When Qin heard that her niece was in trouble, she was extremely panicked and said goodbye to the ladies present on the pretext of going back home to see Zhao Lanzhi.
When Princess Anping learned that her son had saved the fourth young lady Zhao, her face was so gloomy that water could be squeezed out of it. When she saw Qin saying goodbye to her, she said indifferently, "Madam, when you return home and see my Yuncheng, please ask him to come back quickly. The fourth young lady fell into the water. Madam, please take good care of her and don't let anything happen to her."
His words revealed his dissatisfaction with his son being plotted against, and he was implicitly reminding Qin to keep an eye on her daughter and not to do anything weird. Even if that happened, she should not even think about entering their house.
Qin's face turned red from being ridiculed, and she said awkwardly, "Thank you for your concern, my lady. Please rest assured, I will ask Master Zhou to come back soon. I will personally come to thank you for saving my life later."
Princess Anping said indifferently: "It's not a big deal, just go about your business, there's no need to come to my house."
Qin wanted to find a hole to crawl into. Princess Anping was very angry at the moment. She knew that the more she said, the more mistakes she would make. So she bowed awkwardly and left in a hurry with her daughters and servants.
After getting on the carriage, Qin angrily scolded Zhao Lanzhi: "Little bitch, she did something that brought disgrace to the family, but I was humiliated for her. Fortunately, the Marquis and Ping'er were on official business and didn't come to the banquet today, otherwise the whole family would be embarrassed because of her."
Yun Yan added, "If the Marquis is here, maybe Miss Chen Er won't dare to act so arrogantly."
After hearing what she said, Qin Shi remembered that everything was caused by Zhao Lanya, and she couldn't help but grit her teeth in anger. However, this was her own child, so she couldn't scold him no matter how angry she was. She said depressedly: "What happened to the wife of the prince?"
“This…” Yun Yan opened her mouth, wanting to say something but stopped herself.
"If you have something to say, just say it. There's no one else around, so why are you hesitating?" Qin glared at her impatiently.
Yun Yan shrank her neck and whispered, "The Crown Prince's wife fell down in the garden."
"What?" Qin asked hurriedly, "How did you fall? Was it serious? Is your stomach okay?"
"I accidentally stepped on the icy ground..." Yun Yan hesitated, "The person who reported the incident said that he fell pretty hard. As for his stomach, his stomach..."
"What's wrong with your stomach? Tell me!" Qin was so anxious that she was furious.
"The doctor checked and said there's nothing wrong with my stomach." Yun Yan said.
"Why are you hiding things when there's nothing wrong? Do you think I'm annoying enough?" Qin rolled her eyes at her and felt relieved.
Yun Yan said, "The doctor means that the wife of the prince is not pregnant..."
"What did you say?" Qin's mind buzzed, "What do you mean by no child? Where is the child? Where did the child go?"
Yunyan lowered her head and closed her mouth.
Qin rolled her eyes and thought for a moment, then suddenly took a breath of cold air: "Wanru, she..."
Could it be that she lied to me that she was pregnant in order to marry Ping'er
Thinking of this possibility, Qin's hands and feet suddenly became cold, and a chill came out of her pores.
If this is true, Wanru is too bold and too selfish. Hasn't she thought that once the lie is exposed, I will be the first one to be implicated? How can I respond if the Marquis holds me accountable? How can I face the old lady and the people from the East and West Palaces
The more she thought about it, the sadder she became, and she even wanted to die.
When they returned to the mansion, Chang Fu came out to greet them and said that the eldest son Zhou had sent the fourth young lady back to Yilan Courtyard, and now she was following the second son to the west wing to change clothes. He asked Qin how to entertain him.
Qin's mind was full of Qin Wanru's affairs, so she had no mood to care about these things. She said impatiently: "What's there to entertain? Go and tell him that his mother wants him to go back quickly."
"..." Chang Fu thought that this was too disrespectful to Master Zhou, and if the news got out, people would probably talk about him.
Zhao Lanya thought so too. She secretly wanted to meet Zhou Yuncheng, so she tried to test him: "Mother, why don't I..."
"What do you mean by 'you'? You better go back and reflect on your mistakes. I will come back to settle the score with you!" Qin scolded harshly.
Zhao Lanya was so scared that she lowered her head, dared not say another word, and walked away obediently.
When Chang Fu saw this, he didn't dare to say anything else. He followed his wife's instructions and went to inform Young Master Zhou.
