An Niang screamed hoarse outside the garden, she ran and shouted all the way, crying and falling all the way.

In the early spring when the cherries are ripe, the garden is full of peonies and gardenias, and the clear spring flows from the cracks in the stone to the bottom of the rockery, gathering into a pond with a full moon print.

The night wind blew drunk the world, behind him was the crackling sound of the Qinglian Garden burning, the wood burned and fell to the ground, and the slaves of the lotus wind Xiaozhu tried their best to put out the fire.

And the bluestone slab path, even the night room, does not even have a figure.

It took three sticks of incense before I finally saw the other servants hurrying over.

Then more and more people gathered, until the fire was extinguished, and the sky was already dark.

The servants stood scattered in front of the burned ruins of the Qinglian Garden.

"Aunt Eight is here."

With these words, the eighth aunt Huang walked over wrapped in a crimson cloak, and a pair of gilt filigree earrings under her ears shook happily from side to side.

raised his eyebrows, feigning some annoyance: "What's the matter?" Why did Qinglian Garden suddenly go out of the water? ”

The mother-in-law at the head didn't speak, and looked at a few girls next to her, one of whom was articulate and immediately cried, but there were no tears: "It's terrible, Aunt Nine and Young Master Yu are also inside." ”

Huang looked surprised: "Why is my sister inside?" Brother Yu is also there? How is this good, the lord will come back in a few months, how can this be explained! ”

"Also, there is Sister Ling." A mother-in-law in the back stammered.

Huang's face was immediately bloodless, and she only felt a bubbling chill rising from her spine, she grabbed the girl and said angrily: "Sister Ling?!" Shouldn't Sister Ling fall asleep in the garden??! ”

"I'm supposed to fall asleep in the garden." A voice rang out from behind the crowd.

Duan Ling'er's face was cold, there was still a piece of black ash on the tip of her nose that had not been wiped off, and her sideburns were slightly messy.

She gently pulled up her sleeves to cover up the scars that had been slightly burned in the fire just now, and her white arms were like a slight flawed jade.

When Huang saw Duan Ling'er intact, his soul immediately returned to his body, and he walked up quickly with a doting face: "My son, it's okay if you're okay." ”

Duan Ling'er pushed her away and looked her up and down, and Huang Shi shuddered when he saw that look.

Huang's expression had betrayed her, and the question "Shouldn't Sister Ling'er fall asleep in the other garden" had already answered all the questions in Duan Ling'er's heart.

The world is indistinguishable between good and evil, and the most painful thing is that you think you should trust someone close to you, but this person stabs you in the heart.

For the person who stabbed the knife, Duan Ling'er always wanted to stab him back.

Holding the fluffy sideburns with both hands, he slowly pushed back, and said coldly: "My mother and brother should have been in the Grange, why were they suddenly called back in the middle of the night?" ”

Huang opened his mouth for a moment at the sharp eyes of the previous section of Ling'er, and the paragraph that he had memorized in his heart was somehow forgotten and lost into a blank piece, and a pair of feet were even more like nails to the ground.

Huang Shi shook involuntarily, the child in front of him was definitely not a nine-year-old child!

Those eyes are full of changes over the years, and they can see through the change of dynasties.

The pink, white and green appearance seemed to have been washed and faded by the flow of water for a moment.

But looking at it again, this child, still the same snow-white face as before, glass-like eyes, Huang opened his mouth and couldn't speak, after a cold expression and a long pause, Duan Ling'er opened his mouth again: "My mother and brother were knocked unconscious in the room, and then the courtyard was set on fire again, what does my aunt think is going on?" ”

"Sister Ling, are you frightened by the fire, our aunt came in a hurry, how do you know what's going on, and Aunt Nine and Young Master Yu are back, we don't know." The maid Yong'e, who was still pretending to cry just now, immediately caught up and pursed her mouth at Duan Ling'er with Huang in her arms.

Duan Ling'er raised her hand, An Niang hesitated, but remembering the tragic situation when she was on fire just now, and thinking of her master who almost died inside, she suddenly became angry, stepped forward and slapped Yong'e in the face, knocking her to the ground.

"I'm asking Auntie, what are you talking about?" Duan Ling'er stared at Yong'e coldly.

Yong'e covered half of her face, only to feel that when she saw Duan Ling'er's eyes, it was like meeting a strong wind, which almost knocked her to the ground.

"Ling'er." The crowd cracked, and a dignified and well-dressed woman walked up, her black hair was curled high in a Wangxian bun, and her long nails brushed her silk shirt: "How are Shen and Brother Yu doing now?" ”

Duan Ling'er was like a yellow bird, raised her head and glanced at the golden cardamom box on the waist of the visitor, and gave a blessing: "Sixth aunt, you came at the right time." ”

.

Duan Tianya has three aunts and wives in Yangzhou, and the three people in Duan's mansion in Yangzhou are divided into sizes according to the order of Duan Tianya's wives and concubines, and Xiao Su's family ranks sixth.

Before the Huang family, who ranked eighth, and the Shen family, who ranked ninth, this person was the aunt and cousin of Su Jinxin, the eldest lady of the main mansion in Beijing, and was deeply appreciated by the eldest lady, so she presided over all matters of Yangzhou Duanfu.

