Chapter 454 scared them away
"The second son of the Zhou family?" Granny Ma raised her voice, clearly startled by Du Wanchun's words.
Du Wanchun still smiled and said, "That's right. My husband is the second oldest in his family. He also has an older brother who died young. You haven't been in contact with our Zhou family for a long time, so naturally you don't know."
Granny Ma stood there, stunned, her mind racing for a long time. "What... what's going on? I remember when we were in the capital, the eldest son of the Zhou family was chubby and round."
Du Wanchun replied, "What you're talking about is more than twenty years ago. A few years ago, the Zhou family experienced a major incident in the capital. Not only did my eldest brother pass away, but my father-in-law also almost died."
Granny Ma looked surprised; she really didn't know about this.
Hearing Du Wanchun say this, she was at a loss for what to do. She had originally planned to marry off her granddaughter through a childhood betrothal.
But now that the person has passed away, we can't really arrange a ghost marriage.
With just a few words, Du Wanchun rendered the previously arrogant Granny Ma completely flustered.
"Granny, are you still going into the mansion?" Du Wanchun asked her in a softer voice.
Granny Ma glanced at the Zhou residence, then said, "Such an important matter requires some time to consider."
After saying that, she hurriedly left the Zhou family's door.
Du Wanchun glanced back at her retreating figure before finally walking back into the house.
Aunt Zhou was still a little shaken. When she saw Du Wanchun, she looked up at her and asked, "Wanchun, you're back. Just now...?"
Aunt Zhou hesitated, then Du Wanchun stepped forward to support her and said, "Mother, I ran into a nanny when I came in, but I scared her away."
"Did they scare them away?" Aunt Zhou asked, puzzled.
Du Wanchun told Aunt Zhou what had just happened.
Aunt Zhou breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. I was just thinking about how to get rid of them."
Du Wanchun said slowly, "That old woman probably doesn't have much contact with the Zhou family. Mother, if you see her again next time, be sure to speak less, lest you say too much and she notices something amiss."
Aunt Zhou nodded, stared blankly for a while, then looked up and said, "Are you tired? I just made you some almond milk, eat it while it's hot."
With Lian'er and Eunuch Liu now in the household, Granny Zhou rarely cooks anymore.
Especially when the Third Prince was around, if he saw her walking towards the kitchen, he would quickly follow her.
However, Aunt Zhou insisted on cooking for Du Wanchun herself, saying that she felt more at ease cooking for herself.
The Third Prince couldn't dissuade her, so he agreed.
Du Wanchun had eaten something at the shop before coming here, so she wasn't hungry now. However, in order not to disappoint Aunt Zhou's kindness, she still took a sip.
Seeing that she had drunk it, Aunt Zhou was very happy. She picked up the empty bowl and went to the kitchen with a smile.
Not long after Aunt Zhou went into the backyard, Xiao Liu came over and said, "Manager Du, I've seen that old woman squatting outside for several days. I don't think she'll give up so easily."
When Xiao Liu first arrived, he insisted on calling Du Wanchun "Crown Princess." Later, after being held back for a long time, he finally obediently called her "Manager Du."
Du Wanchun asked him, "How many days has that old woman been here?"
Xiao Liu replied, "It will probably take three or four days."
Du Wanchun pondered for a moment, then said, "Keep an eye on her for me. If she comes again, let me know immediately."
Xiao Liu replied, "Yes, Manager Du."
Not far from the Zhou family's house, in a small inn, Granny Ma returned to her room with her granddaughter, looking dejected.
The granddaughter's full name is Ma Tao'er, a name that sounds common, but she is also a common person.
Granny Ma used to be a cook in a wealthy family, and Ma Tao'er followed Granny Ma to work as a maid in that family.
She was unruly even when she was a maid. First, she wanted to be a concubine for the young master of the mansion, and then she wanted to be a mistress. In the end, she did nothing and was kicked out by the lady of the mansion.
Granny Ma took her around doing laundry to make a living. Fortunately, the two of them had saved up some silver when they lived in the mansion, so their lives weren't too bad. If they went back to their hometown to farm, they wouldn't be any worse off than rich farmers.
However, this Ma Tao'er was not honest; she was ambitious but unlucky, and ended up as a mistress to a man.
She was thinking that once she had more children, she could become a concubine in the mansion.
But before she could even conceive, she was beaten by the master's wife and thrown out of the capital.
Granny Ma had no choice but to take her to Cheng'an County to see if she could get married into the Zhou family.
When Ma Tao'er saw Granny Ma return looking dejected, she asked her, "Granny, how did it go? What did the Zhou family say?"
Granny Ma sighed and said, "I heard from the Zhou family that their eldest son died a long time ago."
Ma Tao'er looked surprised. "You might be right, but I've heard people in Cheng'an County say that their eldest son is the magistrate of Cheng'an County."
Granny Ma shook her head and said, "No, this magistrate of Cheng'an County is the second son of their family."
Ma Tao'er was stunned. "Grandma, really? Could it be that the Zhou family is deliberately lying to you?"
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