Chapter 36： cousin cousin

Chapter 36 Cousins ​​Cousins

County magistrate Hu was a little worried, so he specifically asked the old man for instructions, and ordered Sun Xiancheng to accompany him, while he stayed in the living room to drink tea with the old man to reminisce about the old days.

The Zhao Mansion is really too big. According to the maids, there is a long distance from the main hall to where Mr. Zhao Xiaolang lives in the backyard.

While on the way, Chu Nanzhi asked the two maids about the details of the house structure in the mansion.

In addition to the main hall and a few side halls in the outer courtyard of the Zhao Mansion, the largest area is the family ancestral hall in the southwest corner, and the rest are mostly warehouses for storing sundries, servant rooms for family members to rest, and some simple guest rooms.

The inner courtyard is divided into six courtyards, and the courtyard in the north is where Zhao Taigong and his wife lived.

Although the west side is not the main courtyard, but because it is close to the ancestral hall, it used to be the former residence of Mrs. Zhao's family.

There is a side courtyard in the middle of the two courtyards. Since it is closer to the main courtyard, Mr. Xiaolang is still small and easy to take care of, so that is Mr. Zhao Xiaolang's bedroom.

Knowing where Mr. Zhao Xiaolang lives, Chu Nanzhi took Xiao Sibao straight to the courtyard.

As soon as he arrived at the gate of the courtyard, he was stopped by a young man in white.

Chu Nanzhi casually sized up the man in white:

This person is dressed in extremely expensive clothes, and he is not a servant of the mansion at first glance.

And as far as she knows, such a big family is the most respectful of rules, even if it is a male servant in the mansion, he may not be allowed to enter this inner courtyard.

While hesitating and suspicious, I saw the man in white with fierce eyes, glanced at Chu Nanzhi's mother and daughter and Sun Xiancheng in an extremely unfriendly manner, and sternly reprimanded the two maids:

"Who are these people, Zensheng brought them to my younger brother's courtyard?"

"Brother Yan?"

Chu Nanzhi felt confused.

It was never mentioned in the dossier that Mr. Zhao Xiaolang had an older brother, nor did Hu County Magistrate and Sun County Chancellor.

But it is understandable to think about it carefully. After all, this case was only regarded as a missing persons case from the beginning, and there was no reason to delve into other family affairs.

Maybe it's an illegitimate child or something, if you ask too much, it will touch people's privacy and cause discomfort.

The maids were not allowed to answer, Sun Xiancheng immediately explained to the man respectfully:

"The old man is the magistrate of the county government, and this lady came here to investigate the case under the orders of the county magistrate."

The two maids also explained to several people repeatedly: "This is the Erlang from my family, the cousin of my Xiaolangjun."

It turned out to be a cousin, not a direct relationship or an illegitimate child.

Chu Nanzhi was about to ask something more, only to see this Zhao Erlang roar fiercely:

"If you don't investigate the case and find out the whereabouts of the bandits who arrested my Yandi, what are you doing in the inner courtyard of your house?"

The maid turned pale with fright, and replied anxiously: "It was ordered by the lord, and the servants were specially sent to lead the county magistrate and Mrs. Chu over."

"Miss Chu?"

Zhao Jia Erlang rolled his eyes with disdain for Chu Nanzhi and the little four treasures she was holding:

"It's all right for the county magistrate to investigate the case. Who is this lady Chu, and she also comes to join in the fun, and she also brings a child. I really think that the door of my Zhao residence is so easy to get in and out."

Sun Xiancheng immediately recommended: "This lady Chu is the woman who helped the county find out the tax and bank case a few days ago. Their mother and daughter were also specially invited by the county magistrate to help find the whereabouts of Mr. Xiaolang."

But hearing Erlang's disgusting name, Xiao Sibao deliberately made a malicious face with Zhao Erlang.

"you"

Zhao Erlang was so angry that his face sank, he glared fiercely at the mother and daughter, and cursed pointedly:

"All kinds of weird things can happen these days. It's really shameless for a woman to take care of her husband and raise her children at home, and go outside to show her face."

After saying that, he shook his hand angrily and left.

