The main room was still the same main room, and the light was even brighter as the sun rose.
But everyone in the room looked solemn.
Zhou Chujin sat on the armchair in front of the central hall, picked up the teacup, gently floated the tea leaves on the water with the lid, and said in a deep voice: "Tell me! What's going on?"
The maids and the people from the pawnbroker had already retreated. In order to prevent Lan Ting from doing anything exciting, she was still tied up with ropes and thrown in front of Zhou Chujin. Zhou Shaojin stood behind his sister, and Ma Fushan's family was guarding outside the door.
Lan Ting's eyes flashed with cunning, and he said, "Miss, send me back to Baoding, and I will tell you what happened!"
Zhou Shaojin sneered, stood up, and shouted to Ma Fushan's family to come in, saying: "Go ask those Taoist nuns and give her a mute potion - since she doesn't want to speak, let her shut up forever." After that, he walked out without looking back.
Zhou Shaojin hurriedly followed.
Lan Ting said: "Don't you want to know what happened in the end?"
Zhou Chujin sneered disdainfully: "What evidence do you have? Do you think I'm a three-year-old child? Even if you say a thousand and ten thousand, I will ask people to verify it, and you are still foolishly negotiating with me? When mother died, you were at most twelve or thirteen years old. At your age, it is not your turn to get the first-class monthly salary. Even if Cheng Bai killed mother, you probably only remembered some clues afterwards. When I give you a mute drug, pick your hands and feet, and sell you to the lowest brothel, and then check the maids who served mother back then, I'm afraid I won't be able to find out anything! If what you said is true, I will let you stay in the brothel and linger. If you are talking nonsense, don't worry, it's just spending more money to send you to the nine borders to be a prostitute." At this time, she instructed Ma Fushan's family, "By the way, when you sell her, tell that pious woman clearly not to give her contraceptive soup. I will not only let her be a prostitute, but also let her children be prostitutes for generations..."
Zhou Shaojin shuddered when he heard this.
Only then did Lanting change color.
"No!" she screamed, "You can't do this to me, I'm your father's..."
Zhou Chujin snorted at Lan Ting and said, "Who do you think you are? How dare you say you are my father's person? Did my mother drink your kowtow tea? Or did my father go to the government office to clear your name? You are just a thing to warm my father's bed, how can you be called my father's person? Don't forget, your body selling documents are still in my Zhou family! If I respect you, you are a person, if I humiliate you, you are mud! Ma Fushan, what are you still doing here? Can it be that I can't even order you around?"
Ma Fushan’s face turned pale, he shuddered, and when he uttered “yes” repeatedly, even his voice changed.
“No, no, no.” Lan Ting struggled to crawl towards Zhou Chujin, but was tied up tightly. Not only could he not crawl over, but he fell to the ground instead. “Miss, you can’t do this, you can’t do this.”
Zhou Chujin smiled, glanced at Lan Ting coldly, and walked forward with his head held high.
Zhou Shaojin hurried forward and supported Zhou Chujin's shoulders.
Only then did she realize that Zhou Chujin's body was trembling slightly.
My sister was afraid that she wouldn't be able to subdue Lan Ting, so she said those words.
Zhou Shaojin seemed to be encouraged and held Zhou Chujin's hand tightly.
My sister's hands are slender and soft, yet warm and strong.
Zhou Chujin immediately understood Zhou Shaojin's intention.
She turned her head to glance at Zhou Shaojin, her eyes filled with warmth.
Zhou Shaojin smiled at his sister.
Behind them came Lan Ting's hurried and anxious voice: "Miss, I'll tell you, I'll tell you. As long as you don't sell me to that filthy place, I'll tell you everything."
Zhou Chujin turned around and said coldly: "Do you think you can negotiate with me?"
"No, no." Lan Ting looked at Zhou Chujin's frosty face, and felt a chill in her heart. She knew that she had met a tough guy. If she was not careful, she would be trapped in the world of fireworks and could not turn over. She hurriedly said, "Miss, I said the wrong thing. I will tell you everything, everything."
Zhou Chujin curled his lips in a half-smile and said, "Tell me, what happened back then?"
Lan Ting perked up and said in a flattering tone, "Just as the eldest lady said, I was only thirteen years old at the time and was a second-class maid in the lady's room. The one who served the lady at the time was Xinlan, the lady's companion." As she spoke, she paused and said, "Does the eldest lady know Master Cheng Bo of Cunyifang?"
"I know!" Zhou Chujin said calmly, and sat back on the armchair.
Ma Fushan's family immediately ran over to refill Zhou Chujin's cup of tea, then closed the door and walked out.
Lan Ting was surprised to hear Zhou Chujin say that he knew Cheng Bo from Cun Yi Fang, and said, "He is not only a branch of the Cheng family, but also had some connections with my wife in the early years..."
Zhou Chujin interrupted her and said nonchalantly, "Isn't it just that he was engaged to his mother? Everyone knows about this."
When did this become known to everyone
Lan Ting was stunned.
At the beginning, Zhou Zhen spent a lot of effort to suppress this matter.
She glanced at the Zhou sisters.
Not only did Zhou Chujin look normal, but even Zhou Shaojin did not show any strange expression.
