The Fourth Aunt was completely unaware of Xie Nanjia's arrangements and slept until noon. Xie Nanjia helped her wash and brought her the prepared meals.
The fourth concubine tasted something different the first time she ate it and asked who cooked the meal. When she learned that it was Xie Nanjia who cooked it herself, she was so surprised that she exclaimed in praise: "I didn't expect your cooking to be so delicious. You are worthy of being the one chosen by the second young master."
"..." Xie Nanjia thought to herself, the Second Young Master didn't choose me because he was greedy, he was just a pervert.
The fourth concubine ate for a long while before she suddenly remembered, "No wonder you are the one cooking. That damn old woman is still locked up in the woodshed. I don't know if she was scared to death that night. When I'm full, I'm going to interrogate her."
Xie Nanjia said, "I forgot to tell you just now that I sent Mrs. Liu back to the capital to deliver a letter to the Marquis."
"What?" Fourth Auntie was surprised. "You actually sent her back. That damn woman is so cunning. I'm afraid she will go to see the Madam instead of the Marquis when she returns to the capital. Girl, I thought you were so smart, but I didn't expect you to be so stupid. You think I'm not dying fast enough, why don't you go and get her back!"
"Don't worry, Auntie." Xie Nanjia said calmly, "I have thought of everything you said. Just eat your meal peacefully and trust me this time. I will explain it to you later."
The Fourth Aunt looked at her with half belief and half doubt, but seeing that she looked calm and composed, she had to temporarily put her mind at ease and continue eating.
"Xiu'er." She asked intentionally or unintentionally, "The more I look at you, the less you look like a country girl who has never seen the world. Who are you? Could someone have sent you here too?"
Xie Nanjia smiled and said, "Yes, someone did send me here."
"Who?" The fourth concubine immediately became alert.
Xie Nanjia said seriously: "God sent me to protect you."
"Puff..." The fourth aunt spat out a mouthful of tea, pointed at her nose and scolded her, "You little bitch, do you want to choke me to death or make me laugh to death?"
Xie Nanjia said: "I just saw that you were too nervous, and I wanted you to relax."
The fourth aunt laughed and then forgot the doubts in her heart.
There were only two of them left in the whole yard. Fourth Aunt was still traumatized by Ma Po's death. She didn't want to stay in the yard after dinner and asked Xie Nanjia to accompany her for a walk.
Xie Nanjia cleaned up the dishes and went back to her room to change her clothes. Because she was afraid that the sun would burn Fourth Aunt, she found an umbrella and held it up. The two of them walked out slowly.
Just as she reached the gate of the courtyard, Li suddenly rushed over from a distance like a gust of wind, and rushed in without saying anything. When she saw Xie Nanjia and the Fourth Aunt, she stopped abruptly and asked with a dark face, "Vixen, where did you hide my man?"
Hu Sanmu had not returned home last night after being called away by Xie Nanjia. Now half a day had passed and there was still no sign of him. Li became jealous and completely forgot about Hu Sanmu's instructions and came to the house regardless.
The fourth concubine was startled and frowned, saying, "Where did this vulgar woman come from? How dare you shout in front of the master? Slap her in the face!"
Li was a jerk who didn't take her seriously at all. Upon hearing this, she jumped up and down and cursed, "What kind of master are you? I think you are crazy about your man, so you asked the maid to fetch my man in the middle of the night. Hurry up and give my man back to me!"
After she said this, Fourth Aunt realized that she was Hu Sanmu's wife.
This woman is so abominable. She actually put her together with Hu Sanmu. Is Hu Sanmu, that bastard, worthy of her
The Fourth Aunt felt sick at the thought and was so angry that she raised her hand and slapped Li.
"Slut, I am the Marquis's woman. Your man is not even worthy of carrying my shoes. You are humiliating the Marquis and me by making up stories about me. What crime should you be punished for?"
Li was beaten so hard that stars appeared in her eyes and her round face turned red. Intimidated by the Marquis's reputation, she did not dare to fight back. She sat on the ground and burst into tears, cursing and saying unbearable words.
Upon hearing the noise, the villagers rushed over and gathered at the gate to watch the excitement.
The Fourth Aunt had never been humiliated like this before. She was so angry that she was shaking all over. She shouted at Xie Nanjia to go to the kitchen and get a knife. She wanted to kill this shrew with her own hands.
Just as the quarrel was getting out of hand, a voice suddenly shouted from a distance: "Oh no! The chief steward was killed by the bandits!"
The crowd exploded with a loud bang, and everyone turned around to look. They saw the second steward driving a donkey cart in a panic. There was an old woman sitting on the cart, and a man lying on the cart, with blood dripping from the cracks in the cart.
The villagers were all shocked and automatically made way for the donkey cart, which stopped at the gate.
Mrs. Liu rolled and crawled down from the carriage, fell to the ground at the feet of the Fourth Aunt with a pale face, and cried, "Aunt, save me, Aunt, save me..."
(End of this chapter)