The news that the Second Young Master went to the Fourth Young Lady's courtyard soon spread throughout the mansion. When Qin received the news, she was very puzzled. The Second Young Master had no communication with the Fourth Young Lady, so why would he suddenly have the urge to visit the Fourth Young Lady to check on her illness
Qin was not worried that there would be a conspiracy between a son and a daughter of a concubine. It was just that the Fourth Girl's family was not doing well, and she did not take good care of her. She was afraid that the Second Girl, who was too talkative, would go to the old lady and gossip about her like she did to Wanru last time.
The old lady didn't seem to care much about the fourth girl, but how can we say this? It was her business if she didn't care. As long as someone brought up this issue, she would think that as a stepmother, she had treated the fourth girl and her granddaughter unfairly, and she would inevitably get angry again.
The old thing keeps saying that she is old and doesn't want to get involved in anything, and just wants to live out her days in peace. But whenever there is something going on in the mansion, she always gets involved. Not to mention the distant past, just during this period of time, hasn't she intervened enough
How could she not be exhausted to death!
Thinking of this, in order to prevent Zhao Jingyu from complaining to the old lady, she instructed Yun Yan to find the manager and ask him to send someone to tidy up the fourth young lady's yard and add the necessary things. If the monthly allowance had been deducted in the past, don't wait for someone to check, but make up the difference voluntarily to avoid trouble.
Yun Yan took the order and went. After a while, he came back to report that everything had been arranged and asked his wife not to worry.
Qin said, "You've worked hard. Go down and have a good rest. Just let Yunying guard here."
Yunying was a maid who previously served Qin Wanru. After Qin Wanru returned to the Prime Minister's Mansion, Yunying could not be taken away, so she returned to Qin's side.
Yun Yan thanked her and was about to leave when she remembered the rumors she had heard outside. She said to Qin, "Madam, I just went out and heard many people saying that it was that maid Xiu'er who took the second young master to the fourth young lady."
"Xiu'er?" Qin Shi now had a headache when she heard this name. "Why is it her again? She's everywhere. Is she a ghost? Why did she take the Second Young Master to the Fourth Young Lady? When did she become involved with the Fourth Young Lady?"
Yunyan said, "I don't know about this, but I heard that the fourth young lady was sick and wanted to drink some refreshing soup, so her maid went to the kitchen to ask someone to make it. No one else was willing to do it, but Xiu'er not only volunteered to do it, but also personally went to deliver it to the fourth young lady, and then somehow she seduced the second young master as well."
Yunying took over the conversation and said, "Could it be that she is dissatisfied with the job in the kitchen and wants to curry favor with the Fourth Young Miss and become a maid in her courtyard?"
Yun Yan didn't think so: "The Fourth Miss's place is just a cheap government office. If she really wanted to leave the kitchen, why didn't she go to the young master's courtyard?"
"Or maybe she doesn't like our house and wants to wait until later to marry the fourth young lady?" Yunying guessed.
Qin sneered, "She doesn't like our mansion. I think she likes it very much. She wants to take care of everything in the mansion. Today she is making plans for the young master, and tomorrow she is paving the way for the fourth young lady. She is busier than me, the mistress of the house!"
Qin really regretted it to death. She should not have taken the lead in asking Xiu'er to make midnight snacks for the Marquis. Now, the Marquis has become addicted to it and asks Xiu'er to cook for guests from time to time. He is so eager to show off that he wishes the whole city knew that he has a pretty cook who is good-looking and skillful. As a result, she couldn't get rid of Xiu'er even if she wanted to, and she was left with a big worry for nothing.
But she couldn't be said to be a serious threat. Xiu'er had never done anything to cause any substantial harm to her. She even blocked Xie Nanfeng's sword for Ping'er.
She felt that Xiu'er didn't seem to want to go against her, at least not at the moment. However, the strange thing was that everything Xiu'er did just happened to disgust her, disgusting her in every way, making her feel like she had swallowed a fly, not painful or itchy, but disgusting to death.
She didn't know what to do with this girl.
Xie Nanjia returned to the kitchen and told Aunt Cai that the second young master had instructed her to be responsible for preparing three meals a day for the fourth young lady from today until she recovered from her illness.
Aunt Cai said that since it was the second young master's order, then you should do as he said. If you can't finish the work, I will ask others to help you.
When the people in the kitchen heard that Xiu'er was able to hook up with the Second Young Master just by delivering soup to the Fourth Young Lady, they thought they had finally found out why Xiu'er was actively courting the Fourth Young Lady. Her real intention was not to hook up with the Second Young Master, but to get more opportunities to get close to the Second Young Master.
