The Third Aunt was very confused by Xie Nanjia's reaction. Logically, the man had already knocked the person down, so she should have taken the opportunity to escape quickly, or return to the front yard to seek the protection of the Marquis. Why was she so eager to see the lady
She knew that Xiu'er was a cunning girl. No matter how big or small the trouble was, she could always easily resolve it with a few words, and could even take advantage of the situation to turn the situation around.
But she came here tonight at the Madam's instruction to intercept Hua Lou, with the purpose of finding an excuse to bring Hua Lou to Madam for severe punishment. If Xiu'er still wanted to convince Madam with her eloquence, she was probably making a wrong calculation.
What's more, there is now solid evidence that they have been having an affair with another man. As long as the lady is willing, it will only take a word to have them beaten to death or sold off. No matter how cunning Xiu'er is, she will not be able to turn things around.
When she thought of the fate they were about to face, the Third Aunt felt a little sorry for Xiu'er, thinking that she was being too clever for her own good. The Madam often said that people who cannot be used by me cannot be left for others to use. She believed that if the Madam knew that Xiu'er was trying hard to protect the painting building, she would definitely not show mercy.
Feng Lun also didn't understand Xie Nanjia's behavior. On the way to the lady's courtyard, he whispered to her why she wanted to fall into the trap.
Xie Nanjia said: "As long as we are still in the Marquis' Mansion, we can't avoid this matter. We might as well make a break for it now."
"But this is my own business, you shouldn't get involved." Hualou said worriedly.
Xie Nanjia asked: "If I were you, would you ignore me?"
“…” Hualou was stunned and stopped talking.
The group arrived at Yixin Courtyard. The Third Aunt had just knocked twice when the gate opened. When Xie Nanjia saw that the maid who opened the door let the person in without asking any questions, she understood most of the situation.
When they arrived at the main room, they saw that the lights were on. Qin and the maids were all neatly dressed, with their hair tied up and their makeup still on. Everything became clear to them.
Qin was still pretending. She looked at the people kneeling down, yawned and asked, "What are you doing so late at night? Can't we talk about it tomorrow? I just went to bed."
The Third Aunt knelt in the middle and replied, "Madam, this is related to the reputation of the mansion. I am afraid that it will have a bad impact if it gets out, so I decided to report it to you earlier. I hope you will forgive me for disturbing your sweet dreams."
"What's so serious?" Qin took the opportunity to sit up straight and her spirits improved.
"Madam, I caught two maids having an affair with another man." The Third Aunt and she answered questions in perfect harmony.
"Having an affair with a man outside? Who was it? Where was he caught?" Qin responded like singing an opera.
The Third Aunt turned around and pointed at Hualou and Xie Nanjia: "It was them. I ate too much tonight and was walking around in the garden to digest my food. I happened to see them coming from the front yard. I just asked a few questions, but they talked back and even hit me."
Then he pointed at Feng Lun and said, "Then this man ran out and helped them beat up my servant."
The servants who were beaten cried out in high and low voices: "Madam, please understand, please help us..."
Qin was stunned for a moment when she heard this. She only asked Third Aunt to catch Hua Lou, but she didn't expect that she would get involved in an affair with a man outside her home. She was worried that she couldn't find a legitimate reason to clean up Hua Lou, but now, the reason for having an affair with a man outside her home couldn't be more legitimate. But, how did Xiu'er get involved
In front of everyone, she did not dare to ask more questions. Third Aunt's words had too many loopholes, and she was afraid that she would not be able to make up for it if she asked. Considering that Xiu'er had helped her several times in a row, she wanted to give Xiu'er a chance to excuse herself, and asked in a gentle voice: "Xiu'er, did you accidentally walk there and be misunderstood by Third Aunt?"
Xie Nanjia smiled secretly and leaned forward and said, "To answer Madam, I was not careless. I was accompanying Hualou to deliver midnight snacks to the Marquis."
Qin was startled, and looked at her with some displeasure.
The Third Aunt took the opportunity to say, "Madam, you heard it all. This vixen in Hualou seduced the Marquis alone, but it wasn't enough. She also needed a helper. She is the reincarnation of Su Daji..."
"Shut up!" Qin interrupted her harshly, "These two girls are not that kind of people."
Qin was afraid that Marquis Dingyuan would accuse her of being jealous, so she wanted to find another excuse to punish Hualou. By changing the subject to the Marquis, wasn't Third Aunt telling others the real reason why she was causing trouble for Hualou
This idiot! His head was kicked by a donkey! She cursed the Third Aunt inwardly.
