"Why do you think the Jin family will definitely marry into the Du family?" Xu Keke plucked a green leaf from a nearby branch and played with it in her hand. Her eyes looked up at the lush treetops, deliberately giving the second concubine time to consider.
The second concubine didn't expect Xu Keke to ask so directly. She hesitated, looking around, and didn't speak for a long time.
"Actually, now that Grandmother is here, I think Second Aunt should discuss things with Grandmother more often." Seeing her hesitation, Xu Keke casually tossed the leaf aside and walked past her.
Even if she tried to discuss it with the old lady, she definitely wouldn't agree once she found out. The madam certainly wouldn't care anymore either. The second concubine quickly reached out to grab Xu Keke's arm, but Xu Keke dodged her.
Seeing her stunned expression, Xu Keke smiled at her and said, "Second Madam, please speak your mind and don't act rashly."
"I... I didn't mean anything by it," the second concubine said, not expecting her to be so skilled, and didn't react for a moment.
"If the second concubine has nothing to say, I'll go in first; it's windy outside."
As if to complement Xu Keke's words, a gust of wind blew by, and the leaves of the sycamore trees rustled.
Seeing that Xu Keke was really about to leave, the second concubine became anxious and hurriedly said, "Actually... actually, the Jin family has some connection with the former madam, that is, your mother, so our two families have a marriage agreement. However... at that time, the children were all young, so the old lady and the Jin family agreed that when they were older, our family would choose a boy from the Jin family."
Xu Keke stared intently into the second concubine's eyes, making the concubine flustered and instinctively look to the side. The second concubine regretted approaching her first. Nervously, she wiped the fine sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief.
"Is this marriage arranged for me?"
As soon as Xu Keke spoke, the second concubine shifted her gaze to the side and looked back directly at her, "You, how did you know?"
“I have a connection with my mother. When she died, I was the only child in the family. How could I have been betrothed to someone else? This marriage sounds like compensation. There’s no such thing as an engagement where you just pick someone when the child is grown up. Especially since the Jin family is not a small or insignificant family.”
"Second Madam, what do you think?" Xu Keke smiled brightly at her second madam.
Could she have found out something? The second concubine felt a chill run down her spine.
"So, what could it be?" Xu Keke smiled and leaned forward, looking at the second concubine.
The second concubine stumbled back two steps, swallowing hard. "I...I don't know, I...When I married into the family, the madam was already dead. How could I have known? I don't know."
The second concubine seemed to realize something, and a look of panic appeared on her face.
With a bang, the door slammed shut behind her. The second concubine turned around in fright, and even though she clearly saw Du Shan standing in the doorway, she still screamed in fright.
Xu Keke, who was standing next to her, was fine, but Du Shan was so frightened that she trembled. "What are you yelling about?"
The second concubine hadn't recovered yet, so she didn't reply.
Xu Keke kindly chimed in, "I don't know, she was looking at the treetops the whole time, I don't know what she was looking at. Look over there..."
Du Shan looked at Xu Keke with a blank expression, feeling that she couldn't possibly have any good intentions, but driven by curiosity, she took a few steps forward and looked up at the building following Xu Keke's gesture. She saw the Third Madam's face pressed against the window, expressionless, her eyes fixed intently on the view below.
Caught off guard and seeing it suddenly, Du Shan screamed in fright, "Ah!"
Du Shan was still in shock when Xu Keke walked up to her and said patiently, "It's the Third Madam. I wanted to tell you that she was also staring at the treetop. From this angle, doesn't the treetop plus that cloud look like a woman's face?"
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Du Shan shouted hysterically at her as if she had seen a ghost, "There is no woman! My mother said there isn't one."
Du Shan turned and rushed back into the house. The second concubine didn't even dare to look at Xu Keke and hurriedly followed her inside.
That night, Du Shan had another nightmare. She had moved the mirror into the room, which Lin Meijuan had already had the maid smash in front of her. This time, Du Shan pointed out the window, insisting she saw a woman with a white veil over her head.
This time, Lin Meijuan was seriously injured by Du Bingtian, and she didn't arrive in time as before. Xu Keke, wearing a white bathrobe, stood in the shadows outside and saw that Old Madam Du's face turned extremely ugly after hearing Du Shan's words.
"What nonsense are you talking about? There's no woman here. What woman are you talking about?"
Du Yuan recounted the incident to Old Madam Du. Old Madam Du angrily retorted to Du Bingtian, "I told you, vacate that room! Everyone's gone, what's the point of keeping that room?"
Du Bingtian, like a child, stubbornly insisted, "Anyway, the room is just sitting empty."
Everyone noticed the exchange of glances between the mother and son. Xu Keke turned to the side in surprise and, sure enough, the second concubine was looking at her timidly.
Xu Keke smiled at her, but this smile was different from the carefree smiles Xu Keke usually wore. It was a smile Xu Keke had subconsciously imitated after seeing the original owner's mother's photo—a smile of satisfaction, confidence, and overflowing happiness.
The second concubine didn't disappoint her. She didn't know what she was thinking, but when she saw Xu Keke's smile, she screamed and rushed back into the house.
Du Shan, who had been feeling better, was startled again by the second concubine's scream and screamed back.
That night, Madam Du had someone go outside to buy paper money for burning, and burned a lot of paper money under the tree in the courtyard.
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