Chapter 5 The Yard is Not Clean
"The daughter-in-law pays her respects to her mother." Li Mingzhu bowed respectfully.

Feng's expression was indifferent, "Sit down."

"Why does mother look unhappy? Could it be that my third brother and his wife came to offer tea this morning and they are not understanding?"

Observing Feng's condition, Li Mingzhu spoke softly, and as she spoke, she ordered the maid behind her to bring up a brocade box.

"This is a piece of top-quality mountain ginseng sent by my daughter-in-law's mother's family. It is the best for nourishing the body. I thought that my mother has been busy with my third brother's wedding recently, so I brought it to her for nourishment."

After hearing these words, Feng's expression relaxed and she smiled a little.

"You are really filial after all. Where is Sister Yan? Why didn't you bring her today?"

This question is about the daughter born to Li Mingzhu.

After Li Mingzhu married Chen Jin, she became pregnant the first year and gave birth to a daughter. Now her daughter is three years old and there is no movement in her belly.

However, she had always been good at observing people's words and expressions, and she was able to make her husband and mother-in-law Feng like her very much. In addition, her family was well-off, so she did not have a hard time because she had not given birth to a boy.

"Sister Yan was thinking about coming to pay her respects to you last night, but she had a cough this morning. I think she caught a cold at night, so I didn't ask her to come out for a walk." Li Mingzhu said.

Feng nodded. "It's May now. The temperature fluctuates between cold in the morning and hot at night. It's easy to catch a cold. You should be careful."

"Yes, my daughter-in-law will remember this. You should also take care of your health, mother." Li Mingzhu behaved virtuously.

"I want to live in peace." Feng sighed, looking helpless, "But after seeing the third son's wife today, I guess there will be no peace in this mansion in the future."

When she said this, Li Mingzhu showed some surprise in her eyes, and then asked.

"Mother, what are you talking about? Could it be that my third brother and his wife are really ignorant? But I have also asked around before. It is said that although the Xu family's daughter lost her father at a young age, her mother is capable. She manages the business and raises a smart and well-behaved daughter."

"You're just too naive."

Feng glanced at Li Mingzhu and continued.

"Can a woman who can handle business affairs like a man be a simple person? Can such a woman really teach a well-behaved girl? You don't know that Xu is sharp-tongued. As soon as she got married yesterday, she instigated the third son to beat Chunliu and put her under house arrest, not allowing her to see the child again in the future. Today, she came to offer tea and acted in front of your father, as if she had suffered a great injustice. As a result, I was scolded by your father."

Li Mingzhu had naturally heard about what happened yesterday, and now she frowned.

"Chun Liu was given to my third brother by my mother after all. She has served him for so many years and even gave birth to his children. Logically, when my third brother's wife gets married, she should be the first to make Chun Liu a legitimate concubine. Why is she still... This is too ignorant."

"That's right. Chunliu is a pitiful girl. I'm afraid she will have to live her whole life without a name or status." Feng sighed and looked distressed.

Li Mingzhu saw this and immediately said a few words of comfort.

He sat with him for a while before leaving Wanshuangzhai.

"Madam really loves the people around her and she's even thinking about Chunliu." said Qiao Yue, Li Mingzhu's personal maid.

Li Mingzhu chuckled, "I'm not planning for Chunliu, I just want to raise Chunliu's status so that she can stand firm in the third room and continue to be my spy."

"Wouldn't that be a nuisance to the Third Young Master's wife? The legitimate concubine who gave birth to the eldest son of a concubine is not easy to control and deal with, and is given by the elders of the family." Qiao Yue said.

"You know, the third son's wife must know about it, otherwise she wouldn't have made a scene this morning. Otherwise, the mother-in-law would have definitely raised Chun Liu's status by now. But the third son is a taciturn person who used to listen to his parents in everything, but today he is speaking for his wife."

Li Mingzhu said lightly, and then gave orders.

"Go back and prepare some things. In the afternoon, as the sister-in-law, I should go and see my new sister-in-law."

She was not so stupid as to think that her mother-in-law Feng was just complaining to her, she was not asking her to do something.

Qiao Yue nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

At the same time, Xu Shuhe was doing things in his yard.

As soon as she came back, she didn't say a word, and Chen Zhi said that she had to look at the account books in the shop outside, and then she went out, as if avoiding her. Xu Shuhe couldn't tie someone up at home and force her to have feelings for him.

I had no choice but to let him go.

When I had some free time, I started thinking about what had happened in the past two days.

From what we can see now, there must be a lot of stories about Chunliu, the maid. We have to find a way to dig it out. It should be related to Chen Zhi's past.

She had a vague feeling that Chen Zhi had suffered some loss at the hands of Chun Liu.

Also, this yard is not clean.

On such a big day as yesterday, Chunliu still brought her child to her side to cause trouble. Either the servants guarding the gate did not know the rules, or someone deliberately turned a blind eye and let them in.

Combined with the fact that when they went to serve tea this morning, mother-in-law Feng seemed to know everything that was going on here, Xu Shuhe became more and more certain that there were people in the yard who were disloyal.

Other things can be investigated slowly for now, but if the people around you have unclean intentions, that’s a big problem.

After thinking about it, he gave instructions to the person beside him.

"Xinyue, go call all the servants in my yard over here. I have something to say to them."

"Yes, I'll go right away." Xinyue nodded.

Soon everyone gathered in the yard.

The only personal servant was Xinyue, who was brought by Xu Shuhe from her mother's home. There were two first-class maids, four second-class maids, four third-class maids, and two maids assigned to serve in this courtyard.

Twelve or thirteen people were serving her alone, which Xu Shuhe felt was a luxury.

In the past, she wouldn't even dare to think about hiring a housekeeper.

Putting aside the distracting thoughts in her mind, Xu Shuhe took a deep breath, put on the airs of a mistress, and walked out of the room holding Xinyue's hand.

It is said that the face reflects the heart, and what our ancestors said really makes sense.

With just a quick glance, Xu Shuhe spotted two people with shallow thoughts.

Of course, he didn't say anything at first. He just calmly sat down on the chair that had been prepared early in the morning, looking at the people in the yard with a neutral smile on his face.

"We were busy all day yesterday. You all have worked hard. I am only now free and have time to talk to you."

"This is the duty of servants. Young Madam, you are too polite."

Below, the head maid Tinglan replied with a smile.

Xu Shuhe's eyes fell on her, his face gentle, "You are quite a smart girl, what's your name, how long have you been serving in the mansion?"

"Young Madam, thank you for your compliment. I am Tinglan, a servant girl born in the mansion. I started school and worked at the age of twelve. Now, I have been serving in the mansion for five years." Tinglan was eloquent.

After hearing this, Xu Shuhe nodded, "Then he is qualified. That's great. You can introduce the rest to me. What are their names? How long have they been here? What are their current duties in my courtyard?"

After being assigned the task, Tinglan was naturally not vague. Thinking of performing well, she introduced it in great detail.

In a short while, Xu Shuhe had a clear understanding of all the people serving in the yard.

Just as Tinglan was expecting her master to praise her and give her rewards, she saw Xu Shuhe's smile slowly faded after he glanced at everyone.

"I was wondering if there were any new people among you, but it seems that the latest person to enter the mansion has been here for more than half a year. How come there are still people who don't know the rules?!"

(End of this chapter)