How to work

Zhang narrated a past event 20 years ago.

Twenty years ago, when she was 20, her parents were worrying about finding a good marriage for her.

The Zhang family is a big family in Shangjing, regardless of their in-law relationship or word-of-mouth connections, they are all very good.Moreover, the Zhang family has inherited poems and books from generation to generation. They have a noble character, and they attach great importance to the upbringing of their children. No one can fault the etiquette norms. Disaster.

Mrs. Zhang has been sensible since she was a child, and her boudoir style has been engraved in her bones. She has never let her parents worry about it, and she has no opinion on the marriage, saying that it is all up to her parents.

But fate was so caught off guard, she met a man in a crisis...

It was a guest in someone else's home. The girls were playing games and got separated. She accidentally walked to the lake and lost her way.If she waited for someone to look for her, she didn't know how long she would have to wait, so she asked her personal servant girl to try to walk a little farther and ask someone for directions, while she herself sat on a big rock by the lake, waiting quietly.

It was the beginning of March, and the weather was not very good. Sitting there, Mrs. Zhang felt a little cold and wanted to come down for a walk.Unexpectedly, the lakeside was wet, and the bottom of the boulder was covered with moss. She didn't notice it for a moment, and the whole person fell forward and fell into the lake.

The lake was icy cold, she couldn't swim, the more she struggled, the more desperate she became, her hands and feet became stiff, and her consciousness slowly drifted away... Then someone hugged her waist and led her to swim out.

The water in the lake was not muddy, but Zhang's consciousness was blurred and she had no energy, so she couldn't turn her head to look at the person who rescued her.He only saw the corners of the moon white clothes fluttering slowly in the water, and a pair of exquisite jades hanging on the man's waist.

She fainted, spit out water several times in a drowsy state, and vaguely heard the man's warm voice calling for comfort.

Then, her breathing calmed down, her eyelids fluttered, and she slowly woke up... Surrounded by a circle of little girls, her personal maid was on the side, crying like tears.

She looked around and found that there was no man, not even a servant.She exhaled slowly, and explained with a pale face that a passing woman saved her, and after saving her, she went to ask for help.

When the servant girl helped her up, she felt a pain in the back of her waist. She touched it with her hand and grabbed something.After returning home, I found that it was one of the jade Linglongs hanging around the waist of the person who rescued her, probably pressed down when the person put her on the ground.

The servant girl hugged her and cried all the time, took off all her clothes and examined her carefully, she said that there was a big puddle of blood on the stone by the lake, she thought she was injured...

Mrs. Zhang was not injured, but just suffered from a little cold, and it will be fine after a while of decoction and medicine.She didn't tell anyone about Yu Linglong, she subconsciously kept it a secret, she knew it shouldn't be, but she is a 14-year-old girl, it's normal for her to think wildly when encountering such a thing.

She allowed herself to let it go for a month, and after a month, she would forget all about it.But on the last day of the month, she met Cui Luo.

Since it was the last day, she couldn't help but put Yu Linglong in her purse and carried it with her.When she was bored by herself, she took it out to play with. It was a coincidence that Cui Luo happened to pass by and saw it.

Cui Luo saw that Yu Linglong's eyes were slightly opened and her lips were parted: Why is this thing in your hand?

Mrs. Zhang saw that he was surprised and unexpected, obviously he knew this Yu Linglong.But with a generous demeanor, without any unbearable suspicion, he subconsciously asked: Is this your thing?

Cui Luo looked at her, and slowly, with reddish ears, nodded slightly.

Mrs. Zhang asked again: "Is it lost?"Where did you lose it?

Cui Luo seemed to have thought of something, and suddenly shook his head and denied: Maybe I was wrong, I have never had any contact with the girl, since this jade is in the girl's hands, it should belong to the girl.

This move seems to be deliberately avoiding suspicion, so as not to tarnish her reputation.Mrs. Zhang was very moved, and asked quietly: "Is it you who rescued me in the lake that day?"

Cui Luo lowered his head and said 'hmm' in a very low voice.

