Setting a Little Trap First

The First Madam laughed and said, "This is not my doing. If it weren't for the fact that Miss Xi was unwilling to come back from the beginning, and hadn't been bargaining with us and making all sorts of demands, making me feel that she was a girl who didn't covet power and wealth, had her own opinions, and respected herself, I wouldn't have carefully selected servants for her."

"Furthermore," she added, "Even if the servants we assigned to her were inappropriate, do you think she would let herself be led by the nose? Look at everything she arranged today; she was extremely thoughtful, considering every detail, even more meticulous than us seasoned women of the inner quarters. Even if Lady Wei suspects she's intentionally avoiding us, she can't produce any evidence."

She felt quite relieved after saying this.

Wasn't she in the same boat during this time? Thinking back to the circumstances of giving birth, and recalling the wet nurse in prison, the deceased nanny by Lady Wei's side, and the escaped midwife, she was almost certain that Lady Wei had switched her child. But she had no evidence, and even though she was heartbroken, she was helpless.

If Xu Xi hadn't drawn the midwife's portrait and followed the clues to find her whereabouts, her heart would still be in turmoil, and she might have died of anxiety one day.

Thinking that all of this was thanks to Xu Xi, the First Madam felt both heartbroken and proud.

It's heartbreaking that this child, who should have lived a life of luxury, suffered so much hardship in her first fourteen years; it's also a source of pride that even without careful upbringing, she still grew into a child more outstanding than many others.

"Indeed," the old lady said with great emotion, "This child is truly remarkable."

The First Madam, however, had no interest in discussing these matters. She stood up and said, "Mother, Caidie should be here by now, so I'll head back."

She still has many things to do. She was just putting on an act here, putting on a show for Lady Wei.

"Go ahead. If anything important happens, have someone tell me immediately," the old lady instructed.

The First Madam hurriedly returned to the main courtyard of the main house, where she saw Matron Zhou waiting for her.

"How's the setup going?" she asked.

Matron Zhou smiled and said, "Don't worry, Madam, everything is prepared. It's only just gotten dark; we'll know the results soon."

Only then did the First Madam show a smile.

It is impolite not to reciprocate. Lady Wei's methods are too vicious. Lady Zhu is not that ruthless. She cannot take action against Lady Wei before obtaining evidence, lest innocent people be harmed. However, she can still use some tricks to keep Lady Wei busy, to stop her from constantly targeting Xu Xi and causing trouble for Xu Xi, and to wait peacefully for the day the Marquis returns.

Caixia came in and asked the First Madam, "Madam, the hot water is ready. Would you like to take a bath?"

The First Madam waved her hand, "No rush, wait a moment. You can use the hot water first, and I'll have someone bring it over when I give the order." After thinking for a moment, she instructed them, "Just remove my hairpins and jewelry for now."

By this time, almost everyone had gone to bed, but she was still dressed up neatly. Wouldn't going to see a play later arouse suspicion? Even if people suspected she was behind the scheme, they couldn't leave no evidence!

On the second wife's side, Lady Wei removed her makeup, took a bath, and was about to lie down in bed when a maid rushed in, panting heavily before Lady Wei could even begin to scold her, "Madam, you'd better go and see... there's a commotion at the second young master's place in the front courtyard." Lady Wei sat up abruptly. "What happened?"

The maid blushed and stammered, "It seems... it seems someone climbed into the second young master's bed."

"What?" Lady Wei got out of bed and almost knocked over the stool in front of her.

"Someone, help me get dressed," Lady Wei ordered.

A maid on night duty brought clothes and helped Lady Wei put them on.

"Second Madam, should we call Matron Li?" the maid asked.

Matron Li is old and no longer works the night shift. She doesn't stay here; instead, she lives in the row of servants' rooms behind the second house.

"Go and summon him," Lady Wei ordered.

After Lady Wei finished dressing and quickly combed her hair, Matron Li was already waiting at the door. Seeing Lady Wei come out, she didn't dare to ask any questions, but only looked at the maid who had come to deliver the message, hoping to get some information from her.

Unexpectedly, the maid, fearing Lady Wei's wrath, had already lowered her head and shrank back, acting like a quail, trying her best to minimize her presence.

Having no other choice, Matron Li followed Lady Wei out the door, then told two Daya to follow, all the while worrying herself over.

Matron Li herself was of average appearance, but she asked Lady Wei for a beautiful maid to be her son's wife. The maid she gave birth to was stunningly beautiful, and her appearance was outstanding among the maids in the mansion.

Perhaps because of her grandmother's different status with Lady Wei, and because of her beauty, Matron Li Qingliu, became increasingly ambitious, always hoping to marry a young master in the mansion and become his concubine.

In order to win over Matron Li, Lady Wei also hinted that Qingliu could become Zhao Jing'an's concubine in the future, but this would have to wait until Zhao Jing'an got married and had a son.

Families in the capital who dote on their daughters consider not only family background and character when choosing a son-in-law, but also the cleanliness of their household affairs.

The Marquis's mansion now holds only the title, and Zhao Jing'an is only the son of a concubine, making it extremely difficult for him to find a good wife. If the inner court is also not clean, with concubines and mistresses before the wife even enters the household, and there might even be an eldest son from a concubine, then finding a wife will be even more difficult.

Therefore, Lady Wei was very concerned about this. Zhao Jing'an was only served by servants, not maids. If any maids got too close to Zhao Jing'an, Lady Wei would drag them over and beat them.

Lady Wei also saw through Qingliu's restlessness. However, as Matron Li's granddaughter, she couldn't punish her, only appease her. That's why she gave her this promise.

She told Matron Li that before the second young master got married and had children, he could not do anything out of line, otherwise she would be immediately betrothed to a servant in the manor. She thought that with Qingliu's unwillingness to be inferior to others, she would restrain herself and follow the rules for the sake of this promise.

But only Matron Li knew that her granddaughter had an exceptionally big heart.

She didn't want to be Zhao Jing'an's concubine; she wanted to be Zhao Jingli's. Zhao Jingli was not only the heir apparent, but also handsome and more capable than Zhao Jing'an. Therefore, Qingliu had her eye on the eldest son, not the second young master.

Even though she knew Qingliu's feelings, when she heard that a maid had climbed into Zhao Jing'an's bed, Matron Li still couldn't help but feel flustered, fearing that it might be her own granddaughter.

If it really is Qingliu, how will the Second Madam deal with her?

With a heavy heart, Matron Li followed the Second Madam to the outer courtyard, where she saw a large crowd gathered under the lanterns hanging at the entrance of Zhao Jing'an's courtyard. From inside came the sounds of a woman crying and the First Madam's scolding.

The two still held onto a sliver of hope, but the crying they were hearing now seemed to be Qingliu's, and their hearts sank.

Just what I feared most came to pass.