bastard returns

Next to the charcoal basin warming the tea, iron tongs picked up a piece of black charcoal that was burning flickeringly.

"Baimei, you said the charcoal is not good, you can't boil the water anyway?" Ning Yuan asked aloud.

"Back to the young master, the small kitchen is full of this kind of black charcoal of the worst quality. It doesn't burn warmly and smokes a lot. Ordinary people don't use it at home." Baimei replied crisply.

"Since it's not warm, you probably won't die if you eat it." Ning Yuan said to himself, carrying the piece of charcoal, crossed to Xia Zhu again, and said lightly, "Bai Tan, give me her mouth. Break apart."

Horror appeared in Xia Zhu's eyes, he stopped cursing, and stammered: "You, what are you going to do, what are you doing!?"

Bai Tan seemed to understand Ning Yuan's meaning, thinking of the current situation of his sisters, he had no other choice. Since he made Xia Zhu, he would definitely offend the third wife anyway, so he might as well follow the third young master in front of him.

She had been instigated by Xia Zhu to do rough work in the yard, she had some strength in her hands, and when she squeezed Xia Zhu's jaw hard, Xia Zhu couldn't struggle and was forced to open her mouth.

Without blinking his eyes, Ning Yuan quickly stuffed the flickering black charcoal into Xia Zhu's mouth.

"Aw!" A howling that was comparable to killing a pig sounded from Xia Zhu's throat, and the rising mist quickly filled her entire mouth.

It was the first time for the Bai sisters to see such a scene, and they were so frightened that they unconsciously let go of their hands and hid aside.Xia Zhu kept grunting like a wild animal, grabbed his throat with all his might, stood up and walked two steps swayingly, then fell to his knees, spitting out blood mixed with charcoal from his mouth. There was also some minced meat, and the cheeks had turned the color of pork liver, swollen like two pieces of dough.

Ning Yuan snorted coldly, raised the iron tongs in his hand high, and hit Xia Zhu hard on the back of the neck. She rolled her eyes and threw herself on the ground without moving.

005 Boy Zhou Shi

Throwing away the iron tongs, Ning Yuan clapped his hands, and said to the pale-faced Bai sisters beside him, "Don't you pity her?"

Baimei was obviously frightened, she hid behind her sister and shivered, not speaking.Bai Tan gathered himself together, gritted his teeth and said: "The third young master did nothing wrong, she deserves what she deserves!"

Ning Yuan nodded, "Don't think I'm vicious. Many things that have happened in my yard over the years, including several little girls who died inexplicably, have nothing to do with her. Sparing her life is already a kindness. gone."

Baimei asked tremblingly, "She, is she still alive?"

"I act wisely, I won't die this time, and it's useful to keep her life." Ning Yuan lowered his head and thought for a while, "You tied her up and quietly took her to the woodshed in the backyard and locked her up. It alarmed others, and it was only said that she was called by the third wife to work as an errand, which would not arouse suspicion."

The Bai sisters nodded and dragged Xia Zhu out of the main hall, only then did Ning Yuan breathe a sigh of relief.He took another sip of the already cold tea.

His situation in the Ning Mansion was not optimistic. If these servants with different intentions were allowed to stay by his side, things like this morning would continue endlessly until he died without a place to bury him.

This was the case in the previous life. Taking advantage of the new funeral of the Tang family, the eldest wife Yan was busy taking care of her son, the second wife Zhao said that she would not be sick, and Ning Ruhai was not in the mansion. The Liu family held great power, and the servants of Zhuxuantang They beat and bullied him every day, didn't give him food, drove him out of the bedroom, and made him sleep in the courtyard in the cold winter. The leader of his dead mother was that Xia Zhu.

These humiliating memories were engraved in Ning Yuan's heart like a knife, and he never forgot them for a moment.And just when he was about to freeze to death in the yard, only Bai Tan and Bai Mei quietly gave him some food and bedding, and let him know that who is worthy of trust in this Zhu Xuantang people.

Half an hour later, the Bai sisters came back, Baimei was holding a small wooden box, and Baitan was carrying a large basket of fine silver charcoal.All the things were looted from Xia Zhu's room. According to them, the wooden box contained some silver and jewelry, and the basket of silver charcoal was kept under the bed by Xia Zhu, which was used for her own fire to keep warm.

