Zhao Ergou has been more eloquent than the other three brothers in the family since he was a child.
Later, when he started doing business with Cheng Wanwan, his talk became even more powerful.
The driver who was driving the carriage for the Cao family saw that he was dressed in coarse cloth and looked like an honest farmer. He was not defensive at all and asked what he asked. Besides, what Zhao Ergou was asking about was not about the Cao family, but about a member of the Cao family. There is nothing bad to say about the maid.
In less than a quarter of an hour, Zhao Ergou got the news he wanted to hear.
He turned around and came back, looking at Cao Yingying with complicated eyes: "The day after you escaped from Cao's house, this maid named Hongyu became the first-class maid in Mrs. Cao's yard. I heard from the coachman that Cao Yingying has been very happy recently. Madam is looking for a steward to marry Hongyu, and she will be a steward mother in the Cao Mansion..."
Cao Yingying pursed her lips.
Hong Yu has been by her side since she could remember. After her mother passed away, Hong Yu accompanied her through the most difficult period of her life. Hong Yu was her maid and her friend. He was also regarded as a relative by her... She never thought that Hongyu would betray her.
"That's fine..." She smiled bitterly, "If this is her choice, I respect it and hope she won't regret it."
Zhao Ergou hoped that she could just cry.
But she didn't cry, and the smile on her face became even bigger.
There was an extra thorn in his heart, which made him feel uncomfortable.
He sighed: "Then what should we do next?"
Cao Yingying has calmed down quickly.
She pursed her lips, lowered her head and thought for a while before saying, "Go to Cao's house and look for evidence."
If you can't count on Hongyu, you can only count on yourself.
She grew up in the Cao family and was very familiar with the Cao family. There was a dog hole on the wall next to the back door in the southwest corner.
When she was very young, every time she was insulted by her stepmother, she would get out of the dog hole and find a place where no one was around to digest her emotions alone.
A quarter of an hour later, Zhao Ergou and Cao Yingying arrived at the wall next to the back door in the southwest corner of Cao's mansion.
This side is a very narrow alley, almost no one passes by, the corner is full of weeds and gravel, and knee-high weeds block the dog hole below.
Cao Yingying cleared the weeds and said, "Just wait for me here."
Zhao Ergou grabbed her wrist: "You're a girl, so don't go into a dog hole. I'll do it. You wait for me outside."
"Do you know which direction to go after entering the dog hole? Do you know which yard my stepmother lives in? Do you know the layout of her room?"
Cao Yingying asked Zhao Ergou a few questions in succession.
She squatted down and crawled through the dog hole. When she got out, there were also weeds. She hid in the grass and observed the surrounding situation.
This is an abandoned yard, few people come here, and no one came here today. She clapped her hands and stood up.
Just as she was about to leave, there was a rustling sound behind her. When she turned around, she saw Zhao Ergou coming through the dog hole.
She was surprised: "What did you come in for?"
"help you."
Zhao Ergou said these two words, and then made a silencing gesture.
A group of people passed by not far away. Fortunately, the group of people did not enter the abandoned yard, otherwise the two of them would have to get out of the dog hole again.
Cao Yingying had no choice but to compromise: "Follow me closely and pay attention to the surrounding environment."
It was probably the end of the day, right after the lunch break, and the stepmother should be in the flower hall looking at accounts or drinking tea.
There should be only some maids cleaning the main courtyard. As long as she avoids the maids, she can successfully sneak into the stepmother's bedroom.
It's easier said than done.
The two of them hid here and there until they finally arrived at the main courtyard and hid under a flower bed at the entrance.
As the head wife of Cao Mansion, there are at least twenty maids and mothers in Mrs. Cao's yard, and there are seven or eight of them sweeping the house at the moment.
"I'll lure them away, and you can find the right opportunity to go in." Zhao Ergou said in a breathy voice, "Regardless of whether we can find evidence or not, we will meet at the Dog Cave in a quarter of an hour."
He stood up quietly. As soon as he stood up, he suddenly froze.
A maid in bright red clothes stood at the edge of the flower bed at some point, her eyes fell on him, and then looked at Cao Yingying who was squatting under the flower bed.
