It was cozy in Ci'an Residence. After breakfast, the old lady sat in her room to warm up and chat with the servants. A little maid came in through the curtain and told her that the lady and the fourth concubine and the fourth young lady had come together.
The old lady thought for a moment and realized that they came to discuss adoption, so she told the little maid to invite them in.
After a while, three people entered the house, led by Qin, and greeted the old lady.
The old lady pretended not to know, exempted them from the formalities, asked Aunt Hua to look after the table, and asked cheerfully, "You came to pay your respects yesterday, why are you here again today?"
Qin sat down, took the tea handed to her by the maid and held it in her hand. With a happy face, she told the old lady that the fourth concubine wanted to adopt the fourth young lady, and asked her if she thought it was a good idea.
The old lady naturally agreed: "Si Niang has no children, and Si Xiaonv is also alone. It would be great for the two of them to be company. You are busy taking care of the chores in the mansion all day long. With Si Niang taking care of her, you can worry less about Si Xiaonv, so as to avoid being distracted and having people say that you are not doing your best as a stepmother."
This was a very tactful statement. If you think about it carefully, isn't it just asking her not to mind the Fourth Girl's affairs? Qin thought about it and felt a little uncomfortable. She didn't know what had happened to this old lady. She was so obsessed with loving her concubine's daughter and supporting her aunt that she and her daughter, the legitimate grandchildren of the main wife, were worthless.
When she can pay some attention to Lan Ya Lan Shu, it will be worth it that Lan Ya Lan Shu has called her grandmother for more than ten years.
Thinking of Lan Ya, she couldn't help but recall the argument between mother and daughter just now. If Madam Cao hadn't come in in time, she would have almost strangled Lan Ya to death.
That girl, who looked as beautiful as a flower, had a cruel and ruthless personality, which she inherited from someone. She even threatened that if she didn't help him marry her into the princess's mansion, she would tell the marquis what she had done.
What a vicious heart she has. For a man, she even dares to threaten her own mother.
Matron Cao even excused her, saying that it was unavoidable for a young girl to behave like this when she first fell in love. Although the eldest lady's behavior was a bit extreme, it was just a casual conversation and she was by no means disobedient or unfilial, nor was she cruel.
She actually hoped it was so. If not, it would mean that she had raised an ungrateful person with all the hard work she had put in all these years.
But even if it was a wolf cub, she had carried it for ten months and gave birth to it, so she couldn't help it.
"Since mother said it's good, then it's really good." She took a sip of tea, put down the teacup, and said with a smile, "I originally wanted to invite the two mansions to have a meal together to celebrate, but the Marquis said that everyone is busy before the New Year, so it's better to register first and then celebrate together after the New Year. What do you think, old lady?"
As smart as she was, she didn't want the old lady to see that she was too lazy to take care of things, so she pushed the matter onto the Marquis. Anyway, the old lady would not go out of her way to verify this with the Marquis.
"Since the Marquis has spoken, then let's obey him!" said the old lady, "It's freezing cold right now, and I don't want to move my old bones."
"Mother, please take care of yourself." Qin said earnestly, "You are the pillar of our family. If you are well, it is a blessing for us young people."
The old lady couldn't help laughing, and called to Aunt Hua and the others, "Look at how filial my daughter-in-law is."
"That's right. To have such a filial daughter-in-law is a blessing for the old lady." Aunt Hua agreed, "Madam is both filial and capable. She is the pillar of our family!"
Everyone can say nice things, and no one takes them to heart anyway.
With Qin around, the Fourth Aunt and the Fourth Miss had no chance to speak, they just smiled along.
The old lady laughed for a while, and said to the fourth young lady, "Now that you have a mother, you must be gentle and humble, observe etiquette, respect your elders, love your siblings, be a well-educated and polite child, and don't bring shame to your mother. You were the only one punished for making a mistake before, but if you make a mistake again in the future, both of you will bear the responsibility. So no matter what you do, you must be cautious and careful, and think twice before you act."
The fourth young lady quickly stood up and knelt, saying respectfully: "Thank you grandmother for your teachings, and thank you mother for your help!"
Si Niang also knelt down: "Thank you, old lady and Madam, for your help!"
The old lady smiled and asked the two to stand up, and gave them a pair of pure gold bracelets as a gift.
Qin had expected that the old lady would give gifts, so she took out a pair of golden hairpins that she had prepared long ago from her sleeve pocket and gave them to the two of them.
Aunt Hua smiled and said, "It shows that they are close mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. They are in sync when giving gifts."