"Master, these are the best silver charcoal, clean and warm. With these, there is no need to use the black charcoal in the back kitchen." Time is much more cheerful.

Ning Yuan nodded, opened the wooden box again, picked up an emerald bracelet, looked at it up to the light, and put it down again, "It's just a girl, but she can get these benefits, I'm afraid the third lady's personal servants will The maidservant's room is covered with gold paper." He teased and closed the lid of the box, although he lost a coral bracelet, but with the gold and silver jewels in front of him, he is not a loss.

The coral bracelet handed over to Xia Zhu was brought out of Liu's house when he sneaked into the Hexin Garden to steal jade. The original plan was to find a chance to go out of the house and sell it for some money. return.He is very poor now, not only is he short of food and clothing, but even buying medicinal materials for Tang's body to take care of his body will cost a lot of money.But when he was dealing with Xia Zhu, he suddenly realized that the coral bracelet had other magical functions, and he couldn't sell it for a while, so the money also solved his urgent need.

****

Before dawn, Ning Yuan opened his eyes tremblingly, and sat up from the bed.

I got that basket of silver charcoal yesterday, and the charcoal fire in the bedroom, which was as cold as an ice cellar, was warm in spring, and the sweat on Ning Yuan's face was reflected in flickering light and dark.

He dreamed of himself at the stake.The pain of the flames gnawing at his flesh and burning his bones and blood seemed to still be lingering in his body. Sikong Xu's sometimes blurred and sometimes clear face made him dizzy. He rubbed his face vigorously, He called out: "Bai Tan?"

Through the screen, Bai Tan, who was on duty at night, came in from the outside holding a kerosene lamp, "Why are you awake, the young master? It's not yet light."

In Ning Yuan's bedroom, there was no one on duty at night before. Originally, this was supposed to be what Xia Zhu should do, but she never regarded herself as Ning Yuan's servant, so she never stayed on duty once. Yesterday Ning Yuan After tidying up Xia Zhu, Bai Tan volunteered to come to watch the night, Ning Yuan saw her insistence, so he agreed.

Bai Tan's idea is also very simple, the third wife has always been powerful in the mansion, since the two of his sisters helped Ning Yuan punish Xia Zhu, no matter misfortune, fortune, honor or disgrace, they are already tied to the same boat with him, anyway, they are all this Zhu Xuan Tang's girl, if she doesn't have a backer, she might as well rely on the third young master. Although in her impression, the third young master has always been a cowardly and incompetent master, but yesterday's incident made her realize that she seemed to have misjudged her before. At least the third young master is not as simple as it seems on the surface.

Therefore, not only did she respect Ning Yuan a lot, but she also changed her address from "Third Young Master" to "Young Master".Ning Yuan naturally accepts such a veiled way of expressing loyalty, or in other words, Ning Yuan was so vigorous and resolute yesterday, and he wanted the same result. To subdue the Bai sisters, he would have someone to help him in some matters, so that he would not be too on the edge of thin ice .

"What time is it?" Ning Yuan asked.

"It's time." Bai Tan said with a blessing, "In a few days it will be the end of the new year, the supervisor is on winter vacation, the young master doesn't have to get up so early, you can sleep for a while."

Ning Yuan shook his head, lifted the quilt and got up, Bai Tan came up to him to put on his coat, but was pushed away.

Walking out of the bedroom, the sky was indeed pitch black, with only a touch of fish-belly white in the east.

Ning Yuan only wore an inner shirt, stood in the middle of the yard and took a deep breath, suddenly took a step, and swung his fists with gusts of wind.

Bai Tan stood at the door of the room and stared dumbfounded. This third young master, who has always been powerless and would not fight back when teased by his servants, actually still punches?

Ever since Ning Yuan met Si Kongxu back then, in order to be able to help him out and not to delay him, he developed the habit of waking up in the morning before dawn to practice martial arts. Sikong Xu also found some inner skills to give him. But for some reason, Ning Yuan couldn't practice any of those not-so-advanced internal skills. In the end, Sikong Xu thought that Ning Yuan didn't have the talent for martial arts, so he only taught him a set of long fists that are commonly used in the world. body.

