After returning home, Xie Nanjia went to find Lvliu first and said that Qin wanted to see her.
Lvliu was trimming flowers in the yard with two maids. When she heard that Qin wanted to see her, she told the maids to leave and asked in confusion, "Why would she want to see me?"
Xie Nanjia said, "She went to visit Minister An's wife. Because I had saved the minister's wife's life by chance, she asked me to accompany her. Unexpectedly, she turned to Minister Wang's residence on the way. She said that the old lady had taken a fancy to the second daughter of the Pingnan Marquis's residence and asked Madam Wang to go to the Pingnan Marquis's residence to propose marriage."
"The old lady has taken a fancy to Chen Rong?" Lvliu suddenly became nervous. "No, no, Chen Rong is a vicious person. The prince can marry anyone else but her. If she enters the house, the young master will be in danger."
"That's why I asked you to persuade Madam!" Xie Nanjia said.
Lvliu was wary of Qin and never appeared in front of her unless it was absolutely necessary. But now that it was a matter of the young master's safety, she could not care less. She put down the flower scissors in her hand and hurried over with Xie Nanjia.
Halfway through the journey, Lvliu suddenly realized something was wrong and asked Xie Nanjia, "I am just a concubine who is not presentable now, why did you want me to persuade the lady?"
Xie Nanjia had thought of her excuse before she came, and she explained calmly, "You are the personal maid of the Crown Prince's wife. You must have often followed the Crown Prince's wife out before. You should know the temperament and privacy of the young ladies of various mansions better than those ladies. Our lady attaches great importance to the Crown Prince's marriage and will never allow the woman to have any flaws in her character." At this point, she paused for a moment and looked at Lvliu meaningfully, "Do you understand what I mean?"
Lvliu was stunned: "I finally understand why the General's Mansion sent you to protect the young master. You can think of such a roundabout way in such a short time, and you can also convince the lady to ask for my opinion. You are really a talent."
Xie Nanjia smiled in response to her words and did not correct her.
Anyway, Lvliu has already determined that she was sent by the General's Mansion. This misunderstanding is more conducive to their cooperation and can also eliminate Lvliu's concerns and suspicions about her, which is good.
As they were talking, they arrived at Qin's yard. The little maid at the door had already received instructions and led them directly to see Qin. Qin waved away all the servants and left only Lvliu in the room to answer questions.
Xie Nanjia stepped outside and stood side by side with Yunyan and Yunying in the corridor, waiting.
Seeing that she had suddenly won the Madam's favor, Yunyan and Yunying were afraid that their positions would be taken away by her, so they were not very friendly to her.
Xie Nanjia didn't care. She didn't need to care about the faces of these insignificant people, nor did she take them seriously.
After about half an incense stick of time, Lvliu came out of the room and called Xie Nanjia to leave with her.
Seeing that she looked relatively normal, Xie Nanjia knew that the matter was settled.
Green Willow said, "It's a nice sunny day today. Since we're out, why don't you accompany me to stroll around the garden?"
Xie Nanjia agreed to her request, and the two went to the lotus pond where they met last time.
After sitting down in the pavilion, Lvliu said, "This place is relatively quiet. If we need to meet in the future, we can meet here."
Xie Nanjia didn't care where they met, she just wanted to know what she and Qin had talked about and whether what they said could have any effect.
Lvliu told her roughly what Chen Rong had done, and then comforted her: "Don't worry, I have said everything I should say. As long as Qin is not stupid, she will never let Chen Rong in."
Except for being foolish about her niece, Qin was very shrewd in other matters, especially when it came to her own son's happiness, she put in a lot of effort. Therefore, after Lvliu left, she couldn't wait to go to the old lady's courtyard.
Qin didn't completely believe Luliu's statement that she had heard with her own ears that Miss Chen Er and her men were planning to kill the concubines and offspring of the Marquis of Pingnan, but this did not stop her from telling the old lady about it.
The old lady has always preferred to believe something is true rather than not, and she will consider it carefully even if it is just a rumor.
