The stand-in didn't take it seriously for three years, and the minister was furious when they b

When she opened it, there was a pair of pearl hairpins inside, gleaming with gold and pearls. They were not exactly the same as the broken one before, but they were almost the same, and even more exquisite.

Xuanwu gold hairpin?

Who sent this?

As soon as her eyes fell, Mu Lianzhi saw a large word "Li" in the decorative pattern on the inside of the wooden box, and a line of inconspicuous small words on the side that looked like a signature:

【Unknown】

An acquaintance?

As he was thinking, Chun Miao suddenly exclaimed:

"Wow, so beautiful, miss. This person really knows how to please others. Just when you regretted that one of your cats was broken, someone replaced it with a new one. You have been really lucky recently. I just don't know who is so generous?"

At this time, Xia Xiu also came over:

"Miss, it looks like an oriental pearl. It is so round, crystal clear, and has a faint golden luster. It must be very precious. This kind of appearance... is more likely to be produced by the inner court. It should be difficult for ordinary officials to obtain it."

After she said this, there was a noticeable moment of silence in the room.

Because Mu Lianzhi almost never leaves the house, there are only a handful of people who have such a good relationship with her. When everyone thinks about it, they all think the same thing.

North Hall Wing.

In the eyes of those who knew the situation, the relationship between the two and the money and gifts were not a happy thing for Mu Lianzhi, so everyone kept their mouths shut.

"is it?"

While murmuring, Mu Lianzhi took out the gold hairpin again and looked at it carefully. She couldn't tell the pearl from the oriental pearl, but the workmanship and design of this pair were obviously more delicate.

And she had no doubt that Beitang Yi could come up with such a good thing.

What she couldn't understand was, hadn't they already broken up? Why did he suddenly think of giving her a gift?

What do these mean?

Could it be that he felt guilty and wanted to compensate her?

She didn't even notice that the wooden box was carved with grass patterns, and even the lining cloth wrapped around the gold ornaments was not the usual red or yellow, but grass green soft silk. She also didn't remember anyone saying they wanted to "apologize" to her. As she shook it in her hand, Mu Lianzhi's mind was filled with thoughts:

Since he could get such a gold hairpin, does that mean he also has the means to make such a fake one?

"Since I ordered it, put it away first."

After closing the box, she pushed it to Xia Xiu. Thinking of something, she looked at Leng Yun on the side again:

"By the way, have you found the person you asked me to look for?"

"Miss, we have basically found it. I released the 'tracking bee' to follow it to a small courtyard in the south of the city. In addition to the lady, I also saw a young man with stubble on his face and a baby boy of four or five months old. They should be a family of three, with four or five servants guarding the house. Some of them have some skills but not very good. I heard them chatting and it should be just a place to stay for the male owner to stay overnight from time to time. The family seems to live in the 'Wang's House' ten miles southeast of the city. There is a persimmon forest in the backyard of the house..."

"Outside the city, in the persimmon forest?"

As soon as she heard the name "Wang's House", Mu Lianzhi knew it was almost certain, and then a name came into her mind.

Flower buds.

Hua Shuolei is a distant niece of the old lady and a cousin of Ling Wenzhan. It seems that the Hua family specializes in growing and managing persimmons.

The Marquis's Mansion seldom interacted with these distant relatives, especially those poor relatives who ran small businesses, but this cousin was an exception.

Shuolei Shuolei means abundant fruit. This is the origin of her name.

It is said that after she was born, the Hua family's persimmon-related business gradually flourished, and she was given the name "Fu" because of this, and by chance she caught the old lady's eye.

It is precisely because of the relationship with the Marquis' Mansion that the Hua family can own a large tract of fertile persimmon forest outside the capital. This is also the Hua family's largest source of income, and naturally the Marquis' Mansion's share is indispensable.

Hua Shuolei is just a little girl. She is of similar age to her aunt Ling Yuyao and they get along well. In addition, there are numerous interests involved, so she is one of the few people who can visit often.

However, crops are dependent on the weather after all, and profits depend more on subsequent sales, and in many cases one still has to rely on the Marquis's Mansion.

Three years ago, her younger aunt Ling Yuyao got married at the same time as her. In the past three years, Hua Shuolei was always the friendliest to her at every gathering.

Until now, she still remembers the conversation between the two when they first approached each other:

[Aren't you afraid of my bad luck? ]

[You are unlucky, I am blessed, I will share some with you, we are the same. ]

Because of this warm and considerate remark, and because they both shared the same suffering and had to consider other people's feelings, in her heart, she treated her as a friend.

In the past three years, she had taken a lot of good things from her and never left empty-handed. And because she often spoke up for her, she was often looked down upon by the housekeeper's sister-in-law and suffered a lot of humiliation.

Hua family’s persimmons are famous.

If Ling Wenzhan really had been living in the suburbs or in the persimmon forest, he should be affiliated with the Hua family and have a manor near the Marquis' Mansion. Hua Shuolei definitely couldn't have been unaware of this.

Even if you didn't know it at first, it's impossible that you didn't know it after three years.

Calling people "cousin" and "little aunt" affectionately is actually insincere?

She was also stupid. How could someone who relied on the Marquis' Mansion be sincere to her, an outsider abandoned by the Marquis' Mansion?

After tapping his temple for a while, Mu Lianzhi's teeth began to chatter again.

"Forgive me, young lady. I didn't dare to stay too long because I was afraid of exposing my whereabouts. The city gates were closed last night, so I couldn't go out. I came back first to make sure, and I haven't been able to take care of it today."

Leng Yun subconsciously clasped her fists and waved her hands, but Mu Lianzhi interrupted her:

"You did a great job! Don't worry, just find out the man's information and whereabouts for me in three days. The more detailed the better."

"The servant understands."

……

In the following few days, apart from going to the old lady's yard as a routine every day, Mu Lianzhi just pretended to be weak and busy herself with her own things in the house.

That day, she went to Fudeyuan again despite being sick. At the gate, she was stopped by the newly promoted Nanny Li, and she went back home the same way.

Inside the house, the old lady's hands were shaking, and Doctor Wang was still giving her acupuncture. On the other side, Jiang's face was full of anxiety:

"Mother, how do you feel? Doctor, what kind of poison is this?"

"Madam, don't worry. I have checked it. It's not poisonous. Madam Kang didn't lie. It might be some vegetable or weed juice that was not fully digested or accidentally brought into the bloodstream. Most people don't have any adverse reactions. The old lady may have a special physique that caused the stroke."

After removing the needle, the doctor continued:

"Fortunately, it was controlled in time, but the disease came like a mountain and went away like a thread. It will take some time to recover. Madam, you must keep your mind calm. You must avoid extreme joy or sorrow for this disease."

As he was giving instructions, Nanny Li came in and replied. Then the doctor sighed and said:

"It seems that the Second Madam is a good person. This is really a bit unnecessary and not worth the loss. Why did Madam Kang pick such a chicken and cause the Old Madam to suffer an unprovoked disaster for no reason?"

The speaker may not mean it, but the listener may take it seriously. A cold light flashed in the old lady's eyes.

On the way back, Mu Lianzhi walked briskly as she passed by the courtyard. From a distance, she saw the huge sundial in the middle:

"It's almost the end of the month, right?"