Qin Wanru's statement was so harsh that Mrs. Qin was struck dumb. She was at a loss of words.
Nanny Zhou put a smile as she tried to save the situation by saying "Not just Second Miss Qin's maid, Elder Miss Qin's maid would be dismissed too."
"Yes... yes, both of them would be dismissed. We don't need these here to create trouble!" Mrs. Qin said, nodding profusely. She could not be bothered about Qin Yuru's maid at this moment anymore.
"To sent both of them away?" asked Qin Wanru, cocking her head.
"Yes, we have to send both away. They have sowed discord among you sisters so we don't want them both!" said Mrs. Qin righteously.
"In that case... alright, but Mother, will you please send the maid back? I've some questions for her," Qin Wanru said after she paused to think for a moment.
"I don't think it's a good idea to see her again. She does not know how to behave herself. If you question her, she may annoy you!" advised Mrs. Qin.
"Mother, if you're not going to let me see her and get to the bottom of this, I won't agree to let her go. Otherwise, if similar things happen again next time, and both Elder Sister's maid and my maid get dismissed each time, I'm disadvantaged! After all, I don't have as many maids as Elder Sister," said Qin Wanru, looking displeased.
The number of maids in Qin Yuru's courtyard was double of that in Qin Wanru's.
Mrs. Qin was about to disagree when Nanny Zhou pulled on the corner of her dress, indicating that she should go along with Qin Wanru.
"Alright, I will let that maid of yours come to see you!" replied Mrs. Qin. Helpless, she sent for someone to bring the maid here.
"Mother，will you also send for Elder Sister's maid in question. I want to question them myself to find out what exactly happened!" added Qin Wanru.
Looking even more displeased, however, Mrs. Qin instructed for both maids to be brought here.
The old maid sent to fetch the two maids went quickly and came back quickly too, bringing with her Qu Le and the other maid. Qin Wanru realized that she knew her to be Xi Huan, the second-grade maid who followed Qin Yuru around quite a lot.
"Second Miss Qin, please help do me justice. Qu Le, the maid serving you collided into me and started scolding me, which was why we got into a fight,"
In comparison, Qu Le was very much more subdued. Although Qin Wanru, her mistress was standing right before her, she had just joined the household and did not know what to expect. In fact, by this time, her face was drained of its colors from the being very scared. She stammered, "Miss..., I didn't ... bump into her!"
"What do you mean you didn't collide into me? You did, and you did it on purpose! In fact, there were quite a few people who saw it. How dare you be unreasonable and malign me in front of Second Miss Qin and Madam."
Xi Huan almost lost it when Qu Le tried to argue and reached out to give Qu Le a slap across her face.
Xi Huan had been serving Qin Yuru all these while and she had always despised Qin Wanru. Although she was merely a second-grade maid, she did not care much about Qin Wanru and would act according to her whims and fancies.
However, Nanny Yu caught her hand in time, and before Xi Huan could say anything, Qin Wanru commanded, "Slap her mouth, Nanny Yu!"
Immediately, Nanny Yu released Xi Huan's hand and before she could lift up her head, Nanny Yu gave her two tight slaps. She did it so quickly that even Mrs. Qin had no time to react.
"Why did you have to hit me, Second Miss Qin? Your maid was the one who collided into me on purpose, how can you hit me?" Xi Huan exclaimed, feeling unjustified. She was obviously not afraid of Second Miss Qin, because Elder Miss Qin had assured her that she would back her up if anything happened. Moreover, Mrs. Qin was also present so she assumed Second Miss Qin could nothing to her.
Thinking that she had support from Elder Miss Qin and Mrs. Qin, she spoke even louder.
"Again, Nanny Yu!" said Qin Wanru, smiling coldly.
No one had expected Qin Wanru to give this instruction again, and Xi Huan was given another two tight slaps.
"Second Miss Qin, you... why did you hit me again? Base on what reason do you hit me? Are you looking down on Elder Miss Qin's servants so much so you have to torment me?"
Xi Huan had lost it as she felt great pain on her cheeks and her ears were buzzing. Staring angrily at Qin Wanru, she wished she could scratch Qin Wanru's face.
"Mother, is this so-called the maid who knows and adheres to the rules of this house, a maid who had been through training and had been serving in this household for a long time?"
Qin Wanru said coldly, directing her words at Mrs. Qin.
Mrs. Qin's face fell when she did not react fast enough to stop Qin Wanru. She was about to chide her when she heard Qin Wanru's words and quickly restrained herself. This resulted in her feeling breathless as if there was air trapped in her chest.
What a difficult girl to deal with.
"Madam, will you judge fairly for me? Second Miss Qin should not ask Nanny Zhou to hit me. Base on what reason did she have the right to? I am Elder Miss Qin's maid. Elder Miss Qin should be the one to discipline me if necessary. How could Second Miss Qin discipline me in front of Madam?" said Qi Huan furiously.
Initially, Xi Huan thought this was going to be an easy matter for her to settle, at the same time, gain the favor of Madam and Elder Miss Qin. She did not expect that not only was she not able to settle the matter, but she was also even punished by Second Miss Qin. She could not swallow the humiliation.
"Mother, from the way the maid addressed herself as 'me', it is clear that she doesn't treat me as one of the mistresses in this household," said Qin Wanru in a calm manner, as she pointed out Xi Huan's rude use of words.
