Li Dan naturally understands his aunt's good intentions. "Auntie, if you want me to say that she wants us to go, then let's go. This family lives so awkwardly, it is better to separate!

Wait for me to stand on my own, honor you well, let's close the door and live by ourselves, it's better than looking at other people's faces! ”

To be honest, Li Dan didn't have much affection for this family since he was a child, and he always felt more comfortable with his father when he was in office.

"You just don't want to be bound by the rules!" Xiao Qian said angrily, seeing her stepson kneeling down and laughing, she relented again and waved her hand: "Get up, sit down and talk." ”

Li Dan hurriedly got up and patted the hem, sat on Xiao Qian's side, watched her signal the needle to close the door, and then whispered: "She mentioned this again today, it seems that she has made up her mind to split up."

If you are really separated, you are the head of the family, and you can't be so willful all day long! My aunt is counting on you in the future, if you have a good one, can you teach me how to live? ”

"Auntie, don't worry, my son remembers, and he must be careful in the future."

Li Dan saluted upward, thought about it and said, "But sooner or later, I have to find out over there, did my aunt make some preparations in advance?" ”

"Close the door, let's talk, and the needle is also my intimacy."

Qian Sanniang gritted her teeth and thought about it and told Li Dan: "Although your father's family is a family of poets and scholars, after your great-grandfather was killed for refusing to write a poem, the court copied the house clean, leaving only this empty house.

Later, Emperor Xuanwu returned part of the land, and your grandfather rebuilt the family, but it was no longer prosperous.

Your father was in the household department for three years after being a jinshi, and when he went to Lujiang to do the county order, he only had a child and a donkey with him.

Grandfather appreciated your father's decency and married the Li family twice, but not because of his power and status. Do you know this?

My sister and I both got married with a dowry, otherwise how could you survive with your father's meager salary?

The eldest lady was not angry that I was holding my sister's dowry in my hand and refused to give her, and always said that I had hidden my lord's inheritance and planned to take it away by dividing the family.

I've been prevaricating on the excuse that you're young, alas! But as you grow up, this excuse gradually ......becomes useless. ”

In the past, Li Dan only knew that Gao's always muttered "San Lang should be separated when he is older", he felt that the other party hated him, but he didn't expect that the original joint was on the word "wealth".

"Didn't my aunt say that you brought back all the money you saved from your father as an official back then?" Li Dan asked strangely: "Then why does she want to beat your idea?" ”

Xiao Qian smiled bitterly: "It was given to her, so how good she was to our mother and mother in the first two years, but didn't she change slowly?" People will change, and greed will make people change!

The eldest lady has more, and more is not enough, so she will change her mind about us. Coupled with the purging of the two rooms, it is impossible for her not to suspect it! ”

This is really speechless, Li Dan thought for a while and asked, "Then, how much did my aunt give her back then?" ”

"When your father was alive, he sent back six thousand taels to his family through the handover shop."

Xiao Qian recalled: "Later, I sold it, collected it, and brought it back to give it to the eldest lady for a total of 24,000 taels. ”

Li Dan stuck out his tongue when he heard this, thinking that his father was a "clean official", and he had saved such a large sum of money in ten years! "She said you were hiding, how can you prove that there is no such thing?" Li Dan asked.

Xiao Qian sneered: "After disposing of those calligraphy and paintings, granges, shops, and antiques, I collected all the sales contracts and silver money exchange tickets.

If the eldest lady makes a fuss, she only needs to show these evidences, which are relative to the amount I delivered. ”

I didn't expect that people in this era also have the consciousness of leaving evidence, but if you think about it, Li Dan can also understand that the daughter of a businessman naturally understands the importance of these things.

If it rests on the eldest lady, I'm afraid she will take the "waste paper" to the stove to start a fire after finishing her errands, or make a shoe sample with the soles of her shoes!

"My aunt gave it to her, so I didn't think about keeping some of my body?"

Xiao Qian smiled: "Silly boy, when my sister and I got married, your grandfather each gave a dowry worth 10,000 taels. Say, "Why should I be greedy for her, and how much can I be greedy?" ”

"Huh?" Li Dan was taken aback: "My grandfather is so rich, huh? ”

"He's a Northland businessman. It is to collect the horses, skins, and medicinal materials outside the side wall, and sell the silk, cotton, porcelain, medicine, and jewelry of the Central Plains.

