Minister Cheng was on leave today, so he sent his youngest son Cheng Zhiye to the Dingyuan Marquis's residence to invite Zhao Jingyu early in the morning, saying that he had something important to discuss.
After Zhao Jingyu left, he sent Cheng Zhiye away and talked privately with Zhao Jingyu behind closed doors.
"I thought about the matter you asked me to do last time, and I think the Zhenguogong Mansion is the most suitable." Minister Cheng said, "First, the old Duke is my mentor, and I have some say in front of him. Second, the old Duke just lost a granddaughter. If he can give me this face, I can claim that the child is found and it won't arouse other people's suspicion. Third, his family is full of brats, and girls are rare. As long as your girl is smart enough, she will definitely be spoiled by the whole family and I guarantee that she won't be bullied at all. What do you think?"
Zhao Jingyu's peach blossom eyes sparkled when he heard this, and he rubbed his hands and said, "That's good, but I don't know if your face is big enough?"
"..." Minister Cheng said, "You have a big enough face, why don't you give it a try?"
"No, no..." Zhao Jingyu waved his hands repeatedly, "My face works well elsewhere, but not with the old Duke."
Minister Cheng couldn't help laughing when he thought of what happened back then.
Zhao Jingyu was a troublemaker when he was young. Once when the old duke celebrated his birthday, he followed Marquis Dingyuan to celebrate. While the old duke was drunk and asleep, he cut off the beard that the old duke had grown for many years.
The old Duke was furious and insisted that Marquis Dingyuan give him an explanation. In the end, he only gave up after extorting the ancient sword from the Warring States Period that Marquis Dingyuan had treasured for many years.
"I remember that the old Duke loves to collect ancient swords. If you want to accomplish this, you might as well find a better sword than your father's to bribe him. He will definitely agree." Minister Cheng said.
"Ancient sword..." Zhao Jingyu pondered, "Mr. Hu does have a Western Zhou sword. I will find a chance to steal it for him. But now I have another worry..."
"What?" asked Minister Cheng.
Zhao Jingyu said with a bitter face: "What if the old Duke recognizes this granddaughter and dotes on her in the future? Will he refuse to marry her to me because of the festival that year? If that's the case, wouldn't I lose both the wife and the army?"
"Ah?" Minister Cheng was stunned by what he said. He imagined the scene where Zhao Jingyu went to propose marriage and was driven out by the old Duke, and he couldn't help laughing.
"This is not something I can control. You have to think it over before making a decision."
"Tsk..." Zhao Jingyu smacked his lips worriedly, "Why is it so difficult for me?"
"Why don't you wait a little longer, until you... when the emperor becomes the retired emperor, then you probably won't have any problems." Minister Cheng suggested cryptically.
"…" Zhao Jingyu rolled her eyes at him, "The emperor is in his prime. When he becomes the emperor emeritus, my girl will be an old girl."
Minister Cheng had never seen him so anxious before, and he couldn't help but burst into laughter again.
Just as I was laughing so hard, Wei Jun suddenly knocked on the door and said he had something urgent to report.
Zhao Jingyu called him in and asked what was the matter.
Wei Jun whispered a few words in his ear.
Zhao Jingyu's face changed immediately, and he got up and left without saying a word.
…
Feng Lun followed Xie Nanjia to Yixin Courtyard and tried several times to persuade her not to be impulsive. The lady was different from the aunt. She had the power of life and death. If she was angered, she could beat, kill or sell people for the crime of treason without asking anyone's opinion.
Therefore, for safety reasons, Feng Lun felt that everything should wait until the Marquis returns.
But he knew very well that Xie Nanjia and Hualou had a special relationship, and Hualou had been missing for a whole night, and his life or death was uncertain, so he thought again and again, and in the end did not say a word of dissuasion, and silently accompanied Xie Nanjia to Yixinyuan.
He had already prepared for the worst, the worst that could happen was that both of them would die together.
"Don't worry, I won't die that easily." Xie Nanjia walked forward without looking away, but as if she had seen through his mind, she said lightly, "The same goes for you. The young master will still rely on you in the future. I won't let anything happen to you."
Feng Lun smiled shyly: "I am not confident anymore."
"I know you are worried about me." Xie Nanjia said.
The gate of Yixin Courtyard was wide open. There was a maid guarding the door. She didn't seem too surprised to see Xie Nanjia coming, as if she had known she was coming.
"Please tell the lady, I need to see her for something." Xie Nanjia said calmly.
"Come with me!" The old woman pointed at Feng Lun and emphasized, "He can't come in."
Feng Lun was stunned and frowned, "Why can't I go in?"
"I can't, there's no reason. I'm just the master's dog. When is it the dog's turn to question the master?" The old woman gave him an impolite look.
"You..." Feng Lun immediately got angry and raised his fist to teach her a lesson.
"Brother Feng." Xie Nanjia hurriedly called him, "Since it is Madam's wish, please wait here for me. I will be out in an incense stick at most."
What he meant was that if she didn't come out within an incense stick of time, Feng Lun would have to go in and rescue her.
Feng Lun had no choice but to retreat outside the yard and wait.
