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

"Shut up!"

With tears welling up in her eyes, the old lady turned around and glared at Mu Lianzhi, she was so angry that she almost exploded on the spot.

Just as she was trembling and about to say something, Jiang and Ling Fei'er rushed to her side from the left and right:

"Mother, now is not the time to be sad or angry. Yuchi is still counting on you."

"Yes, grandma, your health is important."

In an instant, it was like a bucket of cold water was poured over her. The old lady swallowed back all the grief and anger that were on the tip of her tongue. She didn't dare let the tears that were about to burst out fall.

She was afraid that she would lose control of her emotions.

She had already lost one son and couldn't risk another.

The old lady tried her best to adjust her mood. Mu Lianzhi covered her chest with her hands, looking innocent and at a loss.

"Mother, did my daughter-in-law say something wrong?"

Her heart was again in suspense, but the old lady could only say:

"Death is the greatest of all, and human life is not divided into noble and humble. If you spread this, won't outsiders think that our mansion is cold-blooded and heartless?"

Haha~

You're not afraid of her tongue sticking out when you say this!

All human lives are the same. If they really knew how to be grateful, they would not plot her life for a medicine from the Mu family, or take her life for Rong Hua from the Marquis' Mansion.

He sneered in his heart and nodded, Mu Lianzhi still looked obedient and "learned":

"Mother is right. My daughter-in-law was impatient and said something inappropriate, but..."

Then she changed the subject and took drastic measures:

"Although death is the greatest, we cannot ignore the living. Shouldn't we keep a low profile and deal with the aftermath as quickly as possible?"

"There are many things to do, such as appeasing relatives, reporting, waiting for an autopsy, verifying identity, cancelling the household registration, and burying the body. A lot of procedures must go through the government, right?"

"The eldest brother hasn't come out yet, the eldest young master is waiting for the court to assign him a wife, and the eldest young lady is about to reach the age of marriage. Mother, if there is any more negative news coming out of the Marquis's Mansion, there is no guarantee that someone will not make a big fuss about it, and then they will be affected."

"My daughter-in-law is also thinking about the Marquis's Mansion. Doesn't the future of the Marquis's Mansion still depend on them?"

It was like a bombshell was dropped, and this time, several people really wanted to cry but couldn't even cry.

Because they knew very well that the dead person was not the peddler "Wang Wen" at all, but the second son of the marquis's mansion who was the most beautiful girl in the capital three years ago. He was also a "Jinshi" and many people in the capital, especially in the upper class, knew him.

This is not a matter of life, an accident, or a formality.

Three years ago, he died in an accident in a foreign land. If he returns alive now, then no matter if the previous misunderstandings and omissions were caused by wrong information or the wrong body, they are all justifiable and not a big deal. Even if he lived in Yanjing or his own manor, he can find an excuse of injury and amnesia, and it is natural for him to return any day, and he can even apply to restore his previous official position. After all, true gold is not afraid of fire.

But the premise of all this is that he is alive and the reasons come from his mouth.

Now that he is dead, if people find out that he faked his death three years ago and had been hiding in his own manor for three years, then all these excuses will be invalid. He passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi, but he faked his death and hid away, not even entering his home. This would be a crime of "disloyalty, contempt for the court, and evasion of duty." More seriously, it could even be the felony of "deceiving the emperor," and the entire mansion would be unable to defend itself.

These are two completely different natures.

If it was the former, then it was just bad luck; if it was the latter, and it was caused by human factors, she couldn't even imagine the consequences.

This matter cannot withstand investigation and cannot be investigated!

Her face turned pale, and the old lady staggered and slumped back into her chair.

"Mother?"

Although Jiang Shi hadn't thought about it so much, she could tell that the one who was most affected was their eldest son, so she was also worried:

"Mother, what should we do now? Please make a decision."

"What the second elder said makes sense. The living are more important than the dead."

Gritting her teeth, the old lady looked at the housekeeper on the ground:

"I heard that people who were bitten to death by poisonous snakes have swollen and black bodies, rotten orifices and bleeding, and their faces are unrecognizable. It's very scary. After all, he is also a member of my mansion. We are master and servant. Go to the account office and get two hundred taels, hire a better funeral director, and take care of the funeral as soon as possible."

Is this to destroy that person's face and confirm his current identity?

Everyone present was smart. After just a moment of shock, the butler understood the old lady's attitude:

"Yes, old slave, let's do it now."

"Mother, you are so kind. You are so generous to a servant."

After watching the butler leave, Mu Lianzhi achieved her goal and changed the subject:

"Mother, I don't know if it's because we've entered the ghost month or my husband is homesick, but I suddenly dreamed of my husband last night..."

"If mother is alright, I want to go out and buy some sacrificial supplies. After the Qixi Festival, it will be the annual Zhongyuan Festival. By the way, I also want to go to Baimingfang to check out the situation."

"Without someone in charge of the family, the news is inevitably cut off, which always makes people feel uneasy."

"I don't want to be a sight to behold and criticized behind my back every day. I want to resolve the matter as soon as possible. I hope mother will allow me to do so."

She stroked her red sleeves as a gesture, her face looking aggrieved, she swallowed her saliva, her eyes flickering, and the three men's faces were almost as ugly as before.

Waving her hands, the old lady had to force a smile:

"Go ahead. Thank you for your hard work."

"Then my daughter-in-law will take her leave first."

The enchanting red shadow flashed by, and Jiang and Ling Feier both twirled the handkerchiefs in their hands at the same time. What woman doesn't like to be coquettish and doesn't want to go out?

After three years of mourning, not to mention Ling Feier, who was at the age when she loved beauty and coquettishness, even Jiang was envious and jealous.

They are all from the Marquis' Mansion, why is she special?

She was emotional, but she didn't dare to speak. When she heard no more noise outside the door, she said in a hoarse voice:

"Mother, do you want to go to the farm on the outskirts of the city? After all, it's the last time we'll see each other, and we still have widows and orphans to deal with. How could he be bitten by a poisonous snake out of nowhere?"

What a sudden disaster.

Before Jiang could finish her sigh, the old lady lowered her head and saw the Buddhist scriptures scattered on the ground. Then she thought of Mu Lianzhi's words "bloody disaster" and "ominous", stood up, and slapped Ling Feier in the face:

"Look at the good things you have done. You are not well-trained, so you are more likely to cause trouble than to accomplish anything! Don't bring up things that you are not absolutely sure of in the future!"

Her son.

If it weren't for the sudden accident involving the eldest son, the younger son should have appeared and returned as planned, and perhaps he would not have suffered this misfortune.

Tears flowed down the old lady's face and she sobbed and cried.

With a plop, Ling Feier knelt on the ground, her face so pale that she didn't even dare to cry. At the same time, Jiang opened her mouth several times but said nothing in the end.

After a while, the old lady spoke again:

"It is not appropriate for us to show up. Let's find two trusted people to check the cause of death and understand the circumstances first."