Jiang Yanyi felt embarrassed and a little bit nervous at the same time because of what he said.
Feng Shuo had already met Chu Changping and Old Master Chu, but he had never met the Grand Empress Dowager.
It is said that an ugly daughter-in-law has to meet her parents-in-law. Although Jiang Yanyi is not ugly, she still feels unsure. The relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law has always been a big problem since ancient times.
After seeing how Madam An and Liu treated their daughter-in-law, Jiang Yanyi became even more afraid of the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.
Madam An was gentle in nature, but she looked down on her humble origins. As a noble lady from a prominent family, Xue was definitely marrying down with Chu Chengbai, and she was also sensible in her dealings with others. However, Liu still did not like this daughter-in-law, thinking that Xue was plain-looking and not worthy of his handsome son. She always used the fact that Xue did not give birth to any children after marriage to suppress her.
Chu Chengbai's deceased concubine Yue Niang was actually not very popular with Liu. Liu thought Yue Niang was too charming and only seduced her son all day long, which delayed her son's studies.
If you really meet a mother-in-law like Liu, life will be unbearable.
She asked Feng Shuo with a tangled look on her face: "What kind of women does the Grand Concubine like? Those who are gentle, well-educated and well-mannered, or those who are outgoing and outspoken?"
Feng Shuo glanced at her and said with a smile: "Mother likes the woman I like."
Jiang Yanyi raised her fist and punched him: "Stop talking nonsense at this time."
Feng Shuo knew what she was worried about, and said, "Mother is kind-hearted. She will definitely like you when she sees you. Don't worry."
He glanced at the night sky and said, "It's getting late. I have to go back."
Jiang Yanyi said, "Wait."
After saying that, he turned and went to the bed.
Feng Shuo asked teasingly, "You don't want me to leave, so you want me to sleep on your bed?"
Jiang Yanyi glared at him and took out the silk socks that she had sewn for several days from under her pillow: "This is a New Year's gift for you."
Her embroidery skills were much better than before, but she had been busy with the Chamber of Commerce's fundraising and had too little time to make clothes, so she only had time to make a pair of silk socks.
Feng Shuo's eyes lit up: "For me?"
Jiang Yanyi shook the eye-catching jade bracelet on her wrist and said deliberately, "It's a courtesy."
Feng Shuo was amused by her: "So this bracelet is only enough to buy a pair of silk socks?"
Jiang Yanyi pretended to take back the socks: "Don't ask me to give them to Uncle San."
Feng Shuo avoided her hand and said, "Why would I want to take back something I gave away?"
Jiang Yanyi grumbled, "Don't you want it?"
Feng Shuo put the silk socks into his sleeve pocket: "When did I say I didn't want them anymore?"
"Knock-knock—"
The door was knocked twice at this time, and then Huo Jianjia's voice came: "Boss, are you asleep?"
Jiang Yanyi quickly made a gesture to Feng Shuo to keep quiet, and then said, "I just took a break. What happened?"
Huo Jianjia said, "The maid in the young lady's room came over and said that Young Master Sun is missing."
Chu Nian'an is missing
How could a baby of only a few months old just disappear for no reason
At this moment, Xue certainly would not dare to disturb Old Madam Chu and Mrs. Liu. If Mrs. Liu knew that Chu Nian'an was missing, she would definitely go to the old lady and cry, asking for her grandson to be with her.
Jiang Yanyi said to the outside of the house: "Tell her to tell my sister-in-law that I will pack up and go over."
Huo Jianjia responded with a "OK", and the footsteps slowly faded away.
Jiang Yanyi put on his cold-proof cloak and said to Feng Shuo while tying the belt, "You should leave the mansion now. The guards will block the wall and the corner gates in a while and you won't be able to leave."
Feng Shuo suddenly asked, "Did someone from the Chu family's guards deliver wine tonight?"
Jiang Yanyi shook his head: "The guard on duty, Uncle San, doesn't allow them to drink."
Feng Shuo said, "Maybe there's a traitor in the Chu family. When I came in from the backyard, I saw a few guards drinking in the corridor."
After he said that, Jiang Yanyi didn't know the purpose of the people who took Chu Nian'an away, but he couldn't help but feel a little panicked: "Did they send the guards away and secretly take Chu Nian'an out of the house?"
Seeing the worry on her face, Feng Shuo said, "It's snowing heavily. We can see wheel tracks wherever the carriages have passed. I'll send someone to search along the wheel tracks. Your uncle has a token that allows you to travel through the city after the curfew. Go get the token and wait for my news."