……

The girl Huaichun, the hero saves the beauty, every girl probably cannot pass this test, no matter how rational or clever, when trapped by emotions, her vision will narrow.Moreover, Cui Luo was handsome and deceptive in temperament. At that time, Zhang's temperament was immature, so he naturally took it to his heart.

Cui Luo was also very good at affairs, studied hard, was full of sexual desires, was enthusiastic and respectful to the Zhang family, and finally entrusted Cui's family in Shangjing to the Zhang family to propose marriage.

Zhang's parents disagreed at first. Although Cui Luo was granted the title of Lord Marquis, the title was not obtained by strength. He grew up in the countryside, and his personality and habits were not in line with that of a rich family. They were worried that Zhang's marriage would suffer.

But Mrs. Zhang has decided that she wants to marry.She felt that Cui Luo had saved her life and had feelings for her. Even if this affection faded one day, she should accept him just because of the life-saving grace. Moreover, she believed that he had a chivalrous heart and a kind heart. The character of the people is not much worse.

……

On the wedding night in the bridal chamber, Cui Luo came back drunk. When the two were charming, Mrs. Zhang was holding Yu Linglong, blushing, and said that her husband had a pair of Yu Linglong around his waist at that time, and now... it is time to reunite.

But Cui Luo sighed deeply, said that the one was lost too, and said that this pair of Yu Linglong was the only thing left to him by his parents, his face was very sad.

Mrs. Zhang was very sad, and guessed that she might have been thrown into the lake when saving her.Even if it is something belonging to her parents, even if it is not expensive, it has a different meaning. She felt that Cui Luo must be more sad than her, so she silently put away Yu Linglong and put it at the bottom of the box, and did not mention it again.

At first, the two were very affectionate, and Cui Luo loved Zhang very much and treated her very well.But two years later, Cui Luo changed, and began to hang around outside all the time, set up an outer room, and came back with a concubine.And I don't know where she provoked him, he became more and more critical of her, and the two often had conflicts.

Over time, Mrs. Zhang also discovered that Cui Luo was not as kind and generous as she imagined. He was selfish, clever, and had a lot of unbearable problems, but he put on a good face. He was a complete hypocrite.

But the road I choose, no matter how hard it is, I have to finish it.Mrs. Zhang simply put aside love, only remembering the grace of saving her life, and carefully took care of the inner courtyard for Cui Luo.If she kept going like this, she didn't get back her original love, but at least her heart wouldn't hurt anymore...

Until seven years ago, the Tang Nanzhuang incident.

Before this, Mrs. Zhang knew that there was Yan An in Hou's mansion, and that he had a good temperament and appearance, and he was quite strong, but he never paid attention to it.

Tang Nanzhuang suddenly encountered bandits and was in critical condition.After getting along for many years, Mrs. Zhang is no longer the ignorant girl she was back then. She knew Cui Luo's true nature, and it would be impossible for him to stand up like a man. evacuate.She knew that no matter how scumbag Cui Luo was, she still knew how to protect her flesh and blood...

Cui Luo immediately agreed, as she expected, but Yan An came out of her own accord and was willing to stay and help... She was very surprised, Yan An was a scribe, no matter how talented he was, he had no chance of winning against the bandits.

The situation is critical, and it is very likely that they will die if they stay. Few people are willing to take the initiative to stay.Cui Luo was in a hurry to leave. No matter who it was, he would be happy as long as he could stay. Seeing that there were not many people, he even forced a few servants to stay...

After Cui Luo left, Mrs. Zhang discussed with Yan An and used all conceivable methods to deal with the bandits. There were fewer and fewer people around them, and in the end, there were only the two of them left.

During this period of time, Yan An's talent and courage showed her admiration.Although he is not brave, when facing dozens of bandits, he does not panic at all, and he can use words and quick wits to drive people away; he knows various methods, can distinguish directions in the dark night, and can find water sources ;I can find all kinds of weird foods, and I can make the food taste good; I can inspire people when others are desperate, so that everyone will not lose heart, and there will be hope if you persist...

