Red makeup against the world

Chapter 22 Help?not help?

The weather is getting colder and colder. Pedestrians walking on the streets of Suzhou put on thick winter clothes and burn charcoal pots at home.

In ten days or so, it will be the New Year. Every family posts couplets, hangs lanterns, and puts up New Year pictures. The market is busier than usual. Boats full of New Year’s goods shuttle back and forth on the river in the city, and the shops are bustling.Rich or poor, people are preparing for the new year.

Farmers brought new cotton cloth to their mother-in-law, and bought sweets for their sons and daughters, which were hard to eat on weekdays; farmers’ families sold pigs that had been raised for one year in exchange for living money for the next year, and bought some New Year’s goods; Scholars are busy gathering with their classmates, and the restaurant is full of friends every day; businessmen are busy in the daytime, lighting up lamps at night to settle accounts, and the shopkeepers who are assigned to the red are beaming; There is an endless stream of people coming and going to pick up and send off New Year gifts.

The Xu family had Han Runiang as a guest, and the house seemed much more lively than before.

Since time travel, Xu Wanzhen has rarely gotten along with her peers.Except when Madam Zheng taught the rules and etiquette in the morning and told the secrets of Beijing, Han Runiang spent every afternoon in Xu Wanzhen's Yingyun Pavilion.The two practice calligraphy and painting together, and play the piano together.

Because of Han Runiang's presence, Xu Wanzhen didn't take out the quill pen. Every time she wrote the characters with the brush, it was painful, which made Han Runiang laugh again and again.When it's time to practice the guqin, that's when Xu Wanzhen shows off her talents. Han Runiang often asks Xu Wanzhen to teach her piano skills.

This period of time was the happiest and most carefree time Han Runiang had lived after her father's death, as if she had returned to the capital, happy days in the boudoir.After going through hardships, she knows how to cherish it better. Looking back many years later, Han Runiang still clearly remembers every flower and grass in Yingyun Pavilion, Xu Wanzhen's every frown and smile, and every note they played together.

This afternoon, the two were painting together. Ge Ma came in to salute and reported: "Miss, the old lady sent Yulu to invite you over."

Xu Wanzhen put down her pen and said apologetically, "Sister Ru Niang, I have to go out first."

Han Runiang responded softly, "Go ahead, I'll finish this painting."

Arriving at Mrs. Xu's main room, Mrs. Xu signaled Biluo to tell Xu Wanzhen about the matter.

It turned out that in the afternoon, Mrs. Xu just got up from her lunch break when she heard Yulu report to Mrs. Wang asking to see her. She had been waiting for almost an hour.

Calculating the time, Mrs. Xu came here just after she fell asleep.Noon is not a good time to be a guest. The host will take a lunch break after lunch, and people will deliberately avoid this time when they visit directly.It is more common practice in big families to hand in name cards one day in advance, and only visit after the owner replies.

This made Mrs. Xu very surprised. The two families have been fighting for decades, even when Mrs. Xu was alive, Wang Zhihua never came to the door.Negotiations on business cooperation are all made at restaurants in the city.

Now that the Wang family turned their backs and the Xu family was ruthless, they still chose to visit at this time. What was he doing here?In fact, Wang Zhihua has no rules, so how can he pay special attention to the time of visits.

Never thought that Wang Zhihua would come in, and fell to the ground without saying a word.Mrs. Xu was shocked, and quickly asked Biluo to help him up, seeing that his face seemed to have aged ten years, although he was thin in the past, he had never been so unkempt and haggard as he is today.

After Wang Zhihua got up, he stubbornly refused to sit down, stood up to Mrs. Xu and said: "Wang Zhihua has the audacity to beg the old lady to save my son's life. Wang Zhihua is willing to be a cow and a horse to repay."

Wang Zhihua thought hard for two days, and he had to tie the bell to untie it. After all, Madam Xu was a lady from the Imperial College Jijiu, and her skills were superb. This time he lost by convincing her, maybe she can find a way.If Mrs. Xu is willing to help talk about Xiang, the matter may be salvageable.

Hearing this, Mrs. Xu didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and said, "Why do I want you to be an ox or a horse? Tell me what happened?"

Wang Zhihua told the ins and outs of the future, but Mrs. Xu remained silent.Qian Feng is moody and vicious, and acts according to his preferences.As for the matter of the Wang family, because of Wang Zhihua's thoughts, although the Qian family did not buy the shops in the Xu family's three prefectures as they wished, the Wang family compensated 5000 taels of silver and handed over the Wang's shops in the three prefectures to the Qian family.No matter how you look at it, the Qian family has taken advantage of it, but they are still reluctant.

Wang Zhihua knew that he had made this request hastily. The previous two were still rivals. It was reasonable for Mrs. Xu not to agree. He just went to the doctor in a hurry.

Seeing Mrs. Xu's silence, she knew that she needed time to consider the balance, and said: "I don't blame whether the old lady cares about this matter. It's only because I'm too greedy. I'll listen to it tomorrow."

After Biluo finished speaking, Xu Wan was really shocked. This is such a big deal that it will kill people. Is there any law in this dynasty?After thinking for a while, she said, "My granddaughter thinks that the Wang family's actions are abominable, and that they are adding insult to injury. Although the methods are despicable, they are nothing more than that. It's not to the point of paying for it with a life."

Mrs. Xu nodded slightly: "Then I really think, should we help or not?"

Xu Wanzhen said: "Whether to help or not depends on whether our Xu family can forgive the Wang family. The granddaughter believes that forgiveness is not to make the other party grateful, but to seek peace of mind. This is a human life. If you don't know it, it's fine. , in any case, it cannot be turned a deaf ear."

Mrs. Xu agreed, "That's right, you really have the legacy of your grandfather. It's just that Qian Feng is not easy to deal with."

Xu Wanzhen lowered her head and thought for a moment: "Our Xu family is only left with old and weak women and children. According to Mr. Wang's description, Mr. Qian's behavior is extreme, but he still has rules. What he hates most is that someone is playing tricks behind his back. He said that even if he cares about it, he can't find an excuse. It would be the best if he could save Mr. Wang, but if we can't, we will do our best, so please feel at ease."

Mrs. Xu said: "Okay, then do as Zhener said." Immediately, she ordered Biluo: "Since we have already decided, we don't need to wait for tomorrow, and let him suffer a lot. Let Xu Dayou go to Wang's house , just say that I agreed. However, I am a woman and a child, and it is inconvenient to go out, so the meeting place can only be set at Xu's house, which is for him to figure out a way."

Wang Zhihua was ecstatic when he received the letter.Although he begged with a glimmer of hope, he didn't expect Mrs. Wang to agree to him so simply, regardless of the past.He hurriedly sent someone to inquire about shopkeeper Liu's whereabouts, and personally told shopkeeper Liu about the matter, begging him to tell Master Qian.

(End of this chapter)