No wonder she looked down on the young master of the Xie family, was indifferent to the prince, and was even unwilling to take the job of serving the young master. It turned out that her target was the second young master.
I really don't know whether to say that the Second Young Master is charming or that she is ambitious. She doesn't even think about the fact that the Second Young Master is known as the number one young master in the capital, and so many rich ladies are eyeing him, so how could it be her turn? She is a lowly maid, not even worthy of washing the Second Young Master's feet.
Unfortunately, whether they were a good match or not was not up to them. In the following days, Xie Nanjia went to the Fourth Young Lady's courtyard for three meals a day, and the Second Young Master also went there for all three meals a day. Everyone could hardly tell whether he was there to see his sister, to eat for free, or if he was really bewitched by Xiu'er.
In any case, the person who benefited the most from this incident was the Fourth Miss. Ever since the Second Young Master came, her yard had changed from the inside out. Many new things were added to the house, the grass in the yard was removed, the ground was repaved, many flowers and plants were brought in, there were also a few birds, and even the servants' clothes were brand new.
This is not important. The most important thing is that the monthly salary that has been owed for half a year has finally been paid.
When Zhao Jingyu went there again, he thought he had come to the wrong place. Looking at the flowers in the yard and the radiant faces of the servants, he admired Qin's initiative from the bottom of his heart.
Xie Nanjia was fine and not too surprised. With her understanding of Qin, she had expected that Qin would do this. This person was always good at saving face.
"She's afraid that I'll gossip to the old lady." Zhao Jingyu said to Xie Nanjia after coming out of the fourth young lady's yard.
"Did you chew it?" Xie Nanjia asked him.
Zhao Jingyu said: "I didn't plan to go originally, but since she reminded me, I will go. Otherwise, I would be sorry for her reminder."
"You are such a person. Others prefer less trouble than more, but you prefer more trouble than less." Xie Nanjia said, "Madam has taken care of everything. What else do you have to chew on?"
"She's really good at chewing!" Zhao Jingyu said with a smile, "She spent so much money on it, shouldn't I praise her?"
Xie Nanjia: “…”
Maybe the old lady didn't originally know that the fourth young lady had suffered injustice. As soon as he went to praise her, the old lady knew everything that had happened. Was this a compliment or just flattery
"Whatever you want." Xie Nanjia said, "The mouth is on you, you can do whatever you want."
"Really? I love it this way..." Zhao Jingyu suddenly moved closer to her face.
Xie Nanjia was startled, took two steps back, turned around and ran.
Hearing her cursing "rogue, shameless, shameless...", Zhao Jingyu laughed while waving his fan and walked briskly to the old lady.
The old lady had just finished lunch and was sitting on the couch chatting with a few maids and servants. Zhao Jingyu came in, and without thinking twice, he leaned back on the couch, rested his head on the old lady's legs, and sighed contentedly.
The old lady pretended to be angry and said, "Where did this monkey come from? He lays his dirty hands and feet on me. Beat him out quickly."
No one in the room took it seriously and they all smiled.
Zhao Jingyu groaned, "Grandma, please help rub my stomach. It's so bloated."
"What delicious food did you eat?" The old lady patted his belly. "You are not a child who doesn't know hunger or fullness. How can you let yourself be full?"
"It was mainly because it was so delicious that I couldn't help it." Zhao Jingyu smacked his lips and casually told the old lady what happened in the fourth young lady's yard.
The old lady didn't say anything after hearing this. She pinched his nose and said, "As a brother, you went to grab food from your sister and ate so much. Isn't it shameful?"
Zhao Jingyu said, "Fourth sister is happy to let me eat. She said she couldn't finish it by herself. With me accompanying her, she felt better and recovered faster."
The old lady smiled knowingly: "Don't look at me. I don't know that you must have taken a fancy to that Xiu'er girl."
Zhao Jingyu chuckled, neither admitting nor denying: "It's mainly because she's a good cook."
"No matter how good her cooking skills are, she is just a cook. Don't mess with her." The old lady said seriously, "I think she is a girl with her own ideas. She doesn't care about matters between men and women."
"Then in your opinion, what is she thinking about?" Zhao Jingyu asked, "She is just a little girl, she doesn't want to climb up the social ladder, and she doesn't have any improper thoughts about her master, so what does she want to do?"
The old lady rolled her eyes at him and said, "Maybe she just doesn't have any ambitions. She just wants to work peacefully and save more money. When she's old enough, she can leave the house, go back to her mother, get married, and live a peaceful life. Isn't that good?"
