After Jiang Xingjian and Mr. Sun returned home, someone from the concierge should have come to pick him up, but it took him a long time after he got off the carriage and he still didn't see the boy waiting to greet the guests.
"Ahem, Master Sun, Mrs. Sun, please come with me."
The couple looked at each other, and Mrs. Sun held the handkerchief in her hand filled with worry.
Recently, many rumors about the Hou Mansion have spread in Beijing. If they are just anecdotes and jokes spread by caring people, that's all. However, even some of the secrets of the Hou Mansion in Chengyang are revealed in such a way that people can't help but wonder whether the Hou Mansion is really as rumored. It is said that the foundation has been exhausted and the internal capsule cannot be maintained.
If this is the case, she must not allow Xiu Xiu to marry into the Hou family.
"Mrs. Sun, please have a seat, Mrs. Sun. Come back as soon as you go."
Jiang Xingjian left the reception hall with a calm face, but she didn't expect to find a servant woman after searching for a long time.
Finally, I met a rough lady walking in a hurry, and the gloom on Jiang Xingjian's face reached its peak.
"What's going on? Where are the concierge and waiter's servants on duty?"
The woman hurriedly said: "Master, everyone is busy."
"Nonsense, what's more important than entertaining guests? Go call the waiter from the tea room, and send someone to inform the wife and the second master to come to the outer courtyard to find me, and ask the wife to prepare to entertain Mrs. Sun."
Holding back his anger, Jiang Xingjian went out to accompany the guests despite his exhaustion.
After chatting with the Sun family for a long time, when Jiang Yan appeared for the first time, he didn't even see the figure of the maid who was supposed to be serving tea.
Mrs. Sun looked at Mr. Sun and finally sighed.
It seems that what is said outside is not groundless.
"Greetings to Mr. Sun and Mrs. Sun."
When Jiang Yan entered the door, he greeted the two of them, but when he saw Jiang Xingjian, his eyes were extremely complicated, and the subtle emotions in them made Jiang Xingjian quite puzzled.
"Second Young Master Jiang is a man of extraordinary talent, which is really rare."
Mrs. Sun is very optimistic about Jiang Yan. Not only does he appear to be gentle and well-behaved, but she has never heard any excessive rumors coming from his room.
"I will make amends to the Marquis. I deserve death."
Before Mrs. Sun could take a few more glances at Jiang Yan, a little maid of eleven or twelve years old rushed in from outside the door. After saying just one word, she knelt on the ground and shrank, daring not to get up.
Jiang Xingjian's face was stern, and his thin lips pursed into a thin line. If there were no foreigners here, he would definitely have a fit.
Seeing that he was silent, Jiang Yan said: "Go and pour tea for the guests."
The little maid got up in a panic and stumbled out.
Mrs. Sun sighed and shook her head in disappointment at Mr. Sun.
"I came here today because I want to tell the Marquis that my daughter really can't reach the noble house. The marriage we discussed earlier will be abandoned. From now on, the marriage between men and women will have nothing to do with each other."
Jiang Xingjian frowned, and just as he was about to speak, Jiang Yan was the first to say, "This young man has no talent and is not worthy of the lady of your house. Mr. Sun is so generous as to give Xiaosheng a comprehensive reputation. I really don't deserve it."
Mrs. Sun felt even more regretful when she saw this, and she glared at Jiang Xingjian with an evil look in her eyes.
“……”
Jiang Xingjian was confused. Just as he was about to say something to save the marriage between the two houses, Mrs. Sun said: "Second Young Master Jiang is a charming man, and his future will be limitless. My little daughter will not be blessed..."
After Mrs. Sun finished speaking, she pulled Master Sun and left quickly, as if the Marquis Mansion was some dirty place.
Jiang Xingjian frowned, looked at Jiang Yan and said, "Why did you push back the Sun family's marriage so easily?"
Jiang Yan lowered his eyes, but the secrets of the inner house that he heard in the past few days kept flashing through his mind.
After a long time, he lowered his eyes and calmed down his emotions: "Why don't you ask Aunt Lin in the room?"
After speaking, Jiang Yan bowed and left.
