Chapter 86 Encountering the Scumbag Again
Even the slow-witted Ren Yuqingci sensed something was amiss, and even Tong'er and Lian Qiao, who were following her, could see that something was fishy. Tong'er muttered to herself:
"Why haven't we always run into Second Master before?"
Lu Yunbo pretended not to hear, smiled slightly and said to Yu Qingci, "No, it's not that. I just came back from my shift outside. I was thinking of paying my respects to my aunt before going back. I didn't expect to run into my sister-in-law here. It's just a coincidence."
Yu Qingci remained indifferent, not wanting to say more: "My second cousin is busy, so I won't disturb him any longer. I'll take my leave first."
Just as he was about to leave, Lu Yunbo spoke up again: "While tidying up the study yesterday, I found something that my third cousin used to use. Now that he's gone, I think it would be better to return his things to his wife."
The road wasn't actually narrow, but Lu Yunbo always intentionally or unintentionally blocked her way, preventing her from taking another step forward. Hearing Lu Yunbo say this, Yu Qingci couldn't help but look up at him, then lowered her eyes. Her long, thick eyelashes made people want to reach out and touch them.
Lu Yunbo's heart trembled again upon seeing this.
Yu Qingci: "In that case, I will have a maid go to my second cousin's courtyard to fetch it later."
Lu Yunbo kept his eyes fixed on Yu Qingci and said in a low voice:
"Sister-in-law, aren't you going to ask what it is?"
Yu Qingci: "Didn't my second cousin say that these are my husband's things? If my second cousin feels it's inappropriate, then there's no need to return them. I have other things to do, so I'll take my leave."
After saying that, he walked straight past Lu Yunbo and left quickly.
As Lu Yunbo watched her departing figure, he felt secretly pleased with himself. He considered himself handsome and dashing, and he knew that countless women would be captivated by him if he so desired.
The third sister-in-law is young and looks naive, having never experienced love before. As long as he persists in showing her affection, he doesn't need to worry about her not being moved in the future. She's a beautiful young woman in her prime; she can't really live a life of widowhood for a dead man.
As long as they still live in the same mansion, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future, no rush.
When she arrived at Songbai Hall, Lu Yun Chu was already there. Seeing her come in, he hurriedly went up to her with a playful smile and said:
"Sister-in-law, you haven't been as early as me these past two days."
Madam Ning smiled reproachfully, "You've only been arriving early these past two days. When have you ever been able to compare to your sister-in-law in any other place? And you still have the nerve to talk back."
Lu Yun Chu deliberately acted coquettishly towards her mother, complaining that her mother favored her sister-in-law.
After laughing and joking for a while, Madam Ning said, "I'll have someone tidy up the inner warm room. It's been too cold outside these past few days, and the outer room isn't as warm as the inner one. We'll move to the inner warm room later, so that we won't have to keep running around to different places."
In the past, after they finished their discussions in the council hall, they would return to the main hall, look at the account books in the outer room of the main hall, and eat in the main hall. Now that Old Madam Ning had spoken, the two younger ones naturally nodded in agreement.
The three entered the warm pavilion, and Yu Qingci casually mentioned her recent encounter with Lu Yunbo.
Upon hearing this, Lu Yun Chu frowned and said, "What a coincidence! Their courtyard is on the west side, and they can't possibly come all the way to our side by entering and exiting through the second gate. How could we possibly run into them every day for several days in a row?"
Madam Ning also asked in confusion, "Could it be that he has also decided to adopt someone else and is trying to start with you?"
Lu Yun Chu: "He's dreaming! If you ask me, we should separate them out as soon as possible so that we can have peace of mind."
Madam Ning knew perfectly well that her daughter was right, but the eldest branch had raised these people for so many years that they had long since ruined them. Now they only knew how to cling to the eldest branch and desperately squeeze them out of them. How could they easily agree to separate from the family and live separately?
Yu Qingci: "I wrote to my father about wanting to divide the family property. He told us to just do it and that he would definitely help us when the time came."
Madam Ning nodded slowly: "That would be good. If we really want to divide the family, we can only invite the elders of the clan to sit in. If your second and fourth uncles make a fuss, the elders may not be able to control them. However, the Nanping Marquis's family is of high status, and the Marquis of Nanping himself is of noble status and a powerful minister. If the Marquis of Nanping comes forward, your second and fourth uncles will not dare to be too presumptuous."
This is something you really need to discuss with your father as soon as possible.
Yu Qingci: "Yes, daughter-in-law understands."
When a family divides its property, they usually invite close elders or people of high status to witness the division. Therefore, if the General's Mansion were to divide its property, it would be necessary to invite people to come, such as elders from the clan or old friends of high status. The Marquis of Nanping's family, as a relative by marriage, would be the most suitable.
That evening, Yu Qingci wrote another letter to her father and then handed it to Granny Pei, instructing her to deliver it to her mother at the Su residence.
Unless it was something particularly urgent, she would usually send the letter to her mother instead of directly to the Marquis of Nanping's residence, so that her father would see it when he visited her mother.
She felt no sense of belonging to the Earl's mansion.
The next day, Granny Pei left the mansion with the letter and stayed outside until the afternoon before returning.
Upon seeing Yu Qingci, he happily said, "What a coincidence today! When I went there, I happened to run into the Earl. The Earl told me to rest assured, young mistress, that he would be there whenever we called, as long as we had arranged the division of the family property. Moreover, he would also invite several of the deceased general's old friends to be present."
The people invited by the Earl will undoubtedly be high-ranking and powerful figures who can absolutely control the situation. Even if the second and fourth branches of the family are left alone, they won't dare to cause any trouble.
Yu Qingci felt relieved upon hearing this; as long as there were no problems with her father, everything would be fine.
Then he asked about his mother's recent condition.
Pei Mama replied with a smile, "Madam is doing well. Although the Lord doesn't visit Madam every day, he sends people to deliver things to her from time to time. The servants are also very dedicated. Although Madam lives alone and it's a bit lonely, there are gains and losses, and she lives a relaxed and comfortable life."
Oh, and there's also the Seventh Young Master, who is now a disciple of Master Li. These days the weather has been bad, with heavy snow making the roads difficult to travel, so Master Li decided to let the Seventh Young Master stay on the mountain for a while.
"It's quite a coincidence, but yesterday the Seventh Young Master also sent a letter home to let us know he's safe and sound. He said he's been studying the classics with his teacher every day, understanding many principles and benefiting greatly, and told Madam not to worry about him."
Upon hearing this, Yu Qingci felt even more at ease. As long as her mother and younger brother were safe and sound, she had no worries.
After dinner, Guanlan Courtyard closed its gates early, and Pei Mama, Tong'er, Lianqiao, and the others gathered around Yu Qingci to learn how to play chess.
Yu Qingci planned to train these people's chess skills so that they would have something to do to pass the time during the long nights.
Granny Pei chuckled and declined, saying that she was too old and her mind was too dull to learn these elegant games. Instead, she volunteered to serve them tea and water, and the mistress and servants enjoyed themselves immensely.
Just then, a maidservant came to report: "A maidservant named Bi'er who serves the Second Master in the West Courtyard has come to see the Young Madam. She said that the Second Master asked her to return something."
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