Chapter 263 When It Comes to Money, It Hurts Feelings
“Madam, you can just leave it alone. Old Madam has warned that don’t spread it around. You can hardly manage it!” The old maid lowered her voice and answered prudently.
Then she gave a glance at Nanny Zhou who stood aside.
Nanny Zhou was very shrewd and she quickly responded. “Don’t worry, Madam. I shall keep my mouth shut!”
Madam Di paused for a moment and as she got clear, she didn’t continue to ask.
“How can we send our people out here? Now he doesn’t allow my people to walk out at all and he doesn’t come here! Obviously, he now decides to stick up for that b*tchy Shui Ruolan!”
Shifting her focus back, Madam Di said resentfully with a fierce look while pulling embroidery threads on the corner of the quilt with her finger severely.
“Don’t worry, Madam. These two servant girls are sent by our mansion to take care of you. Old Madam has said that you are still unable to leave but our mansion will send people to look after you sometimes. You know, every time someone visits you, he or she has to inform the general. Since these two servant girls come from our mansion, they are able to walk out and to report! I would ask one of them to do that then!”
The old maid answered meaningfully.
“Fine. Then do it!” Madam Di gnashed her teeth.
“Madam, there are rumors outside saying that you are sick now. And now you do look ill. You need to see a doctor and let him give a prescription. You can’t just let your health problems worsen without doing anything!” The old maid continued to say.
“Yes! You have been sick for a long time and it is quite necessary for you to see a doctor or let him prescribe! I wonder if Old Madam knows some good doctors!” Knowing the meaning, Nanny Zhou responded.
“It is around the corner of the street in front of your mansion that there is a skillful doctor. The place is very close to your mansion so you can go for him.” The old maid smiled and said.
“Okay. I will inform the general of this.” Nanny Zhou nodded.
“No, you’d better not go. You are not permitted to leave just like Madam Di!” the old maid said.
“Then what should I do?” Nanny Zhou threw up her hands and asked worriedly.
“There are two servant girls outside, right? They are here to look after Madam. They are much more reliable than you now. Don’t you think so? Today I will be the guide to show them around here. Then they will be much more experienced and natural when they go to report!”
The old maid smiled.
Hearing her words, Madam Di and Nanny Zhou kept nodding in agreement. Since they had made a decision, the old maid was about to leave while Madam Di called her.
“Can you visit Yuru for me? I don’t know how she is going on now,” said Madam Di worriedly. Since Mei Xue came and sent Madam Di’s letter to Madam of Duke Xing, she had heard from nothing yet. Madam Di couldn’t help getting worried.
“The first lady is also grounded. It is reasonable for me to visit you but unreasonable to see the first lady. Moreover, there are two servant girls here. We can’t irritate the general again!” The old maid tried to persuade her.
It didn’t mean that she was totally unable to see Qin Yuru but she was afraid that the reason was not good enough, which might get Qin Huaiyong angry. If so, they couldn’t afford the result!
“Fine. Is there any rumor about Shui Ruolan?” Thinking for a while, Madam Di decided not to ask about Qin Yuru but the news outside her courtyard.
Since people were leaving her courtyard and the others who didn’t leave were locked up, she hadn’t heard of any news coming from outside. She also didn’t know whether Madam of Duke Xing began to plot against Shui Ruolan after receiving her letter that day.
She had a deal with Qian Youcai. She chose Madam Liu to let her plot against Shui Ruolan and escalate this until the thing would be beyond control, which would completely damage Shui Ruolan’s reputation. After that, she would have nothing to do with this. As for Madam Liu, actually she was only a useless pawn in the game.
It was Qian Youcai who had a deal with her in fact. Thus, she had given Qian Youcai the money in private early.
“I never hear of any rumor about Madam Shui. Is there any problem?” Even though the old maid didn’t know Madam Di’s purpose, she could tell from her words that the thing was not simple. Thus she asked questioningly.
“No, nothing. I once heard that someone is about to reveal the truth of Shui Ruolan…” Madam Di didn’t want to tell everything to an old maid and thus, she answered vaguely.
“So are you going to plot against Madam Shui by damaging her reputation? And by spreading those past events of Madam Shui?” asked the old maid confusingly.
“Shui Ruolan is just a widow. If she wants to remarry, she should ask the permission of her last husband’s family. If they have built a chastity memorial arch for her, then she would be unable to remarry. What’s more, she now has a baby. If this thing escalated, this b*tch would be done!” Since she asked, Madam Di had felt her anger rise and she now just wanted to vent it!
“No! You can’t!” The old maid cried with her expression changed!
“Why not? That b*tch dares to dethrone me and drives me to here! I want her die, painfully! The b*tch’s baby had better not be born at all! I want her to be universally condemned!” with a dark look, Madam Di said ferociously.
She scratched her quilt fiercely several times by using her long fingernail!
“Madam, it is totally improper! What should the general do when the thing really gets to that? You are not alone! You have your lady! If the general made a mistake, she would be entangled, not to mention Duke Yong’s Mansion!” The old maid quickly tried to persuade her not to do this while feeling anxious.
