Chapter 489 Granny Liu Enters the Grand View Garden (Part 4)
Seeing Jia Baoyu come out from behind the curtain, patting his chest and recommending himself, Mrs. Wang's expression froze, then she forced a smile and said, "You just read some messy novels, how can you solve the case? Stop fooling around, let Sun Jia Erlang investigate this matter."
If Jia Zheng had said the same thing, even if Jia Baoyu was indignant, he might not dare to argue.
But since it was his mother's words, he couldn't help but pout and protest: "Mother, please don't underestimate me. If it was a major murder and robbery case, I might not be able to handle it, but now it's just a burning stable, how difficult is it to investigate?"
Mrs. Wang was about to persuade him again, but Sun Shaozong laughed and said, "If that's the case, I will just take a break and wait for you to return victorious."
Jia Baoyu was encouraged and patted his chest even louder. He just asked Sun Shaozong to wait for a while and he would be back soon.
Seeing that she could no longer stop the crime, Mrs. Wang reluctantly called two stewards and went to the South Courtyard stable with Jia Baoyu to investigate the case.
The men in Baoyu's family left the table, and Sun Shaozong couldn't go back to the house and listen to Granny Liu's gossip with the other girls, so he apologized to Mrs. Wang and said he wanted to spend time in the nearby waterside pavilion.
After bidding farewell to Mrs. Wang and walking out of Lady Jia's courtyard, the gentle smile on Sun Shaozong's face suddenly disappeared without a trace, and he sighed inwardly a few times, "The tree wants to be still, but the wind does not stop."
He really had no interest in the internal fighting in the Rongguo Mansion, but he didn't expect to be dragged into it again and again - not to mention Caixia's pleading a few days ago, just now Mrs. Wang obviously wanted to use him, an outsider, to "expose" something!
Fortunately, Jia Baoyu took the initiative to take the blame, otherwise it would have been difficult to refuse.
While lamenting the excessive secrecy of this large mansion, Sun Shaozong strolled along the tree-lined path and wandered towards the waterside pavilion in the center. Passing by a rockery, he couldn't help but stop - this was the place where he and Ping'er first " met ". Now thinking about it, more than a year had passed.
"My dear sister-in-law...you...please..."
"No, no!"
Just as I was reminiscing about the world in the cave, I suddenly heard a woman's panicked voice of rejection coming from the rockery community.
Huh?
In broad daylight, an uncle and his sister-in-law are having an affair here? !
Sun Shaozong was curious, so he tiptoed closer and looked behind the rockery. He saw two people kneeling on the ground facing each other, with their four arms tightly entangled, even more compact than the intercourse between a couple.
However, these two are not uncle and sister-in-law, at most they can be considered as aunt and sister-in-law.
It turned out that the two people who were greeting each other were Xiren, the top maidservant beside Jia Baoyu, and the other was the third girl in the mansion - Jia Tanchun, the daughter of Aunt Zhao.
Although it is possible for an affair between an aunt and a sister-in-law, judging from their expressions, it is obviously not about anything sexual.
As expected, Xiren said anxiously, "Third Miss, please get up quickly, don't shorten my life!"
Then Jia Tanchun pleaded, "My dear sister-in-law, no matter how unfilial Huan Lao San is, he is still the master's flesh and blood. I only ask you to give my second brother a word of advice. Even if you find any shortcomings, please leave him a way out!"
Tsk~
It seems that my guess was right. The fire in the stable was indeed related to Huan Lao San.
But Jia Tanchun, who was said to have never been on the same side as her mother and brother, and always sided with Lady Wang and Baoyu, now seems to be unable to give up the blood of her fellow mother.
She was quite smart, and was afraid that if she went to Jia Baoyu to plead for mercy, she would be noticed by someone with ulterior motives, so she went to Xiren first and then had Xiren come forward to persuade him.
In fact, there is no need to persuade him. With Jia Baoyu's soft character, if he really knew that the wildfire was related to Jia Huan, he would definitely help cover it up.
Since it was still a continuation of the internal strife in the Jia Mansion, Sun Shaozong naturally didn't bother to pay attention to it. He quietly retreated back to the tree-lined path, preparing to continue walking towards the waterside pavilion.
"What did Lord Sun see?"
At this moment, a slightly trembling voice came into Sun Shaozong's ears.
Following the sound, he saw Ping'er standing behind him with a handkerchief in her hand and a shy look on her face.
Seeing that her face was flushed unconcealed, Sun Shaozong was puzzled at first, but then he saw that her eyes drifted towards the rockery from time to time, and he suddenly understood.
I guess she saw me looking in front of the rockery and thought I was recalling what happened that day, so she couldn't hide her shame.
If they were in a deserted area, Sun Shaozong would have to make some jokes, but the pair of "sister-in-law" behind the rockery might come out at any time, so how could he dare to act recklessly?
So he hurriedly asked seriously, "Miss Ping'er, did you come all the way to look for me?"
Seeing him like this, Ping'er also became alert. She held out the handkerchief in her hand and said in a reserved but polite manner, "I just picked up a handkerchief on the road. It doesn't look like something from our house. May I ask if it was dropped by Lord Sun?"
