An old woman in a green cloth coat, with her hair combed and neat legs, hurried into the Bofu and went straight to the mourning hall.

Seeing the shadow of the mourning hall, his steps accelerated even more, and he didn't watch out for a person coming in through the door of the east wall, and when he turned around, he almost bumped into his arms, "Mother Yan, you are always back." Xiuju exclaimed in surprise, "

Mama Yan's eyes were sharp, she looked at the bulging bags in Xiuju's arms, and asked, "What are you carrying in your arms?" ”

Xiuju stuffed it under her armpit, looked at both sides, and saw that there was no one, so she whispered: "The master is in the mourning hall, and the water and rice have not been eaten all day, and the lady ordered that there is only gloupe for dinner, and it must be dark, and the big kitchen will only allow food to be sent after the guests are gone." ”

Mama Yan and Feng'er swapped up, and next to Shen Wanzhen in the Bofu, Shen Wanzhen only said that there was no shortage of people in the house, and Mrs. Qian's man took care of the two transactions, and there was a shortage of manpower, so she asked Mrs. Yan to take care of the grocery store, and vacated Mrs. Qian's man to specialize in the tofu business, and her own people were safe.

A few days after Zhan Shaoting died, Mama Yan got the letter, and hurried back to the Bofu, afraid that her master would suffer.

"The master keeps it all day, how does this make the master's body delicate, this is to practice to death." Mrs. Yan was angry, she didn't expect Bofu to do so much, so blatantly and without scruples.

"Not only the day vigil, but also the night, very sleepy, to that lean on the fall asleep, mother does not know what to say, last night the master opened the skirt slave maid to see, the knees are worn out, the day to kneel, a kneel does not drill the heart pain." Xiuju complained distressedly.

"Madam, this is a hell of torturing the master and the second concubine." When Mama Yan rushed to the house, she thought that her master was going to suffer this time, and she guessed it.

"Seventy-seven and forty-nine days of silence, ordinary people don't have to always guard, there are many condolences in the Bofu, kneeling and kneeling, no rest, and three or five days of practice, it is also tiring enough, the condolences of the guests are entertaining wine and dinner, and there are not enough people in the house, so I and Qiao Shan are also transferred to help, and the master and the previous one are not waiting." The embroidered chrysanthemum is in the front hall, and the heart always remembers the master, the master depends on her to take care of it, and Qiao Shan has assigned more work than her, and she can't get out for a moment.

Mama Yan couldn't bear it when she heard it, but she couldn't replace her master, and she hated that she didn't come back two days earlier.

Xiuju continued; "Not only tired, seven of the ten intestines are idle, Mrs. Bai Ri does not let people send food, get up early to eat some thin food, until the evening, and do not give dry, these days of condolences to the guests, the wine and rice, the banquet has just dispersed, I quickly stole some dry food, secretly sent it to the master, while they are all eating, the master hurriedly cushioned."

Xiuju said, moved her arm, and carried a bag of dim sum steamed buns under her armpit, which she stole while others were not carrying it.

"Let's go, the old slave will follow you to see the master."

The two of them said, entered the mourning hall from the back door of the hall, quietly passed behind the white curtain, and saw Shen Wanzhen on the right side behind the coffin, staggering, tired all morning, just walked a group of distant relatives of the Bofu, after the family and family accompanying the ceremony, it was almost noon, the uncle and the third master went to the back to eat, Zhao and Cao entertained female guests in the inner hall, and Mrs. Qian also temporarily instructed to go to the kitchen to help wash the dishes and chopsticks.

Shen Wanzhen knelt and sit, her legs were sore, and if anyone came, she had to kneel in a proper manner.

Xiuju and Mrs. Yan quietly came to Shen Xuanzhen's side from behind the curtain, lifted the corner of the curtain, and saw that there were no outsiders in front of the mourning hall, Xiuju quietly called: "Master." ”

Shen Wanzhen heard it, turned around, moved back, close to the curtain, Xiuju quietly handed her a bag of snacks, Shen Wanzhen was already hungry, opened, picked up a steamed bun and put it in her mouth, swallowed it in a few bites, and ate two or three more in a row, Xiuju saw that the steamed bun was too dry, and she was afraid of choking, so she went to the back to find a tea bowl and poured tea for her.

Mrs. Yan saw it, she was sad, Shen Wanzhen ate the steamed buns, and only then did she stop her panic, wrapped the rest, put it in her sleeve, and whispered: "Why is my mother here?" ”

"The old slave is not at ease, and sure enough, the master has suffered."