At first Ning Yuan also thought that it was because of his lack of talent that he could not practice internal skills. Until later, he met a wandering alchemist who traveled all over the world. After the alchemist diagnosed his pulse, he told him that his physique was different from that of ordinary people. He pays attention to the purity of the inner breath, so it is divided into two systems: yang meridians and yin meridians, one can cultivate pure yang, or cultivate pure yin, but the meridians in his body are mixed with yin and yang, and there is no conflict at all, so no matter whether you practice yang meridians or yin In the meridian technique, the internal force that has been cultivated with great difficulty will be lost along with another meridian, so it cannot be practiced.

At that time, Ning Yuan didn't understand what the alchemist meant by "different physique" and "mixed yin and yang". He didn't understand until later when he found out that he was obviously a man, but he had a pregnancy appearance. Normal men are different.

The whiteness of the fish belly in the sky gradually dispersed, and the snow reflected the light, which also made the surrounding area brighter. After finishing the last two kicks, Ning Yuan exhaled a long breath before concentrating on finishing work. His body was already sweating and exhausted. no.

After all, it was just a thin young man's body, Ning Yuan smiled wryly, once after such a set of punches, he couldn't even catch his breath.

Bai Tan pulled his younger sister up when he was halfway through the practice, and went into the small kitchen to start boiling water. Seeing that Ning Yuan had finished his work, the two rushed up to greet him and said, "The hot water is ready, young master, go back to the room to take a bath." Bar."

When Ning Yuan returned to the room, he saw a steaming bathtub standing in front of the bed. He took off his sweaty shirt and saw Bai Tan holding Bai Mei still standing there, so he laughed dryly, "You can go out while I'm taking a bath. wait."

Baimei showed a strange expression, "When the young master takes a bath, don't you need a girl to wait on you?" She heard that the second young master Ning Xiang not only had seven or eight girls to accompany him every time he took a bath, but also had to have a clear understanding. The division of labor, hair combing, shoulder pinching shoulder pinching, foot pinching pinching feet, manicure manicure manicure, can be very busy.

But Bai Tan pursed his lips knowingly, knowing that Ning Yuan was shy, "The slaves are going to wait outside." He pulled his bewildered younger sister to leave.

Only then did Ning Yuan remove all his clothes with peace of mind, and stepped into the half-human-high tub.

The comfort of being wrapped in hot water made him breathe a long sigh of relief, and the pain in his arms and thighs subsided a lot. He closed his eyes and was about to take a nap when the door was pushed open with a creak.

He was startled, thinking that it was Bai Tan who had gone and returned, and hurriedly turned his head to look, but what caught his eyes was an honest and calm young man.

The young man was about fifteen or sixteen years old, with thick eyebrows and big eyes. Although his facial features were not outstanding at first glance, they were well-proportioned, with a hidden handsomeness, which belonged to the type that became more attractive the more you looked at it.He is much taller and stronger than Ning Yuan, but his clothes are simpler, a slightly worn-out coarse cloth jacket and linen trousers are neatly worn on his body, and his hair is tied with a green cloth belt.

"I've seen the young master." The boy lowered his eyebrows and cupped his fists at Ning Yuan pleasingly, "Miss Bai Tan asked me to wait for the young master to take a bath."

"You are..." Realizing that it was a man who came in, Ning Yuan felt a little more at ease. He stared at the boy's face for a while, and asked uncertainly, "Are you Zhou Shi?"

The boy didn't respond, but nodded steadily.

Ning Yuan remembered that Zhou Shi's mother was his own mother, Mrs. Zhang, who was a rough envoy when she was still outside the mansion.The Tang family married into the Ning Mansion, and Zhang's mother also entered the mansion. Unfortunately, she died of a chronic illness within two years, leaving behind her young son Zhou Shi. Yes, later when Ning Yuan moved to Zhuxuantang, it was customary to have a personal attendant by his side, so Tang asked Zhou Shi to follow him.It's just that Zhou Shi was taciturn and didn't like to talk since he was a child, and Ning Yuan was timid and cowardly. The two of them were not familiar at all. Therefore, in this Bamboo Propaganda Hall, Zhou Shi mostly did rough work of carrying water and chopping firewood in the backyard.

