After Lu and others had gone far away, they heard someone kneeling on the ground behind the rockery. She covered her face tightly, but tears still seeped out from between her fingers.
After a long time, she slowly took her hand down, took out the handkerchief and wiped away the tears, then straightened her clothes, and then slowly walked towards her courtyard.
But that figure from the back showed a bit of perseverance and determination.
After the people in the mansion left, the Tingfeng Courtyard suddenly fell silent. Mrs. Qiao took the tea brought by Xie Ruzhuo and asked in a low voice, "Can you tell me what happened yesterday?" What happened today really touched Mrs. Qiao. She didn't expect this. The legitimate daughter was so protective of herself.
Hearing this, Xie Ruzhuo smiled slightly and said, "I originally wanted to tell my mother, but people were too talkative just now, so I couldn't say it." She recounted what happened yesterday, and then said, "If the imperial concubine hadn't been in a hurry to summon , I wanted to tell my mother everything at that time."
Qiao's back was already wet just after listening to her tell the story. She held Xie Ruzhuo's hand tightly for a while and said solemnly, "You are lucky to be able to escape what happened yesterday, but you have to remember, This matter is over, you have to forget it completely! You are never allowed to think about it again, let alone check out the woman from yesterday, do you understand?"
She just thought it was Dongmei who made Xie Ruzhuo angry, but she didn't expect that Dongmei would come up with such a vicious idea. And this Dongmei is obviously here for Xie Ruzhuo!
No matter who is behind it, someone who knows such a secret and can control the palace people must have a high status. Although the Xie family was powerful, they might not be able to keep a daughter under the pressure of the royal family.
Seeing Mrs. Qiao being so nervous, Xie Ruzhuo just smiled faintly, held Mrs. Qiao's hand in a comforting manner, and said, "Don't worry, mother, I'm old enough and not a reckless person. This matter can only end here. But. , I still have the power to deal with my servants!"
Mrs. Qiao thought about it carefully and said, "Yes, although we can't investigate what happened yesterday, I must give you justice for what happened today."
As she said that, she turned cold again and said, "This Li Ding's ability to get your personal belongings must be related to the people in your yard. That Dongmei is just a third-class maid and can't enter your yard. Come to think of it. , it’s time to clean your yard. How about we do this... "
Xie Ruzhuo had already thought of this. He just smiled and listened carefully to Mr. Qiao's arrangements.
After the mother and daughter had discussed for a long time, it was already noon. Xie Ruzhuo accompanied Ms. Qiao to lunch again, and then sent her back to the courtyard.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he walked to the door, he saw Bizhi walking over with an angry look on his face. When he saw the two of them, Bizhi said hello but hesitated to say anything.
When Mrs. Qiao saw that Bizhi was coming from the small warehouse, she knew it must be for housework. She didn't hide it from Xie Ruzhuo and just said, "Let's talk in the room." After saying that, she took Xie Ruzhuo into the room.
Seeing her attitude, Bizhi was surprised at first, and then said, "Back to Madam, you took your slave to check the accounts this morning. I have checked them one by one. It seems to be fine with a clear eye, but look at this." Then, Bizhi took out a list from his sleeve and saw the purchase list listed one by one.
Qiao took it and looked at it for a few times, then handed it to Xie Ruzhuo and said, "Zhuo'er, do you think there's anything wrong with it?"
Xie Ruzhuo reached out and took it, looked at it carefully for a while, and saw the purchase prices of vegetables, meat and silk and satin written on it. After marrying Xiao Junhan in her previous life, she had been in charge of the family for a while, and she immediately discovered a problem.
"Mother, the price of this brocade is thirty taels per piece. Isn't it too high?" You must know that even with his father's official position, his monthly salary is less than one hundred taels. The price of one piece of brocade is indeed Somewhat outrageous.
After Xie Ruzhuo finished speaking, he pointed to several other purchased items one by one, "There are a few other items, the prices are a little wrong, I'm afraid they are weird."
