Chapter 19 Chapter Nineteen
Due to Wu Duo's running around, the seals of the three passbooks were reported lost and replaced with new ones, and the matter of filing a case at the county government office was completed within half a day.
"Second Master Zhen, I'll give you another idea: you use Zunyu's new stamp to transfer the account, write off the old booklet, and exchange it for a new booklet in your own name. This way is convenient and appropriate, you see how?"
"Thank you, thank you! That's a brilliant idea."
"Then, I simply volunteered to accompany you for a trip. Maybe it will take a lot of talking; if you don't have something to say, Second Master Zhen, I will say it for you."
Cao Zhen thought to himself, this is not bad; fortunately, he has all the stamps in his hands, and he is not afraid of him playing tricks, so he gladly accepted the kindness.
So first I went to a bad shop; then I went to a soy sauce garden, which was endorsed by Wu Duo, and there was also a document from Shangyuan County that allowed to file a case to report the loss; New passbook.
When I arrived at the third house, Second Grandma Zhen deposited more than 80,000 silver in a wooden shop there; the shopkeeper was a big fat man named Zhao, with a kind face and kind eyes, and he was a good-natured person at a glance.I don't know!
"Second Master Zhen, I'm old with you. Although it's the first time I've met you, I've admired you for a long time. It's a bit difficult to talk about." Fatty Zhao turned around and asked, "Second Master Zhen, I don't know that Second Grandma Zhen is with you. Have you mentioned that there is a special agreement with the cashier?"
"What extra agreement?"
"In addition to stamps, Second Grandma Zhen has to make her own fingerprints." Fatty Zhao continued: "I persuaded her at that time; I said: Second Grandma Zhen, your status is honorable; , Only those who are illiterate and don’t need a stamp can pass. Second Grandma Zhen, if you use this method, it will make people laugh. Second Grandma Zhen won’t listen! She said: Don’t worry about it! The amount of money is a bit big, I have to be extra careful. That’s it, it’s stipulated that first, by the book; second, by her person; third, by her fingerprints. It’s not okay to lack any of the three.”
Cao Zhen gasped, and could only look at Wu Duo; he hoped that he would have some words to persuade Fatty Zhao to handle it differently.Of course Wu Duo understood this meaning; he tried his best to persuade her right now, saying that Second Grandma Zhen was sick in bed and could not come in person; she was approaching the end of the year and needed money urgently, so please accommodate him.Fatty Zhao shook his head, not giving up.
In the end, Cao Zhen had no choice but to threaten: "Shopkeeper Zhao, please understand! This bag is to make up for the shortfall of the weaving office; if you miss something, you won't be able to eat it, so just walk around!"
Fatty Zhao thought for a while and said, "Since Second Master Zhen said so, I have to be flexible." He took a blank piece of paper and handed it over, "Please Second Master Zhen go back and ask Second Grandma Zhen to stamp her handprint; The amount. Tens of thousands of silver are ready-made; if there is more, it will take three to five days, let me prepare it."
At this moment, Cao Zhen was in a difficult situation; his heart moved, and he felt that it was necessary to discuss with Wu Duo.Pulling him aside, he whispered: "I don't know if my wife has any fingerprints here? If not, it's easy to do; just find a woman's fingerprints to stamp on it. I'm afraid there are fingerprints here, that's bad gone."
"In my opinion, it's just a bluff! Let's do it according to your method."
"No, no! If you show your feet, you will lose face." Cao Zhen said in a low voice: "Brother Angus, you can play his tone the other way."
Wu Duo accepted the appointment and went to have a private conversation with Fatty Zhao; it took about two quarters of an hour before he replied to Cao Zhen.
"Sure enough, it's a bluff. This fat man is ruthless enough! Second Master Zhen, he has figured out the origin of this story: he actually pinched his neck and did it. I advise you not to agree."
Cao Zhen was at a loss for what he said without thinking; he was stunned for a moment and asked, "What's going on?"
"He said: If the second master Zhen is short of money, you can give him this discount, get 40,000 first, and talk about the rest later."
"Okay, okay!" Cao Zhen agreed repeatedly, "That's it."
But Wu Duo hesitated: "Second Lord Zhen," he said with an apologetic expression, "I'm afraid you still don't understand what he means."
"What does he mean?"
Wu Duo thought about it for a while, and said quickly: "The so-called return to him is to exchange 40,000 silver for a booklet."
Cao Zhen suddenly realized, "That is to say, I have a passbook of more than 80,000 yuan, and if I get back 40,000 yuan, it will be regarded as a failure?" He said, "Isn't this a bit too cruel?"
"So I advise you to ignore him." Wu Duo spoke quickly; then he muttered to himself, "Even if it's the money you picked up, you can't be so generous."
The speaker had no intention, but the listener meant it. The words "it's just picked up money" fell into Cao Zhen's ears very clearly.His original plan was to use those two passbooks, which totaled more than 60,000 silver, to make up for the shortfall of public funds; this is a large sum, which can be used well.But if it can't be fulfilled, everything is out of the question.
"Second Lord Zhen!" Wu Duo spoke again; but he hesitated to speak, as if in a very embarrassing situation, which confused Cao Zhen.
"Sangkor Angkor, what are your difficulties?"
"No, no! It's not that I have difficulties, and I can't talk about it at all. I'm just thinking, I have a few words purely for your Second Lord Zhen, and I don't know if I should say them or not?"
"Since it's for me, what can't you say?"
"That's right! Let me just say it." Wu Duo paused for a moment and asked, "Second Master Zhen, do you have enough money in those two booklets? Enough, don't talk about it; not enough, let's find a way .”
Obviously, if Cao Zhen replied "enough"; even if he had a brilliant idea, he would not be able to hear it.Therefore, Cao Zhen replied without thinking, "Not enough."
"Since it's not enough, Second Master Zhen, you have to take the money you picked up." Wu Duo said immediately, "You used two of the three booklets, and returned the extra one to Second Grandma Zhen. She may not see love either."
This sentence hit the point, Cao Zhen decided to be generous to others.But there is room for bargaining; after a little consideration, he said: "Brother Angus, I entrust you to tell him: give him 60,000 silver in exchange; Create a new fold."
After round-trip negotiations, it was agreed that 55,000 silver should be exchanged, and 15,000 silver should be converted into gold leaves;
"That's it." Cao Zhen asked Fatty Zhao: "What's the procedure, you tell me."
"Second Lord Zhen, please approve 'all completed' on the notebook; it will be fine to stamp a new stamp of the case."
This method was clean and easy; Cao Zhen readily agreed.So Fatty Zhao set up a new book: exchange gold leaves and hold them out on a vermilion plate with lacquer.Cao Zhen added his own handwriting to the original fold and stamped it with a new chapter; the delivery was clear on the spot.
"I'm a Xiaodong," Wu Duo said, "Please tell the story of Master Zhen and Shopkeeper He Fang."
"There, there!" Fatty Zhao clasped his fists and said, "I thought I was Xiaodong, but Master Zhang, the governor's yamen, made an appointment three days ago; if I want to accompany him to see a house, I have to be invited another day."
Naturally, Cao Zhen wanted to comfort Wu Duo, but he didn't want to travel with Fatty Zhao. Hearing this, he was in the middle of his heart, and he was afraid that Wu Duo would insist on inviting him, which would spoil his interest.
He rushed to the front and said: "Don't dare, dare not! I will come to invite you another day."
Resigned and transferred to Qinhuai Qichun Courtyard.As the year approaches, Hefang is inevitably neglected; therefore, when Cao and Wu arrive, they are very welcome.Cao Zhen hasn't been able to spend a lot of money for a long time; this day he made a windfall for no reason, so of course he wanted to be a high-roller, "calling Tiaozi" and invited all the hotties from the old courtyard.Every girl brings a girl, one mother; at least one musician who plays the flute and sheng outside; Now, such grand occasions are rarely seen on the Qinhuai River.
The music is noisy, the fat and powder are greasy; although the house is not smaller than a boat, the spring is still deeper than the sea.Surrounded by pearls and emerald greenery, Cao Zhen was high-spirited and joyful; when Xing'er was on his head, he saw Xing'er rushing towards the banquet; although Cao Zhen's eyes were blurred, he could tell that his expression was different.
The robbery was done by Cao Zhen alone, even Xing'er had never heard of it, so he didn't take him to Fatty Zhao that day.Looking at his expression now, I can't help but mutter in my heart; just about to ask, Xing'er has already opened the mouth.
"Second Master, please go back!"
"What's up?"
Xing'er hesitated to speak, just looked around; Cao Zhen got up immediately, beckoned to take Xing'er to a secluded place, so that he could speak clearly.
"Second Mistress swallowed a gold ring."
"What?" Cao Zhen, who was half drunk, suddenly woke up, "What's going on?"
"A person came to the place where the second grandma kept her money; meeting Jin'er, there was chaos inside!" Xing'er stammered.
"Why is it messed up inside? The words are unclear. What's going on?"
"Second Master always knows it himself!"
Cao Zhen knew what happened to Dongchuang; he calmed down and said, "It doesn't matter, you can make a long story short. What happened?"
Seeing Cao Zhen's expression, Xing'er calmed down a bit; he said immediately: "I'm outside, so I don't know very well. I heard from the middle gate that the second mistress was driven back from his wife and asked the little girl to ask. Next , just asked me to go in and ask: Where did Er Ye go today? I said I didn’t know; When I came back from the house, I heard that Second Grandma had swallowed a gold ring. My wife cried a lot; everyone was alarmed, and now I have sent four groups of people to look for Second Master, go back quickly!"
Cao Zhen's heart was up and down, imagining the situation of up and down in a mess, he could not help but feel palpitations.But I can't hide, I can't delay, so I can only bite the bullet and say to Wu Duo: "There is an important matter in the house, I have to rush back; I am so sorry that I lost my brother's happiness. Here——. "
"Second Lord Zhen," Wu Duo, who had already seen the clue, rushed to say, "Please don't worry about it here; I'll take care of it."
"Yes, yes! How much did you spend? Give me an amount, and I'll send someone over right away."
"Small, small! Please."
Going out to get in the car, Xing'er crossed the shaft; halfway on the way, Cao Zhen remembered an important sentence, then lifted the curtain of the car and asked loudly, "What's wrong with the second grandma? Is it important?"
"I don't know yet; Uncle He is trying to save him!"
