Chapter Thirty-Four Interrogation

  "What?" Liu Rong's eyes widened: "Since such a thing has happened, why didn't you tell me?"

  "I...I..." Dong Er bit her lower lip.

  "What's wrong with me that you can't tell me? In this household, apart from my mother, it's just the two of us relying on each other. Can't I even trust you? Is there something else that needs to be hidden from me? Or do you simply not believe I have the ability to resolve this matter?"

  Liu Rong looked at Dong Er and asked one word at a time, with disappointment that couldn't be hidden in her eyes.

  She has been living so tightly for a while and is already very tired. If the people around her can't be honest with her or trust her, how will she spend the rest of her days?

  This matter is not a big deal, and Dong Er is only 15 or 16 years old, which is just the age of a junior high school student in modern times. It's not surprising that such things happen, but if similar things happen again in this mansion, won't she be caught off guard when the situation really explodes?

  What's more, such things will eventually be exposed, and the later they are exposed, the worse it may be.

  Dong Er saw the disappointment in Liu Rong's eyes, and he was anxious and distressed. His hands were tightly clenched as he waved them wildly: "It's not like that, Miss, I... Miss, I really didn't mean to not talk to you, it's just that I wanted to stop them, and tell Qiao Er that she can't do this, but Qiao Er wouldn't listen, and only spoke up when we were leaving..."

  "Don't even think about going elsewhere to complain, the portion of your household and the government's has already been issued. If this is gone, it can only be said that you are not frugal enough and have used too much!"

  "Of course, it's better to go and file a complaint. If you sue me, you're suing your own grandmother. A concubine-born daughter like you, because of her own wastefulness, dares to accuse the legitimate mother of being harsh? That's disrespect and unfilial! From now on, your family's young lady will have a great life ahead!"

  Dong Er lowered his head: "I'm worried, Miss. Miss can't tolerate even a grain of sand in her eyes. What if she finds out about this matter and recklessly goes to look for them... They have many people and are very powerful. If they take our things and we don't have any evidence to prove it, in the end, I'm afraid we'll be the ones to suffer..."

  "In the end, Dong Er couldn't help but lift his head and look at Liu Rong seriously: 'Miss, I really, really didn't mean to deceive you. Please don't be angry with me.'"

  Looking at Dong Er's serious and worried appearance, Liu Rong couldn't help but feel a pang in her heart. She thought that Dong Er was originally timid and would usually avoid things if possible, but this time she had hidden such a big thing for her sake. Not knowing where she had gone to get these charcoal, she must have suffered a lot.

  "Alright, as long as it wasn't intentional, let's hurry back to my place and warm up. But next time something like this happens, you must tell me. Two people are always better than one." Liu Rong said seriously to Dong Er.

  Dong Er saw Liu Rong say this, her eyes lit up: "Miss, you're not mad at me anymore?"

  Watching Dong Er change so quickly, Liu Rong felt both angry and amused, and also moved. On the surface, Dong Er was much older than Liu Rong, but Liu Rong's personality made people unconsciously forget her age. Dong Er had grown accustomed to spoiling this younger, occasionally slightly eccentric young lady.

  Unconsciously, the two people got used to this seemingly inverted way of interacting with each other.

  However, when leading Dong Er back to the house, Liu Rong's mind didn't stop. Dong Er had said one sentence that was right, she had never been a person who was willing to call herself a loser, Liu Rong could endure anything but not being taken advantage of!

  "Dong Er." Sat back on the small bed, Liu Rong looked up at Dong Er.

  "Miss?" Dong Er responded with a puzzled tone, but didn't stop picking up the scattered items in the house. At the same time, she organized the clothes and accessories that Liu Rong was going to wear. After all, it was already three quarters past the hour of Mao, and it was time to start preparing Liu Rong's outfit for her trip to Mei Garden.

  "Recently, Grandma seems to be very busy and hasn't been seen for several days. The things that Chang Gugu teaches the girls in the mansion are also arranged by Grandmother. Do you know why?" Liu Rong asked Dong Er.

  Although Dong Er didn't understand why Liu Rong suddenly cared about Da Niang, he still replied seriously to Liu Rong: "The specifics are not very clear, but I heard that the newly arrived Yang Niang in the mansion has been found to be pregnant and is now particularly favored by Old Master. It's said that Da Niang has been dealing with this matter recently."

  "I also heard that the old lady is particularly wary of the concubines favored by the master, because she herself was raised by her aunt. Coincidentally, Yang's concubine is young and beautiful, and the master likes her, recently he has been staying by her side." Dong'er said at last, and unknowingly, her tone automatically rose up.

  Liu Rong's eyebrows furrowed as if she was deep in thought.

  After a while, Dong Er brought all the clothes she was going to wear today in front of Liu Rong and wanted to help her change into them. Liu Rong looked up at her again: "Who did you ask for charcoal before? Where did you hear these things about Big Madam?"

  Dong Er didn't suspect anything and quickly replied, "I heard it all from Cui Er. Recently, Sister Cui has been very good to me. Not only did she tell me about things in the mansion, but also helped me get this charcoal today by asking Li Mama for it."

  Winter spoke up to this point, but her face was full of gratitude. However, she immediately remembered that after Liu Rong fell into the water, most people couldn't remember, so she reminded again: "It's Cui Er, the second-class maid in the room of the second lady."

  It was that maid who wanted to deduct Liu Rong's medicine allowance, but later saw her save the second lady and fawned on her in various ways, a maid beside Li Mama.

  "Miss, hurry up and change your clothes. If you don't make it quick, it won't be good if we're late to Mei Garden." After Dong'er reminded Cui'er who she was, he picked up the prepared clothes and was about to help Liu Rong change.

  Liu Rong stretched out her hand, letting Dong Er serve her at will. After all, she still hadn't learned how to wear these ancient clothes properly. In the dead of winter, you had to wear seven or eight layers just to keep warm. She was simply not cut out for troublesome things like this, so even now she still hadn't mastered the order in which to put on her clothes, nor how to match them up to look good. Every time, it was Dong Er who helped her get something roughly right.

  When they reached the fifth floor, Liu Rong suddenly stopped Dong Er's movement. When Dong Er looked at her in confusion, she asked him: "You and Cui Er, when do you usually meet, and where do you usually meet?"

  Dong Er was puzzled, but still carefully replied: "The previous times were all Cui Er coming to find me, but after Miss went to Mei Garden for class, she would generally meet with Cui Er in Mei Garden, and Cui Er Jie knows many things."

  After finishing speaking, Dong Er saw Liu Rong's faint smile, but this smile had a hint of chill.

  "If you meet Cui'er again in Mei Garden today, be sure to get along well with her and mention a few words about Qiao'er, saying that Qiao'er's clothes are really exquisite. If you don't look carefully, you can't tell she's a maid at all. Generally, maids don't dare to dress up so beautifully, but those who can dress up like this probably have big ambitions..."