Qin also smiled: "I know that mother has always been the most honest person. Whenever she spends money, it's either gold or silver. That's why I specially chose this pair of golden hairpins to match with mother."
The old lady nodded with a smile: "Not bad, not bad, madam is thoughtful."
The fourth aunt and the fourth young lady knelt again to thank the old lady and the lady for their gifts.
The matter had been finalized, and the three of them sat for a while. Seeing that the old lady looked a little sleepy, they stood up and said goodbye.
After leaving Ci'an Residence, Qin said that she had a lot of things to do, and hurried away with Yunyan.
After seeing her off, the Fourth Aunt asked the Fourth Miss if she wanted to go to Qingfeng Courtyard to sit for a while. The Fourth Miss thought that since she didn't have to go to school today, she just went with her. In order to reassure the rest of the people in the courtyard, she made the excuse that she felt a little cold and sent Su He back to get a thick cloak and bring it to Qingfeng Courtyard.
Su He received the order and returned to Yilan Courtyard with a smile on her face.
When Xie Nanjia, Zhen'er and Nanny Li saw her like that, they knew that the matter had been successfully accomplished, and they finally put their minds at ease.
"That's great, the fourth young lady finally has a mother who loves her." Zhen'er hugged Suhe happily, but Nanny Li wiped her tears and thanked Nanjia, saying that all this was her credit.
Xie Nanjia was not too surprised by this expected event. She went back to her room, found a cloak and handed it to Su He, instructing her, "Go and tell the Fourth Aunt to take the Fourth Miss to burn incense the day after tomorrow, saying that it is to comfort the spirit of the Fourth Miss's biological mother in heaven."
"The day after tomorrow, the day after tomorrow is the eighteenth, which is not a good day, right?" Su He didn't react for a moment.
Xie Nanjia said: "As long as your heart is sincere, any time is a good day."
Nanny Li was the first to understand, and urged Su He, "How can the 18th not be a good day? I think it is a very good day, go and tell her quickly."
Su He rolled her eyes and walked away holding her cloak.
After she left, Xie Nanjia also changed her clothes and went to the west wing.
She could now come and go freely in the west wing, as if she were in an empty place. The guards didn't even need to call her in, and she could go in on her own, just like the maids in Qingfeng Courtyard.
When they arrived at Zhao Jingyu's living room, Xie Nanjia was about to lift the curtain, but she heard someone talking to Zhao Jingyu inside, so she withdrew her hand for some reason and did not go in immediately.
"Song Jingxing is not someone you can easily get along with. He has already become suspicious of you, so you must be on guard."
"What is there to be on guard against? He might just find out I have secret guards. There are many wealthy families that have secret guards."
"But he is not like you. He uses only the elite soldiers who have retired from the army, and there are a lot of them. If he really wants to cause trouble for you, he can just say that you have private soldiers."
"So what? I'm not afraid of him. Don't forget that we have a fatal handle on him..."
Private soldiers, fatal handle... Xie Nanjia was startled when she heard this, and was about to step away, when Yiyun came from behind with a wine jar and called her, "Xiu'er, you're here?"
The voice inside stopped abruptly, the curtain was lifted, and Zhao Jingyu poked half of his face out from inside. His eyes were as deep as a cold pond. He stared at Xie Nanjia for a few seconds and asked, "When did you come?"
"Just arrived." Xie Nanjia replied briefly.
At this time, the more you explain, the more likely he will become suspicious.
Zhao Jingyu didn’t know whether he believed it or not. He just said lightly, “Come in,” and turned back inside.
The curtain fell again, blocking Xie Nanjia's view.
The master is indeed the master, Xie Nanjia thought, and lifted the curtain himself, letting Yiyun go in first, and then followed him in.
When I went in, I saw that the person who had just spoken was Cheng Zhiye. No wonder he sounded so familiar.
Cheng Zhiye, who loves wearing flowers, did not wear a real flower today, but a water-red velvet flower with leaves dyed with bird feathers. It was inserted diagonally on the side of his hair, and was fluttering in the air currents rising from the charcoal fire, looking very lively.
He is probably the most charming young man in Beijing, Xie Nanjia thought as she stared at the flower.
Cheng Zhiye felt her gaze, and he lifted his hair frivolously, and said with a smile: "Miss Xiu'er, are you attracted to my flowers or to me?"
Xie Nanjia: “…”
If there was no one else in the room, she would almost think that the person who was discussing the issue with Zhao Jingyu very seriously just now was not him.
