Xia Chunchao was very surprised when he heard her words, and he couldn't understand it for a while, but he saw that she came in a hurry, and his face was full of anxiety, so he smiled and said, "My sister came in a hurry, but what happened?" My sister sat down first, had something to say and spoke slowly. As he spoke, he instructed Bao'er, "Wash the almond dew with the girl." Bao'er agreed, and Xia Chunchao asked Sister Lu Hong to sit down and talk.

Sister Lu Hong sat in front of her, and told her in detail what she had heard outside her grandmother's room this afternoon, and said, "This afternoon, I sent my aunt and cousin back, aren't we all dispersed?" I was so tired and sleepy that I had walked a lot in the morning, so I went into the house and slept for a while. When I got up, I saw my snow lion cat running out. Because I knew that the old lady had to do her homework every afternoon, I was afraid that this thing would disturb the old lady's tranquility, so I chased after her. When I walked over there, I didn't hear the sound of knocking on the wooden fish, but the old lady and his wife were chattering in the house. I didn't plan to listen carefully, but I occasionally heard two sentences related to my sister-in-law, so I stood. It turned out that my wife intended to tell my cousin Xueyan to be my brother's concubine, and she said a lot to the old lady, and there were many sisters-in-law in it. Although the old lady counted down the wife, she was accurate. I'm afraid that Mrs. Ming'er is going to come to talk to my sister-in-law about this, and my sister-in-law is still thinking about how to deal with it! ”

When Xia Chunchao heard the news, it was like a thunderbolt from the sky, and he was speechless for a while, and only after a long time did he smile and said: "Our family has never taken a concubine for several generations, why has it made an exception now?" I guess you've heard the difference. Besides, the old lady has always cherished me, and she will not agree to this. Wife...... Although there are some discords on weekdays, I have always been respectful in front of her. When Sister Lu Hong saw that she didn't believe it, she became anxious and said, "My stupid sister-in-law, you really know people and don't know your heart!" What I heard with my own ears, is that still false? If the old lady really loves you, why didn't she tell your brother for a letter? You don't know, although the old lady praises you for being virtuous on her face, she always adds the word pity when she mentions it behind her back. The meaning of the words is just that you are from a humble background, and your family is not high. My sister-in-law came home late, and I didn't know what was ahead. Mrs. was angry about this back then. Now that the angry daughter-in-law has become a mother-in-law, she naturally wants to take advantage of her mother-in-law's prestige - now let's not talk about these irrelevant things, my sister-in-law still thinks about how Ming'er will reply to his wife's words! ”

Xia Chunchao listened to this, his body shook, he almost couldn't sit still, his eyes were red, his arms were half weak, and he whispered for a long time: "Since I entered your Lu family, I have not done anything wrong." Wake up early and go to bed late every day, and take care of household chores. Thy brother will find a future, and he must have money to use. There is no cash at home, and if you want to use my head, I don't have any money. That dry goods shop, didn't I empty the makeup that my mother's family lost, where did I get the capital? Now I'm not trying to show off the credit, I just can't figure it out! ”

Sister Lu Hong sighed: "Sister-in-law is smart on weekdays, why is she confused today?" Although I haven't studied for a few days, I still know that there is a truth that 'merit is high and the master is great'. It is precisely because my sister-in-law is working so hard at home that my wife hates you like that. If the wife had been good in the past, then that's fine. Mrs. Bisheng's talent in this area is very narrow, the family affairs are turned upside down year after year, the money is haunted by money, and the family only looks at her jokes. Although the old man doesn't care about anything, the old lady is only to blame on the wife. Since my sister-in-law entered the door, all kinds of things in the family have been handled, who doesn't praise my sister-in-law for being virtuous and capable? ”

"As the saying goes, people have to die more than people, and goods have to be thrown away. The good ones are getting better, and the bad ones are getting worse and worse. Mrs. has been stared at all these years, how can she not have a little resentment in her heart? Moreover, although the sister-in-law thinks about the family wholeheartedly, she takes all the housework on herself. In the eyes of his wife, he didn't say that his sister-in-law worked hard, but only said that you held the authority, and the family that instigated only listened to you and did not follow her orders. The old lady and her have never been together, the old man has always cared about family affairs, and the family is all in the hands of his sister-in-law. She only felt that she was weak, so she thought about getting Cousin Xueyan in to be her brother's concubine, so as to add more power to her. If these words were usual, I wouldn't say them to my sister-in-law, but now this matter is really not true. Therefore, I will first tell my sister-in-law, so that my sister-in-law can take precautions. ”

She said a lot of things in one go, but her mouth was dry, so she picked up the teacup and drank most of the almond syrup.

Xia Chunchao was also aware of these truths in his heart in the past, but because he worked so hard for his in-laws, he refused to think about it. Now that she was told by her sister-in-law in person, her heart was like being stabbed, she was wronged and sore, and a bubble of tears only swirled in her eyes. However, although this Xia Chun Dynasty has a gentle and peaceful personality, his temperament is extremely strong, and he refuses to show weakness in front of others, and he immediately holds up a smiling face and says: "Thank you sister Teterer for coming to tell me this, I know in my heart, my sister doesn't have to be anxious." My sister treats me well, and I keep it in my heart. It's late, I'm afraid that the old lady over there will be suspicious, so my sister should go back quickly. ”

When Sister Lu Hong saw her say this, she didn't say anything, but said: "Since that's the case, then I'll go back, sister-in-law be more vigilant." When he had finished speaking, he did not say any more, and got up and went. Xia Chunchao hurriedly sent Bao'er to him. After sending Sister Lu Hong away, Xia Chunchao sat on the edge of the kang, holding the half-embroidered pillowcase in his hand, looking at the light on the kang table like a lamp in a daze.