The Third Aunt did not understand what she meant and continued, "Madam, you can't judge a person by his appearance. Don't be fooled by their appearance. They were the ones who started the fight just now, and they were the ones who asked this man to come out and help."
Yunying beside her quickly chimed in, "Madam, Third Aunt is right. Xiu'er is not a good person. She is only nice in front of you, but she is a completely different person when you are away from her."
"Yes, madam. I also think that this girl is not a good person. Have you forgotten that she tried to seduce the prince on the first day she entered the mansion." Yun Yan also followed suit.
Qin hesitated and looked at Xie Nanjia again, wondering whether she should abandon her.
The stupid Third Aunt insisted that the two of them were having an affair with another man. If she let Xiu'er off the hook, she would have no reason to kill Hualou. But if she killed Xiu'er as well, she would feel reluctant.
Xiu'er is very smart and she will be useful in the future.
But why was this clever girl so confused today that she couldn't understand what she said
The Third Aunt had been neglected by the Marquis for too long, and she wished Hualou was dead. As long as Hualou was dead, she didn't care who was buried with her. So when she saw Qin hesitating, she was afraid that she would give Xiu'er another chance to argue, so she simply got up and ran to Qin, leaned over and whispered in her ear.
As the Third Aunt spoke, Qin's face darkened little by little.
Everyone's attention was on the two of them, but Madam Cao was looking at Xie Nanjia thoughtfully.
This girl was acting so strange today. Usually, in matters like this, if she was given a chance to speak, she would clear herself of the charges in a few words. But this time, the lady took the initiative to give her a chance, but she didn't say a word in her defense. She was like a mute gourd, and looked as if she was letting things go.
Yunying was right, this girl was not an easy person to deal with, but tonight she was not only easy to deal with, she was even easy on her breath. Why was that
Nanny Cao vaguely felt that something was wrong, but she couldn't figure it out for the moment, and she was secretly anxious.
Feng Lun also became anxious. In his opinion, this matter could be easily explained away. However, Xiu'er repeatedly signaled him to kneel down with his head down and not to make any sound or look up. He did not understand what she meant, so he had to do as she asked. He was thinking in his mind, if the lady wanted to beat her with a stick later, should he take her away or take the stick for her
Hualou was also hinted by Xie Nanjia not to speak. Although she didn't understand why, she obeyed her orders out of habit, kneeling obediently without saying a word.
The three of them were so honest, which made Madam Cao feel even more strange. She was about to remind Qin Shi when she heard Qin Shi order: "Since this is the case, each of them will be punished with thirty strokes of the cane and sent out of the mansion to be sold tonight!"
Everyone was shocked. The two little girls were so frail that if the executioner showed no mercy, twenty strokes of the cane would be enough to take their lives. There was no need to sell them. It would be better to just throw them into a mass grave.
The madam is indeed the madam. If she doesn't take action, it's fine. But once she does, she will beat you to death.
The third aunt's eyes sparkled with excitement, and she kept asking people to carry out the lady's orders.
The servants got busy, placing wide benches in the yard, carrying Xie Nanjia and Hualou out, and laying them face down on the benches, securing them with ropes to prevent them from struggling.
Qin did not go out to watch. She sat in the hall, fingering the Buddhist beads and chanting "Amitabha".
The third aunt stood behind her, massaging her shoulders, and asked cautiously, "Madam, what should we do with that man?"
Qin raised her eyelids and glanced at Feng Lun. Everyone had gone out, except for him who was still kneeling there with his head lowered to his chest. Her face could not be seen, only the black bun on top of his head.
"The mansion is heavily guarded. How did you sneak in? Which of those two girls is your lover?" Qin asked indifferently.
Feng Lun slowly raised his head and met Qin's eyes: "Madam, you have misunderstood. I am not a bad person. I am Feng Lun, the guard in the young master's courtyard."
"What?" Qin was shocked. She looked carefully under the light and when she confirmed it was Feng Lun, she felt something was fishy.
"Hurry, tell the people outside to stop fighting..." she hurriedly instructed the third aunt.
The third aunt was stunned: "Why..."
"Just go when I tell you to go!" Madam Cao had already reacted and scolded harshly without caring about her status.
The Third Aunt was very dissatisfied when she was yelled at by Madam Cao, but she didn't dare to ask any more questions and walked out reluctantly.
Madam Cao thought she was walking too slowly, so she also ran out quickly. Just when she was halfway there, she heard two "pa, pa" sounds outside. The board had fallen, followed by two screams of pain.