Cao Zhen searched his memory, but couldn't think of any information about being rescued by swallowing gold and being immortal. As long as you stand firm, you are not afraid of any difficulties from your relatives and friends.
Thinking about it this way, if you don’t go home in a hurry, first go to the Weaving Yamen to find "Wu Linda" - the treasurer. When this person was born, it happened to coincide with his grandfather's eighty-fifth birthday; so he named him Eighty-Five; Everyone called him "Mynah" in a pun, and Cao Zhen was no exception.
"Brother, I have two banknotes here, including the principal and interest of more than 62,000 silver; the whole number makes up for the shortfall, and you can figure out the rest. It's almost Chinese New Year, and the friends in the treasury should have been perfunctory and perfunctory. .”
Hearing this, Eighty-Five's spirits lifted.It turned out that he was very well informed. He had known that Cao Fu was in trouble in Beijing and was unstable.His job is a post-writing style of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and has no connection with the Cao family; but he also ran into some deficits in managing the treasury.
Now that 60,000 silver has been handed over to the Jiangning Fan treasury and the household department, it seems that Cao Fu's gauze hat can be stabilized; even if it is not, the handover is also easy.Immediately, I had an idea, and decided to make up for my shortfall of three thousand silver; the remainder will be released from the treasury first, and will be calculated when there is an account.
So he said: "Second Master Zhen, the sixty thousand silver is no less than six hundred thousand. I've been so worried about Fourth Master that I couldn't sleep. Now, it doesn't matter."
"Oh," Cao Zhen naturally wanted to inquire, "Could it be that you have any news?"
"That's right! I've wanted to tell Second Master Zhen a long time ago, and I'm afraid you'll be upset; you might as well tell me now." Then, he took out a piece of paper from the drawer and handed it over.
"This is the 'credentials'; please tell me."
People in the Qing Dynasty called Manchurian "national script"; Manzhou dialect was "national language".In fact, there is language but no text; Manchu is completely transliterated.Except for the deceased Cao Yin, the Cao family didn't even know Manchu, let alone Cao Zhen; but Eighty-Five is a true Manchurian, and in order to pass the "Translation Jinshi" exam, he worked hard on Manchu ; Usually, when communicating with friends, try to use Manchu as much as possible, especially for confidential information. In order to prevent leakage, Manchu is more suitable.
"The letter said that the emperor's several 'major events' have been taken care of clearly; starting next year, he is going to make a big rectification. The people sent by the Ministry of Internal Affairs also have to check the results of the exam. The emperor's meaning is that the annals are too big, Lack of energy; Hangzhou Sun Weaving probably bears the brunt, followed by—"
There are three weaving offices, Suzhou Gao Bin, who has just been appointed; his wife is also the nurse of the emperor's fourth son Hongli, so of course he can be safe.It goes without saying that it is Cao Fu.
"It doesn't matter, you don't have to be shy; go on!"
"The fourth master has been slandered by others, both inside and outside; the holy family will inevitably be affected. It is good to have Prince Yi and Prince Ping, who have some support; if the fourth master does something worthy of praise, it will be easy for the princes in front of the emperor. I have spoken. It is not a good thing to try my best to make up for the shortfall now." Eighty-five then said: "I will go to the treasury tomorrow morning to join the joint; at the same time, I will notify the fourth master as soon as possible. The treasury has to keep some cash, It's Chinese New Year; it must be paid 55,000 in advance; please work hard tonight, Second Master Zhen, and write a letter in detail, and I will entrust the special messenger of the Governor's Yamen to "run the memorial" to bring it to Beijing tomorrow; Even if it's stable."
After listening to Cao Zhen, he was very relieved, because these words were really plausible when he said them in front of Mrs. Ma.But tonight it is absolutely impossible to have the leisurely time and mood to write a letter home.After thinking about it, he cupped his hands and said, "Brother, one guest will not bother the second master; please write the letter to the fourth master. I am overworked, overworked, and I will treat you to Hefang for a drink some other day."
After finishing speaking, he left in a hurry, but when he got home, he seemed calm instead.At that time, it was dusk, the door lights were on, and the servants at the door saw him and stood up together; Cao Zhen noticed that everyone was looking at him with strange eyes, but with a self-conscious conscience, he rushed in rashly and went straight to Mrs. Ma. yard.
At this time, a girl had already reported that "the second master is back." Mrs. Ma asked Qiuyue, who was accompanying and comforting, to welcome him out first; so that she could understand his intentions from her dealings with Cao Zhen.
"Second Master Zhen is back!"
"Oh, you are here." Cao Zhen asked, "Where is your wife?"
"I have a stomachache at first; I just fell asleep after lying down for a long time." Qiuyue asked, "Second Lord Zhen knows about Second Grandma Zhen?"
When Cao Zhen went to see her at Eighty-Five, he didn't hear any bad news. Knowing that his wife had been rescued, he said at this moment: "The whole family is important, I can't take care of her anymore."
"How did Second Master Zhen say this? How is it 'the whole family is important'?"
"If something happens to the fourth master, the whole family will be in trouble. Which side do you think is more important?"
"Did Second Master Zhen get any news?"
"That's right!" Cao Zhen didn't mention the source of the news, "The old man is already unreliable; if you don't make up for the shortfall quickly, something will happen to the fourth master."
"Master Biao" refers to Sun Wencheng, Cao Xi's nephew, who was called "Master Biao" at that time; when Cao Yin was weaving, he was promoted to "Master Biao"; now he is naturally "Master Biao".
At this moment, Mrs. Ma thought she could meet Cao Zhen; she deliberately asked through the curtain, "Who is outside?"
"Second Lord Zhen is back!" Qiuyue replied loudly; then she stepped forward and raised the curtain to signal Cao Zhen to enter.
Cao Zhen greeted you first when he entered the door, and then asked: "I heard that my wife has a stomachache, I wonder if she feels better?"
"It doesn't matter to me! Do you know about your daughter-in-law?"
Cao Zhen asked cautiously: "I heard that she committed suicide, but now she is rescued. What's going on?"
"You should understand, right?"
"I don't quite understand." Cao Zhen replied, "I feel that I did nothing wrong."
Mrs. Ma hesitated to say anything, rather hesitated; Qiuyue said through a golden lead: "Second Lord Zhen is busy with Fourth Master's business."
Mrs. Ma wanted to wait for her to mention this; she nodded immediately and asked, "What's the matter with Fourth Master?"
So Cao Zhen recounted the news he got from Bashiwu with embellishments; he said that he had known about the bad situation three days ago, and he didn't tell Madam Ma because he was afraid that she would be in a hurry.It doesn't matter now; because he made up a lot of money for "fourth uncle".
"I have already handed over two discounts to Mynah, and asked him to go to the treasury to exchange them early tomorrow morning; tonight I have to write a detailed letter and entrust the governor's office to bring the discounts to Beijing. Hurry up, You can arrive at the end of the year; Fourth Uncle will make up a book in Beijing, and with the support of the two princes, you can keep the job."
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Ma felt very differently about him, but it cannot be said that he was not at fault; "Although you did not do anything wrong, you should discuss it with your wife first." She continued, "Go back to your room and have a look! Say something nice to her."
Seeing Cao Zhen's hesitation, Qiuyue said from the side, "Second Master Zhen will. Anyway, Second Grandma Zhen came back from the gate of hell; just based on this, Second Master Zhen will I can't help comforting Second Mistress Zhen."
Cao Zhen thought to himself, it would be a lie if the door of hell is closed and released; if these three stories are true, if his wife can see it, she might as well calm down and say a few good words to settle the troubles before her, and then make sense.
After making up her mind, she immediately replied, "As long as she takes care of the overall situation; I'm fine with it."
The meaning is obvious; Mrs. Ma's heart moved, and she immediately asked Cao Zhen, "Sit down for a while, I have something to tell you." Immediately got up and entered, and turned her back to wink at Qiuyue.
When Qiuyue followed her inside, Mrs. Ma ordered in a low voice to go to Second Grandma Zhen and tell the story first.
"I understand." Qiuyue replied, "Madam please spend a quarter of an hour with Second Master Zhen before letting him go back."
