"But ......"

Qin Lian hesitated for a moment, looked at the people who were still busy in the kitchen, and stopped talking.

The aunt smiled, "Girl, the old lady also knows that the banquet is about to be held, so I just went to chat with you for a few words, and I won't waste time." ”

"Alright then, Aunt Lao will lead the way."

The words have already been said to this point, and Qin Lian also knows that she has no reason to shirk.

She made an excuse with Shi Feng, saying that she was going out and followed her aunt to a quiet courtyard in the backyard of Liu's Mansion.

This courtyard is different from other courtyards, as soon as you walk in, you can smell a smell of sandalwood, Qin Lian saw the Buddhist hall in the middle of the courtyard at a glance, and from time to time there were bursts of cigarettes floating from there.

"Girl, please come here."

The aunt led her in the lead.

Qin Lian followed into the Buddhist hall, and when she opened the door, she saw an old lady with silver hair kneeling there devoutly praying for the Buddha.

Hearing the sound of the door opening, the old lady kowtowed to the Buddha statue without hurrying.

After she finished knocking, the aunt walked over and helped her up, and said in a low voice, "Old lady, Miss Qin is here." ”

"Okay."

The old lady put on the Buddha beads in her hand, looked back at Qin Lian, and smiled on her kind face, "Girl, come and let me have a look." ”

“……”

Qin Lian hesitated in her heart, but seeing the old lady's kind expression, she still walked over.

"Good, good, a good girl." The old lady held her hand, and the smile on her face was even bigger.

She pulled Qin Lian to sit next to her, and asked her aunt to prepare hot tea and pastries.

Qin Lian's sharp eyes found that the pastry on the table was their cyclamen's signature chestnut cake.

"These pastries are really delicious, I didn't like these sweets in the past, but only your pastries, I don't feel tired of eating them."

"If the old lady likes it, it's fine."

Qin Lian was always vigilant, but unexpectedly, the old lady didn't talk to her about anything else, and was chatting the whole time.

Seeing that the hour was not early, the old lady asked her to go back, and stuffed her with a handful of lotus seed candy before leaving.

Qin Lian was inexplicable for a while, and she didn't know what the old lady of the Liu family meant.

"Girl, look at the pear tree."

As soon as she came out of the Buddhist hall, her aunt suddenly pointed to a bare tree in the courtyard and said, "This tree was planted by the old lady herself when the third young master was one year old. At that time, the third young master cried all day long, but the miraculous thing was that the third young master would be quiet as long as he drank pear juice. ”

"But the doctor said that children can't drink more pear juice, so the old lady planted a pear tree with her own hands, and the pears that bear fruit every year are sent to the third young master, and in a blink of an eye, it has been so many years."

Qin Lian looked at it curiously.

Seeing that winter was approaching, the fruit trees in the yard had already lost their leaves, and the bare branches could not see anything, and I didn't know why my aunt told her this.

The aunt is a smart person, and her smile deepened when she saw her doubts, "Girl, don't worry, the old lady loves the third young master the most on weekdays." The girl is a friend of the third young master, and naturally she is also a guest of the old lady. ”

"It's not early, the girl has something to do, I'll send you back first." The aunt said, "Don't worry about other things, with the old lady here, things will be resolved." ”

"Thank you, Auntie."

Qin Lian thanked her, but she didn't think so in her heart.

If the old lady wanted to help her, she would have made a move, and she didn't have to wait until now, she just felt that Mrs. Liu had made a big deal and the old lady had to take action.

Qin Lian lowered her eyes, only feeling that she was really tired of being around Liu Fu here, and none of the people in it seemed to be sincere.

Thinking like this, she suddenly remembered that last night, she was sleeping hazy and saw a person sitting next to the bed, looking at her with a worried face, that person seemed to be Liu Yuan.

Speaking of which, Liu Yuan has indeed helped her several times, and his relationship with Mrs. Liu does not seem to be good......

This person's life in Liu's Mansion may not be as good as the outside world says.

Qin Lian's eyes sank, she didn't speak all the way, and followed her aunt back to the kitchen.

At this time, it was close to noon, and the guests who had come to Liu's Mansion to attend the banquet had already come one after another, and the kitchen had begun to get busy.

Qin Lian was only responsible for laying hands on the side, and she was busy all afternoon, and she didn't even have time to take a sip of water.

When the banquet officially began, she found a chance to rest, sitting outside the kitchen and eating the noodles that had already been half cold, and looking up, she could faintly see the liveliness of the banquet hall from here.

The celebrities and distinguished guests who came to participate in the Liu family's winter banquet today heard that even Lord Xiao was invited over, and this is also the first time that the Liu family has invited Lord Xiao to a banquet after Lord Xiao took office, and the invitations sent to the yamen before have been returned.

Maybe Lord Xiao didn't want to make the relationship with the Liu family too stiff.

Qin Lian drank the noodle soup and was about to go back to the kitchen to continue her work, but at this moment, a little maid came over from there and said directly, "You're from the kitchen, right?" Come over here and help me get some side dishes. ”

"Okay."

Seeing the people of Liu's Mansion, Qin Lian agreed without much thought, took someone to the kitchen, and chose some side dishes to follow her.

It's dusk and it's cold again.

Because of the banquet, many lanterns were hung in the corridor, and the dim candlelight was reflected in the corridor.

Qin Lian followed the maid all the way to the courtyard, and saw several beautifully dressed girls sitting in the pavilion talking and laughing from a distance, and Song Xiao was also among them.

Seeing Song Xiao, Qin Lian paused her steps, and secretly said in her heart that it was not good!

She hasn't forgotten this Song Xiao, this person wants to embarrass her everywhere because of Liu Yuan's relationship, and it will definitely not be a good thing to meet her at this time.

"Come here."

The maid who was walking in front noticed that something was wrong with her and turned around and asked.

There was no one else around, and even if Qin Lian wanted to go back at this time, she couldn't catch up.

"It's fine."

She suppressed her emotions, followed the maid to the pavilion, and put all the side dishes on it.

During this time, many scrutinizing eyes fell on her, which made her feel very unnatural.

Qin Lian lowered her eyes, and she could more or less guess that it was Song Xiao who said something to these young ladies of the family, causing these people to play her like a monkey.

After putting the side dishes one by one, Qin Lian wanted to go back.

"Wait a minute."

One of the young ladies of the family suddenly spoke, with a joke in her eyes, "I have long heard that cyclamen is a must, but I don't want to go to that kind of place to eat on weekdays, I have never been there, why do I look at it today, it seems that the wine and food of cyclamen are not as good as the street stalls." ”

"What do you mean by that?"

The bystander asked curiously.

"Look, there's a hair here." She pointed to it, and there was indeed an inconspicuous hair on one of the dishes.