Chapter 67: Treat each other with respect

After getting the exact news of the disappearance from Qinglian, the servants and bodyguards of the Jian family all took action. As a family that often goes out to sea and travels around on trade routes, they have many servants with high martial arts skills. This time, all of them took action, and one by one they received orders to leave the city before the city gates were closed.

After arranging the matter, Jian Bingde leaned back in his chair tiredly and sighed, "Has the manager of the manor arrived yet?"

When the young man in gray was taking Qinglian to settle down, he had already asked the servants who had returned to report the news. They immediately replied, "Manager Wang has not arrived yet. Someone from the Si Mansion came to ask if anything happened. What do you think you answered him, old man?"

"Something happened?" Jian Bingde snorted, furious. "If anything happens to Ah Li, I will make Si Baifu lose his reputation! Go tell him, and I will settle the score with him when he gets home!"

"Yes." The young man nodded and asked the next question, "The glass kiln outside the city will be open today and tomorrow. It took a few days off last time. I wonder what the finished product will be like this time. Do you still want to go and see it, sir?"

Jian Bingde said impatiently, "Why are you going? Just go and let people take a look. If they like it, put it in the shop. If not, tear it down and make a new one. Things that come out of my hands can't be bad. Songnian, you have followed me for so many years, and you are asking me about such trivial matters?"

"Then the price of the finished product will still be calculated according to the previous price."

The young man was not at all annoyed by the reprimand, and arranged things in an orderly manner before bowing and leaving. Jian Bingde sat in the chair for a breath, then suddenly stood up, "No, I have to go there in person."

Mrs. Jane was startled by his hasty behavior as soon as she entered the room with the soup. "What are you doing wearing a cloak?"

"Ji is not a good person. There are many dirty things going on among the women in the house. I have to go pick up Wang Ru from the manor and bring her back to rest assured." Jian Bingde said as he took the soup from his wife's hand and drank it all in one gulp, not caring about burning his mouth. "I'm afraid I won't be back tonight. You take care of the children."

Mrs. Jian moved her lips, but she didn't say anything to him in the end. "Take Songnian with you. You have a hot temper. Don't lose your mind."

Before the city gates closed, two fast horses galloped out from the west city. The servant who was sent to the Jian family to inquire returned all the way to the Si Mansion and repeated Jian Bingde's words. There was no response in the study for a long time.

The servant waited for a long time, but the master didn't say anything. He looked up secretly, but before he could see his master's expression, he was scared away by a cold rebuke.

"go out!"

Si Baifu still had an ordinary document he brought back from the inner chamber in his hand. He had written half of it, with dense annotations in small red ink characters. When he lowered his eyes to look at it again, it had all turned into ink stains, and his eyes were filled with long-lost sorrow. He stood up a little slowly, opened the secret compartment on the antique shelf, and a slightly yellowed scroll fell out. When the scroll was unfolded, it showed a girl with a gentle face, smiling faintly, and picking pear blossoms on tiptoe.

If Si Li were here, she would find that the face of the girl in the painting is somewhat similar to Jian Bingde, but not at all like her.

"Moon Lady..."

Time finally left its mark on him. The girl in the painting was still young, but his fingers that touched the scroll were already wrinkled. Long hours of writing left indelible ink marks on his fingertips. As soon as he put his finger on the painting, Si Baifu retracted it as if he had been electrocuted.

"Yue Niang..." He smiled foolishly, "Why wasn't she the one who died? You left me alone in this world, how cruel..."

A shadow outside the window took a step back slowly, then another step, walked out of the study, and left quickly. Si Tang was waiting in his mother's yard, feeling a little sleepy. On the one hand, he was worried about Qinglian's absence, and on the other hand, he was looking forward to his mother bringing soup to his father to ease their relationship. Just as he was thinking about it, he saw his mother walking into the yard with a bowl in her hand and an expressionless face.

"Mother!" Si Tang sat up and was about to say something nice and happy, but suddenly he noticed that the bowl in his mother's hand was the same as when she left. His heart sank, "Daddy doesn't want to see you?"

Mrs. Si curled the corners of her lips, loosened her grip, and the bowl of tonic soup that she had been cooking for the whole afternoon fell to the ground. The sound could be heard from far away in the quiet night.

Si Tang was startled. He went forward and took his mother's hand to check carefully. He was relieved when he found no burns. He pulled his mother out of the dirty beach and said, "What happened? Did he make you lose face? Then let's go find grandpa!"

The girl's voice still carried a hint of arrogance and innocence. Mrs. Si smiled and touched her hair. As she smiled, tears fell from her eyes, staining her delicate makeup. Si Tang was panicked and at a loss. She held onto her mother's sleeve, not knowing what to do. Mrs. Si looked at her for a long time, her eyes looking through her, as if she was looking at someone in her memory.

"Mother?" Si Tang called out fearfully, and the next moment he was embraced by his mother.

"It's been fifteen years, Atang. He didn't care about me anymore. I thought he had let it go. Who knew he would be so crazy and never forget about it for a moment. I, Ji Wanqing, took care of the house for him and gave birth to his children, but in the end, I couldn't compare to his promise to marry me. If I had known this earlier, if I had known this earlier..."

The sound of sobbing rang in her ears, and Mrs. Si could no longer speak. The cruel reality was like a more real nightmare. Si Tang was not stupid, and he knew who his mother was talking about from just a few words.

At that time, his grandfather, Master Ji, accepted his father as his last disciple. However, just one year after Si Li's mother died of childbirth, his mother, the only daughter of the Ji family, entered the Si Mansion. When Si Tang was young, he accompanied his mother to banquets and often heard people talk about this.

