"Ran'er, since that's the case, my uncle won't invite you to the house. After all, there are many people in the house, and if it is recognized and spread, it will not be good. In this way, my uncle has a manor outside the city, with mountains and rivers, and the scenery is quite pleasant, so he will live there for a few days. ”

"It's not good to trouble my uncle, Ran'er wants to leave tomorrow."

"Why are you polite to your uncle? Just as my uncle said. Anyway, Ran'er also came out to relax, and he came out this way, and he also walked a lot of places, so he should rest and rest here with his uncle. ”

Hearing his uncle Sun Jidong say this, Xiao Yiran didn't want to excuse himself again, so he agreed.

"Don't stay at the inn, it's not too late. You go out of the east gate first and wait, and your uncle will go back to the house to make arrangements, and he will come immediately. ”

After speaking, Sun Jidong turned around and left, and reflexively returned to Sun's mansion. Xiao Yiran let Xiao Qing retreat from the room, drove the carriage, came to the East City Gate, and stopped on the side of the road to wait for his uncle Sun Jidong. It didn't take much effort, Sun Jidong rushed over in a carriage, and the two carriages drove along the official road for about half an hour, turned onto a country road, and walked for more than ten miles to the gate of a manor. Xiao Yiran followed behind his uncle Sun Jidong and walked into the manor, only to see a large lotus pond, and the lotus leaves and fields in the lotus pond were almost invisible. The lotus pond is surrounded by dense and orderly, high and low trees. There is a small courtyard with white walls and black tiles on the north side of the lotus pond, and a small hill on the east side, the mountain is dense with green bamboo, and in the evening breeze, the bamboo leaves make a rustling sound.

As soon as he saw it, Xiao Yiran liked it here.

"I can't imagine that my uncle has such a good manor."

"Yes, you don't know. This was originally a family business purchased by your grandfather. Two years ago, your second uncle lost the gamble and mortgaged this manor. It was originally worth 300,000 silver, but only 150,000 was bet. When the eldest uncle heard about it, he was very distressed. hurriedly found someone to contact the other party, and bought it for 250,000 yuan. ”

"Since it's worth 300,000, how can the other party sell it for 250,000?"

"Ran'er doesn't know that the person who gambled with your second uncle is a well-known person in Jiangning Mansion. People give the nickname 'loser'. ”

"Uncle, why do you say 'loser'?"

"Well, I don't know."

Watching his subordinates clean up the residence of Xiao Yiran and his party, Sun Jidong and Xiao Yiran sat in the living room and told the story of the "loser".

It turned out that this loser thief's real name was Shi Liben. The ancestor was a successor magistrate and had a small savings. After resigning, he turned to business, and within a few years, he earned a huge family business. To Schliben just happened to be the fourth generation. Shi Liben is the only son in the family and has been spoiled by his father and mother since he was a child. All day long, not doing business, idle. Since he was a teenager, he has been lingering in Flower Street, Willow Lane, as well as gambling houses and other places. There are a lot of helpers around him. These **** followed Shi Li himself and asked him to spend money.

The Shi family's parents didn't care at first, they always felt that the family was big, and their son couldn't move the root even if he scattered some wealth. I always think that the child is still young, and when he grows up, he will know that it is okay, and he will take care of it.

As the saying goes: the heart is like a horse running on the plain, easy to let go and difficult to collect. How can this bad habit that has been cultivated since childhood be changed for the better if you want to? As Shi Liben grew up day by day, he became more and more intense. Within a few years, more than half of the family property was ruined by him. No matter how much my father and mother persuaded me, it was to no avail. Even if he was persuaded tightly, not only would he attract Shi Liben's evil words, but later, he would simply add up his fists. When Shi Liben was eighteen years old, he killed his parents alive.

Without the restraint of his parents, Shi Liben only spent less than two years of hard work to corrupt the Shi family, the richest family in Jiangning Mansion. Therefore, the people of Jiangning Mansion gave Shi Liben the nickname of "loser". screaming and screaming, he felt that "loser" was not enough to describe his behavior, so he simply changed it to the current "loser".

"Uncle, is it that the second uncle is often with Shi Liben?"

"Yes, your second uncle's current nickname is 'Loser', and his reputation in Jiangning Mansion is second only to this 'Loser'."

"In the afternoon, when we came, on the bank of the Qinhuai River, we saw a group of people pulling the second uncle, as if it was because the second uncle owed other people's gambling debts."

"The family business left by your grandfather was almost lost by your second uncle. Only that house remains. ”

"Grandma doesn't care?"

"It's the same as Shi Liben's parents, but I don't care, and when I want to manage it, I can't manage it anymore. At the beginning of the year, he asked me to go back, saying that he was going to split up. It's just that your second uncle didn't agree to anything, and he didn't share it. ”

While the uncle and nephew were talking, the subordinates had already cleaned up. Xiao Yiran went to his room to wash up, and when he came out again, he had already put food on the table. Uncle Sun Jidong accompanied Xiao Yiran to dinner before leaving and returning to the city.

At night, Xiao Yiran lay on the bed for a long time and couldn't sleep. So he got up, put on his clothes, went out into the courtyard, and stood by the lotus pond. From the eighth day of the fifth month of May to leave Yanshan Mansion, all the way, to today is exactly a month. A crescent moon in the sky shone on the lotus pond, as if a thin veil had been draped over the lotus pond. The breeze blows the fragrance of lotus flowers.

"Miss."

Xiao Yiran turned his head and saw that Musk Yue had come behind him at some point.

"Why hasn't Musk Moon slept yet?"

"I was about to fall asleep in a daze, but when I heard the door of the young lady's room, I came out to take a look."

"I haven't had a good rest during this time, so go back to sleep."

"It's okay, Miss Musk Moon."

A master and a servant stood by the lotus pond and did not speak for a while. Xiao Yiran only felt that the fatigue that had come all the way had been washed away by the charming night in front of him. I can't help but think that if I buy such a place in the future, even if I am lonely for a lifetime, I will have no regrets.

"Miss, it's late at night, and the humidity is heavy, so let's go back to the room and sleep."

Xiao Yiran didn't feel anything, but was worried that Musk Yue was too tired. Although Musk Moon has a soft temperament and does things, she is very quick. Along the way, He Qingwen saddled up and served himself before and after, and he must have been very tired.

"Okay, go back to your room and go to bed."

Xiao Yiran returned to the room, sat cross-legged on the bed, took out the bag given by Master Yuantong, and released Zheng Xinxin's soul.

"Miss hasn't rested yet?"

"I don't feel sleepy at all, the scenery is charming tonight, my sister will go out for a walk with me."

Xiao Yiran escaped from the yin god, and with Zheng Xinxin's soul, came to the sky above the pond, wandering in the boundless moonlight. When the two came to the bamboo forest on the hill to the east, they vaguely found that outside the manor, there seemed to be two figures whispering. Just as they were about to float over to take a look, the two figures turned and left.

At that time, Xiao Yiran didn't think much about it, thinking that it was a passer-by, or two thieves, so he didn't pay attention to it.