When Jiang Xingjian heard Lin Jiayue's name, his throat felt fishy and sweet, and the knot in his chest was difficult to relieve. He had not rested for a whole month. Now that he returned to the Marquis Mansion, he just wanted to find a safe place to rest for a while. Even thinking about such a small thing became a luxury.
"Someone is coming."
There was silence in the Hou Mansion. There used to be crowds of maids, wives and servants, but now none of them were there.
Jiang Xingjian suppressed his anger and said to Song Yan beside him: "Are all the stewards of the outer courtyard dead? Go, let them all wait for me in the small study."
After he finished explaining, he strode into the inner courtyard of the Hou Mansion.
However, the inner courtyard was not much better than the outside. When they reached the entrance of Lan courtyard, Jiang Xingjian saw two women sitting in the verandah talking and laughing.
"Madam has been mad at Aunt Lin for many days. It seems she is useless. She will have to count on Aunt Lin in the future."
Another woman curled her lips and said: "How many years have you and I been in the Hou Mansion, have we ever seen someone who manages a family like this? Although we have a lot of money, it will be a pain to the ancestors of the Hou Mansion. If the ancestors of the Jiang family have spirits underground, When I find out that such a disaster has occurred, I'm afraid I'm going to come up from below and strangle...the Marquis!"
Before the woman could finish her words, she was so frightened that she fell from the verandah with a loud thud and fell in front of Jiang Xingjian.
Jiang Xingjian was furious and said sternly: "What's going on? I've only been out of the house for more than a month, and the Marquis's house has become such a mess? What's the matter with what you two said about my wife being seriously ill?"
The woman knelt on the ground and trembled: "My lord, it's... it was the eldest lady who stopped Auntie Lin from selling her servants a few days ago. As a result, Auntie Lin took out the Madam's tooth tag. This filial piety is so overwhelming that the Madam dare not say anything. , and he became ill in a fit of anger."
"Selling servants? Since the founding of the House, there has never been any precedent of selling servants. Who did she sell?"
"Sold...nearly a hundred were sold, I don't know who they are, but Aunt Lin is the only one on the list..."
Jiang Xingjian's vision went dark, and Song Yan hurriedly stepped forward to help him.
No wonder, no wonder he was so weird today when he went to court with Master Yu and Master Sun. Yu Shiquan's words were frivolous and extremely disrespectful.
Nearly hundreds of servants were sold...
Jiang Xingjian couldn't even imagine the consequences.
He stabilized his mind, managed to hold on to his body, and then went to the main courtyard of Lanting.
Song Wan heard that his subordinates came to report that Jiang Xingjian had returned home, so he asked Heng Zhi to fetch the prepared melon base and brew it early in the morning.
The melon base is bitter, cold and slightly poisonous.
"Miss, the Marquis has walked outside the courtyard and is about to go to Long Xiangzhai."
Song Wan blew the melon water in the teacup slowly and drank it slowly.
When Jiang Xingjian opened the door of Luan Xiangzhai, he saw Song Wan dressed in plain clothes, with no makeup on his fair face, so plain that it made people feel pity for him.
But now her beautiful eyebrows were slightly twisted, and her lips were pale and sickly.
Thousands of words rolled up from the tip of his tongue, but were suppressed by Jiang Xingjian.
"I heard from the servants in the mansion that you are sick? Are you feeling better?"
Song Wan nodded with a pale face, as if he was very uncomfortable.
Jiang Xingjian's thin lips parted slightly. He wanted to ask Song Wan how the power of the family fell into Lin Jiayue's hands again, and he also wanted to ask her mother why she gave the dental plaque to Lin Jiayue. He also wanted to ask the sales servant in the mansion if she knew, but looking at Song Wan's face, he couldn't ask a question.
After a long time, Jiang Xingjian said, "Do you have a place here where I can rest for a while?"
Song Wan raised his eyes in confusion, as if he had never thought that Jiang Xingjian would say such words.
She pondered for a moment and nodded, pointing to the Arhat bed in the room and telling Heng Zhi to tidy it up for Jiang Xingjian to rest.
Asking the maid in the house to get hot water for him, Jiang Xingjian lay down after cleansing his face, and fell asleep in a moment.
Song Wan sat on the embroidered pier, enduring the discomfort and feeling slightly annoyed.