Because of the advance notice, it was said that Cao Zhen took the private house of the second grandmother of Zhen and repaid Cao Fu's deficit; the second grandmother of Zhen was just like "a dumb man dreams of his mother, and there is suffering and unspeakable".However, whether this statement is true or not needs to be verified; as for the number, it needs to be clarified.In order to be able to advance or retreat, there is a buffer; Second Grandma Zhen still decides not to meet with him for the time being, and Jin'er will ask him to find out the truth. Therefore, as soon as Cao Zhen came back, Jin'er was already guarding the door of the main room; when seeing him, he said first: "There was almost a death at home; you didn't think about it, did you?" "How could I have thought of that?" "You should have thought of it too; it would be too ruthless to dig out people's roots." Cao Zhen didn't answer her, but pointed to the inner room and asked, "How is it now?" It turned out that Jin'er came to inform from the Jiangyuan where the bank was deposited, saying that the passbook had been changed to Cao Zhen's name, and hurriedly informed Zhen's second grandmother; when she rushed back and opened the box, the three passbooks disappeared, and she couldn't help but turn pale with shock. But at this time there is still hope, Cao Zhen has 30,000 silver, and he will be able to pass this year; the remaining two papers may not be processed immediately, and there is still time to stop them.It wasn't until Jin'er took the sedan chair to ask about the remaining two places that he realized that he had succeeded.The second grandma Zhen was in great distress, and found a dose of "Hedinghong" that Cao Yin had sealed up in Japan. When she was about to swallow it and commit suicide, she snatched it in time for Jin'er; Jin'er sent someone to look for Cao Zhen, especially to take care of him, saying that he was swallowing gold; the intention was to frighten Cao Zhen, but it was not dangerous but frightening.But of course there is no need to tell the truth at this time. "Never mind! Just fell asleep. Come here, please; let's have a good talk." Jin'er led Cao Zhen to her own room, and closed the door with her own hands; her face changed, it was a look of complaint, and she stretched out her hand at the same time. "Bring it!" "What?" Cao Zhen asked intentionally. "Three folds!" "Three copies!" Cao Zhen said relaxedly, "It's not with me anymore; it's with Mynah now, and it will be delivered to the vassal's office tomorrow morning." "What?" Jin'er asked, "You used Second Grandma's private house to make up for the public's shortfall?" "That's right! Only by relocating privately to work can the fourth master's job be kept, and the whole family can have food to eat." "Don't say it so nicely!" Jin'er was rather disgusted by his high-profile singing, "As long as you don't go crazy in whoring and gambling, and spend less money, why would you be in a deficit today?" "I'm at a loss, and she's keeping a private house; every time she goes out and comes in, it just happens to be straight." Seeing his tired expression, Jin'er was a bit out of ideas; after thinking about it, he asked: "Do you know the three discounts, how much are they in total?" "One hundred and fifty thousand silver." "Complete the shortfall?" Jin'er was concentrating on it; seeing Cao Zhen's hesitation, he immediately said in a very confident tone: "Never! It's just a cover. Say it yourself, this is something you can't hide .” "Why are you pretending to be a cover?" Cao Zhen said defiantly, "You ask someone to ask Mynah, how many notes should I give him?" "several?" "two." "Those two?" Cao Zhen hesitated again.And Jin'er noticed that he was carrying a package from the moment he entered the door; when he entered the house, the package was also placed beside him.Knowing that the package was valuable at this time, he snatched it coldly. Cao Zhen was taken aback, and hastily stretched out his hand to grab it; Jin'er naturally refused to give it, but seeing that his expression was almost fierce, he knew he couldn't be unruly, so he said in a calm and firm voice, "I don't want yours. Let me take a look, it's still the same." Pay you back." "keep your word?" "right!" "Well, you see." Jin'er doesn't need to look at it, just pinch it to know, "Is it a gold leaf?" she asked. "good." Jin'er didn't look at it anymore, but didn't return the package to him either; she casually put it aside and asked, "Which two coupons did you give?" "Why ask more questions?" Cao Zhen was a little embarrassed. "Why don't you ask? Even if the second grandma's private house was saved from the household; it's still a lot of money, a little bit, a little bit, and how much hard work is included, can you not ask?" "Okay, I'll tell you. I gave two thirty thousand." Jin'er breathed a sigh of relief; fortunately, there are still 80,000 copies left.It is estimated that the package of gold leaves is worth about ten thousand silver coins; part of the cash must be withdrawn and converted with gold leaves; there are at least sixty to seventy thousand silver coins in the passbook.It is impossible for him to vomit it out, and the only way to weigh the pros and cons is to use the small to make the big. "So, you still have an 80,000 booklet in your hand?" "Not so much anymore." "I know, you brought some cash." Jin'er handed over the package, "I make my own decision, this is for you for Chinese New Year; you give me the booklet and stamp." Cao Zhen was stunned for a moment, then became alert, first took the gold leaf and put it behind his back; then said: "I told you, there are not so many." "I know, I know. You give me something." Cao Zhen took out a new fold and his seal from the pocket of the leather robe, and handed it to Jin'er.When I opened it, I couldn't help but change my face. "Why is there only half of it left?" Jin'er asked, "That bag of leaves is only ten thousand taels of silver; the most is fifteen thousand, the amount is wrong!" "It was said that there were not so many." "Where did the few go?" "Can you stop asking?" Cao Zhen was too remorseful and painful. "How can you not ask? Feel your conscience and see if you are sorry for others?" Cao Zhen kept silent, and his feelings became more and more vain.Jin'er felt that he was going too far, so she blamed him for taking it without telling him, that is, he was not upright, and when it came to shortfalls, he could discuss it with Second Mistress Zhen; excuse. These words hit Cao Zhen's heart disease, and he couldn't speak more; Jin'er became more plausible, "Let's not talk about the public, let's talk about the private, I will give you this bag of gold leaves for the New Year, Second Mistress. It may not be approved." She said, "Now the principal is 80,000 yuan, the interest is more than 2,000 yuan, and this bag of gold leaves is 10,000 yuan——." "It's fifteen thousand." Cao Zhen interjected. "Okay, let's say 15,000, add 40,000, a total of 55,000, and more than 27,000 silver, how do you ask me to explain? No matter what, there is always a place to go, but I can't even ask." , you are too domineering." "I'm not saying you shouldn't ask; I'm just urging you not to ask." "why?" "Why? No reason; I'll tell you if I have a reason." "This is really weird!" Jin'er asked, "Is it for that bastard Sai Guanyin?" "Then there is such a thing?" "Lost? How much work is it? Can you lose 20,000 to 30,000 silver?" "No." Cao Zhen shook his head in pain, "In short, I blame myself." "Why do you blame yourself? Tell me." "Ah!" Cao Zhen sighed heavily, and stood up to avoid her aggressive gaze. When Jin'er saw the bag of gold leaves, she immediately had an idea; she took it over, opened the drawer, threw it in, and turned the key in the lock, only to hear a crisp "click" , the drawer is locked. This sound alarmed Cao Zhen, and when he looked back, he remembered that the urgency of losing the golden leaf was not trivial; and Jin'er made a condition before he asked for it. "Tell me, it's clear, I'll return the gold leaf to you." Cao Zhen had no choice but to make up an excuse: "Someone borrowed it." "To whom?" "Master Wu." When she heard that it was Wu Duo, Jin'er didn't dare to relax, "Why did you lend him two or three thousand taels of silver?" She said, "This person hides his knife in his smile, eats people without spit out his bones; how could you make such a friend? I'm afraid it's not borrowing; it's lying to you, coaxing you?" "I'm not a three-year-old child, can I be deceived by him?" Jin'er looked closely at his expression, but he turned away; Jin'er never believed in the word "borrow". "Since it's a loan, there must be written evidence, right? Take it out and have a look." "Friend, it's just a sentence; why do you need an IOU?" "Hmph!" Jin'er sneered, "You're really generous! Since you can waste Second Mistress's money and give away twenty to thirty thousand silver, I think my debts have already been settled." As she spoke, she clutched her passbook and walked out. Cao Zhen naturally wanted to stop her, "Don't go!" He said with a smile, "I'll tell you slowly." Jin'er sat down and waited for a while, but when he didn't see a word, she said, "I'm waiting!" Cao Zhen really couldn't say it, but unless he gave up money, he had to say it.After hesitating for a long time, he finally made a difficult choice; "Give me the bag of gold leaves first." He said, "I won't lie to you, I must tell the truth." "No!" Jin'er flatly refused, "I can only be fooled once." "Okay, I'll tell you; Fatty Zhao is too cruel, so I'll give it to him." "How? I don't understand." So Cao Zhen murmured the story; Jin'er was speechless, got up gradually, twitched and put a pack of gold leaves on the table, and said softly as if talking to himself: "Now I understand, such a big family, How did you lose all of a sudden?" Cao Zhen suddenly remembered that Jin'er was instigated by Zhen's second grandma to bribe Cao Shilong to escape, and immediately retorted: "Instead of letting them go to the dog hole, it's better for me to use it." But when he was about to say it, he finally held back. ;Because thinking about my own behavior, the second grandma Bizhen is no better than that; letting Fatty Zhao cheat for nothing and take away 27,000 taels of silver, isn't it also a "dog hole"?
After hearing Jin'er's story, Second Grandma Zhen drew her face and remained silent; that expression was really ugly. "Look out!" Jin'er advised her, "No matter what, he still has weaknesses that people can catch. 'Money goes away to be happy', he won't fight famine again." "One hundred thousand silver, in exchange for these few words of yours; you can see it, but I can't." The words had the intention of blaming Jin'er; it made her bone-chill cold and her heart tremble. Second Grandma Zhen only cared about her private money, and ignored Jin'er's expression; when she started talking, she couldn't help it, "You are too easy to talk!" Make a fuss." This time Jin'er couldn't bear it anymore, she thought she was loyal to protect the lord, and she didn't hesitate to get into trouble with him; just now, Cao Zhen was speechless, which dampened his spirit and prevented him from mentioning this matter at the same time. Family ugly.The only time to divorce his wife has already been missed, and I think it is very tricky.The result of not knowing the result is like this, how can I swallow this breath? Impulsively, he got up; he walked back without looking back.It was only when Second Mistress was shocked that she realized that she had offended her; thinking back on what she said, it was indeed not convincing.But when she felt remorse, she had already lost the chance to appease Jin'er. This is not only regretful, but also quite anxious; I don't know what action Jin'er will make when he is angry?Anyway, as long as there is any movement, it will not be good for her; therefore, I feel agitated in my heart, and I feel that I have never been so weak and useless. Zai Jin'er really wanted to take action to vent her anger; she kept looking for Cao Zhen to get back the bag of gold leaves, and at the same time told him: "Second Grandma loves her money, don't make things difficult for me; if you have something to say, you can talk to him yourself." She said go." Then she came back and said to Second Grandma Zhen: "I brought back all the things he has now for you. You can't give him the two booklets of the starling, and cheated with Fatty Zhao. The 27,000 silver coins you gave me are also credited to my head, right?" Naturally, it was very happy to do so; but, thinking that the two of them were in a world-shaking quarrel, and Mrs. Ma would inevitably ask her to take care of this trouble, I couldn't help but feel discouraged. In the main room, I leaned on the table and thought for a long time, but I still held back;Thinking of the scandal between her and Cao Shilong, the whole family knew about it, and they all whispered behind their backs, even when they saw someone, they seemed to have done something wrong, and couldn't lift their heads; I couldn't help being angry and hated, rising from the bottom of my heart Contempt, the feeling of fear everywhere, at least 7 out of 10. "I'm going out to visit." She called a little girl and said, "Look at Second Grandma's place; if you ask me, you don't know where you went." After talking, I went to Qiuyue to complain and complain.Second Grandma Zhen naturally wanted to ask, but the little girl answered according to her words.Second Grandma Zhen said, "Go and look for it; where is it?" "Yes!" The little girl asked, "What if I found it?" how to say?Naturally, she was persuaded to come back; but this had to be in a tactful way without losing her dignity.If you don't speak well, it will give people the impression that Jin'er lost her temper with her master; the second grandma Zhen has done something wrong, and she has to say good things to her, how can she control the public in the future.If you ask her to come back for a general reason, such as a wound that hurts, if she ignores it, how can it save face? "Alas!" she sighed, "You just look for her and see what she is doing there? Go quietly, come back quietly." This little girl was very clever, and came back quickly to report that Jin'er was having a lively conversation with Qiuyue. "Who else is there?" "Xia Yun in Aunt Ji's room is also there." I heard that at Qiuyue's place, Second Grandma Zhen can feel more at ease, because Qiuyue knows the general situation best and will definitely persuade her to come back; but with Xia Yun here, things are hard to say.Recalling that Xia Yun lost his sincerity at that time, he could have taken advantage of the situation to subdue her and be a helper; it was only because of a mistake in one thought, suspicion and estrangement, which led to many right and wrong.This added a little bit of regret, and his mood became more and more grey.
