C85

"Old lady." Madame SHen was silent for a moment, the fear in her eyes faded like the tide, and her face returned to normal, "Last night at the corner of the eaves, there were many red gauze lanterns hanging, I don't know which old woman made a mistake and came over to the old lady to talk about it, making the old lady worry."

Once she went back to the Lan Garden, she told the Mama Tang to prepare hot water and to personally bathe and change the clothes of her soulless daughter. As for the Qiu Shuang and the cape that were dyed in blood, they were also made into a fire by the Mama Tang.

Now that all the evidence had been destroyed, even if the old lady was suspicious, she would not be able to find any clues.

Madame SHen was uncharacteristically gentle as she struggled with reason. Her gloomy face became more and more gloomy, as if she was about to explode.

Jin Lan's fingertips suffused with a hint of coldness. No matter if someone had actually seen what happened last night, they couldn't admit it!

She thought for a moment, and could not help but lower her head, as if she was wronged: "Last night, we met with some trouble, and Lan Er and her mother were washed away by the crowd. Luckily, Lan Er was smart and hid under the stall, otherwise Lan Er would not have been able to see Grandmother again." Saying this, her clear eyes were already covered by a layer of mist, "Did Grandmother hear any more rumors or slanders? "It was the same last time, but now …"

Even though she had been away from the for more than half a year, something had happened. When she had just returned, the Steward Li had already started reporting everything. When Jin Lan spoke of the last time, she immediately recalled Steward Li's words: First Miss suffered from hysteria, Second Miss invited himself to the temple to pray for blessings.

When Jin Lan saw the old lady's flickering expression, she immediately knew that her words had aroused the old lady's suspicions. She simply clenched her teeth, and said with grief and indignation: "If Grandmother thinks the same, then Lan Er will turn her head and become her sister-in-law. This way, everyone in the Ren Family will have a good face. Otherwise, if I were to ruthlessly search for a rope and hang myself on it, it would be like what those people wanted me to do. Furthermore, I can also get away with my innocence and will never be said to be unclean by others! " As she spoke, tears began to fall.

"Speak!" Old Madame Ye was startled, she immediately slammed the table and bellowed: What blind fool is the one that taught you this nonsense? As she spoke, her sharp gaze pierced into the Madame SHen like a knife.

Jin Lan knelt towards Old Madame Ye with a "putong" sound, and choked with emotions: "Grandmother does not need to blame Mother, this is all Lan Er's thoughts, and should have already done so the last time, it was only because I was thinking of Grandmother that I was willing to endure inside the temple. Now that those people all dare to mutter in front of our grandmother, openly speaking, they will not be able to tolerate Lan Er.

Madame SHen's face became pale as she looked at her daughter's tear-stained face. She clenched the handkerchief tightly, took a deep breath, and then said in a deep voice: "Since someone has reported this to the old lady, I ask the old lady to call the maid or the wife over. My daughter-in-law wants to confront her face to face!"

Old Madame Ye's face jumped a few times before suddenly becoming silent. Her probing gaze moved back and forth between Jin Lan and Madame SHen's face.

He thought that with this scheme, even if Madame SHen didn't reveal anything, Jin Lan would have honestly blurted it out. He never expected that she would be the one to be forced into a dead end.

Could it be that that person was seeing things?

When the wavering expression on Old Madame Ye entered her eyes, she couldn't help but be moved.

If it was someone in the old lady's room or a maidservant patrolling the garden, according to the old lady's character, she would have immediately called them out. Why was she so silent now?

It was probably because that person did not work at these two places that he did not show himself.

Who could it be?

Jin Lan lowered his head to ponder over the matter, his gaze blankly sweeping over the old lady's pair of satin shoes with the word 'blessings' embroidered on it. Suddenly, the image of Mama Shang's meaningful glance before she left appeared in his mind.

She suddenly raised her tear-stained face and looked at Old Madame Ye, "Grandmother, Lan Er finally knows what's going on."

Old Madame Ye's competitive gaze instantly landed on Jin Lan, "What is it?"

Madame SHen used her long sleeves to hide her hands tightly. Her eyes were filled with worry as he looked at Jin Lan, afraid that she would accidentally reveal him.

Jin Lan glanced sideways, giving the Madame SHen a comforting look.

Although her thoughts had not recovered by the time she returned home, she vaguely remembered that her mother had taken off her cloak and tied it around her. If there was anything wrong with her tightly covering body, it would be the embroidered shoes beneath her feet. No matter how the cloak covered him, every step of the way, a bit of his shoes would be revealed, and that pair of embroidered shoes would probably be stained with some blood.

On the way back to the courtyard, he was in a rush and did not run into anyone. The maids and servants that were patrolling the night were all sent off from afar, unable to get close to him.

The only thing that people noticed, was that when they returned to the Lan Garden, everyone's tensed state of mind relaxed a little, so they didn't pay too much attention to their surroundings. Moreover, the west wing wasn't too far from the main house. Once the courtyard door was opened, one would definitely be able to hear the commotion. Adding to the few steps …

Jin Lan made her decision, and spoke without hesitation: "After thinking about it, Lan Er didn't do anything wrong last night. She was only wearing a pair of white silk shoes with a thousand layers, with a few red peony embroidered on the top, I'm afraid that it's like this, and the lights are hazy, so people saw him, and mistook him for injured, right?"

