Liu Ci Fu served tea to the old lady and said, "What a mother teaches her son will benefit her throughout his life."
Madam Liu smiled and said, "I know you are worried that one day this family will be implicated by what you did. It's okay. Family members are connected by the same principles and share the same honor and disgrace. If we only share the good times but not the bad times, we are no longer a family."
Hearing the noise outside getting louder and louder, Old Lady Liu hurriedly called her mother in and asked, "What happened outside? Why is there so much noise?"
When Mother Liu heard the noise, she sent the little maid to ask, but the master had just told her that he had something to say to the old lady and no one was allowed to disturb them, so she didn't dare to go into the house.
Now seeing the old lady asking, Madam Liu replied, "Madame Wei's son, Brother Tao, has disappeared, and everyone in the mansion is helping to look for him."
Liu Cifu's face became a little serious when he heard this. He stood up and asked, "Where did you disappear?"
"After dinner, Tao Ge'er insisted on playing hide-and-seek in the garden. Two maids accompanied him, but later they said they couldn't find Tao Ge'er." said Mother Liu.
Madam Liu asked, "Have you searched everywhere in the mansion? Master, have you searched the courtyards of the second and third young ladies?"
"We're still looking, and the eldest young master is helping." Mother Liu replied.
"Mother, please go to bed early. I'll go out and take a look." Liu Ci Fu bowed and said.
Madam Liu nodded and said, "Go quickly. If you find Brother Tao, ask someone to come to my courtyard and send a message."
After Liu Yu left, Madam Liu gave the old lady some medicine for her cough and said, "It's getting late. Do you want me to help you undress and rest?"
Madam Liu wiped the corners of her lips with a handkerchief and shook her head. "I can't sleep if I can't find Brother Tao. Don't be busy. Ask the maids in the courtyard to go out and help look for him."
Madam Liu went out to inform the maids, and when she returned to her room, she saw the old lady looking exhausted, so she stepped forward to rub her shoulders and advised her, "You can't bear it, so you should go and rest. With the master and the young master here, Brother Tao will always be able to find you."
Madam Liu closed her eyes, took off a string of Buddhist beads from her wrist, and said softly, "I have long advised Fang not to indulge Tao Ge'er too much. Even though he is innocent, she should not spoil him blindly and give in to him in everything. But she didn't listen at all. Instead, she thought that I, an old woman, was cruel."
Mother Liu consoled her, "There is no one as generous and kind-hearted as you in the whole capital. Madam has a knot in her heart that she has not been able to untie for so many years. As a mother, you always love your children the most, so it is inevitable that you spoil them to the point of losing your sense of propriety."
A little maid in the courtyard came to report, saying that they had searched all the courtyards in the mansion but still couldn't find Tao Ge'er. The madam asked the servants to go to Shuntian Prefecture to report the case and ask the government to help find the person.
The old lady opened her eyes and frowned, "What did the master say?"
The little maid said, "The master didn't agree at first. Madam was crying and making a fuss, saying that Madam Wei had been with her for so many years, and if her husband died early, she would only have this one son. If she lost him, she wouldn't know how sad she would be."
Madam Liu waved her hand to let the maid go down, her face changed, and she said to Madam Liu, "Go and tell the master to order people to search for him privately. No matter what, don't report it to the government. No matter how much Fang dotes on Tao, he is just a servant's son. She is making such a big fuss, are you afraid that others don't know that she, the master, treats servants kindly?"
Mother Liu hurried outside.
Old Madam Liu held the Buddhist beads in her hand, with a complicated expression on her frowning face. She silently recited scriptures and prayed for Brother Tao.
Not long after, Mother Liu came back with a happy look on her face, "Madam, I found it!"
Madam Liu stood up and asked with concern, "Where did you find him? Is he injured?"
Mama Liu said, "He was not injured. He was found by the servant in the eldest young master's courtyard. He was in the eldest young master's room. Tao Ge'er somehow hid under the eldest young master's bed. Maybe he was sleepy and fell asleep under the bed. The eldest young master asked the servant to look for someone in the courtyard to make a noise, so as to wake him up and he crawled out from under the bed."
Madam Liu breathed a sigh of relief, "It's good that you found it."
Seeing that Madam Liu was hesitant to speak, as if she had something else to say, Madam Liu said, "Tell me what else you have to say."
Madam Liu whispered, "When I came here just now, I saw Madam scolding the eldest young master. It seemed that she was blaming him for Tao'er's matter."
Saying these words might be considered gossiping, Madam Liu hurriedly said, "Maybe Madam was worried because she couldn't find Brother Tao earlier."
Madam Liu's expression faded, and she rubbed the Buddhist beads in her hands and said, "She has resentment in her heart, and has become more and more biased and tactless in recent years. How can this be blamed on the young master? I pity her and usually don't want to say much. In a few days, there will be another girl in the mansion, and it's time to give her a warning."
The master and servant talked for a while, and then Mother Liu helped the old lady to go to bed to rest and lit some calming incense in the room.
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The Yang Mansion was easy to spot. There was only one courtyard in Nanba Hutong that had a newly hung plaque. Liuzi parked his car outside the Yang Mansion. Yu Qizhe ordered him to knock on the door and said, "Tell the doorman that you are from Kanjing Hutong and ask her daughter to come out and see you."
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