The short-lived ghost of the Xie family has lived a long life

Chapter 98
Mother Chen is about sixty years old, her hair is neatly combed, her face is full of wrinkles, and her mouth may be a bit sunken due to the loss of teeth.

Although she had a dazed look on her face, she was not reserved, and she sat with a good posture.

It was the first time in Chen's life that a young girl dared to look at her so unscrupulously, and she couldn't help feeling frightened.

"Master Biao?"

"Mother Chen, don't be afraid."

Young Master Pei Biao struggled to lift his upper body, "Miss Yan just wants to ask some questions about the old lady. After asking, I will let you go back."

Chen's mother had watched Pei Xiao grow up, so when he said this, she felt more at ease.

After drinking a cup of tea, Yan Sanhe opened his mouth.

"Mother Chen, did the old lady tell you about a black dog before she was alive?"

When the words fell, not only Chen Ma was surprised, but Xie Zhifei and the others were also secretly surprised.

Go straight to the point!
Yes, Yan Sanhe just wants to go straight to the point.

Ma Chen has been with the old lady for many years, and the master and servant have been together day and night. Even she has never heard about the black dog, so this matter is difficult to handle.

"If you can't think of it for a moment, then think about whether the old lady has ever mentioned to you why she banned the Ji family from raising dogs."

Speaking of this, Chen Ma slapped her thigh, obviously remembering it very clearly.

"The old lady said it's pitiful to be a dog. You spend your whole life looking after people's doors, but in the end they are either killed or end up in people's stomachs. It's better not to raise them."

The eyes of several people in the room lit up.

It seems that there is a play!
Xie Zhifei even felt like his heart was being grabbed.

He looked at Yan Sanhe, but saw that there was nothing on her face, she was still so calm and calm.

Just when everyone thought Yan Sanhe was going to ask more questions, she suddenly turned her face away.

"Thank you, sir?"

"Huh?" Xie Zhifei was startled.

Yan Sanhe: "Does Xie Mansion raise dogs?"

Xie Zhifei: "Raise."

Yan Sanhe: "Kill the dog?"

Xie Zhifei: "Kill!"

Yan Sanhe: "Do you want to eat dog meat?"

Xie Zhifei was startled.

"Let's put it this way, nine out of ten households in the capital have dogs. There are many kinds of dogs, and their uses are threefold."

Xie Zhifei knew that Yan Sanhe would not say useless words, so he tried his best to answer in detail.

"Field dogs have long beaks and are good at hunting. Princes, generals, ministers, and high-ranking officials keep more of them. When hunting, they usually use dogs to clear the way;
Barking dogs have short beaks and are good at guarding. Ordinary families can raise them to look after homes and courtyards;

The dogs' bodies are fattened for food, and poor families raise them to beat their teeth as sacrifices. "

Yan Sanhe: "So, the nobles in Beijing never eat dog meat."

Xie Zhifei: "Very few, very few."

Yan Sanhe: "So, the ones who kill and eat dogs in the Ji family are servants?"

Xie Zhifei: "Most of them are servants and nurses."

If a person cannot bear to see others killing and eating dogs, then there is only one explanation -

She had dogs before.

The matter of raising a dog could only happen before the old lady married into the Ji family.

"Mother Chen!"

Yan Sanhe smiled slightly at her.

"Although you are not brought by the old lady from your mother's family, but you have served her for such a long time, you should have heard her mention some things in the past. Can you tell me about it?"

"...what happened to the old lady in the past?"

"Correct."

Yan Sanhe said softly: "Don't worry, just think slowly and say whatever comes to mind."

Chen Ma wrung her hands tightly and lowered her head in silence.

"Is it because the old lady rarely talks about the past?" Chen Ma blurted out, "How does the girl know?"

Yan Sanhe: "The old lady's natal family is not visible, and she was raised from a concubine to a wife. In the past, she was able to mention it when she was a concubine, but she lost face when she became the head wife."

"The girl's guess is half good."

Mother Chen finally sighed: "It's not that my old lady doesn't want to talk about it, it's true that she rarely mentions things from the past. If the master doesn't mention it, how can we, the servants, dare to ask more questions."

When she said this, the light in Xie Zhifei and Pei Xiao's eyes suddenly dimmed.

Finished!

It seems that this mother Chen can't ask anything.

Yan Sanhe also slowly frowned. After a moment of silence, he changed his subject and asked, "Mother Chen, what does the old lady like to eat the most?"

When it comes to this, Mother Chen talks a lot.

"The old lady loves sweets. She eats glutinous rice balls on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month every year, but she always says the fillings are not sweet enough. When she was young, she loved chewing sugar cane. When she got older, she couldn't chew it, so she ordered us to twist the sugar cane into water for her to drink."

Yan Sanhe asked again: "How is the old lady's temper? Is she thoughtful?"

"Miss Yan, how can a person not have a temper? Others say that the old lady has a good temper and is soft-tempered. In fact, the old lady has kept her temper in check."

At this point, Chen Ma sighed heavily.

"If you keep it away, it will become a habit, and gradually you will lose your temper. As for your thoughts..."

She softened her tone: "The old lady's thoughts are really deep. I have been serving her for so many years, but I still can't figure it out or see clearly."

This statement is somewhat false.

No matter how serious a person's thoughts are, they won't come out in a day or two, they won't come out in a year or two, and they won't come out even in ten or eight years.

Yan Sanhe's voice was slightly cold: "Where is she?"

When asked this question, Chen Ma was immediately stuck. Her two eyebrows were knotted together and did not separate for a long time.

"Is it hard to tell, or is it impossible to tell?"

Mother Chen's chest was rising and falling, her eyes were filled with tears and she said, "Girl, you are asking this question, how should I answer when you call me an old woman?"

"Mother Chen."

Pei Xiao on the side suddenly interrupted: "I don't believe you can't understand the old lady's thoughts at all."

Mother Chen's expression suddenly changed.

"We are in such a hurry to come here to find you all night, there must be something big going on."

Pei Xiao thought about the miserable situation of Ji's house now, "You should stop hiding it and tell the truth!"

Mother Chen turned her back and wiped her tears: "The old lady actually has two thoughts on her mind. One is the person in front of her; the other is the eldest master and the second master."

It turned out to be unspeakable!
Yan Sanhe asked: "What do you think of the man in front? What do you think of the eldest master and the second master?"

"The old lady in front often said that she couldn't compare. As for the eldest and second masters..."

Mother Chen slowly shook her head: "The old lady said she regretted it."

"Regret?"

Yan Sanhe's eyes lit up, "What do you regret?"

"The old lady only said a few words. I secretly thought that since the two gentlemen are not close to the old lady, she probably regrets putting the child in the name of the first one."

"Mother Chen, how can the two masters and the old lady not be close to each other?"

"It's not that they are not close, but there is always a layer of separation between them. Mother and son are polite to each other. Unlike the third and fourth masters, the old lady often points her nose and curses."

"Of course she can't scold other people's children; not only can't she scold them, but she has to respect them."

"What you said makes sense, girl."

Mother Chen sighed, "I often advise the old lady to think broadly. Children and grandchildren will have their own blessings."

"The old lady can't think about it because she's not close to the eldest and second masters?"

Yan Sanhe immediately caught the loophole in her words.

Mother Chen was startled and quickly shook her head.

Yan Sanhe's eyes darkened, "Why can't you think about it?"

(End of this chapter)