Everyone was chatting and laughing, but Mrs. Liu's determination to guide the mahjong game was firm as she sat next to Mrs. Qin, who could only smile helplessly and say: "I'm in the middle of talking to Mrs. Hu here!"

  Mrs. Liangyuan called the maid to move a chair over: "I'm the winner... as long as everyone has no objection, I'd like to sit here and chat with Mrs. Shen and Mrs. Hu..."

  Mrs. Liu Jin naturally disagreed, pulling Mrs. Liang Yuan to prevent her from sitting down, and pleading with Mrs. Qin Wei: "Good sister, let me hurry back a bit!"

  Hu Xian's wife smiled and pointed at Liu Jin's wife: "You... don't have any of the demeanor of a madam."

  Liu Jin's wife leaned on Hu's wife's shoulder: "Which lady here is not older than me, why should I take the lead?"

  Everyone burst out laughing again.

  Hu Xian's wife said to Qin Wei's wife: "You'd better go and play with them, otherwise, neither I nor Shen's wife can live in peace."

  Qin Wei's wife listened and then went back to the card table with Liu Jin's wife, Liang Yuan's wife and others, and they started playing again.

  ******

  Shen Muqing's face turned bright red as she tightly grasped the four cards in her hand, watching as Liang Youhui played a "50,000 cash" card.

  "Is there anyone who can take care of it? Is there anyone who can take care of it?"

  Ying shook her head, and Zi Sha also showed a helpless expression.

  "Lost again!"

  Liáng Yòu Huì covered her mouth and smiled.

  Shen Muqing and Ying Fen lost their cards and each gave two copper coins to Liang Youhui.

  Liang Youhui smiled complacently and accepted it.

  Zi Sha starts shuffling cards.

  "Where's the manager? I've been waiting for a long time!"

  Liang Youhui's expression was tense: "We're playing cards, won't it delay our main task?"

  Shen Mu Qing Zheng nodded solemnly: "I don't know... I'll go take a look..."

  "Go quickly, go quickly!"

  Yingfen couldn't help but burst out laughing on the side.

  Her eyes sparkled with a hint of a smile as she pursed her lips and smiled.

  Liang Youhui looked at Ying Fen and then at Zi Sha with an inexplicable gaze.

  Zi Sha softly said: "Miss Shen's luck is bad, let's take a break."

  Liang Youhui suddenly looked enlightened, and hastily pulled Shen Muqing who was sitting beside her, having a young maid servant help her put on shoes: "I'll return the money I won to you, don't be angry!"

  Shen Mu Qing calmly and seriously said: "You listen to Zi Sha Hu. I just went out to take a look, is there anything going on outside?"

  Liáng Yòu Huì gazed at Shěn Mù Qīng with a skeptical look, but Zǐ Shāo smiled and said: "Shen Niáng should go take a look too. Just now, there was a mother who came to discuss something, and as soon as Shen Niáng returned, she changed her attitude..."

  Shen Muqing had a disheveled look as if his thoughts were transparent, and he turned around to glare at Zi Sha with an unhappy expression.

  Zi Sha was quite embarrassed, but accompanied Shen Muqing with a smile.

  Yingfen couldn't help it anymore and burst out laughing: "Zi Sha sister, our young lady treats you like a close relative, just teasing you!"

  Zi Sha carefully sized up Shen Muqing for a few moments, seeing that although his face was filled with anger, his eyes were actually gleaming with amusement.

  She laughed and patted her chest, saying: "Girl, you scared me to death!" Her tone was different from the tension earlier, with a few parts of a little girl's coquetry.

  What a unique person!

  No wonder Mrs. Liang put Zi Sha beside Liang You Hui to serve her.

  She couldn't help but take a closer look at Zi Sha.

  Thirteen or fourteen years old, slender figure, delicate facial features, agile eyes, wearing a light blue cotton jacket with a high collar, dark blue trousers, white embroidered skirt, silver hairpin on her head, pearl earrings hanging from her ears, like a small flower quietly blooming by the water, gentle and warm.

