"No." Hualou shook his head. "No one is making things difficult for me. It's just that the Marquis has been in a difficult situation these days. He has to deal with government affairs and family matters. He is so busy that he can't eat or sleep well. I am worried about him."
"Really? What's the problem for him?" Xie Nanjia asked.
Hualou sighed, "It's all because of Qin Wanru's pregnancy. The Prime Minister came to ask for an explanation. Madam insisted on marrying her, but the old lady refused to agree. The prince got himself into trouble, and he didn't express his opinion and didn't want to be the head of the family. The Marquis was caught in the middle and was in a dilemma."
"Oh." Xie Nanjia responded, and said lightly, "The belly is already big, and the old lady may not be able to hold it back even if she insists. It's better to just let it go, so as to avoid making things difficult for the Marquis."
Hualou was a little unhappy after hearing her words: "What are you talking about? How can we let Qin Wanru into the house? Have you forgotten how she harmed the young master before? Apart from other things, just for the sake of the young master, we can't let her succeed. Also, didn't you promise Lvliu that you would help her become the prince's wife? Lvliu is so anxious now, she is looking forward to your return to find a solution all day long. How come you have changed after being away for two days?"
Xie Nanjia said, "You also said that the Prime Minister's Mansion has come to my door, what else can I do?"
Hualou immediately became angry, snatched the child from her hands, and said angrily: "I finally waited for you to come back, but I didn't expect you to have such an attitude. Go away, and don't come to see the young master anymore."
"..." Xie Nanjia looked at his empty hands and laughed, you naughty girl, I haven't seen you for a few days and your temper has worsened a lot. You even dared to ignore your young lady, you are really rebellious!
Okay, considering your loyalty, I will spare you today and settle the score with you later.
She was neither angry nor did she explain much. She looked at her son reluctantly and left.
"Hey..." Hualou hurriedly called her, "You really don't care?"
Xie Nanjia smiled secretly, turned around and asked her: "Are you going to make the midnight snack for the Marquis or should I do it?"
"..." Hualou hesitated for a moment, "I don't have anything to do anyway."
"That's perfect, you just continue with my work!" Xie Nanjia said, then turned and walked out of the room, leaving her in the room holding the child, confused.
Feng Lun was still waiting in the yard. When he saw her coming out, he went up to her and asked, "Are you leaving?"
"Yeah." Xie Nanjia picked up her sleeves and said, "I've been traveling all night and haven't washed. I feel smelly."
"Okay then, go back and take a shower and have a good sleep." Feng Lun said, "The weather is getting colder, be careful not to catch a cold."
"I understand. Thank you, Brother Feng, for your care." Xie Nanjia said goodbye to him with a smile. Just as he was about to leave, Xiaofu and Xiaoxi came back.
Xie Nanjia almost forgot that they had gone to help carry the bag. Seeing that the two men were empty-handed and looked dejected, she knew that they had been turned away, so she deliberately asked, "Why, didn't you take the things?"
Xiao Xizi said with a gloomy face, "That's right. When we got there, the guards wouldn't even let us in through the gate. They waited outside for a long time and told us that the Second Young Master asked us to get it ourselves to avoid any mishaps."
Xie Nanjia knew this was the case, and smiled to comfort him: "It's okay, it won't go bad if you leave it there anyway, I'll get it myself later, don't worry, I won't miss you."
"Okay then!" Xiao Xizi angrily sent her out with Feng Lun and Xiaofu.
Xie Nanjia did not immediately go to get her bag, nor did she go back to wash up. Instead, she went to Qingfeng Courtyard to find the Fourth Aunt first.
As the weather gets cooler, the two maple trees in Qingfeng Courtyard have turned mostly red. When the wind blows, the fiery red leaves rustle, adding a unique charm.
Time passed quickly. When she went to the big kitchen, the yard was still lush and green like summer, but now it was already the bleak late autumn.
When the Fourth Aunt heard that she was coming, she came out to greet her in person. She took her hand and warmly invited her to sit in the hall, and told Qinghong to serve tea quickly.
Qinghong served tea and without Fourth Aunt’s instruction, she went out to close the door and stayed outside.
Xie Nanjia smiled and said, "Aunt Nankuai always talked about her before, and it really is very useful."
"It's far worse than yours, but it's just convenient to use." Fourth Aunt also laughed, "I'm really happy that you came to see me as soon as you got back!"
"I just came back in such a hurry that I didn't bring you any gifts," said Xie Nanjia.
"As long as the person comes back safely, nothing else matters." Fourth Aunt pushed the teacup aside, "Have a cup of tea to relieve your fatigue. I have something to discuss with you."
"You say." Xie Nanjia picked up the teacup and took a sip.
"It's not a big deal." Fourth Aunt said, "It's just that during this period when you were away, Hualou was replaced to make supper for the Marquis. I don't know what happened, but the Marquis gradually stopped coming to the backyard and didn't call us to the front yard. We all guessed that Hualou was trying to seduce the Marquis, but the front yard is full of the Marquis's people and we can't get any information. Aren't you familiar with Hualou? Please help find out and see if the problem lies with her."
Xie Nanjia's hands trembled when he heard this, and he almost spilled the tea.