At this time, I heard the outsiders report loudly, "The lord and lady of the Shen Mansion have arrived." ”

Shen Wanzhen hurriedly straightened up and knelt down, and Mama Yan lowered the curtain and hid behind, not daring to let her see it.

Uncle Zhan and the third master were eating in the back, and when they heard the news from their subordinates, they hurriedly put down their chopsticks and rushed out from behind to accompany the sacrifice.

The deceased is the greatest, and Lord Shen and his wife stepped forward to set up a sacrificial wine to pay tribute.

Uncle Zhan and the third master thank you, and close relatives don't need to be polite.

Master Shen and his wife walked to the daughter who was kneeling behind the coffin, and Master Shen sighed, "My son's life is hard, and her husband went away less than a year after getting married." ”

Wu asked a few words, what kind of illness did my uncle die of, Zhan Bofu concealed the cause of his son's death from the outside world, and only said that he died of a sudden illness, and Master Shen and Mrs. Shen also heard some rumors, but the specific situation is not very clear.

There were people coming and going in the mourning hall, and Shen Wanzhen was inconvenient to talk about it, so she said perfunctorily, "If you are sick and dying, your daughter is telling her parents in detail." ”

Uncle Zhan came over to invite his in-laws to come to the back hall and see his parents to talk.

Here, Mama Yan saw that Master Shen was let into the back hall, and she was not at ease, so she quietly greeted Shen Wanzhen, "Master, the old slave went to inquire about the letter, and see what our master and in-laws say, what are your plans?" ”

Shen Wanzhen was also worried that when her parents came over and saw her in-laws, they would definitely talk about her, and she was afraid that her parents would answer her in-laws' request and promise to let her keep the festival for life and stay in Bofu, even if she didn't die, she had half a life left.

Mrs. Yan went to the room to listen to the news.

Master Shen and Mrs. Shen were allowed to go to Mrs. Zhan's room.

The in-laws greeted each other and sat down, Mrs. Zhan held a handkerchief in her hand and wept, Wu looked at her sister as a son-in-law, her face was haggard and sad, and she persuaded: "People can't be resurrected after death, my sister takes care of her body, and there is a big family for my sister to worry about." ”

Mrs. Zhan smacked a few times, choked up, and said, "If he is sick for three or five years, I can accept it, but just like this, he is gone, how can I not be sad." ”

Uncle Zhan said to Master Shen bitterly: "This is really a natural disaster*, the second child left his father and mother, and the newly married daughter-in-law also left it alone, so that the daughter-in-law can live at a young age." Uncle Zhan said, tears streaming down his face.

Although it seems to be unintentional, it is also the meaning of testing the daughter-in-law's family.

When Mrs. Zhan heard this, she wiped her tears and said, "What is good?" I don't have a woman in my uncle's house. Madame Zhan spoke in a hurry, and her tone was not very good.

Master Shen frowned secretly, no matter how he said it, she was also his own daughter, and his mother-in-law's attitude was not good, and he was not comfortable.

Wu didn't wait for Master Shen to speak, and said: "The wife should be guarded, although there are no relatives and children, but I heard that Tongfang is not pregnant, giving birth to a boy and half a girl, and living a life, like some don't even have children, stepbrothers and nephews, and the children of the clan, and they also have to rely on when they are old." ”

Wu's words, Uncle Zhan and his wife felt a little comfortable, Uncle Zhan was afraid that the Shen family would not agree, and brought the woman back, the wife was gone, leaving a few rooms to guard, and it was not the same, not to mention that there was a pregnancy in the room, and the birth mother was born from a humble background, and she would grow up in the future.

Mrs. Zhan wiped away her tears again and said: "Your uncle has a room named Qiaohui who is pregnant, and she is pregnant, and her wife should be guarded, as for the concubine's room, she is unwilling to stay, whether she is selling or marrying, you don't need to keep it." ”

Uncle Zhan said: "I don't know what my in-laws mean? As long as Master Shen says a word, the daughter-in-law is unwilling, if her mother's family does not come out, she herself does not have much statute, so she has to accept her fate.