Most importantly, one day Yan'an went into the water to catch fish and took off the bits and pieces on her body. Mrs. Zhang saw Yu Linglong who was exactly the same as her under the bottom of the box.

Mrs. Zhang was dumbfounded on the spot, pointing at Yu Linglong and asked tremblingly: "Is this yours?"

Yan An still had a peaceful smile on his face: It was left to me by my master. It was originally a pair, but I lost one somewhere.

After Yan'an went into the water, Mrs. Zhang sat on the spot twisting her handkerchief, feeling cold in her heart.

When Yan'an came ashore, she bit her lip, looked at the injury on Yan'an's left eyebrow, and asked how it was done.

Yan An touched the scar, feeling a little ashamed: there was a time before when she went into the water without paying attention, and hit a sharp stone and scratched it.While talking, he turned the straw curtain in another direction.

She asked him why he was doing this, and he said: I hear your voice is a little hoarse, as if you have caught a cold, you have to keep warm...

At that moment, Mrs. Zhang turned her back, and tears burst out immediately.

It turned out to be... so...

Is that so!

Looking back on the past, Mrs. Zhang found that Yan An was rarely seen in her memory, and she had almost no impression of him, but when she met him occasionally, he would salute and avoid her like all gentlemen, and rarely even looked at her directly. Not to mention other meanings.

But thinking about it seriously, it seemed that she would hear this name many times when she was in trouble.For example, when Cui Luo made a fuss too much, she was ashamed and indignant, and when she was so angry, Mother Du would come to pass the news that Yan An persuaded Cui Luo to come back; She thought that Cui Luo was taking care of the family anyway, and then there would be proof that this idea was Yan An's idea; including that she had dystocia when giving birth to Cui Zhi, her life was in danger, and Cui Luo was not at home , it was Yan An who braved the heavy snow and invited a gynecologist to help her pass that test...

If all these were intentional, it would be hard for her to imagine how much Yan An had paid for her.

She was careless before and lost an unhappy marriage, so Mrs. Zhang really wanted to know how Yan An treated her.But Yan An behaved very normally and was very polite to her, she couldn't see his intentions at all.

Until one night, when she was half asleep and half awake, Yan An tucked her in the quilt, touched her cheek with trembling fingers, and left quickly as if she had been burned. After a long time, she sighed and whispered her name: Sanniang.

……

When Zhang said this, she couldn't help but tilt her head and took a deep breath.

She wiped her eyes to calm down, and then turned her head to look at Lu Li again: "It's been so long, and you can still cry when you mention it, your Aunt Zhang is also useless."

Lu Li shook her hand, feeling very distressed.

Yan An's whole body was tense, and she looked at Zhang Shi in shock: "You...know?"

Mrs. Zhang ignored him and continued talking to Lu Li.

After that, she probably guessed what Yan An was thinking.Yan An was injured and disfigured when rescuing her, afraid of ruining her boudoir reputation, after first aid, she saw that she was about to wake up and left in a hurry.She didn't know when he fell in love with her, but after this incident, she soon got engaged to Cui Luo and got married. Seeing the result, Yan An couldn't do anything.

Cui Luo... Cui Luo didn't see Yan An rescue her with his own eyes, but he knew Yu Linglong, and he was a bit smart, he was used to coaxing girls, and he knew how to behave just by following the words.At that time, he was in urgent need of a famous wife. Zhang's status was good, and she was also beautiful. Since there was an opportunity, of course he had to take advantage of it...

Cui Luo was proud of having obtained Mrs. Zhang, but she was also unhappy that Mrs. Zhang would not let her go, so she often made troubles.As for Yanan...

Mrs. Zhang snorted coldly, "This is an idiot, holding on to the devil's faith, and not looking at who he is paying for."

All in all, it was Cui Luo who used the heart of a villain to fool a gentleman, and Yan An who was a bit old-fashioned, and played Zhang's applause. In a sense, it was indeed very powerful.

……

Shen Wansha patted the table, "This Cui Luo is really not human!"

