Xie Nanjia was unwilling to suffer the loss of the lady, so how could she allow an old servant to slap her? As soon as Madam Cao raised her hand, she reminded, "Madam, do you think the Marquis's punishment is too light?"
Madam Cao was stunned, and she abruptly stopped her slap and asked, "What do you mean?"
Xie Nanjia sneered: "Madam didn't even say she was going to beat me, but you wanted to abuse me with private punishment. Don't you think the punishment is too light?"
As she spoke, she took out a handkerchief to wipe the water stains on the hem of her skirt, but accidentally pulled out the waist badge given by the Marquis and dropped it at Madam Cao's feet.
Matron Cao stared at the badge for a few seconds. She was not convinced but had to put her hand down in frustration and took two steps back.
Xie Nanjia raised the corner of his lips slightly, picked up the badge and put it back in his arms.
Qin was so angry at her arrogant behavior that she slammed the table and said angrily: "You are too arrogant, you dog slave. Do you think I dare not do anything to you because the Marquis is protecting me? Don't forget that I am the master of this backyard!"
Xie Nanjia bowed her head and said, "Of course I will not forget, but I thought that Madam did not ask me to come here to slap you."
"…" Qin paused, "Then what do you think I called you here for?"
Xie Nanjia said: "Of course it's because of what Madam is worried about."
Qin's eyes flickered, and after thinking for a moment, she softened her voice and said, "Get up and answer!"
"Thank you, Madam!" Xie Nanjia stood up, folded her hands, and without waiting for Qin to ask again, she took the initiative to say, "Madam, I heard the conversation between you and the old lady just now. The old lady asked the prince to take the young master to ask the general's wife. It is indeed a good idea. If you are worried that the prince can't convince the general's wife, you might as well let Lvliu go with the prince."
"Why are you asking her to go?" Madam Cao interrupted, "She is full of schemes, and she is also an old slave of the Crown Prince's wife. She has always been at odds with my cousin. If she goes, it will only cause trouble."
"Yes, she has been coveting the position of the Crown Prince's wife for a long time. Will she be willing to help the Crown Prince persuade the General's wife?" Qin also expressed doubts.
Xie Nanjia smiled confidently: "Everyone has desires, and desires lead to breakthroughs. Although I haven't had much contact with Lvliu, I am confident that I can convince her. If Madam believes in me, you may let me try."
"How do you convince her?" Qin suffered a loss from her last night and didn't dare to trust her again.
Xie Nanjia said: "Madam, you don't need to care about the process, just look at the result."
Qin was still skeptical and subconsciously fiddled with her rosary beads. After a few fiddles, she remembered the scene of the old lady fiddling with the rosary beads to annoy her. She threw the beads aside and told Aunt Cao, "Put away all the rosary beads in this room and don't let me see them again."
Nanny Cao was confused and didn't dare to ask more questions. She just nodded in agreement.
Qin stared at Xie Nanjia for a moment, then slowly said, "I can trust you once again, but you must do this for me. If you can't convince the general's wife, I will sell you out, and then the marquis won't be able to protect you."
Xie Nanjia was not panicked at all, and said calmly: "In this case, I would like to go with Lvliu to ensure that nothing goes wrong."
Seeing that she was calm and composed, as if she had already won the game, Qin decided to give her another chance and agreed to her request.
Nanny Cao was observing from the side. Somehow, the strange feeling she had last night came back again. She always felt that something was wrong with this girl, but she couldn't tell what it was.
She wanted to remind the lady to be cautious, but the old lady was driving her crazy and she was afraid that she would not listen to her advice and would even take her anger out on her.
After weighing the pros and cons, she finally didn't say anything and decided to observe first.
Xie Nanjia obtained Qin's consent, and since the purpose of this trip had been achieved, he offered to leave.
Qin agreed, and when she saw her about to walk out the door, she suddenly called her.
"Why did you make such a scene last night?"
Although she was the only one who was not punished by the Marquis last night, the humiliation still bothered her.
Xie Nanjia paused, turned around and smiled calmly, "Madam, I didn't target you last night. It was really the Third Aunt who was bullying us too much. She clearly wanted to use you to get rid of the painting building, and then let the Marquis and Madam turn against each other, so that she could reap the benefits. Madam, you are simple-minded and don't understand the calculations of the concubines. I have to say something unpleasant. Even if the Marquis really took over the painting building, it would not be Madam who would be threatened. Why should Madam go along with the concubines? Not only will you lose your status, you will be used as a knife by others, and you will not be able to get along well with the Marquis, and you will also get a free ride for others. Madam, think about it, is this the truth?"
Qin was so confused by her words that she completely forgot that the Third Aunt was instigated by her to cause trouble in the painting building. She slammed the table and said angrily, "Good Third Aunt, I almost fell into her trap!"
