Chapter 106
It was said that at least a small number of people around Marquis Hua Yang had faith in this Eldest Young Master and were convinced that this Eldest Young Master would become the legitimate successor of the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang in the future.
It was precisely because of the outstanding Wei Ziyang that Lady Zhang from the third branch was completely at a disadvantage against Lady Li. As a result, the backyard of the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang had been under the control of Lady Li for many years. Even though Lady Zhang also had sons, her sons were too plain. Besides, the Second Master was the Minister of Rites. Due to all these factors, the third branch was completely in an inferior position.
Perhaps this was one of the important reasons why Wei Qiufu was glad to see conflicts between the first branch and the second branch.
“Miss, does Marquis Hua Yang want to pass the title over to Eldest Young Master?” Jin Ling was not an ignorant maid. She immediately understood what Wei Yuewu meant.
“Very likely!” Wei Yuewu rolled her eyes. The pair of clear eyes flashed with a trace of deep thought. She became even more disdainful of her father, the so-called Marquis Hua Yang.
Rather than caring about his own daughter, he loved his nephew as his own son. Ever since she arrived in this mansion, she had heard a lot about how Marquis Hua Yang Wei Luowen cared about and loved Wei Ziyang.
Her mother’s death and her own loss of memories all seemed to be related to the second branch and Concubine Dong. Wei Yuewu did not believe that the famous Marquis Hua Yang knew nothing about it.
“Miss, you are the daughter of Marquis Hua Yang.” Jin Ling felt unfair for her mistress, but the latter only showed a mocking smile in return.
Wei Yuewu did not have the slightest bit of affection for her father, who had left her behind in the countryside for so many years. Nor did she take him seriously. She then changed the topic and asked softly, “Keep an eye on Qianxi these days.”
Ever since Jin Ling and the other maids returned, although Qianxi was a so-called first-class maid, she couldn’t even enter Wei Yuewu’s inner chamber in reality. She was only allowed to enter the room occasionally under the surveillance of Jin Ling and the others to place some objects in the room. Even if she wanted to play a trick, she didn’t have a chance.
Therefore, no trouble had been caused by her up until now.
Now that Wei Yuewu reminded her, Jin Ling nodded and looked out of the window. She asked in a low voice. “Miss, what does she intend to do?”
“It should be soon!” Wei Yuewu’s graceful lips curved into a somewhat cold smile.
Lady Li and Wei Yan hated her to the extreme. Although their downfall seemed to have nothing to do with her so far, given their temperament to vent their anger on others, they definitely hated her. Although Lady Li’s matter did not seem to have anything to do with her, she did play a role and add fuel to fire in Wei Yan’s matter.
This time, Wei Yan was used as the reason for Lady Li’s confinement. How could this pair of vicious mother and daughter hold back their venom in their hearts? They would definitely vent it on her.
Since that was the case, she would like to make use of this situation. Wei Yuewu believed that there really wasn’t any other man except Xie Qingzhao in this mansion who could get Lady Li to plot against her….
Ever since Qianxi came to the Lotus Courtyard, she had been cold-treated by Jin Ling and Shufei. She was rather depressed.
In the past, even though she was not a first-class maid, she was more respected than other maids because she served the Madam Dowager. No maid dared to offend her when they saw her. However, the present situation made her feel suffocated and depressed.
Although she wanted to make a complaint in front of the Madam Dowager, it seemed that there was nothing she could complain about. Sixth Young Lady had never scolded her openly. She just distrusted her. And a mistress wouldn’t trust a maid overnight. If she went to complain, she wouldn’t know what to say to the Madam Dowager.
Moreover, the Second Lady had asked her to spy on the Sixth Young Lady. It would not be good for her to make a fuss.
Therefore, Qianxi endured and kept a low profile. She did not dare to challenge the chief maids around Wei Yuewu. But now, she could not keep it this way anymore because the Second Lady had given her an ultimatum that if she did not fulfil the task, the Second Lady would not spare her.
A servant supervisor around the Second Lady had specially called her over shortly ago and handed her a bag of medicinal powder and a bag of clothes. She took them and put them in her own room. There was another junior maid who lived with her and usually helped her with her work. If she had any work on hand, she could ask that maid to do it.
That maid wouldn’t dare to flip through her belongings without her permission, so it would be quite safe to keep those things there.
It was at dinner time. Qianxi held a food basket and stopped Shufei, who was going to the kitchen. She said with her face full of smile, “Sister Shufei, are you going to the kitchen to get dinner? Coincidentally, I went to look for Hanyu in the kitchen, so I brought Miss’s food back by the way.”
Shufei looked at Qianxi and asked in surprise, “You helped me get it?”
“Yes, the kitchen had just completed Miss’s dinner when I was there.” Qianxi smiled even more sincerely. She gave the food basket to Shufei and raised a small bundle in her hand. “My mother asked Hanyu to bring me some snacks. Sister Shufei, please come over later to eat some. The snacks made by my mother are very delicious.”
Hearing Qianxi’s invitation and seeing her smiling face, Shufei could no longer keep a stern look. She smiled and said, “Well…how can I bother you?”
“There’s no bothering me. The moment I saw you, I felt you were a kind person and hoped I could make friends with you. I’ve always wanted to get close to you. If you could condescend to come to my room and have some snacks, it will be a great honor to me.” Qianxi’s words were too courteous. She was helping carry the food basket and she also offered to share some snacks. It was clear she was trying to curry favor, and it was really hard for Shufei to refuse.
