"Miss, this scroll was sent by Prince Wang's cousin, but this cousin is very interesting. He is just the shopkeeper of a store, and his family background is ordinary. I heard that his ancestors were good, but such things are just rumors. He is indeed connected with the Ling Anbo Mansion as Miss said, and his wife was released by the maid next to the second wife."
Yu Dong reported everything that Qu Moying had asked her to find out.
"People around Xiao?" Qu Moying asked after a pause.
"Yes, she is the maidservant serving the second wife, Madam Xiao. I heard that she was very favored in the past. Now that she has become the shopkeeper's wife, she still comes to the mansion from time to time to pay a visit to the second wife." Yu Dong nodded.
Mr. Wang told everyone everything, and it became much easier to investigate afterwards.
This prince brother has indeed no relationship with the Ling'an Earl's Mansion, but his cousin has a continuous relationship with it, from the past to the present.
"What's the maid's name?" Qu Moying asked.
"I couldn't get the answer right away, and now all she said was her surname. I don't know what her name was when she was in the mansion." Yu Dong shook his head.
Qu Moying frowned slightly. The matter had actually been clarified up to this point. It must have been someone from Ling Anbo's mansion who took the painting out, but was that person Xiao
Will Xiao take the scroll in front of his mother’s memorial tablet
This was the only scroll painting I gave to my mother because she liked it. Even though it was a fake, she took it out carefully and worshipped it there.
"Miss, do you want to expose this matter?" Yu Dong suggested when he saw that she had remained silent.
"We must expose it!" Qu Moying said. There are many suspicious points in this matter. Even if Xiao is so hungry, he should not touch these things.
Besides, if you can buy it at such a low price, do you really know it is a fake? Or do you not think it is a fake, but you need it urgently
Nothing has happened in the Ling'anbo Mansion recently. Madam Duan had written to her before and told her about some things in the Ling'anbo Mansion. She has been paying attention to the Ling'anbo Mansion, and Madam Duan knows it, so she would write to her from time to time to talk about the old things in the Ling'anbo Mansion, just to let her know about the recent changes in the Ling'anbo Mansion.
Recently, in the Ling Anbo Mansion, apart from calling some doctors from time to time, there has been nothing else going on. It is impossible that they do anything due to lack of money, so the second question is impossible.
As for the first question, knowing that the fake was still brought out, does Xiao not intend to let the Ling Anbo Mansion recover
Since both the first and second questions are impossible explanations, the only explanation left is the last one, which is that Xiao did not know about this matter.
Someone thought it was real, and someone had an urgent need for it, so they secretly took the thing out, thinking that all the descendants of the first branch of the family were gone, so they sat back and dealt with the scroll without any worries. Of course, it is possible that the scroll is still there, but it is no longer that painting.
"Go check the people related to the Xiao family, such as the eldest son of the Xiao family, the Xiao cousin, and possibly the confidants around the Xiao family... See if they are short of money recently, or in urgent need of money!" Qu Moying was silent for a moment, a hint of sharpness flashed in her eyes. This incident gave her an excuse.
Originally, she wanted to slowly dig up what happened back then.
What happened back then was too horrifying, so it would be better to dig it out from Ling Anbo's mansion rather than from the Eastern Palace. To this end, she also laid a lot of clues.
Now, it's time to slowly turn it over.
To use it as an excuse.
The first and second wives of the Ling Anbo Mansion have always been close to each other. Even if something happened to the first wife and the second wife took over the title, in the eyes of outsiders, the first and second wives have always been good. Sisters Ji Hanyue and Ji Youran have always had a close relationship...
"Miss, I will investigate this side right away!" Yu Dong understood what Qu Moying meant, and turned around to arrange people to find out what happened to these people.
With a direction, the news was gathered quickly. Within two days, the information was presented to Qu Moying.
"Miss, Miss Xiao is very short of money now. Her elder brother is almost bankrupt from gambling recently. He is borrowing money everywhere. I heard that he even borrowed from the Xiao family, but they didn't give him much. Miss Xiao is having a hard time in the Ling'an Marquis' Mansion." Yu Dong wrote all the news on the document and handed it to Qu Moying.
After Qu Moying took it and looked at it, he suddenly laughed.
The fact that Miss Xiao had come to propose marriage to me before was still fresh in my mind. At that time, Miss Xiao wholeheartedly regarded me as her rival.
Later, I heard from Mrs. Duan that Xiao seemed to have been looking at young ladies from other families and was not that interested in her own niece. It was obvious that she did not intend to marry her.
Since she had no intention of becoming a daughter-in-law, she naturally couldn't borrow much money. She didn't value them in the first place, so where would she get so much money to help Xiao's family
In other places in the Ling'anbo Mansion, no matter whether it is the first or second wife, the money they have is not accessible to others, so they set their sights on the spirit tablet in the ancestral hall
This Miss Xiao is really brave enough to take action...
