Volume 1 Chapter 49: Azure Lotus

  Lu's mother was just a servant, how could she cope with the lady of Jian Nan Hou? She was clever and knew what it meant to borrow power, so she first ran to the pillar general's mansion that was familiar with Zhang's family to help the old lady of that house.

  The old lady of the General's mansion didn't usually interfere with other people's business and wasn't aware that Zhao's small house had hidden malicious intentions, but she was close to Zhang Shi and had heard something about her conflicts with her stepson. During the mourning period at the Jian Nan Hou Fu, she went to pay her respects but couldn't see Zhang Shi, even though Niu Shi used her mother-in-law's illness as an excuse, and refused visits from close friends who wanted to visit her while she was sick. She sensed that something was wrong, and later there was a sudden event of escorting the coffin back to their hometown. So when Lu Ma came seeking help, this old lady immediately thought that the new Jian Nan Hou couple might be plotting to drive the tiger away from the mountain, tricking Zhang Shi and her son into returning home, and then seizing the opportunity to take over the second house's property in the capital. Therefore, she told her son and daughter-in-law to inform the authorities, and Lu Ma's complaint was indeed filed.

  The Niu and Jiang families of the Jian Nan Marquis's estate never thought that Lu would dare to do such a thing, because they were guilty at heart and feared that if things got out of hand, it would attract too much criticism and make people suspect their involvement in the shipwreck. So they quickly backed down. Anyway, in their opinion, the second wife's family was doomed, and this property would eventually fall into the hands of the third wife.

  Later, Zhao Jiong brought back new news that Zhao Jue and his wife had indeed drowned to death. Although Zhang Shi's body was not found, he also brought back a coffin, claiming she was dead too. Only then did the people of the Jian Nan Hou Fu in the capital city straighten their backs, directly attacking the small second house, shouting that Lu Ma and her family were evil slaves who intended to seize the master's property, which is why they wouldn't allow the master's relatives to take over.

  Lu's mother was shocked by the "death news" of Zhang's mother and son, and under unprepared circumstances, she suffered a lot. At the time of the division of the house, some of the family members who followed Zhang's mother and son saw that things were not going well, so they sought to reconnect with others and returned to the South Hou Mansion, even helping the small Long House deal with the Lu family; there was also the Chen family to which Chuncao and Zhenzhu sister belonged. Others, slightly more righteous, did not plan to stay and continue to fight hard with the Hou Mansion, took their luggage and left, leaving only Lu's mother and her family behind.

  Lu's mother was about to collapse, and even her husband and eldest son began to waver, advising her: "If the old lady and the second master were still here, we could hold on and be considered loyal, taking good care of the family business for the master. When the master returns, we can return this property to him, and not betray the kindness of the old lady towards our family. But if the old lady, the second master, the second mistress, and the brothers and sisters are all gone, what's the point of us guarding here? According to the law, the master's property will be inherited by relatives, and we can't stop it."

  Mrs. Lu was heartbroken and grief-stricken, but she refused to accept the fact that all the masters had passed away. She gritted her teeth and carefully gathered up the smaller items of gold, silver, jewels, and other valuables that Zhang had entrusted to her care, including deeds and silver certificates. In the dead of night, she secretly dug a deep hole in an inconspicuous spot on the estate and buried them. As for the larger pieces of furniture and antiques, there was nothing she could do - they would be noticed if they were missing, and she would be accused of theft. Only these smaller items, unknown to outsiders and even her husband, could be hidden away. This way, even if she and her family were evicted from the estate, as long as at least one member of the master's family returned, they might still be able to recover these valuables.

  Later events proved that she made this decision very decisively. The Jian Nan Hou Fu indeed sent someone to drive the Lu family out of their home. At that time, rumors spread in the capital that the second branch of the Zhao family had been completely wiped out, so the Jingzhao government did not intervene again. The old lady of the Zhu Guo Jiang Jun Fu also shut her mouth. Mrs. Lu led her family to almost empty-handedly move out, and only after begging a relative of Lu Changxiu was she able to borrow a small hut to settle in.

  But things changed again soon, the people from Jianan Houfu suddenly moved out of the house and secretly sent someone to inform Lu Ma that they should return to their small house, saying that it was all a misunderstanding in the past. They thought that the old lady had passed away and would take over the property, with no intention of occupying it. It wasn't until then that Lu Ma found out that Zhang Shi and her two children were still alive, while Zhao Zhuo, his wife, and some servants, as well as the boatmen on the ship, had died.

  Mrs. Lu was shocked and also very angry, because the Hou family didn't even clarify whether the person was dead or not before coming to seize the property. When she returned to the house, she found that it had been searched thoroughly, with furniture still in place but antiques and paintings taken away, only to be re-packed and sent back later, clearly having been looted. She quietly went to find the hidden valuables, and only breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that they hadn't been discovered by anyone.

  The property of Xiao Er Fang was preserved, but what on earth is going on, Lu Ma still didn't understand. Lu Changxiu and the eldest son both advised her to be at ease and wait for news, the old lady was still alive, sooner or later she would send someone to deliver a message, but Lu Ma just wanted to ask clearly what had happened.

  At this time, the news about Zhao Jia Xiao Er Fang's encounter was only circulating among the upper class in the capital and had not been leaked to the common people. Those who knew the truth also refrained from speaking out due to various considerations. Lu Ma tried to gather information everywhere but got nowhere. It wasn't until the old lady of Zhu Guo Jiang Jun Fu secretly sent someone to tell her that the one who killed Zhao Jue's wife and child was probably Jian Nan Hou Zhao Jiong. Originally, it could have been done quietly, but unfortunately, they encountered Guang Ping Wang and his wife, who were traveling incognito, and rescued Zhang Shi Zu Sun. Guang Ping Wang reported the incident to the Emperor, and now Jian Nan Hou Fu is in a precarious situation, how dare they still covet Xiao Er Fang's property?