"M-Miss!"
The maid's knees softened and she almost fell to the ground.
Cao Yingying looked at her with a complicated expression: "Hongyu, how have you been these days?"
Hongyu gasped for air. She got permission from her wife to go home to visit relatives. After sitting at home for a while, she hurriedly came to take over.
Who would have thought that he would meet the lady who was supposed to be missing at the door of the madam's yard.
The young lady came back secretly but didn't make any announcement, and she didn't show any surprise when she saw her. It was obvious that her affair was exposed.
She spoke with difficulty: "My lady is threatening my family, and I have no choice... I dare not ask the young lady for forgiveness. If the young lady wants to beat or scold me, I am willing to accept it..."
"Since you chose to betray me, there is no need to talk about feelings between us." Cao Yingying said with sarcasm, "You know very well how much dowry my mother left me. As long as you cover me and enter the bedroom in the main courtyard, you can choose whatever you want. A shop.”
Hongyu clenched her clothes tightly, unable to say a word.
She didn't want to admit that she was doing it for money, but when such a huge benefit was in front of her, she still felt shamefully.
Cao Yingying took out a key from her collar and threw it over: "You can choose whatever you want from my dowry. If it's not enough, I can add another farm as a wedding gift to you."
Hongyu knelt down and picked up the key that fell on the ground.
She put the key into her collar, lowered her head and walked into the main courtyard. She had just been promoted to a first-class maid and was the lady's confidant. As soon as she entered, the rough maids and women in the courtyard greeted her one after another.
Hongyu held up her maid's posture: "Suddenly the wind started blowing, and there are fallen leaves everywhere in the back yard. Please come with a few more people and clean it up quickly, otherwise the lady will lose her temper again when she sees it. You guys, come with me Let’s tidy up the warehouse here…”
As soon as she gave this order, everyone in the yard went to work elsewhere.
Zhao Ergou lowered his voice: "I'll go in with you."
The two of them quickly ran towards the bedroom, ran in and closed the door at once.
"You look for the cabinet, and I'll look for the dressing table." Cao Yingying lowered her voice, "Don't rummage too much, so as not to alert the enemy."
Zhao Ergou nodded and quickly started searching. They were mainly looking for letters.
For Mrs. Cao to plan this, it would definitely not be possible to rely solely on the Cao family. There should be outside sources. It is impossible for the foreign man and the inner wife to meet privately, so they can only write letters. This is ironclad proof.
Zhao Ergou asked while searching: "Is it worth it for you to just give your shop to a maid who has betrayed you?"
Cao Yingying said softly: "If I can't prove my innocence this time, the dowry left by my mother will definitely be swallowed up by the stepmother. If I can find evidence to counteract the stepmother, then the dowry that Hongyu took away will definitely be swallowed up by the stepmother." The shop must also be vomited out by me."
Zhao Ergou looked at her.
He admired her.
When we first met, she was timid and frightened, like a frightened deer.
At this moment, she was calm and wise, with a gleaming pink glow on her fair face.
"found it!"
Cao Yingying's eyes flashed with light.
This was her engagement document, confirming that the stepmother was forced to marry.
There are also letters between the stepmother and Guanshi Cao. She was actually sold into a brothel by Guanshi Cao.
Manager Cao, whose surname is Cao, is the person in the Cao family and her father's most trusted person. After his father left Hekou Town, everything outside the Cao family was left to Manager Cao to take care of.
With Guanshi Cao involved, this is not just a matter of the inner house, and her father can't handle it in a low-key manner even if he wants to.
Cao Yingying hid the letter in her chest. She restored all the documents in the room. After thinking about it, she took away a gold hairpin and then whispered: "Let's go!"
The two of them had just opened the door and walked out. Before they had taken a few steps, the mother-in-law screamed: "No, there's a thief. Come quickly and catch the thief!"
Zhao Ergou grabbed Cao Yingying's hand, pulled her and started running wildly.
Cao Yingying ran out after him, the wind whistling past her ears, and the people chasing behind her became a background of nothingness. At this moment, only Zhao Ergou was left in her eyes...