  Shen Muqing couldn't help but secretly sigh in her heart, but a smile still lingered on her face: "If I don't go out and take a stroll, the copper coin in front of me will probably change hands again soon!"

  Liang Youhui found it amusing and burst out laughing.

  Shen Muqing took Luomei to Baoge.

  As soon as they went out, they saw Pu Yu looking around on the corridor, and when she saw Shen Muqing, she ran away in a flash.

  Shen Mu Qing called out to Bu Yue: "Go take a look, what's going on?"

  Bu Yue responded to the sound and left, Shen Mu Qing then entered the main hall.

  There were only Mingxia and two young maidservants in the warm pavilion. Mingxia was sitting on the big kang in the warm pavilion, doing needlework, while the two little maidservants sat around her, rummaging through a bamboo basket and whispering to each other, creating a very harmonious atmosphere.

  Seeing Shen Muqing enter, the three people hastily stood up and paid their respects to her.

  "What is this?" Shen Muqing smiled and walked over, picked up the moon-white satin, unfolded it, and it was a half-finished interlining garment.

  Ming Xia lowered her eyelids: "This was given to me by the mistress two years ago. I'm short, making a suit, less is more, making a piece, and there's still extra; Jin Xiu is taller than me, but it's just right for making a quilted jacket. So I took it out for her to use!"

  Shen Muqing suddenly remembered Xiao Xiao's words.

  Yes, being sent to Xiaoliu Garden to recover from illness, who knows if the illness will get better or not. Even if the illness gets better, can I still return to Angarden to work... wherever you go, there are always people who flatter those in power and bully those who are weak!

  Her eyes dimmed for a moment as she thought about not having visited Jinxiu for some time, and asked: "Have you seen Jinxiu? How is she?"

  Ming Xia paused for a moment, then looked up and smiled: "It's fine. The lady has invited the doctor, and the medicine has never been interrupted."

  Shen Mu Qing thought for a moment and said, "Let's go, we'll take a look at Jin Xiu!"

  Ming Xia's face flashed with an uncertain expression.

  Shen Muqing secretly felt a pang in her heart, but pretended as if she didn't know anything and walked out directly.

  Ming Xia hurriedly ran forward to help Shen Muqing lift the curtain.

  Shen Mu Qing instructed Luo Mei: "You go and keep Liang Niang company playing cards - just let me take care of something, I'll be right back!"

  Luo Mei glanced at Ming Xia, her tone slightly hesitant as she called out to Ying Xiu, telling her to follow Shen Muqing and attend to him. Only then did she return to the main house.

  Shen Mu Qing and several others went to Xiao Liu Garden.

  Under the blanket of heavy snow, the small willow garden is a vast expanse of white. A few branches that refuse to give up poke their heads out from under the thick layer of snow, giving off an air of desolation.

  Ming Xia smiled and explained: "It's been busy at home for the past few days, so the snow hasn't been cleared."

  Shen Muqing quietly followed behind Ming Xia, who supported her as she knocked on Jin Xiu's door.

  It was Chun Lü who answered the door. She wore a half-new, half-old olive green velvet jacket, and on such a cold day, she was sweating profusely.

  When she saw Shen Muqing, her expression was very panicked.

  Shen Mu Qing's face sank, and he pushed open the spring green door and entered the house.

  Two small rooms, a mud stove at the entrance, firewood arranged neatly by the door, and an earthenware pot for decocting medicine on top. After lifting the curtain and entering the bedroom, I saw that the bed was covered with blue printed cotton sheets, and she lay on the kang with her eyes closed and a flush on her face.

  Shen Mu Qing looked around the house calmly.

  The wall was pasted with white paper, the ground was paved with earth bricks, and two big red window flowers were still stuck on the window, the half-old black lacquer furniture was also wiped clean, looking bright and tidy.

