Soon, talking resumed in the room, as if the silence that everyone had just agreed with just now did not exist.
Princess Xian basically did not participate in the entertainment of the wives in Yunyang City on weekdays. If Xiao Jinglin had not invited her to the Dragon Boat Race in the last Dragon Boat Festival, she would not have appeared. Her presence today has its own thoughts.
It was Mrs. Lin who responded quickly and said with a smile, "It's Mrs. Li who is here. This is a rare visitor." As she spoke, she glanced at Mrs. Lin.
When others call Mrs. Rong "the lady of Treasure Ping Hutong", it is inevitable that there is a bit of isolation in it, and it would be a little disrespectful to address him in person. It is safe for Mrs. Lin to call Mrs. Rong Mrs. Li. After all, there are not many people in Yunyang City who can be called Mrs. Li. Mrs. Li avoided the embarrassment caused by Mrs. Rong's identity, and did not let any of the present Sisters Yao Qi and Ren Yaohua are embarrassed.
And although she said that, she didn't make her own decision and immediately let someone go to welcome Mr. Rong in, but first looked at Mrs. Lin and other mother-in-law to make the decision. Mrs. Lin can't blame anyone.
Without waiting for Mrs. Lin to speak, Ren Shijia hurriedly said: "It's really a rare visitor... I'd better go and greet him in person." Ren Shijia didn't have Mrs. Lin's shrewdness and smoothness, and after being stunned for a moment, she felt a little uneasy. She has some scruples about Rong's identity.
The old lady Ren glanced at her daughter and frowned slightly.
Old Mrs. Lin laughed in her eyes and said to Ren Shijia, "You just came out of confinement, so just sit down." She looked at her daughter-in-law, but she felt a little bit in her heart. Hesitating, not knowing which daughter-in-law should be allowed to greet her.
This time, the Lin family planned to hold a full moon wine for Lin Cen, so many people in Yunyang City received invitations, and there may have been invitations in Baoping Hutong, but it was just a courtesy, and the Rong family never went there. The banquet, because she understood that the people who invited were not sincerely invited, but both sides were embarrassed.
So Mrs. Lin couldn't figure out the purpose of Mr. Rong's coming, and she didn't think about how to invite people into the mansion.
"Aunt still has to take care of Brother Cen who can't walk away, or should I and the fifth sister pick up my grandmother for my aunt?" Ren Yaoqi didn't seem to notice the difference in the crowd, and said with a simple face.
Ren Yaoqi couldn't justify picking up someone for the Lin family, but no one thought there was anything wrong with picking up his grandmother for his aunt.
Ren Shijia smiled at Ren Yaoqi when she heard the words: "That's fine."
This time, Mrs. Ren just glanced at Ren Yaoqi and didn't say anything to stop her. Mrs. Lin smiled and nodded, "Then let girl Ling go with you."
Lin Baoling immediately jumped out: "Okay, I will accompany the third and fifth cousins."
Ren Yaoqi and Ren Yaohua followed Lin Baoling to the second door to pick up the Rong family. Ren Yaoqi smiled but was thinking in his heart, no wonder Xiao Jinglin doesn't like to associate with these inner-house women, but only to pick up a guest into the house. So many twists and turns, for fear of suffering a loss.
When a few people walked to the second door, they saw that Mr. Rong had just come in from outside, and Ren Yaoqi pulled Ren Yaohua forward: "Grandma."
Ren Yaohua's attitude towards the Rong family was much better than that of her grandfather and uncle, and she also followed Ren Yaoqi to salute.
It was the first time that Lin Baoling met the rumored "lady from Treasure Ping Hutong", although she had tried her best to hide it, which made people see the curiosity in her eyes. However, he did not lose his etiquette, and went up to give Rong's junior salute.
Mr. Rong nodded and smiled at Lin Baoling, then looked at the two granddaughters: "I'll come and see your aunt and children."
Lin Baoling smiled sweetly: "Madam, please come with us. Aunt Six is doing well, and Brother Fourteen is so handsome."
Mr. Rong smiled and nodded, Ren Yaoqi went up to support Mr. Rong's arm, Mr. Rong patted the back of Ren Yaoqi's hand lightly. Ren Yaohua glanced at Ren Yaoqi, and although he didn't come up to help, he also stood on the other side of Rong's.
