Falling off a cliff
"Why was only the carriage found? Where are the people?"
After returning from the county government office, Tan Mozhu did not hide the fact that Tan Linshuang's carriage fell off the cliff and told Fan Wenlan the truth.
Fan Wenlan was shocked at first, but then he realized that Tan Mozhu only said that he found the carriage that was smashed into pieces, and did not mention the people inside.
And Zhao Mingyan and Xiaozhu, weren’t they just sent out of the town? Why haven’t they returned yet?
Could it be that the young couple were reluctant to part, and she planned to follow them to Xuzhou Prefecture?
If that's the case, it would be even worse!
"Did they search thoroughly?" Fan Wenlan doubted the government's ability to find people.
When her eldest son and daughter-in-law fell off the cliff, it took four or five days to find their bodies, but the coachman was nowhere to be found, neither alive nor dead.
Tan Mozhu said, "They are still searching the mountain. I have just sent someone to have our company's fleet of vehicles and boats go with them to assist the government in their search."
"Send a few more people to Zhaohua Town to see if Yan'er has taken Xiaozhu back to her parents' home." Fan Wenlan ordered again.
"good!"
Tan Mozhu did as he was told immediately.
Seeing that he was about to turn around and leave, Fan Wenlan hurriedly called him: "I'll wait for you in the Buddhist hall."
Tan Mozhu paused, stunned for a moment, then nodded with his back to her, and then strode away...
"Madam Yin, how could the young master be like the old master, falling off a cliff while sitting in a carriage?"
The news of Tan Linshuang's carriage falling off a cliff had spread throughout the mansion. Nanny Qiu heard the news from outside and went straight to the east kitchen as soon as she came back and whispered to Nanny Yin.
Nanny Yin never liked to talk, she just listened quietly.
Nanny Qiu was used to it, and continued to talk to herself, "Do you think the Tan family is cursed? A plague nearly wiped out the entire family. After finally recovering, the eldest master and his wife tragically died on the cliff, leaving behind the sick young master. After watching the young master get married, his health gradually improved, but who would have thought that he would suffer another disaster by falling off the cliff."
curse?
Tan Moxiang, who was hiding outside the door, couldn't help but sneer inwardly after hearing this.
It’s just that the previous generation is not in harmony, and the next generation is full of intrigue and deception.
Feeling that Aunt Qiu had only heard the general idea and didn't know the whole story of the cliff fall, Tan Moxiang simply stopped eavesdropping and returned to the bamboo forest to continue drinking tea.
"They all fell off the cliff. Was it a coincidence or was it man-made?"
Picking up the teacup, she discovered a bamboo leaf had fallen into it, floating on the surface of the tea. Her eyes lit up immediately, and the corners of her mouth raised, "Interesting!"
——West Courtyard——
"I'm afraid the Tan family will be extinct!"
After Nanny Xiao learned about this from other servants in the courtyard, she hurriedly told Jiang Yu'e. She was quite emotional, neither gloating nor overly worried.
After all, it was not a matter of love or hate for her and Jiang Yu'e.
"You mean falling off a cliff?" Jiang Yu'e was more concerned about this.
Madam Xiao nodded. "We've only found the wreckage of the carriage, not the body. But the mountain is so huge, maybe the person fell somewhere else when he was thrown out of the carriage. Anyway, the chances of him being alive are slim."
"Why did the carriage fall off the cliff again?" Jiang Yu'e shook her head, seemingly puzzled.
Except for the South House and the West Courtyard, everyone in the mansion was talking about this matter.
"Young Master and Young Madam, good fortune has its way with us. We haven't found the person yet. Maybe he was saved by a passing woodcutter."
"But if they rescued him, they should have tried to notify the local authorities. But there's been no news so far. I think he's in great danger."
A Tao quietly passed by the servants who were talking in a cacophony of opinions and walked towards the main courtyard with her head lowered.
Because she had lived in the main courtyard with Tan Linshuang before, the servants here did not pay much attention to her coming and going. She easily came to the outside of the Buddhist hall, then went around to the window facing the garden, squatted down carefully, and pulled up a bunch of vegetation to cover herself.
She remained motionless, waiting quietly.
Fan Wenlan stopped chanting until Tan Mozhu walked into the Buddhist hall. She then pricked up her ears and held her breath.
The two people in the room didn't know someone was eavesdropping. Although they lowered their voices, they didn't whisper to each other.
"Mother, Yan'er hasn't returned to her parents' home. I guess she's probably in the carriage too."
Fan Wenlan pinched the Buddhist beads in his hand, took a deep breath, stared at Tan Mozhu, and asked in a deep voice: "Azhu, tell me honestly, did you do it?"
…
"Husband...Husband...This is out in the wilderness..."
Feeling the bottom of her skirt getting hot and cold, Zhao Mingyan panicked and clamped her legs together. She tried to stand up on the grass with her arms, but Tan Linshuang reached out from under her skirt and held her shoulders.
"My dear, have you forgotten what our grandmother once said? Confucius was born from the illicit union between He and a woman from the Yan clan. She hoped that we could emulate them and give birth to a saint through our illicit union."
Then, Tan Linshuang's voice came from under her skirt, sounding a little muffled.
Zhao Mingyan slowly lay down and said with a smile, "I haven't seen you read the sage's book thoroughly, but you have studied the sage's little secrets thoroughly."
"Books written by saints carry subjective opinions, while their privacy happens objectively and is more valuable for reference," Tan Linshuang said seriously.
However, his actions were not proper. He touched Zhao Mingyan's skirt and made her gasp and moan. She tightly grasped the flowers and plants beside her with both hands, feeling her exposed skin being rubbed by the vegetation, which made her feel itchy and numb.