When the maids saw Zhao Erlang leaving, the older maid hurriedly apologized to Chu Nanzhi:

"My family Erlang has been quite distressed by the disappearance of Mr. Xiaolang recently. He has a bad temper and contradicted the adults and the lady. Please don't blame him."

Chu Nanzhi shook her head generously, to show that she didn't care about it.

For a selfish, heartless and ungrateful person like Lin Jinhong, if something happened, Lin Jinxiao would be very sad. It is understandable that Zhao Erlang is concerned about his brother's safety.

It was just that she was a little confused, and asked the two maids: "Since your Erlang is Xiao Langjun's cousin, how could he live in this courtyard together?"

"This lady doesn't know. Erlang is the only son of my lord's younger brother. His father followed my lord across the country and died at sea. At that time, Erlang was only half a year old. His mother couldn't bear the pain of losing her husband. It didn’t take long before he died of illness, so Erlang was brought up by my lord and the old lady, and the lord always treated him as his own son, so naturally he lived in the inner courtyard.”

After speaking, the older maid pointed to a single courtyard in the east: "That's Erlang's courtyard."

"I see."

Chu Nanzhi nodded and smiled: "It seems that the old lady treats her family with great love and care."

Sun Xiancheng frowned and stroked his mustache: "I have heard that the grandpa has a younger brother, but I have never heard that the grandpa has such a nephew."

The maid explained patiently: "Since Erlang moved to Luyan Port with the lord, he has lived in seclusion these years and rarely made friends with outsiders. It is not surprising that the county magistrate has never heard of it."

The little maid pursed her lips, and added angrily: "It's okay if you don't know, but a dignitary like my lord, who is so rich and famous all over the world, will inevitably be missed by bad people. Mr. Xiao Lang is a living example, and there has been no news until now. "

"That's true."

Sun Xiancheng agreed, glanced at Chu Nanzhi meaningfully, and said with a wry smile:

"If you want to talk about the rich son of Luyan Port, you have to count Mrs. Chu's cousin as a character. Even the county magistrate has to give him some courtesy."

Chu Nanzhi only returned a wry smile, deliberately not answering his question.

Luyan Port was originally the most affluent place in the entire Pingning County. There are too many gentry and rich families, and it is not uncommon for there to be so many dudes.

As for Hu Maoxi, if you want to talk about integrity, he is also greedy for money.

No matter how bad it is, he doesn't exploit the people.

Bow your head and bow to those big gentry all day long, and take money from others, so naturally you have to be more polite.

After thinking about it, she said to Sun Xiancheng: "Master Xiancheng, let's go inside and have a look."

"Um."

Several people immediately entered Mr. Zhao Xiaolang's yard together.

Although Mr. Zhao Xiaolang has been missing for many days, the yard has been cleaned spotlessly, and it looks very neat and comfortable.

Chu Nanzhi, Xian Cheng and others first looked around in the courtyard:

Directly facing the gate of the courtyard is the main house, and not far from the main house there are side rooms on the left and right.

The side room is where the maids live. None of the maids heard any movement in the main house on the night of the incident, which means that the person who killed Mr. Xiao Lang was not an ordinary servant. defensive.

Thinking of this, I went straight to the main house for a visit.

The furnishings in the house are all exquisite, and the house is full of antiques, calligraphy and paintings, and authentic works of celebrities, which shows how much the family loves them.

What makes Chu Nanzhi wonder is that he is only a ten-year-old child, so what is the use of these things?

She didn't ask any more questions, and the maid hurriedly praised her young gentleman from the bottom of her heart:

"My little lord is very intelligent, and he likes reading books the most. He started copying Chang Lao's handwriting when he was four years old. The copying is very realistic. Even Mr. Nie once praised my little lord's talent and made a promise with Chang Lao. When my little lord grows older, he will be accepted as a disciple, so the lord has collected these famous treasures for him all these years."

"Um!"

To be appreciated by Mr. Nie and Mr. Chang, at least he should be a humble gentleman who is filial, benevolent and righteous.

Chu Nanzhi thought so.

(end of this chapter)