Lin Baoling walked in front. Although she was young, she was not afraid of life. She seemed to be familiar with everyone. While leading the way, she also joked with Ren Yaoqi and others. She was very lively.
Ren Yaoqi was walking, but found that his sleeve was gently pulled from behind, turned his head to look, but it was Rong's maid Chu Chu.
Chu Chu took care of Rong's daily life on weekdays. She was in her early twenties, but she still combed the girl's head, and her appearance was only average.
Without waiting for Ren Yaoqi to speak, Chu Chu took a step forward, leaned into Ren Yaoqi's ear and said, "Xia Sheng is back."
Her voice was very soft, and she immediately retreated after speaking, and continued to walk with her head down.
Ren Yaoqi's eyes lit up and glanced at Rong Shi. Rong shi smiled gently at her, patted her hand lightly and said nothing.
When Mr. Rong appeared in front of everyone, everyone had lost their previous gaffe. Although Mrs. Lin didn't show much enthusiasm, she stood up from the kang and called Mrs. Li. Mrs. Ren, the in-laws, nodded towards Mr. Rong.
Rong's etiquette was thoughtful, and Chu Chu handed the congratulations she brought to Ren Shijia's maid, and said with a smile, "Congratulations on your congratulations."
Ren Shijia was very happy, and asked the maid to carry the child over for Mr. Rong to see.
Rong's arrival, although it did not cause any trouble on the surface, everyone was unknowingly taking some scruples when talking, so it was not as lively as before.
Rong also knew that he was probably unpopular, so after a few chats with the old lady of the Lin family and her mother-in-law, Mrs. Ren, he bid farewell.
She only stayed at the Lin family for half an hour from entering the manor to leaving.
The Lin family has not yet understood the reason for the Rong family's visit today, and Mrs. Lin is also a little suspicious. Is it really for the sake of the Ren family's in-laws to come here to give gifts to see the children
However, Mrs. Lin and Mrs. Lin still politely came forward to retain them. In the end, Mrs. Rong insisted on taking them away before saying "Welcome to come again next time", while Mrs. Ren, the in-laws, had been indifferent from beginning to end. .
Mrs. Lin said that she wanted to send Mrs. Rong out, but Mrs. Rong declined and offered to let Ren Yaoqi, her granddaughter, send her. So in the end, it was Ren Yaoqi who accompanied Rong out of the door.
This time, Ren Yaoqi has been accompanying Mr. Rong out of the second door and arrived at Mr. Rong's carriage.
Ren Yaoqi saw at a glance the man sitting on the carriage, it was Xia Sheng who had not seen him for several months.
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Sneak Peek at Chapter 157 The News That Xia Sheng Brings Back
Chapter 157 The news that Xia Sheng brought back
Xia Sheng looked a little darker than he looked a few months ago. He was already taller and stronger than Dong Sheng, who was a servant. Such a big man shrugged and nestled on the carriage shaft. Whose chauffeur is more like a thug. Seeing that the master came out of the second gate, he hurriedly jumped out of the carriage and stood beside the carriage.
Mrs. Rong said to the maidservants of the Lin family who accompanied Ren Yaoqi to take her out: "I will tell the children a few words, you should step back first."
Rong's tone and demeanor were very gentle, but she had been a princess after all, and a few words made the maidservants hurriedly saluted without saying a word.
Rong Shi said to Ren Yaoqi: "Dongsheng came back in the middle of the night yesterday."
Ren Yaoqi's heart moved, he came back in the middle of the night yesterday, and today Mrs. Rong brought Dongsheng over to find her? Originally, she told Rong Shi that she would find an opportunity to visit her. If she had something to say, why not wait until then? After all, according to Rong's usual style, he would not come to the Lin family.
Is there something important to tell her
Ren Yaoqi couldn't help but glance at Xia Sheng, but Xia Sheng was still the same expressionless face that has remained unchanged for thousands of years, and he really couldn't see why.
Rong Shi touched Ren Yaoqi's head, and the expression on his face gradually became serious: "I'm afraid the Han family is not as simple as it seems."
Ren Yaoqi was shocked when he heard the words, and immediately said: "What did Xia Sheng find out this time?"
