boudoir

Chapter 46
Liuli was silent, and put the cloth bag back under the quilt without leaving a trace, and said, "I will do what the eldest lady says."

"That's a good thing, the girl is ready to leave now."

Mrs. Qian smiled again and stepped out of the threshold.

Liuli watched her go out, her fists clenched under the sleeves.

Cuiying worked her life for the Qi family, even if the Qi family survived the Yu family's move and refused to provoke her, Cuiying's family would definitely not give up.However, Yu Shi was wiped out by Qi Shi's two minions at once, and was beaten by the old lady in front of everyone, one can imagine his hatred.Now that he has laid down such a large amount of money for the sake of avenging his shame, he naturally came prepared.

This matter has nothing to do with Liuli. Unfortunately, they all chose her small courtyard as the battlefield to fight for the city. She thought that she only needed to be a spectator to protect herself, but now the situation is far worse than she imagined. , she wanted to get out, but it was hard to keep clean!

If she had known earlier, she shouldn't have made Rui'er to monitor Tian'er, Liu Li wanted to wait until Rui'er came back to make plans, but Qian Changsheng's family ordered someone to come in to remind her, and after a while, no one came back, so she had to carefully check the things. Put it away, put on your cloak and come out.

A group of people went to the front yard together with Cuiying who was being carried. Cuiying's mother kept crying all the way, and Nanny Li also came, but her expression was much calmer than before.Snowflakes of goose feathers were already flying in the air, and the road ahead was completely white, just like Liuli didn't know what was waiting for her in the front yard at this moment.

It took two to three quarters of an hour to go through the wind and snow and arrive at the hallway of the third entrance. There was a woman who had been waiting here for a long time. She glanced at the straw mat behind her and greeted her. She saluted Qian Changsheng's family and said, "Old man Madam just said it, so I stopped in the small gourd courtyard on the west side of the front hall, which is close to the main courtyard, so it is convenient for Da Furen to go there."

Lady Qian hummed and walked to the west, asking, "Has the messenger arrived yet?"

The mother-in-law said: "The old lady said just now, don't bother me, and I will go there. It is not like there is no precedent in the mansion. I will wait for my wife to get the result of the trial and send it to Fengtian Mansion for record."

This time not only Liuli, but also Qian Changsheng's family stopped: "The old lady said?"

The old woman said: "Then there is still a fake? Give the old woman ten guts, and I can't make fun of it."

Qian Changsheng's family was silent, then nodded and continued on.

now it's right!When Liuli heard this, she felt relieved, as expected, someone had thought of something with her, and had reminded the old lady, that's why the old lady came forward to speak.If it was normal, how could the death of a maid deserve the old lady's personal attention?
After a while, when we arrived at the small gourd courtyard, some people were already waiting, seeing that the corpse was brought over, those who were not shy came over to take over.

Xiao Hulu Yard is an uninhabited courtyard located under the Three Gates. It is in a good location and exquisitely built, but there are too many empty courtyards in the mansion, so it is not particularly outstanding.

Behind the courtyard is a curved corridor, past it is Aunt Su's courtyard, and past it is the main house where Mrs. Yu lives and some small courtyards attached to the main house.

Qian Changsheng's family greeted Cuiying's body into the main hall, and Yu's men came to stand in front of it.First, Hongxiu ordered the little maid to bring the plum blossom armchair covered with brocade mattresses, then Caiqin led a few women to bring a large three-legged bronze and gilt smoker cage, and burned charcoal vigorously.Caiqin just went out, and Ruyi walked in carrying a small copper pot and a set of purple sand cups with fuchsia hanging upside down.

Everyone watched them walk in and out a few times, and then they heard someone outside the door calling, "The eldest lady and the fourth lady are careful on the slippery road." What a crime!" Seeing that Mrs. Yu was only wearing a half-worn fox fur cloak, she hurriedly took half a step back and took off the brand new mink fur cloak on her body, and handed it to the woman behind her, taking Hong Xiu's hand to hold her. Yu Shi.

Liuli thought for a while, and then stood out of the door.

Mrs. Nie made fun of Qian Changsheng's family, "Madam, this new cloak is worth a lot of money, isn't it?"

Mrs. Qian smiled sarcastically: "Fourth Madam, you are laughing. What is the value of what? It's just a dress to keep out the wind and snow." Yu looked at her and saw that she was only wearing a hooded jacket, and said with a smile: "Why bother?" So? It’s not worth it if it’s cold.” But he ignored it.

Seeing Mrs. Yu gradually approaching, Liuli stepped forward and said, "Liuli, Mrs. Madam and Fourth Madam, please be well."

Yu Shi glanced at her, and went in with a hum.Mrs. Nie stopped and said, "Hey, these nine girls have become more and more moist since they entered the mansion. Look at this white fox fur cloak, it's still a whole piece of skin!"

Yu Shi's face darkened.

Liuli thought for a moment, then said respectfully: "What the fourth madam said is true. Thanks to the care of the old lady and the eldest lady, Liuli's life at home is indeed ten times more nourishing than that outside. In order to be grateful, Liuli insisted on a hardworking and thrifty style, and used her deceased mother's The old clothes have been remade into this cloak, I hope this will not damage the face of He Fu."

As soon as Mrs. Nie heard that it was an old dress, she reached out and lifted Liuli's lapel to look at it. After a while, she let it go and hummed, "Your mother is not poor!" She threw her hands and went into the room.