The time Ning Yuan had the deepest impression on Zhou Shi was that in his previous life, Ningxiang Qiuwei failed the rankings and had no place to vent his anger, so he rushed to the Zhuxuan Hall with a few followers to find fault with him, and let him be escorted unceremoniously He whipped the whip on him, and Zhou Shi rushed out without saying a word to block a few whips for him, which made Ning Xiang so angry that he sent someone to break Zhou Shi's leg and throw him out of the house.

Afterwards, Ning Yuan quietly ran out of the mansion to look for him, but he couldn't find anyone. This guilt has lingered in Ning Yuan's heart for many years. Now that he can see his old friend again, Ning Yuan feels indescribably emotional in his heart, and his stiff face softens. After a lot, he said, "Are you okay."

Zhou Shi was taken aback for a moment, and looked up at Ning Yuan, obviously not understanding why the third young master in front of him would suddenly say such a sentence.

Ning Yuan rubbed his nose, and realized that he was too ignorant.

Zhou Shi walked to the tub, rolled up his sleeves, carefully picked up Ning Yuan's loose hair with one hand, pinched the soap horns with the other hand, and began to wash Ning Yuan's hair gently.

Seeing that he was familiar with these things, Ning Yuan couldn't help asking curiously: "Have you served others to take a bath before?"

"My mother taught me when I was young." Zhou Shi replied without humility, "My mother told me that the only thing I have to do in this life is to take care of the young master, so I have been taught to do these services since I was a child." .”

Ning Yuan was taken aback, for Zhang's mother, because of her early death, he only had a very vague impression, only remembering that she was a woman who loved to laugh, and his mother also relied on her very much.Ning Yuan sighed softly, "I'm sorry for bringing up your sadness."

Zhou Shi didn't speak, and the movements of his hands didn't stop. After washing his hair, he took a white cloth towel from one side, soaked it in hot water, and began to wipe Ning Yuan's arms and back.

Ning Yuan had never taken a bath so comfortably, and when Zhou Shi helped him out of the tub, helped him dry off the water droplets on his body, and put on his clothes, it was already bright daylight.

"Zhou Shi, you came here to be my personal servant. From now on, you and Bai Tan Baimei will take care of my food and daily life. There is no need to do the work of chopping firewood and carrying water." Seeing Zhou Shi finishing cleaning the room, he was about to bow Back out, Ning Yuan said to him.

Zhou Shi's expression moved slightly, for the first time he looked up at Ning Yuan seriously, then quickly lowered his head, and said yes.

006 Lucky Grandmother

After breakfast, Ning Yuan asked Bai Tan Baimei to keep an eye on the servants of Zhuxuantang secretly, and after giving them some instructions, he took Zhou Shi out of the courtyard and went to pay his respects to his grandmother, the old lady Shen.

The old lady, Shen, mostly cultivates in her own Fushou Garden on weekdays, rarely goes out, and rarely sees guests. She doesn't seem to have a strong sense of presence, but she is a figure that no one in Wu'anbo Mansion can ignore.

Shen was once the daughter of Shen An, Minister of the Ministry of Punishment. When Shen An took office in the Ministry of Punishment, she was a well-known Qingliu in the court. Shen was influenced by her every day, and like her father, she also developed a noble and arrogant temperament, so that later Ning Ruhai was relegated, and she was young and ready to make a theory, but it was Shen who stopped her. According to what she said, instead of staying in Huajing City to watch those corrupt officials muddy their eyes, it is better not to be as knowledgeable as they are, and to take advantage of it. Take this opportunity to walk away and hide quietly.

The entire country of the Great Zhou Dynasty valued filial piety, and the current emperor is a well-known filial son, so Ning Ruhai respected his mother very much. For this reason, even if Mrs. Shen said clearly that she didn't like trouble, the morning and evening in the mansion would definitely be avoided. No, but when it was time for the juniors in the mansion to pay their respects, they still watched the time and squeezed into the Fushou Garden, not daring to be vague at all.

In the main hall of Fushou Garden, the charcoal fire in Shou'an Hall is flourishing, covering the whole room like a spring day.Mrs. Shen was leaning on the huanghuali warm couch, her hair was neatly bound by a crown inlaid with warm jade, she was wearing a black fox leather cloak with lotus pattern satin, and her feet were covered with gold. The silky warm quilt, talking to the people in the room with a smile, her close mother Luo came in from the side door, stepped forward with small steps, blessed her whole body and said: "Old madam, the third young master is here to greet you, waiting outside."