Hearing this, Mrs. Qiao nodded with satisfaction and said, "You are quite smart." What Xie Ruzhuo just said was all the source of corruption by people who purchased things in the house.
After saying that, Mrs. Qiao asked Bizhi again, "Have you ever found out who is greedy?"
Bizhi shook his head in embarrassment and said, "The nuns in charge of purchasing are all pushy and cunning. I have been asking for a long time, but there is no clue at all."
After listening to Bizhi's words, Xie Ruzhuo suddenly remembered something.
In the previous life, the family suffered from a serious money shortage, and the old lady personally went to investigate. It didn't matter that the investigation turned out to be the case against Mrs. Qiao's close confidant, Grandma Wang. That old fellow had embezzled several thousand taels of silver just because he was a member of the eldest lady's room! When the old lady found out, she was furious. She not only punished Grandma Wang, but also took away the power of the Qiao family.
At that time, Xie Ruzhuo only cared about watching the fun, and he was gloating about this incident for a long time.
As soon as Bizhi mentioned corruption, Xie Ruzhuo immediately thought of Grandma Wang. She thought for a while and then said, "Mother, I have an idea here."
Qiao glanced at her unexpectedly and said, "Tell me about it."
"Since they are putting the blame on each other, let's choose one person to be in charge. After all, several people work together to get a share of the money, but no one can get it alone, right? Let them fight in the nest first, and when the time is almost up, we will come back Catching a turtle in a urn!"
As soon as Xie Ruzhuo said this, Ms. Qiao understood. Her eyes lit up and she said with a smile, "You're a little girl, you have a lot of ideas." After saying that, she looked at Bizhi with a smile and said, "Did you hear what Miss Fourth said? Why don’t you hurry up and do it!”
Bizhi happily agreed and walked out hurriedly.
Xie Ruzhuo chatted with Mr. Qiao for a while, and when he saw that she was a little tired, he got up and left.
The news that the eldest lady was going to choose a nanny to be in charge soon spread like wildfire. Since the person to supervise this time was the eldest lady's right-hand assistant, Grandma Wang, the nuns who heard the news were all moved.
Finally, with the recommendations of Bizhi and Grandma Wang, Qiao decided on three candidates. Grandma Zhang, Grandma Liu and Grandma Zhao were all among Qiao's candidates. But Mr. Qiao was worried about which one to choose.
Another afternoon, when Grandma Wang was about to go to bed, she heard the call from her mistress. She quickly got up, packed up, and went to Mrs. Qiao's room.
"Madam, are you looking for me?"
Seeing Grandma Wang coming, Mrs. Qiao nodded and said, "Mommy, you're here, sit down quickly." Mrs. Qiao offered her a seat with a pleasant look, and said to Bizhi, "What are you still doing? Hurry up and sit down." Go make tea for grandma!"
Bizhi responded, poured a cup of tea and handed it to Grandma Wang. She happily thanked her again and again, "Thank you so much, Bizhi, but I can't help it. Madam, you are really flattering me!"
Mrs. Qiao waved her hand and said with a smile, "She is a junior, so she should be. Mom, I asked you to come here today, but actually I have a choice in mind and want to discuss an idea with you."
Upon hearing this, Grandma Wang's eyes immediately lit up and she said, "Which one do you like, madam?"
"Well, I think Aunt Zhang, who is in charge of our kitchen purchasing, is very safe on weekdays, and she was recommended by you. What do you think of her?" Mrs. Qiao thought for a while and then asked.
As soon as she heard about Aunt Zhang, Aunt Wang immediately felt happy. You know, this Aunt Zhang had a very good relationship with her and she often gave her things. Now if he chooses her, he will have a lot of money to make!
However, she couldn't say this herself. Grandma Wang glanced at Bizhi and said, "Didn't Miss Bizhi also recommend one? I think that one is good."