  Lu's mother suddenly realized and became even more resentful towards the Xiao Changfang family. She wanted to gather back those family members who had left before, and send some of them to serve Zhang Shi's ancestors in Fengxian old house. However, the Chen family and others who had returned to the Junanhou Mansion knew that their own daughters and daughters-in-law had died under unclear circumstances, but they were not willing to leave the mansion. Those who had left temporarily adopted a wait-and-see attitude. It wasn't until the emperor's edict came down, sentencing Zhao Jiong to exile, and the ownership of the Junanhou title was still uncertain, that these people returned to beg Lu's mother. But Lu's mother no longer trusted them and refused to accept their return.

  When the Guangping King returned to the capital, people in the capital learned from the mouths of his entourage who followed him south that Zhao Jiong had publicly admitted his crimes and was paralyzed, and there would be no day for him to turn over. Lu Ma received a letter from Zhang Shi brought by the Wang Fu guard, but she did not intend to follow Zhang Shi's order to watch the house, instead deciding to set off immediately to take care of Zhang Shi's grandson. Lu Changxiu did not stop her, and instead handed over the task of watching the house to his eldest son, and took his youngest son and daughter on the road with him.

  Lu's mother finished speaking, and again tears streamed down her face. She choked back a sob as she said to Zhang: "When we entered the city gate, I saw the red silk on the small long house side, so I knew that the officials' sedan chairs must be carrying that murderer! I was so angry I wanted to rush up and grab him! If our master hadn't suddenly fainted, I would have taken care of him myself, and wouldn't have let him get away so easily!"

  Zhang sighed, "Even if you get close to him, you won't be able to catch him. Forget it, anyway, he'll come back to the capital and won't have a good ending." She was more concerned about another matter: "The Chen family has actually defected to Xiaochangfang? Chuncao and Zhenzhu were both harmed by Xiaochangfang!"

  As soon as this matter is mentioned, Lu's mother is also indignant: "At first, they could say that they didn't know the truth. After hearing that the master was gone, they were worried about their livelihood and went back to the Hou Mansion to seek a job. However, later on, they all knew that it was the old master who killed the second master and the second mistress, and also silenced all the servants. They still refused to wake up! It's said that the eldest mistress promised to arrange a good job for Chen Lao San, place his other daughter in the house of Xiang Jie Er as a maid, and marry off his son to another wife. Chen Lao San actually threw away his deep hatred! How can such a person be trusted? Therefore, later on, he came to ask me again, wanting to come back, but I refused no matter what."

  "It's not right to agree." Zhang heard and also turned cold, "Chuncao was harmed by Jiangshi, if her parents and sisters are willing to serve the daughter of their enemy for the sake of their future, Zhenzhu's husband can also put aside his great hatred for killing his wife, only greedy for a beautiful wife, then this family is not worthy of use. From now on, they are not allowed to appear in front of me, lest they dirty my eyes!" She ordered Lu Ma: "Chuncao and her sister-in-law were both buried outside the city, their family has this attitude, from now on, every year's worship, our family will take it all."

  Lu's mother hastily agreed, and she also felt relieved. Zhang Shi's words obviously meant to keep her here. She quickly said: "Old lady, I know I disobeyed your orders and took the liberty of acting on my own, but you need someone to serve you, and Autumn Leaf alone is not enough! The people in the old mansion don't understand your preferences as well as I do, so let me stay!"

  "What else can I say? With red-rimmed eyes, she nodded: "Since you've come, just stay. You two children will follow Wei Ge and Er Jie from now on as servants. Lu Changxiu will rest for now and recover from his illness. Once he's better, I'll have Wang Siping arrange a good job for him. Don't worry about your eldest son in the capital either; I still have property there that needs to be managed. You two didn't betray me when I was down on my luck, your loyalty is commendable. I won't treat you unfairly."

  Lu's mother and her family of four stayed in the old house, while Zhao also had a personal maid - Lu's youngest daughter. It is said that this little girl is nine years old this year, and her name is quite distinctive, called Bi Lian. When Zhao heard this name, the corner of his mouth began to twitch, but unfortunately, she had been called this name for eight or nine years, and she couldn't change it just because he didn't like it. Thinking that even his own younger brother became "Wei Ge", having a maid named "Bi Lian" was nothing.

  Bilian was a bit afraid of strangers, but after getting familiar with them, Zhao discovered that she was actually a very considerate and thoughtful girl, only that she had never done any serving work before and wasn't quite used to it. It was clear that she was extremely spoiled at home, although she had suffered a lot on the way south, from a young age she had never lacked food or clothing, and roughly knew the rules of etiquette.

  Facing Zhao's clever and somewhat eerie behavior, Bi Lian was also very surprised. When Autumn Leaf said that Zhao was patted on the head by the ghost of County Master to become smart, she was even more frightened and her face turned white. But slowly, she got used to it. She worked diligently and belonged only to Zhao, so Zhao no longer needed to share Autumn Leaf with Zhang Shi and Zhao Wei. There were also people to serve tea, pour water, fetch things, and deliver messages. Zhao thought that having an additional little maid was quite good.

  The return of Lu's couple added two reliable helpers to Zhang's family, and the clan fields that were divided also needed to be taken care of. Zhang also planned to let Lu Changxiu return to Beijing after the New Year, and transport some of the remaining wealth from the small house over.

  In the capital city, there is a small Chang house. Zhang's family does not plan to get too close to them, not only because of lingering resentment but also for the sake of protecting their children.

  Days passed one by one, and Zhao's three generations welcomed their first New Year after returning to Fengxian.