Chapter 402: Chapter 208: Lady Chiang’s Secret_2
""Sister Caiyun, if you see that man again, could you recognize him?" Lian Manman asked the last question.
"Yes, I can now, but if too much time passes, I’m afraid I’ll forget." Zhang Caiyun said.
"All right, let’s go look for him now." Lian Manman took Zhang Caiyun by the arm and headed towards the front courtyard.
"How are we going to find him?" Zhang Caiyun was puzzled.
"I think that man must have come for today’s banquet as well. There are still some people in the front courtyard who haven’t left, all of them close to our Lian Family, or they are particularly good with Lady Zhao." Lian Manman thought, if he was Lady Chiang’s lover, would he be unwilling to leave? It’s very uncertain. "Anyway, let’s just try and see."
"All right, let’s go and try to find him." Zhang Caiyun was eager to try.
When they walked into the front courtyard, there were voices coming from several rooms.
"We’ll pretend we’re looking for my brother." Lian Manman said, knowing that Wu Lang was eating in the backyard and they would definitely not find him here.
With this excuse, Lian Manman started searching from one room to the next.
"It’s none of them." Zhang Caiyun said, somewhat disappointed.
Most of the people in the rooms they had just checked were friends and relatives of the Lian Family; only one room was left that should contain people from the Zhao Family.
"The last room, if we can’t find him, then let’s forget it." Lian Manman said.
As they lifted the curtain of the last room, a strong smell of smoke drifted out. Lian Manman couldn’t help but cough and fanned away the smoke in front of her while carefully looking over the people inside. This room was the largest one, with people on the kang bed and the floor.
Out of all the people in the room, Lian Manman only recognized two: Zhao Xiue’s elder brother Zhao Fugui and Shopkeeper Wu from Yue Lai Tavern.
The people in the room, hearing the commotion, looked over at Lian Manman.
"Isn’t this Third Miss from the Lian Family?" Shopkeeper Wu smiled and said, "What brings you here, looking for someone?"
"Looking for someone, that’s a coincidence, our Constable Zhou here, he’s in charge of everyone, if there’s anyone you can’t find, just ask him." Zhao Xiue’s elder brother said while patting the shoulder of a young man beside him, laughing heartily.
He was obviously drunk.
"Uncle Wu." Lian Manman greeted with a smile, "My elder brother and younger brother ran up here earlier, my mother has something to ask them."
"...They haven’t been up here, you should check the third room on the right, your father is there, see if the two young masters went there."
"Okay." Lian Manman, out of the corner of her eye, saw that Zhang Caiyun had already slipped aside, so she responded and let the door curtain fall.
Zhang Caiyun grabbed Lian Manman’s hand and they headed towards the backyard.
Lian Manman felt Zhang Caiyun’s tension and refrained from asking any questions. It was only after they had entered the backyard and Zhang Caiyun looked back to make sure nobody followed them, that she finally stopped.
"That man... was he in that room just now?" Lian Manman asked.
Zhang Caiyun nodded.
"Which one was he?"
"It was, it was that Constable Zhou." Zhang Caiyun said.
"Are you sure you didn’t see wrong?"
"Absolutely sure."
"...,..."
"..."
"Sigh..."
"Sigh..."
The two young women sighed heavily for a while.
"Manman, what do you plan to do?""
"Let’s not talk about this matter just yet," Lian Manman said, "In case..."
If it’s a misunderstanding, then in this era, such issues could cost someone their life. No matter which woman gets involved, just a touch of scandal can ruin her whole life.
"Can I tell my parents?" Zhang Caiyun asked.
"I tell you not to say it, can you keep a tight lid on it?" Lian Manman turned to look at Zhang Caiyun.
Zhang Caiyun felt somewhat awkward; she really couldn’t keep it to herself.
"You can talk to my uncle and aunt, just don’t tell anyone else," Lian Manman instructed Zhang Caiyun.
"I can definitely do that," Zhang Caiyun promised.
...
Zhang Qingnian’s family of three didn’t return to Thirty Mile Camp, but went straight home from the town. Among the Lian Family, except for the newlyweds Erlang and Zhao Xiue, Lian Shouyi and Lady He also decided to spend the night in town, the rest returned to Thirty Mile Camp.
Back at home, Lady Zhou sent Lian Xiuxiu and Lady Zhao with two pots of assorted dishes.
"Oh my, your grandma this time, how come she’s so generous," Lady Zhang remarked with some surprise as she sent Lian Xiuxiu and Lady Zhao off, looking at the dishes in the pots.
Lian Manman peeked curiously into the pots and saw they contained meat and meatballs in abundance.
"Mother, have you been in the kitchen the whole time, didn’t you hear about Zhao Xiue’s sister-in-law’s issue?" Lian Manman said.
"I heard about it later," said Lady Zhang as she put away the two pots of food, "they said it was a close call from breaking into a fight, but then it was alright. I was too busy to leave, otherwise, I would have liked to see that. Today, the Old Zhao family really lost face."
It seemed Lady Zhang was not very well-informed about the details.
"Mother." Lian Manman then told Lady Zhang about the whole incident, and ended with, "I was the one who gave grandma the idea."
"No wonder." Lady Zhang finally understood.
"Mother, I have another thing to tell you." Seeing that they were alone in the room, Lian Manman leaned in close to Lady Zhang’s ear and relayed the matter of Lady Chiang.
"Is this true?!" Lady Zhang was clearly startled, her complexion even changed.
"It’s true," Lian Manman said. Some secrets are hard to keep inside; indeed, it’s better to talk about them.
Lady Zhang seemed to stagger, supporting herself as she sat down on the edge of the kang.
"Mother?"
"Manman, who else knows about this?" after sitting in a daze for a while, Lady Zhang asked.
"Sister Caiyun, you and me, Sister Caiyun will definitely tell my uncle and aunt when she gets back, I instructed her not to tell anyone else," Lian Manman replied.
"Right, this matter must be kept quiet," Lady Zhang said, "Manman, as long as nothing else happens, let this issue rot in our hearts... You can’t tell your father either."
"Mhm." Lian Manman nodded in agreement.
...
Nothing happened overnight, and the next day, as Lian Manman was pouring water out of the shop, she saw a carriage driving along the official road.
"They’re here!" Lady Zhang said with joy.
...**...
Ruoyan’s completed book recommendation: "The Brocade Screen Chronicles," a light domestic strife and farming tale set within the grand manor’s internal squabbles and entangled grievances.
Book ID: 1771214
Below is a direct link; click to go straight there.
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