Chapter 48 Premonition "Boss, the two sets of spring clothes I ordered last time...
"Boss, are the two sets of spring clothes I ordered last time ready?"
In Zhao's silk shop, Zhao Hui was staring intently at the numbers in the account book, muttering to herself, her fingers moving nimbly on the abacus, making a crisp "crackling" sound.
Hearing the sound, the sound of the abacus stopped abruptly. Zhao Hui raised her head from a pile of messy accounts and looked in the direction where the sound came from.
It turned out to be Chen Weiyu, the courtesan of Ningxiangju.
"Oh, Miss Chen, you're here!"
Zhao Hui hurriedly walked out from behind the counter, took Chen Weiyu's hand with a smile on her face, and led her into the shop. "It's all ready. Please sit here for a while and rest your feet. I'll get it for you right away."
Then she turned to the shop assistant who was busy ironing cloth and called out, "Little Chen, put down your work for a moment and make some hot tea for Miss Chen and the other adults."
Zhao Hui had heard about the last carriage accident before. Furthermore, Chen Weiyu had always been accompanied by several soldiers on his visits, so she was no longer surprised. While warmly greeting the guests, she headed towards the backyard.
When she came out with the clothes, Chen Weiyu put down the teacup in his hand and walked forward.
Zhao Hui held the clothes in her hands and handed them to Chen Weiyu, "Miss Chen, please take a look and see if they fit you."
Chen Weiyu nodded slightly, reached out and gently pinched the shoulder of the clothes, opened the clothes, rubbed the fabric, and then roughly measured it on himself. When he felt it was about right, he hung the clothes on the hanger next to him.
Then he picked up another piece and measured it in the same way. Finally, he put both pieces of clothing on his arms, nodded and said, "It should fit. I'll take it back and let him try it on."
"Okay, if the size isn't right, you can bring it back and we'll alter it for you free of charge."
The shop assistant also came over enthusiastically: "Girl, give me the clothes and I will pack them for you."
As he spoke, he took the clothes from Chen Weiyu's hand with swift movements, turned around and walked to the wide ironing table beside him, ironed the clothes flat again, and then folded them carefully.
Zhao Hui took out a clothes box from under the counter and placed it next to the clerk. Then she turned to Chen Weiyu and praised him:
"Miss Chen is truly filial. Your father will surely be very happy to receive the clothes you have custom-made for him."
Chen Weiyu responded with a smile.
Soon, the clothes were packed. Zhao Hui lifted the handle of the suitcase and handed it to Chen Weiyu, "Miss, please take it."
"Thank you, Manager Zhao."
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On the way back, Chen Weiyu's steps were obviously much lighter than before.
From time to time, she stroked the texture of the fir wood of the clothes box, imagining her father's smiling face when he put on the new clothes.
He would definitely blame himself first for buying such expensive clothes, and would probably say that he usually grows and sells vegetables, so he can just wear old clothes, and it is not worth wearing good clothes.
But Chen Weiyu knew in his heart that although his father said this, he must be happy in his heart.
My father is always like this. Even at his age, he still toils away all day to make a living. If I give him money, he'll always refuse, always reluctant to buy me something nice. Even if he finds something he particularly likes, he'll always suppress his inner admiration, fearing that I'll end up spending too much on him.
Thinking of this, Chen Wei Yu began to feel guilty again.
It was also because of her own unfilial and incompetent behavior that her father suffered criticism from others because of her, and in his old age he had to work hard to make a living...
As I was thinking, I soon arrived home.
Chen Wei Yu carefully placed the clothes box on the bench under the eaves, then turned and walked into the kitchen to start preparing food.
My father would get up at four or five in the morning to pack up his stall and go to the market to sell vegetables. After selling vegetables, he would usually catch up on some sleep at home.
After washing the pork bones and preparing to blanch them, she cut some shredded ginger, thinking of adding some chopped green onions to remove the fishy smell.
But when she looked at the vegetable basket, she found that the onions inside had wilted and yellowed, hanging limply on the edge of the basket, and were covered with a lot of stove dust.
Chen Weiyu wiped the water off his hands on his apron, walked out of the kitchen, and planned to pick some fresh green onions in the yard.
When she was almost at the vegetable garden, she stopped and looked back at the open space next to the kitchen.
Normally, her father's stall would be parked there, but now the land was empty. She looked around the yard, but still no sign of the stall.
Is Father not back yet? Chen Weiyu walked hesitantly to the room on the far right, which was his father's room.
The door of the room was ajar. She pushed it open and found no one inside. The quilt on the bed was neatly folded.
That's not right. It's almost noon. Why hasn't my father come back yet?
While thinking, Chen Wei Yu took off his apron, put it on a chair in the yard, and walked out of the yard.
Seeing this, the guard stationed at the door hurriedly followed.
