Despite this, Chen and Yu Tang both felt like they were sitting on pins and needles, and this was not a place to stay for long. The two of them discussed and decided to go and tell Lei Zhi to go to the Pei family's vegetarian banquet in advance.
Who knew that when they went out, they saw a group of servants unloading boxes and cages.
From the tone of voice, it seemed that Mrs. Pei's sister-in-law, Mrs. Yang, came to pay her respects and was arranged to stay in a guest room not far from here.
No wonder I heard such a loud noise just now.
Chen and Yu Tang were afraid of attracting other people's attention, so they quietly found Leizhi and said goodbye to her.
Leizhi thought that the mother and daughter felt too lonely there, and as the meal would soon begin, he dropped what he was doing and led them to the hall where lunch was to be served.
It was noon in summer and the sun was glaring, but the big trees on both sides of the Pei family corridor blocked out the sun, and a cool breeze blew, making it very comfortable.
From a distance, Yu Tang saw several men walking towards him from the corridor opposite.
The man in the middle was about 23 or 24 years old, with an upright figure. He was wearing mourning clothes, had a pale face, a high nose bridge, and a slightly raised chin. Although he looked arrogant, there was a gloom between his brows.
It turned out to be the man in blue whom I met in the pawnshop that day.
Yu Tang's eyes widened.
He, why is he here?
This is the inner courtyard of the Pei family!
Leizhi hurriedly pulled at the corner of Yu Tang's clothes and said in a hurry: "Miss Yu, this is our Third Elder and his friend. You, please step aside."
The Third Elder?!
The third elder of the Pei family? !
No way?!
Yu Tang looked at Lei Zhi, then at the person opposite him, and suspected that he was dazzled and had ringing ears.
Leizhi saw that Yutang was staring at the Third Elder without blinking, and he was so anxious that sweat broke out all over his forehead. He didn't care about being rude anymore, and pulled Yutang to the corner of the corridor.
Seeing this, Chen stood in front of Yu Tang.
Pei Yan walked through the corridor opposite without looking around.
However, several of the men following behind him turned around to look at Yu Tang.
Yu Tang didn't notice all this. She was still in shock that the man in blue was the third elder of the Pei family.
When Leizhi led her forward, she still couldn't believe it and asked Leizhi, "Third Master, how come you are so young?"
Leizhi said: "The third old master is the old master's son."
She knew he was old!
But she didn't know he looked so young!
At first, she had guessed that he was the young master of the other two branches.
And they still treat him as a relative of the Pei family.
No wonder he didn't look happy at that time.
Yu Tang blushed and asked, "At what age did your Third Elder pass the imperial examination and become a scholar?"
Leizhi said: "Twenty-one years old."
It's not her fault.
Her father was still a student when he was twenty-one years old.
Yu Tang pouted.
Chen stopped her daughter and said, "Don't be rude! Just go on your way."
It is very rude to criticize the Pei family in the Pei family.
Yu Tang had no choice but to shut up.
Mrs. Chen was still worried and said, "You promised me not to cause trouble. No matter how curious you are, just bear with it."
Yu Tang nodded helplessly.
Leizhi heard the hidden meaning in the mother and daughter's conversation and asked nervously, "What happened?"
Chen said, "It's okay, it's okay. This little girl of mine is just too curious."
Leizhi's eyes flashed with a smile, and she said, "Everyone who sees our Third Elder will be very surprised. Miss Yu is not the first." As she spoke, she glanced behind her and whispered, "The Third Elder is probably going to visit Madam Yang."
"Visiting Madam Yang?" Yu Tang asked, looking a little strange.
Are Master Pei San and Madam Yang so good?
"It's our eldest wife's sister-in-law." Lei Zhi said, "Our eldest wife's brother is the Tongzhengshi in the Tongzhengsi, and he is a third-rank official!" Speaking of this, Lei Zhi looked around for a moment, and seeing that there was no one around, he showed a look of contempt and said, "Just now, Madam Yang was not feeling well, saying that the arranged courtyard was not good, and asked the chief steward to help change it. The chief steward was also, reporting this small matter to the third elder - because of the old lady's matter, the third elder has not eaten or drunk well these days, and has not slept all the time. He was upset, and the chief steward bumped into him. Just wait and see, the chief steward is going to eat the first line."
I wonder if this is part of Madam Yang's plan?
Yu Tang pondered secretly.
Chen was terrified when she heard this and whispered, "Maybe the chief steward can't handle Madam Yang either?"
"Mrs. Yang is not that kind of person!" Lei Zhi said disapprovingly, "The chief steward is a bit of a senior bully, but the third master is the last to fall for it. In the past, he had Old An to protect him, but now Old An is sick because of the old lady's affairs, who has time to take care of him! He doesn't even realize what time it is!"
What is going on here?
Neither Chen nor Yu Tang knew what to say. Chen said a few words in agreement with Lei Zhi and then went to the hall where the banquet was set.
The hall was filled with hot steam and was crowded with people.
Yu Tang saw several familiar faces, they should be their neighbors.
Perhaps it was because they had left the mourning hall that the sadness faded away quickly. Everyone was talking and laughing, and the hall was noisy and lively. It didn't feel like a funeral but more like a wedding banquet.
Yu Tang recalled the look on Master Pei's face just now, and the grief she felt when she received the news of her parents' death in her previous life, and she couldn't help but sigh.
Only true relatives can feel such heart-wrenching grief.