After hearing this, Mrs. Qiao immediately smiled and waved her hands and said, "She is just joining in the fun. That Aunt Liu doesn't do things properly. She is not as steady as Aunt Zhang."
Qiao's words were like a reassurance, which made Grandma Wang feel relieved. She smiled and said, "Yes, Madam, you have a sharp eye."
Hearing this, Ms. Qiao sneered and said, "You are always good at coaxing me, mama. After these two days of busy work, let's announce the chosen one. I'm a little tired, so you can go ahead."
Grandma Wang went out with a lot of gratitude, then looked back at the closed door, and immediately raised a greedy smile. Now that she has the confidence of the eldest lady, if she doesn't make a fortune, how can she be worthy of her grandmother Wang's touch of turning stone into gold!
After staying in Grandma Zhang's room for a whole afternoon, Grandma Wang came out of her room. And there was already a heavy purse in her hand. She packed her purse proudly and then walked slowly towards the kitchen.
Unexpectedly, before he entered the kitchen, he saw a girl running over in a hurry, panting, "Mommy, go and have a look, Jiangzhu and Sister Qingtao are quarreling!"
Grandma Wang was stunned, then her face turned livid, and she said, "I'll go take a look!" Qingtao is her niece. She has no daughter, so she is very fond of this woman from her brother's family, and she always supports her. Used to it. Later, after Qingtao was driven out to work as a handyman by Xie Ruzhuo, she used her power to transfer Qingtao to the kitchen, following her under her nose, and no one dared to make her angry.
Therefore, when the maid said that someone dared to quarrel with Qingtao, she immediately became furious.
Sure enough, as soon as he entered the door, he could hear the noise inside. Grandma Wang walked in with a sullen face and said, "What's going on? What's the fuss about?"
As soon as she saw Aunt Wang, Qing Tao immediately put away her original sharp claws and fangs, and said aggrievedly, "Auntie, look, the bird's nest I worked so hard to make for the eldest lady has been smashed by Jiangzhu!"
There was a broken small stove on the ground, and the bird's nest inside was still steaming. It had obviously been broken not long ago.
Hearing this, Jiang Zhu suddenly said angrily, "You really know how to confuse right and wrong. It was obviously you who put this stove on the edge of the table. Even if others didn't touch it, it would fall down sooner or later! I was unlucky, so when I passed by It fell. If I didn’t say you scared me, how dare you falsely accuse me of breaking it?”
"Haha, there are so many people here watching, how dare you speak harshly?" Qing Taozui is always a provocateur, and she immediately said sharply, "If you don't believe me, ask the people in the kitchen, who doesn't know that you broke it?" ? Humph, you took the position of my eldest maid first, and I won’t care about you. That’s my best intention. But you can’t just think that you are the master after becoming the eldest maid! You can also do whatever you want with the eldest lady’s bird’s nest. It was touched, and now it’s broken, who will bear the responsibility?”
"You're such a mouthful!" Jiang Zhu is usually a steady person and doesn't know how to quarrel with others. Now he was so angry that he blushed and said, "I'm too lazy to tell you so much. I still have to wait on the lady!"
After saying that, Jiang Zhu wanted to leave, but she was blocked by Grandma Wang, "Want to leave? Clean up this place first!"
Jiang Zhu was stunned for a moment. Seeing Grandma Wang's fat body blocking the way, she immediately became annoyed and said angrily, "There is a maid who specializes in cleaning in this kitchen. Why do you want me to do it?"
"Because this is my jurisdiction, whoever I say will come must come!" Seeing Qingtao bring up the old matter again, Grandma Wang realized that this Jiangzhu was the one who had snatched her niece's position as the eldest maid. He made up his mind to embarrass her.
Jiang Zhu didn't want to talk to her anymore, so she turned around and went to get the broom, but Grandma Wang snatched it away and said, "Who allowed you to use the broom!"