Xie Nanjia said: "Fortunately, the Marquis did not trust her easily, and did not turn against Madam. Madam, you just need to be more careful in the future."
"You're right." Qin nodded and said, "Thanks to you for speaking well for me, this time the matter is done, I will reward you as well."
Xie Nanjia thanked him and bowed to take his leave.
Matron Cao was dumbfounded. If she hadn't been watching the whole process, she would have really suspected that Xiu'er had drugged the Madam.
The lady used to be such a smart person, but when she met this girl, she became so opinionless and was led by her. It was really weird.
Yunyan and Yunying had the same idea. Because of what happened last night, they were already deeply hurt by the Madam and were too lazy to try to persuade her anymore. It was hard to say whether persuasion would be effective or not. The Madam might even say that a group of them were not as useful as Xiu'er alone.
Qin did not notice the negative thoughts of the people around her. After complaining about the Third Aunt, she told Yunying to call the Prince.
She knew her own son well, that although he was full of talk about love and romance, he became very silent when it came to serious matters, so she had to warn him well so that he wouldn't say the wrong thing in front of his mother-in-law.
Zhao Jingping is taking a day off today. He had been making a fuss with Aunt Xue for half the night last night. When Yunying went to call him, he was still sleeping soundly in bed. When he heard his mother was looking for him, he got up reluctantly, washed and followed Yunying.
When Qin saw his face that showed the signs of overindulgence and the dark circles under his eyes, she was immediately furious. She had racked her brains and worried about his marriage and had suffered so much humiliation, but he, on the other hand, acted as if nothing had happened and had the leisure time to indulge in wine and women.
"Don't you have a brain? It's already this late and you still have time to play around. Wanru's belly is getting bigger day by day, aren't you worried at all?"
Actually, Zhao Jingping was not keen on getting married. After Xie Nanjia's death, he was only upset for ten days or half a month. After that, his life was still colorful and even freer. He thought that since he had a son and the task of continuing the family line was completed, it would not be a big deal if he did not get married. On the contrary, getting married would bring him restrictions.
As for his cousin Wanru, he did not see her any more specially than other women. As long as she was a young girl, he treated her equally, with the same tenderness and love. However, he never expected that his cousin Wanru would become pregnant with his child.
She is pregnant and she is his cousin who he has grown up with, so it is only right for him to marry her. Since his mother and uncle and aunt have no objection, he can just marry her. As for the marriage arrangements, his mother will take care of them for him.
A few days ago, he heard that his grandmother was not very satisfied with this marriage, but he did not take it to heart. He knew that as long as his mother decided on something, she would always find a way to make it happen.
As he expected, the old lady agreed to the marriage after being pestered by his mother. He was relieved. But now he suddenly heard his mother complaining about him. He couldn't help wondering, "What are you talking about, mother? Grandmother has already agreed. Why don't we just pick a date to marry my cousin? What's the rush?"
When Qin heard him say this, she knew that he didn't care about this matter at all. She was so angry that she raised her hand and splashed cold tea on his face, telling him to wake up: "You ancestor, you want to piss your mother off to death. Everyone in the mansion knows that the old lady wants to marry Wanru in a sedan chair, but you don't know anything. Are you still a human being?"
"Ah?" Zhao Jingping wiped his face without much reaction, and just hesitated, "Isn't this a bit too shabby?"
“…” Qin felt pain from her head to her heart and could not utter a word for a long time.
Madam Cao felt sorry for her, so she explained the reason to Zhao Jingping in detail, and then said, "What the old lady said is correct. The prince is still in mourning, and he must seek the permission of your mother-in-law's family before he can marry. It happens that the day after tomorrow is your mother-in-law's birthday. Take this opportunity to bring the young master to pay her respects and beg your mother-in-law. Only when she gives in can we do things well. Do you understand?"
When Zhao Jingping heard that he was asked to go to the general's mansion, his first reaction was to resist: "I won't go, I won't go..."
"You are going to marry a wife yourself, if you don't go, who will? Are you really going to let Wanru marry in quietly? Isn't that embarrassing?" Qin shouted in anger.
"It's better to lose face than to lose your life." Zhao Jingping muttered.
Qin was almost angry to death.
Madam Cao hurriedly advised, "Don't be afraid, my lord. The general and Young Master Nanfeng are still in the enclosure. Your mother-in-law is the only one in the general's mansion. Lvliu and Xiu'er will go with you and help you persuade the general's wife."
"What did you say?" When Zhao Jingping heard Xiu'er's name, his eyes lit up and he nodded repeatedly, "Okay, okay, I'll go. I'll go."
(End of this chapter)