Chapter 358 Shift the Blame onto the Dead
Duke Yong and Countess Yong came together in a hurry.
They walked inside after getting out of the carriage, took a few steps and suddenly saw someone rush out from the roadside and bump directly into Countess Yong.
“How dare you!” Duke Yong, who was upset at the moment, stood firm and shouted sharply.
“Countess Yong, I’m the intimate maid of Madam of Duke Xing.” Unexpectedly, the person said to Countess Yong after bowing to them with full composure.
Countess Yong glanced at her, and immediately recognized that she was Nanny Sheng, the intimate maid of Madam of Duke Xing. Countess Yong was dumbfounded and said, “Nanny Sheng, why are you here? Could it be possible that Madam of Duke Xing is also here?”
“I’m leaving now. Come over to join me soon!” Duke Yong said impatiently. He was upset at the moment. Hearing that his son had done something terrible, he was in no mood to stay and have a conversation with Nanny Sheng. He glanced at Nanny Sheng, turned and strode away.
“Nanny Sheng, what’s going on?” Countess Yong was also upset. After looking around and finding no one, she stepped aside and asked.
“Madam, has something happened?” Seeing their seized with fear, Nanny Sheng involuntarily asked in astonishment.
She originally thought that Qin Wanru just said that as an excuse. Thus, after leaving the parlor, she did not leave the Qin’s Mansion directly, but hid aside to see what was going on instead. She really didn’t believe that it was such a coincidence that something serious happened in the Qin’s Mansion so that Ningyuan Army General didn’t even have time to meet her.
She heard that when Nanny Yu came here last time, Ningyuan Army General met Nanny Yu in person and did not say that there was anything serious to deal with.
Nanny Sheng didn’t expect to encounter Duke Yong and his wife instead of Ningyuan Army General. Seeing their serious faces, Nanny Sheng felt her heart skipped a beat. Could it be such a coincidence that something really happened in the Qin’s Mansion?
“Nothing serious. Why are you here? Is your Madam also here?” Countess Yong didn’t want to talk about her domestic affairs. It didn’t sound like a good thing anyway. Until now, she didn’t know what had happened, but only heard that her son had an affair with a maid of the Qin’s Mansion and the maid was dead.
“Our Madam is not here. She sent me here to invite the First Miss Qin and the Second Miss Qin to our mansion and live there for some time. Our Old Madam likes the two Misses of the Qin’s Mansion very much. The First Miss is particularly congenial to Our Madam, and our Madam will probably adopt the First Miss as her daughter later.”
Nanny Sheng said with a smile, as if she did not see the impatientness in the eyes of Countess Yong.
“Your Old Madam likes Yuru and her younger sister, and your Madam is going to adopt Yuru as her daughter?” Countess Yong was overjoyed. Although she did not understand why Qin Wanru also got involved in this, she thought that it might be a diversion. So she got extremely excited at once and thought that Madam Di plotted well indeed.
Qin Yuru won the favor of Old Madam and Madam of Duke Xing. It was a good thing for the whole Duke Yong’s Mansion, because it was equivalent to making Duke Xing the support of Duke Yong’s Mansion. It was of great benefit to Duke Yong’s Mansion which was declining.
Madam Di had written to Countess Yong to tell about her plot, but certainly did not tell about every detail. Madam of Duke Xing had told her to keep it a secret, and warned her that Qin Yuru would no longer have the opportunity to be adopted by Duke Xing’s Mansion if something went wrong.
Madam Di didn’t tell Countess Yong about every detail so as not to annoy Madam of Duke Xing. She only said that she could make Qin Yuru find favor with Madam of Duke Xing and make Madam of Duke Xing feel tender toward Qin Yuru by claiming that Qin Yuru was a little younger than her true age and showing her dislike for Qin Yuru.
In the beginning, Countess Yong considered it unbelievable. Nevertheless, Madam Di’s words sounded plausible, and she promised that it would definitely work. Besides, she said that it could reduce the influence of rumors on Qin Yuru. Therefore, Countess Yong chose to believe Madam Di’s words for the moment and cooperate with Madam Di.
Unexpectedly, Qin Yuru really won the favor of Madam of Duke Xing. This was the first time that Countess Yong had heard someone from Duke Xing’s Mansion clearly say that. So she inevitably became delighted and excited.
“Yes, that’s what our Madam means. Tomorrow is the eve of the Spring Festival. With the intention of helping the First Miss find more favor with Old Madam, our Madam sent me over here to discuss with Ningyuan Army General about taking two Misses to our mansion where they can stay for a few days and spend more time with Old Madam. After the Spring Festival, our Madam will pick an appropriate time to adopt the First Miss as her daughter. In this case, both of our mansions can visit each other during the Spring Festival!”
Nanny Sheng was a smart maid of Madam of Duke Xing. Seeing Countess Yong beam with joy, Nanny Sheng knew that she was happy and said more words to please her.
Her words made Countess Yong nod repeatedly. “It makes sense indeed. When do they decide to go?”
“I did not meet Ningyuan Army General,” Nanny Sheng said with a bitter face.
“How come? What happened?” Countess Yong was delighted at the moment. Suddenly hearing that Nanny Sheng didn’t even meet the general, she involuntarily became furious.
“Speaking of this, I don’t know what’s going on either. I didn’t meet Ningyuan Army General, but only met the Second Miss of the Qin’s Mansion. She said that Ningyuan Army General had something important to handle at the moment and had no time to meet me. I can do nothing but return to report it to our Madam. It’s such a good thing. Our Old Madam may have forgotten it after the Spring Festival… We should seize the chance and make it happen when our Old Madam is delighted!”