Feng Lun's heart tightened and he subconsciously wanted to rush out, but thinking of Xie Nanjia's instructions, he forced himself not to move.
Two more blows of the board were heard, and the two men let out even louder cries of pain. Madam Cao rushed out before the Third Aunt, and was about to shout to stop the executioner when she heard the courtyard door being kicked open with a bang, and Marquis Dingyuan and the Second Young Master rushed in aggressively with several guards.
"Why are you beating people? Who allowed you to abuse lynching?" Dingyuan Hou strode up to the crowd, snatched the stick of one of the old women, and slammed it to the ground angrily. The bluestone floor shattered and the stick was deeply embedded in the soil under the stone slab.
Everyone trembled in fear at his anger, fell to their knees, and shouted in unison: "My Lord, please calm down, my Lord, spare our lives!"
Qin heard the noise outside while in the house. Her heart trembled and she fell into a chair. She finally understood what was wrong.
She was tricked by someone without any hesitation.
If it wasn't planned in advance, how could the timing be so well-chosen? The Marquis came just after she was hit with two boards. This way, she could be caught abusing lynching without being beaten.
Well, what a cunning girl!
"Madam, the Marquis asks you to go out!" The third concubine came back timidly and called her.
Qin was so angry that she slapped him.
With a crisp "pa" sound, the third concubine was beaten so hard that she saw stars.
"Madam, why did you hit me?" the third concubine asked aggrievedly, half of her face burning with pain.
"Idiot! You still have the nerve to ask me!" Qin said angrily, "If you hadn't fanned the flames, how could I have been fooled?"
As he said this, he grabbed the third aunt's hair and dragged her out of the hall.
"My lord, it was this lowly servant who deceived me..." She pretended to be angry and tried to explain to Marquis Dingyuan, but stopped talking halfway. Her eyes saw Marquis Dingyuan carefully helping Hualou up from the bench, his movements so gentle as if he was scooping up a piece of tender tofu.
Marquis Dingyuan was not the man in her heart, but this scene still deeply hurt her heart.
He was the father of her three children, but he had never treated her with such tenderness.
And the person in her heart has never given her the slightest bit of sympathy.
Why
As a woman, she is not as good as Sheng Qingluan, and now she is not even as good as the maid of Sheng Qingluan's daughter.
God, you are so unfair!
The Third Aunt was also filled with jealousy, and she didn't even feel the pain when the Lady grabbed her hair so hard.
"Madam, it's not that I deceived you, it's that you were too slow." She murmured.
If the lady takes action as soon as she brings the person back, without waiting for the Marquis to arrive, the matter will be over. What can the Marquis do then? He can't divorce his wife for a maid, right
After all, it was the lady who was too hesitant, and she couldn't be blamed.
Qin also felt a little regretful. She shouldn't have cared about Xiu'er, nor should she have beaten them with a stick. She should have sent them out of the house directly. She would have had time to kill them or cut them up outside.
Now that the Marquis has arrived, it's too late for anything.
When Dingyuan Hou helped Hualou up, Zhao Jingyu also helped Xie Nanjia up, put his arm around her waist, and whispered, "What are you planning?"
Of course Xie Nanjia couldn't tell him, so she took a hissing breath and ignored his question.
Zhao Jingyu didn't know whether she was really in pain or just pretending, so he had to let her go for the time being. He hugged her waist tightly with his big hands, put one of her hands on his neck, and let her lean on him to relieve her pain: "Now you feel the pain. If Huangfu hadn't reported it in time, no one would know that you were beaten to death."
I did this because I knew Huangfu was following me! Xie Nanjia thought to herself, but said, "We have different identities. To avoid being criticized, let Brother Wei support me!"
Zhao Jingyu immediately became annoyed and glared at her fiercely.
Wei Jun quickly retreated five steps away to avoid getting into trouble.
Xie Nanjia had no choice but to shut up. Because her legs hurt when she put any force on them, she put all her weight on him.
Zhao Jingyu felt her weight and secretly raised the corners of his lips.
Dingyuan Hou was of a different status after all, and could not be as blatant as Zhao Jingyu. He handed the painting building to Jiuan beside him and asked Qin in a deep voice: "Why are you lynching in the middle of the night?"
Qin had calmed down by now. She let go of Third Aunt's hair and bowed slightly to Marquis Dingyuan: "My Lord, this is a misunderstanding. Please move to the hall and I will explain it to you slowly."
"No need, let's talk about it here!" Dingyuan Hou said coldly.
"..." Qin gritted her teeth and kicked the Third Aunt, "You come and tell the Marquis what's going on!"
