Chapter 7: Rain and Dew Are Equally Treated (Part 2)

"Why do you dress like this today?" Sheng Hong asked.

"The maid sent by the Madam, the one named Zhuli, has some skills in hairdressing. Today she was free so she tried a new bun. She is deft and put on a sandalwood makeup for me."

"Sandalwood makeup? Fragrant sandalwood is delicately painted on the peach face, and the silk sleeves are gently drawn?" Sheng Hong thought the sandalwood makeup sounded familiar and thought of the words in Gu Fu's "Yu Meiren". As soon as the words came out of his mouth, he was stunned. The words described a woman who used light red sandalwood powder as makeup and wore a light silk dress. Sandalwood makeup is a light color like water red, and it should be matched with a light gauze dress or something like that, which makes the whole person look soft and graceful.

Sheng Hong looked at Mingxi's clothes. It seemed that she had always worn the same plain color, and it had turned slightly white due to being washed. Sheng Hong looked around and then looked at the room. His sight fell on the open dressing table and jewelry box. There were a few kinds of makeup powder and rouge in the dressing table, and a piece of indigo, but nothing else. Sheng Hong let go of Mingxi and walked over to open the other drawers of the dressing table. They were empty. There was nothing in them. He looked at the lonely jewelry box and then looked up at Mingxi's bun. No wonder there was no hairpin or hairpin adorning her hair. It turned out that there was nothing at all!

Sheng Hong was a little angry. He suddenly slammed the dressing table hard. He turned around and saw Mingxi, who was so scared by his action that she shrank her shoulders. Sheng Hong realized that he had lost his composure and scared Mingxi. His face softened and he said to Mingxi, "Don't be afraid, Yi'er. I'm not targeting you."

He relaxed his expression and asked in a slower tone, "Yier, where are your jewelry? The concubines in the mansion also have a fixed monthly allowance, and they also make clothes for the four seasons, but I see that you don't have any clothes. Why is that?"

Mingxi was very happy, thinking that you finally found out, so I don't have to speak up. However, she pretended to be sad, fiddling with her fingers, and nervously biting her lower lip, but she didn't say a word.

Sheng Hong patiently suppressed his temper and said to her, "Yier, I didn't know you were living in poverty before, but now that I know, I will naturally take care of it for you. Tell me where your clothes and jewelry are?"

Mingxi raised her head and a tear fell quietly, then one by one until her tears covered her face without making a sound. Sheng Hong was shocked and distressed. He suddenly remembered that Lin Qinshuang always cried sadly and gently, as if her heart was broken, which always made him feel distressed. But today, seeing Mingxi crying silently, Sheng Hong felt that such crying was even more aggrieved and sad, and he even dared not speak.

Sheng Hong hugged Mingxi tightly and stroked her back to comfort her. Mingxi started to cry. After she stopped crying, Mingxi said in a hoarse voice, word by word, in Sheng Hong's arms: "I was ignorant in the past and always kept my distance from the master, which made the master feel cold and rarely came. The people below all looked at the master and gradually refused to listen to our orders. If there was anything needed in the house, we had to pay money to exchange it, but the monthly allowance of my aunt was so much, and it would run out eventually. So I asked Xiaodie to pawn her jewelry and exchange it for some silver. I am a woman. "It's not easy to pawn the clothes that have been worn, so some new clothes are pawned when they are brought back, and sometimes they are given to the housekeepers, asking them to take care of me and Minglan, and that's how we get through the days..."

Sheng Hong was distressed when he heard this. In the past, Wei Shuyi always looked at him with a cold face, and he didn't want to make himself unhappy, so he didn't pay much attention to her and Minglan. Who would have thought that their lives were so difficult, and these servants actually did such a shameless act of deceiving the subordinates and hiding the truth from the superiors, causing them and their mother to suffer a lot, and he himself was like a blind man, not noticing it at all.

Sheng Hong thought about it and suddenly laughed out loud, and then cried while laughing. Mingxi thought if this trick was too cruel, this man was crazy, why was he laughing and crying. Sheng Hong stopped laughing, let go of Mingxi, grabbed her shoulders and looked at her, "Yier, I was wrong all these years. When I was a child, my mother and I depended on each other. The old lady was busy with her own affairs and we had no one to take care of us. My mother and I were bullied and bullied by the servants and suffered a lot. After Shuang, she gave birth to Changfeng. This situation is very similar to mine at that time. I was afraid that she would be bullied by the servants and that the old lady would not tolerate it. "She, so I supported them, gave them houses, land and money, I was afraid that they would suffer the same pain I suffered, so I protected their mothers. But God, you and Ming'er didn't have me to look after you, and without the care of the eldest lady, you suffered all the pain that my mother and I suffered. I didn't protect you well..." Sheng Hong finished speaking with tears, and slowly lowered his head, regret and remorse all flooded his heart, making him feel endlessly frustrated, he was wrong!

Mingxi felt mixed emotions when she saw Sheng Hong like this. She was angry about Wei Shuyi and Minglan's past experiences, pitied Minglan for the suffering she had to endure after she lost her mother, and resented Sheng Hong for not giving Minglan the care and love she deserved. But looking at Sheng Hong's current state, she couldn't say anything. He had to spend his whole life to heal the sufferings of his childhood, so he pitied Lin Qinshuang and her son and gave them good things. He somehow ignored Wei Shuyi and Minglan. What he wanted to avoid still happened under his neglect. But Mingxi couldn't say any words of comfort, for the dead Wei Shuyi and for the neglect Minglan had suffered.

Sheng Hong's heart was in turmoil. He thought a lot. Finally, he raised his head and looked at Wei Shuyi for a while, wiped the tears from her face, and walked out without saying anything.

"Master!" Mingxi called him.