Shufei nodded and said, “Then I’ll… come over after I’ve served dinner for Miss.”
“Alright! Then I’ll wait for you.” Qianxi felt proud of herself in her heart but didn’t show the feeling on her face. She raised the bundle in her hand and entered her own room.
“Still no news from Imperial Academician Xie?” Wei Qiuju looked at Yueya whose face was pale and frightened. She was anxiously walking about at an intersection.
She had sent a few messages to Xie Qingzhao, but received no response at all.
“That… that lad servant said that Imperial Academician Xie had instructed him not to accept any letter from the inner courtyard. Otherwise, people will think that their master is an immoral man.” Yueya replied timidly.
She had implored the lad servant in various ways, but the lad servant insisted that he mustn’t send any letter for her. The letter of entreaty written by her mistress still remained in her sleeve. She had failed to deliver the letter these past few days.
Those words infuriated Wei Qiuju. Her face immediately tensed up. The corner of her eyes twitched a few times. If she had coveted Xie Qingzhao before, she didn’t know how she felt about him now. She even felt a bit of hatred. When she thought that he and Wei Qiufu watched her fall into a trap in the dark and gloated over her misfortune, she felt an evil fire rising in her heart.
“If a letter is sent to him from the inner courtyard and it was written by Fourth Elder Sister, he probably wouldn’t have said that having correspondence with someone from the inner courtyard makes him immoral!” Wei Qiuju sneered. However, when she thought that she was going to become the concubine of this man who loved someone else, she couldn’t help but cover her face and burst into tears.
“Mi… Miss, it’s not like there’s no other way. Perhaps there’s another way.” Yueya hurriedly comforted her mistress when she saw her crying at this place.
This place was close to the festoon gate. If any trouble was caused, she would be beaten again. When she thought of the floggings she had received, Yueya felt scared.
“Let’s go to see grandmother. Just say that Fourth Elder Sister is the one who has an affair with him. I was kept in the dark and had nothing to do with it.” After crying a little bit, Wei Qiuju raised her face and wiped it, looking desperate and ready to throw the handle after the blade.
“Miss, don’t go. The Madam Dowager trusts Fourth Young Lady very much. If you go, you will not only offend Fourth Young Lady and Third Lady but also the Madam Dowager.” Hearing that Wei Qiuju was going to make a fuss before the Madam Dowager, Yueya was so anxious that she reached out and grabbed Wei Qiuju’s clothes.
“Miss, you can go and see Sixth Young Lady. Perhaps Sixth Young Lady can help you.” At this time, Yueya had no more misgivings. She only wanted to stop Wei Qiuju.
“Wei Yuewu? She’s just a girl from the countryside. What can she do?” Although Wei Qiuju was out of her wits, she still looked down upon Wei Yuewu.
“Miss, I just heard two maids from the Lotus Courtyard talking about the matter of Second Young Lady. They said that Second Young Lady used to be intent on taking away Sixth Young Lady’s fiancee and ganging up with that fiancee to frame Sixth Young Lady. Now, they not only failed, but also reaped the consequences. It’s not that easy to scheme against Sixth Young Lady.”
Yueya had heard two maids from the Lotus Courtyard talking so when she came here. Speaking of which, she actually did not believe that Sixth Young Lady was so capable either. However, seeing her mistress’ crazy look at this time, she had no choice but to use the Sixth Young Lady as a life-saving straw.
That would be much better than letting her mistress go to the Madam Dowager’s Tranquility Pavilion at this moment. When Yueya thought that she would be the first one to be punished if the Madam Dowager was enraged, her entire body involuntarily trembled. At this moment, she didn’t care whether she herself believed it or not. She just had to make her mistress believe it first.
Strangely, Yueya’s words made Wei Qiuju stop. “You mean, you heard two maids saying those words?”
“Yes, I heard them just now. The two maids were taking some dishes for dinner. They seemed to have come back from the kitchen and were going back to Sixth Young Lady’s Lotus Courtyard. Miss, just think about it. Before Sixth Young Lady came to the mansion, who would have thought that Second Young Lady would end up like this? Even Second Lady….”
Yueya secretly looked around and didn’t see anyone else, so she whispered those words to Wei Qiuju.
Even she herself kind of believed what she had said. It seemed that Sixth Young Lady had nothing to do with the matters concerning Second Lady and Second Young Lady. However, it was Second Lady and Second Young Lady who lost in the end, although they had always succeeded in having what they wanted in the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang.
The most unexpected thing was that Second Lady was also put into confinement, which really surprised everyone. This was almost impossible. However, Second Lady and Second Young Lady were really locked in that desolate courtyard.
From the looks of it, they would be locked up forever. The entire mansion of Marquis Hua Yang was shocked.
If Wei Yuewu had really played a role in it, she was indeed a capable person! Wei Qiuju frowned. She inexplicably remembered how she and Second Lady had plotted against Wei Yuewu. Whether it was the incident at the last banquet or the incident about Xie Qingzhao this time, Wei Yuewu was not the one who fell into the traps in the end.
As she thought so, Wei Qiuju was struck with an idea. A deep thought flashed across her eyes.