…
In the Yilan courtyard, Xie Nanjia changed her clothes, sat on the bed and wrapped herself in a quilt for a long time before she felt a little warm.
Lvliu stood in front of the bed, wiping her hair with a handkerchief while complaining, "You are so bold. You knew it was a trap, but you still jumped into it. You didn't even consider the season. It's freezing cold. If the Second Young Master didn't follow closely, you would be frozen to death if not drowned."
Nanny Li and Zhen'er were busy taking care of the Fourth Young Miss. Su He was changing clothes in her room by herself. No one came to disturb her, so Lu Liu didn't hesitate to talk to her.
Xie Nanjia closed her eyes, shaking her head with the strength of her hands, listening to her nagging complaints, as if she had returned to the past.
"You're just worrying unnecessarily. How could I let myself die again when I haven't avenged my great hatred yet?" she blurted out.
Lvliu paused and said, "What grudge do you have? What do you mean by dying again? Have you died once before?"
"No, no, I mean Miss Nanjia's revenge..." Xie Nanjia covered up, "My brain is frozen, my mouth is frozen, I can't even speak properly."
"Don't you deserve this?" Lvliu said unhappily, pouring her a cup of hot tea.
Xie Nanjia took a sip and asked, "Are you sure Qin Wanru is not pregnant?"
"The doctor felt her pulse and said that, how could it be false?" Lvliu said, "Luckily I was prepared. When I saw her fall, I immediately sent someone to notify the old lady, and the old lady directly asked Aunt Hua to take the doctor there."
"Well, you're smart." Xie Nanjia said, "Did anyone clean up the ground there?"
"Don't worry, it's been dealt with, there's nothing to be seen." Lu Liu said.
Xie Nanjia nodded, and suddenly remembered something, and said to Lvliu, "Go to the west wing quickly and tell her that the old lady wants to see Mr. Zhou, and take him to Ci'anju."
"Why?" asked Green Willow.
"Don't ask why yet. I'll tell you later. Go quickly." Xie Nanjia urged.
Lvliu responded and handed her the handkerchief, "I'll go right away. You must dry your hair, otherwise you will catch a cold."
"Got it." Xie Nanjia took the handkerchief and watched her walk out the door.
Calculating the time, Qin should have returned by now. She was worried that Qin deliberately drove Zhou Yuncheng away in order to ruin the fourth young lady's marriage.
If Zhou Yuncheng leaves without meeting the head of the Marquis's Mansion, the princess will definitely find a way to get him out after returning. If he is not seen for ten days or half a month, the matter will be left unresolved, and the efforts of the three of them, master and servant, will be in vain.
The Marquis is not at home right now, so the only solution now is to ask the old lady to persuade her to stay. The old lady loves the fourth young lady and should help her seize this opportunity.
If Zhou Yuncheng is interested in the Fourth Miss, he will take the initiative to promise to be responsible for her.
In this way, no matter how reluctant the princess is, she has to respond to this matter.
Although using this method to force the Fourth Young Lady to be tied together with Zhou Yuncheng seems a bit shameless, it is undoubtedly the most effective way to achieve the goal the fastest.
Sometimes, doing whatever it takes is a means to an end.
Lvliu was not a stupid person. She figured out Xie Nanjia's intention halfway through the walk. In order to prevent Qin's people from getting there first and driving away Young Master Zhou, she trotted all the way to the west wing.
When they arrived at the west wing, they saw Zhou Yuncheng standing at the gate saying goodbye to Zhao Jingyu, and Chang Fu was waiting with his hands hanging down.
It's bad! No matter how fast I hurry, this old guy still gets there first! Lvliu said to herself. Seeing Zhou Yuncheng was about to leave, she didn't care about much and hurried forward to call out, "Young Master Zhou, please stay. My old lady wants to see you."
The three people at the door looked towards her in the direction of the sound.
Chang Fu blinked in confusion, thinking that there were so many people in the old lady's courtyard, why would she send Aunt Liu to invite people
Zhao Jingyu knew clearly that it must be Xie Nanjia's idea again, so she smiled and put her arm around Zhou Yuncheng's shoulders: "My grandmother must have heard that you saved my sister and asked you to come over to thank you. Come on, I'll go with you to see her."
Zhou Yuncheng was more than happy to do so, so he followed without saying a word.
Lvliu breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly led the two young masters to Ci'an Residence.
After the people walked a long way away, Chang Fu finally reacted. He originally thought it was too rude to send people away like this. Since the old lady wanted to see her, then let her meet her, so as to avoid the news getting out and causing gossip.