Rong looked at Xia Sheng, Xia Sheng lowered his head and said: "Han Dongshan did stay in Jiangnan, but he is not from Jiangnan. He left Yanzhou with Yanbei people who went south to hide from Liao people. When he was ten years old, he grew up in Chuzhou in the south of the Yangtze River until he was 17 years old before returning to Yanbei to avoid the famine. Han Dongshan said to the outside world that he was from Shangzhuang Village, Zhuqiao Town, Chuzhou. After the famine, there was a plague near Chuzhou, because many people in Shangzhuang Village got sick, the state officials at that time ordered the village to be closed, and in the end, no one survived in the village.”
To prevent the spread of the plague, local officials treated villages where most of the people were sick by blocking them, keeping people inside from contacting the outside world and letting them fend for themselves. Because once the epidemic is infected, ten people will lose their lives, and there is no possibility of diagnosis and treatment. However, the result of this is often that no one in the infected village can survive, and the whole village will eventually contract the disease and die. Then it was burned by a fire.
"Then who did you confirm Han Dongshan's identity from?" Ren Yaoqi asked with raised eyebrows.
"Although Shangzhuang Town was gone back then, Han Dongshan was not the only one who escaped before the plague. The young man thought he couldn't go down to verify, and he didn't want to pass a newly built stone bridge at the original site of Shangzhuang Town. When I saw the inscription on the bridge, it turned out that the bridge was built by a merchant to remember his ancestors. His father was from Shangzhuang Village. His father left with the uncle of the seller before the plague after the drought and locust plague. Home. When I was young, I went to this businessman, and his father is still alive."
Xia Sheng paused, then continued: "The old man is about the same age as Han Dongshan, the young man gave him a general description of Han Dongshan's appearance and asked him if he knew the person who came from Yanbei back then, and he did not want him to insist on the young man. The person he said was his childhood friend, and his name was not Dongshan Xishan, but Ancestor Brother."
"Brother Zu?" Ren Yaoqi frowned, "What's your surname?"
Xia Sheng shook his head: "This ancestral brother followed a woman named Liniang to Shangzhuang Village, and Liniang called him Zugeer, and the old man didn't know their surnames. Liniang was busy in farming. At that time, I was helping people to earn some money, and I was very poor. Later, when Zu Ge’er was older, he let people herd cattle. Liniang said Zu Ge’er was his son, but the old man said that he once went to look for him. When I was in the old age, I heard Liniang calling him the young master."
"After so many years, can he still remember this clearly?"
"He said he couldn't remember it if it was someone else's words, but the mother and son were very special back then. Apart from their Yanzhou accent, although Zu Ge'er grew up and did some work like the children in the village, his His hands, hands and face are always clean, and he doesn't fight or go to the river to take a bath or fish with others. Because of his delicate looks, some people suspect that he is a girl. What's even more strange is that sometimes they are so poor. She couldn't even open the pot, but Liniang insisted on letting her ancestor go to a private school. When she couldn't pay the groom, Liniang would go to the teacher to do laundry, cook, sew and mend, which caused a lot of gossip, but she was still the same. Later, many women in the village took brooms to drive them away. However, Liniang died of an illness. Soon after Chuzhou was hit by disaster, Zu Geer fled Shangzhuang Village alone. After he left, someone secretly went to them I wanted to try my luck in the house I lived in to see if I could find something to eat, but I didn't want to, but I found a blood-stained cursing puppet from under the bed where Liniang lived in her lifetime. The names on the grass puppets are not from Shangzhuang Village."
Ren Yaoqi looked at Xia Sheng: "Whose name is on the grass puppet?"
Cursing the enemy with the grass puppet is a popular spell in the Yanbei area. Let's not mention whether it is useful or not, but everyone born in Yanbei knows it. Even Ren Yaoyu, who grew up in a boudoir, used it before.
But unless it is a bloody feud, no one will use blood on the grass puppet, at most it will be pricked with a needle. Because the blood sacrifice will make the person who cast the curse be devoured, which is equivalent to the death of the same enemy.
