Chapter Eleven Evening (Part 2)

  Before the Kung Fu tea ceremony.

  Hongluo is from the Lai Xiangyuan, so she is naturally familiar with the situation in this yard. The Lai Xiangyuan is a five-room house facing south and north, with three rooms on each side of the east and west wings, and a small three-room passageway at the gate. The main house and the wing houses are connected by a corridor, with ear houses on both sides, where Zheng Mama lives in the west and a small kitchen in the east, which is exclusively for tea and food within the yard. In the entire Houfu, only Lai Xiangyuan has a legitimate small kitchen.

  As a result, Hong Luo went straight to the kitchen after pouring tea in the upper house and finding no one inside. After all, the charcoal used in this small kitchen was not ordinary firewood, but rather smokeless and odorless horse mouth charcoal that had been secretly transported out of the frugal chamber for sale. The kitchen door hung with thick curtains, which appeared somewhat dull due to the smoke and flames, and low voices could be heard coming from inside. She had intended to enter directly, but upon hearing Zheng Mama's voice coming from inside, she inexplicably chose a spot that others might not easily notice to stand still.

  "That thing was known to the old lady from the very beginning, but wasn't it said that at least we have to wait until after the New Year to uncover it? How could it happen so quickly? Tomorrow is the Lantern Festival, and the matter has been stirred up in the first month. This festival will be ruined for our family!"

  "Who says it's not? But this matter, even if the princess said so, it wouldn't count. If we hadn't been paying attention all along, I'm afraid we wouldn't have even gotten a message beforehand. Who knew that the Tai Pu Temple would suddenly inspect the horses, and Second Master's hands and feet weren't careful enough, one check and they'd be exposed. Mother should report to Old Madam first, it's better to be prepared, otherwise if the Brocade Guards came to the door unexpectedly, we'd be caught off guard."

  Hong Luo suddenly heard these words, and for a moment she was stunned. The meaning of the words made her feel a chill run down her spine. Forcing herself to calm down, she quietly retreated a few steps, just as she was about to slip away, another voice came from inside. She had intended to leave, but in the end, she didn't.

  "When this matter was reported, were several of the old men present? Was there anyone else, and what did they say?"

  "All the officials were present. But at that time, it wasn't just this one thing, several other cases of corruption had also occurred, and the Emperor was furious, so no one dared to speak up, they could only watch as the Emperor gave orders to the Imperial Guards. However, since the Empress Dowager and the Old Lady were sisters, the Emperor wouldn't dare to be too harsh on them, at least not in the first few days of the new year, even if an investigation was conducted, it should have only involved the Second Master."

  Although that's the case, it's still too embarrassing to have this happen in the first month. In the beginning, the second master was able to inherit the title and must have flattered the old lady with many good words, but once he got the title, he thought of extending his hand into the family's property, even the second mistress wanted to take advantage of the old lady's dowry, it's really a clever calculation. It's also a lesson this time... The fourth young master of the main house is not young either...

  Hong Luo was startled and suddenly realized that the voice had become softer. She quickly came to her senses, hastily hiding behind a pillar in the corridor. Just as she hid, she saw Zheng Mama poking her head out from behind the door curtain to take a look around. Seeing that most people were gathered at the entrance of the courtyard watching the fireworks and firecrackers, the door curtain was quickly lowered. At this time, Hong Luo didn't dare stay in place any longer, thinking for a moment before immediately returning upstairs.

  As soon as she reached the door, she almost bumped into Lanxin who was coming out from inside. She and Lanxin were both bought from outside as maids at the same time, when there were not enough girls of suitable age born in the house, so they were lucky to be chosen to enter the Lianxiang courtyard, but only she was promoted to second-class within two years, while Lanxin had been lingering on third-class until now, and it wasn't until after she left that the vacancy was filled.

  "This is Orchid Heart gazing sideways at Hong Luo, and then she snorted with laughter: 'Sister Hong Luo, didn't you make a mistake? This is the upper house of Lianxiang Institute, not your Jinxiu Pavilion, why are you wandering around so carelessly?'"

  Hong Luo had something on her mind and was tense at the moment. Upon hearing the veiled threat in his words, she pretended to be unaware and raised an eyebrow: "What are you talking about? Everyone in the courtyard is watching the fireworks right now, Miss is thirsty, I'll pour a cup of water and add some charcoal to the hand warmer, do we need to go back to Jinxiu Pavilion especially?"

  "Goodness, it's not long since you left, and now all that's left in my heart is Miss of your household. If the old lady were to know that the one she valued so much back then has turned out like this, I really don't know if she would say a single good word about you. This water pavilion is indeed well-equipped, but coal is rationed. This year it's cold, and even the silver frost coal isn't enough for the old lady herself, let alone daring to allocate any to others."

  "You..."

  Lan Xin saw that Hong E was blushing and her ears were red, she felt even more relieved in her heart. She held her hands and said: "Also, sister, you are not a person of our Lianxiang Institute now, don't go out so recklessly anymore. If something is missing from the institute, Green Yu sisters will blame me, I won't be able to bear it."

  Hong Luo originally intended to make some noise to cover her tracks, and at this moment she couldn't help but stomp her foot and say: "Fine, you won't give it to me? I'll go to the kitchen to find Qin Shuizi then! I don't believe that even if Third Miss wants some charcoal, there's still someone who wouldn't give it!"

  "What's all the commotion about!"

  Just as Lan Xin was about to retort, she heard the voice and immediately shut her mouth. Hong Luo also quickly turned around, saw that it was Zheng Mama, and hastily made a bow, while holding up the intricately carved plum blossom-shaped purple copper hand warmer with a folding handle. She rushed to explain the situation first. Indeed, Zheng Mama gave Lan Xin a cold glance, then smiled and said: "It's hard for you to take care of your young mistress, on such a cold day, how can she bear it if the hand warmer is cold? Is it that the old lady still lacks even a little bit of silver frost charcoal?"

  After saying this, Zheng's mother didn't say another word and led Hongluo into the house. Seeing that only Lanxin followed in, there was actually no one left in the house, and her face couldn't help but look even worse. She let Lanxin get some charcoal for Hongluo to put in the hand warmer, and then she immediately sent the person away.

  At this moment, Hong Luo finished speaking and still couldn't calm down. Chen Lan, who was just listening on the side, was even more frightened. She had always felt that when Chen Bing first asked for Zhen Rong, Princess Jin suddenly took him away, this matter was definitely not simple. Now, according to what was said, everything became clear. Zhu Shi had been wary of the second house all along, and now that Chen Jiu, who held the title of Marquis Yangning, had gotten into trouble, Zheng Mama actually mentioned the fourth young master of the main house being old!

  Hong Luo stood by and saw Chen Lan subconsciously gently rubbing her gloved hands, so she quickly reminded: "Miss, no matter what, we have to go to Lao Tai Tai's place and keep her company for a while. If someone else finds an opportunity to pick on us, it won't be good."

  "Uh-huh, you're right."

  Chen Lan looked up at the sky, only to see a heavy cloud cover without a moon or stars in sight. The only light came from the flames that burst forth in clusters, illuminating the night sky as if it were daytime. With the addition of the brightly lit lanterns throughout the Hou estate, it was as if the cold and gloomy darkness had been completely dispelled, yet the chill in the air within the courtyard remained unshakeable.