Zhang said that she liked the wrong person and did the wrong thing, and that's how she will be in her life.She is no longer worthy of others, and she doesn't want others to be trapped, so that others can have a better life, and start a new life, marry a wife, take concubines, and have children and grandchildren...

She pretended to be the same as before, didn't know Yan An's mind, didn't give him a good face, and even became very rigid and fierce when facing him, and tried every means to drive him away, but this man was very determined and just didn't leave .

Mrs. Zhang knew that Yan An didn't really want to do something with her when she stayed in the Hou's Mansion, because the etiquette and the world would not allow it.He is a gentleman, self-restraint and courtesy, he doesn't want to make himself ugly, let alone hurt others, especially the one he likes... He just wants to be closer to her.

Mrs. Zhang can't drive him away, so she just wants to do this first. If she continues to be cold, Yan'an will fade away one day. When he wants to leave by himself, it may be better than her forcing him to leave.

"Although my husband is an animal, my son is right. I can't be sorry for him." Zhang's eyes were slightly closed, and his voice was quiet, "I have ruined Yan'an's life, and I have nothing to repay. I just hope that I will do my best to let him Had a good time."

"I hope that one day, he will figure it out and come over to say goodbye to me with a smile. I hope that when he leaves the Hou Mansion, he will be carefree and chic. I hope that he will have money, status and status in the future. A wife has children, and the house is full of children and grandchildren..."

Mrs. Zhang looked down at the handkerchief in her hand, and said softly, "In my life, I only hope that he and Zhi'er are happy and safe. They are my courage to live and my comfort for the rest of my life...so some people want to treat him How can I not be angry when they start?"

"I can't wait to tear those people alive! Cui Luo committed suicide, so he went happily. If he continues to mess around in the mansion, bullying me, Zhi'er and Yan'an, I will kill him too!"

Lu Li and the others understood this statement.

The reason why Mrs. Zhang did these things with her own hands in the honor of Mrs. Hou, and did so cruelly, was because someone else touched her back.

"I reacted so strongly to this matter because Gao Cheng's behavior was very unusual." Zhang's voice was cold and stern, "Five years ago, by chance, I saved a girl who was about to die and begged me to help her. Her family sent some money. She knew that I was Mrs. Hou, and she worried that I would be too troublesome to agree, so she told me something."

"She said that she was a specially trained undercover. A small number of sisters were in the brothel, and most of them were concubines in the official houses of various levels. At the request of the master, they were looking for some blueprints. Their master is mysterious and powerful, with a huge background. Few people can be messed with. The master spread a big net, put concubines in the officials' inner houses, housekeepers in the outer courtyard, and controlled them. People like the Hou's mansion will be found sooner or later..."

When Lu Li heard the word 'drawing', his heart skipped a beat. Drawing... what drawing!

He quickly exchanged a glance with Zhao Zhu, and Zhao Zhu also narrowed his eyes slightly, his eyes were cold and serious, obviously he thought of going with him.

Lu Li wanted to ask in detail, but considering that Yan An was here, he thought about it and decided to ask later when he was alone with Mrs. Zhang.

I don't know if Mrs. Zhang understood what he meant. She said very little about this organization. She only said that the girl told her some characteristics of the organization's people. Then in the past two months, she found that Gao Cheng's behavior was abnormal. match.

"The inside story behind this, I don't know what the other party wants to do, but Gao Cheng obviously wants to win over Yan'an."

Yan An frowned slightly, "I'm just a wife, I have no right or money..."

Shen Wansha patted Yan An on the back, "Master, don't belittle yourself, you are very talented."

"He tempted you with the matter of Cui Fen's enlightenment. He is trying to lure you. As long as you can get on the boat, it proves that you can be breached. They will slowly manipulate you and make you fall slowly until you can't help yourself."

Zhang's voice was calm, with resolute brows and eyes: "If something happens, it must be discussed and dealt with, but the water is too deep here, and it may be dangerous if you know too much. If you want to die, I am enough alone, so I didn't talk to anyone. mentioned it."

