First update, asking for pink support.
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The one who ca in after opening the door was Liulang. After becoming part of the County Magistrate’s family, he was indeed different. Liulang was dressed much more neatly than when he was at Thirty Mile Camp, and he even learned to knock on the door before entering. Even though he only knocked once, he pushed the door and ca in by himself.
"Liulang is here, co, sit on the kang." Lady Zhang called out.
Liulang rolled his big eyes around and then slowly made his way over and jumped onto the kang to sit. He sat there, lifting his arm intending to wipe his nose, but seed to rember sothing, and put his arm back down. Instead, he took out a dirty handkerchief from his chest and vigorously wiped his nose with it.
"Liulang is becoming sobody." Lady Zhang said.
Liulang was still not talking, his eyes roving around left and right.
In the days since they had arrived in Taicang, aside from the half-day when they first arrived and the day of the wedding feast, Lian Manman and the others would generally eat breakfast and then go to the street, eating lunch outside and not returning until almost evening. And Liulang, for his part, was always following Si Lang, appearing and disappearing unpredictably, which ant that they hardly saw each other.
Liulang just sat there inexplicably, silent, and Lady Zhang didn’t mind it because Liulang had always been a bit slow.
Lian Manman went to the side, opened her baggage, and took out so pastries, handing them to Liulang.
Upon seeing the food, Liulang’s eyeballs stopped roaming and fixated on the pastries.
Watching Liulang gobble the pastries, Lian Manman thought to herself that even though his appearance had changed a bit, Liulang was still the sa Liulang.
"Liulang, did you know beforehand that our aunt was going to marry such an old man?" Xiao Qi whispered to Liulang after he had finished his pastries.
Liulang just shook his head.
This matter was actually very complicated. It wasn’t just Liulang who was a bit slow, but even an ordinary child might not understand it.
Lian Manman then took the rest of the pastries out of her baggage for Liulang to see, but didn’t imdiately give them to him.
"...Lady Gu gave money to the matchmaker, several tis over. Just this noon, she gave it again." Liulang, having been used to this, knew that he had to exchange news for food. In fact, he ca to this room precisely because he rembered that back at Thirty Mile Camp, he would tell Lian Manman whatever he had seen or heard, and she would give him delicious things in return.
"Aunt Gu and Yin Suo just arrived, and Lady Gu gave Yin Suo so jewelry... My father says we’re going to be prosperous, eat well, drink well, and have silver to take... Second brother, third brother, they’ve got their jobs... Sister-in-law Xiu E and the others are plotting to introduce soone to Uncle, so Grand Master..." Liulang relayed the things he could rember, in bits and pieces, to Lian Manman. So were trivial matters, while others were quite intriguing.
"What did grandma say to you all after lunch when she called you to the eastern room?" Lian Manman asked.
At that ti, because the maids and servants from the Zheng family were in the courtyard, Lian Manman didn’t dare to eavesdrop outside the eastern room.
"We kowtowed to our aunt, kowtowed... Lady Gu was beaten, hit with the sole of a shoe, and she lost a tooth." Liulang said.
Lian Manman and the others exchanged glances. No wonder Lady Gu didn’t co out to see off guests, saying she was ill; it turns out she had lost another tooth. This was the second ti. Lian Manman thought that Lady Gu had already lost a tooth previously, and clearly, she hadn’t learned her lesson, becoming even more aggressive instead.
"...Grandma said that from now on Lady Gu will sleep in the sa room as her, saying she needs soone to take care of her at night," Liulang added after a thought.
"Ah? Did Lady Gu agree?" Lian Manman quickly asked.
"She agreed, if she didn’t, grandma would not let aunt go back," Liulang replied.
Lady Zhou was making Lady Gu sleep in the eastern room to take care of her at night. This, this was blaming everything on Lady Gu, set to tornt her. And Lady Gu had to agree, because if Lady Gu didn’t, Lady Zhou would not allow Lian Xiu to return with Third Old Master Zheng to the Zheng family, and the favors promised to Lian Shouren might not be honored. Moreover, if things soured, the Zheng family would beco Lian Shouren’s greatest enemy in Taicang.
Lian Manman continued to interrogate Liulang until he could no longer provide any useful information, after which she gave him all the pastries and let him leave.
"We’ll just get through this night, and we’ll leave first thing tomorrow morning; let them do as they please." Lady Zhang said, having obviously lost all hope for this place.
That night, Lady Chiang still ca over to dutifully serve. After Lady Zhang and her daughters lay down, they had so trouble falling asleep. In their groggy state, they heard noises coming from the Upper Room. There were sounds of doors opening, closing, the voices of Old Master Lian, Lian Shouren, Lady Gu, the scolding of Lady Zhou, and the calming words of Lian Lanlan, along with the crying of Lian Duoduo.
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