxiu then asked sternly, "Tell me, are you attracted to that little girl Mingyu?"
Mingyu was so frightened that she dared not even breathe, for fear that the two people who were whispering would notice her presence. She covered her mouth tightly, and her heart was beating so hard that it almost jumped out of her chest. She seemed to have accidentally heard an incredible secret.
"What nonsense are you talking about!" Master Bao's voice was extremely unnatural. "She's just a little girl who hasn't grown up yet. Why did you drag her into this?"
Luo Lingxiu took a breath, "I think you have been fooled by that little girl and have lost your mind! Let me tell you, she has many evil intentions and is full of bad thoughts. She comes from a poor family and has no knowledge..."
"Shut up!" Master Bao was angry.
Mingyu looked at the bright sun in the sky with melancholy. Is she that bad
Luo Lingxiu was shocked by Master Bao's roar, and came to her senses and said, "Cousin, I'm doing this for your own good!"
Master Bao said calmly, "Sister-in-law, I usually act a little ridiculous, but I'm not stupid. I can tell who is truly kind-hearted. If you really want to do good for me, you should be like the old master and the old lady and persuade Mingyu and me to live a good life."
"Okay, you..." Luo Lingxiu started crying again, "You said this to me just for that little girl..."
Master Bao seemed reluctant and said softly, "Okay, don't cry. She is just young, so please forgive her for her ignorance. Just don't argue with her."
After hearing Master Bao's gentle words, Luo Lingxiu burst into laughter. "I am doing this for your own good! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't bother to care about that little girl. She is full of bad intentions!"
Luo Lingxiu was about to speak again when she heard Master Bao hurriedly say "hush" and pulled Luo Lingxiu down to squat and hide at the foot of the rockery. If Mingyu raised her body and tilted her head at this moment, she could have a "loving" eye contact with the two people who were dating below.
There was the sound of footsteps, and Mingyu heard Lixiang's voice, calling out, "Second Madam? Second Madam?"
This is bad! Before she left, she told Lixiang that she would come to Furong Garden to sit for a while. Unexpectedly, Lixiang saw that she hadn't come back for a long time and came to find her.
Mingyu curled up quietly, covered her mouth and said nothing.
Lixiang called out several times, but no one answered. She muttered, "Strange, where did he go? He just recovered from his illness and is not lying down." After that, she left Furong Garden and went to look for him somewhere else.
After Lixiang left, Bao Erye and Luo Lingxiu, feeling guilty, dared not stay in Furong Garden anymore, and quietly left the garden one after the other. However, Mingyu did not come down from the rockery, still curled up on it and dared not move.
Sure enough, after just a few minutes, Luo Lingxiu, who had already gone out, came back. After entering Hibiscus Garden, she carefully searched every corner of the garden. She did not find Mingyu, but she was still worried and waited at the door for nearly a quarter of an hour before leaving.
Mingyu could see her back as she looked around nervously from the top of the rockery.
It was not until dark that Mingyu stretched her numb legs and feet, and took advantage of the night to sneak back through another door of Furong Garden by sticking to the wall.
The reason why they left now was because Luo Lingxiu was suspicious and would definitely come back to take a look. If Mingyu turned over after they left, she would definitely be caught by Luo Lingxiu who had returned.
Li Xiang was so anxious in Yiqing Courtyard that she was about to report the case to the Madam. Madam Zou stopped her and asked her to wait. The Madam already disliked Mingyu very much. With the charge of being disobedient and running around, Mingyu had no chance of turning over. Moreover, how could a living person disappear in Sima Hou Mansion? She must have gone out to play and forgot the time.
After Mingyu came back, she immediately closed the gate of the yard with a pale face.
Lixiang was about to exclaim when she saw Mingyu, but Mingyu immediately shushed her and pulled Lixiang and the nanny to say seriously, "Lixiang, you found me in Cuiwei Pavilion in the mansion today. I was playing in the attic and accidentally fell asleep. Remember this? You must not mention that I went to Furong Garden today."
Madam Zou was alert. "What happened?"
Mingyu's face was serious, "It's not a good thing after all. Also, did anyone come to see me this afternoon?"
Li Xiang nodded, "The maid from Grandma's place came twice and said that Grandma wanted to invite you to her place to sit, drink tea and chat, but I said I couldn't find you."
Still doubting her, Mingyu sighed.
Taking a deep breath, Mingyu emphasized one last time, "Lixiang, you found me in Cuiwei Pavilion the last time you went out to look for me. You must remember this, no matter who asks, you must stick to this statement."
Cuiwei Pavilion and Furong Garden were both gardens for viewing the scenery in the mansion. One garden planted bamboos and the other planted lotuses. Before summer, no one usually went there. The servants only went there to clean in the morning and there was no one there in the afternoon. Mingyu only hoped that Luo Lingxiu was not so perverted as to send people to monitor where Lixiang went to find her, so that this matter could be resolved.
Lixiang had never seen Mingyu speak to her in such a stern tone before, so she agreed nervously.
After a while, the nanny in the mansion unlocked the yard, and a bright moon hung on the branches, and the yard was filled with cold moonlight.
——Xiao Zhai wishes all dear book friends a happy Mid-Autumn Festival! ——
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