Yuan heard the clapper on watch patrolling for the third watch, and Qiuyue urged Jin'er to say: "Xia Yun has already left for one watch, please please! I'm tired too." "No! I'll sleep with you today." "Don't be like this." Qiuyue said: "Everyone persuaded you for a long time just now, why are you still obsessed? No matter what, Second Grandma Zhen is only relying on you now; think about her state of mind! Now she is the only one who is sorry for you. , you can't feel sorry for her." "I have nothing to feel sorry for her." "If you don't go back, you are sorry for her. Now it's like sharing adversity; you can't say that you have shared half of it and ignore her. What is it called sharing adversity?" "There is another layer," Dongxue interjected; her words were straightforward: "You have to think for us, if you don't go back today, Grandma Zhen will definitely blame us, especially Qiuyue." "That's true." Jin'er stood up abruptly, "I can't complain for you." Qiuyue gave Dongxue a slight look, blaming her for not being able to speak. It seemed that Jin'er was getting more angry and would not reconcile with Second Grandma Zhen; she had to be persuaded. "You have to be smart!" She took Jin'er's hand, and said all the way: "Second Grandma Zhen must regret it to death; you are magnanimous and take care of her anyway, and she will thank you from the bottom of her heart and treat her to you. You have remembered all the benefits you usually have. Otherwise, you will lose all the benefits you usually have for her! Think about it, is that worthwhile?" Knowing that her words were good, but Jin'er was so heartbroken that she couldn't listen to her!In order to perfunctory Qiuyue, she only said vaguely: "Wait for me to think about it; I'm sleepy too." "By the way, sleep well; when you wake up and think about it calmly, you will know that what I advise you is for your own good." "I know! I know that you are good to me." Jin'er's complaint came again, "Everyone is good to me, only one person is not." At this time, the little girl had already lit the lantern and was about to send Jin'er back; Qiuyue saw that she still hadn't changed her mind, so she wanted to see her off in person, in order to go with her for a journey and have a chance to persuade her. "No, no!" Jin'er pushed his hands outward, making a resolute gesture of resignation, "I understand what you mean. After I get a good sleep, I may forget about it tomorrow morning." Qiuyue thought this was the truth, but she still had to persuade her; after pondering for a while, she remembered a saying, "Never read it, never read it, just for the sake of two people." She pointed to the main room, ""一个是老太太；一个是芹官。老太太若是在此，瞧见震二奶奶今天这么可怜巴巴的模样，会伤心成个什么样儿，我可是想都不敢想；不过，只看芹官，也就可以猜想到了！这两天他拉长了脸，眉心都打成结了；不管春雨怎么劝他、逗他，总没有笑脸。说多了还惹他发脾气。如今再看你不理震二奶奶；只怕他真要哭出来了！好妹子，你有多少委屈，只算在这一老一少两个人的帐上，行不行？” 这番话着实见效，锦儿等她话刚一完，立即答说：“我就看这一老一少的分上；将这一段儿丢开就是。”她接着又说：“这下儿你可以放心，不必再押解我回去了吧？” 秋月笑笑不答，只细心关照坐夜的老婆子：“好好儿送锦姑娘回去。夜深了，小声点儿；你喜欢多嘴，嗓门儿又大，别惊吵了震二奶奶。” 老婆子答应着，果然一路无话地将锦儿送了回去。门是虚掩着的，锦儿悄悄推了进去，顺手闩上。恰好刮起一阵西北风，直扑面门，冷得她发抖；急忙推开堂屋门，等门打盹的小丫头，方始惊醒；锦儿便指指震二奶奶的卧房，低声问道：“什么时候睡的？” 小ㄚ头想了一下说：“大概刚睡。” “怎么叫大概？” “二更天还听见二奶奶起来的声音，灯也挺亮的；这会儿灯黑了。大概睡得不久。” 锦儿心想她睡着了不知道，所以说“大概”。既然睡得不久，就不必进去了，低声说一句：“你睡去吧！明儿一早叫我。” 等锦儿睡下，震二奶奶也醒了；唤起在她床前打地铺的小ㄚ头，捻亮了灯，看钟上已交丑时，便即说道：“你去看看，回来了没有？” 这个小ㄚ头出去一看，堂屋上了闩；等门的不见踪影；再转到锦儿卧房后窗下，只见窗帘有微光，自然是睡下了。 “回来了。都上床了。” 震二奶奶的心一沉！平时再晚回来，一定会悄悄儿来看一看；这晚上，果然是赌气了！ 于是黯然拥被而坐；等小ㄚ头复又睡下，鼾声渐起，虽极轻微，也觉得吵人，越发心烦意噪，只在想着锦儿。 “唉！”她悄然自语：“她不来，我找她去！反正委屈到家了，也不在乎这一点。” 念头转定，随即下床；小丝棉袄上披一件斗篷，轻轻开门出去；到得锦儿那里，举手推门文风不动。震二奶奶不觉气馁了。 她只当锦儿是有意相拒；因为以前她的房门是不上闩的——其实，从曹震夫妇感情破裂那两天起，锦儿便已改变了习惯。因为她怕卷入漩涡；更怕震二奶奶猜疑她暗中在帮曹震，所以除了白天疏远外，归寝时特意闩上房门；免得曹震夜半来求欢，拒之不可，纳之又怕震二奶奶疑心他们枕上密语。 此中委屈，震二奶奶再机敏也猜想不到；此时她只在踌躇，倘或叩门而锦儿不理，岂非是再一次的自取其辱；但如悄然而回，可以预知，必是眼睁睁等天亮，那是种什么滋味。 突然间，擂门如鼓；既是深夜，震二奶奶又是草木皆惊的心境，所以这一吓，冷汗淋漓，手脚皆软，赶紧伸手在房门上撑住，才不致瘫了下去。 这时锦儿也惊醒了，亦是心跳不已；匆匆起来，抓了件丝棉袄披在身上，便来开门；那知门闩一拔，震二奶撑不住了，整个身子往门槛扑了进去，连锦儿一起撞倒在地。 “哇！”锦儿吓得狂喊；再想到听说过不止一回的故事，那就简直吓得魂灵出窍了——有那受人欺侮凌辱，含冤莫伸的，有个极狠毒的报复办法，半夜到冤家门前去上吊，或者服毒自杀，锦儿原就几次想到，而且这晚上秋月也曾谈起相同的想法，震二奶奶是极要面子的人，出了这件丑事，只怕寻短见，需得防备。因此，这时她很快的发生联想，本就想寻死，又受了她的刺激，一时想不开，服了毒药，死在她房门外了。 就在这片刻昏瞀之中，堂屋门又“蓬蓬”地响了起来，“二爷进来了！”是坐夜的陈妈的声音，“谁来开开门？” “我的天，是怎么回事？”锦儿强自挣扎着，将被震二奶奶压住的双腿抽了出来；顾不得外面叫门，先伸手到震二奶奶胸前一按，不觉松了口气，心还在跳。 于是，站起身来，先去开了堂屋门；连看一看曹震的工夫都没有，只说一句：“把灯给我！”从陈妈手中接过明角风灯，转身便走；只见震二奶奶已坐了起来。她是连番受惊，一时虚脱，离昏厥只一线之隔。人虽勉强坐了起来，要想站起来却力不从心了。 这时整座院子里的人都起来了，而且集中在堂屋内外；无不困惑万分。自然，最诧异的是曹震。 “没事了，各人去睡各人的觉。”锦儿看一看曹震的脸色，又发现他手中拿着一封信，刚定下来的心，不觉又往下沉。 当然，先将震二奶奶扶了回去，曹震跟在后面问道：“怎么回事？” “我睡不着，想找锦儿去聊天；那知你半夜敲门——。”震二奶奶突然想到，“日间不作亏心事，夜半敲门心不惊”这句俗语；自恨措词不好，所以停了一下，方又说道：“锦儿的门又开得猛了些，害我一跤跌了进去，差点摔死。” 曹震毕竟还是本性忠厚一路的人，看到妻子这种狼狈的模样，不免动了恻隐之心；因此，不忍加重她的刺激，说一句：“你好好睡吧！我有几句话跟锦儿谈。” 这个说法实在不高明，数九寒天，半夜里叫开中门有话说，自然是十分紧急的事，却偏又不肯跟震二奶奶谈；令人在着急以外，更增了几分猜疑。不过，锦儿比较冷静，向曹震示意说道：“你先到我屋子里等我。” 接着帮小ㄚ头将震二奶奶扶上床，方始低声表示了她的看法；必是出了什么为难的，曹震不愿意让她着急，所以要避开说话。反正等不多时，她会来报告曹震说什么，这会儿先好好息一息。 震二奶奶没有说什么，只投以感动的一瞥；锦儿看她要掉眼泪，赶紧转身，出门而去。 一回自己屋子，只见曹震对着灯发楞；她便先问：“什么等不到明天说的话，半夜里巴巴地叫中门？” “出事了！”曹震说：“我来找你，是要让你去告诉太太。” 他的声音听上去空落落地，令人大有种异样的感觉；锦儿心里七上八下，自觉软弱异常，扶着桌子坐了下来，才能开口说话。 “出了什么事？半夜里就得跟太太去回？” "look!" 从曹震手中接过一封为汗水浸渍、既绉且脏的信，抽出信笺铺平了看，上面写的是：“内阁奉上谕：杭州织造孙文成年已老迈；李秉忠着以按察司衔管理杭州织造事务。江宁织造曹俯，审案未结，着隋赫德以内务府郎中职衔，管理江宁织造事务。钦此！” “完了！”锦儿不觉失声：“上下担心的事，到底没有能避掉。” “烦的是'审案未结'这句话——。” “到底是么案子呢？” “还不是塞楞额那个忘八羔子多事。” 这是指的三处织造差人进京，多索夫马、苦累驿站，为山东巡抚塞楞额所参那一案。锦儿想了想问道：“那是三处都有分的案子，为什么独独四老爷'审案未结'？只怕还有别的案子吧？” “那，那——”曹震乱搔着头，“那就更麻烦了！怎么办呢？我都没有主张了。” 锦儿陡然发觉，自己肩上的负荷加重了——震二奶奶的处境，有力也难使；料理这场麻烦的责任，只怕要落到她头上。她也知道，这是件不容犹豫推诿的事，因而自我鼓起劲来，先替曹震撑腰。 “二爷，”她正色说道：“这一回你可真的是一家之主了；你要拿出魄力来。是福不是祸，是祸躲不过；这会儿也不必去见太太，见了没有用处，反而吓着了她。如今该怎么办，干脆你就自个儿拿主意吧！” “我就是没有主意。你说，我来办。” 锦儿对他又失望，又怜惜；叹口气说：“这会儿你该知道了吧，咱们这一家人家，还真少不了二奶奶这么个人。” 曹震默然半晌，终于说了句：“你倒跟她去商量商量。” 锦儿在等他这句话；他的话一出口，她随即便说：“咱们一块儿去。” “不，不！你跟她去商量；我也回去静静儿想一想。” 锦儿看钟上短针已指四点，料想这一夜也不用打算睡了；“你就睡我的床吧！”她说，“反正我到了二奶奶屋里，一定是谈到天亮。” "Also!" 于是锦儿先服侍他上床，棉被犹温；芗泽微度，曹震心里动得一动，马上就冷了。
“迟早有这么一天！不过年下来这么个消息，老天爷未免太无情了一点。”震二奶奶脸色落寞地想了好一会说：“你倒问问他，还有多少亏空？” “怎么？二奶奶打算——” “虽是赌帐，也得弄清楚。”震二奶奶抢着说：“墙倒众人推；自己根脚不松动，别人就不容易推了。” Think about it too.现在要靠曹震出面应付各方，当然要让他站稳脚步。锦儿由衷地佩服震二奶奶，见识毕竟高人一等。 “另外还有些穷亲戚放的帐，也得趁早料理清楚，拿单据收了回来。” “这，”锦儿叹口气，“还不知道内帐房有钱没有？” “喏！”震二奶奶往枕头下一掏，将个纸包扔在锦儿身边；打开来一看，是曹震过了户的四万银子新存摺，与他的一枚图章。 “二奶奶不打算要这四万银子了？” “也要能要得起来，才能要啊！”震二奶奶紧接着又说：“你把当票检一检；听说太太那里也有几张，你也去要了来。” “要了来怎么样？都赎出来？” “你怎么越说越傻？再说，赎出来干吗？莫非还充阔。” “我，我不大懂你这话。” “你不懂，我就干脆告诉你吧！大概一过了年，就会抄家；能多弄几张当票摆着，或许倒还减点儿罪过。” 锦儿一听这话，半晌作声不得；真的会抄家？她简直想都不敢想了。 “你不相信是不是？” “我不是不相信；我是在想，四老爷的亏空也补得差不多了；有王爷在里头照应，定一个期限补足，也就是了。何必非抄家不可？” “你这是跟谁讲理？跟皇上讲理吗？你也未免想得太天真了。”震二奶奶又说：“你没有想到舅太爷家的情形？” 一提这一点，锦儿不由得打了个哆嗦；既不信，又不甘地说：“不会的！如果那样子；倒不如一索子吊死了还好些。” “我想也不致于到那地步。”震二奶奶也觉得话说得过分，有害无益；因而郑重告诫：“你再去问问他，消息是怎么来的？还有什么人知道？这个消息，绝不可透露；除了咱们这儿三个，明儿只能告诉两个人。” 她未曾说那两人是谁；不过锦儿能猜想得到，“一个自然是太太。”她问：“还有一个是秋月？” “对了。”震二奶奶沉吟着，自语似地说：“春雨呢？要不要让她也知道？” “春雨知道了，芹官自然也知道了。” “那倒不尽然。关照她瞒着芹官，她一定听话。” 提到春雨，想到芹官，由芹官又想到曹老太太，震二奶奶再也无法强自矜持，故作刚强了；一时思前想后，凄凉万状，不过既无哭声，亦非饮泣，只是泪如雨下；眼中映光，五色闪烁，将锦儿看得怔怔地惊疑不定，“从舅太爷出事以后，几次做梦；梦见抄家，哭醒来心里宽松，原来是梦！如今梦成真的了！”震二奶奶这时才有痛苦的表情，“将来还不知道怎么样呢！虽不致于像李家那么惨；一回了旗，那种冷冷清清的日子，也够人受的。芹官怎么能过那种日子，我真想都不敢想？” 这一说也勾动了锦儿的愁思；但也只能往宽处去想，“总算还好！”她说：“若是老太太在世，听到今天的消息，那就不知道怎么办了？” “那就一定先急死四个人！”震二奶奶说：“秋月、太太、芹官、我。” “这样说，还是不幸中的大幸。”锦儿又说：“如今全靠二奶奶你了；可得定下心来，好好拿个大主意。” “怎么叫'拿个大主意'？”震二奶奶住了眼泪；用锦儿递给她的一方手绢拭着脸问。 “嘚，”锦儿低声说道：“总得留个退步啊！” 震二奶奶不作声，脸色却越来越阴沉；好久才叹了口无声的气。 “晚了！又晚了一步！若非闹这场闲是非，把祭田那件事也办了。如今，那里还有退步？” 震二奶奶说到这里，突然又停了下来；双眼乱眨，显然在考虑一个绝大的疑难；因此锦儿便不作声，静静等着。 “我起来！”震二奶奶冒出来一句；随即便要下床。 "what?" “找秋月去商量；商量定了，天一亮就得动手。” “这——，”锦儿说道：“如果真是那么急，也不必二奶奶亲自去找她；我把她请来就是。” “也好！”震二奶奶说，“别惊动人！” 等锦儿将秋月邀了来，让她们深感诧异的是，震二奶奶毫无愁苦之容；屋子里收拾过了，衾枕都叠得好好地；火盆续了炭，烧得极旺。她只穿一件宽大的薄棉袄，正在火盆上调制烫饭；靠窗的方桌上，点着明晃晃的一支新烛，已摆好了四个吃粥的荤素碟子。 “外面挺冷的吧！”震二奶奶头也不抬地说：“先吃烫饭。暖了身子，饱了肚子好办事。” 锦儿与秋月对看了一眼，都有莫测高深之感；因而也都不开口，只分别动手，一个从震二奶奶手里接过杓子；一个去检点餐桌。 震二奶奶居中，锦儿与秋月相向坐定；等小丫头盛上粥来，震二奶奶说道：“你盛了烫饭到后房去吃，这里不用你招呼。倘或耳朵里刮到一句、半句话，只当没有听见；你要敢胡说，当心我揭了你的皮。听清楚了没有？” 凡是为她挑在身边的，都知道守口如瓶是最要紧的一件事；那小丫头答一句：“听清楚了。”随即回避得远远地。 “我刚才前前后后都想过了。”震二奶奶从容说道：“事情要往远处去想，可得往妥当的地方安排。你们说，会坏到什么地步？” “我还不怎么完全清楚。”秋月答说：“不过，总不至于像李家那样吧？” “那大概不至于；抄家，想来是免不了的。” “就那样也够受的了。”锦儿将饭碗放了下来。 震二奶奶挟了一个醉蟹的蟹盖，搁在她面前的碟子里，“就是这一个不抄。”她仿佛无视于锦儿的忧色，“我也担心太太会受不了。还有芹官，也是累赘。我有个主意，你们看行不行？我想请太太带着芹官，赶年内先进京；反正迟早是要回旗的，何必在这里受惊吓。” 这个主意，好像有点匪夷所思；但细想一想，却不失为妥当的安排，只是有一层顾虑。 “都快送灶了；忽然要赶进京，这不让人奇怪吗？”秋月又问，“少不得总有几家要替太太饯行；见了人怎么说呢？” “自然有非马上赶进京不可的缘故。”震二奶奶问锦儿：“今天那封信是怎么来的？”锦儿还在思索曹震所说的经过；秋月插了句嘴：“想来是专差。” 震二奶奶点点头说：“信里说些什么，当然不会有人知道，现在还来得及遮盖。你们听清楚了，大家的说法，不能有出入。”说着，端起碗来吃饭。 “是怎么个说法？”锦儿心急；看她那好整以暇的神情，近乎做作，不觉微生嗔意，“那里就饿成这个样子！连说句话的工夫都顾不上来了。” “急脉缓受。”震二奶奶正色说道：“往后风波不知多少？太太一走，内里只有我们三个人撑；你得沉住气！” 原来她是故意在磨练她们应变的涵养；锦儿倒是心平气和，生了信心，居然能剔着蟹盖中的紫膏吃了。 “怎么个说法呢？说外老太太得重病，来势不轻；想太太想得要命；外孙子也没有见过。舅老爷派专差送信来，请太太带着芹官赶进京去见一面；晚一步，只怕送终都不能够。” 这个说法，一面为马夫人进京找了非常充足的理由；一面也可以消释全家上下，因为京差星夜送信而引起的惊疑。锦儿与秋月都心领神会，深深点头。 “我还在想，”震二奶奶又说，“甚至连太太面前都这么说，索性瞒到底。” “那不好！”秋月接口，“外老太太八十多了，虽是嫡母；跟太