Nanny Sheng said helplessly to Countess Yong and threw up her hands.
“You can leave now. At this moment, Ningyuan Army General does have something important to handle. After he handles it, I will tell him about it. I believe he will be happy.” Countess Yong’s face also darkened. After a pause, she pressed her lips with a handkerchief, coughed and said in a low voice.
“Thank you, Madam!” Nanny Sheng rejoiced and thanked Countess Yong.
“You can leave now. I’m also occupied at this moment and should go now!” Countess Yong nodded and said.
“Madam, go ahead!” Nanny Sheng stepped aside and bowed sideways with a smile.
Countess Yong no longer said anything, just nodded to Nanny Sheng and hurried to the inner court with her servants.
Nanny Sheng watched Countess Yong leave with a smile. After Countess Yong’s figure vanished in her sight, she frowned with the smile on her face fading away. Was it true?
Why was it so coincidental?
After watching Countess Yong’s figure for a while, she found nothing. So she reluctantly turned and left. This time, she really intended to leave Ningyuan Army General’s Mansion. She was going to report to her Madam that something serious really happened in the Qin’s Mansion, so that Ningyuan Army General had no time to meet her and even Duke Yong and Countess Yong came over in a hurry.
After getting on the carriage, Nanny Sheng was still thinking about what had happened before. It was such a coincidence that something happened exactly when Madam decided to invite the Second Miss Qin to their mansion.
During the Spring Festival, their mansion would be in a flurry. Besides, the Second Miss Qin was not a relative of their mansion. If the Second Miss Qin had an accident at this time, her Madam seemingly wouldn’t be blamed for it.
How could they miss such a good opportunity?
Nanny Sheng returned to Duke Xing’s Mansion, laden with anxieties.
Let’s forget how Nanny Sheng reported to Madam of Duke Xing. Let’s see as soon as Duke Yong entered the Yulan Pavilion, he saw the dead maid lying on the ground and glaring at him with her lifeless eyes. He was frightened so much that he took two steps backwards and almost fell.
He reached out to stand firm with his hands on the wall, pulled himself together, and looked towards Qin Huaiyong, who was sitting on the main seat, with his face darkening.
Madam Di, who was beside Qin Huaiyong, was nestled in Nanny Zhou’s arms and wiping her tears with a handkerchief. Hearing Duke Yong coming in, she raised her head with red eyes.
On the other side, Di Yan was sitting with his head down in low spirits, looking like a frosted eggplant.
Duke Yong pulled himself together, stepped forward and asked, “What’s going on?”
“Brother-in-law, please sit down and have a talk!” Qin Huaiyong reached out and motioned for him to sit down.
Duke Yong sat in the chair opposite him.
“Brother-in-law, do you know this maid?” Qin Huaiyong stared at the dead maid on the ground with his face darkening.
“Who is this? I don’t know her!” After looking at her carefully and failing to recognize who she was, Duke Yong shook his head in confusion.
“This is the maid sent here by mother-in-law. It’s said that she was sent here to serve me and make Madam Shui out of favor. I’m wondering what mother-in-law means. Madam Shui is pregnant at the moment. She would probably have an accident because of it.” Qin Huaiyong said to Duke Yong with a sneer instead of beating around the bush.
“Brother-in-law, I’m wondering whether I’ve done something offensive to mother-in-law, so that she did this to me. Madam Shui is probably pregnant with my only son. Moreover, Madam Shui is a co-wife marrying me legally and has been acknowledged by your mansion. Why did mother-in-law send such a maid here on purpose?”
Qin Huaiyong threw off his good manners at this moment, and beat the table hard with his hand. His fierce temperament of a general immediately made Duke Yong uneasy.
“Brother-in-law, what’s going on? I’ve no idea yet. Could it be related to my mother? She shouldn’t have done that. She also contributed to my younger sister’s current situation. Could it be that she intends to send a maid to snatch your favor from Madam Shui? She’s so short-sighted…”
Duke Yong sighed helplessly, reached out to point at the maid and said in disapproval, “Brother-in-law, you killed this maid? Ur… even if you are displeased with it, it’s unnecessary to kill her. I don’t know if the maid sent by my mother has signed an irrevocable hard contract. If not, it will cause trouble!”
Duke Yong reacted so quickly that he immediately seized Qin Huaiyong’s fault and said something half-true.
If this matter became significant, Duke Yong’s Mansion would inevitably take the blame. Even if Duke Yong’s Mansion was the family of Madam Di’s parents, they shouldn’t have done that.
“Brother-in-law, the death of this maid has nothing to do with me, but has something to do with your son. If you don’t believe it, you can ask your son directly.” Qin Huaiyong leant back without explanation, but only reached out to point at Di Yan beside him.
At this moment, Di Yan also raised his head with his face full of fear. “Father, I…”
“Tell me, what happened?” With his face darkening, Duke Yong gave his son a hard look and asked.
“Fa-Father, this maid seduced me… I don’t know she’s prepared for uncle-in-law by grandma. I, I don’t know anything… I want to give her back to uncle-in-law… but she, she committed suicide. She killed herself, and it has nothing to do with me…” Because of anxiety and panic, Di Yan said something unorganized. With a mournful face, he did not dare to look towards Huangrui.
His two hands on the bar of the chair were still trembling…