I heard that the principal of the family's business alone is two or three hundred thousand taels every year, and this is not counting the shops in various places. How much money do you say he has? Even I don't know! ”

"Oh, that's it!" Li Dan nodded and looked around: "But...... Auntie, I've never seen so much silver or silver tickets at home? ”

His words made Xiao Qian laugh with a handkerchief covering his mouth and "eating".

"It's really a solid child, those are all fields and shops, and most of them are in Jiangbei and Huainan, of course you can't keep so much cash and silver tickets at home. Where do you look? ”

"I remember, every year a chestnut shopkeeper comes to see you, and he says it's your grandfather's man, but he helps you take care of things?"

"Almost." Xiao Qian nodded: "The ancestor of the chestnut shopkeeper is my family's buddy, and he is already the third generation here."

Your grandfather originally asked him to take care of my sister's outside business, but then it was transferred to me. He's a trustworthy one.

Every year, when I come, in addition to bringing some gifts and snacks, I will also report to the account, and I will also leave a small amount of money.

Our mother and daughter don't take the monthly payment in the house, and the monthly money of Needle and Beixi is also my own, and the chestnut shopkeeper has made a lot of efforts here, so you should respect him more when you see him in the future. ”

Li Dan heard this, and quickly got up and agreed: "Yes, the child remembers!" ”

The two discussed for a while, and Li Dan saw that her anger was gone, so she said goodbye and went back to her own room in the wing.

Originally, from the point of view of ceremony, Li Dan grew up and lived in a separate room, and the Qian family should live in a wing room as an aunt.

But Li Dan refused, saying that there was no reason for the son of man to be superior to him, and to make the raster live on the side of the chamber, and insisted that the Qian family stay in the big house and go to live in the east chamber to sleep.

Seeing that he was very filial, Qian was very happy and relieved.

Pushing the door into the east chamber is a square table with a marble inlaid surface that has lost paint, and a chair with the same year is placed on the left and right, and on the wall hangs a "Look Up and See the Joy Picture" painted by Xiao Qian himself.

On the right hand is the inner door, and when you push it open, you can see Li Dan's bedroom and desk. The outer room is separated by four screens, and there is a little girl living in the back.

Hearing someone coming in, Bei Xi looked at it and shouted happily: "Brother is back?" Tired, right? Sit down and rest, slave go fetch water for my brother and wash his feet! ”

Before Li Dan could reply, the little girl had already run to the kitchen.

Li Dan went into the house by himself and untied his belt, took off his deep clothes and lay down on the bed, and after a while, Pei Xi came in with water and put it down, and then took off his boots and socks for him.

Li Dan has been accustomed to this kind of life of being served by people for more than ten years, so he sat up and let her busy, and said: "It seems that there is trouble again today, which makes my aunt angry." ”

"Auntie is well-intentioned, I hope that my brother will open the door as soon as possible, let's move out, so that we won't be angry with them!"

"Huh?" Li Dan looked at Bei Xi in surprise: "What, you also know about separating the family?" ”

"The front yard is chattering all day long, and people's ears are calloused!"

Bei Xi pursed her lips and replied with a smile: "They are from Aunt Baowen, down to the cook and the little maid, who doesn't know the mind of the eldest lady?" ”

The little girl was eleven years old, and had been serving him for two years, and had learned to pretend to be well-behaved in front of outsiders, but she still came into the house like a little sparrow.

However, Li Dan is used to it, and if he can't hear her voice, he will feel that there is something shortcoming. He thought for a moment and was about to continue questioning, when suddenly someone knocked on the door.

Bei Xi listened to it and said softly: "Two long and three short, it should be Brother Maverick." ”

"Well," Li Dan also heard that this was an agreement between him and Song Xiaoniu, so he motioned for Pei Xi to open the door.

Song Xiaoniu is the nephew of the coachman Ma Jiu, both parents were killed in the Ningguo Rebellion, and he was raised in the Ma family since he was a child.

Ma Jiu had his own daughter, so he raised him as his own son. He is seventeen years old this year, half a head taller than Li Dan.

Six years ago, Ma Jiu begged Uncle Zeng, the housekeeper of the second room, and sent him in to serve.

Gao saw that he was sturdy, and thought that this side was full of women's families except for San Lang, and he really needed someone to do hard work, so he was assigned to the backyard to do things.

Once by chance, Li Dan found that he was playing boxing in a no-man's place, and after questioning, he learned it from his uncle, that Ma Jiu actually used to be the head of a hundred households in the military camp, and then he was injured and broke his hamstring and had to quit to mix horses.