Because of the advance notice, it was said that Cao Zhen took the private house of the second grandmother of Zhen and repaid Cao Fu's deficit; the second grandmother of Zhen was just like "a dumb man dreams of his mother, and there is suffering and unspeakable".However, whether this statement is true or not needs to be verified; as for the number, it needs to be clarified.In order to be able to advance or retreat, there is a buffer; Second Grandma Zhen still decides not to meet with him for the time being, and Jin'er will ask him to find out the truth. Therefore, as soon as Cao Zhen came back, Jin'er was already guarding the door of the main room; when seeing him, he said first: "There was almost a death at home; you didn't think about it, did you?" "How could I have thought of that?" "You should have thought of it too; it would be too ruthless to dig out people's roots." Cao Zhen didn't answer her, but pointed to the inner room and asked, "How is it now?" It turned out that Jin'er came to inform from the Jiangyuan where the bank was deposited, saying that the passbook had been changed to Cao Zhen's name, and hurriedly informed Zhen's second grandmother; when she rushed back and opened the box, the three passbooks disappeared, and she couldn't help but turn pale with shock. But at this time there is still hope, Cao Zhen has 30,000 silver, and he will be able to pass this year; the remaining two papers may not be processed immediately, and there is still time to stop them.It wasn't until Jin'er took the sedan chair to ask about the remaining two places that he realized that he had succeeded.The second grandma Zhen was in great distress, and found a dose of "Hedinghong" that Cao Yin had sealed up in Japan. When she was about to swallow it and commit suicide, she snatched it in time for Jin'er; Jin'er sent someone to look for Cao Zhen, especially to take care of him, saying that he was swallowing gold; the intention was to frighten Cao Zhen, but it was not dangerous but frightening.But of course there is no need to tell the truth at this time. "Never mind! Just fell asleep. Come here, please; let's have a good talk." Jin'er led Cao Zhen to her own room, and closed the door with her own hands; her face changed, it was a look of complaint, and she stretched out her hand at the same time. "Bring it!" "What?" Cao Zhen asked intentionally. "Three folds!" "Three copies!" Cao Zhen said relaxedly, "It's not with me anymore; it's with Mynah now, and it will be delivered to the vassal's office tomorrow morning." "What?" Jin'er asked, "You used Second Grandma's private house to make up for the public's shortfall?" "That's right! Only by relocating privately to work can the fourth master's job be kept, and the whole family can have food to eat." "Don't say it so nicely!" Jin'er was rather disgusted by his high-profile singing, "As long as you don't go crazy in whoring and gambling, and spend less money, why would you be in a deficit today?" "I'm at a loss, and she's keeping a private house; every time she goes out and comes in, it just happens to be straight." Seeing his tired expression, Jin'er was a bit out of ideas; after thinking about it, he asked: "Do you know the three discounts, how much are they in total?" "One hundred and fifty thousand silver." "Complete the shortfall?" Jin'er was concentrating on it; seeing Cao Zhen's hesitation, he immediately said in a very confident tone: "Never! It's just a cover. Say it yourself, this is something you can't hide .” "Why are you pretending to be a cover?" Cao Zhen said defiantly, "You ask someone to ask Mynah, how many notes should I give him?" "several?" "two." "Those two?" Cao Zhen hesitated again.And Jin'er noticed that he was carrying a package from the moment he entered the door; when he entered the house, the package was also placed beside him.Knowing that the package was valuable at this time, he snatched it coldly. Cao Zhen was taken aback, and hastily stretched out his hand to grab it; Jin'er naturally refused to give it, but seeing that his expression was almost fierce, he knew he couldn't be unruly, so he said in a calm and firm voice, "I don't want yours. Let me take a look, it's still the same." Pay you back." "keep your word?" "right!" "Well, you see." Jin'er doesn't need to look at it, just pinch it to know, "Is it a gold leaf?" she asked. "good." Jin'er didn't look at it anymore, but didn't return the package to him either; she casually put it aside and asked, "Which two coupons did you give?" "Why ask more questions?" Cao Zhen was a little embarrassed. "Why don't you ask? Even if the second grandma's private house was saved from the household; it's still a lot of money, a little bit, a little bit, and how much hard work is included, can you not ask?" "Okay, I'll tell you. I gave two thirty thousand." Jin'er breathed a sigh of relief; fortunately, there are still 80,000 copies left.It is estimated that the package of gold leaves is worth about ten thousand silver coins; part of the cash must be withdrawn and converted with gold leaves; there are at least sixty to seventy thousand silver coins in the passbook.It is impossible for him to vomit it out, and the only way to weigh the pros and cons is to use the small to make the big. "So, you still have an 80,000 booklet in your hand?" "Not so much anymore." "I know, you brought some cash." Jin'er handed over the package, "I make my own decision, this is for you for Chinese New Year; you give me the booklet and stamp." Cao Zhen was stunned for a moment, then became alert, first took the gold leaf and put it behind his back; then said: "I told you, there are not so many." "I know, I know. You give me something." Cao Zhen took out a new fold and his seal from the pocket of the leather robe, and handed it to Jin'er.When I opened it, I couldn't help but change my face. "Why is there only half of it left?" Jin'er asked, "That bag of leaves is only ten thousand taels of silver; the most is fifteen thousand, the amount is wrong!" "It was said that there were not so many." "Where did the few go?" "Can you stop asking?" Cao Zhen was too remorseful and painful. "How can you not ask? Feel your conscience and see if you are sorry for others?" Cao Zhen kept silent, and his feelings became more and more vain.Jin'er felt that he was going too far, so she blamed him for taking it without telling him, that is, he was not upright, and when it came to shortfalls, he could discuss it with Second Mistress Zhen; excuse. These words hit Cao Zhen's heart disease, and he couldn't speak more; Jin'er became more plausible, "Let's not talk about the public, let's talk about the private, I will give you this bag of gold leaves for the New Year, Second Mistress. It may not be approved." She said, "Now the principal is 80,000 yuan, the interest is more than 2,000 yuan, and this bag of gold leaves is 10,000 yuan——." "It's fifteen thousand." Cao Zhen interjected. "Okay, let's say 15,000, add 40,000, a total of 55,000, and more than 27,000 silver, how do you ask me to explain? No matter what, there is always a place to go, but I can't even ask." , you are too