This strange experience in the wilderness made her confused and infatuated, and soon she fell into the clouds.
"cough!"
Hearing the noise coming from the bushes, Ayun coughed dryly while pretending to be calm, then stood up and walked towards the carriage parked nearby.
Xiaozhu quickly followed, "Do you know why my lady makes a sound like sobbing?"
Ayun staggered and almost sprained her ankle.
Aren't you a maidservant? Don't you know?
He asked loudly in his mind.
“Ahem!”
After coughing twice more, he turned his head slightly, glancing at Xiaozhu's confused and curious expression, and said meaningfully, "You'll know after you get married."
"I don't want to get married!" Xiaozhu sneered.
"What's the point of getting married? I want to be with my young lady all the time."
Xiaozhu kicked the weeds under his feet and skipped to catch up with Ayun.
Ayun stopped and turned to ask her, "Do you want to be my young master's concubine?"
"I don't want to! I don't want to!" Xiaozhu shook her head like a rattle.
"Why not? Usually, even if a maidservant does not get married, she will serve her master in bed together with her mistress." Ayun asked calmly.
Xiaozhu shook her head again, wrinkled her nose, and said, "Although the son-in-law is good, he is the young lady's husband. If I become the son-in-law's concubine, wouldn't I have to share the same husband with the young lady? Just thinking about it..."
She curled her lips and said, "My lady won't let me serve my uncle."
Ayun raised the corner of his lips imperceptibly, and then said, "Go wait in the car, it's hot outside."
Xiaozhu had no objection. She guessed that Zhao Mingyan and Tan Linshuang would have to struggle for a long time.
Nearly an hour later, Zhao Mingyan finally nudged Tan Linshuang, who lay motionless on top of him, and urged her, "If you don't start again, you'll miss the exam."
Tan Linshuang said lazily, "If you miss the time, just go home."
…
"Master...Madam...they are back!"
Just when everyone in the Tan Mansion was busy and anxious, the doorman saw Ayun driving the carriage and Xiaozhu sitting next to him from a distance. At first he thought he was dazzled, but when the carriage came closer, he could see them clearly. He hurried to meet them, and before the carriage stopped, he looked into the window. Sure enough, he saw Tan Linshuang and Zhao Mingyan who were unharmed. He was immediately surprised and delighted.
"What's going on?"
"Whose carriage is that under the cliff? Why do the officials insist it belongs to our family?"
There was another heated discussion among the crowd.
Facing the various looks, Tan Linshuang hooked his back, took Zhao Mingyan's arm, and tremblingly walked towards Fan Wenlan, saying weakly: "My grandson is useless. He suddenly fell ill on the way and fainted for several hours. He missed the exam."
Zhao Mingyan glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, not sure what he was up to.
"I can't tell you now." Tan Linshuang just said this.
"My lady, you must be tired after this trip. Why don't you take a short rest first? I will call you when it's time for dinner."
Seeing that Zhao Mingyan wanted to ask more questions, Tan Linshuang quickly helped her sit on the bed and took off her shoes and socks. "Only when you have enough sleep can you have a good night."
Zhao Mingyan immediately glanced at him, then lay down yawning.
She was indeed tired. Besides the fatigue from the long journey, it was mainly because Tan Linshuang had been too tiring.
The two of them had already made love once last night, and had sex twice more today. Her waist was sore at the moment that she couldn't help but suspect that Tan Linshuang had secretly taken some aphrodisiac tonic, which was why he went from "lying in bed to become a Buddha" to "lying in bed to become a devil."
After leaving the bedroom, Tan Linshuang stopped smiling and went straight to the study, where Ayun and Atao were already waiting.
Ah Tao, changing her usual innocent demeanor, bowed to him and frowned as she said, "Before the young master returned, the old lady summoned the second master to the Buddhist temple to question him."
Tan Linshuang raised her hand and gestured, "Tell me everything you heard."
Ah Tao nodded. "The old lady asked the Second Master if he did it. The Second Master said no..."
Tan Mozhu blurted out a denial, but only finished half of it when he realized something and stopped abruptly.
Immediately, the air in the room froze, and the mother and son looked at each other.
A Tao's heart was also hanging in the air, not knowing what would happen next.
Time seemed to stop.
Until Tan Mozhu spoke again, he asked Fan Wenlan in a tentative tone: "Mom, what do you mean?"
Fan Wenlan, even more serious than before, asked sharply, "I just want to know, was it you who did it this time?"
Tan Mozhu said in a resounding voice: "No!"
"Mom, I can no longer continue the Tan family's lineage, so I won't let anything happen to Lin'er."
After that, the mother and son remained silent for a long time. Then Ah Tao heard the sound of Tan Mozhu opening the door and leaving...
"Grandma really knows everything!"
After listening to A Tao's recollections, Tan Linshuang seemed to have lost all his strength. His body tilted and he fell onto the stool beside him, remaining silent for a long time.
Ayun and Atao looked at each other with complicated expressions.
"But she didn't do anything!"
After a while, Tan Linshuang clenched his hands on his legs into fists, feeling full of hatred and frustration.
The sun sets, and the light shining into the study gradually becomes weaker...
Zhao Mingyan was also deeply shocked. She was full of confidence at first, but she never expected that there would always be a mountain to climb. The phoenix lantern she carefully made was insignificant in the eyes of the royal family who had seen countless lanterns.
“How could it be…”
Zhao Mingyan was unwilling to accept it. Suddenly, she felt dizzy and fainted on the spot... (End of Volume 1)
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