The Third Aunt shuddered, knelt on the ground, and recounted the incident, picking out the parts that were beneficial to her. At the end, she defended herself, "My Lord, it was too dark at the time, and I really didn't recognize Guard Feng. I just thought he was a wild man from outside, so I brought him here for Madam to deal with. I was also concerned about the safety and reputation of the mansion, and I didn't mean to cause trouble for anyone!"
She did not mention a word about the nasty things she had just said about Hualou, but just insisted that she had made a mistake, thinking that Marquis Dingyuan would not be able to do anything to her because of this.
Dingyuan Hou listened to her explanation and said nothing. He looked at Qin Shi solemnly: "It's dark outside and you can't see clearly. Can you still not see clearly after entering the house?"
Qin said, "I really didn't see it clearly. Guard Feng lowered his head since he entered the room and didn't say a word. Third Aunt kept saying that he was a stranger, so I didn't think much about it."
Dingyuan Hou snorted coldly: "Even if you can't see clearly, you won't listen to my explanation. You torture me without even asking a question. What kind of rule is this?"
As Madam Cao listened, she suddenly understood her previous doubts. She knelt down in front of Marquis Dingyuan and said loudly, "Marquis, Madam is innocent. Today's incident was set up by these two girls. They clearly set a trap for Madam to fall into. They could have explained it clearly when they were caught by Third Aunt, but they refused to say anything. They chose to anger Third Aunt and let her bring them to Madam, and then anger Madam to punish them. They wanted to make Marquis misunderstand Madam and use this to drive you and your wife away from each other!"
After Madam Cao said this, Third Aunt suddenly understood and knelt on the ground and cried out loudly: "My Lord, Madam Cao is right. I am a brainless servant and I didn't think so much. If these two girls had revealed the identity of Guard Feng from the beginning, how could things have gotten to this point? My Lord, these two girls are too insidious, you must see clearly!"
When she shouted this, Yunyan, Yunying and other servants all echoed: "That's right, my lord. We can all testify that they never said it was Guard Feng from the beginning to the end."
Dingyuan Hou raised his hand to stop everyone from talking, still looking at Qin with a heavy gaze, and said coldly: "Do you have anything to say?"
Qin smiled sadly and said self-deprecatingly: "Now that things have come to this, what else can I say? I can only blame myself for being too stupid and falling for the villain's trick."
"My Lord!" Xie Nanjia left Zhao Jingyu's arms, took two steps forward and knelt in front of Marquis Dingyuan, "Since Madam has nothing to say, can I, your servant, say a few words?"
As soon as she opened her mouth, everyone became nervous, and Qin and the third concubine clenched their fists secretly.
This damn girl can turn black into white and the dead into alive. She didn't say anything when she should have just now, but now that the Marquis is here, she wants to speak on her own initiative. I don't know what she wants to do.
Dingyuan Hou looked at Xie Nanjia, his eyes softened, and he nodded, "Go ahead!"
"Thank you, my lord!" Xie Nanjia endured the pain, knelt upright, and started from the moment she met the Third Aunt on the road. She recounted the whole story in detail, so detailed that she could repeat exactly what everyone said, including the words the Third Aunt used to curse Hualou, and all the words said by everyone in the room after she arrived in front of Qin, Yun Yan and Yun Ying's evil words, and even their tone of voice was imitated vividly.
As she spoke, Marquis Dingyuan's face became darker and darker, his brows furrowed tighter and tighter, and everyone became more and more frightened.
Finally, Xie Nanjia said, "My Lord, this is the whole story. Neither the Third Aunt nor anyone else gave us a chance to explain. Madam didn't want to punish us at first, and she even said that Hualou and I weren't that kind of people. But the Third Aunt and Yunyan and Yunying urged Madam to beat us with a stick first and then sell us off. Madam did this because of their instigation. Please understand, my Lord."
"..." Everyone was confused, wondering what kind of routine was this, why was Xiu'er speaking for the lady
Qin didn't expect that Xiu'er would speak for her at the critical moment and cleared her of the blame with just a few words. Apart from being surprised, she no longer cared about the Third Aunt and her two maids. The most important thing for her was to save herself first.
"My Lord, Xiu'er is right. I was indeed instigated by them and lost my mind. I committed the crime of negligence. Please punish me, my Lord!"
“…” Third Aunt, Yunyan and Yunying were all stunned. They never thought that Madam would push them out as tools. They were extremely disappointed.
Nanny Cao's heart was pounding, and when she looked at Xie Nanjia's calm face, she couldn't help but feel a chill all over her body.