The group of people who were lively at first became quiet immediately.

"Third young master?" Shen frowned slightly, as if she couldn't remember such a person in the mansion.

Mother Luo also kept muttering in her heart, these three young masters used to leave the gate and did not leave the second door, and never greeted the old lady, today I don't know what gust of wind blows him, and they still say: "It is the young master born to Aunt Tang of Xianglian Academy, who has been raised in Zhuxuantang."

As soon as the word "Aunt Tang" popped out of Mother Luo's mouth, Shen's expression became unsightly.

Da Zhou's class is distinct, Shen's family background is high, and she has always been noble. She hates those lowly prostitutes the most. When Tang Yingyao came in, she had a lot of trouble with her son because of this matter. Although she compromised later, she also He has never paid attention to that "Aunt Tang", and has never even paid attention to the son she gave birth to.

"Who am I? I have never come to greet my grandmother before. Why did I come today? Well, I can't bear his greetings. The road is snowy and slippery. Let him go back." Shen said With a flick of his sleeves, he didn't even want to let anyone in.

Luo's mother seemed to have expected that Shen would say this, and she was blessed again, "The third young master said, I know that the old lady may not want to see him, but it will be the end of the year soon, so he just wants to come in and look far away. The old lady kowtowed and left."

"In that case, let him come in." Shen didn't want to be too mean, so she nodded when she saw that Luo's mother had said this.

Mother Luo responded, and within a moment, Ning Yuan in a gray plain robe came in. As expected, he didn't step into the main hall, but stood outside the threshold with his hands down, facing Shen's direction, bowed and knelt down and said, "Sun My son, Ning Yuan, has met his grandmother, and wishes his grandmother peace and prosperity, and a long life."

Shen raised her eyes and glanced over Ning Yuan, slightly surprised for a while.

Because what Ning Yuan performed outside the hall was not an ordinary kowtow, but a very solemn salute. Kneeling together, with both hands flat on the ground, palms facing the sky, pinching the blessing seal with one hand and the longevity seal with the other, resting his forehead on the On the knees, bend the whole body into a bow.

The salutation ceremony flourished in the former dynasty. Performing this ceremony can show the greatest respect for the elders from the younger generation. However, due to the cumbersome movements and difficult to complete, after this dynasty, this etiquette has gradually become obsolete. I heard that only the real centuries-old families in Huajing City, or the aristocratic families with profound backgrounds, still retain this tradition.

In Xinian, Sikong Xu came from a humble background and was the least favored prince. In order to gain face from the Queen Mother, he tried his best to find a nun who was in charge of etiquette in the previous dynasty, just to learn the most orthodox and standard worship. An Dali, Ning Yuan also learned from the side at that time.

Given Shen's background, she naturally recognized this kind of etiquette. For a moment, her expression eased, and she looked at Ning Yuan not as indifferently as before. Seeing his thin back arched until he trembled slightly, but Resisting the pain and not getting up, he couldn't help feeling a gleam of affection in his heart, thinking that no matter who his biological mother was, he was Ning Ruhai's own son and his own grandson, so he said, "Get up."

Ning Yuan stood up somewhat staggeringly, bit his lip slightly, and was about to turn around and leave, but Shen Shi waved to him again, "It's freezing outside, come in first to warm up." After finishing speaking, Shen Shi looked at Luo Mom gave her a glance, and Luo's mother understood, and the messenger hurriedly set up a chair in the hall.

The other people in the room couldn't tell from their expressions, but their eyes were full of confusion. The old madam had just sneered at the shameless third young master, but as long as he saluted, his attitude changed drastically.

In fact, they didn't understand that Shen Shi was young when the salute was popular decades ago, and even she herself had made such a salute to her elders, but when it was the younger generation's turn to salute her decades later, But there is no such tradition anymore, it is unavoidable to be unbalanced in my heart, and Ning Yuan just satisfies Shen's imbalance, Shen also gives balance to this junior who understands her thoughts, and instead of driving people back, please come in say.