Li Dan pestered Ma Jiu and begged him to teach martial arts, and he learned some fists and feet and basic skills under his guidance, so he and Xiao Niu can be regarded as a brotherhood.

After entering the door, Song Xiaoniu first sang to Li Dan in a proper manner, and then stepped forward with a smile and said: "San Lang did a great thing in Tianxianglou today, and the whole city was a sensation, saying that you punched Zhao San'er to relieve his anger!" ”

"Don't mention this, I just received my aunt's number and came back."

Li Dan stuck out his tongue and grimaced: "But to be honest, I didn't expect that guy to fight like this, and it was really boring." That's what the ancients said, it's not martial arts! ”

"It doesn't matter what kind of martial arts it is, anyway, if you fight well, the people who are angry with him can't set off firecrackers to celebrate!

Brother will call me for such a good thing in the future, you don't need to do it, see that I don't kill the thief who bullies men and women! Song Xiaoniu said, clenched his big fist and waved it a few times.

I heard Beixi's voice behind him and said, "You stop for a while, my brother didn't even drink saliva when he came back, what are you doing to lure him again?" ”

Song Xiaoniu shrunk his neck, and hurriedly smiled: "My little sister, how dare I?" It's just to talk to my brother. ”

"At that time, the matter was urgent, and I didn't have time to call you and Yang Yi to save people. Zhang Jingang was surrounded by six people and broke his arm, which was still quite dangerous at that time.

Your family is counting on you as a man, and I can't drag you to that occasion! Li Dan shook his head.

"Eh, what's this! It's just a few gangsters, and it's not going to the battlefield! Song Xiaoniu screamed.

Li Dan just smiled, and asked him instead: "You came so late, but what's the matter?" ”

"Oh, yes!" Song Xiaoniu patted his head and hurriedly said, "Just now, there was a word in front of me, asking my uncle to put on a mule cart early tomorrow morning to pick up the matchmaker." ”

"Alas, sure enough!" Li Dan sighed. It seems that in the end, the Gao family still wants to divorce the Chen family regardless of the fifth brother's thoughts!

Thinking about it, those scholars would definitely bite their ears and say that Li Wulang was ruthless and so on, and he decided that if he heard any chewing tongue, he would have to beat him!

"Brother Niu, there have been a lot of things at home recently, if I don't have you, you have to take care of this yard." After Li Dan finished speaking, he beckoned Song Xiaoniu to come closer, and whispered a few words.

Song Xiaoniu looked at him in surprise and nodded, "I understand!" San Lang rest assured, which one is coming, I will beat it out with a big stick! ”

"Aren't you afraid of my mother, uncle, and third uncle?" Li Dan asked with a smile.

"I took my aunt's wages and never sold my body, what can they do to me? Liao Er, the guy in the rice shop, knows that with the money of the main family, he has to share the worries of the main family!

I, Song Xiaoniu, have eaten in this courtyard for six years, and you have a brother who teaches me cooking skills and teaches me to read and write, don't I even know how to 'repay my kindness'?

San Lang, don't worry about getting busy, I'll stay at home and see who dares to mess around! Song Xiaoniu patted his chest majestically.

Sending the calf away, Pei Xi turned back to serve Li Dan to sleep, turned around and held the candlestick to return to his bed.

After hesitating, he asked softly in confusion: "What kind of ear did San Lang bite with Brother Niu just now, I see how indignant he looked later?" ”

"I told him that the front yard might find a reason to search our yard." Li Dan replied faintly.

"What? Will they be so bold? Beixi was surprised.

"What's impossible about that?" Li Dan sneered: "Since people suspect that we have hidden the property left by my father, then we naturally have to find evidence."

Our eldest lady is a person who listens to the wind and rain, and she can't really come to this one day when she slaps the table. I have to guard against it! ”

Pei Xi stood there stunned for a long time with the candlestick, still unable to believe that his family would do such a thing to his family. She thought about it, but couldn't say anything to refute it.

turned around and walked to the door, listening to Li Dan's soft instructions: "Don't panic if this kind of thing really happens, let's not be afraid of ghosts calling the door and tossing with them."

If I'm not here, you can call Brother Niu to preside over it, and those people will not be too afraid of him! ”

"Uh, yes, I made a note of it." Pei Xi hurriedly replied.