Shocking Mountain Moon

Chapter 20: Inside and Outside the Ancestral Hall

Master Qiu San looked at Qiu Heng and asked the old lady, "Why is Heng'er kneeling?"

The old lady said coldly: "Since you have heard about the good things this girl did, shouldn't you kneel down?"

"But my son thinks Heng'er did nothing wrong."

The old lady argued with her son impatiently: "Why don't you send the Sixth Miss to the ancestral temple to reflect on her mistakes!"

Two maids tried to pull the people away, but Master Qiu San pushed them away: "What are you doing? You have rough hands and feet!"

"Third child!" The old lady slammed the table, "As a grandmother, am I unable to discipline my granddaughter?"

"That's not what my son meant."

"Then what are you making a fuss about? Or is it that what I, your mother, say, is just wind in your ears?"

This is a serious statement.

Master Qiu San lowered his head: "No..."

"take away."

Seeing that he couldn't stop her, Master Qiu San hurriedly asked, "How long do you want Heng'er to stay in the ancestral hall?"

"How long?" The old lady cast a cold gaze on the girl's fair face, "I'll tell you when you realize you're wrong."

Master Qiu San watched Qiu Heng being taken away and squatted down to pick up the things that fell on the ground.

He moved slowly, picking up the things one by one and putting them into his bag, and finally wiped the mud dog gently.

The colorful clay dog is still majestic and spirited.

Heng'er would probably like it.

Thinking of this, Master Qiu San felt even more uncomfortable.

The eldest wife, Mrs. Zhao, spoke up, breaking the silence: "Don't take it to heart, old lady. Heng'er is young and used to being unrestrained. She will be sensible under your guidance in the future."

"As long as she doesn't piss me off to death, I'll be content." The old lady was still furious and waved her hand to let everyone go.

After Qiu Heng was brought to the ancestral hall, the maidservant closed the door and said, "Sixth Miss, please kneel down. I am outside. If you need anything, please call me."

This is a reminder that there is supervision and it cannot be dealt with in a perfunctory manner.

Qiu Heng ignored the maid and knelt silently on the mat.

Two maids were guarding outside the door. After a while, they looked inside through the gap and saw the girls kneeling straight and looking at each other.

"Sixth Miss dared to report to the authorities on her own initiative, but she didn't expect that she would be obedient after kneeling in the ancestral hall."

Another maid whispered, "That's because she's young and doesn't understand the severity of offending the powerful. But what granddaughter doesn't respect her grandparents?"

Children cannot be disrespectful to their parents, let alone grandchildren.

It was noon in a flash.

The two maids took turns eating lunch. They glanced at the girl kneeling inside and were about to take a nap when they saw Master Qiu San coming in with a lunch box.

"The Third Master cannot send anything to the Sixth Miss."

"This is food."

"Even food is not allowed. Third Master, please don't make things difficult for us servants. The old lady will punish us if she finds out."

Master Qiu San rummaged in his purse again and again and took out a piece of silver.

The two maids remained unmoved.

"Third Master, I really can't do that. The old lady is very angry. If she knew that the Sixth Miss had food and drink in the ancestral hall, she might have to kneel for several days instead of just one day."

"Yes, if you consider Sixth Miss, you should make her behave herself."

Master Qiu San had no choice but to pick up the lunch box and leave silently.

A maid curled her lips and said, "The Third Master really loves his daughter."

Another maid laughed: "What's the use of feeling pain?"

It's really ridiculous that he wanted them to do him a favor with just a small piece of silver that's not even the size of a fingernail.

Everyone in the mansion knew that the master of the third house had never had a proper job since he was young and was always playful. Later, he lost his daughter and his wife and never recovered. He had been drinking too much over the years and his brain wasn't working very well anymore.

It would be strange if such a person could protect his daughter.

When the two maids were making fun of Master Qiu San, Qiu Xuan and Qiu Ying met them on their way to the ancestral hall.

"Second sister, are you also going to deliver food to Sixth Sister?" Qiu Xuan nodded: "Grandmother is so angry, Sixth Sister may not have anything to eat."

