Chapter 68: Did you fall into the water when you were a child?
At night, Jiang Lan sat in front of the bronze mirror combing her hair, thinking about what Qi Wuhan had said to her during the day.
He said that if she encountered any trouble in the future and he was not in the capital at that time, she could come to Huajian Cottage to find the owner there, who owed him a favor.
She asked him if he was going to leave the capital again, but he asked her nonchalantly if she was reluctant to leave him. After making her blush, he asked her seriously when he could come to propose marriage.
She was too embarrassed to mention the specific date, and blushed and said to wait a little longer. He coaxed her to give an answer, otherwise he would come to propose marriage tomorrow. She blushed and said she would wait for her elder brother to come back.
"Okay, when big brother comes back, I will come to propose marriage."
This was Qi Wuhan’s reply at the time.
Jiang Lan was lost in thought as she pondered this sentence. Her face turned red again as she thought about it. She glanced at the face in the bronze mirror, and there was a smile between her eyebrows.
Looking at the smiling face in the mirror, she curled up her lips into a smile again, and her heart leaped with joy, as if a lark was singing happily in her heart...
Then she saw from the mirror that Qing'er and Gui'er were both laughing, so she put away the smile and looked back at them. They both turned around to tidy up the bedding on the bed, patting the bedding that had already been laid out here and there, pretending to be very busy.
When Jiang Lan came over to rest, Qing'er told her something.
This morning, Aunt Liu, who is in charge of the small kitchen, came over and brought over specially made mung bean cakes. Qing'er didn't tell her that Jiang Lan was out, and asked her what was the matter?
Aunt Liu said that she remembered that Jiang Lan loved to eat this mung bean cake when she was a child. Now that the weather is hot, this mung bean cake is just right for clearing away heat and relieving summer heat. She wanted to bring it into the house, but was stopped by Qing'er.
Qing'er said that Jiang Lan felt a little sleepy after breakfast and rested in the house. Aunt Liu did not go in to disturb her. She told Qing'er that if she wanted to eat anything in the future, she could just tell her, and then she took the mung bean cake back.
"I think she just wants to curry favor with the young lady. I've never seen her so attentive to come and bring food before?" Gui'er was quite dissatisfied with Aunt Liu's behavior of trying to get close to her. Before, she had to say nice things and even pay money to ask her to do something good, making her act like a master. Now she only knows how to curry favor with others. She is really a fence-sitter.
Qing'er analyzed, "It must be because the Madam is gone, and our mansion is now run by the Young Lady. She's afraid that the Young Lady will come after her, so she's desperately trying to please the Young Lady."
While the two were talking, Jiang Lan was thinking about something.
After Qing'er finished speaking, she asked Aunt Liu how long she had been in the mansion. Gui'er shook her head and said she didn't know. Qing'er said that she was an old man in the mansion and had been here longer than her. She then remembered one thing and said that she had a little daughter who was heard to be sick before. She wondered if she was still in the mansion now?
Gui'er stamped her feet in anger, not knowing what she was thinking. "I know. She must be trying to force her daughter into our courtyard to serve the young lady. She wants her to be around the young lady and eat and dress well. She's really calculating!"
Qing'er said, "Then I'll go over tomorrow to see if he's still in the mansion."
Jiang Lan thought about it and asked Qing'er to invite Aunt Liu over tomorrow, as she had something to ask her.
The next day after breakfast, Qing'er invited people over. When Aunt Liu saw Jiang Lan, she exclaimed exaggeratedly, "Oh my God! Miss has really changed a lot since she grew up. She has become more beautiful than the person in the painting~"
Seeing Aunt Liu's exaggerated look as if she had never seen the world, Qing'er smiled secretly. Gui'er became even more annoyed and muttered, "What a flatterer."
After hearing the exaggerated compliments, Jiang Lan also said politely: "I heard that my aunt is an elder in the mansion."
Aunt Liu agreed quickly and smiled even more attentively.
Jiang Lan gestured, and Qing'er brought a stool for her to sit on. Aunt Liu looked even more pleased, and after sitting down, her back straightened a little. Then Qing'er pulled Gui'er's clothes. Although Gui'er was reluctant to leave, Jiang Lan had instructed her before, so she left with Qing'er.
After coming out, Gui'er was worried that Jiang Lan would be deceived by Aunt Liu's sweet words, and looked worried. Qing'er joked that she was worrying too much.
"Don't worry, the young lady is smarter than all of us. Even if Aunt Liu says a lot of sweet words, she can't fool the young lady."
In the room, Jiang Lan mentioned yesterday's mung bean cake and asked about her childhood. She said that she couldn't even remember eating mung bean cake when she was a child.
Aunt Liu immediately opened up and talked to her incessantly, saying that she was very well-behaved and sensible when she was a child, and never cried or made a fuss, unlike other children who were naughty and mischievous. She also said that she played well with her little daughter Zhu'er and even taught Zhu'er to recognize words.
Seeing that the topic turned to her youngest daughter, Jiang Lan asked if Zhu'er was still in the house. At this time, she noticed that Aunt Liu's expression became a little unnatural, as if there was some hidden secret.
Aunt Liu then said flatteringly that Zhu'er was hardworking and honest, and she would be very grateful if Jiang Lan could teach her more.
Jiang Lan thought about it and asked Aunt Liu to bring the person over tomorrow so that she could take a look and make a decision.
Aunt Liu felt that this was almost certain, and she was excited to go back and tell Zhu'er the good news. Just as she stood up to leave, Jiang Lan asked another question.
"Aunt, do you remember if I fell into the water when I was a child?"
Aunt Liu was obviously surprised when she heard this question.
Jiang Lan knew the answer from her reaction. Ever since she was pushed into the water by Cui Jingshu and her group at the General's Mansion last time, some scattered and vague fragments would occasionally emerge in her mind, giving her the impression: Did she also fall into the water when she was a child?
Aunt Liu thought about it for a while and felt that so many years had passed and there was nothing she couldn't say now, so she told Jiang Lan everything she knew at that time.
Jiang Lan was only six years old at that time. Her grandmother passed away that year, and Jiang Shen also rushed back from the academy.
Although the academy had an unreasonable rule that no one was allowed to ask for leave regardless of whether it was a happy occasion or a funeral, it was not unreasonable. When Jiang Shen explained the reason for his leave to the principal, the principal approved it.
When an elder passes away, it is the responsibility of the younger generation to go home and pay tribute to him. This is the moral code of human relations.
There was a funeral going on in the mansion at the time. The servants were not paying attention and let Jiang Lan run away by herself. As a result, she accidentally fell into the water. Fortunately, Jiang Shen found her in time and rescued her. After that, she was in a coma for two days. The servants in the mansion thought she would never wake up and were preparing for another funeral.
Fortunately, God was kind and she woke up, but she had amnesia after waking up. The doctor said that she might have hit her head when she fell into the water.
Afterwards, Zhang ordered everyone in the mansion not to mention this matter again, so as to prevent Jiang Lan from remembering it and getting scared again. Anyone who violated the order would be beaten with twenty sticks and then expelled from the mansion.
So no one dared to mention this matter in front of Jiang Lan, and she couldn't remember it, so she had no memory of it at all.
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