Ning Yuan entered the main hall, lowered his eyebrows and sat down on the chair provided for him by Luo's mother, his gaze never forgetting to scan all kinds of people in the room.The eldest lady, Yan, was dressed in navy blue and silver thread, sitting dignifiedly on the lower left side of Shen, facing the most well-dressed Liu, and below her were all the aunts, young masters and young ladies. They sat next to their biological mother, only one of them was in the most different position——

Next to Shen's huanghuali soft couch, there was a small tea table, on which a pot of hot tea was warmed by a copper stove, and a young girl about the same age as Ning Yuan sat next to her, she looked very pretty and cute, In particular, a pair of eyes are watery and bright, like two black pearls, and a pink jacket with mink fur wrapped around her body is also very eye-catching.

Ning Yuan looked at her, and she was also looking back at Ning Yuan, and gently stretched her hand into the brocade quilt to rub Shen's feet.

Ning Yuan recognized this girl as Ning Pinger, the eldest daughter of the Liu family.Although she is a concubine, she is the most favored concubine in this mansion. She has a transparent personality and is well-behaved. For a well-known noble lady, it's no wonder that other juniors sat far away from Mrs. Chen, and she was the only one serving nearby.

"When I woke up in the morning, I found it strange that half of the snow in the yard had melted. After working on it for a long time, it turned out that there was something waiting here that even God couldn't see." Sitting not far from Mrs. Liu Aunt Zhang pulled out a silk handkerchief from her sleeve robe, slapped her nose in disgust, and whispered to herself: "This Shou'an Hall is always very clean, why did a moth fly in today? It made the poor and bad luck in the house even stronger."

Her voice was so low that Mrs. Shen couldn't hear her, but this undisguised accusation still made the nearby women and maids laugh.

Ning Yuan was calm and clear.Mrs. Zhang has always been attached to Mrs. Liu, and she is on the same side as her, so it is not surprising that she would sneer at herself, and since Mrs. Zhang spoke up, Mrs. Liu must be waiting behind.

Sure enough, as soon as Mrs. Zhang finished speaking, Mrs. Liu took over and said, "Yuan'er usually finds it difficult to see her once, but now she has grown up and has filial piety, and knows how to greet the old lady."

Liu's words were spoken with open voice, on the surface one could only hear the feeling of relief and praise, but in reality, she was mocking Ning Yuan for being unfilial and not knowing how to ask the old lady for help.

In fact, from the moment Ning Yuan appeared outside the Shou'an Hall, Liu Shi's complexion was not very good, because she had told Xia Zhu that no matter what, Ning Yuan could not let Ning Yuan lose face in front of the old lady.

So in the past, whenever Ning Yuan wanted to pay his respects to the old lady, Xia Zhu would immediately stop him, and at the same time told him that because of his biological mother Tang's relationship, the old lady disliked him very much, and if he went to Fushou Garden to pay his respects, he would only It will make the old lady angry, not only can't please, but also make his life more difficult.

At that time Ning Yuan was timid and ignorant, and Shen Shi had indeed issued a strict order to prohibit Tang Family from entering the Fushou Garden, so he didn't understand that this was a trick set up by Liu Family to weaken his weight in Shen Shi's heart.Therefore, except for the family banquets during the festivals, Ning Yuan never took the initiative to greet Shen, and this made Shen even more ignore the existence of this grandson, and those who bullied him had no worries and became more unscrupulous.

It's a pity that Mrs. Liu probably wouldn't know if she was thinking about it. Xia Zhu, the biggest nail she stuck around Ning Yuan, had already been pulled out by Ning Yuan's sharp knife.

The purpose of Liu's face-to-face ridicule is nothing more than to remind Shen that he is an unfilial grandson.Ning Yuan sneered in his heart. Since he came this time, he had thought of his speech, and he was not afraid of Liu's smile hiding a knife. He stood up and walked to Shen, and knelt down again with a salute, "Sun The son is not filial, and the grandson is overjoyed to ask the grandmother to accept the grandson's gift again."

Shen didn't ask him to get up immediately, but rather reproached him: "You child, it's probably the first time you've come to grandma's Fushouyuan."