So, the steward, who was concerned about the reputation of the marquis's mansion, left with satisfaction.
Luliu led Zhao Jingyu and Zhou Yuncheng to Ci'an Residence and asked them to wait outside the door for a while while she went in to pass on the message.
When she entered the upper room, the old lady was sitting on the couch with an unhappy look on her face. She was angry about Qin Wanru's fake pregnancy and worried about Zhao Lanzhi falling into the water.
I don’t know what evil has happened to me today, but all the troubles have come together in one place.
Lvliu bowed as she entered the room, and said in a crisp voice, "Madam, the eldest son Zhou is here to visit you, and he and the second son are waiting outside the door!"
The old lady recognized her as Aunt Liu from the Prince's courtyard and frowned deeply, wondering why she was the one to deliver the message.
Besides, no one was informed when Yu'er came!
The old lady couldn't figure out the twists and turns and hesitated for a moment.
Seeing this, Lvliu hurried forward and whispered something to her.
The old lady suddenly realized: "Oh, it turned out to be that girl's idea. In that case, I understand. Please invite her in!"
"Yes." Lvliu responded and went out.
The old lady narrowed her eyes and murmured, "How come Aunt Liu became that girl's errand boy?"
…
As for Qin, she came to Nuanyu Pavilion with a lot of anger. As soon as she entered the door, she ordered all the servants to leave and went to Qin Wanru's bedroom alone.
Qin Wanru was sitting on the bed clutching a handkerchief and crying silently. When she saw her aunt coming over, she raised her tear-stained face, timidly called "Aunt", and opened her mouth to burst into tears.
"Shut up!" Qin shouted angrily, slammed the door shut, walked to the bed in two steps, her eyes spitting fire, grabbed Qin Wanru's collar, and slapped her in the face.
Five red fingerprints suddenly appeared on Qin Wanru's fair face, and she forced herself to hold back her tears.
"Aunt, I was wrong..." She lifted the quilt, got off the bed barefoot, knelt down at Qin's feet, and reached out to hug Qin's legs.
“Don’t touch me!” Qin kicked her away. “Qin Wanru, I was so blind that I was fooled by you, an ungrateful person. If I had known you were such a person, I would rather let Ping’er marry Chen Rong than marry you!”
Qin Wanru fell to the ground, looking at the angry woman in front of her, unable to believe that she was the aunt who loved her so much.
"Aunt, I was wrong, I was really wrong, please forgive me this time!" She said in a sad voice, "Didn't Aunt want me to get married with a baby before? I did this so that I could marry my cousin as soon as possible and fulfill Aunt's wish..."
"You still have the nerve to say it's for me!" Qin's voice changed with anger, "I did say that getting married with a baby is a solution when it comes to desperate situations, but when did I let you fake a pregnancy? Even if you want to fake a pregnancy, you have to let me know so that I can cover for you, right
You hid everything from me. I was worried all day that you would not look good when you got married because you were pregnant. I would rather endure the humiliation of Sheng Qingluan than marry you in. But you made such a big mess when I was out for only one day. Tell me how I should clean up the mess for you, how I should explain to the Marquis, how I should explain to the East and West Palaces and the old lady, you tell me!"
Qin Wanru had nothing to say and could only repeat "I was wrong, I was wrong" over and over again.
"Not only are you wrong, you are extremely wrong." Qin said angrily, "The old lady didn't like you in the first place, and the Marquis didn't agree with this marriage. Now that you have made such a ridiculous mistake, I have nothing to say if they let Ping'er divorce you. Do you understand?"
Qin Wanru was so frightened that her face turned pale.
"Aunt, please don't let my cousin divorce me. If I am divorced, how can I still live in this world with dignity?"
"You know how to save face now, what did you do before?" Qin looked at her pitiful appearance, angry and distressed, and lamented, "I thought that my life would be perfect after marrying you, but who would have thought that since you came, there has been no easy day. God, what sin have I committed?"
Qin Wanru was suddenly startled, and a thought flashed through her mind: "Aunt, don't you understand? This whole thing was a trap set by that girl!"
Qin was also stunned. After a while, she gritted her teeth and said, "If a tiger doesn't show its might, she will really think I'm a sick cat. Just because she caused a big disturbance in the Duke's Mansion today and failed to protect her master and let the fourth girl fall into the water, I must beat her to death. I don't see who dares to stop me!"
(End of this chapter)