"Hanqiao, hasn't there been any reply from home?"
Xu asked this question three times a day.
But there is always only one answer - no.
Early that morning, after Ms. Xu received another negative answer, she sat in her room blankly, looking around blankly, and suddenly felt that the room seemed a little different from before.
She took a closer look and realized that the things in the room that Shen Zhonglei was used to were now gone.
Mrs. Xu racked her brains to think about it for a long time, and then she vaguely remembered that Shen Zhonglei had been staying in the study in the front yard recently on the pretext of being busy with work.
Shen Zhonglei sent people back to get things every two days, but he didn't get much each time, but he couldn't stand the steady flow.
When Mrs. Xu took a closer look in the room now, she could hardly see any trace that Shen Zhonglei had lived here.
"Hanqiao, what have you been busy with lately?"
"Madam, of course the master is busy with business. As for what he is busy with, I don't know. However, it seems that he is really busy with business recently. The master has not returned to the back house for more than ten days and has been living in the study in the front yard."
"Then the master didn't mention the housekeeper's matter?"
Hanqiao's heart tightened when she heard this, and she quickly said: "I guess I was busy and forgot."
Mrs. Xu sat in silence for a long time before asking again: "How is Ping Niang's side?"
"My servant goes over to check on me every day. I just came back from Ping Niang's house today. I followed my wife's instructions and sent a lot of good medicinal materials. It seems that I am recovering well now, so there should be nothing serious."
"She must hate me to death." Mrs. Xu said and sighed, "Actually, I should go and see her by myself."
"Madam, please don't think like that. How could Ping Niang hate you? She said it herself, the child was gone because she was not destined to be with her. No wonder Madam."
When Mrs. Xu heard this, instead of feeling reassured, she became even more vigilant.
Ping Niang is also old and has only one daughter. She is about to grow up. Once she gets married, she will have no hope in the Shen family.
She happened to be pregnant at this time, and whether she was a boy or a girl, she was still alive and well.
Mrs. Xu asked herself, if she and Ping Niang were to change places, she would never swallow this knot without any grudge.
Therefore, the calmer Ping Niang behaves, the more abnormal she feels to Mrs. Xu.
"You should ask someone to inquire and see if Ping Niang has any complaints in private." Mrs. Xu ordered Han Qiao.
"Yes..." Han Qiao responded with some hesitation.
If it had been left in the past, she might have asked a few more questions.
But Xu's mental state is really not very good recently, and she doesn't know which words will anger her.
Hanqiao could only respond first, planning to go back and think about it by himself.
Xu's thoughts were wandering to nowhere, and after a while he asked again: "By the way, how many days does it take for Yuan Lin to return home for vacation?"
Xu had just asked this question in the morning, but now it seemed like she couldn't remember it at all.
Hanqiao said: "The young master has only been to the academy for half a month, and there will still be some time left!"
"I don't know how he is doing in the academy. The weather is getting warm now, but it's still a bit cold in the morning and evening. I have to tell the boy not to be lazy and to add or remove clothes for him."
"Madam, don't worry. The two people around the young master were all chosen by you personally. They are the most thoughtful and attentive ones. You will never dare to neglect the young master."
Mrs. Xu nodded in a daze, and her thoughts suddenly returned to the Xu family. She ordered: "Hanqiao, please leave the house and go to Zhuangzi to send a message to Aunt Guo and ask her to return to the Xu family. Look, my eyelids have been twitching these days, just because I’m afraid something bad will happen.”
"Yes, I'll go right away." Hanqiao was very happy as he received an errand to leave the house.
The atmosphere in the Shen family has been too depressing recently, making everyone in the family cautious and cautious.
To go find Aunt Guo, you have to leave the city first and then return to the city. A day will pass. Finally I can go out and relax.
After Hanqiao left, Mrs. Xu sat in the empty main house.
She was in a daze for a moment, wondering what went wrong and how did she get to this point step by step?
Growing up in the Xu family, with several sisters and one brother, she was the least visible one.
It wasn't until she married into the Shen family that she gradually heard a few compliments from her parents.
This allowed her to finally find a sense of existence in the eyes of her parents.
She gradually became addicted to this feeling, enjoying the smiling faces and warm hospitality of her parents, younger brothers and sisters every time she took things and money home.
She finally realized her childhood wish and became a child that her parents could look up to and talk about, instead of having to live in the shadow of her younger brother and become the most inconspicuous presence in the family.
This feeling, once addicted, makes people trapped in it and difficult to get out.
Later, her parents no longer felt that she had contributed a lot to her parents' family, but it gradually became a matter of course.
Xu had to increase her chips and use more money and things to exchange for her parents' renewed attention and praise.
In this way, she lived in the false family love she packaged with money, without any awareness of the approaching danger.
Now, Xu Yihao's death has torn apart the beautiful and illusory painting she hung between herself and her parents' family. After nearly ten years, she once again saw how selfish and partial her parents were.
She simply couldn't bear such a bloody truth.
Immediately afterwards, Shen Zhonglei had a cold war with her, and her daughter was sent back to her hometown. The pile-up of blows made Xu's family overwhelmed.
Now, Mrs. Xu just feels that she has no strength all day long. If she is not still thinking about her son who is studying in the academy, she wishes that she could not fall asleep and never have to face so many things when she opens her eyes. Annoying things that I don’t want to face.
Thinking of this, Mrs. Xu's originally unfocused eyes gradually fixed on the scissors on the sewing basket next to her.
The snow-white scissors are extremely sharp. Not only can they cut silk threads cleanly, but they can also easily tear open cloth.
If you use it to cut your neck or wrist, it must be easy, right?
Just when Mrs. Xu was thinking about all this, someone suddenly came from outside to report: "Madam, the eldest lady wants to see you."
Shen Tianshu? What is she here for?
Are you here to watch my digestion?
Xu's first thought was this.
But everyone is here, and if she doesn't see her, wouldn't it look like she is useless?
Mrs. Xu raised her hand to lick her messy temples, nodded and said, "Let her come in! Someone come and serve tea to the eldest girl!"
Shen Tianshu entered the room, smiled and saluted Mrs. Xu, and said, "My daughter has seen that her mother is almost in good health. She has already asked her father for instructions. Now I will officially hand over the housekeeping affairs to my mother."