Master Shen said: "The loyal minister does not matter to the second master, the martyr does not marry the second husband, the in-laws can rest assured, my wife and I persuade my daughter to stay in the house with peace of mind, wait for the real estate, raise her, and have a support for the rest of her life. ”

Uncle Zhan still has more scheming than his wife, seeing that Master Shen agreed, he was afraid that he would regret it in the future, so he said: "As soon as the second son's funeral is over, I will write to the emperor, be a virtuous daughter-in-law, and be determined to observe the festival." ”

When Master Shen heard this, he said: "This is very good, a family like ours, if the husband is dead, it cannot be remarried." ”

Wu and Mrs. Zhan looked at each other, the sisters had the same heart, and they both wanted Shen Wan to keep the festival, one wanted her to stay in the Bofu, and the other happened to be unwilling to accept it.

Mama Yan was anxiously waiting for the letter outside the upper room, pretending to chat with a mother-in-law, watching a girl from the Wu family come out, and hurriedly raised her head over, "This sister is good!" ”

The girl knew her, and Mama Yan had waited for her wife, so she was familiar with it, and said with a smile: "Hello mother, my mother is with the third girl now, and there are fewer meetings." ”

Mama Yan almost said: "If you want to say that I am old, I love to think about the past, I used to be in front of my wife, and I have really lived a few good times, but now that I have left the Shen Mansion, there are few people in the Bofu Mansion, and I can't even find anyone to speak." ”

The girl smiled and said, "But my mother flew up to the high branches, how could the Shen family compare with Bofu." ”

said, and sighed again, "It's a pity that your girl has only been married for half a year, and my uncle is gone." ”

Mrs. Yan continued with this and whispered: "But, I was about to ask, what does the lord and the lady mean, are they going to take our girl back to her parents' house?" ”

The girl said in a low voice: "The lord and the lady said that the wife should be guarded, and the concubine can be married." ”

Mrs. Yan had long expected this result, but she just asked in vain, Mrs. Wu finally sent the concubine, but she was unwilling to let the concubine go back to her parents' house.

The girl whispered to her ear canal; "I only told my mother, don't say anything about it, the father-in-law and uncle of the third girl said that when the funeral is over, I will write to the emperor, show your girl, and be determined to keep the festival."

When Mrs. Yan heard this, she was stunned, the emperor kept the festival, this life is not over, the girl said everything before and after the marriage, if the girl has a man and half a woman, there is a little bit of biological blood, stay in the mother-in-law's house, raise and grow up, it is very should, but now the girl is still white and white, raising children, is not too aggrieved, although Yan Pozi has an outdated concept, but also for the master, not to mention the current situation, staying in the Bofu, Mrs. may not make any means to frustrate the girl.

Mrs. Yan and the girl separated, all the way, her heart was like numbness, there was no charter, she thought about it, put aside the distance, now she has to think of a way, not to let the girl suffer, the girl knelt in the sky, and her knees were worn out.

After Master Shen and Mrs. Shen left, Uncle Zhan said to Mrs. Zhan: "Clean up the small cross-courtyard behind the uncle's mansion, that small courtyard is an independent door, and when the funeral is over, move the people in the second room in, and the door will be locked early when it gets dark." ”

Mrs. Zhan has this intention, Shen Wanzhen is widowed, the small courtyard is clean, and the door is rarely opened during the day behind the Bofu, so that she can keep the green light alone in order to eliminate some of her hatred.

Yan Pozi finally figured out a way to go back to the second room, there was no figure in the upper room, the master was not there, the maids and servants were all transferred away by Zhao, and they went to help, Yan Pozi found a whole piece of thick cotton cloth, used good cotton, and wowed a few taels, and rushed to work overnight to sew a pair of dense cotton knee pads.

The people of Bofu were sleepy and tired, and they made a lot of noise for a few days, Shen Wanzhen and several second-room concubines slept in the mourning hall, at this time, no one was too particular, and they shrank next to the coffin, and fell asleep, but fortunately, the weather was warm and they were dressed thickly.

Early the next morning, Mama Yan took advantage of the fact that no one woke up, went to the mourning hall to quietly wake up the master, and brought the knee pads made of thick cotton to the master.

At dinner, Mrs. Zhan ordered someone to say that Qiaohui didn't need to follow, just go back when the scene was right, people with bodies couldn't bear it.

Taking advantage of the absence of anyone, Peony stood up, rubbed her knees, and muttered quietly, "Just us people can afford it." ”

Hongjian sat on the ground with a butt, and it didn't matter if it was cold on the ground, it really couldn't support it, there was not even a chair in the mourning hall, Yu'er sent her thick cotton clothes last night when it was dark and there was no one, for fear that she would have a miscarriage and get sick.

Everyone else has someone to send food and clothes, but Aunt Duying is ignored, and secretly scolds Chunxiao, who has no conscience, and goes to the new master.

