Chapter 374: Chapter 194: The Power of the Smoking Pipe_1
"Fourth Uncle, Manman, what are you doing?" Lian Jizu hurried forward to stop them, "Didn’t they say Father was ill and couldn’t get out of bed? If there’s something, tell me first."
"Yes," Lady Chiang also walked over with Niuniu in her arms, smiling at Lian Manman’s side, "Manman, we are all family, let’s talk this over nicely."
Lian Manman gave Erlang and Sanlang a signal with her eyes, and they pushed past Lian Jizu and left. When they were leaving the house, Old Master Lian had given instructions—going into the city was naturally led by Lian Shouxin, but in the case of any issues, they were to listen to Manman. Lian Shouxin, Wu Lang, and Xiao Qi naturally supported Lian Manman, and with the financial authority in her hands, her actions were decisive. After they made a trip to the Song Family, they managed to get all the money back. In the eyes of Erlang and Sanlang, Lian Manman’s authority had grown immensely, and with Old Master Lian’s dry tobacco pipe in her hand, they of course listened to Lian Manman.
Lian Shouren used Lian Shouyi, making Lian Shouyi bear the ignominy, and Erlang and Sanlang also felt indignant.
"Fourth Uncle, Manman, what are you doing?" Seeing that no one paid attention to him, Lian Jizu asked again.
Lian Manman cast a glance at Lian Jizu and Lady Chiang. She remembered the account of the trip to the city given by Lian Shouli, which hadn’t mentioned these two people.
There are always some people who are very conveniently "absent."
For instance, Lady Zhou and Old Master Lian’s eldest daughter, Lian Lanlan. Lian Shouren and his wife had stayed in the city for some time, part of which was spent at Lian Lanlan’s house. Logically speaking, there must have been close interactions between them. But when Lian Shouyi and Lian Shouli went to the city to find Lian Shouren, Lian Lanlan only arranged for someone to guide them and didn’t come along herself.
Lian Shouyi and Lian Shouli were there to press Lian Shouren for debts, a fact they would not conceal from Lian Lanlan.
Then, like Lian Jizu and Lady Chiang—when Lian Shouyi and Lian Shouli arrived, these two were not present, and no one knew where they had been at that time.
Thinking this way, it seems that every time there is some sly move in Lian Shouren’s branch of the family, Lian Jizu and his wife are mostly absent.
The number of times is too many to believe they are all coincidences.
"Big Brother, Sister-in-law, you..." Lian Manman started to say something but then stopped. It was unnecessary to ask whether these two were in the house the past few days because the answer was certainly no, and they would have a very good reason for their absence.
"Manman, sit down and let’s talk. The dry tobacco pipe you’re holding..." Lady Chiang asked with a smile.
"This is our Father’s dry tobacco pipe, when you see the object, it’s as if you see the man." Lian Manman said just that and refused to say more.
Lian Jizu and Lady Chiang stood there, looking at each other.
At that moment, noises and commotions were heard from outside. Shortly after, Erlang and Sanlang, carrying Lian Shouren, walked in with big steps, followed by Lady Gu running behind them with a gray squirrel fur overcoat in her hands.
"...Your uncle is so ill, and you are distressing him like this. Is there no decorum left..." Lady Gu was incessantly complaining.
"Thanks to someone leading the way, otherwise, we couldn’t have found our uncle," Erlang said in a muted voice as he and Sanlang laid Lian Shouren on the ground, then moved to stand beside Lian Shouxin. Lady Gu quickly caught up, supporting Lian Shouren and draping the overcoat over him.
Lian Manman couldn’t help but scrutinize Lian Shouren and Lady Gu closely. Supposedly bed-ridden and too sick to get out of bed, Lian Shouren actually looked flushed and seemed even plumper than when he was in the countryside, yet his beard appeared to have been unattended for many days, giving him a somewhat disheveled look. Perhaps due to the hurried way Erlang and Sanlang had brought him over, he was only wearing his undershirt.
Lady Gu hadn’t changed much since their time in the countryside.
"Uncle, Aunt, it was my Father who sent us to the city, and he asked me to speak on his behalf," Lian Manman spoke while holding the dry tobacco pipe in front of her chest, "...when you see the object, it’s as if you see the man."
Lian Shouren and Lady Gu remained standing and did not move.
"Manman, your uncle is so sick, if you have something to say, let him sit down and talk," Lady Gu said, attempting to guide Lian Shouren to a chair nearby.
"Uncle, Aunt, didn’t you hear what I said? Father gave me this dry tobacco pipe, saying when you see the object, it’s as if you see the man. Do you need someone else to tell you what you should do when you see my Father?" Lian Manman said bluntly.
Lian Shouren and Lady Gu clearly felt unreconciled, but seeing Lian Shouxin, Erlang, Sanlang, Wu Lang, Xiao Qi, and Lian Manman all with angry expressions, it became apparent that the Song Family’s servants had vanished at this moment.
"I kowtowed to Old Master, your uncle is seriously ill. Even if Old Master were here, he would surely be excused from this ceremony," Lady Gu said, her voice a blend of defiance and unwillingness as she attempted a final struggle.