As long as they didn’t cancel the engagement between Duke Yong’s Mansion and Qin’s Mansion, they were one actually.
Madam Di asked angrily but confusingly, “Why do Shui Ruolan’s problems matter Qin Huaiyong?”
“Madam, you don’t understand at all! It will definitely have a deep influence on Qin’s Mansion! Madam Shui’s problems will not only affect her alone! If the general didn’t marry her, she would not have this kind of problem! Things like building a chastity memorial arch should be reported to the royal court, which is not just a normal matter related to a woman in a mansion. More severely, it would be judged as a crime of mendacity by others! Even worse, the most terrible punishment, nine kinship exterminations would be carried out!”
The old maid was so anxious that she was sweating!
“Then, then what should we do?” Madam Di also flustered as she had never thought of the consequences. Moreover, Madam of Duke Xing didn’t tell her about this.
Compared with Madam of Duke Xing, she trusted her mother more.
“Madam, it has not happened yet, right?” Walking back and forth, the old maid gradually calmed down.
“No, I think. Since you hear nothing about that b*tch, then it has not happened!” answered Madam Di uncertainly. She had her own plan so she actually didn’t tell her everything. She just gave Nanny Zhou a sign and let her keep silent.
Nanny Zhou also felt nervous. She just wanted to tell the old maid the whole story but she quickly stopped after Madam Di gave her a look.
“Madam, you’d better write a letter. I will give this letter to the person who will implement this plan and tell him not to act casually. When I go back, I will ask Old Madam to let some people watch him. It would be better to stop. Otherwise, it will be a total disaster for Madam Shui and the general, not to mention the lady and you!”
The old maid persuaded.
“But I, I don’t just want to give up!” When thinking that Shui Ruolan could have a good rest during her pregnancy while Madam Di herself was grounded, Madam Di looked really ferocious! It seemed that there was venom overbrimming her eyes.
“Don’t worry, madam. With Old Madam’s words, you will be in charge of the whole Qin’s Mansion again in a few days,” answered the old maid.
“Great. I now write a letter!” Although it was difficult for Madam Di to calm down, she knew what the old maid said was right. As Nanny Zhou got Madam Di up from the bed, Madam Di walked towards the desk in front of the window and wrote down some words. Then she put it into an envelope and sealed it. After giving the old maid this letter, she also said an address and let her send this letter to the First Young Master Qian who lived there.
The old maid took it carefully and kept nodding. While she was just about to leave, Madam Di called her again. “Since you are my mother’s servant, you must know those shops as my dowry are all in the capital city. Thus, there must be a large amount of money, right? Let my mother bring me some. I am grounded here and I do need a lot of money!”
Madam Di thought that she needed more money now to bribe more people by giving them a lot of money.
“You want money?” Not expecting Madam Di would ask such a question, she looked very surprised.
“Yes, of course. Being locked and unable to send a message out are because I don’t use my money in a right way. Thus, I need the income of these years. So first I need my mother to send the money to me privately!”
Madam Di said.
“Well, well, I shall ask Old Madam!” answered the old maid vaguely and she didn’t dare to promise her.
“Great! Remember to take the money to me next time you come here!” Madam Di didn’t notice the strange look of the old maid and said while waving her hand.
“Madam, then I go first. I will show the two girls around and let them report to the general then!” answered the old maid.
Madam Di went to her bed and took a rest, waving her hand with her eyes half-closed. The old maid then walked out of her room and stopped at the entrance. After she looked at Madam Di in the room meaningfully for a while, she then turned around and left.
When she came to the yard, those two servant girls still stood there straight. When seeing her walk out, they quickly bowed to her. After the old maid lowered her voice and talked to them, the two servants followed her and walked out of the court.
When the guarding old maid found that they were from Duke Yong’s Mansion, she didn’t stop them and let them just leave.
“Madam, do you feel that…” Slightly lifting the curtain and finding that the old maid who just left had gone with the two servants, Nanny Zhou asked hesitantly.
“What?” asked Madam Di.
“When you talked about the money, she, she seemed to not promise you!” said Nanny Zhou. Although she stood beside the old maid without saying anything, she could hear what the old maid say clearly and see her face clearly.
“Since my madam talked about money, the old maid looked quite strange!”
“Or will my mother refuse to give me money? When I married Qin Huaiyong, it is her who especially added those shops to my dowry for she feared that I would be unhappy in Qin’s Mansion. Now I need the money and she will agree!” Madam Di didn’t believe that Old Madam of Duke Yong would pocket all her money.
“Madam, it is not Old Madam who manages the Duke Yong’s Mansion!” Nanny Zhou suggested.
Hearing her words, Madam Di paused. She didn’t like Countess Yong and felt it was she who caused this series of troubles. If she had promised the engagement between Di Yan and Qin Yuru, things would not have happened!
“Well, how dare she!” Madam Di sneered.
“Madam, one should not forget to guard against possible harm done by others! You shall never relax vigilance against evildoers! There are too many family members fighting against each other because of money! Moreover, the old maid does look strange! She didn’t promise you exactly at last while she seems to be able to persuade you before!”
Nanny Zhou said.
“So what do you think?” Madam Di nodded and asked coldly.