Only then did Lan Ting believe that everyone knew about this matter.
She began to feel uneasy.
It seems that she has not been in Jinling City in the past few years, and a lot of things have happened. I will have to answer carefully later.
Lan Ting's expression was slightly tense, and he said, "At that time, the Madam and Old An lived in Guan Street, and the old master was not at home, so all matters going in and out of the inner courtyard were handed over to Xinlan. Cheng Bai was very nervous about the Madam, and he would send some gifts every now and then, and sometimes he would write letters and poems to the Madam, all of which were given to Xinlan to bring to the Madam. The Madam did not like Cheng Bai's small profits, so she asked Xinlan to return the things to Cheng Bai. When Cheng Bai sent things to the Madam again, he would also buy some head flowers and scarves for Xinlan, and ask Xinlan to say a few good words in front of the Madam. After a few times, Xinlan became familiar with Cheng Bai.
"My wife's marriage to Cheng Bo didn't work out, so Xinlan followed my wife and married into the Zhou family.
"But Cheng Bo refused to give up and begged Xin Lan to send gifts to the Madam several times. The Madam scolded Xin Lan several times, but Xin Lan spoke well of Cheng Bo. The Madam discussed with the Master and married Xin Lan off.
"Xinlan married a cotton merchant. In the early years, the merchant collected cotton in Hangzhou. Later, when the business was not good, he took Xinlan to Jingzhou Prefecture.
"Everyone thought that Xinlan had never come back after she got married. In fact, when the Madam was pregnant with the second daughter, Xinlan came back to visit the Madam. However, the servants around the Madam were all those who came into the mansion after Xinlan got married. She had changed her appearance, and the Madam didn't seem to want everyone to know, so no one thought who she was for a while.
"She wanted to stay at home for a few days, but her wife didn't let her stay. She left very disappointed.
“That’s why I noticed her.
"Later, she came a few more times, and the mistress gradually became less cold towards her than at the beginning, and occasionally she would chat with her.
"I remember that when Madam gave birth to the second daughter, it was a difficult labor, and everyone in the family was in a panic. Xinlan suddenly came to visit Madam, and the steward placed her in the flower hall and hurriedly went to call a doctor."
Lanting fell into memories.
"I was on night duty the night before, and I was sleeping in the room when my wife had an attack. I heard that my wife had a difficult delivery, so how could she lie down? I thought about going to the small Buddhist temple to burn incense for my wife.
"As a result, the upper room was full of people, and the master was walking around in the yard, not liking anyone.
“I didn’t dare to go forward and turned to the kitchen.
“From a distance, I saw Xinlan coming over with a kettle.
"When she saw me, she greeted me and asked me worriedly how my wife was doing. Then she raised the copper kettle in her hand and told me that the people in the upper room had been clamoring for hot water, but the stove in the tea room was too small to heat it in time. Seeing that the maids were so scared that they were clumsy, she volunteered to help fetch water.
"I didn't think about it at the time. I said, you are a guest, how can I trouble you? I'll take the pot of water in.
"Who would have thought that Xinlan would be so frightened after hearing that, she kept saying 'No need' and hurried upstairs with the pot in hand.
“I saw that even a married woman could be so attentive, so after thinking it over, I followed her.
“Who knew that when I got to the upper room, she was nowhere to be seen.
"I was just muttering to myself when she appeared out of nowhere, holding the copper kettle and standing beside the curtain.
"I remember that when the master saw it, he frowned and wanted to say something to her, but someone in the room shouted, 'Bring in another pot of water.' Xinlan hurriedly handed the water in, and the master didn't say anything.
"Not long after, the midwife came out from behind the curtain with a pale face, wiping her head, and told the master that the bleeding could not be stopped and there was nothing she could do.
"The master's look at that time was as scary as it could be. He said to the midwife, 'Didn't you just say that the bleeding had stopped? Why are you saying it can't stop now? Has it stopped or not? If you're talking nonsense, don't even think about having this job anymore.
"The midwife was so scared that she started crying, saying that the bleeding had stopped at first, but who knew that just as she settled the wife down, the bleeding started again.
"The master really treated the wife well. When other people gave birth, they would hire a female doctor, but the master hired a doctor. He even accompanied the doctor into the delivery room to check the wife's pulse, and that's how the wife survived.
"But my wife was exhausted after all. After delaying for half a year, she finally passed away."
When Lan Ting said this, he looked a little confused.
Zhou Shaojin listened to his childhood stories and imagined his father's sadness after his mother passed away. He was a little dazed for a moment.
The room suddenly became quiet, without any sound.
Zhou Chujin snorted coldly and said, "Is this what you said, 'Cheng Bai killed my mother'? I don't think it was Cheng Bai who killed my mother. You are just making trouble out of nothing, right? Even if you want to make up a story to deceive us sisters, at least make it decent!"
"Miss, I didn't make up the story." Lan Ting came back to his senses and said anxiously, "It was really Cheng Bo who killed the wife."
※
Today's update, sisters.
The update for CadySS will be a little late, so please get up tomorrow morning and read it!
O(∩_∩)O~
※(To be continued)