"master."
After Lu Jishou opened the door, he glanced at his father.
"What's the matter?" Lu Zhengfu asked while peeling an orange.
Lu Jishou entered the room and said with a smile: "My son wants to take a trip to Taizhou to meet Mr. Chen."
Mr. Lu pinched the orange peel and looked up at him: "What are you thinking about? Tell me clearly."
"I just thought that Chen Gongzhou was kind to my family, and I wanted to pay him a visit in person to show that the Lu family values love and righteousness." Ji Shou did not dare to tell the whole story about Leng Ping, so he made up a lie at will.
"That's true. But you have to be honest with me when you get there and don't cause any trouble."
"I obey my father's orders." Lu Jishou knelt down and said.
…
Since Zhuo Lengping returned to the Chen Mansion, although he was as respectful as ever and still took on the dirty work, he still made the housekeeper and the old servant extremely afraid and uneasy. This just means that she is afraid that because she is trusted by Chen Tongpao, she will act recklessly and ruin their face.
Although Zhuo Lengping had survived the hard times, she was also a cautious character. She was only afraid that Tongpao Chen would abandon her, so she didn't even think about enjoying wealth in peace. However, as the days became calmer, she became more nervous. Therefore, in the mansion, I often glance at County Magistrate Chen to see what he is doing. I have to carefully consider even his insignificant glance for half an hour and never ignore it.
At first, Tongpao Chen even talked to her for a few words, just to discuss official matters; but later he just calmed down and said nothing. As a result, these days have become very difficult for Leng Ping. After all, no one knows what kind of stormy waves are lurking in this sea.
It's already October, and the coolness of the autumn wind has inevitably turned into a biting cold. It just so happened that the wind was blowing hard again today, and a lot of dead branches and leaves had been blown into the house overnight. Leng Ping had just gotten up from sleep. When he saw this scene, he had no choice but to pick up a broom and sweep it step by step along the stone road.
When I swept to the door, I saw the old servant setting up a bamboo broom and sitting on the steps from a distance, staring arrogantly, crossing his legs, and directing the servants working beside him.
Leng Ping grabbed the broom in his hand, walked over, and smiled at him: "How come you got up so early?"
"Oh," the old servant suddenly changed his face and stood up quickly, "Miss Zhu, you can just ask these lowly servants to take care of things. Why do you have to work so hard?" He said with cupped hands.
Leng Ping took two steps back in panic, bowed and said, "I'm just a maid. You've worked hard and accomplished a lot, and you're old. You can just sit here and rest. Ask me to wait for the cleaning."
"My body and bones are aching, but Mr. Chen is still standing outside the door. I can't do it if I don't try my best! Alas..." The old servant looked at the door, shook his head and smiled bitterly.
Leng Ping followed his gaze and saw a gap opened in the middle of the door. He vaguely saw Chen Tongpao talking to someone, reaching out to take something and putting it in his sleeve. She was afraid that it was something confidential, so she lowered her head anxiously, pretending not to know.
After waiting for a long time, he heard the door creak suddenly, Leng Ping threw away the broom and knelt down towards the door.
"Chen...Mr. Chen."
Tongpao Chen strode in, and all the slaves bowed down, but the old slave slowly fell to his knees with a look of surprise.
“If you’re busy, there’s no need for red tape,” he said.
"You..." The old slave raised his head, trying his best to understand his master's thoughts.
Chen Tongpao rolled his eyes slightly and smiled: "The prefect sent someone from Jiangdu and gave me ten taels of silver. He said that we had a very happy conversation at that time. Later, he heard about the good governance in Taizhou, so he funded it. , as a compliment.”
As he spoke, he took out a letter from his sleeve, took out a note of ten taels of silver, and handed it to the old slave: "Your hard work has paid off, take it."
Everyone's attention quickly shifted to the old slave.
The old servant was trembling: "As the saying goes, 'No reward for no merit', how can a villain accept this money? It's better for you to keep it yourself."
Tongpao Chen laughed a few times, then collected the tickets and walked through the crowd.
Leng Ping saw that he was getting further away, so he got up and grabbed the broom.
"Miss Zhu, you have to come over."
As soon as he said this, the broom accidentally slipped from Leng Ping's hand and hit the threshold with a crisp sound.
"yes."
Leng Ping followed his colleague across the threshold of the main hall and saw him strolling around the screen wall. He said slowly: "I want to renovate this place and would like to discuss it with you, Miss Zhu."
Leng Ping didn't know what he meant, so he smiled slightly and said: "This matter is only for adults to handle. Why discuss it with the little girl."
"You came with me on an errand. As you gain more experience, you will surely gain some insights. It's okay to talk about it." Chen Tongpao walked to the middle of the wide hall behind the main hall, stared at the beams in the sky, and said.
"This place is specially used for entertaining guests. In order to save convenience, we built this hall behind the main hall. I don't think there is anything wrong with it. However, after all, family affairs are discussed in the hall, which is a serious place. People should not be allowed to come in or get close. , This is in line with the rules." Chen Tongpao said.
He pointed to the two rooms on the east and west side: "The two sides of this room are connected to the study room. You see, it's just separated by a curtain."
"So I thought..." He suddenly stopped and turned to look at Leng Ping.
"So you want to build a wall here without a hall." She quickly took over.
"Smart, smart..." Chen Tongpao laughed sinisterly and leaned against the window, as if looking at the scenery outside the house as if nothing had happened.
As soon as Leng Ping heard his laughter, his whole body seemed to be frozen and he shivered violently. Her eyes began to glance at him involuntarily.
What does this imply?
Leng Ping thought silently.
Whether that stern figure blending with the sunshine was good or evil blurred Leng Ping's heart into a ball.
She couldn't hold it any longer, so she smiled tentatively and said, "This way, the main hall is only separated by two study rooms, so it doesn't interfere with decorum."
"No," Tongpao Chen shook his head firmly, "it is enough to have a front entrance to the secret place to avoid anyone secretly eavesdropping and causing trouble."
"No..." Leng Ping was about to answer, but suddenly at that moment, her smile dimmed, and there seemed to be a burst of lightning and thunder in her mind; she was stunned, staring at Lao Yuan without blinking, looking at him in surprise. Wearing Chen Tongpao.
But he was leaning on the window sill calmly, pretending everything was calm.
"What's wrong?" Chen Tongpao asked in confusion.
"...It's okay, I only follow your wishes."
"In that case, you should just take a rest." He closed the window and smiled at her: "This is also a great contribution you have made!"
After hearing this, Leng Ping just responded in a dazed manner, then forgot about the etiquette of master and servant, and hurriedly retreated to the door.
"Also, let the housekeeper know and ask him to call Craftsman Xu over tomorrow."
"yes."