Xia Sheng said: "At that time, it was a disaster year, and there was not enough food to eat, so after the villagers who found the grass puppets were startled, no one in the village cared about it, but a few daring teenagers in the village ran to see it out of curiosity. That person happened to follow, and someone who could read recognized the words at that time, but it was a pity that after so many years, that person couldn't remember it very clearly." Having said that, Xia Sheng raised his head and glanced at Ren Yaoqi, "I don't have a small one. Fazi, I tentatively asked if the name of the person on it was surnamed Ren, and the person thought about it for a long time before he remembered that he really seemed to be a person with the surname Ren."
Xia Sheng asked such a question out of prudence at the time, but he was taken aback when he got a positive answer.
"But it's impossible to do that. That person is not too young, and there are some mistakes in his memory." Xia Sheng saw that Ren Yaoqi didn't speak, and thought it was scaring her.
After thinking about it for a while, he hesitated again and said: "But it's a coincidence that I saw the bridge this time and found the person who built the bridge. Other than that, no one knows the bottom of Han Dongshan. I heard that back then There are still a few people who left Shangzhuang Village with Han Dongshan and went north, but in the end they didn't leave any traces in Yanbei." Han Dongshan has lived in Chuzhou for so many years, since no one knows his roots, this in itself Just a weird thing.
After Xia Sheng finished speaking, no one spoke. The place where they stood was under the shade of a locust tree, and the mottled and swaying light spots were projected on Ren Yaoqi's face, making her look flicker and darker. People can't see clearly.
Rong's gentle voice made Ren Yaoqi recover from his deep thoughts: "If you want to marry your children, the most taboo thing is not to know your roots. The ancestors of the Han family have grown up in Jizhou for generations. There is no problem with this, but Han This person Dongshan... is not simple. I am afraid there are some problems with his real origin. I came here today to remind you that on Duanyang Festival, I saw that the Ren family and the Han family were very close. I heard that the two families were very close. It still means getting married." Having said that, Mr. Rong sighed, "Unfortunately, I can't say this in front of your grandparents, but I will send a letter to your mother."
If Mr. Rong said this in front of the Ren family, the first thing that the old lady of the Ren family would think about was that the palace had ulterior motives, interfered in the marriage of the children of the Ren family, and would also implicate the third wife in office. And what Mr. Rong said, not only would the Ren family not believe it, but they might even let the Ren family sell the news that the people of Xianwang's mansion had left Yanbei at will, putting the Xianwang's mansion in danger.
Ren Yaoqi understood what Rong meant and nodded: "I see, grandma, you don't have to worry too much."
Rong patted Ren Yaoqi's head again, and said lovingly, "Qi'er, you are a smart and good boy." Rong knew that Ren Yaoqi asked Xia Sheng to do the investigation on Han Dongshan, and he didn't want to pay it back. Really found some signs.
Ren Yaoqi smiled at Mrs Rong, and then glanced at Xia Sheng again: "Fortunately, Xia Sheng suffered from this incident."
Xia Sheng was still standing aside with his hands tied. He was a person with a dull personality and was not very talkative. He didn't know how to respond to Ren Yaoqi's praise, he only said nothing.
Rong patted Ren Yaoqi's hand and sighed: "If you encounter anything, send a letter over. You are young, and many things cannot be solved by yourself."
Ren Yaoqi nodded obediently. Seeing that things were almost explained, Mr. Rong said goodbye to Mr. Ren, and Mr. Rong personally helped Mr. Rong into the carriage.
When the curtain of the car was lowered, Xia Sheng suddenly said, "Miss Biao, I brought you two people back this time, but it's not convenient to bring them here today."
Ren Yaoqi was stunned for a moment, then remembered that before Xia Sheng left, she said she wanted Xia Sheng to teach her a few maids who knew martial arts.
Xia Sheng scratched his head with the horse whip: "These two young girls were bought from a street juggling team, because they have to practice basic skills since they were young, so they will learn faster, otherwise they will find younger children to practice from childhood. It's too late. If you feel that you are young, start teaching, and if you dislike their background, you can look for them when they are young."
Ren Yaoqi said with a smile: "Since you brought them back, it means that they have good qualifications, and then let Sister Chu Chu and the others help me to see how people are. If you are born... as long as there is no trouble in the future."
Chu Chu was standing aside before getting in the car. Hearing that, he nodded towards Ren Yaoqi with a smile: "Miss Biao, don't worry."
Ren Yaoqi was really relieved.
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