Chapter 620 Liu Family
The storyteller was talking excitedly, and the people below were listening fascinatedly. At this time, the two men sitting next to Banxia suddenly said, "Have you heard? Someone fell into the water in Qinxiang Garden today. I heard that it was the daughter of the Liu family in Dezhou. Guess who saved him?"
"The Dezhou Liu family? Is that the Liu family that has a third-rank official in the capital?"
"That's right. But I heard that the person here today is the eldest daughter of the Liu family. But it seems that she came back to visit her relatives. Yesterday was her first time to go to Qinxiang Garden. Unexpectedly, she fell into the water. It's just a coincidence that General Wan, who has never been to Qinxiang Garden since its opening, also went there yesterday."
"General Wan? Are you talking about the youngest Lieutenant General of Dezhou?"
"Of course, could it still be the Wan family in the capital?"
"Then what does this have to do with the Liu family? Could it be that General Wan was the one who saved Miss Liu yesterday?"
"You're right. It's General Wan. I heard that it was General Wan's sister who said it herself on the shore, saying that her brother was the Lieutenant General of Dezhou. I also heard that the girls on the bridge at that time wished that they were the ones who fell into the river."
Hearing this, Banxia took a sip of tea, left the silver and left.
She left the inn and went straight to Liu's house in the west of the city. Banxia was very familiar with Dezhou.
The Dezhou Liu family is the ancestral home of the Liu family in Beijing. It is said that Lord Liu would bring his family back to worship their ancestors once every three years.
This year is the third year again, and Qingming Festival is coming soon. It is the day when Lord Liu comes back to worship his ancestors.
There were very few pedestrians in Dezhou City at this time, and the temperature outside was still very low at night.
Banxia didn't have to walk from street to street like she did during the day. She took a shortcut by going directly on the rooftops.
In less than a quarter of an hour, Banxia was already in the Liu family's yard.
The Liu family's ancestral home is located in the west of the city and covers a large area.
The most important thing is that the Liu family is large and well-educated, with many of them serving as officials in the court. However, only Miss Liu's father has reached the position of a third-rank official.
At this time, it was still as bright as day in the warm room of Shou'an Hall of the Liu family.
At this time of day, Old Madam Liu should have gone to bed long ago, but today she was still sitting at the head of the table.
Sitting next to her was Liu Shiyu's father, Lord Liu.
There were several women sitting below, and behind them stood several girls, who seemed to be other young ladies of the Liu family.
Two maids were kneeling in the middle. They were the same two maids who were on the bridge during the day, Jinqiao and Yinqiao.
"Jin Qiao, tell me, what happened today? How did the young lady fall into the water from the bridge?"
The person who was speaking was Liu Shiyu's mother, Madam Liu. Madam Liu had two sons and one daughter. Liu Shiyu had been raised by her like the apple of her eye since she was a child. Unexpectedly, she fell off the bridge today and was rescued by a man. Not only did they lose face for the Liu family, but she might have to watch her daughter being betrothed to a man of unequal social status. She had already found a family in the capital and was waiting for the Qingming Festival to be over so that she could send someone to propose marriage. Now everything was ruined.
Madam Liu was so furious that she slammed the table in anger. She wished she could beat the two maids to death. They couldn't even protect their master, so what was the use of them?
"Madam, the flower boat from Qinxiang Garden arrived and everyone went to see it. Many young ladies were crowding towards the bridge. I and Yinqiao were squeezed out and failed to stop the young lady, so she fell off the bridge."
After Jin Qiao finished speaking, she kowtowed quickly, trembling all over. The Madam was well-known for her love for her daughters, and she didn't even dare to think about how the Madam would deal with them in the future.
"Hmph, you are full of lies. If you don't tell the truth, I will skin you alive. My master and I went to Qinxiang Garden today. I just passed that bridge this morning and I clearly saw that the guardrail was not that low. How could Shiyu be squeezed under?"
Madam Liu was used to the secret affairs in the rear quarters, but if anyone dared to target her daughter, she would think carefully.
Jin Qiao kowtowed quickly and said, "Madam, I really didn't lie. When the young lady was in trouble, I was really pushed out by everyone."
Yin Qiao's face was pale and she knelt aside, not daring to speak.
"Come here, lock these two men in the woodshed. I will interrogate them tomorrow."
Jinqiao and Yinqiao were quickly pulled away.
Old Madam Liu sighed, "My eldest daughter-in-law, now that Shiyu has been in this situation, her reputation is ruined. Why don't we find someone for her to marry in Dezhou? Fortunately, our roots are in Dezhou. My nephew passed the imperial examination last year and is now taking the imperial examination in Beijing. I don't know what the result will be, but fortunately he has the status of a juren and a good family background. How about I ask someone to go and find out what they think?"
Madam Liu looked sad, but there was actually a smug light in her eyes.
Madam Liu was so angry that her teeth itched. This old lady really had a good plan. She actually wanted to force her to marry her daughter off without knowing what was going on? She was just dreaming.
She knew about her nephew from her mother's side. Every year when they returned to their hometown to worship their ancestors, her nephew would come. He seemed to be here to pay his respects to his great-aunt, but in fact he was here to try to establish a relationship with her and get in touch with her master.
Moreover, it is said that the nephew has a chaotic private life, and there is not a single maid in the family who has not been touched by him. How could she push her daughter into the fire pit with such a person?
Seeing that her daughter-in-law did not respond and had a bad look on her face, obviously disagreeing, Old Lady Liu looked at her son who was sitting next to her.
"Boss, you have been far away in the capital for these years. You have become very successful, but I didn't ask you to take care of you. It was my nephew who always came to our house to ask about our well-being. Now Shiyu's reputation has been ruined. It's good enough that my nephew doesn't dislike Shiyu. You are still nitpicking. Shiyu must get married as soon as possible, otherwise how can the other sisters in the family get married? I don't know what people outside are talking about the girls in our Liu family now."
Lord Liu was also in a difficult position. He had originally proposed to bring Old Madam Liu to Beijing to live out her old age, but she herself was unwilling to go. She said that she was used to living in Dezhou and that she had several sons and daughters-in-law in Dezhou who could take care of her. Now, for the sake of her mother's family, he even denied the credit of the other families for taking care of her.
"Mother, you can't be so careless about your children's affairs. Besides, I still don't know who saved Shiyu today. I was not in Qinxiang Garden after Shiyu got into trouble. I left in advance because of something. Let's talk about it after I find out tomorrow. It's late today, mother, you should go to bed early."
Liu Zhicheng said with some headache.
Seeing that the couple disagreed, Old Lady Liu was very unhappy. She snorted coldly, stood up and went into the bedroom.
Seeing that Old Madam Liu wanted to rest, the others went back to their rooms.
On the way back to their room, Madam Liu's dowry nanny came over and whispered to Madam Liu, "Madam, just now when I took Jinqiao and Yinqiao to the woodshed, Yinqiao secretly told me that before the young lady fell into the water, she was not squeezed out, but was pulled out by someone. However, the scene was too chaotic at the time, and she did not see clearly who pulled her out. I did not continue to ask because she was afraid that Jinqiao would hear it. Madam, do you want to interrogate Yinqiao alone later?"
"Is there such a thing? Hurry and bring Yinqiao to my room. Don't let anyone find out. Make Jinqiao unconscious. I think there's something wrong with Jinqiao."
Madam Liu clutched the handkerchief, a hint of murderous intent flashing in her eyes.
If she knew that someone deliberately framed Shiyu, she would definitely skin that person alive.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