In fact, in the past few days of Chunxiao, it was looked like by the Zhao family, the Zhao family was ordered by his mother-in-law to secretly track down the murderer, and he did not dare to investigate it openly, and the Zhan family lied to the outside world that the second master died of a sudden illness, and even the in-laws hid it.

Murderous death, for the taboo of the family, the coffin is generally placed in the temple funeral, the Bofu is to cover up the cause of death, the funeral sacrifice at home, Zhao is unwilling in his heart, the second master is not old, the main hall of the soul, not in harmony with the rules, the days of the death are too long, the same as the ancestors, there is no room for the deceased parents, but the old man and Mrs. Zhan are willing, who dares to say anything, Zhao will also talk to her husband.

Zhao's secret trial of the second room's maid-in-law, Chunxiao was the first to be tried, and held on, Zhao didn't believe that the poisoning was done by Aunt Ying, Aunt Ying relied on Zhan Shaoting in the Bofu, if Zhan Shaoting died, it would not be good for her at all, on the contrary, she had more suspicions about Shen Wanzhen than Aunt Ying.

Zhao's visit was strictly limited to the second room, and did not expand the influence, in fact, it had nothing to do with other rooms, and she dared to conclude that it was poisoned by her own people in the second room.

Secretly visited for five or six days, no clue, when the accident happened, there were alibi witnesses, Peony's girl said that Peony went to Aunt Chen's house in the big house at that time, no need to ask Aunt Chen, if Yu'er lied, it would be exposed, and Peony would be excluded.

Shen Wanzhen got up late that day and never went out of the room, and the maids and women who went to the room could testify, and Shen Wanzhen's suspicion was also ruled out.

Hongzhi had just given birth, lying in the house, and Yu'er was waiting in front of her, which seemed unlikely.

is Qiaohui, Qiaohui will give birth in a few months, not to mention how she has a relationship with Zhan Shaoting, no matter how she says it, she doesn't want the child to be born without a father.

Zhao wondered, obviously the scene at that time, Zhan Shaoting and Aunt Ying were inside, and there was no one outside, if Chunxiao was poisoned, and then left, deliberately creating an alibi, this can be explained.

But Zhao didn't think she did it, Chunxiao begged herself to stay, not to go to the farm with Aunt Ying, she also agreed, and promised to let her choose her own match, it was also her own selfishness, if she was matched with a small servant, or the person in charge of the house, she pulled out a thorn in her eye, and Chunxiao was also grateful to Dade.

Zhao's was anxious, and her mother-in-law saw that she sent someone to urge her, her tone was getting worse and worse, and she was troubled, when the maid came in and said, "A mother-in-law in the second room asks to see her." ”

Zhao wants to have a door, and under the heavy reward, there is a clue.

Anwangfu

When King Anyang heard the eunuch say that the second master of Zhan Mansion had died, he was taken aback, and ordered the eunuch: "Call Mrs. Shen to come up." ”

After a while, Shen Wanzhu came up from His Royal Highness Nana, with a willow waist swing, and her voice was like a kingfisher, "The concubine sees the prince." ”

Zhao Shijiao didn't have time to see her dressed like a flower butterfly, and asked anxiously: "When did the second master of Zhan Bo Mansion happen?" ”

Shen Wanzhu thought to herself, every time the prince called herself, she asked about the Bofu, and it seemed that she still valued the relative of the Bofu, so she said, "It's been five or six days." ”

Zhao Shijiao said suspiciously: "Your Shen family and the Zhan family are in-laws, why did they find out after five or six days of being gone." ”

Shen Wanzhu's expression was a little embarrassed, saying that the relationship between the sisters was not good, they didn't move around often, and they couldn't speak, so they reluctantly coped: "There are no people, the Bofu has been in chaos for a few days, and I didn't get a letter, and my mother's family only sent a letter yesterday." ”

In fact, it was the Bofu that concealed the news at the beginning, and it was buried in private, if people saw Zhan Shaoting's face glowing with blue light when he died, anyone could guess why he died.

"You're going to Bofu to worship?" Zhao Shijiao asked.

"Yes, lord." Shen Wanzhu replied in a low voice.

"That's it, early tomorrow morning, you go to Bofu with me, Uncle Zhan's middle-aged loss of his son is a great tragedy in life, the princes and ministers of the court, and Zhilu Daoxin will also go." In fact, he was eager to see Shen Wanzhen and wanted to know if she was okay.

He closed his eyes, and the woman who was smiling arbitrarily flashed in front of him, but unfortunately it was ill-fated.