Taking a baby less than a year old out on a snowy day was a stealth option, as the only way to avoid being noticed was by riding in a horse-drawn carriage.
Jiang Yanyi nodded: "My sister-in-law must be worried now that the child is missing. I will go to her first."
Feng Shuo looked at her back as she hurriedly left, a hint of displeasure flashed across his face, but this displeasure was not directed at Jiang Yanyi, but at the person who prevented Jiang Yanyi from sleeping peacefully on a snowy night.
****
When Jiang Yanyi went over, Xue was scolding the wet nurse who was taking care of the child.
"You were in the same room with Nian'an, and you didn't even know that the child was missing. What were you doing?" Xue suppressed a hint of anger between her brows.
The nurse said with a sullen face, "Madam, I am really wronged. I drank a bowl of pig soup sent by the kitchen and had a stomachache. When I came back from the toilet, I found that Master Nian'an was missing."
As she was speaking, her face changed again, and she covered her belly and said, "Madam, I... my belly..."
Xue waved her hand tiredly and said, "Go ahead."
The wet nurse retreated in embarrassment, holding her belly.
He bumped into Jiang Yanyi at the door and left in a hurry without even having time to speak.
Mrs. Xue sat in an armchair, wiping her tears with a handkerchief. When she saw Jiang Yanyi, she managed to calm down: "Ayi, you're here."
Jiang Yanyi comforted Mrs. Xue: "Don't worry, sister-in-law. How could a child be lost in one's own home? Ask a few servants and you will be able to find out who took Nian'an away."
Mrs. Xue just kept shaking her head, unable to stop crying. "I usually take precautions, fearing that something might happen to the child and that they would take it for granted. So I played mahjong with you sisters tonight, but when I came back, the nanny said the child was missing. I had no choice but to consult you. The pig soup that the nanny drank was sent by my mother..."
Jiang Yanyi had not expected this reversal. No wonder Liu wanted to go back to her room so early. It turned out that she came back to arrange all this.
She asked, "You mean Nian'an is with Great Aunt?"
Xue shook her head, feeling a little exhausted. "I'm not sure about mother yet, but I asked someone to check Dalang's yard. He's not at home. I wonder if he took Nian'an out of the house."
She laughed at herself, "They usually want to see the child, and I never stop them. But they are going to such great lengths tonight. There must be something fishy going on. Mother is probably waiting for me to make a scene in her yard so she can take the opportunity to tell my grandmother about it."
If the child was with Liu, it would be fine. At most, Liu would criticize her for not taking good care of the child, and for playing mahjong with a few girls late at night and completely forgetting about the child.
If she wasn't with Liu, not only would Liu say that she wasn't taking good care of the child, she might also accuse her of being unfilial.
Even if she said that Liu asked the kitchen to send pig's foot soup laced with laxative to the wet nurse, no one would believe her. After all, Liu was a grandmother, so why would she deal with her grandson's wet nurse
Jiang Yanyi thought about it carefully and felt that Liu's behavior was probably just a cover. She deliberately exposed her flaws and waited for Xue to make a fuss. In fact, the child was secretly taken out of the house by Chu Chengbai.
If Liu and Chu Chengbai want to deal with Xue, it is useless to just take the child away secretly, unless they make a big fuss about the child.
If Chu Nian'an was sick, and Xue found out that the child was missing but didn't make it public tonight, and Chu Chengbai came back from outside tomorrow morning and said that he took the child to the clinic overnight because he was sick, then Old Madam Chu would feel sorry for her great-grandson and might really doubt whether Xue was taking good care of him.
Liu could take the opportunity to propose that she take care of her grandson, and then exaggerate by saying that Xue was not good to the child, and possibly take away Xue's right to be in charge of the household.
On the contrary, even if Xue went to Liu's yard tonight and made trouble, causing chaos in the entire Chu family, and Chu Chengbai returned with the child from "medical treatment" tomorrow morning, Old Madam Chu would only be more disappointed in Xue.
Jiang Yanyi immediately said, "Sister-in-law, let's go out tonight to bring Nian'an back."
Xue was bewildered and said, "Where can we go to pick her up? It's past curfew and we can't leave the house!"
She blamed herself and said, "I shouldn't have played mahjong tonight."
Jiang Yanyi comforted her: "Sister-in-law, don't think like that. How can you blame yourself for inviting thieves when your belongings are stolen? Third uncle has a token that allows you to travel through the city after curfew. I'll go get it."
Xue wiped her tears and said, "I'll go with you."
The two of them went to Chu Changping's courtyard. When they passed the waterside pavilion, they suddenly heard a clear voice: "Where are you going in the middle of the night?"