domineering." "I'm not saying you shouldn't ask; I'm just urging you not to ask." "why?" "Why? No reason; I'll tell you if I have a reason." "This is really weird!" Jin'er asked, "Is it for that bastard Sai Guanyin?" "Then there is such a thing?" "Lost? How much work is it? Can you lose 20,000 to 30,000 silver?" "No." Cao Zhen shook his head in pain, "In short, I blame myself." "Why do you blame yourself? Tell me." "Ah!" Cao Zhen sighed heavily, and stood up to avoid her aggressive gaze. When Jin'er saw the bag of gold leaves, she immediately had an idea; she took it over, opened the drawer, threw it in, and turned the key in the lock, only to hear a crisp "click" , the drawer is locked. This sound alarmed Cao Zhen, and when he looked back, he remembered that the urgency of losing the golden leaf was not trivial; and Jin'er made a condition before he asked for it. "Tell me, it's clear, I'll return the gold leaf to you." Cao Zhen had no choice but to make up an excuse: "Someone borrowed it." "To whom?" "Master Wu." When she heard that it was Wu Duo, Jin'er didn't dare to relax, "Why did you lend him two or three thousand taels of silver?" She said, "This person hides his knife in his smile, eats people without spit out his bones; how could you make such a friend? I'm afraid it's not borrowing; it's lying to you, coaxing you?" "I'm not a three-year-old child, can I be deceived by him?" Jin'er looked closely at his expression, but he turned away; Jin'er never believed in the word "borrow". "Since it's a loan, there must be written evidence, right? Take it out and have a look." "Friend, it's just a sentence; why do you need an IOU?" "Hmph!" Jin'er sneered, "You're really generous! Since you can waste Second Mistress's money and give away twenty to thirty thousand silver, I think my debts have already been settled." As she spoke, she clutched her passbook and walked out. Cao Zhen naturally wanted to stop her, "Don't go!" He said with a smile, "I'll tell you slowly." Jin'er sat down and waited for a while, but when he didn't see a word, she said, "I'm waiting!" Cao Zhen really couldn't say it, but unless he gave up money, he had to say it.After hesitating for a long time, he finally made a difficult choice; "Give me the bag of gold leaves first." He said, "I won't lie to you, I must tell the truth." "No!" Jin'er flatly refused, "I can only be fooled once." "Okay, I'll tell you; Fatty Zhao is too cruel, so I'll give it to him." "How? I don't understand." So Cao Zhen murmured the story; Jin'er was speechless, got up gradually, twitched and put a pack of gold leaves on the table, and said softly as if talking to himself: "Now I understand, such a big family, How did you lose all of a sudden?" Cao Zhen suddenly remembered that Jin'er was instigated by Zhen's second grandma to bribe Cao Shilong to escape, and immediately retorted: "Instead of letting them go to the dog hole, it's better for me to use it." But when he was about to say it, he finally held back. ;Because thinking about my own behavior, the second grandma Bizhen is no better than that; letting Fatty Zhao cheat for nothing and take away 27,000 taels of silver, isn't it also a "dog hole"?
After hearing Jin'er's story, Second Grandma Zhen drew her face and remained silent; that expression was really ugly. "Look out!" Jin'er advised her, "No matter what, he still has weaknesses that people can catch. 'Money goes away to be happy', he won't fight famine again." "One hundred thousand silver, in exchange for these few words of yours; you can see it, but I can't." The words had the intention of blaming Jin'er; it made her bone-chill cold and her heart tremble. Second Grandma Zhen only cared about her private money, and ignored Jin'er's expression; when she started talking, she couldn't help it, "You are too easy to talk!" Make a fuss." This time Jin'er couldn't bear it anymore, she thought she was loyal to protect the lord, and she didn't hesitate to get into trouble with him; just now, Cao Zhen was speechless, which dampened his spirit and prevented him from mentioning this matter at the same time. Family ugly.The only time to divorce his wife has already been missed, and I think it is very tricky.The result of not knowing the result is like this, how can I swallow this breath? Impulsively, he got up; he walked back without looking back.It was only when Second Mistress was shocked that she realized that she had offended her; thinking back on what she said, it was indeed not convincing.But when she felt remorse, she had already lost the chance to appease Jin'er. This is not only regretful, but also quite anxious; I don't know what action Jin'er will make when he is angry?Anyway, as long as there is any movement, it will not be good for her; therefore, I feel agitated in my heart, and I feel that I have never been so weak and useless. Zai Jin'er really wanted to take action to vent her anger; she kept looking for Cao Zhen to get back the bag of gold leaves, and at the same time told him: "Second Grandma loves her money, don't make things difficult for me; if you have something to say, you can talk to him yourself." She said go." Then she came back and said to Second Grandma Zhen: "I brought back all the things he has now for you. You can't give him the two booklets of the starling, and cheated with Fatty Zhao. The 27,000 silver coins you gave me are also credited to my head, right?" Naturally, it was very happy to do so; but, thinking that the two of them were in a world-shaking quarrel, and Mrs. Ma would inevitably ask her to take care of this trouble, I couldn't help but feel discouraged. In the main room, I leaned on the table and thought for a long time, but I still held back;Thinking of the scandal between her and Cao Shilong, the whole family knew about it, and they all whispered behind their backs, even when they saw someone, they seemed to have done something wrong, and couldn't lift their heads; I couldn't help being angry and hated, rising from the bottom of my heart Contempt, the feeling of fear everywhere, at least 7 out of 10. "I'm going out to visit." She called a little girl and said, "Look at Second Grandma's place; if you ask me, you don't know where you went." After talking, I went to Qiuyue to complain and complain.Second Grandma Zhen naturally wanted to ask, but the little girl answered according to her words.Second Grandma Zhen said, "Go and look for it; where is it?" "Yes!" The little girl asked, "What if I found it?" how to say?Naturally, she was persuaded to come back; but this had to be in a tactful way without losing her dignity.If you don't speak well, it will give people the impression that Jin'er lost her temper with her master; the second grandma Zhen has done something wrong, and she has to say good things to her, how can she control the public in the future.If you ask her to come back for a general reason, such as a wound that hurts, if she ignores it, how can it save face? "Alas!" she sighed, "You just look for her and see what she is doing there? Go quietly, come back quietly." This little girl was very clever, and came back quickly to report that Jin'er was having a lively conversation with Qiuyue. "Who else is there?" "Xia Yun in Aunt Ji's room is also there." I heard that at Qiuyue's place, Second Grandma Zhen can feel more at ease, because Qiuyue knows the general situation best and will definitely persuade her to come back; but with Xia Yun here, things are hard to say.Recalling that Xia Yun lost his sincerity at that time, he could have taken advantage of the situation to subdue her and be a helper; it was only because of a mistake in one thought, suspicion and estrangement, which led to many right and wrong.This added a little bit of regret, and his mood became more and more grey.
