TCN: Mei Gongqing

Chapter 132: Chen Rong Decisively Cuts Ties

Chapter 132: Chen Rong Decisively Cuts Ties

"Come inside, Ah Rong" her brother called.

Chen Rong made a reply and turned around. Behind her, the servants made a bow. "Good greetings, m'lord."

Her brother laughed. He kindly looked at the servants from his hometown as his eyes reddened and his voice became hoarse.

He used his sleeve to wipe his tears before rasping: "Everyone come in. What distance it must have been all the way from Ping. I'm sure my poor Ah Rong wouldn't have made it here safely without your protection. Come in come in!"

The servants made a reply and followed Chen Rong into the house.

Ah Gu, her brother's lesser madam, also hurried after them.

Watching the dozen or so servants and their six carriages, her brother's wife, who had put on a calm front, waved at a servant girl and quietly said, "Go take a look, see what's inside their carriages."

"Aye, ma'am."

"Be sure to take a good look."

"Aye."

When the maid had left, she moved the table to the wall on the east and perked her ears to listen.

After some sobbing, the younger Mr. Chen's concerned voice sounded from the eastern room: "Ah Rong, how did you get here? I heard the barbarians had burned down Luo'yang. What about Ping? Is Ping alright?"

Chen Rong's answering voice had an inborn clarity and softness: "We left Ping with the Wang clan. We then spent a few months in Nan'yang and this time came to Jiankang with the Wang House of Lang'ya."

"The Wang House of Lang'ya?" murmured Mrs. Chen. Envy was noticeable in her voice. She waved to call for another maid. "Go and befriend those northern barbarians. See if they and the Wang House of Lang'ya are acquainted or not." Despite her humble background, her concubine-born sister-in-law had a very bewitching beauty. A solitary girl making this long journey... who knows if anything had happened along the way.

At this thought, she suddenly felt a little regretful. When the girl came in just now, she should've been warmer and, no matter what, should've verified things before menacing the girl.

As she was muttering to herself, her maid returned and unhappily reported, "Nothing's there, ma'am. Truly, three entirely empty carriages."

Mrs. Chen's expression darkened.

Soon after, the other maid also came back. She leaned in and whispered, "I asked her servants but they were all being very vague... In my humble opinion, how can people of their ranks be acquainted with the aristocrats?"

Mrs. Chen's face completely darkened.

She got up and sashayed out the door.

She went to the steps, pointed at a toiling old servant and began to scold. "You freeloading old fogy, you good-for-nothing. All you're good at is getting into trouble. Why do you have to mess with a pack of stray dogs? Do you want to kill me from exhaustion?"

Her berating was very shrill and harsh, and very unpleasant to listen to.

Chen Rong was nestling by her brother's side to tell him her stories. She stilled while her brother's thin face turned livid.

He stood up and rushed out the door yelling, "Stop your scolding."

His wife whirled around. With one hand on her hip, she pointed the other straight at his nose and began chewing him out. "You jerk, how dare you yell at me? Huh? How dare you yell at me?" She took a step forward for every word she spoke, and soon pushed her husband back into the room where Chen Rong was sitting.