"I carefully guarded the sky above my head and dealt with Gao Cheng. Everything seems to be the best for granted. I know that Pang has always suspected me of killing my husband. A few days ago, she found Xiao Nan and the so-called arsenic evidence... I borrowed Think of a way to kill."

Mrs. Zhang said that as the mistress of the Hou Mansion, there is nothing in the mansion that can be hidden from her. She knew about Pang's plan early in the morning.There is no problem with Cui Luo's death, she has witnesses, so she is not afraid at all.

She knew about Pang's and Gao Cheng's adulterous affair, and also knew that Cui Jie knew about it.She killed Gao Cheng in the streets, and the government would come. She knew that Pang would definitely not be able to resist, so she watched with cold eyes and put in more effort.

Things got bigger, scandals broke out, suspects increased, Pang Zi and Cui Jie must shirk each other.Of course, if they don't follow her way, she will add fire in due course.In short, Gao Cheng's death was made confusing, like a love affair in the house, trying to deceive everyone's attention, including the master behind Gao Cheng.

And she did this because she knew there was another dark nail.

She successfully lured Mei Xiang out.

Mei Xiang is very smart and patient, but she and Gao Cheng are friends and must be closely connected. It is easy to seduce public opinion that she likes Gao Cheng.

Mrs. Zhang knew that Mei Xiang had bought arsenic.It happened that Pang Zi and Cui Jie poisoned each other that night, and she used it again...

She said she knew they were going to subdue Yan An, and expressed her willingness to help... She took Mei Xiang into the ice cellar.

"No matter how smart Mei Xiang is, she's just a little girl. I can still fool her." Mrs. Zhang said, she kept Gao Cheng's key beside Mei Xiang, and she also put the arsenic in Mei Xiang's purse.

After Mrs. Zhang finished speaking, she heaved a long sigh, "I felt that this case was very successful, but I didn't expect... to meet you. I forgot to search Mei Xiang's body. Knowing that Yan An is so stupid, she turned herself in."

Shen Wansha was very curious, he looked at Yan An, "Why did Master turn himself in?"

"Last night, he saw Yu Linglong on my table." Zhang smiled wryly, "That Yu Linglong belongs to him, how could he not recognize it?"

"But this can only let Master Yan know that you treat him... the same as he treats you." Shen Wansha changed his expression in the middle of speaking.

Mrs. Zhang was grateful for his thoughtfulness, and looked at him softly: "Although Yan An is stupid, he is not hopeless. Gao Cheng has looked for him many times, and he probably noticed something is wrong, and Mei Xiang will also be there from time to time. Harass him, and then he will know my intentions..."

"Back in Tangnanzhuang, we encountered a search team on a cold and rainy day. The situation was critical. When I saw the water flowing in the river, I hated why it wasn't winter. If it was winter, even if I didn't have a sharp weapon, I could kill people with ice." Mrs. Zhang sighed leisurely. , "He probably remembered..."

Lu Li looked at Yan An admiringly: "In a short period of time, you can come up with a false situation with almost no flaws, and the master is also very good."

During the whole process of Zhang's narration, Yan An's body was tense all the time, and the tiger's mouth turned white from the nails. It can be seen that there must be many ups and downs in his heart.Lu Li felt that he wanted to speak several times, but he stopped abruptly and calmed down to listen to Mrs. Zhang.

He should love Zhang Shi very much. Not only does he love her, but he also respects her very much. He doesn't even want to interrupt her, thinking that would be rude.Even when Mrs. Zhang called him an idiot and stupid in front of others, he wasn't angry at all...

These two people are in love, but separated because of a misunderstanding. They like each other silently, but they dare not show it in the slightest. They don't want to bring trouble or pressure to each other, and they don't even expect to be together.

Lu Li's eyes were a little hot.

Such pure emotion...

It was cruel to the parties involved, but outsiders like them felt extraordinarily warm and moved.

Suddenly his hands felt warm, and it was Zhao Zhu who jumped under the table and took his hand.

He turned his head to look, and saw Zhao Zhu's eyes were dark, and he was the only reflection in his pupils.