Sheng Hong turned around and said, "Don't worry, Yi'er, I will seek justice for you. I still have the final say in this family!" He was about to walk out.

"Master, no!" Mingxi said anxiously.

Sheng Hong turned around in confusion, "Yier, doesn't he hate them? Why are you still stopping me from dealing with them?"

"Master, now is the critical moment for your promotion, and there must not be any mistakes in our house. If you punish those servants for me today and make a big fuss, wouldn't it be known to others? And it might become a handle to those colleagues who are jealous of you. After all, so many years have passed, and since the master already knows about it, he will be able to make the decision for me in the future. There is no need to rush now."

Sheng Hong paused on his way out. He had just been overwhelmed by anger, and he was so frightened by what Wei Shuyi said that he broke out in a cold sweat. Now was indeed the critical moment for his promotion, and it was not appropriate to make a big fuss. Sheng Hong stopped and walked back, looking at Mingxi affectionately, "Yier, I am lucky to have you, I will never let you down again."

"Dongrong, come in!" Sheng Hong pulled Mingxi to sit on a small stool and called Dongrong to the door.

Dong Rong walked in, and Sheng Hong told him, "Go and see what other gold, silver, jade, and jewelry I have in my private storehouse, pick out some that suit your taste, and bring me the box where I put the property deeds, and get one thousand taels of silver, bring them all together."

Dong Rong was shocked. The master was going to promote Aunt Wei. He didn't know what tricks Aunt Wei had used to make the master take out so many things at once. In the future, Aunt Wei must be treated with caution, and Aunt Lin must also be clear about the relationship.

"Yes, master!" Dong Rong left the room to get the things Sheng Hong mentioned.

Mingxi was touched, but she thought in her heart that this should have been the mother and daughter of Minglan, but she still pretended to be flattered, "My Lord, no, I am already very satisfied to be able to accompany you all the time, and I dare not ask for more." She said this, but in her mind she kept repeating "give more, give more".

Sheng Hong felt even more sorry for her because she always considered herself, so he wanted to compensate her, "Yier, you just said that the maid in your room was sent by the Madam? Are you still using her?" Sheng Hong took the initiative to ask, then Mingxi would be secretly making accusations, the Madam was an ally and could not slander her, and it would be better if Lin Qinshuang's people could be sent away, otherwise it would be a hidden danger to keep them around.

"Red Oriole and the Parrot were bought for me when I paid my respects to the Madam a few days ago. The Madam saw that I was pregnant and was afraid that I would not have enough people to serve me. Red Oriole and Green Lotus were given to me by Sister Lin after Xiaodie left. In fact, two maids are enough. Minglan goes to the old lady every day, and the maids in the old lady's courtyard can take good care of her. Xiaotao is with her, so I don't need any help."

The maids were all sent by others, and none of them were close to me. Seeing that Wei Shuyi didn't seem to understand the situation, Sheng Hong wanted to worry more about her.

"Your maid who was caught stealing before was called Xiaodie. When she was kicked out, she said it was a false accusation. That day was too chaotic and there was no thorough investigation afterwards. Today you said that those servants took advantage of others. Is there any hidden story behind the theft?"

Mingxi didn't know how many times she secretly praised Sheng Hong for being sensible today. She didn't even need to mention it. Sheng Hong figured it out on his own. It's really obvious whether someone loves or not, cares or not. Aunt Wei took the wrong path. If she had captured Sheng Hong's heart from the beginning, she wouldn't have caused her daughter to live a hard life.

Mingxi regained her composure and tried to squeeze out her tears. Her face was hesitant and sad. "Xiaodie has suffered with me and Minglan. I am soft-hearted and Minglan is young. The courtyard is supported by Xiaodie. Xiaodie is also the one who takes care of the jewelry and clothes. Xiaodie is straightforward and will not steal. How can Xiaodie get the things that I can't even get? But those things were actually searched out of Xiaodie's room. There is no excuse. I feel that Those people framed Xiaodie in order to shirk responsibility, but I have no evidence, so I only ask my master to spare Xiaodie's life. My master is busy with official duties every day and still has to worry about my affairs. It turns out that I did not do well and was too weak to be caught. In the future, with my master's support, I will be tougher and will not cause trouble for my master again!"

Mingxi explained the whole story without leaving a trace, and was afraid that Sheng Hong would think that she blamed him for the wrong judgment, so she found an excuse for him and expressed her sincerity. Sheng Hong was really caught, and he not only reflected that he might really have made a wrong judgment, but also bought two more maids for her.

While the two were talking, Dong Rong also came back with some things. Sheng Hong personally put the jewelry into Mingxi's jewelry box, and told Dong Rong to go out in the afternoon to buy some popular rouge and powder in Yangzhou City for Aunt Wei.

Mingxi continued, "Since the master wants to give me rouge and powder, you might as well buy a few more. Also give one to the lady and Sister Lin, so that they know that the master has them in his heart. Master, don't look at me like that. I want to have one for myself, but I want the whole Sheng Mansion to be peaceful so that the master can do his job with peace of mind. Giving it to only me will easily cause trouble, and it's not enough to worry about more. "It's not fair!"

Sheng Hong saw Mingxi's mouth opening and closing, opening and closing, and the words she said were not only pleasant to the ear but also considered for herself everywhere. He felt that there was nothing more to ask for. He immediately ordered Dong Rong to let him buy it now, just as Aunt Wei said, and asked Dong Rong to go to the government office again to transfer the property deed. He urged Dong Rong to go quickly and handed the 1,000 taels of silver to Mingxi in person.

Mingxi's eyes were full of tears, and she looked at Sheng Hong with affection. She didn't need to say many words of thanks to let Sheng Hong understand her dependence.