As she spoke, she carefully observed the change in the old lady's expression. At the same time, a trace of unease appeared on her face. After pausing for a moment, she continued, "Those embroidered shoes were stained with some dust. Lan Er was afraid that she would be rude to her grandmother, thus she changed into this clean pair of shoes today. How about, Lan Er sent someone to take it? Mama Tang is currently outside the door. "

Old Madame Ye squinted her eyes as she stared at Jin Lan's slightly nervous face, as if she was pondering how trustworthy these words could be.

Madame SHen stood quietly by the side, her heart in her throat.

After a long while, the urgent gaze finally disappeared. Old Madame Ye heaved a sigh of relief, extended her hand to support Jin Lan who was kneeling on the ground, and said slowly: "Forget it, you get up first."

Jin Lan was overjoyed, and his stiff back instantly softened. It was as she had expected, Mama Shang told him! The old lady could not be sure of the authenticity of the matter. Otherwise, she would not have endured until now. Furthermore, she would have asked him about it instead of being honest.

She resisted the pain in her knees and grinded her teeth as she stood up. She swayed a little and took the opportunity to sink into the old lady's embrace, "Grandmother, do you still not trust Lan Er?"

Old Madame Ye raised her hand and used a handkerchief to wipe away the tears on Jin Lan's face, and then sighed: "Grandmother did this for your own good, it must be known that as a daughter, reputation is the most important, no mistakes can be made. You are still young, if you are led astray by someone by your side, won't that cause this old woman to feel sad? "

The Madame SHen lowered her eyes and slowly sat back down on the yellow rosewood chair with egg inlaid on it. She ignored the words that the Old Madame Ye had said to him.

Only then did Jin Lan's tears turn into a smile. However, the smile on the corner of his mouth had yet to bloom at night before it was withdrawn again.

Old Madame Ye was about to pick up the teacup, but seeing Jin Lan's expression, he stopped, "What? Are you angry with your grandmother? "

Jin Lan shook his head, deliberating over what to say, then said: "Lan Er is not worried, I'm just worried that those servant girls might speak carelessly and cause Grandmother to feel fear for nothing."

Seeing that she was willing to be careful, Old Madame Ye was worried. Qing Yan's face seemed to be especially soft, her heart softened, and said: "Don't worry, in the future, no one will talk anymore."

Was he planning to not let them get involved in the rest of the matter? However, when he thought about how the Mama Shang had to go to the capital together, Jin Lan felt indignant in his heart, "Luckily, I was only talking about Lan Er. If there were to be a day when he mentioned Father, Mother, and even Grandmother, if word of this spread out, I wonder how others would view our residence."

After the Madame SHen heard the words of Jin Lan and the old lady, she more or less understood what was going on. She then continued, "Lan Er is right, old lady, those servant girls of the young master, I'm afraid that we cannot keep them.

"Alright!" Old Madame Ye's expression sank again. She rubbed her forehead and said tiredly: "I will take care of this matter myself. Let's stop here for today, I'm tired."

Jin Lan and Madame SHen looked at each other. They did not intend to take advantage of the old lady in the first place, but they wanted to use this opportunity to teach her a lesson so that she would have more reservations in the future. Hearing the old lady's words, they stood up and left together.

After the mother and daughter duo left, Old Madame Ye called Yan Rong in. "Girl Lan doesn't look like she's lying anymore.

Yan Rong sent Mama Wu to the side room and went back to the main house. She just followed the Old Granny's instructions and didn't enter, instead she hid under the window and observed her wife and Second Miss carefully. She didn't seem to be concealing anything, so she said with a smile, "Second Miss is still young, and after being shouted at like this by you, she had already lost her cool. I'm afraid that she didn't think too much about it, and what she said should be the truth."

Old Madame Ye remained calm and nodded, "Since that is the case, let's put this matter to rest. There is no need to ask any more questions about Girl Lan, in order to not arouse suspicion. When you get back, ask Steward Li to come over. I have other things to say about the matter of Girl Lan and little girl Wei going to the capital. "

Yan Rong agreed with a smile on her face, and helped Old Madame Ye to rest.

Jin Lan accompanied Madame SHen back to the Shuixie Pavilion, and told him about their suspicions along the way.

Upon hearing that the person who informed the old lady was actually Mama Shang, a flash of astonishment appeared on Madame SHen's face before he angrily said: "I thought she was a good person, but I didn't expect her to be like this!" When he thought about how the Mama Shang would follow Jin Lan to the capital, her face immediately turned cold, "No wonder the old lady wanted her to take over the position of the Mama Tang. I'm afraid she wants her to keep an eye on your every word and action."

Thinking about the Mama Wu from her own clan, Madame SHen felt a burst of chaos in her heart. In that case, shouldn't Shang Jing not simply be congratulating the Old Ancestor, or asking for medicine for the mother and daughter?

"Mother." Seeing that the Madame SHen's expression was amiss, Jin Lan immediately grabbed her arm and advised softly. "This matter is just my daughter's wild suspicions, it's not certain yet."

Touching her daughter's beautiful face, Madame SHen sighed as her heart ached. She raised her hand to rub the Jin Lan's temples, "Don't worry, Mother won't tell you to face danger with your own body." She made up her mind that she would go to Meng Family.

The Meng Family and the capital were very close. Previously, when Madame Qin came to visit them, she said a lot of strange things, but she did not take it to heart. Now that she thought about it, maybe Madame Qin already knew what was going on!