Qin Xiaozhou carried the baby to the bed, then touched her daughter in the crib next to her, and instructed Lu Yan, "Your older brother goes to the side and moves the crib that Jinrong used. He'll be back in a bit. You watch over the two of them. I'm going to check on Jinxiu."
Lu Yan quickly pushed the person out.
The February nights were quiet and chilly, and the frogs in the pond were still tadpoles.
Qin Xiaozhou walked through the corridor to the study in the backyard, and sure enough, she found Qin Jinxiu looking at the account books. She felt a little relieved.
Although Qin Jinxiu is meticulous, she has provided enough security over the years, so she is not easily thrown off balance by the sudden appearance of a child.
"Big sister, what brings you here? Is something wrong?"
Qin Xiaozhou shook her head, stepped forward and hugged Qin Jinxiu, comforting her, "You will always be my sister. Whether we are related by blood or not is not important. Don't overthink it."
Qin Jinxiu was already used to her older sister's straightforward personality. She hugged her tightly and then let go. "Don't worry, big sister. It's just another younger sister. I'm fine."
She's the accountant now!
He was in charge of all the accounts for the Lu family's entire business. With such ability, he had confidence.
It's nothing more than Qin Fu sending another daughter over. Even if he sent ten or eight, Qin Jinxiu would still be the Lu family's accountant, Qin Jinxiu.
She had nothing to worry about.
"Qin Fu is still hoping for a son. Since this wife hasn't given up, will he remarry?"
In this world, the social hierarchy was very strict. Ordinary people like Qin Fu could only marry one wife and were not allowed to take concubines.
There are only two types of people who can take concubines: the first is those who hold official titles or positions, as the law strictly stipulates how many concubines an official of a certain rank can take.
Secondly, for wealthy merchants who paid a certain amount of taxes, the law also stipulated how many concubines they could take based on the amount of taxes they paid.
Qin Xiaozhou shook her head helplessly, "Whether a child is a boy or a girl is determined by the man, but unfortunately no one believes this theory. They often just blame and criticize women."
Even in modern times, few men would accept this principle, let alone in ancient times.
Qin Jinxiu was first surprised by this theory, as she had never heard of it before, and then she curled her lip, "These men are really something, blaming women for their own incompetence."
Qin Xiaozhou spoke a few more words with her, and only left the study after confirming that Qin Jinxiu hadn't thought much of it.
She doesn't want the little girl she raised to be mentally unhealthy, so she needs to give her a lot of guidance and a sense of security when she encounters problems.
Qin Fu is dead.
Qin Xiaozhou learned this from the yamen runners early the next morning.
At that time, she was entertaining Zhu Xian, Cui Shi and others with breakfast in the flower hall, while Zhao Fang was still receiving the news that a new child had suddenly appeared in her family.
Constable Li came to the door early in the morning, asking Qin Xiaozhou to go to the yamen to identify the body.
Everyone at the table paused for a moment, their gazes turning to the three Qin sisters.
Qin Jinrong was still young and had no recollection of Qin Fu, so she asked with wide eyes, "Who is Qin Fu?"
Lu Yan picked her up. "Someone who isn't important. Come on, let's go catch birds in the backyard."
Qin Jinxiu went to the yamen with Qin Xiaozhou. On the way, Constable Li explained, "The body was found half an hour ago by the river in the southwest of the county town. Half of the body was submerged in the water, and it was already lifeless when it was found."
"There was a wine jar next to him, and he could smell alcohol on his body. As for the cause of death, it will have to wait for the coroner to perform an autopsy to determine it."
Qin Xiaozhou nodded to indicate that she understood.
Lu Yunfeng thanked Constable Li, "Thank you for making the trip."
Constable Li is now the head of the yamen runners and the most capable person under the county magistrate. He is very skilled at investigating cases and collecting taxes.
Normally, it would have been a simple matter of notifying someone to identify the body, which could have been done by sending anyone else, but he still made the trip himself.
Officer Li patted Lu Yunfeng on the shoulder, "Why are you being so polite with me?"
They arrived at the yamen quickly. Qin Xiaozhou saw Qin Fu, whom she had met just yesterday, lying there covered with a white sheet. Her heart sank. She couldn't quite describe the pain, but she felt a little uncomfortable.
Qin Jinxiu glanced at it as well and asked, "Coroner, have you determined the cause of death?"
The coroner sighed, “There was a bruise on his left elbow, mud and sand in his nostrils, and water in his lungs. It was determined that he was drunk and fell into the river, couldn’t get up and drowned. The bruise on his elbow was from the fall.”
Qin Xiaozhou nodded, turned and left the morgue, avoiding the people, and took out half a string of coins to give to Constable Li, "Please trouble Constable Li to send someone to town to inform... Qin Fu's wife to come and take the body back."
She didn't know the name of Qin Fuxin's new wife.
Just as the group left the yamen, Qiu Shi ran over and said, "Sir, Madam, someone has come to our house and says that we have taken her child and that we should return the child to her."
When Sun Liuniang woke up, she found that her child was gone, and Qin Fu was also gone. Ignoring her postpartum body, she searched everywhere for people to ask. Finally, someone told her, "Qin Fu is carrying a child and heading towards the county town."
She headed towards the county town, but was stopped by the aunt next door. "Oh, young lady, it's almost dark now. It's dangerous for a woman like you to be out alone. You should go back first."
How could Sun Liuniang go back? "My child is missing, I have to go find him."
The aunt knew that Sun Liuniang had given birth to a daughter, and couldn't help but sigh, "Girls are just unlucky. If she's gone, so be it. You should take good care of yourself and give Qin Fu a son as soon as possible."
"No, no!" Sun Liuniang broke free from the aunt's grasp and headed towards the county town, searching every bush and grove of trees.
She was afraid that her daughter might be lying in the grass that she hadn't noticed.
She searched all night along more than 20 kilometers of mountain road, but when she reached the county town, she still couldn't find a trace of him, nor did she encounter Qin Fu on the way.
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