Yuan heard the clapper on watch patrolling for the third watch, and Qiuyue urged Jin'er to say: "Xia Yun has already left for one watch, please please! I'm tired too." "No! I'll sleep with you today." "Don't be like this." Qiuyue said: "Everyone persuaded you for a long time just now, why are you still obsessed? No matter what, Second Grandma Zhen is only relying on you now; think about her state of mind! Now she is the only one who is sorry for you. , you can't feel sorry for her." "I have nothing to feel sorry for her." "If you don't go back, you are sorry for her. Now it's like sharing adversity; you can't say that you have shared half of it and ignore her. What is it called sharing adversity?" "There is another layer," Dongxue interjected; her words were straightforward: "You have to think for us, if you don't go back today, Grandma Zhen will definitely blame us, especially Qiuyue." "That's true." Jin'er stood up abruptly, "I can't complain for you." Qiuyue gave Dongxue a slight look, blaming her for not being able to speak. It seemed that Jin'er was getting more angry and would not reconcile with Second Grandma Zhen; she had to be persuaded. "You have to be smart!" She took Jin'er's hand, and said all the way: "Second Grandma Zhen must regret it to death; you are magnanimous and take care of her anyway, and she will thank you from the bottom of her heart and treat her to you. You have remembered all the benefits you usually have. Otherwise, you will lose all the benefits you usually have for her! Think about it, is that worthwhile?" Knowing that her words were good, but Jin'er was so heartbroken that she couldn't listen to her!In order to perfunctory Qiuyue, she only said vaguely: "Wait for me to think about it; I'm sleepy too." "By the way, sleep well; when you wake up and think about it calmly, you will know that what I advise you is for your own good." "I know! I know that you are good to me." Jin'er's complaint came again, "Everyone is good to me, only one person is not." At this time, the little girl had already lit the lantern and was about to send Jin'er back; Qiuyue saw that she still hadn't changed her mind, so she wanted to see her off in person, in order to go with her for a journey and have a chance to persuade her. "No, no!" Jin'er pushed his hands outward, making a resolute gesture of resignation, "I understand what you mean. After I get a good sleep, I may forget about it tomorrow morning." Qiuyue thought this was the truth, but she still had to persuade her; after pondering for a while, she remembered a saying, "Never read it, never read it, just for the sake of two people." She pointed to the main room, ""一个是老太太；一个是芹官。老太太若是在此，瞧见震二奶奶今天这么可怜巴巴的模样，会伤心成个什么样儿，我可是想都不敢想；不过，只看芹官，也就可以猜想到了！这两天他拉长了脸，眉心都打成结了；不管春雨怎么劝他、逗他，总没有笑脸。说多了还惹他发脾气。如今再看你不理震二奶奶；只怕他真要哭出来了！好妹子，你有多少委屈，只算在这一老一少两个人的帐上，行不行？” 这番话着实见效，锦儿等她话刚一完，立即答说：“我就看这一老一少的分上；将这一段儿丢开就是。”她接着又说：“这下儿你可以放心，不必再押解我回去了吧？” 秋月笑笑不答，只细心关照坐夜的老婆子：“好好儿送锦姑娘回去。夜深了，小声点儿；你喜欢多嘴，嗓门儿又大，别惊吵了震二奶奶。” 老婆子答应着，果然一路无话地将锦儿送了回去。门是虚掩着的，锦儿悄悄推了进去，顺手闩上。恰好刮起一阵西北风，直扑面门，冷得她发抖；急忙推开堂屋门，等门打盹的小丫头，方始惊醒；锦儿便指指震二奶奶的卧房，低声问道：“什么时候睡的？” 小ㄚ头想了一下说：“大概刚睡。” “怎么叫大概？” “二更天还听见二奶奶起来的声音，灯也挺亮的；这会儿灯黑了。大概睡得不久。” 锦儿心想她睡着了不知道，所以说“大概”。既然睡得不久，就不必进去了，低声说一句：“你睡去吧！明儿一早叫我。” 等锦儿睡下，震二奶奶也醒了；唤起在她床前打地铺的小ㄚ头，捻亮了灯，看钟上已交丑时，便即说道：“你去看看，回来了没有？” 这个小ㄚ头出去一看，堂屋上了闩；等门的不见踪影；再转到锦儿卧房后窗下，只见窗帘有微光，自然是睡下了。 “回来了。都上床了。” 震二奶奶的心一沉！平时再晚回来，一定会悄悄儿来看一看；这晚上，果然是赌气了！ 于是黯然拥被而坐；等小ㄚ头复又睡下，鼾声渐起，虽极轻微，也觉得吵人，越发心烦意噪，只在想着锦儿。 “唉！”她悄然自语：“她不来，我找她去！反正委屈到家了，也不在乎这一点。” 念头转定，随即下床；小丝棉袄上披一件斗篷，轻轻开门出去；到得锦儿那里，举手推门文风不动。震二奶奶不觉气馁了。 她只当锦儿是有意相拒；因为以前她的房门是不上闩的——其实，从曹震夫妇感情破裂那两天起，锦儿便已改变了习惯。因为她怕卷入漩涡；更怕震二奶奶猜疑她暗中在帮曹震，所以除了白天疏远外，归寝时特意闩上房门；免得曹震夜半来求欢，拒之不可，纳之又怕震二奶奶疑心他们枕上密语。 此中委屈，震二奶奶再机敏也猜想不到；此时她只在踌躇，倘或叩门而锦儿不理，岂非是再一次的自取其辱；但如悄然而回，可以预知，必是眼睁睁等天亮，那是种什么滋味。 突然间，擂门如鼓；既是深夜，震二奶奶又是草木皆惊的心境，所以这一吓，冷汗淋漓，手脚皆软，赶紧伸手在房门上撑住，才不致瘫了下去。 这时锦儿也惊醒了，亦是心跳不已；匆匆起来，抓了件丝棉袄披在身上，便来开门；那知门闩一拔，震二奶撑不住了，整个身子往门槛扑了进去，连锦儿一起撞倒在地。 “哇！”锦儿吓得狂喊；再想到听说过不止一回的故事，那就简直吓得魂灵出窍了——有那受人欺侮凌辱，含冤莫伸的，有个极狠毒的报复办法，半夜到冤家门前去上吊，或者服毒自杀，锦儿原就几次想到，而且这晚上秋月也曾谈起相同的想法，震二奶奶是极要面子的人，出了这件丑事，只怕寻短见，需得防备。因此，这时她很快的发生联想，本就想寻死，又受了她的刺激，一时想不开，服了毒药，死在她房门外了。 就在这片刻昏瞀之中，堂屋门又“蓬蓬”地响了起来，“二爷进来了！”是坐夜的陈妈的声音，“谁来开开门？” “我的天，是怎么回事？”锦儿强自挣扎着，将被震二奶奶压住的双腿抽了出来；顾不得外面叫门，先伸手到震二奶奶胸前一按，不觉松了口气，心还在跳。 于是，站起身来，先去开了堂屋门；连看一看曹震的工夫都没有，只说一句：“把灯给我！”从陈妈手中接过明角风灯，转身便走；只见震二奶奶已坐了起来。