Chapter 96: Mystery

"What's wrong, Ping'er? It's your sixth uncle."

Xue Niang didn't know about the conflict that had broken out between her brother and sister-in-law, so she was particularly surprised.

Why did my nephew react like this? So I looked at my sister-in-law beside me.

But the eldest sister-in-law seemed much calmer. She glanced at her son, touched his head and said.

"Don't be afraid, it's Uncle Six."

There was soothing and comforting in her tone, and Shang Zhiping felt a little relieved, but he still looked outside the door worriedly.

I don't want this sixth uncle to come in at all.

"Come in."

Sister-in-law Liu called out to the door, and then saw Shang Ji walk in.

There was a solemn look on his face, but his steps were firm.

"Sister-in-law."

"Um."

The conversations between the two were much less than before, and there was an inexplicable coldness in them.

Xue Niang was not stupid. After she noticed that something seemed to be wrong, she glanced at Shang Zhiping and then said.

"How about I take Ping'er out for a walk? Sixth brother, you can talk to the eldest sister-in-law."

"good."

“No need.”

The two of them spoke at the same time, and Xue Niang felt a little embarrassed, not knowing who to listen to.

But before the sister-in-law could speak, Shang Ji spoke first.

"We are all family. Please stay. I have something to say to you."

Hearing this, the sister-in-law finally looked up at Shang Ji with some uncertainty in her eyes.

But then she agreed and looked at Xue Niang. She walked over and closed the door.

The room no longer had the warmth it had just now. Since Shang Ji appeared, there was more coldness and rejection.

Not to mention Shang Ji himself, even Xue Niang felt it.

There were four cups of tea on the table, but no one took a sip.

The silence made Xue Niang feel a little awkward. Just as she was thinking about whether to say something, she heard Shang Ji speak.

"Today in Yunjin Courtyard, the third and fifth houses had a fight in order to compete for the qualification to enter the Min Palace as a concubine. Madam Wei invited Mrs. Du over, and then she said something that provoked my great-uncle to attack Madam Wei, but she hit him with a green jade bottle instead."

"Now his life or death is unknown..."

When they heard this, not only the two children, but also the eldest sister-in-law Liu was quite shocked.

She has been married into the Duke's Mansion for more than ten years, and has had the most dealings with Madam Wei in the East Garden.

I never knew she would be so cruel! She also knew how hateful the Fifth Old Master was, and now his life or death is unknown? "What about him? Is he still recovering in the mansion?"

The sister-in-law asked the key question.

"No, about two hours ago, Madam Wei sent Wulang to a farm outside the city because he had a strange disease that might be contagious."

"Wulang? What does he have to do here?"

"I heard that he suddenly fell ill in Yunjin Courtyard, and his whole body was covered with herpes, which looked very scary."

Hearing this, Ping'er and Xuenniang both looked horrified. It went without saying that they were very scared.

But the eldest sister-in-law Liu felt that there was something fishy going on. She looked up at Shang Ji and after a short silence, she opened her mouth and asked.

"Was it my sister-in-law who did it?"

"Um."

After saying this, she seemed to have figured out a lot of things, but Xue Niang and Ping'er beside her still looked confused.

The sister-in-law was still wondering whether to continue talking, but Shang Ji spoke directly.

"You two are thirteen and fourteen respectively, which means you are almost adults. There is no need to keep everything between you two. I will make everything clear today."

"Last time, I had the steward beaten to death. The people from the fifth house came to make trouble, but Mrs. Du just scolded them a few times and then handed over a hundred taels of silver. My sister-in-law and everyone in the East Garden were quite dissatisfied with this."

"But I asked her afterwards, and she didn't hide it. She told me right away that she had smeared medicine on the silver. The medicine came from the Western Regions, and it would cause a terrible rash on the person, which looked like an epidemic, but it would take longer to break out. So she didn't start until today, and that led to Madam Wei using this as an excuse to evacuate all five houses."

"In the past, Madam Wei allowed the Third and Fifth Houses to suppress the East Garden. I'm sure you all know why. It's really hard for my eldest sister-in-law to protect the whole East Garden by herself. But I still say that you can't protect them all their lives. You have to let them grow up and experience and face the ups and downs on their own."

"From this matter alone, I think she did a good job. Madam Wei and the Fifth House have a grudge against each other, and the Third House also has complaints about her, but Dongyuan was not included in this matter. So it can be seen that what she wants to do can indeed be accomplished."

These words touched the hearts of the three people.

They all remained silent, not knowing how to answer.

Xue Niang never expected that although Sixth Sister-in-law looked delicate and kind, she would be so ruthless when she started fighting.

As for my sister-in-law, she was more reminiscing.

There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!

Thinking about the cause and effect of this matter, her arrangements in recent days, and the change in attitude of Butler He and Madam Dou.

But Shang Zhiping's situation is much simpler.

"I was a little too harsh in my words about this matter before, and I hurt my sister-in-law's feelings. It's my fault. I hope you can forgive me."

After saying that, he stood up and respectfully bowed to his sister-in-law Liu, which made his sister-in-law feel a little ashamed.

These days, she has actually been reflecting on herself, wondering why she had such thoughts.

If her husband was still alive, the family was harmonious, her son was smart, and she had the power to manage the household, she would feel that she would be a virtuous sister-in-law.

But once she lost power, she had to live with a tense mindset at all times due to the leaking roof.

Everyone thinks there is something wrong and something fishy going on.

Over time, some problems started to develop in my heart.

After all, he still couldn't bear to give up the power of Dongyuan.

Even though he had generously given it to Du Jingyi at the beginning, he still felt somewhat unwilling in his heart.

That's why after the fifth branch came to cause trouble, they came and wanted to take back the power without asking any questions.

That's why he was dissatisfied with Shang Jiduo who came to him to explain the matter.

Behind this, she felt that this was the only thing she could hold on to.

If that's gone, then there's really nothing left.

It's sad, lamentable and ridiculous.

After a moment's silence, sister-in-law Liu sighed.

When he looked up again, he was less conflicted and replied sincerely.

"I understand what Sixth Brother means. I will find time to talk to my sister-in-law about this."

"Um."

Shang Ji also saw that his sister-in-law didn't want to talk any more, so he sat for a while and then left.

Only after he left did Shang Zhiping breathe a sigh of relief.

Xue Niang looked at his face and saw that he lacked the enthusiasm and cheerfulness that a young man should have, so she also lamented, not knowing what to say.

There was silence all night, and when the morning glow of the next day shone on the flowers, plants and trees in the Duke's Mansion, it seemed as if nothing had happened yesterday.

Life goes on as usual.

But Xitangyuan welcomed a person who had not been seen for a long time.

(End of this chapter)