The person who came at this time was the sixth aunt Xiao Su.

The other subordinates took a few steps back, and there were only a few people left around Xiao Su's family, next to him was the close-fitting maid Linchun, who was beautiful and eyebrow-eyed, but in her early twenties.

Standing opposite her was Duan Ling'er.

Xiao Su called out coldly: "Sister Ling." ”

Duan Ling'er's eyes flashed, and she replied: "Sixth aunt." ”

The evening breeze rose suddenly, and the servants of the Duan Mansion carried lanterns, and the lights illuminated the faces of several masters brightly.

Duan Ling'er looked at the fading moon in the light.

Xiao Su tightened his cloak, freed up a hand, and hooked the edge of the cloak with his white fingertips: "Sister Ling, what are you leading your yard people to do, wearing night clothes?" ”

Duan Ling'er met her eyes: "Ling'er also wants to ask the sixth aunt, the sixth aunt has always been known for being obedient in front of her father, this section of the mansion is transferred by you, tonight Qinglian Garden is on fire, why are the people on night patrol in the garden gone, what are they doing?" ”

Xiao Su frowned slightly, in his impression, how could this girl dare to talk to herself like this?

Xiao Su had just made an attitude and was about to speak, only to hear Duan Ling'er ask again:

"I also want to ask my aunt, why did my mother and brother return to the forbidden garden in the middle of the night? Who planted this fire? When the murderer set the fire, what was the butler doing on the corridor and under the corridor? ”

Xiao Su's smile instantly condensed into an ice flower at the corner of his mouth, and he couldn't take it back, but it couldn't fall well.

The eyes stared straight at Duan Ling'er in front of him, the Jinbi Towers of Yangzhou Duanfu leaned against each other, and the person in front of him had a slender waist.

Xiao Su stared, raised his watery hanging eyes, and the corners of his eyes went straight into his sideburns: "Sister Ling, your mother and Brother Yu left the Grange without permission, and Aunt I just got the news, why did you question me?" As for the misfire...... Probably because the weather is dry and dry, people eat grains, and they also have good and bad luck. At such a young age, you are so arrogant, blaming the scourge of natural disasters on your eighth aunt and questioning me again. Even if you grieve for the death of your mother, we are still your elders. ”

I didn't even want to save it.

I didn't ask, but I guessed that someone was dead.

Who else could it be that you didn't do?

Duan Ling'er laughed and tears rippled in her heart, she was a good aunt in her previous life, but now she looked at that face so hideous.

Folded off a tender yellow spring flower and fiddled with it in his hand, and teased: "The concubine dares to claim to be the elder of the master, is it not ashamed to say this?" ”

The voices of the servants around them suddenly subsided, and only the blackened garden behind them seemed to be a hole carved out of thin air in a verdant landscape painting.

Around this hole, there are still dwarf shrubs that are neatly trimmed like gongbi paintings, sparsely fallen locust trees, and gorgeous peonies and camellias.

"Shut up!" An eleven or twelve-year-old girl stepped out sideways, and the purple gold distraction in her hair chattered in front of the bright torches lit by the servants: "Xiao Jiu, you dead girl, dare to talk to my mother like this, don't forget that you are also born to a concubine." ”

Duan Ling'er snapped off the stem of the spring flower, and stared at her half-sister Duan Tong with a pair of eyes: "Sister Wei, then do you recognize that the Huang family is your elder?" ”

Duan Tong's face is a plain but good-looking little convex face, and the 11-year-old is also a natural puff if he is not a fan. Her eyes were large and round, and the crease of her eyelids instantly deepened when she heard this.

Speechless for a while, the concubine is the servant, the son is the master, Duan Tong naturally knows this truth.

If you talk about the elders, among the various women of the father, only the eldest lady is both her mother and aunt, and her biological mother is under her, and what is this Huang family?

Duan Tong's face suddenly became like a layer of light red rouge, she turned her angry face and turned around: "Xiao Jiu, you have become very articulate, who did you learn from?" ”

Duan Ling'er glanced at Duan Tong, the night wind blew her cheeks hot, she observed the expressions of Su Huang and the others, and the eyes that wanted to cover her eyes confirmed her conjecture in her previous life.

The woman in front of her, without pity, stared at the troubles and jealousy in front of her, because of a little favor from a nobler, these did not hesitate to kill and set fire to others, and I don't know whether these people are stupid or greedy except for hate.

The coldness in Duan Ling'er's eyes was like an ice shuttle, poking straight into her heart.

Don't blame me for what you do.

Duan Ling'er said lightly: "The top priority is to punish the murderers. The crime of setting fire to the lord is also a major crime of killing the head when he goes to the government. ”

Xiao Su's eyes suddenly rolled: "How can there be any murderers, they all say that the sky is dry and dry, Sister Ling'er, even if you are too sad, you can't help yourself from making such a fuss, how can you grab someone if you are drunk and bite casually, and connive at you to come nonsense like this, what kind of system does Duan Mansion have!" In my opinion, it is only ...... good to send your mother and brother away."

"Now that the rainy season is about to begin, the weather is dry? Isn't my aunt joking? Duan Ling'er touched her forehead, revealing her mist-like eyebrows, a pair of beautiful eyebrows, like two crescent moons.

He waved his hand: "You come with me." ”