Jiang Yanyi raised the lantern and looked towards the water pavilion, only to find that there was a person sitting in the dark water pavilion.
"Second brother?" Jiang Yanyi walked a few steps closer and called him after seeing the person clearly.
Chu Chengmao was alone in the waterside pavilion, with a pile of burnt paper ashes under his feet. It seemed that he came here to deal with some letters.
Xue bowed to Chu Chengmao and said with red eyes, "Uncle, Dalang took Nian'an out of the house overnight."
Chu Chengmao was confused by Xue's nonsensical words: "Brother, why did you take Nian'an out of the house at night?"
Mrs. Xue was not in a position to speak, so Jiang Yanyi spoke for her: "My aunt asked the kitchen to send a bowl of pig soup to Nian'an's nurse, but laxatives were put in the soup. When the nurse had a stomachache, Nian'an was secretly taken away by my eldest brother. When my eldest sister-in-law came back from playing mahjong with us, she found that the child was missing."
Chu Chengmao and Xue were both captured together, and he had seen Chu Chengbo's attitude towards Xue and his concubine. Liu was also a doting mother, and on the one hand, she felt that Xue's appearance was not worthy of her son, and on the other hand, she disliked Xue even more because Xue had no children after marrying for several years.
When they did this in the middle of the night, the first thing Chu Chengmao thought of was that they might be trying to deal with the Xue family.
He looked at Jiang Yanyi and Xue and said, "You are going out to look for Nian An."
Jiang Yanyi and Xue both nodded.
Chu Chengmao crushed the burning paper into ashes with his foot and said, "I'll go with you."
He was worried about the two women going out late at night.
Jiang Yanyi was more than happy to have Chu Chengmao as he was quite skilled in martial arts. With him around, he would be an extra safeguard if he encountered any danger.
Moreover, if Chu Chengbai really wanted to use the child to deal with Xue, Chu Chengmao's presence could be considered a witness.
Chu Changping's study room was open to Chu Chengmao, and he easily obtained the pass token.
Jiang Yanyi thought of what Feng Shuo said about sending someone to check Chu Chengbai's whereabouts, so she used the excuse of going back to her room to change into a thicker cloak. Sure enough, she saw a note left by Feng Shuo on the table in her room, with the words "Shun Kang Fang" written on it.
Shunkangfang was a famous red-light district. Chu Chengbai was unwilling to give Xue a good face, and spent his days in debauchery and often went there to hang out.
***
Chu Chengmao drove the car himself. Before leaving, he asked, "Where are we going to find someone?"
Jiang Yanyi said casually: "Let's go to the place where big brother often goes."
Xue said, "He often goes to Shunkangfang."
There was no resentment or sadness in her voice when she said this, and it was obvious that she didn't care at all about Chu Chengbai going in and out of these places. However, Chu Chengmao frowned deeply.
Almost no man in the Chu family takes concubines. Chu Chengbai is the only one. Liu's instigation is inevitable. She used the excuse that Xue did not give birth to a child. Even if the old lady Chu blamed her for ruining the family tradition, Liu could not say anything because she did it to add children to the Chu family.
The carriage soon arrived at Shunkangfang.
On New Year's Eve, there are still few people who do not return home at night. Shunkangfang's business is not very good tonight, and only one lantern is lit at the door.
Chu Chengmao jumped down the carriage road: "I'll go in and ask, you wait in the carriage."
This is for the sake of their reputation.
Mrs. Xue was worried about the child but she didn't care about that. She said, "Thank you for your kindness, uncle. I still want to go and see it myself."
Chu Chengmao hesitated for a moment, but still didn't stop him.
Jiang Yanyi and Xue both used handkerchiefs as face coverings and followed Chu Chengmao out of the car.
Xue's maid went down first, and then reached out to help Xue. Huo Jianjia saw this and followed suit to help Jiang Yanyi, making Jiang Yanyi laugh and cry.
After Huo Jianjia helped Jiang Yanyi get off the carriage, she took out her big knife tied with a cloth strip from under the carriage seat. Jiang Yanyi didn't even know when she put the knife on the carriage.
Xue was stunned when she saw this scene, and asked Jiang Yanyi: "Ayi, this is..."
Jiang Yanyi hurriedly said to Huo Jianjia, "Jianjia, no one will be killed tonight."
"Oh." Huo Jianjia then stuffed the sword back into the carriage, but she looked quite disappointed.
The author has something to say: Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated nutrient solution during 2021-01-25 23:24:27~2021-01-26 22:52:17~
Thanks to the little angel who threw the rocket launcher: pp 2;
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