They said that their mother was ruthless and that the reputation of Ji Xueshi was ruined in an instant. They said that Si Li was the legitimate eldest daughter. Si Tang argued many times and learned how to fight back under the guidance of his mother. Later, his father's official position became higher and higher, and such voices never appeared again.

"But, but you are my mother." Si Tang felt uneasy and held his mother's hand tightly.

"Ah Tang." Madam Si stroked Si Tang's back slowly, speaking softly, as if the sobbing collapse just now did not exist at all. "You must do well in the winter exam, and you must also strive for the flower viewing banquet at the Prince of Yue's Mansion. I heard that a tea tasting party will be held soon. When scholars gather together, tasting tea and writing poems are indispensable. You should also go and show your face. First of all, it was your mother who did not keep an eye on you as to the matter of Lai Ju, which led you to make a bad move. Fortunately, it is not too difficult to make amends. According to the news sent by the Duke of Dongyang's Mansion, the concubine is happy to see you and the prince. The prince has no mother alive, so the matter of marriage depends on the concubine mother and His Majesty. You must seize the opportunity."

After saying that, Mrs. Si let go of Si Tang. Si Tang wiped his tears and nodded. Just as he was about to say something, he saw his mother combing her hair, smiling gently, and walking past him.

She was very familiar with that smile; it was the same smile her mother had used every day to greet her father for many years.

"Why are you here so late?" Mrs. Si smiled and stood on tiptoe to tidy up her husband's messy hair.

She used to envy her parents for treating each other with respect, but now, seeing this, Si Tang felt a chill all over her body.

---

As night fell, the Sifu Mansion was bustling with people. The bustling atmosphere of the shop that had just finished its night sale lingered for a long time. The customers who bought the last batch of biscuits and French fries said goodbye to Meng Taotao and others with a smile, and because it was too late, each portion was filled to the brim.

There was still some time before curfew, so Si Li hurried home with Ah Sheng and Ah Xiang, who had washed the dishes in advance. As soon as she lifted the curtain, she saw the table being moved in the front hall, and the two of them hurried over to help.

"Hey, you don't even want the food in your hands?" Si Li complained, stuffed the food boxes they had stuffed back into her arms and put them back on the ground.

Wang Ting had just returned with a donkey cart and greeted the busy people in front of the door. "Boss, where do we unload from?"

Si Li looked at him with disdain, "You have a good sense of timing. You come back later and later every day. There are not many people here, so you can just come in through the main gate."

"It's winter now, and it's hard to harvest vegetables. Why are you blaming me?" Wang Ting jumped off the donkey cart and said something. He turned around and hugged the fat boy who rushed out like a fly. "Little bug! Have you memorized the high jump today? Uncle is going to test you."

Wang Xiaochong stretched out his hand from his thin cotton padded jacket, put his warm little hand on Wang Ting's cold cheek, and said in a baby voice, "Yes!"

The carriage of the donkey cart had been dismantled, leaving no trace of the government. The remaining wooden cart was filled with bamboo baskets. If you got close, you could smell the aroma of sun-dried corn and the lingering smell of earth. Wang Ting and his nephew quarreled for a while, but when Xiao Que Teng came out to help him unload the vegetables, they got serious.

The winter in Daning was different from that of modern times. Gradually, the vegetable market became deserted. People had to wait until next year to buy vegetables. If they stocked up a batch of vegetables, they would have to be used until spring. This cart of vegetables plus the remaining ones in the kitchen were obviously far from enough.

Si Li took a quick look at the newly harvested corn, potatoes and sweet potatoes, and estimated how long they could be used. After a while, he came up with a not-so-good number. For crops like these harvested in autumn, the ones harvested now are already late-ripening, and if they are to be harvested again, they can only harvest the ones that others have already harvested and stored at home.

"Thank you for the trip. I'm afraid you'll have to go out again tomorrow. How much is this batch?"

Wang Ting counted on his fingers, "The price of potatoes and sweet potatoes has increased by almost half compared to before. When I asked them, they were still hesitant and didn't want to sell them. I guess someone is buying them behind the scenes and raising the price. If you ask me, I'll just have to sell ice jelly and sweet potato shreds. If the price goes up like this, we won't make any money from French fries."

Liushui Si Li from Wanglaiju had never concealed the few people who had followed her all the way to the present, so Wang Ting was able to explain everything clearly. Initially, the purchase was handed over to Wang Ting. In order to harvest the vegetables in the past two days, Wang Ting drove around every day and was very sensitive to the changes in market prices.

Si Li pressed her eyebrows and said, "Tell Tao Tao later to write down the price. We'll have to figure it out first. If it doesn't work out, just raise the price. Don't just refuse to sell it. It will ruin your reputation."

As they were talking, a scholar carrying a wine bottle staggered over from the other side of the lake. Seeing the people in front of Wanglaiju, he burped and laughed, "Fame? What kind of fame do you have? Your names are not on the tea tasting party. You compare milk tea, flower tea and tea. It's really nonsense! You still have the nerve to sell it at that price. You keep pretending to be cultured and boasting. Don't you think you are worthy of it?"

The sourness in his words was about to overflow. Si Li raised her eyebrows slightly, but before she could say anything, Wang Ting's face had changed. He blocked the scholar's way and said, "What are you talking about? If you can't afford it, don't come here to show off--"

"Go away!" Wang Ting was just saying this when Xiao Que rushed out from the side and smashed down on the scholar's face with a sweeping broom. The scholar was so frightened that he screamed, covered his head and turned around to run away. Xiao Que was not satisfied and ran after him.