This girl is so scheming. She doesn't play by the rules at all. It's hard to figure out what her goal is.
Just like now, everyone thought that her target of attack was the Madam, but she unexpectedly stood on the Madam's side to make excuses for her and pushed out the Third Aunt and Yun Yan and Yun Ying.
No, it wasn't just the Third Aunt and the others who were unlucky. Looking at the three people kneeling on the ground and shivering, Madam Cao had a bad feeling in her heart, thinking that maybe she was one of them.
Sure enough, just as she had this thought, Marquis Dingyuan called her, "Madam Cao, do you know you are wrong?"
Madam Cao shuddered and quickly leaned over to the ground, her forehead touching the icy ground, not daring to breathe.
Dingyuan Hou said, "You are the most useful nanny by the Madam's side. When something happened, you didn't know how to advise the Madam, but instead fanned the flames, saying that the two maids set up a trap to alienate the relationship between me and the Madam. You heard what Xiu'er said just now, right? You have lived for decades in vain, but you are not as broad-minded as a little maid. You judge others by your own standards. This is very appropriate for you!"
Madam Cao was trembling with fear and dared not speak, but her mind suddenly became clear. She figured it out. This move was also a trap set by that dead girl. She just wanted to use her magnanimity to make people like us appear unreasonable and narrow-minded. She wanted to alienate not only the lady and the marquis, but also us and the lady!
Zhao Jingyu also understood Xie Nanjia's intention at this time, and stared at her straight back kneeling on the ground thoughtfully.
The matter had to come to an end after all. Because Xie Nanjia defended Qin, Marquis Dingyuan did not punish Qin. He fined the third concubine half a year's monthly salary and confined her to her home for three months. Yunyan and Yunying were demoted from first-class maids to second-class maids and fined three months' monthly salary.
Since Madam Cao was old, she was not demoted and was only fined three months' salary. The other servants present who failed to persuade their master in time were each fined one month's salary. The old women in charge of the caning were each given ten strokes of the cane and fined one month's salary.
After the punishment, Marquis Dingyuan gave Hualou and Xie Nanjia each a waist badge in front of everyone. With these waist badges, they could enter and exit the front yard at will without asking anyone for permission.
This move was intended to announce to everyone that these two girls would be under his protection from now on and no one could touch them.
Xie Nanjia knew in her heart that she got this badge thanks to Hualou. After this incident, no one in the mansion would cause trouble for Hualou anymore, and Hualou would be quiet from now on. She herself was also one step closer to her original plan, so it could be said that she killed two birds with one stone.
After leaving Yixin Courtyard, because there were so many people, Marquis Dingyuan said nothing and led his people directly back to the front yard and asked Feng Lun to take the painting building back.
As for Xie Nanjia, Marquis Dingyuan did not give any instructions, so Zhao Jingyu took the initiative to take the responsibility of sending her back.
Wei Jun followed from a distance like a ghost, fearing that Xie Nanjia would ask him to send her off again, which would simply make the Second Young Master unhappy.
Although he was only hit with two big boards, it was really painful. With every step Xie Nanjia took, he felt unbearable pain from his thighs to his waist. He walked a few steps while hanging on Zhao Jingyu's neck and sweated on his forehead due to the pain.
Zhao Jingyu was also sweating from being dragged down by her, so he simply squatted on the ground and said, "Come on, I'll carry you."
"Ah?" Xie Nanjia hesitated, "Isn't this inappropriate?"
"Humph!" Zhao Jingyu snorted sarcastically, "Have you done enough inappropriate things?"
“…” Xie Nanjia shut up and lay obediently on his back.
"Hold your hands tightly." Zhao Jingyu reminded.
Xie Nanjia hesitated and put her arms around his neck.
Zhao Jingyu stood up easily and walked forward carrying her on his back.
Xie Nanjia said: "You look quite thin, but I didn't expect you to be so strong."
Zhao Jingyu said, "You looked quite thin, but I didn't expect you still have some flesh on you."
Xie Nanjia was stunned for a moment before she realized what he was talking about. Her face suddenly flushed and she pinched his chest fiercely: "You pervert!"
"Hiss!" Zhao Jingyu took a breath and chuckled, "Who is the pervert between us? Do you know where you twisted it?"
"..." Xie Nanjia silently withdrew her hand, and suddenly realized that he was taking the wrong route, and hurriedly reminded him, "You're going the wrong way."
"That's right, I'll take you to my place to apply some medicine." Zhao Jingyu said lightly, and then added, "I'll apply it to you personally."
Xie Nanjia: "Put me down..."
(End of this chapter)