Chapter 122 Locust Swarm
The Second Master and Lu Yunzhang, among others, understood what was happening.
Lu Yunzhang hurriedly looked around, but seeing only servants in the courtyard, he couldn't see Siqin anywhere, and his heart skipped a beat.
Although he did not sleep with Siqin that day, everyone in the mansion had already tacitly agreed that Siqin was his concubine. Even if he was unwilling to touch her body again, it did not mean that the girl could turn around and serve other masters.
Before he could figure it out, he saw Madam Wei summon the servants in the courtyard, intending to use force again.
Seeing this, the second master hurriedly stepped forward and scolded, "All of you, calm down! Don't you know what time it is? You're making a scene over a girl? You're making a fool of yourselves in front of the eldest branch of the family. Aren't you ashamed?"
After stopping everyone, the Second Master turned to the Fourth Master and said, "Fourth Master, why don't you tell me what happened?"
Seeing the second master praising his elder brother, the fourth master blushed, rubbed his nose, and stepped forward with a smile, saying:
"Second brother and sister-in-law, please calm down. It's just a small matter and not worth mentioning. It's all my wife's fault for being so unreasonable and disturbing your sweet dreams so early in the morning. I apologize on your behalf."
Second Master: "Enough with the nonsense!"
Madam Ma yelled again, "What else could it be? That slut Siqin from your second wife shamelessly climbed into our master's bed last night! Ah—I can't live anymore!"
Mrs. Ma sat down on the ground and started howling again.
As soon as these words were spoken, the masters and servants who were watching the commotion in the courtyard immediately stirred up annoyance. The masters all looked constipated, while the servants lowered their heads and began exchanging knowing glances.
Second Master: ...
The fourth master raised his head, and his gaze met that of his eldest nephew, Lu Yunzhang.
Seeing the other person's cuckolded expression, the Fourth Master felt somewhat embarrassed. He naturally knew that Siqin had almost been taken as a concubine by his eldest nephew, and even if it didn't work out in the end, she was still his nephew's woman.
It's a bit...uncle-in-law taking his nephew's concubine.
The fourth master stopped looking at his nephew, took a few steps closer to the second master, and whispered, "Second brother, is it really necessary to argue about this in front of all the servants in the courtyard? Why don't we go inside and discuss it?"
The second master knew this was a shameful matter, easy to talk about but difficult to hear, and with all the servants in the courtyard watching, it was truly embarrassing. So he glared fiercely at his good-for-nothing younger brother and said:
"Alright, fourth sister-in-law, stop crying. Come inside. Since things have come to this, there has to be a solution. Instead of making a scene here, let's sit down and talk about how to handle this."
After saying that, he flicked his sleeves and went into the main room first.
Wei was so angry that her liver hurt. What had she done to cause such a scene so early in the morning?
He glared at Madam Ma, who was still sitting on the ground, and said to the old woman beside him, "Find that slut Siqin back for me. Everyone else, go do what you were supposed to do. Let's see who's so clueless as to stand here and watch their master's show."
As soon as Madam Wei spoke, the servants scattered and went about their own business.
Soon, several old women escorted Siqin, who was dressed in a new outfit, into the room.
The two families sat in the main room and talked for a long time. In the end, the second family gave Siqin to the fourth family to deal with as they saw fit, while the fourth family gave the indenture of another maid, Ling'er, to the second family, as if they had exchanged the two maids. They would never mention the matter again.
Upon returning to the fourth household, the fourth master announced in front of Madam Ma that Siqin would henceforth be his concubine.
Siqin hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed, and Madam Ma started crying and making a scene again.
But no matter how much trouble Madam Ma caused, she couldn't outrun the Fourth Master, who was even more unruly than her. Now that they were back in their own courtyard, the couple were both more prone to throwing tantrums than the other.
In the end, the story concludes with the fourth master having an extra maidservant.
When the news reached the eldest branch of the family, Yu Qingci and the others were initially shocked, but quickly dismissed it as a joke. After a few words of discussion, they stopped paying attention to it.
The aftermath of the taking over of the concubines lasted for several days before it subsided. Soon after, news came that the second and fourth wives had chosen auspicious days to move.
This time it was really time to move out. Wei and Ma no longer cared about appearances. For several days, they led their servants to pack their belongings and valuables. They took everything they could carry from inside and outside the courtyard, leaving only the doors, windows and floors in all the houses.
The yard was even more outrageous. The potted plants under the eaves, the flowers and plants that could be dug up and taken away, and even the large water tank placed outside the small kitchen were all taken.
It was even cleaner and more efficient than a locust swarm passing through.
He went to see Yu Qingci again, but his question was about the things that the eldest son's men had taken when they searched the courtyard.
Yu Qingci didn't waste any more words and sent Granny Wang to return the received items intact.
After a few chaotic days, they finally decided to move out without any regard for auspicious days.
Since they hadn't offered any help, Yu Qingci wouldn't rush to send servants to assist them. She simply instructed Steward Lu to have the gatekeeper guard the entrance and to carefully inspect all items to be taken out, confiscating anything that didn't belong to their two households.
But seeing the huge entourage of the two families, the gatekeeper was dumbfounded. Should he stop them or not?
In the end, Butler Lu waved his hand and said: "The master doesn't care about those little things. Just consider it a loss to avoid trouble."
Besides, they've lived in that courtyard for so many years, and even if they don't take the furniture, decorations, bottles, and jars, Yu Qingci would probably have them all cleaned up.
So the moving procession, in a grand and imposing manner, fled out of the general's mansion as if fleeing a disaster.
The next day, Madam Ning, her daughter-in-law, and her daughter sat down for a comfortable breakfast.
Madam Ning sighed, "Finally, it's quiet. From now on, it will just be the three of us, mother and son, relying on each other and living our lives behind closed doors."
Lu Yun Chu: "Isn't this great? From now on, my sister-in-law and I will be there to keep my mother company, and no one will cause us any more trouble. Life couldn't be better."
Yu Qingci also chimed in with a few flattering words.
Madam Ning's smile widened, and she said to Yu Qingci:
“I think the best thing I ever did was to welcome you into the house. From now on, you will be in charge of everything in this mansion. This old woman will live in the small Buddhist shrine in my courtyard, where I will eat vegetarian food, chant Buddhist prayers, and pray for the souls of the father and son.”
As she spoke, Madam Ning's eyes reddened again.
Yu Qingci's heart stirred. She had never told anyone except her mother that the young general would come back alive three years later, including Old Madam Ning.
After all, the idea of living two lives is unbelievable to most people, and she dared not take the risk.
Moreover, even if the mother-in-law believes what she says, given her personality, she will definitely be anxious and worried all day long after finding out, which will be bad for her health. Besides, she also has to be wary of the second and fourth wives.
Now that the mansion is quiet, perhaps we can give my mother-in-law something to look forward to.
Yu Qingci carefully chose her words before speaking: "Mother, actually, I've always felt that the young general might not be dead."
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