  There were just several blue-flowered coarse cloth bundles piled up in a corner of the kang.

  Seeing her gaze fall on those packages, Chun Lü, who was following behind her, carefully explained: "They are packing up things... all of them are frequently used by Jin Xiu Jie, nothing is being hidden."

  Shen Mu Qing turned around and stared at Ming Xia.

  Bright eyes clear and cold as the moon.

  Ming Xia couldn't help but shudder.

  After a while, he murmured: "...In a few days, Zhou will be back, and she'll bring Jinxiu sister to the mansion for New Year's...On New Year's Day, she was ill, but going back, she still has her parents, brothers, and sisters-in-law, it'll be lively..."

  "Who decided this?" Shen Mu asked coldly.

  Ming Xia hesitated for a moment and muttered: "Yes, it was said by Aunt Wang."

  "What's going on during this time?" Shen Muqing walked to the edge of the bed and sat down, looking at Jinxiu who was sleeping like a beautiful woman. "You'd better tell me the truth... otherwise, I'll also wash my hands off."

  Ming Xia hesitated, but Chun Lü immediately knelt down in front of Shen Mu Qing: "Miss, Jin Xiu will be fine soon, please don't send her away... Madam asked Zhang Po to pass the New Year and then take Jin Xiu to the villa... She also said that if sister asks, just say she's too ill..."

  It's as expected!

  "What made you aware of it?"

  "It was Yu Yu who said it." Chun Lü's eyes were brimming with tears as she looked at Shen Mu Qing, "I really didn't speak nonsense. Last time when Zhang Po came to see Yu Yu, Yu Yu told me that - after the New Year, Jin Xiu would go to Zhang Po's house."

  Shen Mu coldly snorted: "You really are quite clever!"

  Chun Lü's face turned pale as she heard this, and she kowtowed to the ground: "Miss, I really didn't lie... That day, Pu Yu came to the courtyard and said that Madam had sent her to pick some snow in Xiaoliu Garden, so they could make tea next year..."

  In the small willow garden, picking snow... Not picking the snow on the plum blossoms, but picking the accumulated snow that has fallen to the ground.

  Shen Mu was deep in thought.

  Ming Xia pulled up Chun Lu with one hand: "What to do, the girl has her own plan, it's not your turn to die here. Get up quickly!"

  Chun Lü stood up with a sob, wiping away tears and secretly glancing at Shen Muqing's expression.

  "When Zhou Zongguan comes back, remember to tell me." Shen Muqing's expression was as usual, and he instructed Mingxia lightly.

  Ming Xia nodded carefully and replied with a soft "yes".

  "Spring green, brocade is here, have you been serving all along?" Shen Muqing asked Spring Green again.

  Chun Lü nodded slightly with some trepidation.

  "Hmm, not bad!" Shen Muqing gazed at the window flower and turned to Mingxia: "Let's go."

  Ming Xia was taken aback for a moment, but quickly regained her composure and respectfully responded with a "yes", following Shen Muqing out of the Xiao Liu Garden.

  All along the way, Shen Muqing's expression was somewhat dazed.

  Being taken away by Zhang Pozi, what else can be good? But not being taken away, what to do then? No one knows oneself, and there is no one to entrust... Moreover, with Jin Xiu's extraordinary beauty, ordinary families really cannot afford it...

  She thought and thought but couldn't come up with a plan, so she returned to An Garden in a daze.

  Bù yuè zǎo zài wū yán xià děng.

  Translation: Bu Yue was waiting under the eaves early.

  Seeing Shen Muqing return, she hurriedly ran to greet her and said: "Just now I went to ask, Pu Yu said that Du's aunt asked her to come and see if the young lady is at home. She has something to do with the young lady!"

  Shen Mu nodded slightly, and a maid beside her smiled and said: "Du Gu Gu has already arrived, she's waiting for you in the house!"

  It's finally here, the time to rush to the top! Thanks for your support, sisters! I appreciate it! (*^__^*) Hehe...