"Manman!" Lian Zhizhi’s voice rang out from the West Room of the Upper Room.
Lian Manman hurried into the Upper Room; the door to the west room had been tightly closed but was now open. Lian Zhizhi pulled Lian Manman inside and promptly shut the door, sliding the bolt into place.
Once inside, Lian Manman saw that not only was Lian Zhizhi there, but also Lady Zhou, Lian Xiuxiu, Lady Gu, Lian Duoduo, Lady Chiang holding Niuniu, and Lian Yaya were all in the room as well.
The atmosphere in the room was extrely tense.
"Manman, why did you co back, what are you doing here?" Lian Zhizhi asked urgently.
Seeing her like this, Lian Manman knew the situation was dire.
"Manman, go and see what they are saying in that room. Why haven’t your second uncle and his wife co back yet?" Lady Zhou sat upright on the bed-stove, her face drawn tight, speaking to Lian Manman.
"Second Uncle hasn’t co back?" Lian Manman furrowed her brows. Based on the ti, Lian Shouxin should have been back for a while, and Lian Shouyi, being directly involved, should be even more anxious and likely to have returned as well.
"Granny, we’re all hiding here, not daring to go to that room. Why make Manman go?" Lian Zhizhi clenched Lian Manman’s hand tightly, her face flushed red as she confronted Lady Zhou.
Lian Zhizhi’s temperant, much like Lady Zhang’s, was gentle and quiet. Her concern for Lian Manman prompted her to speak out against Lady Zhou.
"You girl..." Lady Zhou, who had never been contradicted by any of her granddaughters, imdiately glared, her voice rising. However, considering the current situation of the Lian Family, she didn’t continue her outburst.
"What do you know, wasn’t it I who told you to hide here in the Upper Room? They’re all my granddaughters; do you think I would harm you?" Afraid that people in the east room would hear her, Lady Zhou deliberately lowered her voice, and remarkably began to provide an explanation, "Manman is young, it’s no trouble... Don’t look at Yaya and Duoduo, their bound feet don’t allow them to run errands. They are no help, unlike Manman, Manman is clever..."
Clever, also a colloquialism of their area, roughly ant spirited.
Lian Manman ignored Lady Zhou and seed not to see the strange look from Lian Duoduo. She only questioned Lian Zhizhi. Then she learned that the visitors were stewards of the big boss surnad Xu who bought grape wine from He Laoliu, along with several employees from Xu Family, and constables from the county town.
"...They are looking for Second Uncle, demanding he pay compensation, and also said they would take both Second Uncle and Old Uncle He to be beaten and thrown into jail," Lian Zhizhi said.
Now, in the east room were Old Master Lian, Lian Shouren, and Lian Shouxin accompanying these people.
"Sister, don’t go out from this room; I’ll go over and take a look," Lian Manman decided, then said.
"Manman, don’t go," Lian Zhizhi held onto Lian Manman.
"Sister, don’t worry, I’m just going to have a look, there definitely won’t be any trouble," Lian Manman assured as she spoke, now very worried about the situation in the east room, unable to just hide with Lian Zhizhi and the others without doing anything.
Unable to stop Lian Manman, Lian Zhizhi could only feel anxious.
"Manman, wait," Lady Chiang called to Lian Manman, putting down Niuniu and reaching into the ashes by the stove to rub a handful of soot. "Manman, sar so of this on, to avoid being taken advantage of."
Lian Manman was sowhat dumbfounded. In her previous life, she had lived in a more law-abiding society. Although there were also various shades of gray and black, ordinary people weren’t usually so wary. She hadn’t yet dealt with governnt officers of this sort here. Well, if it made Lian Zhizhi seem a lot more at ease, she would sar her face black.
Lian Manman ca in with a sared, ash-grey little face towards the east room.
In the east room, Old Master Lian was still sitting on the kang bed, with Lian Shouren next to him. Six or seven people were seated on the kang and the ground, among whom were two dressed as governnt officers. He Laoliu, his hands bound behind him, crouched at the feet of one of the officers.
Where is Lian Shouxin?
Lian Manman did not see Lian Shouxin at first glance and took another step into the room; then she saw him, squatting on the ground behind the door to the right of the entrance.
Lian Manman felt a fire surge from her heart to the top of her head, and she was furious.
Lian Manman clenched her teeth, saw a long bench in the corner, imdiately walked over, and dragged the bench to where Lian Shouxin was.
"Dad, you sit."
Maybe it was the sudden sight of a dusty-faced little girl entering the room that shocked everyone, or maybe it was the murderous aura emanating from this petite child, but the people in the room all stopped talking and quietly watched Lian Manman.
"Dad, you sit." Lian Manman pulled Lian Shouxin up and had him sit on the long bench.
"Dad, isn’t it just that your chest is hurting? Doctor Li said squatting more would help you recover faster. He was just playing with you, Dad, how could you really believe him?"
"Oh..."
After speaking, Lian Manman also turned to face the crowd and sat down on the bench.
"These people are all here to see my uncle, aren’t they? Why hasn’t my uncle co back yet?" Lian Manman asked.
At that mont, the door curtain was lifted, and Lian Shouli walked in, travel-worn. The two officers imdiately fixed their gaze on Lian Shouli.
"Old Three, where’s your second brother?" Old Master Lian asked, seeing only Lian Shouli.
Lian Shouli, looking at the roomful of people, especially the few who were glaring at him, felt bewildered.
"Second brother, he was ahead of going down the mountain, Erlang and Sanlang also ca back, both ahead of . Why, why haven’t they co back?"
After being pressed by Old Master Lian, it turned out that Si Lang had gone up the mountain and found the four of them. Lian Shouyi took Erlang and Sanlang down the mountain following Si Lang, while Lian Shouli lagged behind to speak with Master Li.
"...Second brother ran all the way down the mountain, he should have been ho by now." Lian Shouli said.
"Ha-ha, Scholar dear, Old Master Lian, are you trying to let the real culprit run away after sending word, and then who do you propose to surrender to us?" One of the officers pulled out a set of iron chains from his waist and rattled them loose.
***......***
Here’s the second update, rolling on the ground asking for pink hearts.
Give so more pink heart power, everyone. In the next Chapter, let Manman beco a hot chili pepper, fist clenched. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welco to visit Qidian (qidian) to vote for recomndation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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