The large handful of lotus flowers picked couldn't be controlled, An Ruojin asked An Ruoke and a few people to go back to the Hou Mansion first, and she helped An Ruolan to get into the carriage to the Zhong Mansion.

I was still mentioning that person just now, how could something happen to me?

An Ruojin stroked An Ruolan's pale face distressedly, afraid and anxious.

It wasn't until she arrived at Zhongfu that An Ruolan's face was slightly better, and she almost got out of the car trembling, unwilling and afraid to reveal the slightest vulnerability.

The atmosphere in the main hall of the Zhong family was solemn, except for Master Zhong and Uncle Zhong, everyone was here.

Old Madam Zhong sat on the right side of the top position, holding a handkerchief and constantly wiping her tears, Second Master Zhong, Third Master Zhong, and several ladies sat on the big mahogany carved back chairs on both sides in turn, and the young masters and young ladies of the Zhong Mansion stood behind their parents. A middle-aged Confucian in a green shirt and a white face stood in the center of the living room, followed by a gray-clothed man in the prime of life.

An Ruolan stepped into the threshold of the main hall with her head held high, and calmly greeted everyone present, but everyone only glanced at her, neither greeting nor letting her get up.

Thinking that everyone should just be immersed in sadness, and they have no time to take care of themselves, An Ruojin was not annoyed at all, stood aside by herself, and threw an apologetic look at An Ruojin.

An Ruojin shook her head slightly to indicate that it didn't matter, and raised her hand to support her behind her, worried that she would faint after a while.

The two sisters communicated silently, and the Zhong family looked at them coldly, some indifferent, and some mocking and disdainful. Only a few showed some signs of concern and sympathy.

An Ruolan noticed those mocking glances, and just pretended not to know, and now she didn't have the heart to deal with them.

It's going to be a while. Master Zhong and Uncle Zhong came in with heavy faces, and seeing An Ruolan and An Ruojin standing aside, Master Zhong frowned unhappily and said, "Second Miss An, please sit, Sister Lan, you can also sit."

An Ruolan thanked An Ruojin, and waited for him to sit down with Uncle Zhong before sitting at the end.

Just sat down. Hearing a cold snort, the third-ranked young lady of the Zhong family sneered: "She is the same generation as us. We're all still standing, why is she sitting?"

It's not big, it's just enough for everyone present to hear.

Fourth Master Zhong was not there, and there was bad news like that in Haicheng again. Some people who were originally suppressed in their hearts were reluctant to endure it, and finally they didn't plan to endure it anymore.

Many of the sons and nephews of the Zhong family have the same mentality, the fourth uncle has gone, what is An Ruolan in the Zhong family? In the future, the property in the name of the fourth uncle will naturally belong to them!

With such thoughts, who wants to humble an outsider?

Therefore, as soon as Zhong San's words came out, many people echoed him.

An Ruolan was silent, it was Master Zhong who asked her to sit. Why didn't she sit?

Zhong Yueshan bent the corners of her lips imperceptibly, she did not follow the coaxing people to target and exclude An Ruolan, but put on a posture of a peacemaker. Good words persuaded: "Don't say that, everyone, the one who comes is a guest."

Compared with those straightforward voices, the word "guest" is more prickly.

Immediate opinion.

An Ruolan glanced at Zhong Yueshan lightly, still motionless.

She sued herself to be calm. Be calm, she doesn't care what the Zhong family thinks of her. She just wants to hurry up and find out more.

The Zhong family's nephews also had good intentions, and they came out to speak for An Ruolan, and for a while, the Zhong family's nephews were divided into three factions, and the war was endless.

In the midst of this commotion, Mrs. Zhong opened her mouth and said, "I didn't call you over to let you get together and argue!"

Mrs. Zhong had some authority in the house, and as soon as she spoke, the group of people who were arguing fell silent.

Master Zhong looked at him and wiped his tears, sitting back at An Ruolan's wife who was being harassed, and disappointment flashed in his eyes.

Shaking his head and sighing, Master Zhong said, "Now that everyone is here, Mr. Yi, please speak."

This was said to the Confucian in the green shirt.

But it turned out that it was this Confucian who asked Uncle Zhong to summon the Zhong family to the hall, saying that he had something important to tell him.

Master Zhong's words made the hall quiet for a while, and everyone subconsciously looked at the Confucian student.

The Confucian scholar, known as Mr. Yi, bowed his head slightly, and then said aloud: "I think you have already heard about it, and I came here today to inform you of the truth, a month ago, the fourth master went to sea and encountered a strong wind and rain, and his whereabouts are still unknown."

As soon as the words fell, a cry rang out in the hall, followed by low sobs.

Mrs. Zhong Er was particularly sad, beating her chest and crying: "Fourth uncle, why did you go, how good did you let your mother, fourth uncle!"

Several young masters and young ladies who targeted An Ruolan also wiped their tears and cried.

Seeing this, Mrs. Zhong also came from sorrow and howled, and even Uncle Zhong and several men couldn't help but redden.

Among them, it is especially the second master Zhong and the second wife Zhong who cry the most, they are simply good at singing and reading.

An Ruolan listened to this burst of crying, only to feel that a large piece of her heart had been stripped away, her hands couldn't stop shaking, and her mind was blank for a moment, and then, it was what her father-in-law said when he sent her back to the Hou Mansion before leaving.

"The stepfather will definitely return."

Will come back, he said he will come back, he never lies!

The crying in her ears made her irritable, and the depression churning in her heart made her can't help but shout: "My father-in-law said that he would come back, and he would definitely come back, what do you mean by crying?!"