"How is it possible? Hualou is such an honest person, she would never do such a thing." She put down the teacup and said firmly.
"What's impossible?" said the Fourth Aunt, "Even the most honest people have emotions, not to mention that she looks very cute and innocent, and the Marquis is in his prime..."
"No, no, no, this is impossible. This is absolutely impossible." Xie Nanjia waved her hands repeatedly. She could not accept this assumption no matter what. It was even more difficult for her to accept than Lvliu climbing onto Zhao Jingping's bed.
The Marquis was in his prime, brave and extraordinary, that was true, but she respected him as her father from the bottom of her heart, and Hualou was her favorite maid. These two people...
No, no, she didn't even dare to think about this situation.
"Don't deny it too soon. You have to ask Hualou whether it's true or not." The fourth concubine said, "I saw that you have a good relationship with her, so I didn't bother her for your sake, but the second and third concubines are not like me. They have blocked her on the way more than once."
Xie Nanjia was startled, and suddenly remembered that when she asked about the Marquis just now, Hualou's face looked a little strange. She asked if someone was trying to embarrass her, but she changed the subject by talking about Qin Wanru's pregnancy.
So, she changed the subject to cover up the matter with the Marquis, or was it because the second and third concubines were looking for trouble with her
Thinking of this, she suddenly became restless and wanted to find Hualou to ask for clarification right away.
"Okay, I got it. Thank you for giving me face, Auntie. I will definitely help you find out later." She said calmly, but her heart was in turmoil.
"Okay, I'll wait for your news then." The Fourth Aunt said, and then lowered her voice and asked her, "I have completed the task you asked me to do. You should have heard about it, right?"
"I heard about it, so I came here specially to thank my aunt." Xie Nanjia said.
"Why thank me? This kind of thing is just a piece of cake for me." The fourth aunt said, "I just can't understand why you would go to such lengths to help the Qin family's aunt and nephew."
Xie Nanjia smiled slightly: "Don't worry, I'm not doing this for their own good, but for our own good. You will understand in the future."
The word "we" made the Fourth Aunt very happy. In her opinion, being able to sit on the same boat with Xiu'er was the safest guarantee in the Marquis' Mansion. No one knew Xiu'er's abilities better than her.
After leaving Qingfengyuan, Xie Nanjia stood on the road in a daze for a while. She originally wanted to find Hualou to ask for clarification, but she had just come out of there, and going there too frequently would inevitably arouse suspicion.
She thought about going to the west wing to get the bag back, but she was afraid that Zhao Jingyu would find out and pester her. Her mind was in a mess and she had no intention of arguing with him.
After thinking it over, she decided to go find Lvliu to ask about the situation and tell her about Qin Wanru.
That's right, she was the one who planned everything about Qin Wanru. After eliminating the suspicion of Aunt Xue and personally sending Aunt Hong to the west, the only person she suspected of being the murderer was Qin Wanru. Qin Wanru was in the Prime Minister's Mansion, so she had no way to investigate. She could only trick her into returning to the Marquis' Mansion first and then make any arrangements.
So, before going to the Xishan enclosure, she came to find Aunt Xue and asked Aunt Xue to find a way to reveal the news that the old lady was arranging a marriage for the prince to Qin Wanru. Qin Wanru would definitely be restless when she heard the news and would find ways to make an appointment to meet Zhao Jingping.
A man like Zhao Jingping would never refuse a woman. As long as Qin Wanru asked him out, he would definitely go.
Qin Wanru is eager to marry Zhao Jingping, so she will definitely stop at nothing. All the fourth aunt needs to do is send someone to keep a close eye on her movements, pretend to be a gossipeller on the road where she must pass, and say some gossip like marriage due to pregnancy. Qin Wanru will definitely take it to heart and put what she has learned into practice.
According to Xie Nanjia's prediction, as long as the plan was implemented smoothly, Qin Wanru should have good news when she returned from the enclosure a month later. However, it has only been more than ten days and her belly has grown big. Either she was too anxious to lie about military intelligence, or she and Zhao Jingping had already become husband and wife before that.
As for which one it is, Xie Nanjia doesn’t care. As long as Qin Wanru can come back, her goal will be achieved.
She doesn't care whether Qin Wanru is pregnant or not. As long as it is confirmed that Qin Wanru is the murderer, she will definitely not show mercy.
If Qin Wanru was not the murderer, if she could drive her out of the Marquis's Mansion once, she could drive her out twice.
She is not the compassionate Guanyin Bodhisattva. She can do anything for her son.
The reason why she didn't tell Lvliu about this matter at the beginning was that after dealing with Hong Yi Niang, she would go to Xishan Paddock with Zhao Jingyu. Time was too tight and she was afraid that she would not be able to convince Lvliu. What if Lvliu did not accept it and then interfered to obstruct the Fourth Yi Niang's actions? Not only would her plan fail, but the Fourth Yi Niang would also be exposed.
In fact, even now, when she had plenty of time, she couldn't guarantee that she could convince Lvliu. Hualou had just said that Lvliu had been extremely anxious these days and was waiting for her to come back for advice. She couldn't imagine what Lvliu's reaction would be once she found out that this was planned by her.
Will she hate her to death
(End of this chapter)