"Grandmother, don't be angry. It's true that my grandson has been sick since he was a child. He has been afraid to come to pay his respects because he was afraid of giving his grandmother the sickness. It may be that he is getting older and healthier. I think it should be fine. Immediately came to see grandma, one is to pay her respects, and the other is to make amends." Ning Yuan knelt down and said.

"Ill?" Shen's brows frowned, "Since I was ill, why did I have no news at all? There is no reason why my grandson was ill, but my grandmother didn't know about it. Could it be that the servants in your yard were lazy and pretended to be lazy and didn't report to the higher authorities?" After finishing speaking, he looked at Yan Shi suspiciously: "This child is not in good health, don't you, the aunt, know about it?"

Yan stood up with a little panic, and was about to speak, but Ning Yuan took the conversation away, "Grandmother, don't blame mother, Yuan'er deliberately hid this matter from her. Mother has worked hard to take care of her elder brother, and Yuan'er is not a big deal. Serious illness, how can I make my mother worry about it. And the grandmother is the person who deserves the most happiness, and the grandson has no reason to bother the grandmother because of such a trivial matter. My son's crimes have been committed, so my grandson has been restraining my servants not to publicize this matter to the outside world."

Yan glanced at Ning Yuan in surprise, she knew the truth of the matter very well, she thought Ning Yuan would take advantage of the situation to sue, but she didn't expect him to be so savvy to help her down the stairs.

Shen's eyes softened a little, passed Yan's, and then looked at Liu: "Third daughter-in-law, the eldest has to take care of Zhan'er, and the second has never liked to take care of things. You have been in charge of the affairs of the house these few years. Yuan'er is sick, do you know?"

Mrs. Liu didn't know that Mrs. Shen would suddenly ask herself, so she was a little flustered for a while, so she just followed along and said, "I, I don't know..."

"Grandmother, there are so many people in the house, and everything is so complicated, it's impossible for my mother to pay attention to everything and take care of everything. Since the third brother wants to hide it, even the mother is kept in the dark, let alone mother, what do you think is the third brother?" Isn't it?" Ning Ping'er interjected at the right time, and also winked at Ning Yuan innocently by the way.

"What Sister Ping'er said is that as juniors, if we can make the elders less worried, it will be the greatest filial piety." Ning Yuan laughed along with him, but he was probably the only one with how much coldness there was in that smile The human body can understand,

Ning Yuan would not think that this apparently innocent concubine is a good-natured person. On the contrary, Ning Ping'er has a deep understanding of how meticulous and vicious her thoughts are. She is responsible for most of Liu's things. She makes plans behind her back, but she always pretends to be a typical lady in front of people. Ning Yuan was once deceived by her appearance, thinking that she is an easy-going younger sister, so she fell into Liu's schemes time and time again. Until finally, Ning Ruhai ordered her to be sent out of the Ning Mansion.

"Forget it, it's hard for you child to have such filial piety. Now that your health is getting better, you should come to grandma more often in the future. Grandma doesn't care about sickness and the like, and how can a grandmother despise her own grandson? Makes sense." Shen nodded, unconsciously taking a few more glances at this grandson whom she had hardly seen before, and saw that although he was thin and thin, his features were clear and handsome, and his eyes were even more heroic, revealing a composure that did not match his age, Even kneeling, her back is still straight, a bit more courageous than Ning Ruhai's when she was a child, and a little love overflows her heart.

"Get up first. I've been kneeling on the ground for a long time, and my feet are cold." After Shen finished speaking, she got up from the couch with a smile, and stretched out her hand to support Ning Yuan's arm to help him up, but she felt that the tentacles were cold At that time, he couldn't help frowning, and said coldly: "What kind of people are serving you on weekdays, why are we the young masters of Ning Mansion, just wear old clothes, and you are still wearing such thin clothes in the cold weather, your winter clothes Woolen cloth?"

Ning Yuan seemed to be taken aback, quickly withdrew his hand, and said evasively: "Yes...it's my grandson who forgot to wear it in a hurry when he went out, so don't turn off people's business..."

Shen is not stupid, even though Ning Yuan said so, it doesn't mean she will believe it.Just now I heard that Ning Yuan was sick, but the daughter-in-law in charge asked me all kinds of questions, which already aroused her suspicion. A lady from a rich family like her always pays attention to the reputation of her family. If you don't see it on weekdays, you can ignore it, but as long as you see it, you can find it. There was something about the harsh treatment of the concubine's children in the mansion, and it was not only unpleasant to hear it, but she couldn't hold back her old face.