她是连番受惊，一时虚脱，离昏厥只一线之隔。人虽勉强坐了起来，要想站起来却力不从心了。 这时整座院子里的人都起来了，而且集中在堂屋内外；无不困惑万分。自然，最诧异的是曹震。 “没事了，各人去睡各人的觉。”锦儿看一看曹震的脸色，又发现他手中拿着一封信，刚定下来的心，不觉又往下沉。 当然，先将震二奶奶扶了回去，曹震跟在后面问道：“怎么回事？” “我睡不着，想找锦儿去聊天；那知你半夜敲门——。”震二奶奶突然想到，“日间不作亏心事，夜半敲门心不惊”这句俗语；自恨措词不好，所以停了一下，方又说道：“锦儿的门又开得猛了些，害我一跤跌了进去，差点摔死。” 曹震毕竟还是本性忠厚一路的人，看到妻子这种狼狈的模样，不免动了恻隐之心；因此，不忍加重她的刺激，说一句：“你好好睡吧！我有几句话跟锦儿谈。” 这个说法实在不高明，数九寒天，半夜里叫开中门有话说，自然是十分紧急的事，却偏又不肯跟震二奶奶谈；令人在着急以外，更增了几分猜疑。不过，锦儿比较冷静，向曹震示意说道：“你先到我屋子里等我。” 接着帮小ㄚ头将震二奶奶扶上床，方始低声表示了她的看法；必是出了什么为难的，曹震不愿意让她着急，所以要避开说话。反正等不多时，她会来报告曹震说什么，这会儿先好好息一息。 震二奶奶没有说什么，只投以感动的一瞥；锦儿看她要掉眼泪，赶紧转身，出门而去。 一回自己屋子，只见曹震对着灯发楞；她便先问：“什么等不到明天说的话，半夜里巴巴地叫中门？” “出事了！”曹震说：“我来找你，是要让你去告诉太太。” 他的声音听上去空落落地，令人大有种异样的感觉；锦儿心里七上八下，自觉软弱异常，扶着桌子坐了下来，才能开口说话。 “出了什么事？半夜里就得跟太太去回？” "look!" 从曹震手中接过一封为汗水浸渍、既绉且脏的信，抽出信笺铺平了看，上面写的是：“内阁奉上谕：杭州织造孙文成年已老迈；李秉忠着以按察司衔管理杭州织造事务。江宁织造曹俯，审案未结，着隋赫德以内务府郎中职衔，管理江宁织造事务。钦此！” “完了！”锦儿不觉失声：“上下担心的事，到底没有能避掉。” “烦的是'审案未结'这句话——。” “到底是么案子呢？” “还不是塞楞额那个忘八羔子多事。” 这是指的三处织造差人进京，多索夫马、苦累驿站，为山东巡抚塞楞额所参那一案。锦儿想了想问道：“那是三处都有分的案子，为什么独独四老爷'审案未结'？只怕还有别的案子吧？” “那，那——”曹震乱搔着头，“那就更麻烦了！怎么办呢？我都没有主张了。” 锦儿陡然发觉，自己肩上的负荷加重了——震二奶奶的处境，有力也难使；料理这场麻烦的责任，只怕要落到她头上。她也知道，这是件不容犹豫推诿的事，因而自我鼓起劲来，先替曹震撑腰。 “二爷，”她正色说道：“这一回你可真的是一家之主了；你要拿出魄力来。是福不是祸，是祸躲不过；这会儿也不必去见太太，见了没有用处，反而吓着了她。如今该怎么办，干脆你就自个儿拿主意吧！” “我就是没有主意。你说，我来办。” 锦儿对他又失望，又怜惜；叹口气说：“这会儿你该知道了吧，咱们这一家人家，还真少不了二奶奶这么个人。” 曹震默然半晌，终于说了句：“你倒跟她去商量商量。” 锦儿在等他这句话；他的话一出口，她随即便说：“咱们一块儿去。” “不，不！你跟她去商量；我也回去静静儿想一想。” 锦儿看钟上短针已指四点，料想这一夜也不用打算睡了；“你就睡我的床吧！”她说，“反正我到了二奶奶屋里，一定是谈到天亮。” "Also!" 于是锦儿先服侍他上床，棉被犹温；芗泽微度，曹震心里动得一动，马上就冷了。
“迟早有这么一天！不过年下来这么个消息，老天爷未免太无情了一点。”震二奶奶脸色落寞地想了好一会说：“你倒问问他，还有多少亏空？” “怎么？二奶奶打算——” “虽是赌帐，也得弄清楚。”震二奶奶抢着说：“墙倒众人推；自己根脚不松动，别人就不容易推了。” Think about it too.现在要靠曹震出面应付各方，当然要让他站稳脚步。锦儿由衷地佩服震二奶奶，见识毕竟高人一等。 “另外还有些穷亲戚放的帐，也得趁早料理清楚，拿单据收了回来。” “这，”锦儿叹口气，“还不知道内帐房有钱没有？” “喏！”震二奶奶往枕头下一掏，将个纸包扔在锦儿身边；打开来一看，是曹震过了户的四万银子新存摺，与他的一枚图章。 “二奶奶不打算要这四万银子了？” “也要能要得起来，才能要啊！”震二奶奶紧接着又说：“你把当票检一检；听说太太那里也有几张，你也去要了来。” “要了来怎么样？都赎出来？” “你怎么越说越傻？再说，赎出来干吗？莫非还充阔。” “我，我不大懂你这话。” “你不懂，我就干脆告诉你吧！大概一过了年，就会抄家；能多弄几张当票摆着，或许倒还减点儿罪过。” 锦儿一听这话，半晌作声不得；真的会抄家？她简直想都不敢想了。 “你不相信是不是？” “我不是不相信；我是在想，四老爷的亏空也补得差不多了；有王爷在里头照应，定一个期限补足，也就是了。何必非抄家不可？” “你这是跟谁讲理？跟皇上讲理吗？你也未免想得太天真了。”震二奶奶又说：“你没有想到舅太爷家的情形？” 一提这一点，锦儿不由得打了个哆嗦；既不信，又不甘地说：“不会的！如果那样子；倒不如一索子吊死了还好些。” “我想也不致于到那地步。”震二奶奶也觉得话说得过分，有害无益；因而郑重告诫：“你再去问问他，消息是怎么来的？还有什么人知道？这个消息，绝不可透露；除了咱们这儿三个，明儿只能告诉两个人。” 她未曾说那两人是谁；不过锦儿能猜想得到，“一个自然是太太。”她问：“还有一个是秋月？” “对了。”震二奶奶沉吟着，自语似地说：“春雨呢？要不要让她也知道？” “春雨知道了，芹官自然也知道了。” “那倒不尽然。关照她瞒着芹官，她一定听话。” 提到春雨，想到芹官，由芹官又想到曹老太太，震二奶奶再也无法强自矜持，故作刚强了；一时思前想后，凄凉万状，不过既无哭声，亦非饮泣，只是泪如雨下；眼中映光，五色闪烁，将锦儿看得怔怔地惊疑不定，“从舅太爷出事以后，几次做梦；梦见抄家，哭醒来心里宽松，原来是梦！如今梦成真的了！”震二奶奶这时才有痛苦的表情，“将来还不知道怎么样呢！虽不致于像李家那么惨；一回了旗，那种冷冷清清的日子，也够人受的。芹官怎么能过那种日子，我真想都不敢想？” 这一说也勾动了锦儿的愁思；但也只能往宽处去想，“总算还好！”她说：“若是老太太在世，听到今天的消息，那就不知道怎么办了？” “那就一定先急死四个人！”震二奶奶说：“秋月、太太、芹官、我。” “这样说，还是不幸中的大幸。”锦儿又说：“如今全靠二奶奶你了；可得定下心来，好好拿个大主意。” “怎么叫'拿个大主意'？”震二奶奶住了眼泪；用锦儿递给她的一方手绢拭着脸问。 “嘚，”锦儿低声说道：“总得留个退步啊！” 震二奶奶不作声，脸色却越来越阴沉；好久才叹了口无声的气。 “晚了！又晚了一步！若非闹这场闲是非，把祭田那件事也办了。如今，那里还有退步？” 震二奶奶说到这里，突然又停了下来；双眼乱眨，显然在考虑一个绝大的疑难；因此锦儿便不作声，静静等着。 “我起来！”震二奶奶冒出来一句；随即便要下床。 "what?" “找秋月去商量；商量定了，天一亮就得动手。” “这——，”锦儿说道：“如果真是那么急，也不必二奶奶亲自去找她；我把她请来就是。” “也好！”震二奶奶说，“别惊动人！” 等锦儿将秋月邀了来，让她们深感诧异的是，震二奶奶毫无愁苦之容；屋子里收拾过了，衾枕都叠得好好地；火盆续了炭，烧得极旺。她只穿一件宽大的薄棉袄，正在火盆上调制烫饭；靠窗的方桌上，点着明晃晃的一支新烛，已摆好了四个吃粥的荤素碟子。 “外面挺冷的吧！”震二奶奶头也不抬地说：“先吃烫饭。暖了身子，饱了肚子好办事。” 锦儿与秋月对看了一眼，都有莫测高深之感；因而也都不开口，只分别动手，一个从震二奶奶手里接过杓子；一个去检点餐桌。 震二奶奶居中，锦儿与秋月相向坐定；等小丫头盛上粥来，震二奶奶说道：“你盛了烫饭到后房去吃，这里不用你招呼。倘或耳朵里刮到一句、半句话，只当没有听见；你要敢胡说，当心我揭了你的皮。听清楚了没有？” 凡是为她挑在身边的，都知道守口如瓶是最要紧的一件事；那小丫头答一句：“听清楚了。”随即回避得远远地。 “我刚才前前后后都想过了。”震二奶奶从容说道：“事情要往远处去想，可得往妥当的地方安排。你们说，会坏到什么地步？” “我还不怎么完全清楚。”秋月答说：“不过，总不至于像李家那样吧？” “那大概不至于；抄家，想来是免不了的。” “就那样也够受的了。”锦儿将饭碗放了下来。 震二奶奶挟了一个醉蟹的蟹盖，搁在她面前的碟子里，“就是这一个不抄。”她仿佛无视于锦儿的忧色，“我也担心太太会受不了。还有芹官，也是累赘。我有个主意，你们看行不行？我想请太太带着芹官，赶年内先进京；反正迟早是要回旗的，何必在这里受惊吓。” 这个主意，好像有点匪夷所思；但细想一想，却不失为妥当的安排，只是有一层顾虑。 “都快送灶了；忽然要赶进京，这不让人奇怪吗？”秋月又问，“少不得总有几家要替太太饯行；见了人怎么说呢？” “自然有非马上赶进京不可的缘故。”震二奶奶问锦儿：“今天那封信是怎么来的？”锦儿还在思索曹震所说的经过；秋月插了句嘴：“想来是专差。” 震二奶奶点点头说：“信里说些什么，当然不会有人知道，现在还来得及遮盖。你们听清楚了，大家的说法，不能有出入。”说着，端起碗来吃饭。 “是怎么个说法？”锦儿心急；看她那好整以暇的神情，近乎做作，不觉微生嗔意，“那里就饿成这个样子！连说句话的工夫都顾不上来了。” “急脉缓受。”震二奶奶正色说道：“往后风波不知多少？太太一走，内里只有我们三个人撑；你得沉住气！” 原来她是故意在磨练她们应变的涵养；锦儿倒是心平气和，生了信心，居然能剔着蟹盖中的紫膏吃了。 “怎么个说法呢？说外老太太得重病，来势不轻；想太太想得要命；外孙子也没有见过。舅老爷派专差送信来，请太太带着芹官赶进京去见一面；晚一步，只怕送终都不能够。” 这个说法，一面为马夫人进京找了非常充足的理由；一面也可以消释全家上下，因为京差星夜送信而引起的惊疑。锦儿与秋月都心领神会，深深点头。 “我还在想，”震二奶奶又说，“甚至连太太面前都这么说，索性瞒到底。” “那不好！”秋月接口，“外老太太八十多了，虽是嫡母；跟太