Xie Nanjia followed the old woman into the yard. Feng Lun suddenly caught up with her, called her, and stuffed a small thing into her hand.
Xie Nanjia squeezed the whistle in her palm and found it was a bamboo whistle. She understood what he meant and put the whistle into her sleeve pocket.
They went all the way to the upper room. The maid went in to pass on the message. After getting the lady's consent, she came out and asked Xie Nanjia to come in.
Xie Nanjia entered the room and saw that there was no one else in the room except Qin and Qin Wanru. The aunt and niece were sitting on a square couch, chatting and laughing. On the kang table in the middle were freshly brewed tea and a chess game. They looked very relaxed and contented.
"Your servant Xiu'er greets the madam, may the madam be well!" Xie Nanjia walked up to Qin and bowed.
Two pairs of eyes fell on her at the same time.
"No need to be polite." Qin smiled gently and asked, "How come you have time to come here today?"
Xie Nanjia stood up and said straight to the point: "I am here to pay my respects to Madam and take the painting house back with me."
The aunt and niece looked at each other in surprise, as if neither of them expected her to be so direct.
"The painting building is indeed with me." She was so direct that Qin Shi stopped keeping her in suspense. "As for whether I can take it with me, it depends on whether you cooperate or not."
"Madam, how do you want me to cooperate?" Xie Nanjia asked calmly.
"I have a few questions to ask you. As long as you can answer truthfully, I will let you go." Qin said.
"I know what Madam is going to ask." Xie Nanjia quickly took over her conversation. "In order not to waste time, I will tell you straight away. I am indeed a little girl from Hongou Manor. After arriving at the Marquis' Mansion, I was entrusted by Young Master Nanfeng to investigate the cause of death of the previous master's wife. I was the one who found out about Aunt Hong, and I was also the one who caused the haunting of Nuanyu Pavilion. The man sent by the eldest lady to kill me was killed by the second young master and then hung in Yaoyue Residence. I was also the one who scared Yunying last night, and I have learned all the truth from Yunying. Madam, do you have anything else to ask?"
"..." The aunt and niece were stunned and silent for a while. Xie Nanjia's confession was beyond their expectations and they didn't know how to respond.
There are advantages to being in the dark, and there are advantages to being in the light. The reason why Xie Nanjia made it clear was that she wanted them to experience the feeling of knowing who the opponent is but being helpless, and having to live in fear all the time and not daring to relax for a moment.
She wanted to repay in an honest way all the despicable things they had done to her, to see who was in greater pain and suffering.
"You admit it so readily, aren't you afraid that I will kill you to silence you?" It took Qin a long time to come back to her senses. She was so angry at Xie Nanjia's arrogance that she was shaking.
Xie Nanjia smiled calmly, "Since I dared to come in, I have already made a plan to deal with it. Feng Lun is waiting outside the courtyard now. If I don't go out after an incense stick, he will rush in. The Marquis is also on his way back. And Master Nanfeng, he and I have already agreed that if something happens to me, he will lead people to surround the Marquis' Mansion as soon as possible. Madam, if you think you can deal with the wrath of the Marquis and the General's Mansion, just do it!"
"You..." Qin pointed at her with trembling fingers, her face twisted with anger, "Damn you, you ungrateful slave, do you really think I dare not kill you? I am the mistress of the Dingyuan Marquis's Mansion, the imperial lady appointed by the emperor himself. How can the marquis do anything to me when I deal with a disobedient servant? What can the general's mansion do to me?"
"As for me, no one can do anything to you. But if you team up with your niece to murder your eldest daughter-in-law, that's another matter." Xie Nanjia said coldly.
"You're talking nonsense. What evidence do you have? Do you think Yunying's crazy talk can prove that I'm a murderer? Stop dreaming!" Qin Wanru jumped up and shouted.
After being reminded by her, Qin also came to her senses. Yunying was dead and there was no evidence to prove the matter. No matter how much Xiu'er knew, it would be useless. What was she still afraid of her doing
No matter how unreasonable Xie Nanfeng is, this is still within the imperial city, under the feet of the emperor. Does he really dare to raise an army
As for the Marquis, he can't divorce his wife in anger just for a maid, right
Even if Xie Nanfeng raised an army and the Marquis divorced his wife, for the sake of Wanru's reputation and her and Ping'er's happiness, Xiu'er, this scourge, must not be left alive.
Thinking of this, she made up her mind and shouted, "Someone, tie this girl up for me!"
The two guards who had been hiding behind the screen came out and strode towards Xie Nanjia.
Xie Nanjia knew that Qin was determined to fight to the death, so she retreated calmly as the guards approached, while taking out the bamboo whistle that Feng Lun gave her from her sleeve pocket.
As long as she blows the whistle, Feng Lun will come to rescue her.
But if they did so, they would be openly in conflict with the Qin family. It would be fine for her, but Feng Lun might be punished.
She stepped back, putting the whistle to her lips, but before she blew it, she bumped into someone from behind. She instinctively thought that someone was attacking her from behind, so without thinking too much, she bent her elbow and hit the person in the chest.
But she did not succeed, and the next moment someone grabbed her hand and held her in his arms.
(End of this chapter)