Ning Yuan obviously had been wronged, but he didn't intend to complain at all. Instead, he took the matter to himself again and again, taking care of the face of his elders. Because of this, she was particularly annoyed that someone in the mansion was deceiving.

It's just that Ning Yuan has already said that, and she is not easy to get angry. In addition to praising Ning Yuan for being sensible, she took off her fox fur cloak and put it on Ning Yuan, "What a silly child, remember to come out next time." Wear more, if you freeze yourself, it will still be grandma who will feel distressed."

This drape is tantamount to sending a signal to everyone sitting here that she recognizes this grandson. If anyone wants to slap Ning Yuan in the future, they must first see if they can pass the eyes of her old lady. .

For a moment, everyone in the room had their own expressions. Most of the aunts without children had the mentality of watching the excitement. Yan's face was always calm, but there was a strange look in his eyes looking at Ning Yuan. Only Liu's, Not only was her face livid, but the handkerchief hidden in her sleeve robe was also clumped into a ball by her bulging hands.

007 Please enter the urn

Ning Yuan thanked Mrs. Shen, turned around and sat down in the seat. Mother Luo brought tea at this time. Ning Yuan took the tea cup, lifted the tea cover, and dusted it very carefully.

"This is the new Pu'er that your second brother gave to grandma, and it was cooked by your little sister Ping'er herself. Your sister Ping'er's tea cooking skills are absolutely superb. You should try it." Shen said with a smile.

"Very fragrant tea!" Ning Yuan only took a sip, and said pleasantly: "It must be Pu'er made in spring this year. The tea's fragrance is much stronger than that made in autumn. It's still sweet in the mouth, and it's been steamed and boiled three times. There is no bitterness left.”

"Third brother has a good tongue." Before Shen could speak, Ning Ping'er said sharply and smartly: "Last year, there was a freeze in Yunzhou and the tea production was reduced. This year, there are not many Pu'er produced in spring, and most of them are taken as tributes. Sent to Huajing, if it wasn't for the second elder brother's ability, ordinary people might not be able to see him."

When Ning Pinger said these words, it sounded ordinary, but inside she was mocking Ning Yuan's low status, and he could never drink such good tea on weekdays.Ning Yuan just pretended not to understand, looked at her with a smile on his face and said: "Sister Ping'er said that thanks to the filial piety of the second brother, grandma can have such a good mouth, and us juniors are also blessed." It is." After speaking, he smiled even wider, and did not hide the slyness in the corner of his eyes at all.

Ning Ping'er's heart skipped a beat, and she immediately looked at Shen Shi, and sure enough, she saw that Shen Shi's face looked ugly.

As the old lady of the Ning Mansion, Shen has a royal order, and her status is very noble, but this year Yunzhou's tea production has decreased, and if Ningxiang hadn't sent this spring Pu'er, she really wouldn't be able to drink it.Ning Yuan's seemingly casual sentence just rightly aroused Shen's sensitive nerves: As a grandmother, the tea she drinks is not as good as her grandson's. If tea leaves are like this, what about other things?Could it be that Ning Xiang is a concubine, but lives a better and more comfortable life than her grandmother?

In fact, Ning Ping'er didn't mean that, it was just that Ning Yuan had calculated Shen's haughty temper, and pushed the boat along the way, and it sounded like that to Shen's ears.Ning Pinger said inwardly that she was not good, and she was about to stand up and apologize immediately, but Shen Shi had already put down the teacup in her hand, and said to Mother Luo: "After all, it is aged Pu'er, no matter how well cooked, the astringency is I went, but the musty smell couldn't be stopped, and I couldn't get used to drinking it, so go and get me another Longjing."

"That's right, my grandson heard that Grandma's Longjing is the best quality, and the price of a cup is comparable to a bucket of gold, and Pu'er is nothing more than that, so my grandson of Longjing must ask grandma for a cup with a calm face." Ning Yuan She coquettishly addressed Shen Shi with the typical coquettish tone of young people.

After hearing this, Shen's froze face came back again.