Chapter 124: Atonement

  He suddenly found himself living a life where everything was readily available and he didn't have to lift a finger.

  Is it suitable?

  Yeah, I should say, it was really hard to get used to at first.

  Chao Sheng had already gotten used to the life where her master sat while she stood, and her master ate while she watched. Suddenly, she could sit down and have a meal, with someone standing beside her serving her... it was really hard for her to get used to this new situation.

  Mrs. Xu was initially unwilling to sit down and have a meal with her, but it was Chao Sheng who insisted. As for He Yong, he didn't come back for dinner at all, no one knew where he went.

  "Don't mind him." Mrs. Xu busied herself serving dishes to Chao Sheng: "This is my cooking, I don't know if you'll be used to eating it."

  Mrs. Xu's craftsmanship is also good, and Chao Sheng nodded: "It smells nice. Tomorrow I'll make it for my mother-in-law to taste, and I've learned some cooking skills in the mansion too."

  Mrs. Xu's face didn't look relieved, but instead became sorrowful: "Alas... if we had found the girl earlier, we wouldn't have to suffer like this. He Yong is really too much..."

  Chao Sheng hastily changed the subject, pointing at another dish and asking: "Was this also made by your mother-in-law?"

  "Right, right, try some of this."

  The little girl standing beside her was called Hongdou by Mrs. Xu.

  This is a nice-sounding name.

  She said that, Mrs. Xu smiled: "What's good to hear? She also has a younger sister named Green Bean."

  Chao Sheng couldn't help but laugh too.

  The sky is getting dark, and every household is cooking dinner with smoke rising everywhere. Chao Sheng stands in the yard looking northwest, the sun has already set, and the western horizon is a piece of smoky purple dusk.

  The King's Palace... It should be time for dinner now.

  I don't know what Li Auntie, Xiao Shun, Xiao Su and the Fourth Prince are doing at this time...

  Hongdou held a small censer with things like Dingfeng and peppermint inside, lit it up and fumigated the yard.

  It's not hot now, and there aren't many insects. The evening breeze is cooler than the daytime, with pale blue smoke blown by the wind, like a thin gauze drifting in the air.

  It wasn't until the sky had completely darkened that Chao Sheng turned his head around.

  Mrs. Xu stood behind her all along, but didn't say a word.

  Chao Sheng turned back, and then Mrs. Xu put a long shirt on her: "Go inside, it's cool outside."

  "Hmm." Chao Sheng asked: "Grandma, where have you been living these years? How's life?"

  "I've been living in the countryside of Cheng'an, hundreds of miles away from the capital. The place is mountainous and the roads are difficult to travel, with no news from the outside... " Mrs. Xu said: "Although I've been trying to gather information, I couldn't find out anything. It wasn't until last year that Yongzi found me and we came to the capital together."

  "Where did Uncle go? It's getting late..."

  Just then, there was a knock at the door.

  Sometimes, you can hear a lot from the sound of knocking on the door.

  The first thought that occurred to Chao Sheng was: could it be that Uncle has come back?

  No, it's not.

  The knock on the door sounded weak and lacking in energy, as if it was sneaking up quietly, afraid of being known.

  Mrs. Xu sent Hongdou to open the door, but it was a young woman who came, carrying two bundles of snacks in her hands, wearing a red skirt with a green underskirt, and smiling as she said: "I... am from the Qian family."

  The red bean didn't make a sound, and turned her head to look at Mrs. Xu.

  "Which one of the Qian family are you?" Old Lady Xu asked, sizing her up with a glance.

  "Hello mother-in-law, my husband is on a business trip, and my maiden name was Ma."

  So this is the wife of Qianjia's second son.

  The place where she stood was not bright, and Chao Sheng couldn't see her face clearly. He could vaguely make out that she wasn't too tall.

  Mrs. Xu motioned for Chao Sheng to go inside. Chao Sheng went in and Hong Dou came over to lower the door curtain.

  "Ah, come on in and talk then."

  Qian Aunt made a scene that time and now she's not coming. None of the three men from the Qian family, big or small, came, but they sent a young daughter-in-law instead.

  What's going on now?

  Chao Sheng stood by the door and listened.

  Ma's mouth is quite sweet, eloquent and able to speak well. After entering the house and putting down the snacks, he first said a few polite words, saying that neighbors should visit each other more often. It turns out that the He family has returned, but they didn't know about it until now when they came to pay their respects. He also said that these snacks were bought from Xiang Man Tang on the front street, with plenty of lard and osmanthus sugar added, and the flavor is great...

  Mrs. Xu calmly instructed the servant girl to bring tea.

  Ma went around in circles, finally getting to the point, and said with great sincerity: "I came over this time, first to visit Mrs. Xu and Mr. He, and secondly, to apologize on behalf of my wife. My wife is old and often talks nonsense, and when she does something, it's always a mess. We've even asked a doctor to take a look and prescribed medicine, but it doesn't seem to have much effect. Mrs. Xu, you are a magnanimous person, please don't take her seriously. For what happened this afternoon that made you unhappy, I apologize on her behalf. If you want to scold me or beat me, that's fine too, I'll kneel down for you now..."

  Wow, what a great excuse!

  Can a single sentence of nonsense cover up what Qian Shu's been doing in the afternoon?

