Chapter 229: Real people don't show their faces
"I really shouldn't let people come out like this, it's all my fault!"
Zhang Ruyi almost cried, squatting in the corner of the wall, her eyes were red. The arrogant and lofty Miss Zhang, like a big dog abandoned by others, made passers-by look unbearable.
"Lady, this is Lanyi's own decision, what does it have to do with you."
Lu Yuanqing felt distressed, and quickly pulled Zhang Ruyi up, wiped her tears with a handkerchief, and comforted her, "Lanyi went to Yong'an to find us before, and the journey went smoothly."
He guessed that Lan Yi was just like everyone else, so he couldn't be too busy going to the Yamen to inquire about news.
"However, I have an ominous premonition."
Zhang Ruyi was so anxious that she shed tears. She and the blue-clothed master and servant had never been separated for so many days.
For some reason, she didn't sleep well last night. She was flustered and couldn't help but think wildly.
"why?"
Li Haitang is not as indifferent as Lu Yuanqing. The woman's premonition is often so accurate that it is unimaginable that good things don't work and bad things happen.
"Haitang, you also know that we didn't ask for a peace talisman at the Baita Temple..."
Miss Zhang was crying, she always felt that she was going to be unlucky, and she should not have gone out if she knew this trip.
Li Haitang: ...
After being told by Zhang Ruyi, she now has no idea.
A few people turned back to the inn, and the people sent by the prefect Xia had been waiting for a long time.
"Miss Biao, Dr. Li, before the canal capsized, the master was terrified and didn't sleep well for several days. He sent people to look for it. Thanks to your news..."
The mother-in-law is about fifty years old, dressed in neat silk and satin clothes, with an unspeakably shrewd look between her eyebrows.
"Nurse Xia, why is it you?"
The person who came was my cousin Xia Jixiang's foster mother, because she had served the master for many years, and the Xia family gave her a surname, so she was a first-class person with face in the house.
"That's right, Miss is going to run for Empress Baihua, so I went to the makeup shop to try on makeup early in the morning, no, I haven't come back yet."
Madam Xia secretly looked at Li Haitang. It was rumored that Dr. Li was a young girl in her twenties and eight years old, as beautiful as a flower.
People should not be judged by their appearance, and they should not be underestimated just because they are young. Madam Xia was used to seeing low-key big shots in the capital.
As the saying goes, real people don't show their faces, the more low-key Li Haitang is, the more she looks at her.
"Last night, I saw my cousin on stage, and I almost couldn't believe it."
Zhang Ruyi and Xia Mama are very friendly. In the capital, she has a natural temperament, and Xia Jixiang has the same temper. Every time the two go to poetry gatherings, they have troubles, and it is common for them to be punished and kneel in the ancestral hall.
She has no mother, no one to control her, and the ancestors of the Zhang family don't like her either, wishing that Zhang Ruyi would disappear in front of her eyes.
In contrast, Xia Jixiang's life is much easier. After all, Xia's family is also a well-known family in Kyoto, and his cousin wants wind and rain at home. The only bad thing is that his mother may not like him.
It's strange to say that my aunt has a weird personality, she lives in seclusion, never competes with concubines and aunts for favor, and doesn't have much joy for her own daughter.
Zhang Ruyi talked to her uncle equally, but on her aunt's side, she took the initiative to be courteous.
"Miss Biao, the master has prepared a separate small courtyard to entertain Dr. Li."
Mammy Xia made a sound to Zhang Ruyi, then looked at the back, no one was there, and immediately frowned, "Where's the blue clothes?"
When the magistrate's daughter travels, there must always be a servant girl by her side. From the beginning to the end, Madam Xia never even glanced at Lu Yuanqing.
She deliberately gave the poor scholar a bad impression. Neither the Zhang family nor the Xia family are people that poor scholars can climb up to. The news sent back by the servants seems to be that Miss Biao fell in love with this person at first sight, and she will not marry unless she is a gentleman.
Miss Biao looks domineering, but she is actually very simple and simple. She is afraid of being deceived by people with ulterior motives and using her to climb high.
"Okay, Haitang likes to be quiet and doesn't like to be disturbed. I wrote to my uncle to explain."
Zhang Ruyi nodded, but she couldn't give an answer when she asked where Lan Yi was.
If Lan Yi was in Licheng, and learned that she had entered the magistrate's yamen, he should be able to come to the back house to find someone. After all, Ji Qiu was in the yamen, so he had to rely on relationships to solve the problem.
Mammy Xia specifically asked Lan Yi, which meant that Lan Yi hadn't appeared yet, and now, Miss Zhang also had a headache.
A group of people simply packed up their parcels, retreated to the inn room, boarded the carriage sent by the magistrate's yamen, and headed for the magistrate's back house in a mighty manner.
There were many people traveling along the way, and when the common people saw the official carriages, they rushed to avoid them.
Xiao Lingchuan and Lu Yuanqing were sitting on the outside of the carriage with the driver. Inside the carriage, there were only Madam Xia, Zhang Ruyi and Li Haitang.
"Mother Xia, why did my uncle invite Haitang? The letter didn't explain why."
Zhang Ruyi's eyelids have been twitching a lot lately, and she was always worried that something bad would happen, so she slipped a small silver key to Nanny Xia, "Can you tell me the truth."
Li Haitang is her good sister and a famous doctor. Since he is a doctor, of course he specializes in treating difficult and miscellaneous diseases. Zhang Ruyi doesn't think her uncle has any illnesses.
"This matter..."
Madam Xia hesitated to speak, then thought about it, anyway, if Dr. Li can figure it out clearly when he arrives in the back office, then she will let her know in advance, and she can still sell favors.
In fact, in the final analysis, there are still secrets in the mansion.
The wife and the master have respected each other like ice for more than ten years, just maintaining the politeness between husband and wife, and often refuse the master to come to the door for reasons such as worshiping Buddha and having a small day.
The master is in his prime, and he will inevitably have a few concubines and aunts by his side, but what is particularly strange is that these people are all hens who do not lay eggs.
Xia Zhifu suspected that someone was obstructing it, but he planted a few insiders in the backyard, and found nothing unusual.
If he can't do it, then where did Xia Jixiang come from?
These concubines and aunts were all brought from the capital. After he went to Licheng to work, he recruited a woman from a good family in the local area, who came to work every day, but there was still no news.
The magistrate Xia doubted life. He only had one heir, so he would not cut off the incense. He stayed in the Xia family's clan school in the capital to study. Many children are blessed, but he has only one son, which is too few.
Not only that, except for his son and daughter Xia Jixiang, he doesn't even have a son or daughter.
"Nurse Xia, are we going to visit my aunt when we come to Licheng?"
Zhang Ruyi shrinks back. In the past when she was in the capital, she didn't like to go to Xia's house. Every time she sent a maid to deliver a letter, and asked her cousin to drink tea and listen to an opera in a teahouse outside.
In my impression, this aunt was not enthusiastic about her, and had a gloomy look at people, not only her, Xia Jixiang saw her mother like a mouse seeing a cat.
"Madam is paying homage to the Buddha, I'm afraid I don't have time to entertain you."
Madam Xia's eyelids twitched, and she complained in her heart, her wife doesn't care about the young lady, the relationship between mother and daughter is not as good as that of outsiders, let alone Miss Biao, who is not her own. Earlier, she went to Madam's yard to deliver a letter, and waited for more than half an hour before seeing him. Madam didn't care about this, just asked a few casually, and then dismissed him.