Chapter 3156: Send Away
When Aunt Qi and her daughter were taken to the county government office, their faces were completely pale. Aunt Qi was even trembling and could only barely stand steady.
The yamen runner who led them here met County Magistrate Dong's accusing gaze and immediately said, "I didn't bully them. I just told them that the master wanted to see them, and they frightened themselves like this."
County Lieutenant Dong waved his hand and said, "Forget it, bring the person in. You are too slow on the road. It's already noon."
County Magistrate Dong brought the pale-faced mother and daughter to the lobby. Bai Shancai had just tried two cases and mediated a neighborhood dispute. When he saw Aunt Qi and her daughter, he closed the file in his hand.
Aunt Qi was terrified. Before she even reached him, she dropped to her knees and said, "Please spare my life, sir. I know I was wrong."
Bai Shan was about to speak: ...
This move was so fast that it rendered his move completely useless.
Aunt Qi's daughter also quickly knelt down, lowered her head and trembled.
Because she was not very old, Bai Shan swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue and said coldly: "Get up and talk."
Aunt Qi knelt there and didn't dare to get up.
Bai Shan frowned, stood up and walked to the hall. He reached out and helped Miss Lu up. Seeing that her lips were pale and bloodless, he knew that she was also very frightened. So he said, "Madam, you should come back for dinner by now. I remember that it was Madam who arranged for you to go to the official farm before?"
The two of them responded in a low voice.
Bai Shan said, "Let's go, I'll take you to pay your respects to the lady."
Aunt Qi and her daughter exchanged a bewildered glance. Weren't they being brought here for questioning? Why were they going to the county government's backyard?
Bai Shan led them back to the backyard, and County Captain Dong immediately followed.
In the backyard, Zheng and Xiao Qian were playing with their two children in the garden. Mingda was sitting aside reading a book, while Lanxin was sitting aside doing needlework, looking up at the two children from time to time. She was already quite pregnant and her belly was bulging, so she couldn't sit for a long time, but she couldn't stand or walk for a long time either. She had to stand up and walk around for a few rounds after a while.
She had just put down the sewing basket in her hand and stood up when she saw Bai Shan bringing a group of people in. She immediately said, "My uncle is back."
Zheng and Xiao Qian turned their heads and looked over. "Have you finished dealing with the government office?"
The two looked at the person following him curiously.
Bai Shan pays great attention to the separation of the front and back yards. Except for his own aide Mr. Cui, other subordinates and colleagues rarely come to the back yard to discuss matters.
Bai Shan nodded to them and made up an excuse, "Manbao wants to see them later, so I brought them back."
Several people looked at Aunt Qi and her daughter. Seeing that both of them looked a little pale, they thought they were sick and came to see Zhou Man for treatment. They asked with concern, "Do you want to go to the hospital? I wonder if she is busy today. If she is, I am afraid she will not be back until 4 p.m."
There is a wet nurse at home now. Zhou Man has stopped breastfeeding and her milk supply has stopped due to medication. But perhaps because of the mother-daughter nature, although Zhou Man does not see the child for a long time every day and has to go into seclusion occasionally for vaccination, she is always very happy when she sees Zhou Man and stretches out her hands to ask him to hold her.
Zhou Man also liked to hold her, so whenever she had time, she would run back from the hospital to hold the baby.
Today was the same. After she finished seeing the patients, she handed over the finishing work to her students and apprentices, and ran home.
As soon as I got home, I hugged my daughter, who was giggling and holding out her hands, and kissed her on both cheeks. Then I weighed her and asked, "Sister-in-law, has she gained weight again?"
Xiao Qianshi: "Nonsense, I haven't seen her for just one morning, how fat can she be?"
Zheng: "That's right, that's right, she can understand what I say now. Don't say things like she's fat anymore, or she'll be unhappy."
Bai Jingxing didn't look unhappy at all. She clamped her legs tightly around her mother and held Zhou Man's neck tightly with her hands, as if she was afraid that she would disappear in the blink of an eye again.
Xiao Qianshi tried to pick up the patient twice but failed. She was a little anxious. "Bai Shan brought a few people back and asked you to take a look. I wonder if they are the patients."
Mingda knew more. He rolled up the book, walked down the corridor and said with a smile, "It's not a patient, it's Aunt Qi and her daughter."
Zhou Man's eyes lit up, and he turned around with the child in his arms, "Then let's go and take a look."
Mingda followed and asked the palace maid to carry her son.
Although Zheng and Xiao Qian didn't know what was going on, they didn't think it was a bad thing, so they stopped asking and instead asked loudly, "What would you like for lunch?"
Zhou Man said casually, "Whatever."
Mingda didn't have high expectations for food, so he kept silent and walked beside Zhou Man. Zhou Man asked curiously, "Why did you bring him to the backyard instead of questioning him in the front yard?"
Mingda said, "I think they were quite frightened, especially the young lady. Her face turned pale. After all, she is young. Bai Shan probably didn't want to scare the child."
Zhou Man nodded and walked into the hall with Mingda.
Bai Shan was sitting there drinking tea. Aunt Qi and Miss Lu had already come to their senses and thought that what they had done must not have been discovered, otherwise they would not have been brought to the backyard and treated so gently.
Seeing Zhou Man come in, the mother and daughter, who were a little nervous, immediately stood up, completely losing their fragility and thick-skinnedness of last year.
Zhou Man glanced at their faces and said to Miss Lu with a smile, "You've grown a lot taller than last year. I haven't asked you how old you are yet."
Miss Lu quietly looked up at Zhou Man and whispered, "Almost nine years old."
Zhou Man was surprised. After looking at her carefully, he said, "Good girl, you are really beautiful!" His tone rose without a trace of sarcasm. It was a real compliment.
Miss Lu's face flushed instantly, and she asked in a barely audible voice, "Don't you think I'm too big?"
"I don't think so," Zhou Man said enviously, "I wish my daughter could be as tall as you in the future."
Every time she attended a grand court meeting, she was lost in the crowd when she stood up to salute. Even if the emperor stood on a high platform, he could not see her. Only when everyone sat down could she barely come into view. It was so sad that anyone who heard about it would cry.
Zhou Man looked at her with sparkling eyes, then turned his head to look at the seemingly frail Aunt Qi, and he was even more satisfied. "You should look like your father. Sure enough, some old sayings are true: daughters look like their fathers. I hope my daughter will grow up to be as tall as her father. But there must be some dietary reasons as well. What do you like to eat?"
Miss Lu gradually relaxed and started talking about her favorite food.
Zhou Man noticed that she ate a lot of noodles, so he said to Mingda, "When the child is older and can eat solid food, we will make noodles for them too."
Mingda thought about it and nodded. She remembered that Sister Changyu also ate a lot of noodles and looked very good.
Zhou Man chatted with Miss Lu for a long time. Seeing that she had completely relaxed, he handed the child in his arms to Wu Yue and said with a smile, "Please help me take the two children to the dining room to see if there is any food you like. If so, tell my sister-in-law what you usually eat. In the future, we will feed the children according to your diet so that they can grow better."
Miss Lu went happily.
Wu Yue and the palace maid carried the two children away. Suddenly, only a few adults were left in the hall, and the atmosphere gradually became tense again.
The bright smile on Aunt Qi's face slowly disappeared, and her heart began to tighten. She belatedly realized that something seemed to be wrong.
(End of this chapter)
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