Yes, it's good. This idea is good for others, but Zhao Jingyu thinks that words like stable, down-to-earth, and calm are not suitable for Xiu'er. Judging from her enthusiasm for carrying a dead body and throwing it into the pool, she is not a person who can settle down.
Every step she takes now is like walking into a thick fog, with no rules and no way out, but Zhao Jingyu believes that sooner or later, her ambitions and intentions will be exposed.
Anyway, he had plenty of time to spend with her, and with his secret guards following her at all times, he didn't worry that she would do anything uncontrollable. Once he was sure that she was going to do something bad for him, he could kill her at any time.
After talking with the old lady for a while, Zhao Jingyu felt sleepy and rolled over to sleep inside.
The old lady asked the maid to get a blanket to cover him, and whispered to the nanny: "Go to the storehouse and pick out some nourishing herbs for the fourth girl. Also, take a handkerchief that I use to block the light when I sleep. When you pass by Qin's yard, go in and give it to her, and tell her that I gave it to her as a reward, so she doesn't need to thank me."
"Yes." The nanny took the order and left.
When Qin saw the nanny beside the old lady, she thought the old lady had sent the nanny to scold her, but unexpectedly she rewarded her with a handkerchief.
After sending the nanny away, Qin was puzzled by the handkerchief. What did the old lady mean by this? If she was really dissatisfied, she should just say so directly. If she was satisfied, she should at least give her something decent. Why was it so indifferent to just give her a handkerchief
Later, a little maid guessed that the old lady was afraid of the light when taking a nap, so she was used to covering her face with a handkerchief. Now that the handkerchief was given to the lady as a reward, was it for her to use it to cover her face
Qin immediately realized that the old lady was mocking her for doing everything for the fourth girl to cover up her shame.
Qin was so angry that her face turned red. She slapped the little girl in the face and ordered people to drag her out and beat her with a stick. After the beating, she was sold out.
Of course, Madam Cao couldn't just sit there and do nothing. If she really beat and sold the maid, it would be a handle for the old lady to use against her. So she winked at Yun Yan, asking her to take everyone out, while she stayed in the room to comfort the lady.
Qin said angrily, "You won't let me do this, and you won't let me do that. Just wait, I will die in the hands of this old woman sooner or later."
Madam Cao said, "Madam, please don't say discouraging words. You still have a lot of life ahead of you. Didn't you say last time that you would outlast her even if you had to?"
Qin said, "I can outlast her, but is it easy to outlast her? I am really confused. In the past few years, we have never felt so aggrieved as we are this year. Madam, can you help me analyze this? When did this bad time start?"
Nanny Cao thought about it carefully and found that what Qin said made sense. They had never been so passive before. Even when the death of the Crown Prince's wife angered the General's Mansion, the Madam handled it well. She even seized the opportunity to replace a large number of people who were unfaithful to her and placed her spies around each concubine.
She thought of a possibility and said in horror: "Ah, Madam, could it be the grudge of the Crown Prince's wife..."
"Shut up!" Qin's hair stood on end instantly, and she stopped her sternly, "What is she complaining about? Haven't I done enough for her?"
Nanny Cao shut her mouth and didn't respond.
Qin said to herself, "Could it be that she blames me for shielding the murderer..."
"Madam, please be careful with your words!" This time it was Madam Cao's turn to tell her to shut up.
Qin stopped talking with lingering fear, but couldn't help but think wildly in her mind.
Madam Cao carefully sorted out the thread of Madam selling out the servants twice, and suddenly her eyes lit up: "Madam, I remember now, the passive situation started when Fourth Aunt returned home."
"Fourth Aunt?" Qin was stunned. "Could it be that she is behind this?"
"I think it's possible." Madam Cao said, "Madam, think about it. Since the fourth concubine came back, the Marquis went to Qingfeng Courtyard to see her that night. The next day, she paid her respects to you on purpose to anger you. Later, she went to pay her respects to the old lady, and Xiu'er angered you and cousin. On the surface, Xiu'er was punished, but you and cousin were also scolded by the old lady. Later, although Xiu'er went to the kitchen, the fourth concubine was present at the two incidents in Shiwei Garden. Who can guarantee that she didn't transfer Xiu'er to the kitchen to cover up the truth and cooperate with others? Now Xiu'er has been assigned by you to serve midnight snacks to the Marquis. Think about it, since then, the Marquis has never come to our courtyard again. How do you know that it wasn't Xiu'er who played a role?"
Aunt Cao's analysis was very logical. The more Qin listened, the more she felt it made sense. She slammed the table and cursed, "Lin Manluo, you bitch, I will make you die a miserable death!"
(End of this chapter)