Liuli followed behind and slowly entered the room, and stood under the left curtain.Nanny Li stood on the other side, with a very anxious look on her face. She wanted to come up to say hello when she saw Mrs. Yu, but Mrs. Qian kept guarding her every step, and she really couldn't get in.

Thanks to Mrs. Yu, the house was kept warm, the melted snow stains dried quickly under the feet, and the house that had not been lived in for a long time also felt a little popular.

Yu Shi drank ginseng tea to warm up her body, helped the lying rabbit on her head, put her hands on the back of the chair, and looked down.

Cuiying's body was covered with a white cloth, and her mother Liu Yuchun'er knelt outside, her voice humming inside.The corner of Yu's mouth twitched, and when Mrs. Qian saw it, she ordered Liu Yuchun to be taken away.

Lady Qian said: "Look, madam, how should we deal with this matter?"

Yu's head didn't even lift up, she poked her fingernails into the gaps in the carved flowers on the stove, "It's common for people to die in this cold winter, but I heard that she has caught a cold again, so it's more normal that the cold air is suffocated and there is no place to vent it. Invite all the people in her house to inquire clearly, and then find someone who can read, and if there is nothing wrong, draw a note and hand it over to Fengtian Fu Yin."

Mrs. Qian hurriedly said: "Now there are nine girls in that room, there is also a nanny, and the other two maids have already been summoned."

Yu Shi glanced at Liuli and said, "Then let's start with Nine Girls."

Liuli was invited to the front of the hall.Lady Qian asked: "Please tell me what you know."

Liuli glanced at the door from the corner of her eye, but she didn't see Mrs. Qi coming, so she was a little puzzled. If she didn't come, wouldn't Mrs. Yu just settle the case?Qi Shi is willing to suffer from this dumbness?

Looking back at Mrs. Yu, she said, "Cuiying has indeed suffered from a cold for the past few days, and I looked at her body just now. It doesn't look like she was poisoned, and there were no wounds or blood, but the doors and windows were closed last night. But a large basin of charcoal was burned, presumably suffocated to death unknowingly after falling asleep."

Nie's expression relaxed, but Lady Qian said, "She shares a room with two other maids, why did she only suffocate to death?"

Liuli thought for a while, "I have to ask Tian'er and the others about this. I sleep next door, so I don't know the details. But Cuiying has always been a domineering person, and she doesn't get along with the people in the courtyard. It's possible that they sometimes don't want to stay with her. .”

Speaking of this, Nanny Li immediately became nervous, but Liuli looked up calmly.

Madam Qian was a little surprised, she turned her head to look at Mrs Yu, not knowing how to proceed.

She is the mother-in-law of the chief manager of the mansion, and she knows the origins of the maids in the courtyard better than anyone else. Cuiying shares the room with Tian'er Ruier, and Tian'er is the daughter of the third young master's nanny, wouldn't she know?Sweetie is untouchable.But Rui'er brought the human teeth in by herself, and it took only a few days for her to be killed. This matter will fall on Rui'er, and she herself has to bear the responsibility.

Qian Changsheng's family suddenly felt that this matter was a bit tricky. The key point was that she thought it was just an ordinary homicide case, but unexpectedly when she reached out her hand, she encountered a hidden thorn.

Mrs. Qian didn't say anything for a long time, Nie snorted, and then said: "Miss Nine means something else, maybe it's because of those two maids?"

Liuli raised her head: "How could it be? Tian'er has been serving Cuiying's decoction for the past few days. I don't know how dedicated she is. Ruier is also in my room all the time. It's impossible for them to harm Cuiying."

Nie sneered: "Neither of them can do it, and you know everything. Could it be Madam Li who did it?"

Nanny Li's expression changed drastically, her legs limp and she fell to the ground.

Liuli still calmed down, "Big lady just asked me to say that I know, but I don't know this level, so it's hard to say."

Nanny Li's teeth chattered again.

Yu raised her eyelids slowly, "Let Madam Li come out and talk."

Caiqin suddenly came in outside the door and said, "The second and third wives are here."

A flash of light flashed in Yu's eyes, and Nie sneered: "This Cuiying has a lot of face! It's not enough to alarm the eldest lady, but even the second and third wives were also alarmed!"

Nanny Li has been invited to Liuli's side, and when she heard that the four wives were all present, a dense layer of cold sweat broke out on her forehead.

At this time, Ruyi hurried in again and whispered something to Mrs. Yu, when Mrs. Yu waved her hand to let her back, she happened to meet Mrs. Liang and Mrs. Qi entering the door.

Mrs. Qian hurriedly asked someone to move her seat, and Liang and Qi saluted Mrs Yu briefly, and Mrs Liang said, "I don't want to move around for trivial things in this cold weather, but Cuiying and her father actually sued the old lady." Go, insist that her daughter's death was wronged, and the old man couldn't help it, so he called me and the three younger siblings to come and have a look, just to put on a show and let them feel at ease."

Mrs. Yu snorted, scraped the lid of the teacup in her hand, and said, "I'm also worried about not being lively enough. Since the old lady asked me to come, how can I not welcome it? Originally, it was said to be handed over to the Fengtian Mansion for review. It's fair, and I don't know who whispered in the old lady's ear and said no, let us suffer from the cold here for nothing."

(End of this chapter)