Sun Shaozong took a look and saw that it was the handkerchief he had used to clean up the mess on the swing. Thinking of the joy he had that day, his heart was moved. He quickly collected his thoughts, stepped forward to take the handkerchief, bowed and smiled, "I was wondering where it had fallen, but I didn't expect it to be Miss Ping'er who picked it up. Thank you very much, thank you very much!"
"It's just a small thing, how can it be worthy of a thank you?"
"Otherwise, this handkerchief is different from the others."
Sun Shaozong said in a serious tone, "It has a lot to do with the higher-ups, but I absolutely cannot afford to lose it."
Hearing him deliberately emphasize the word "tainted", Ping'er felt more and more ashamed and embarrassed. She bowed quickly, saying that she dared not disturb the adults' elegance, and hurriedly returned the same way.
Sun Shaozong put the handkerchief in his arms and continued walking forward as if nothing had happened.
But after the two said goodbye to each other, Ping'er walked forward for a long distance with her head lowered before she finally suppressed her embarrassment. She let out a long breath and was about to quicken her pace to return to Lady Jia's courtyard to await instructions, when suddenly a person appeared in front of her!
Ping Er stopped and looked at the man carefully, and couldn't help but asked in surprise: "Second...Second Master?"
It turned out that the person who blocked his way was not someone else, but the second master of the mansion, Jia Lian!
Today, Jia Lian is different from the past. Not only does he not wear any makeup, he is also dressed very simply and neatly. At first glance, he can be described as extraordinary and heroic - it's a pity that his pair of peach blossom eyes, which are full of spring water, still can't help but exude all kinds of charm.
He looked at Ping'er eagerly and asked excitedly, "Where did you find that handkerchief? Why didn't you tell me in advance?!"
As the male host, he naturally had to ask about Ping'er's every move.
But this attitude...
Ping'er felt a chill in her heart, wondering if he had discovered something.
But she was a smart girl after all. She didn't show any panic on her face, only a little surprise. "I found it at the gate of Grand View Garden. I thought it was made of high-quality handkerchief and it was not the style we usually use. It must be something that Lord Sun left behind, so I came all the way here to look for it. It was just a small matter, so I didn't dare to disturb the Second Master and Second Madam."
“You…you!”
Jia Lian's face suddenly flashed with a ferocious look, as if he had discovered that Ping'er had done something extremely treasonous. But just as Ping'er was panicking, he suddenly became like a deflated ball and said helplessly, "Next time you pick up anything from Sun Erlang, especially something close to his body, be sure to let me know first!"
Seeing Ping'er was puzzled, he added hurriedly: "I can return it to him personally!"
This superfluous sentence not only failed to make Ping'er feel relieved, but also made her feel that he was being weird.
However, Ping'er also had a secret in her heart, so she naturally did not dare to delve into it. Seeing that he was speechless with a look of regret on his face, she bowed and said, "If the Second Master has nothing to do, I will go to serve Grandma first."
Jia Lian waved his hand indifferently. Ping'er was about to pass by him as if she had been pardoned. But just as she took a step, Jia Lian frowned and said, "No! Why did you look so absent-minded just now? Could it be that..."
He stared at Ping'er in amazement, looking her up and down for a few times, and blurted out, "You are secretly attracted to Sun Erlang?!"
These words were like a bolt from the blue to Ping'er. Her heart almost jumped out of her mouth and her legs went so weak that she could hardly support her body.
Fortunately, she was a courageous woman. She tried her best to suppress the turmoil in her heart and said with a red face: "What is Second Master talking about? But... I am really wronged! If I really have an affair, I should look for someone as young and handsome as Second Master. How could I..."
Ping'er was anxious to distance herself from the matter, and for a moment she spoke without thinking, and directly used Jia Baoyu, the mansion's popular lover, as a shield.
"Pooh!"
Unexpectedly, Jia Lian got angry when he heard this, and said indignantly: "Baoyu is a half-grown boy who puts on makeup all day to look like a boy and a girl. He can only deceive ignorant women like you! To be honest, it is Sun Erlang who is a man of integrity and uprightness who can be called a man!"
Ping'er was dumbfounded after hearing this, although she agreed with this statement in every way - but when it comes to putting on makeup to look like a girl, it seems that Jia Lian is even worse than Jia Baoyu, right?
By saying this, isn't he also insulting himself?
However, Jia Lian did not realize there was anything wrong and praised Sun Shaozong a few more times. Seeing Ping'er staring at him blankly, he suddenly felt that this woman was extremely stupid and could not understand the charm of Sun Erlang at all.
So he waved his hand and said unhappily, "Go away, go serve your grandma instead of getting in my way!"
It's really inexplicable!
It was clearly him who had blocked his way just now, and now...
But Ping'er didn't have time to think about all these things at the moment. She bowed and left as fast as she could.
Jia Lian watched her curvy figure disappear gradually on the tree-lined path, and sneered with a mixture of jealousy and disdain: "You foolish woman with no vision, you have wasted this natural girl's body!"
As he spoke, he looked back at the waterside pavilion in the distance, his eyes gradually becoming blurred. After a long while, he seemed to suddenly remember something, a hint of joy appeared on his face, and he murmured, "Back then, when Xue Dabo had a misunderstanding with Erlang, it seemed that he gave him away..."
