What the cook didn't know was that the old lady and the two ladies were being called together by the master to ask about the teapot, while all the servants had put down their work and were chatting with Li Qiang and Jiang Yan.
And because the cook was the first person in the family, he was the only one who was missed.
The cook needs to keep an eye on the food on the fire and doesn't dare to leave easily. If he leaves, the master suddenly comes over and asks why the food is cold. He can't explain it, right?
So he added a ladle of water to the porridge again. Looking at the pot of gruel that had almost turned into a paste, he felt that his craftsmanship had been challenged like never before.
In the old lady's room, the family was gathering together, looking worried at the teapot in front of them.
The worry is not because no one knows this teapot, but because someone knows this teapot.
She is the second wife of the Zhang family.
When the second wife was called into the room by the master, she was still wondering why all the servants were not working today. Not only was there no one to wash herself, but there was no one to pour the night bucket. It was really outrageous.
Just when she was about to complain to the master with disheveled hair, she saw Zhang Dacai's tired look that she couldn't hide, and the dark circles on his eyes were like heavy grinding stones.
However, what made the second wife dare not speak even more was that the master's face was extremely ugly. She had only seen this expression once, when the master's goods were robbed by bandits.
Zhang Dacai asked her to go to the main hall quickly. She had something to say, so she didn't care about her appearance and followed Zhang Dacai step by step into the main hall.
When she entered the door, she raised her eyes slightly and saw that the old lady and her sister were in a similar state to herself. The second wife knew that something was a little unusual, and she felt a thump in her heart.
She saluted her mother and sister, and when she raised her eyes, she saw the teapot in front of her.
The second wife looked happy and said, "Isn't this my pot!?"
Zhang Dacai also felt a thump in his heart.
He turned his head, his eyes widened, grabbed the second wife's arm, and asked loudly: "Is this yours?!"
The second wife was obviously taken aback by the master's unusual reaction, and she stuttered a little: "Yes...yes."
"Hurry up and tell me what's going on with this thing!" Zhang Dacai said sharply.
"Oh, what are you doing? We have something to talk about as a family." The eldest lady hurriedly stepped forward and opened Zhang Dacai's hand, and persuaded.
"You, you, you have caused a big trouble for our family!" Zhang Dacai pointed at the second wife's face and said through gritted teeth.
"Son, what's going on?" The old lady saw that her son was in such an abnormal state and asked quickly.
Tears began to well up in the eyes of the second wife.
"A man died in our wine cellar yesterday, and his body is still lying in the courtyard. He had this teapot in his arms when he died!" Zhang Dacai said.
The old lady's heart skipped a beat.
"What can we do? How about we report it to the official?" the old lady said.
"My companions were with me at the time. They were all gods who came and went. They escorted me all the way back to my home from Liyang. They are still in the courtyard to understand the situation with our servants. Now I go to report to the official, I'm afraid it's... The end of the whole family is to be wiped out!"
The eldest lady's heart also skipped a beat.
Zhang Dacai's words were a bit alarmist, but he really couldn't tell his family about Uncle Zong, because it might also put his family in danger.
What's more, these three women in the family will definitely choose to help their relatives or not to deal with many issues, and it will be difficult for me to make them believe what I say.
So after thinking about it, if anyone in the family knew this teapot, they could only use this method to scare them and see if they could ask questions quietly.
This is the method Li Qiang and Zhang Dacai decided on.
From the moment we walked in until now, the whole family was neat and tidy, and one person felt a little bit in his heart.
"Then since the teapot has been recovered and we haven't charged each other with theft, how can it be blamed on us?" asked the eldest lady.
"Let me ask you, where did you get this teapot, and when did you lose it?" Zhang Dacai asked the second wife.
The second wife thought for a while and said uncertainly: "In my impression, ever since I married into the Zhang family, this teapot has been placed on the treasure shelf in my room. I really don't know where it came from. As for throwing it away, Because it was placed in an inconspicuous place, one day when I was looking for something, I suddenly saw it missing, so I thought some servant had dirty hands and took it away secretly."
"Then what?" Zhang Dacai continued to ask.
"Then I called Uncle Zong over and asked him if he had seen the teapot." The second wife recalled as she continued: "It turned out that the expression on Uncle Zong's face looked more anxious than you are now, telling me about this matter. No need to tell you, he will tell you later and then leave in a hurry." The second wife recalled the scene that day and said to Zhang Dacai.
"That day, when Uncle Zong saw someone, he asked if he had seen a teapot. Except for the servants who were cleaning the room, we didn't have anyone to call us, so even if we dared to enter the owner's house, we all told Uncle Zong truthfully that we hadn't seen it."
"But that day, the maid in the second wife's room suddenly disappeared. I don't know where she went. She didn't take anything with her. It was like such a living person disappeared out of thin air."
"Don't say it either. If the second wife hadn't been really bad to others and would often beat or scold her when she didn't like her, how could she be forced to leave?"
"That's true. In our family, the second wife is the only one with a slightly more tempered temper, but she is actually quite reasonable. You just have to follow her."
A group of servants explained the situation to Li Qiang and Jiang Yan.
"Do you have any news about that maid later?" Li Qiang asked.
Everyone shook their heads.
"Do you still remember when this happened?" Li Qiang asked again.
"It happened about three months ago." A servant confirmed.
"Oh? How are you so sure?" Li Qiang asked.
"Because it got cold in just two days. It was a cold spring. I had just put away the thick quilts for the master and his wife, and they put them out again within a few days. It was because she was not here, so I was the one who put them away for the second wife at that time. Room." An older servant said.
"Then tell me, what happened three months ago, are you stupid? He took the stolen goods back to our house and died?!" Zhang Dacai shouted at the second wife.
"Well, we are the only women in the house, what should we do?" The old lady had already begun to shed tears.