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When I arrived at the place where Chen's father usually set up his stall in the market, I saw only Chen's stall cart parked there alone.
Chen Weiyu looked around but didn't see his father.
She quickly ran to the stall selling cooked food and asked, "Auntie Guo, have you seen my father?"
The owner of the prepared food stall had been a longtime neighbor of the Chen family, so naturally, she knew Chen Weiyu. Although she had some complaints about Chen Weiyu's work, she knew that Chen's father was a loyal and honest man, and they often looked after each other when they set up shop, so they had a deep bond.
Hearing Chen Weiyu's question, she glanced sideways at Chen's father's stall and replied puzzledly, "I saw him earlier, but I don't know where he went since then. A few people came in to buy vegetables just now, and I helped weigh them... Oh, by the way, I'll give you the money for the vegetables!"
When she took out the money from her pocket, she saw that Chen Weiyu had already turned around and ran away. She couldn't help but murmur in her heart:
What happened between this father and daughter today? ...
Chen Weiyu had a bad feeling in her heart. She turned to the guards following behind her and said anxiously,
"I'll search this street carefully. The four of you, two go to East Street, and the other two go to West Street. Split up and search!"
The leading guard looked hesitant, "But the Pavilion Master specifically instructed us to protect you."
"I'm fine!" Chen Weiyu was so anxious that she couldn't think of anything else. Her tone was a little hurried and chaotic. She calmed her breath and continued, "I'll be careful. Go help me look for him quickly. Don't waste time here."
"this……"
"Go quickly, I'll be responsible if anything goes wrong!"
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Chen Weiyu searched the entire street but couldn't find his father.
"Where did my father go?" She was filled with confusion and kept telling herself to stay calm, trying to think of where her father might have gone.
But at this moment she couldn't calm down at all. The more anxious she was, the more tangled her thoughts became and she couldn't sort them out.
Just when she was at a loss, there was a "whoosh" sound, as if something flew past her at high speed, and then "click" fell at her feet.
Chen Weiyu looked down and saw a pair of shoes.
She squatted down and took a closer look. These were... her father's shoes!
Chen Weiyu became alert instantly, raised his head suddenly and looked in the direction where the shoes came from.
In the narrow alley on the side of the street, a figure flashed by like a ghost and disappeared at the corner of the alley in the blink of an eye.
"stop!"
She quickly picked up her shoes and chased after him...
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"Have you seen Miss Chen?"
"No, sir."
The leading guard had a bad feeling. When they had split up to look for Chen's father, he became increasingly worried. He recalled the rest of the guards and returned to the street they had just been on, but he didn't see Chen Weiyu.
He thought to himself, this is bad! Chen's father has not been found, Chen Weiyu is also missing, how can I explain this to the Pavilion Master when I go back?
"Look for it again right away!"
Unexpectedly, just as he finished giving the order, a sharp-eyed guard pointed behind him and shouted in surprise, "Sir, look, isn't that Miss Chen?"
The first guard turned around quickly and saw that it was indeed Chen Weiyu.
But there was something wrong with her state. She looked distraught and seemed not to have seen them.
The guards rushed over and asked, "Miss Chen, are you okay?!"
Hearing the sound, Chen Weiyu seemed to wake up from a dream and slowly raised his head.
Her eyes were a little dazed, as if she had come to her senses, but she still seemed a little dazed. She stumbled and replied, "Oh...oh, I'm fine."
After that, she walked straight forward, muttering, "Let's go back."
The guards hurriedly followed. The chief guard hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Miss Chen, has your uncle been found?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Weiyu paused slightly, avoiding the Chief Guard's probing gaze, and said:
"Something happened at a relative's house... He went to help. No need to look for him anymore."
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"I'm so sorry, Miss Tang, Master Ling is not at home." In front of the Ling Mansion, the servant bowed slightly and said apologetically.
"What about Miss Lin?"
The servant shook his head, "She's not here either."
"Where did they go?" Tang Suzi frowned and asked.
"This... I don't know."
After thanking the servant who helped to inform him, Tang Suzi walked to the steps and sat down dejectedly.
She casually picked up a yellow leaf at her feet and her fingers unconsciously tore it apart.
It’s strange. He wasn’t here yesterday and he’s not here today either. Where did Ling An and the others go?
A few days ago, Ling An said he would think about it for two days. Two days passed, and she wanted to ask him how he was thinking, but they were not in the house when she came both times.
Is he deliberately avoiding her? As soon as this thought came to her mind, Tang Suzi shook her head vigorously to get rid of it.
No, Ling An is not that kind of person, and Xiang Li is definitely not that kind of person!
Could something have happened?
She immediately rejected this speculation. It was impossible. If something happened, the government and the Ling Mansion would not have made no move at all.
Let’s wait a little longer!
But she waited from dawn until it was almost dark, but still no one showed up.