Qin Wanru had long been aware that Qin Yuru's maids looked down on her and had never behaved respectfully towards her. With a little bit of provocation, they would show their true colors towards her.
With this statement made by Qin Wanru, there was no way Mrs. Qin could help Xi Huan even if she wanted to. In that instant, Mrs. Qin's face looked ashen.
Nanny Zhou, who knew Mrs. Qin's heart best instructed an old maid nearby, saying, "Get someone to bring her away and send her to Old Maid Ya."
Xi Huan was stunned for a moment when she heard Nanny Zhou's words and was unable to react. When Elder Miss Qin instructed her to bump into Qin Wanru's maid, she did not mention that this would happen.
Was this just an act, or was it real?
"Since this maid was the one who didn't know the protocol, we have to send her away, while I'm going to keep my maid!" said Qin Wanru.
Qin Wanru's words made something snap in Xi Huan's mind. As she struggled to break free, she turned to Mrs. Qin and said, "Madam, Elder Miss Qin had instructed me to collide with Second Miss Qin's maid. Elder Miss Qin promised that I won't get into any trouble..."
She was about to continue when the quick-witted old maid stuffed a handkerchief into her mouth and dragged her away.
"Mother, what do you think of my suggestion?" Qin Wanru asked, training her eyes on Qu Le, who was kneeling in front of her and shaking like a leaf.
"Both the maids stirred up trouble, so we should punish them in the same way!" Mrs. Qin said through gritted teeth as she was about to blow her top.
"Then I think Mother should send both maids to Father, who is in his study. They would speak the truth in front of Father. I would like to know if Elder Sister really instructed her maid to collide with my maid on purpose," Qin Wanru said, raising her eyebrows. She was happy to blow up the entire matter.
All the while, Qin Wanru was wearing an indifferent expression on her face.
Shock was written all over Mrs. Qin's face now.
Nanny Zhou tugged at Mrs. Qin's sleeve and interrupted saying, "Please don't get mad, Second Miss Qin. This is a matter concerning the maid, so it's not a big deal. If Second Miss Qin wishes to keep your maid, I'm sure Madam will let you. However, just a word of caution, Second Miss Qin, this lass may seem to be timid, but she is in fact very daring. While you keep her by your side, please take care that she doesn't create trouble."
Since the situation had come to this, Mrs. Qin had to back off, lest this matter is brought before Qin Huaiyong.
Mrs. Qin was afraid that would happen, so she gritted her teeth as she weighed the situation and said, "You may keep this maid for now."
"Thank you, Mother!" said Qin Wanru with a smile as she turned slightly while sitting on the bed.
Qu Le bowed respectfully towards Mrs. Qin immediately and said, "Thank you, Madam, thank you, Madam!"
Mrs. Qin had no mood to continue staying on since the turn of events against her plan, so she stood up, forced a smile and said, "Since this matter had been settled, rest well, Wanru. I'm going to leave as I have something else to attend to!"
"Please forgive me for not being able to see you off!" said Qin Wanru politely as she sat up straight.
Mrs. Qin shook her head and rushed off in a rage, bringing with her all the maids who came along with her. She was not sure if she could refrain from the urge of giving Qin Wanru a few tight slaps if she stayed on any longer.
How was such a young girl so cunning? Looked like she had to be more wary of her in the future.
"Madam, what shall we do with that maid who refused to leave?" Nanny Zhou said with a low voice when she caught up with Mrs. Qin. She was Mrs. Qin confidante and she knew exactly why Mrs. Qin needed to send her away.
"Even if we don't manage to chase her out, we can't let her blabber nonsense," said Mrs. Qin decisively through gritted teeth.
"However, her mouth grows on her body. Moreover, Second Miss Qin will inquire about her in the future. If Second Miss Qin finds out that we didn't get rid of her, we'll be in trouble!" said Nanny Zhou as a gentle reminder to Mrs. Qin.
"Get someone to spread rumors about this maid, be them true or not, and let's see what she would do. Anyways that incident which happened long ago had nothing to do with her. The only fear is that the secret about Liu Xue would be leaked out," said Mrs. Qin as she steadied her footsteps, trying to catch her breath, and gritted her teeth.
She almost fainted from being provoked by Qin Wanru just now, but now she had finally calmed her nerves.
"Madam, I bet Second Miss Qin couldn't tell the truth from lies!" said Nanny Zhou as a light flash across her eyes. "You are so smart, Madam, what could Second Miss Qin use against you?" Nanny Zhou flattered.
"Are you from Jiangzhou?" Qin Wanru asked while she leaned back at the cushion and trained her eyes on Qu Le, whose face was drained of color, and gradually sized her up.
If a maid was not enough reason for Mrs. Qin to personally come all the way here, what was the real reason of her visit?
"Yes, I was born in Jiangzhou," Qu Le said, relieved to see that Mrs. Qin had left. She sat crippled on the floor and her eyes had lost their sparks.
What happened a moment ago almost scared her to death. Fortunately, Second Miss Qin came to her rescue and at this thought, she looked at Qin Wanru with gratitude in her eyes.
"So you were born in Jiangzhou, but where exactly was your father's hometown?" pressed Qin Wanru with a frown on her forehead, as she read deeper into Qu Le's answer.
Although she was born in Jiangzhou, she was not a native to Jiangzhou in question.