  As for age, Qian Auntie is only in her early forties, right? Xu Granny also looks like she's in her fifties or sixties. Who's older and who's more muddled than whom?

  Listening to the commotion outside, Ma Shi really knelt down.

  The second son's wife should be about the same age as Chao Sheng, shouldn't she? She should be. The second son is about the same age as Chao Sheng, his wife can't be much different from Chao Sheng. But listen to her tone and look at her demeanor, compared to Chao Sheng's old-fashioned sophistication, she is more refined. She can laugh with him and yield to him.

  Wow, impressive.

  Madam Xu didn't let her get up, but asked Hongdou: "Have you packed all the things to be collected?"

  "En, it's all right. If grandma is still worried, then let's have another thorough check."

  "I don't need to check, you think again yourself, as long as there's no mistake. The fire in the stove is going out, don't let sparks fly out and burn down the house. Move the small stove to a place with good ventilation, and don't cut off the hot water."

  "Yes, I remember everything."

  Mrs. Xu ignored Mrs. Ma, and Mrs. Ma didn't continue to kneel foolishly. Chao Sheng looked out from the gap of the door curtain and saw that Mrs. Ma had taken out her handkerchief to wipe away tears, then stood up and sat back down in the chair.

  I don't know if it was her acting skills or something she did with the handkerchief, but tears came streaming down and she sobbed: "Permit me to say, Granny Xu, you're a person who has seen the world. My mother-in-law is foolish and has offended you. We've tried to advise her, but she just won't listen. Please don't worry, we'll find a mason tomorrow to change the door for you. In the past two years, we've also repaired the walls and replaced the tiles on the roof. Once it's changed back, whether it's used for storage or as a living space, I guarantee you'll be comfortable and there won't be any problems."

  Mrs. Xu smiled: "So, I should also thank you for helping me take care of the house and repair it, it's really hard work."

  "Impossible. That was also the year I got married, in the summer, after several heavy rains, the wall was about to collapse, my father-in-law asked someone to repair it. Who knew that the person who repaired the house didn't understand and thought he was repairing our home, so he opened the door on that side..."

  Mrs. Xu still smiled.

  Ma's playing with this little trick, Mrs. Xu didn't even bother to pay attention.

  Ma's explanation is probably something even Hongdou wouldn't believe.

  "Please don't get angry, sir. Take care of your health. Let's talk this through. We're neighbors, after all, and we should look out for each other. Harmony is the most important thing. You see... like you said this afternoon, if we take this to court, people who know us will say that you have a strong temper and love to argue. And those who don't know us might gossip about it. In these times, which family doesn't want to avoid trouble? We'd have to bribe the bailiffs, the clerks, and the officials... many families have been ruined because of lawsuits. You've experienced more than we younger folks, so you must think things through more thoroughly. As the saying goes, 'Distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors.' Our two families are close, after all. Why don't we sit down and discuss this calmly instead of making a scene and losing face and money?"

  What she said also makes sense.

  In these times, going to court is just like fulfilling eight words: "At the gate of the courthouse, an 8-word sign reads: 'If you have a good case but no money, don't come in.'"

  Ma's words were soft yet firm, both pleading and threatening.

  Qian Auntie's second daughter-in-law is really... um, a case of "the student surpassing the teacher".

  It seems that the Qian family continues the tradition of Yin flourishing and Yang declining.

  This Ma is as shrewd as Qian Aunt, but compared to Qian Aunt, she has more insight and calculation.

  Mrs. Xu smiled: "The house will certainly be changed back, since you said so, tomorrow we'll find a bricklayer. We'll wait for the workman to come to our door. If there's nothing else, Hongdou, you see off Money Two's family."

  As for whether to fight the lawsuit or not, Mrs. Xu didn't mention a word.

  Ma couldn't bear to leave like this, so she picked up the tea on the table and took a sip: "Auntie Xu... I know I'm younger and don't have much say in this. To be honest, I haven't been married for many years, and Chao Sheng's daughter entered the palace early, I didn't even get to see her. I heard she's already back home, what a wonderful thing! Why not call my sister out so we can meet and chat?"

  Yes, it seems someone from the Qian family has seen her return.

  Do you think it's impossible to reason with Old Lady Xu and want to take advantage of her?

  Mrs. Xu smiled and said: "Our girls are precious people, not just anyone can see them whenever they want. Red bean, send the guest off."

  Ma was about to speak again when there was another knock at the gate.

  This time it was three knocks in a row, very rhythmic and powerful.

  Hongdou looked at Mrs. Xu and said: "Go open the door."

  Is it Uncle who's back this time?

  Hongdou went out and opened the courtyard door. Chao Sheng heard someone coming in, with a very steady footsteps.

  But it's not just one person listening.

  "Yongzi, why are you coming back at this time..." Her voice suddenly choked up.

  Chao Sheng looked out from the gap, only to see that Mrs. Xu had already stood up, staring blankly at the outside of the door, her face showing a mixture of confusion and shock.

  Mrs. Xu remained calm as ever, and Chao Sheng really couldn't think of anyone she had met.

  "Is... isn't this Brother Tao? Yǒngzi, Yǒngzi, you say... is it?"

  The person outside the door called out: "Mrs. Xu."

  The voice was deep and powerful, but it wasn't He Yong.

  Who is this person?

  The tide was stunned for a moment...

  Why... this voice, it sounds like I've heard it somewhere before?

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