"Miss, are you going to expose her now?" Yu Dong asked angrily when he saw that she hadn't said anything.
"Of course I have to expose her, but now is not the time..." Qu Moying smiled slightly and already had an idea in mind. Coincidentally, it was the custom of the Ling'anbo Mansion to worship ancestors on the tenth day of the first lunar month. At that time, the people of the Ji family would go to the small ancestral hall in the mansion to worship.
In order to show respect to the ancestors, the ladies in the mansion would come over and personally supervise the servants to wipe the spirit tablets clean one by one.
Although there are only two brothers in the Ji Mansion of Ling'anbo, on the day of worship, all the clan members within the five generations must come back. When wiping, some women of the same generation as them will be invited to come together to supervise the servants.
This represents the respect, recognition and honor of the Ling'an Earl's Mansion.
There are actually not many places for these women, and all the wives within the five degrees of mourning of Ji family are vying for these places. The list should be finalized in the next few days.
What’s even more coincidental is that it’s the tenth day of the first lunar month…
Xiao Haitang came out from the back door in a panic, stood outside the mansion and looked at the servant in front of him with a very unhappy expression.
"What's the matter, brother?"
"The eldest master asked me to tell the young lady that there is still... a little bit of money missing, not much, just a little bit, so he can ask the young lady to help a little more." The servant whispered.
He looked young, with his head lowered. His hair was a little messy, with a few strands hanging down, covering most of his forehead, making him look very sloppy.
Although it was a servant that Xiao Haitang had never seen before, it was true that no one else could do such a thing except his eldest brother. Xiao Haitang did not doubt it. After hearing what the servant said, his face became even gloomier.
If this wasn't outside the back door of Ling Anbo's mansion, she would have almost exploded with rage.
"I still need money, just a little bit more. I've said this so many times. Just a little bit more.
A little bit, he doesn't want me to get better, right? "
"Miss, why do you say that about the eldest master? It's just a little bit. The eldest master said that you live well here now, eat well, and use good things. It will be even better in the future. But the eldest master is pitiful. He has nothing now." The servant started crying. "They said that if you don't pay, they will break the eldest master's legs and send him to jail."
"Miss, you don't want to see a brother in jail, do you? If the eldest son is really arrested, what will happen to you in the future? Will they still look up to you?"
The servant cried while wiping his tears.
These words made Xiao Haitang very angry again. She couldn't let anything happen to her elder brother, and she couldn't even let her aunt know about it. Even if it was a mistake in the money, she had to be very subtle about it.
If my aunt knew that her family was in trouble, she would never let me marry my cousin.
She didn't want to be a concubine, she wanted to marry her cousin. She occasionally heard her aunt say this to her trusted maid. Originally, she always thought that she would marry her cousin.
She and her cousin had been childhood sweethearts, so why couldn't she marry him? Why did she become a concubine? Why didn't my aunt become a concubine herself
She was able to marry her uncle in the past, so why can't she marry now? Is she looking down on her low social status
Compared with her aunt at the time, Xiao Haitang felt that her status was much higher. If her aunt could do it, so could she.
Therefore, she absolutely could not let her elder brother hold her back.
"If he asks me for money again, I'll be the one going to jail." Xiao Haitang was so angry that she was about to cry.
"No, how could it be? The eldest master said that if there is something wrong, you can just put the blame on Auntie." The servant panicked and shook his hands hurriedly, "Just think about it, if someone really finds out, you can say it was Auntie's idea and that it was Auntie who gave you those things as a betrothal gift. Don't worry, the eldest master said that he will definitely testify for you and say that the two families are discussing marriage."
"This... How is it possible?" Xiao Haitang's eyes suddenly widened, and she could hardly believe what she heard. She clenched the handkerchief tightly, and her heart was pounding.
"How is it impossible? As long as you insist on saying it, and the Xiao family says so too, and... if my cousin insists and everyone says so, then it will be done, right? Those things are either betrothal gifts or not." The servant advised.
"But... but those things are all in front of the memorial tablet..." Xiao Haitang said this and even wanted to cover her mouth. How could she say such a thing
"So what? Auntie gave all the things in her hand to Miss Cousin. She couldn't give Miss anything else as a betrothal gift at the moment, so she gave these first, saying that she would make up for it later. It's still the marriage negotiation stage, and it's not really done yet, so it's normal to give these first." The servant continued to give advice, "Miss, what you need to do now is to please your cousin. As long as your cousin stands by your side, everything else can be ignored. Even if there is something wrong, it is not Miss's business."
"This... is this really possible?" Xiao Haitang said with a trembling voice.
"Of course you can, but you have to find a time when many people are present. By then, even if Madam Gu wants to regret it, she won't be able to do so!" The servant looked around and lowered his voice again, then changed the subject again, "Of course, we can only do this when people find out. It would be best if they don't find out. We won't go to extremes. Madam Gu will eventually arrange a marriage for Miss and Cousin."
Meeting