I was a housekeeper in ancient times

Sister Huan glanced at her and said, "Who else could it be? Aunt Cai."

She asked, "When did Aunt Cai come back?"

She remembered that some time ago, Aunt Xue told her that Aunt Cai had something going on at home and had to take a few days off. If she really counted, it had been a long time since she last saw Aunt Cai.

"That's not right. Isn't Aunt Cai working in the garden? What are you doing in Guanyu Pavilion?"

"Tsk, mom, you have a lot to do. The legs are on me, so I can go wherever I want. If Aunt Cai goes to Guanyu Pavilion, then she can go to Guanyu Pavilion. Maybe she saw that there was a banquet tonight and wanted to get some food. Aunt Cai is the greediest."

She nodded, but still felt something was wrong.

She followed Aunt Cai with her eyes until she passed by the pomegranate tree and blocked her view.

She didn't look again and turned to leave. The moment she turned around, a sudden bright light flashed by and her eyes suddenly lit up.

She paused, her brain still not able to react. Was that the light of a knife?

Where did the knife light come from?

Is it Aunt Cai? Why does Aunt Cai have a knife on her?

Huan Jie'er hadn't noticed anything strange about this, and insisted on pestering her, saying, "Mom, let Huang Niang cook some delicious food tonight so we can celebrate too."

Her expression was serious, realizing that something was wrong. "Wait."

"What are you waiting for?"

"How did she get a knife?"

When she looked again, she couldn't see Aunt Cai anymore. She must have gone into Guanyu Pavilion. Yu Muyan and the others were having lunch on the first floor.

The more she thought about it, the more she felt something was wrong. She pushed Sister Huan away and said, "No, I have to go check it out."

Huan Jieer asked in confusion: "Mom, what are you looking at?"

She didn't answer, but hurried to Guanyu Pavilion.

When she rushed to Guanyu Pavilion holding her breath, she quickly glanced around but could not see Aunt Cai.

Jia'er and Huanchunnu were squatting at the door playing with the cat. She asked hurriedly, "Where's Aunt Cai?"

Jia Er said without even looking up, "Aunt Xue asked them to go and help."

She breathed a sigh of relief, but her heart was still trembling. Was she overthinking it?

After the meal, Yu Muyan sent the maids to take Wan Jie and the others back home, and asked Lin Weiqiao and the others to have dinner, so she didn't need anyone to serve her.

After what happened just now, Lin Weiqiao felt uneasy. "No hurry, I'll send Madam back to the courtyard first."

Banqing said, "Mom, don't worry. Let's stay with the Madam for a while and go upstairs to light the stove to keep warm and cook some fermented glutinous rice."

Zhang's mother also pulled Lin Weiqiao aside and said, "Mom, just eat with peace of mind. I specially left a few delicious dishes for you. Keep them warm over a low fire and let Ah Ya watch. You don't have to do anything, just eat directly. I'll have a few drinks with you."

After that, several people surrounded Lin Weiqiao and went to the kitchen to eat. This was the first time in her life that she didn't want to eat.

Mrs. Huang had already set up a table of food in the kitchen and was waiting for people to arrive.

Everyone sat down. Lin Weiqiao rarely lost her appetite. Her mind was full of what happened just now. Aunt Xue happened to come too. She hurriedly asked, "Where's Aunt Cai?"

Aunt Xue said as she picked up some food: "Oh, I just asked her to clean up the lanterns in the garden. It's windy now, especially at night, and it's easy for them to catch fire."

"What about her?"

"I asked her to come over for dinner after she finishes cleaning up. Maybe she's still busy now."

She asked A Ya to call Aunt Cai over.

Sister Cuihong smiled and said, "That's strange. Why do you care so much about Aunt Cai? Are you afraid that she'll get lost?"

She felt suffocated, "I haven't seen her for a while. What happened at home that took her so long to go back?"

"Hey, is it her blind mother-in-law who is ill?"

"Is that so?"

She also asked about Aunt Cai's family situation. It seemed that Aunt Cai was all alone in the house and had no family.

She vaguely remembered Aunt Cai saying that the Cai family used to be the companions of Lu Yuxuan's biological mother, but after Lu Yuxuan's biological mother died early, Madam Lu began to suppress the Cai family after she married in, and finally the Cai family became responsible for the rough chores in the mansion.

Mrs. Chen said that Aunt Cai's husband died several years ago, and her only son was working outside and had not returned for some years.

Finally, Aunt Jiang said, "Aunt Cai's son was originally a servant doing rough work in the mansion. Later, Master Cai, who had been the former old lady's chambermaid, could not bear to see him go, so he released his indenture and took him out. There is no news coming back, but I think Master Cai will not treat him badly."

She nodded. The more she listened, the more she felt something was wrong. She ate her meal absent-mindedly, as if chewing wax.

About half an incense stick of time later, A Ya came back and said that she didn't see Aunt Cai in the garden.

At this point, she couldn't eat anymore, so she stood up and asked, "Where did you go?"

Ah Ya said, “I don’t know about that.”

Madam Li said, "Maybe she went to eat. She hasn't been talking much since she came back these few days. She seems to be worried about something. She won't tell me when I ask her, but I can guess that her mother-in-law has been ill for a long time and her only son doesn't come back often. She is a pitiful person."

After thinking it over again and again, she decided to go out and look for it.

She won't feel at ease unless she sees Aunt Cai tonight.

After a quick search, she still couldn't find Aunt Cai, which made her even more uneasy.

On the way, I ran into Qi Ge'er and Shu He in the front yard. Qi Ge'er asked, "Mom, what are you looking for by yourself?"

She asked, "Have you seen Aunt Cai?"

Shu He said, "On the way here just now, I saw a figure going to Guanyu Pavilion. I wonder if it was Aunt Cai."

When she heard the name Guanyuxuan, her heart skipped a beat and she ran towards it.

Qi Ge'er and Shu He were left looking at each other. Shu He asked, "Is there something urgent, Mom? This is the first time I've seen Mom run so fast."

Brother Qi also felt something was wrong, "Let's go and take a look, in case there is something wrong."

Let’s talk about the Guanyu Pavilion at this time.

Yu Muyan and Aunt Ban Qinglian were chatting happily, the stove was burning hot, and everyone's face was red.

Yinxiang sat under the lamp, sewing the soles of shoes with full concentration.

The people in the room were so immersed in their own things that they didn't notice an unexpected guest - Aunt Cai, who quietly came in with a cup of tea.

Aunt Cai had a blank expression on her face, but her eyes were fixed on Yu Muyan, like a cold-blooded killer.

Yinxiang looked up and saw it all of a sudden. "Hey, Aunt Cai, why are you walking so quietly? You scared me."

Yu Muyan and the others looked over at the same time. Ban Qing even asked, "Why are you the one serving tea today? Where are the girls?"

Aunt Cai forced a fake smile and said, "I don't know where they all went. Aunt Lin was afraid that Madam would be thirsty, so she asked me to serve her some tea."

She said she was serving tea, but she only brought a cup of tea and handed it to Yu Muyan.

Yu Muyan took it and asked, "Why just one cup?"