It seems that everyone has a side that is unknown to others. These two guys, who are ranked as the top dandies in Beijing, are both difficult to deal with.
"I have never seen such vivid velvet flowers. They look just like the real ones." She said with a smile.
"If you like it, I'll give it to you!" Cheng Zhiye generously took the flower off and handed it to her, "Here, this is a new pattern in the palace, and it's the first one outside."
Xie Nanjia did not accept it immediately and glanced at Zhao Jingyu.
Zhao Jingyu said with a straight face: "Why are you looking at me? It's just a flower. If you want it, just take it."
Xie Nanjia took the flowers and thanked Cheng Zhiye.
"What are you doing here?" Zhao Jingyu asked.
Xie Nanjia paused and looked at Evian who was brewing wine.
Yiyun asked: "Can you cook wine?"
Xie Nanjia nodded.
Yiyun handed the work in his hands to her and went out.
Zhao Jingyu felt something was strange. Why did it seem as if Xiu'er was Yiyun's master
"Just now, the old lady and the lady decided to adopt the fourth young lady under the name of the fourth concubine." Xie Nanjia sat down in front of the stove and said casually.
"So what?" Zhao Jingyu raised his eyebrows slightly, but he was not surprised by the news. As soon as Qin and the others left the old lady's courtyard, someone had reported it to him. He was just wondering why Xie Nanjia came to tell him on purpose.
"So, Fourth Aunt plans to take Fourth Miss to burn incense the day after tomorrow to thank the Bodhisattva for his grace, and at the same time comfort the spirit of Fourth Miss's biological mother in heaven." Xie Nanjia said as she looked at the white mist rising from the pot.
"Then what?" Zhao Jingyu slowly sat up straight.
"I heard that Princess Anping has been feeling upset and depressed recently because of Young Master Zhou's matter. As a good friend of Young Master Zhou, why don't you persuade him to take the princess out for a walk to relax?" Xie Nanjia said slowly, picking up the green plums from the jade plate with her slender hands and putting them into the pot.
The aroma of wine spread, and Zhao Jingyu's eyes lit up.
…
Later, Hualou received Hu Qianshan's treatment for the last time in a secret room in the west wing.
After several days of treatment, the toxins in her body had been completely eliminated, and even without Qin's antidote, it would not be a big deal.
But in order not to arouse Qin's suspicion, Xie Nanjia asked her to continue pretending to be sick, and except for going to the front yard to deliver midnight snacks every day, she had to "stay in bed" all the time.
Hu Qianshan completed his mission and planned to leave the capital tonight. He said that he had urgent business to attend to in southern Xinjiang, and asked Xie Nanjia to make him another delicious meal before leaving.
Xie Nanjia naturally couldn't refuse, so she decided to cook a few of her signature dishes for him.
When Xie Nanjia went to the kitchen to ask Aunt Cai for ingredients, he accidentally saw Yunyan talking to the chef, Madam Wu, but as they were far away, he couldn't hear what they were saying.
In order to avoid being caught by Yun Yan, Xie Nanjia did not go forward and waited for a while. Later, Yun Yan handed something to Madam Wu and left in a hurry.
After Yunyan left, Madam Wu looked around, put the things in her arms and went to the kitchen.
Xie Nanjia clearly felt that the two of them were hiding something. If Yunyan was someone else's maid, she would not have meddled in her affairs. But Yunyan happened to be Qin's maid, so she had to be more careful. After meeting Aunt Cai, she intentionally or unintentionally mentioned that she saw Yunyan talking to Madam Wu, wanting to see Aunt Cai's reaction.
Unexpectedly, Aunt Cai said nonchalantly: "They are from the same hometown and talk to each other every now and then."
Xie Nanjia was very surprised to learn that they had this kind of relationship, but at the same time she felt amused at her own paranoia, so she put the matter aside and took the ingredients back to prepare a farewell meal for Hu Qianshan.
In the evening, after seeing Hu Qianshan off, Xie Nanjia returned to Yilan Courtyard, where the Fourth Miss was already asleep.
Nanny Li was waiting for her at the door and said that the kitchen had prepared a dish of sour bamboo shoots and chicken tonight. The Fourth Miss said it tasted good, so she asked everyone to try two pieces and left half a portion for her, asking her to come back and try it too.
Xie Nanjia had already eaten her fill in the west wing and couldn't eat any more for the time being, so she said she would put it aside and heat it up tomorrow.
When she got up the next day, Nanny Li said with great regret that half of the plate of chicken had been eaten by a mouse at night. Such a big mouse was actually eaten to death by the food.
(End of this chapter)