Sure enough, after hearing her words, the old lady fiddled with her rosary and fell into deep thought. After a long while, she said with regret, "What a pity."
Qin was overjoyed, but she kept her composure and asked cautiously, "Mother, do you mean that Miss Chen Er is not suitable for Ping'er?"
The old lady rolled her eyes at her in dissatisfaction: "You are asking even though you already know the answer. If you thought it was appropriate, why would you come and tell me that Miss Chen is indeed a good manager, but she is too narrow-minded. If you really marry her, wouldn't it be like inviting a wolf to the young master?"
Qin's face was slightly embarrassed, and she said awkwardly, "Mother is right. It's all my fault for not finding out clearly beforehand. Now Madam Wang has gone to the Pingnan Marquis's mansion. What if they agree to it? What should we do?"
The old lady couldn't blame her. After all, such secret matters were not easy to find out. If Lvliu hadn't happened to hear it, they probably wouldn't have known about it until the new bride came into the house.
"Come to think of it, why did you suddenly think of asking Lvliu?" she asked Qin.
Qin said honestly, "I hadn't thought of it at first. It was Xiu'er who reminded me."
"Oh?" The old lady was even more puzzled. "How did she remind you?"
Qin replied, "She accidentally heard Lvliu talking about this with the maid in the garden a few days ago. It happened that she went with me to the Minister's Mansion today. She learned that we were planning to marry into the Pingnan Marquis' Mansion. She didn't dare to tell me at first. Later, I rewarded her with a silver ingot. She was grateful and hesitated for a long time before telling me. She has always cared about the young master, and you know that, mother. That's why I believed her and called Lvliu to ask."
The old lady frowned upon hearing this, and after thinking for a moment, she nodded: "Well, that girl is indeed loyal and smart. Madam Wang is impatient and loves matchmaking. I'm sure she will come to announce the good news soon. I don't have a good solution for the time being. It's better to wait. After all, I'm not going to marry her tomorrow, so I can always think of a way."
This was exactly what Qin wanted, so she said nothing more and changed the subject, talking about her visit to the Shangshu Mansion.
"The youngest daughter of Minister An is two months younger than our young master. She is very cute. I just casually suggested to arrange a marriage for the two children, but the Minister's wife took it to heart and said that she would bring her child to visit us the day after tomorrow!"
This surprised the old lady. In her opinion, Qin was smart, but her mind was full of her own calculations. How come she suddenly came to her senses today and started to plan for the future of her grandson who was only a few months old
Talking of the fate with the Shangshu Mansion, it was really a coincidence. Shangshu An took office neither early nor late, but happened to come to Beijing to take up the post when the Fourth Aunt returned home. The Shangshu's wife gave birth neither early nor late, but happened to have a seizure on the way when the bridge collapsed and the road was broken, and happened to be rescued by Xiu'er. How many lifetimes of fate does it take for these two unrelated people to get together
With this life-saving grace, the two families had a reasonable excuse for the marriage, so that they would not be accused of forming a clique between the Marquis and the Minister for personal gain, and they would also avoid the suspicion of the Emperor.
"You are thoughtful." The old lady praised Qin for once. "This marriage is not only good for you, but also for me. Since the Shangshu's wife is also interested, you should entertain her well when she comes the day after tomorrow. When the time comes, ask her to bring the child to my place. I will take a look at the child and help you with everything."
Qin almost cried for joy. She had been married into the Marquis's Mansion for many years, and the old lady had always been lukewarm towards her. Whenever something went wrong, she would humiliate her in front of everyone and say harsh words that were so hurtful. It was the first time that she had ever praised her so kindly and offered to help her.
She stood up, bowed to the old lady with tears in her eyes, and choked up and said, "Thank you, mother!"
The old lady didn't expect her to react so strongly, and said with a smile: "We are a family, so there is no need to be polite. I was a little strict with you in the past, but everything I said and did was for the sake of this family. You should just think that I am old and confused, and be more tolerant of me in everything, and don't bother with me."