In desperation, she knocked on the door again.
"Did Master Ling and the others come back yesterday?"
The servant who opened the door saw that it was her again and seemed a little helpless. "She came back last night."
"So when did they go out today?"
"They left early this morning." Seeing that Tang Suzi seemed to want to ask more questions, the servant quickly followed the instructions and said, "By the way, they seemed to have left with their bags this morning. They must have gone on a long journey and probably won't be back tonight."
Tang Suzi was surprised, "What?! Going away?"
"How about this, Miss Tang, you go back first. When Master Ling and Miss Lin come back, I'll send someone to inform you right away."
Tang Suzi hesitated for a moment, but finally agreed. "Okay, but..." She solemnly emphasized to the servant, "If they come back, please tell me as soon as possible." She took out a few coins from her waist and stuffed them into the servant's pocket. "I live in the Fang Mansion on Guang'an Street."
"Okay, I'll take note of it and I will definitely do it."
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Only after the vermilion lacquered door slowly closed did Lin Xiangli walk out from behind the rockery near the door.
The servant ran up to her quickly, bowed slightly, and said in a flattering tone, "Miss Lin, I have sent Miss Tang away as you instructed.
"Okay, if she comes again in the future, tell her that we've been away for a long time and haven't returned yet."
"I understand."
Watching Lin Xiangli's figure gradually walking away, the servant scratched his head and looked back at the closed door.
He didn't understand. A few days ago, Miss Lin and Miss Tang were as close as sisters. How could their relationship become like this overnight, even to the point of not seeing each other?
He touched the heavy silver on his waist, which was the reward Lin Xiangli had given him before, and thought to himself: Forget it, forget it, I am just a servant, I just need to do my job well. The thoughts of the nobles are not something a servant like me can figure out...
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"Miss Tang, you're back!"
Tang Suzi returned to the Fang Mansion and was about to walk towards her own residence when she heard someone calling her. She looked in the direction of the voice and saw Zhao Hui walking down from a pavilion not far away and heading towards her.
"Madam, you are here..."
Zhao Hui walked over and took her hand, asking with concern, "Have you had dinner yet? I made some chicken soup for Buyu, would you like to have some too?"
Tang Suzi declined politely, "No, Madam, I've already had dinner." As she spoke, her eyes fell on the food box placed on the pavilion, "Has Pavilion Master Fang not returned yet?"
"Yes, it's already this hour and there's still no one to show up. I'm getting a little sleepy from waiting." Zhao Hui said as she turned her hands to gently support her waist and stretched her neck left and right, as if this could relieve some of her fatigue.
"Then why don't you give the food box to the kitchen? Have them wait until the Pavilion Master returns and then serve it to him."
"You're talking about them..." Zhao Hui explained with a smile, "Today I specially gave all the servants in the mansion a day off. They've been busy for so many days, and they deserve a good rest."
Tang Suzi suddenly realized that she had been thinking about Ling An and Lin Xiangli all the way back, and hadn't noticed that the mansion was indeed much quieter and more deserted today than usual...
But she was still a little confused. Why did everyone have to take their leave on the same day? Why not arrange for them to take their leave on different days?
"Oh, my old waist is starting to hurt again!" Just as I was thinking about it, I suddenly heard Zhao Hui's soft cry. I saw her holding the pavilion pillar with one hand and her waist with the other hand. Her brows were slightly furrowed, and a look of pain appeared on her face. She looked really uncomfortable.
Tang Suzi quickly reached out to support her, "Madam, why don't you go back and rest first? This soup..." She turned back to look at the food box on the table, pursed her lips, and made a decision, "I'll give this soup to the Pavilion Master for you."
Zhao Hui lowered her head so that Tang Suzi wouldn't see the smile on her face.
After controlling her expression, she raised her head and looked at Tang Suzi again, her eyes rolling around, revealing innocence and pity, "Really? Is this too much trouble for you?"
"No trouble, no trouble, please go back and rest."
Zhao Hui held Tang Suzi's hands and said, "Thank you, Miss Tang."
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Tang Suzi raised his hand and tucked a strand of hair that was blown to his cheek by the night wind behind his ear. His eyes followed Zhao Hui's slightly slow steps until she slowly walked out of the gate of Fang Mansion.
She thought to herself, it seems that the lady has been waiting for a long time today. The night wind makes her feel cold. I hope she doesn't catch a cold when she goes back.
How could she know that as soon as Zhao Hui left Fang's house and made sure she was far enough away from the pavilion so that Tang Suzi could no longer see her, her steps, which had been slow and weak just now, immediately became agile.
She stretched lazily, gazing at the bright moon in the sky, as white as jade, and exclaimed with pride, "A talented man and a beautiful woman, coupled with this beautiful weather and scenery, are truly beautiful, truly beautiful!"
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