Zhu'er came up to clean up the tea bowl, and dialed the wick again, and saw that her face was unknown, so she said that it was for Sister Lu Hong to talk about taking a concubine, so she persuaded: "Grandma, be relieved, although the girl said so, but Mrs. has not told grandma yet." Maybe Mrs. Ming'er changed her mind. What's more, the old lady has always cherished her grandmother, why didn't her grandmother beg the old lady? As long as she pleases the old lady's words, the wife can't force it. ”

Xia Chunchao pulled his lips and smiled, and said in a low voice: "The old lady treats me, in fact, it is a matter of face. Do I know not in my heart? Originally, I only said that I was dedicated to the landing family, and after a long time, I saw the hearts of the people, and even a stone would eventually cover the heat one day. Who knew they would do this to me! To say, taking a concubine is not a big deal. But I just can't swallow this breath, and it's okay to say that I'm not virtuous or to accuse me of being jealous. If he Lu Chengyong really wants to take a concubine, unless he divorces me first! If you want me to suffer some hardships and suffer some grievances, that's fine, but if it comes to me like this, it can't! ”

At this time, Bao'er had already sent Sister Lu Hong back, and when she heard this, she frowned and said, "I'm afraid that Mrs. Ming'er will come to ask grandma, and grandma will reply in person?" Xia Chunchao lowered his head and thought for a while, then suddenly looked at Zhu'er and asked, "You said this afternoon that you saw Changchun in your wife's house with your own eyes, and Aunt Zhang had a bag of silver, is it accurate?" Zhu'er didn't expect her to ask about it suddenly, she was slightly stunned, and immediately replied: "Exactly, grandma sent me to the kitchen to spread the word." When I came back, I happened to meet Changchun to send my aunt and Miss Cousin out, and I saw her handing over a bun of things to my aunt's wife. The knot of the baggage was not tightly fastened, and a corner was exposed, and a piece of silver appeared, and I did not dare to say what was inside. ”

Xia Chunchao smiled softly, nodded and said, "As long as there is such a thing, it doesn't matter what is there." It's all over the place, can't you still send someone to ask? Then he asked, "Look at the size of the package, if it were all silver, how much must it be?" Does anyone else see? Zhu'er tilted her head and thought for a while, and said, "I thought in my heart, if it was all silver, it would be about fifty taels." and the sister-in-law Wang, who was in charge of washing the pulp at home, also saw it, and the old lady asked her to wash the bedding, and she happened to pass by there. ”

Xia Chunchao heard this, but he didn't say much, only said: "It's not early, Ming'er has to get up early, just clean up and sleep." Bao'er and Zhu'er were both a little surprised, but it was not good to ask again. Zhu'er went in to make the bed and spread the quilt, and Bao'er went out to scoop water in.

After a while, Xia Chunchao lay on the bed. Boa put down the tent, put out the candle, and went to bed on the pedal bunk—she was supposed to spend the night tonight. Zhu'er went to sleep alone on the kang outside.

Bao'er had nothing to do in her heart, and she fell asleep not long after she lay down.

Xia Chunchao was lying on the bed, looking at the blue cloth and eight treasures on the top of his head, without sleepiness, full of mixed tastes. Thinking of the hard work and grievances suffered in the Lu family over the years, the tears swallowed suddenly gushed like springs, soaking the pillow towel. After lying like this for half the night, the Sandman attacked, and he fell asleep.

When the Liu family returned to the room, he saw that the old man Lu Huancheng had changed into homely clothes and was sitting in the bright room, playing with an ancient inkstone in his hand, and he was very impatient in his heart. It turns out that Lu Huancheng has a big hobby in his life, which is to collect antiques and celebrity calligraphy and paintings. It's just that his eyesight is low, and it is difficult to distinguish between truth and falsehood. There are often some idlers who see that he has money in his family, and do what he likes, and use some broken jars to make the craftsman old, and use them to cheat him out of money. He suffered a lot of losses in this. Most of his year's income was filled in this pit, regardless of the family's food and clothing. The Lu Jia clan didn't care about the reason at all, and only blamed the Liu clan for not being able to run the house. Therefore, every time Liu saw her husband fiddling with this, she would be angry in her heart. She was not an impatient person, and the two of them often quarreled in the house about it.

Because she had something to discuss with Lu Huancheng today, she had to suppress her temper, and stepped forward to ask kindly: "Master has a good object again?" Lu Huancheng was very proud, twisted his beard and said: "Yes, this is Wang Si'er in the yamen who found it." It is said that it is a down-and-out talent, a side of the inkstone handed down by the ancestors, an excellent phoenix eye, and something that has been around for years, as well as the inscriptions of the calligraphy of the previous dynasty, which is really rare. This person failed to take the exam in Beijing, and he had no trouble going home, and he almost ended up on the streets. I had no choice but to sell the treasure handed down from my ancestors. That Wang Si'er knew that I loved this, so he pulled the thread for me. I went to see it, and the man asked for three hundred taels of silver for one bite, and he didn't let go of his mouth if he bit it to death. It's easy to say, but it's finally two hundred and fifty taels, and it's done. You see, how good this inkstone phoenix eye is, the stone is solid, the lubrication is delicate, and it is carved with bamboo and plum blossoms, which is really a good thing! After that, he shook his head a little.

Liu Shi didn't understand this, but heard him say that he had spent two hundred and fifty taels of silver, so he asked, "Where did you get so much silver, so you can buy this inkstone?" Lu Huancheng said disapprerovitically: "Naturally, I don't have this cash, so I recorded it in the shop." ”。