Qin was even more flattered. She wiped her eyes with a handkerchief and said several times, "I dare not." Then she said, "I understand your painstaking efforts, mother. I am stupid and always make you angry. Please bear with me."
It was rare for the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law to be so harmonious, which made their respective maids stunned. When they came out of the old lady's courtyard, Aunt Cao couldn't believe her eyes and said to Qin: "Why did the old lady become a different person today?"
Qin said, "She is usually annoying, but she really cares about the mansion. As long as it is beneficial to the mansion, she will not be unhappy. In other words, as long as I follow her wishes in everything, everything will be fine."
Madam Cao said with relief: "Madam is right. In this case, we should try to please the old lady and discuss things with her. As the saying goes, a harmonious family brings prosperity. If the relationship between you two is good, it will save the Marquis from being caught in the middle, right?"
Qin used to dislike listening to her nagging about these things, but today she completed both tasks smoothly and didn't feel annoyed listening to her anymore.
Since Xie Nanjia had contributed to both of these events, she couldn't help but sigh, "This Xiu'er is really a lucky girl. I used to have a prejudice against her, but after this trip today, I think she is even more insightful than Yunyan and Yunying. What do you think, should I transfer her to our hospital?"
Madam Cao was stunned and quickly advised, "Madam, you should be more cautious about this matter. Yunyan and Yunying have been with you for many years. If you suddenly transfer Xiu'er here, they will inevitably think too much. Besides, all the servants in this mansion are under your charge. It's just a matter of asking Xiu'er whenever you need her. Why bother to let Yunyan and Yunying feel cold because of her?"
Qin thought about it and felt that what Madam Cao said made sense, so she didn't mention the matter again.
While they were talking about Xie Nanjia, the old lady was also thinking about Xie Nanjia.
The old lady pondered for a long time and asked the maid beside her: "You said that Xiu'er, she didn't ask for a title or reward, she only cared about the little master, and she was more thoughtful than Qin's grandmother. What is she trying to do?"
How could the nanny guess it? After thinking for a long time, she hesitated and said, "Maybe she had a younger brother who died young, or she lost her mother when she was young. She saw that the young master was pitiful and felt the same way. Don't you think she is very good to the fourth young lady?"
"That's true." The old lady nodded. "Maybe she has a hard life herself, so she sympathizes with those who have a hard life."
In the evening, Xie Nanjia came with the fourth young lady to serve dinner. The old lady chatted with her for a while longer, asking about her hometown and life experience.
Xie Nanjia felt strange and didn't understand why the old lady suddenly cared so much about her.
Could it be that the advice she gave to Qin today aroused the old lady's suspicion
Just as I was thinking about how to respond, a little girl outside the door said crisply, "Second Young Master, why are you here?"
Then a fiery red shadow entered the hall, carrying the scent of ambergris.
"Grandma!" Zhao Jingyu strode to the dining table, casually bowed to the old lady, and waved his hand to exempt Zhao Lanzhi and the servants from the greetings. He asked with a smile, "Grandma, what do you want to eat?"
When the old lady saw him, she smiled brightly, but she scolded him, "You little monkey, you have no manners at all. Why are you running around instead of having dinner in your yard?"
Zhao Jingyu said: "I'm here to look for my fourth sister."
Zhao Lanzhi was stunned and asked softly, "What does Second Brother want from me?"
"I want to borrow someone from you." Zhao Jingyu said.
"Borrow someone? Borrow someone?" Zhao Lanzhi asked puzzledly.
Zhao Jingyu glanced behind her with a smile in her peach blossom eyes.
Xie Nanjia was standing behind Zhao Lanzhi. When she received the gaze from Zhao Jingyu, her heart skipped a beat. She had a bad feeling and subconsciously moved to the side.
Then I heard Zhao Jingyu say, "I plan to borrow Xiu'er for a few days. I wonder if it's convenient for you, Fourth Sister?"
(End of this chapter)