Chapter 184 : Wicked Trick (3)

Outside, the cold wind was blowing. No floor dragon was being burned in the Shuixiang courtyard. Only a pot of charcoal had been burned inside the bedroom. The charcoal was not even the most refined, but second-rate charcoal with smoke.

Yanxia looked at Qiu Yanfu, who continued to embroider the handkerchief even though her eyes were smoky with tears, and she advised her in a low voice, “Miss, stop embroidering. It’s only going to hurt your eyes.”

Tears fell from Qiu Yanfu’s eyes as she said, “Even if I were blind, who would care?” She felt that she had suffered a great deal.

Yanxia whispered, “Miss, maybe things are not as bad as we think. Your Eldest Aunt won’t let you be someone else’s concubine.” Recently, Qiu Yanfu had asked Yanyu to have frequent contact with Ah Zhao because Qiu Lilong wanted to give her to the Eldest Young Master Wang as his concubine. Of course, only she and her personal maids knew about this, for the time being, no one else, not even Wu Shi.

Qiu Yanfu shook her head and said, “Dage is now obsessed. He thinks by following the young master of the Wang family will make him earn a lot of money, and thus he wants to befriend him. Even Aunt and Uncle can’t stop him.” After all, her aunt and uncle were only outsiders. If her Dage insisted on giving her to the said young master, her aunt and uncle would eventually compromise.

Yanxia had been in the State Residence for so long and knew some of the rules, so she said at once, “Miss, you go and tell Eldest Master that if Miss becomes a concubine, the Han family will lose its face.” Miss had lived in the State Residence for so long. If Miss went to the Wang family as a concubine, the Han family would be very humiliated. At that time, the Han would indeed sever their relationship with the Qiu family.

Qiu Yanfu wiped her tears and said, “I did tell him, but he was dazzled by the riches in the capital and was lured out of his senses by the young master of the Wang family, thinking that he could make a lot of money by following him. I tried hard to persuade him, but no amount of persuasion worked, and I don’t even know why Father asked Dage to come.” If Father had come himself, Dage would not have caused such a mess.

Yanxia hesitated, then said, “Miss, the Wangs are imperial merchants. I heard that there are millions of money in that family. People in this capital all have their eyes on the top of their heads; how can he suddenly give Eldest Master a special treatment?” She felt something strange about it.

Qiu Yanfu was also shocked by Yanxia’s words, “You suspect that this Eldest Young Master Wang is a fake?” After saying that, Qiu Yanfu shook her head and said, “It’s impossible. Dage brought Eldest Young Master Wang into the State Residence. If he was an impostor, there is no way that the people of the State Residence would not know about it.” The State Residence had been in the capital for over two hundred years. Even though it was not the same now as before, many people in the capital still recognise them.

Yanxia was still not at ease, “Miss, let’s check it out!” Liars were everywhere. If Eldest Master were cheated, it would also implicate her own Miss.

Qiu Yanfu was also alarmed by Yanxia’s words. After thinking about it, she thought it would be better to tell Wu Shi. It would be more convenient for Wu Shi to investigate this Eldest Young Master Wang.

Even if Wu Shi was not happy with Qiu Lilong, she did not want to see him being cheated. Immediately, she had someone check out this Eldest Young Master Wang’s background. As it turned out, Qiu Yanfu and Yanxia were overthinking things. Eldest Young Master Wang was also a famous person in the capital. When he went out, a lot of people would recognise him. There was no way one could impersonate him.

When Qiu Yanfu returned, Wu Shi pressed her temples and muttered, “If I had known there would be so much trouble, I would not have brought her here that day.” From the beginning of this month, Yuchen had not yet come to pay her respects. Yuchen’s reason for not coming was simple: she was afraid of running into something dirty again.

When Wu Shi heard what Yuchen’s maid said, her face turned blue with anger. She didn’t dare to get angry at Yuchen and could only treat Yuxi, who had come alone to pay her respects with a not very good-looking expression. It was a pity that Yuxi didn’t take her seriously at all, as she immediately went back after greeted Wu Shi.

Remembering what had happened at the gate that day, Old Woman Chen said to Wu Shi, “Didn’t the Old Lady send word that she would let them go back when spring comes? My Lady, please bear with it. It will only take three months before they finally leave.” Miss Biao was still good since she was in the inner courtyard. The most that they could do was make some effort to find her a household to marry. But this Young Master Biao was becoming more and more unlikeable. That day, he looked like a lecherous reincarnation of a lecher. He didn’t even look at his own status. The Third Miss was not something he could easily defile.

Yuxi asked someone to check on Qiu Lilong, but they couldn’t find out anything. So she just left the matter alone. She went to the storehouse, picked out a few things and asked Caidie to send them to the Lian family.

Caidie originally wanted to return after putting down the annual gift, but Mama Fang stopped her. Mama Fang stated, “My husband said that if you came over, he asked you to wait for him to return. He has a message for you to bring to Miss.”

Caidie gathered her composure and asked, “Mama, what is it?” The atmosphere at the Taoran House was strange these days, and she had felt it for a long time. It was just that she had remembered her mother’s words, should not ask what she should not ask, should pretend not to know what she should not know and should forget all the secrets she had heard. These were the only way for her to be safe and secure.

Mama Fang shook her head and responded, “I’m not sure. I only know it’s about Miss Xinrong. You’ll know when my husband returns.” Lian Shan didn’t tell Mama Fang in detail about this matter, only that it was related to Duan Xinrong, and he didn’t tell her anything more specific. Mama Fang was not one to ask questions, so she did not ask even when Lian Shan did not say anything. As long as he wasn’t hiding a woman or something, it didn’t matter if she didn’t know anything else.