Leizhi arranged Chen and Yutang to sit at the back table.
It was quieter there, with a breeze, and cooler. The people sitting at the table were all women from some of the country gentry in Lin'an City. One of them was a round-faced little girl, about the same age as Yu Tang. When she saw her, she greeted her with a smile and wanted to sit with her.
It took Yu Tang a long time to recognize that she was Ma Xiuniang, the daughter of Ma Xiucai from the city.
At this time in the previous life, they had a good time. When she got married, Ma Xiuniang had already married a student named Zhang, who specially asked someone to bring her a pair of silver bracelets worth five taels of silver as a safe deposit, and also brought her a message, telling her to come to her if she had any difficulties.
But later on, the Li family became cruel, and she was afraid of implicating Ma Xiuniang, so she did not dare to contact her. Until her death, she did not have the time to thank her.
Yu Tang's eyes were moist. He held Ma Xiuniang's hand and sat beside her.
Madam Ma, the wife of Mr. Ma, said to Chen: "Look at these two girls, they are as close as one person. It seems that even if we were the Queen Mother of the River, we would have to separate them."
Chen couldn't help laughing.
Ma Xiuniang asked Yu Tang: "Where have you been? I was looking for you just now."
Yu Tang said, "I'm in the mansion! Where were you just now? I didn't see you either."
Ma Xiuniang muttered: "This is strange."
Yu Tang changed the subject and asked, "When did you come? We haven't seen each other for a while. What have you been busy with?"
Ma Xiuniang talked about her own story.
Seeing that Yu Tang was very cautious, Chen heaved a sigh of relief and started chatting with Mrs. Ma.
Yu Tang seemed a little absent-minded when listening.
She was still thinking about Master Pei San.
I never dreamed that he was the legendary leader of the Pei family.
She had been worried that he would take the wrong side in this dispute, but who knew that he was the kind of person who would not accept any loss.
In his previous life, he not only firmly occupied the position of the clan leader, but also made the Pei family's children who were officials outside run around in circles.
Later, the Pei family produced two more Jinshi, one was the eldest son of the eldest branch, and the other was the Chan son of another branch.
The eldest son of the eldest branch is suppressed by him, I wonder if the young master of the other branch is supported by him?
To be honest, he had not considered her taking advantage of the Pei family's reputation before, and she still owed him a favor.
She originally thought that he was a young master from some branch of the family, and that she could thank him by finding a famous painting or antique to give him. But now he was the third master of the Pei family, and even if she found a famous painting or antique, she was afraid that he would not be interested in it.
Otherwise, should she just pretend that this incident never happened? Should she just pretend that she didn't know his identity?
Whenever Yu Tang thought of the man in blue as the third elder of the Pei family who was hiding behind the Pei family and shrouding Lin'an City like a shadow, she felt as if she was on the edge of an abyss, trembling with fear, and felt that she would face unknown danger at any time.
Alas, the third elder of the Pei family has so many things to do. I hope he has forgotten her and what she did.
However, his expression was much gloomier than the last time she saw him. In the past, he gave her the impression of being cold and distant. But now, he gave her the impression of being violent and impetuous. He seemed calm, but in fact he was very unhappy. Like a tightly tied string, it seemed that he might lose his mind at any time because he could not be tied.
Was it his father's death?
She was sad when her parents died, but not as sad as he was.
The death of Old Lady Pei seemed to have taken away something in him that made him calm and peaceful.
She felt more pain when her parents died.
The relationship between the third elder of the Pei family and the old lady of the Pei family must be very good.
Yu Tang was sighing in her heart, when she suddenly realized that Ma Xiuniang shook her hand and said, "I was talking to you just now, didn't you hear me? What are you thinking about?"
She immediately came to her senses and said, "Sorry, I was thinking about something else. What do you want to tell me? I'm listening!"
Ma Xiuniang did not pursue the matter and said, "I said there will be a temple fair at Zhaoming Temple in ten days. Do you want to go with me?"
If she hadn't mentioned it, Yu Tang would have really forgotten about it.
In the previous life, the second son of the Li family, Li Jun, was said to have taken a glimpse of her at the temple fair of Zhaoming Temple and fell in love with her, determined to marry her no matter what. The Li family considered that he was not the son who could inherit the family business, so they reluctantly agreed to the marriage and invited a matchmaker to propose marriage.
In this life, she no longer wants to have anything to do with the Li family.
"I won't go." Yu Tang said, "You know my mother is not in good health. I want to stay at home with my mother."
Ma Xiuniang nodded to show her understanding. Chen, who had heard a few words from the side, said, "It's a rare opportunity for Xiuniang to ask you out to play, so just go! We have Mrs. Chen at home."
In her previous life, her mother also encouraged her to go out and play in this way.
Yu Tang's eyes were slightly moist, and he said, "I don't want to go. The weather is too hot. I'd better stay at home. Otherwise I'll get a heat stroke."
After hearing this, Mrs. Ma scolded Ma Xiuniang, "Look at Atang, you should stay at home and not go anywhere."
"Mom!" Ma Xiuniang was struck by lightning. She begged for a long time, but Mrs. Ma did not agree.
Yu Tang blushed and said, "Why don't you come to my house and play! What's fun in the temple? It's so hot that the ice cream will melt in your hands. Come to my house and I'll ask my father to buy us some ice cream and some melons from the well."
Ma Xiuniang immediately agreed happily and talked to her excitedly about the visit.