Chapter 107:
Zeng Ying was disheartened. Had he grown so old that he couldn’t hear the world outside anymore?
“Uncle, in our family, besides Mother, you don’t have any other relatives, right?”
“An’er, why are you asking this?”
Zeng Ying sat on the four-wheeled chair, slightly raising his eyes to look at the person beside him suspiciously.
“Oh, I’m just asking.”
After all, he had changed his surname to follow the Zeng surname in order to inherit his legacy!
Anyway, his parents were dead, and he had no brothers or sisters, grandparents were all dead, so what did it matter!
“An’er, are you hiding something from Uncle?” Zeng Ying became alert.
“Hehe, no way, my dear uncle, you know I only have you as my only relative in this world. After my parents died, I was alone and helpless, living in a daze day by day, until you came back and I finally knew what it felt like to be protected. I just want to know, do you and Mother have any other relatives? If so, why did they watch me suffer back then, almost having my hands and feet chopped off without helping? If they find out later that you’ve come back and come knocking…”
Zeng An looked at the old man with a few white whiskers on his head and long, sharp nails pinched between his fingers, who exuded a eerie feeling all over, unable to fathom his thoughts, and tentatively said…
Thinking of those methods he used to deal with women, a chill ran down his back…
He lifted his sleeve to wipe his tears twice, heartbroken and said: “Nephew, every time I think of the hardships I suffered back then, I remember Mother’s tenderness to me when I was young, her expectations… Now at this age, I’ve ended up like this… it breaks my heart…”
“Alright, from now on with Uncle here, I will surely protect you completely!”
Zeng Ying also felt a bit sorry for this nephew, his own sister’s only bloodline, his only relative left in this world.
Although he had gone astray before and taken the wrong path without learning properly, now he was sincerely repenting, so he would help him out!
“Back then, when Uncle entered the Imperial Palace, it was out of necessity. Your mother and I were alone and helpless, with no other relatives!”
This Zeng Ying was quite a ruthless person. Back then, during the war between Dongli Kingdom and Si Kingdom, his father was conscripted and his fate unknown, his mother died of a serious illness, and with years of famine in the village, the siblings begged their way to the Capital City!
To survive, his sister was deceived into that kind of place due to her young ignorance, while he ruthlessly sold himself into the Imperial Palace to become a eunuch.
Later, he bought his sister out with silver, gave her travel expenses, and she changed her name and returned to Taoyuan Town to settle down.
Now that he had come back, his sister’s family was gone, leaving only this lone seedling locked in an iron cage at the Gambling House, fighting dogs for food—how could he not care?
Having been a eunuch for these years, he had seen all the coldness of human relationships and brutal killings; surviving and coming out was his fortune!
In the end, having come to this world for a trip, it was still the protection from relatives in his childhood that made him feel extremely attached and safe. He also wanted to have his own biological child…
Li Sanmao came out, and Niu Pu vigilantly had a servant follow him to see if he was lingering in the outer courtyard of Zeng Manor. Only when he left did he relax and go back to report!
In the evening, at home, besides Li Daniu coming to sell acorn beans, Zhou Shi saw that the visitor was Li Daniu and felt deeply bad luck.
She unwillingly cursed a few times, but was stopped by Old Li Tou…
Two more families came successively to sell acorn beans.
Suddenly, fifty or sixty copper coins went out. The other one excitedly counted the copper coins, chattering: “So acorn beans can really be exchanged for silver! Tomorrow we must pick more to bring back!”
Zhou Shi felt heartbroken.
They also asked Zhou Shi what she planned to do with acquiring these acorn beans.
Zhou Shi brushed them off with a few words; she was also puzzled—it was that terrifying Yumian Tower acquiring them, not her!
They went home before the sun had set; this was also to prevent something like what happened to Li Ergou in the dark.
After acquiring acorn beans from two families, Old Li Tou was called away by Li Zhengxin for a meeting.
When Li Sanmao returned, he happened to see Li Daniu sneaking around, which made him feel uncomfortable and annoyed, but he still politely greeted him!
Seeing him leave, he first prepared the deer blood wine by soaking it.
Before it was soaked, Zhou Shi called him out to hand over the silver from selling deer meat today.
Zhou Shi counted the copper coins over and over, until her eyes lit up, and only then did she feel a bit balanced about the copper coins spent earlier on acquiring acorn beans!
When Luo Zhi’er returned, the sun had just set, the sky was reflected red by the sunset glow, and little Zhou Shi was cooking in the kitchen.
Several children were playing in the yard! Liuliu was feeding the chickens!
Li Sanmao waited for her to put down the bamboo basket, pulled her into the room, and told her about the situation he encountered at Zeng Manor today.
“From what you’re saying, there really is a problem!”
“Right, that’s what I think too. I’m planning to go probe again sometime.”
Luo Zhi’er thought for a moment and whispered something in his ear.
At this time, Miaomiao opened the door and came in: “Father, Mother fainted today!”
“What?”
“Your mother fainted again?”
Miaomiao nodded like a little chick pecking rice.
Li Sanmao looked tense, looking at the calm Luo Zhi’er:
“Wife, how are you? Why didn’t you say anything… just now you even…”
He was angry; why didn’t she take her own health seriously!
“It’s nothing, sigh, I forgot to take the medicine this morning, so that’s why…” She turned to change into light clothes to go out, but suddenly noticed that the bed sheet under the bed seemed to have been flipped up…
She remembered tidying it up before leaving in the morning, right?
Because she had a bit of a cleanliness obsession, these things had to be tidied up properly—how could she have forgotten to put it down…
Oh no, her gold bowl!
She immediately alertly got down to look at the wooden box under the bed.
There were marks on the ground; it really seemed to have been moved. Damn it, who was it?
“San Mao, did you move the box under my bed?”
“No!”
“What’s wrong?”
He knew this box held his wife’s belongings, and she didn’t allow anyone else to look.
No one in the house was qualified to touch it, not even him—his wife didn’t allow him to look either.
“My box has been moved…”
“What?” Li Sanmao was a bit disbelieving; after all, only the two of them had the key to this room!
Luo Zhi’er pulled the box out at once and examined it carefully; there were marks on this wooden box as if it had been chopped by something, not very obvious!
She checked the room and looked at the pillow on the bed; there were signs it had been rummaged through…
She curled her lips in a cold smile, ran to the corner of the wall, and dug up the soil.
She found the key in the small pit she had dug in the ground…
Last time she had alertly changed the location; it seemed this person hadn’t found the key, tried to pry the lock but couldn’t open it, and then someone came back!
“San Mao, who came home first today?”
This wooden box of his was sturdy; unless chopped with an axe, it needed the key!
“This, it should be my mother, and father!”
Luo Zhi’er had it figured out; she was the only one in the house who had all the keys to this room as well as the eldest son’s family and second son’s family rooms!
But ever since the children got married, she said she had given them their own…
It seemed she had kept spares!
Probably, she had just been controlled by Old Li Tou before, and since the children had married, it wasn’t convenient for her to come in openly!
From this, it seemed she had sneaked in before too!
Luo Zhi’er calmly changed her clothes and walked out.
Zhou Shi saw Luo Zhi’er and grumbled a bit, but seeing her give a cold glance, she said nothing and went into the kitchen.
She felt a bit intimidated in her heart, and seeing Li Sanmao come out, she said: “San Mao, control your wife. What kind of attitude is that? Is there such a way to treat your mother-in-law? I was talking to her!”
“Mother, were you talking? Weren’t you cursing?”
Li Sanmao flicked his sleeve and left too.
“You…”