Caidie came to Lian’s house so often that she was already very familiar with it. After Mama Fang had sent a message to Lian Shan, she dragged Caidie to the kitchen and made cloud cake with her. As they worked, she chatted with Caidie until Lian Shan returned.

CLOUD CAKE

Lian Shan asked Mama Fang to go to the front door and guard it so that no one would enter the house, and then said something to Caidie. He didn’t care how unsightly Caidie’s reaction was towards what he just said, while he continued, “Tell the Fourth Miss that this is not a simple matter, so she should be careful.”

Caidie went back with a pale face.

When Caidie had left, Mama Fang was also a bit nervous as she grabbed Lian Shan’s arm and asked, “Husband, what’s going on? What happened to the Duan girl that made Caidie scared like that when she heard it?”

Lian Shan avoided saying the important one and dwelled on the trivial, “Miss Duan has escaped, and her whereabouts are unknown. Because the Fourth Miss paid for the bribe in the first place, I am worried that they will trace it back to Miss, so I have to give her a warning.” Seeing Mama Fang turned pale, he said with a smile, “This matter has nothing to do with Miss. Even if it is traced to her, with preparation, she will not be afraid, so you do not need to worry.” Lian Shan knew that Mama Fang was timid, so he was reluctant to tell her about this matter.

Mama Fang said with great anxiety, “Is it true Miss will not be implicated?” If she had known that something like this would happen, she should have stopped it that day and not let her husband go and help out.

Lian Shan smiled and said, “It’s true. You should set your mind at ease!” The Fourth Miss Han would surely be fine. He was worried that something would happen to him instead. Lian Shan had purposely told Yuxi about this matter because he hoped that when this implicated him, Yuxi would protect him.

Seeing Lian Shan speak with such certainty, Mama Fang put her heart down. At that moment, she changed the subject by asking, “Husband, what do you think of that child, Caidie?”

Lian Shan nodded his head and said, “That child is very good. What’s wrong?” With what he had just said, that little girl only went pale, but she was still relatively calm.

Mama Fang explained, “That child has a good temperament, and I like her very much. What do you think about giving her to Dalang?” It would give her peace of mind to have a daughter-in-law who knew her roots. Mama Fang was not as absent-minded as Yuxi thought. After doing business outside these years, her mind had become much more flexible that she could even think far ahead.

Lian Shan said with a smile, “It would be a blessing for Dalang if he could marry this girl. But I wonder if Fourth Miss and the girl will agree to it?” It was no use for the Fourth Miss to agree, but the girl had to agree to it herself.

Mother Fang said confidently, “There will be no problem on Miss’s side. I will work on Caidie’s side. If she is also interested, we will settle this marriage and married them off in a few years when Caidie is old enough. However, I still have to ask for Dalang’s opinion.”

Lian Shan smilingly said, “That girl looks like a capable one, and she is also good looking, so my son will certainly like her.” If the other party agreed, it couldn’t be better.

Caidie’s psychological mind was pretty good as she adjusted herself on her way back. When she got off the carriage, she carried a small basket back to the Taoran House as usual, and on the way, she greeted a few old women servants she knew well so that no one could see anything different with her.

When Zisu saw Caidie return, she asked, “How is Mama Fang’s health? Is she well?” If it weren’t for the fact that Yuxi had ulterior motives when asking Caidie to go to Lian’s house, she would have wanted to go and see Mama Fang herself. Because she had this in mind, Zisu did not ask much about Caidie’s late return.

Caidie said with a smile, “Mama Fang is quite well. She even asked me to bring Miss’s favourite cloud cake! Zisu Jiejie, is Miss in her study? I’ll bring it in for her.”

Zisu shook her head with a smile and said, “No, Miss has gone to Tingyun Pavilion and has not returned yet! Take the cloud cake to the kitchen to warm it up, or it will get cold.” There was a charcoal fire underneath the food box, but that day had been so cold that it wasn’t even warm anymore.

Caidie went off in response.

Zisu glanced at Caidie, who had been under her guidance for several years. She had been focusing on Caidie during this time, so she knew her well. Although this girl was calm on the surface, Zisu could be sure that she had something on her mind. But Caidie didn’t say anything of her own accord, so she didn’t ask anyone to call Yuxi back.

Yuxi had her evening meal at Tingyun Pavilion before returning. When she entered the house, she began to rub her hands, “It’s too cold.” It was even cold enough to leave the house, and she didn’t know how hard it had been for the people working in residence. She wondered why they had to pick the twelfth lunar month to get married? The tenth lunar month would have been a good time where the temperature was not too cold and not too hot. It would have been better for everyone. If they set it at the end of the twelfth lunar month, everyone would suffer, and if it snowed, it would be like killing people.

Zisu came over and whispered to Yuxi, “Miss, Caidie doesn’t look right. She knows you’re going to Tingyun Pavilion, and yet, she keeps on looking at the door. This girl is quite capable of hiding things. I asked her politely several times, but she didn’t say anything.” Zisu didn’t take any offence, though. On the contrary, she felt relieved. Even though she was Miss’s trusted maid, Caidie’s real master was Miss, not her. She was satisfied that Caidie had such a sense of propriety.

Yuxi frowned for a moment, “What’s the matter with the Lian family?” It couldn’t be that something had happened to Mama Fang. Thinking of this, Yuxi immediately asked Zisu to go and call Caidie to her study.