There was a moment of silence in the hall, and then, Mrs. Zhong Er suddenly became troubled. ]

She angrily pointed at An Ruolan and scolded: "Do you have a conscience?!" The fourth uncle treats you well, now that he is gone, you can't cry yourself, just don't want to cry, don't let others be sad and sad, has your conscience been eaten by dogs? ! "

He chirped again: "Outsiders are always outsiders, and I can't expect you to be sincere to the Zhong family!" No wonder An Wuye wanted to succeed you back then, just a white-eyed wolf like you, not to mention the lives of your parents and relatives, even if you don't, no one dares to ask for you! It's really blind to the love of the fourth uncle! "

After scolding, he hid his face and wept bitterly.

Listen to the three words "gram parents". Old Madam Zhong clenched the handkerchief in her hand, and looked at An Ruolan with resentment.

In the face of Mrs. Zhong's scolding, An Ruolan was indifferent. Taking a deep breath, she stubbornly refused to reveal her vulnerability, tried to keep her voice steady, and said calmly: "My father-in-law is just missing, not necessarily killed, I firmly believe that my father-in-law will come back."

An Ruojin clenched her slightly trembling hand distressedly.

An Ruolan shook her head lightly and said with a mouth, "I'm fine." He gave her another reassuring look.

Say this. Her mind is becoming more and more discerning.

As soon as the words changed, she looked directly into the eyes of Second Mrs. Zhong. He asked in a cold voice: "It's Erniang, before the facts are clear, you keep saying that your father-in-law is gone, but Sister Lan wants to ask. What are your intentions?! "

Mrs. Zhong, who was wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief, was shocked, and immediately raised her eyes to see Master Zhong's expression, and saw that Master Zhong's face was vague and inexplicable, and immediately did not dare to squeak, only wiped her tears with grievances.

Old Madam Zhong's eyes sank, and she slapped the table and said sharply: "It was this gentleman who said that your father-in-law was shipwrecked, and your second mother was also sad for your father-in-law, so she lost her words, you need to be so aggressive?" Your stepfather is not there. Are you becoming less and less aware of the elders of the Zhong family?"

raised his voice to everyone again: "I think what Erniang said is right, she is not the Zhong family, and she will not be sincere to my Zhong family!"

If it wasn't for the fourth insistence. In addition, she also wants to find a child for the fourth child, she will not agree to let An Ruolan, who has the reputation of a father, be the fourth child's daughter, and now that the fourth child has been killed, how can she not hate?

This qiē is all An Ruolan's fault, it's all her fault!

The grief of losing his beloved son turned into resentment towards An Ruolan. Clenching the handkerchief in her hand tightly, Old Madam Zhong looked at An Ruolan with a gaze that seemed to be quenched with poison.

An Ruolan bears the burden of coming around. or resentment, or grief, or contempt, try to straighten your back.

"You are already an adult, you should have the determination to bear the blame and tribulation, and only when you have a strong heart can you go farther without fear."

The words of her stepfather when she asked her to take over the branch of the Liyuwu Gold and Silver Building were still lingering in her ears, how could she be knocked down so lightly?

An Ruojin can only silently support her and accompany her.

With Mrs. Zhong's support, Mrs. Zhong became arrogant again, but as soon as she put on a posture, Uncle Zhong suddenly opened her mouth.

"Father, mother, and son think that what Sister Lan said is indeed reasonable, but now the fourth brother is just missing, and whether he is really dead is not yet known, those unlucky words, it is better not to say them. Moreover, the son also believes that with the wisdom of the fourth brother, he will return safely."

These words are obviously defending An Ruolan.

Hearing this, Mrs. Zhong Er, who was like a winning rooster, suddenly died down.

Master Zhong nodded in agreement, "I also believe that the fourth child will come back."

After that, she glanced at An Ruolan lovingly, this glance made An Ruolan see hope and comfort, and she did not waver in the face of blame, but her eyes were red at the moment.

Seeing this scene, Mr. Yi, who had been silently observing from the sidelines, curled his lips and smiled slightly, and spoke again: "In addition to the disappearance of the fourth master at sea, there is another matter to come over today."

He took out a small bamboo tube the size of two fingers from his sleeve and said, "This is the secret document that the fourth master personally handed over to him for safekeeping before he set off for Haicheng."

Hearing this, everyone's attention was drawn to the past.

Glancing around, Mr. Yi said loudly: "It's not a secret, the fourth master has long expected that there will be danger in going to Haicheng here, so he has already made proper arrangements. In case he couldn't rush back to Shengjing in time and his property was left unattended, he wrote the instructions and sealed them in a bamboo tube, and only waited for the incident to be followed by a reading of his will."

The tone was abrupt and sonorous, and the sonorous and powerful tone lifted everyone's hearts.

Second Master Zhong's eyes showed greed, and he urged: "Open it quickly!"

Mr. Yi glanced at him without the slightest emotion, and then he unhurriedly opened the bamboo tube sealed by red wax, took out a small parchment roll inside, and slowly opened it under the expectant and nervous eyes of everyone.

The content of the letter is not long, the front is nothing more than a greeting to his parents, brothers and sisters-in-law, and then it is to show that he has expected that this trip to Haicheng will be dangerous, so that everyone does not have to worry, he has a way to deal with it, and he will return safely, and finally, it is the arrangement of the property under his name.

Mr. Yi read aloud: "I have always regarded Bao Mei as my own daughter, now Bao Mei is getting older, she can be alone, when I travel far away, all the industries under it will be handed over to Bao Mei to take care of, and I hope that my father and eldest brother will help from the side, and my mother and sister-in-law will take care of it more, and He Jin will go on."

A thunderclap on the ground shook everyone in the Zhong family. (To be continued)