allonlinenovel Chapter 149 There was a thief at home
Chapter 149 There was a thief at home
Huanxi glanced at Linghua with dissatisfaction and asked, "Where have you been? Why did you come back through the back door just now?"
Linghua smiled awkwardly and stammered for a long time without saying anything.
Zhao Huanxi slowly spoke, "Do your job. Take me to the medicinal fields you manage."
"Madam, you are so precious, how can you go to the fields every day? Leave the medicinal fields to me, don't worry."
Zhao Huanxi ignored her and walked towards the backyard. She wanted to see what medicine was in Linghua's gourd.
Fortunately, everything in the field remained the same, clean without a trace of weeds. There were not many medicinal herbs, but they were all very valuable.
She went to see her own pharmacy again, where the herbs to be dried were neatly placed in bamboo winnowing baskets, and various orchids were blooming vigorously under the eaves.
Zhao Huanxi was wondering whether the orchid could withstand the cold in winter. If it couldn't, he would have to build a greenhouse.
But how to build this greenhouse is a troublesome issue. The greenhouses we have seen in modern times are all made of film, which can maintain a constant temperature and let in sunlight.
But what could replace it in ancient times? The oil paper on the oil-paper umbrella? Although it's not as good as the film, it should be usable...
I was lost in thought and was about to praise her for her attentiveness, but when I looked carefully I realized that the golden lotus that had been with me for a long time was gone.
She searched everywhere for the golden lotus, but couldn't find it. It was the first one she had brought back from the mountains. She had nurtured it for so long, she'd grown attached to it, and she no longer expected it to be worth much.
She frowned and asked, "Where is this golden lotus here?"
Linghua's eyes showed a hint of panic, and she quickly knelt down to admit her mistake: "Madam...what golden silk lotus? I don't recognize it."
Zhao Huanxi was getting impatient: "Stop pretending! You know medicinal herbs, but how come you don't even know Golden Lotus?"
"Madam... I really don't know any Golden Lotus. Please don't wrongly accuse us servants as the mistress."
"This medicinal herb is not an ordinary one, and I asked you to buy it at that time. Now you tell me you don't know it? Do you know how much a golden lotus is worth?" Zhao Huanxi's last bit of good nature was gone, and he frowned, feeling that something was not simple.
"Madam, I'm just a herbalist. Occasionally, those two black dogs would come to the field to play. I wasn't paying attention and it got destroyed. There's nothing I can do about it. Besides, that golden lotus is so precious. Madam, you should have planted it separately, not planted it in the field like vegetables. Who would be responsible if it got lost?"
Linghua said this, but she was actually quite panicked. She had tried all sorts of medicines to treat Xiaodan's illness in the past, but none worked. One doctor suggested a herb that could alleviate Xiaodan's symptoms. Upon asking, she learned it was called Golden Silk Lotus.
She was in charge of the medicinal herbs in the back, and she was indeed diligent at the beginning. However, she accidentally discovered this long-desired medicinal herb, so she secretly pulled out two leaves, dried them, and gave them to Xiaodan to drink.
Xiao Dan's complexion did improve during those few days, but after just a few days, she was back to her old self. She had no choice but to steal a little bit each day like a mouse stealing rice. Later, she realized that her wife hadn't visited her for so long and probably forgot about it. So, she closed her eyes, made up her mind, and pulled up the roots, boiled them all, and gave them to Xiao Dan to drink.
He thought that the lady was only in her teens after all, and there was no way she could take care of the family, so he stole with a clear conscience.
For a few days, she secretly moved the herbs from the pharmacy to her room in small quantities, hoping to sell them in town one day and save enough money to redeem Bao'er. Then she could be a free woman, marry on her own, and not be given away by her mistress at will.
But I didn't expect that the lady would find out the clues so quickly. It was faster than I imagined. Now I can only deny it until my death. She can't do anything about it.
Huanxi was so angry at her words that she laughed: "Oh? You mean... not only did you not take good care of the medicine garden and lost something, but you also blamed me for not keeping the things for display?"
At this time Yuanzhen also came over and saw Linghua kneeling on the ground with a look of dissatisfaction on her face.
"Ma'am, it's time for dinner."
She didn't speak up for Linghua, but simply bowed and came over to help Zhao Huanxi into the yard. Zhao Huanxi looked coldly at Linghua lying on the ground and said sarcastically, "Don't kneel here yet. If someone sees us, they might accuse me of corporal punishment."
Linghua thought Zhao Huanxi was going to let it go, so she immediately said excitedly, "I told you that Madam is kind-hearted. I'll go get the food ready."
"Don't kneel here, go inside and kneel. The ground here is soft, don't kneel on the hard bricks, kneel on the blue bricks inside. If you don't tell me where my golden lotus is, you will keep kneeling."
"Madam! You are bullying me! Why do you think I took it if it's gone? Don't think we servants are easy to bully. We were also born and raised by our parents. You can't wrongly accuse us!"
Zhao Huanxi sneered, "What a joke! Don't forget you're selling a death indenture. Even if I beat you to death, no one would blame me. Don't think I didn't know what you did for over a month. I only turned a blind eye out for you out of pity for your young daughter. So, now that the truth has been revealed, you still want to deny it?"
Linghua was so ashamed that she lowered her head and looked at the ground.
Yuan Zhen also shook her head speechlessly and said, "Sister Linghua, as servants, the master's family is everything to us. To put it bluntly, we are just a possession of the master's family. It's only out of kindness that the master treats us like human beings. You really chilled the master's heart by saying this."
"If she likes to kneel here, let her kneel here. Let's eat first. After dinner, call everyone to a meeting."
Zhao Huanxi's cold tone brought Linghua back to her senses. She couldn't kneel down or stand up, so she could only lower her head and think of a solution.
When we got into the house, the food was already on the table. Strangely, I didn't know where Xu Qingzhao had gone tonight. I asked everyone around and no one said they had seen her. I could only ask the kitchen to leave some food for her.
After dinner and cleaning up the kitchen, Zhao Huanxi called everyone in the family, big and small, except Yu Yan and Xu Jinchu, to a meeting.
Chunliu and Xiahe didn't know what had happened. Yuanzhen knew but didn't say anything. But Linghua looked so guilty that everyone could see clearly.
Zhao Huanxi also wanted to ask the three girls to come over and see the world. After all, there would be more and more such things in the future, and they would have some experience even when he was not around.
At this time, Huanxi was sitting on a chair under the patio in the backyard, and the rest of the people were standing on the steps, looking at each other.
The two little girls were now holding onto their mother's clothes tightly.
Huanxi took a sip of tea and said slowly: "You have been here for more than a month..."
Yuan Zhen took the lead and said, "Yes."
"Have I ever been harsh on you?"
"Never."
Huanxi glanced at the people below and said coldly, "Chunliu and Xiahe, tell us everything Linghua has done."
They were not the type to tell tales, and they had not been with the new lady for long, so they were still unsure of her personality. They were afraid that she would not like people who gossiped, so although they disliked Linghua, they did not say anything bad about her.
Chunliu and Xiahe knelt down and said, "Madam, Linghua not only came to the kitchen to eat secretly, but also used her daughter Xiaodan as a shield. She said that you agreed that Xiaodan didn't need to work and needed more nourishment. She took advantage of being the oldest among us and sometimes ordered us to serve Xiaodan."
"That's quite an air. Yuanzhen, please continue."
Yuanzhen knelt down and saluted, and looked coldly at Linghua who wanted to explain, as if to say: Sister is going to make a big move, you take it.
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