Qiu Ying took Qiu Xuan's arm and said, "It's a good opportunity for us to go together. To be honest, I feel uneasy when I go to a place like the ancestral hall by myself."

"I didn't expect to meet the fifth sister."

"Well, after all, I ate such delicious snacks from Sixth Sister."

The red bean cake in the carriage that day made her so greedy, two days later Sixth Sister sent someone to deliver a plate of it to each of them, so that they could finally eat it.

When the two sisters arrived at the ancestral hall, they saw two door gods.

"Second Miss, Fifth Miss, stop."

As a maid who follows the old lady's orders, she is not afraid of the girls who are her grandchildren.

"We're not going in. We're just bringing some snacks to Sixth Sister."

"The old lady has said that the Sixth Miss is not allowed to eat today. The two girls should go back."

"Please give me a favor, moms." Qiu Xuan stuffed the silver she had prepared over.

One of the maids pinched the silver and wanted to accept it, while the other coughed and pushed the silver back: "I dare not disobey the old lady's order. If the two girls really want to do good for the Sixth Miss, they should let the Sixth Miss know the consequences of making mistakes, so that she will not make bigger mistakes in the future."

After she said this, the servant girl who was tempted had to make up her mind.

Qiuxuan and the other person looked at the closed door of the ancestral hall, sighed, and left reluctantly.

After the two walked away, the maid said with regret: "Actually, it's not a big deal to accept it..."

"Don't be so careless. This is the first time that the Sixth Miss has been punished. The old lady wants to establish her authority. If the news gets out and we let her off, we will suffer the consequences."

Qiu Xuan and Qiu Ying were walking back and met Qiu Fu.

"Did the second sister and the fifth sister go to deliver food to the sixth sister?" Glancing at the food boxes in the hands of the two, Qiu Fu smiled and said, "It seems that they failed to deliver it."

"Fourth sister also went to the ancestral hall to bring food to sixth sister?"

"How could I possibly bring her food? I just went to see if she was crying." Qiu Fu walked past the two of them in a good mood.

I knew they couldn't get in. Are the maids around my grandmother just decorations?

"Fourth sister is really..." Looking at Qiu Fu's back, Qiu Ying wanted to say something, but she didn't dare.

Originally there were five sisters in their family. Not to mention the eldest sister who entered the palace early, the fourth sister was the most spoiled and unruly.

Qiu Xuan smiled instead: "No matter what, it's OK as long as the fourth sister has the heart to go see the sixth sister."

It really surprised her.

Qiu Heng was also surprised.

She knelt in the ancestral hall and heard every conversation from Master Qiu San to Qiu Xuan, Qiu Ying and the two maids.

Unexpectedly, I heard the voice of the fourth girl Qiu Fu again.

"I'm not bringing food to Sixth Sister. I'm just checking to see if she's kneeling well. If not, I'll tell Grandmother."

"Oh, Fourth Miss, if Sixth Miss doesn't kneel properly, please tell this servant that I will go in and watch her in person."

"Then please open the door, moms."

The two maids who were stuffed with silver looked at each other and opened the door.

I've heard a long time ago that the Fourth Miss dislikes the Sixth Miss. This way, I can earn money and win the Fourth Miss' favor. Why not do it?

The door creaked, adding an inexplicable sense of eeriness to the dim ancestral hall.

Qiu Fu subconsciously touched her arm and said coldly, "Sixth sister can make incense, and her personal maid can also make cakes, so why doesn't grandma like her?"

Perhaps because he knew the tragic fate of the girl in front of him, Qiu Heng was too lazy to argue with her as long as it did not affect his career.

She said casually, "Is there any need to ask? Grandmother doesn't like country girls."

"You——" Qiu Fu didn't know what to say.

How can there be such a desperate person?

"Here, white sugar cake. I didn't send it to you specially. I saw that my second sister and fifth sister couldn't deliver it, so I wanted to let them see how stupid they are."

Qiu Fu took out a bag of snacks from her sleeve and stuffed it into Qiu Heng's hand, then turned and left without waiting for her response.

(End of this chapter)