Chapter Thirty-six: The Guest in Erniang's Residence

  As soon as I came out of my aunt's house, I saw Dong Er and Cui Er standing by the stove in the corridor, warming themselves up while chatting about something.

  Dong'er saw Liu Rong come out and hurriedly stood up to welcome her, while Cui'er also followed Dong'er forward, looking at Liu Rong from a distance with a flattering smile on her face.

  Liu Rong naturally knew why Cui Er's attitude was getting better and better, it was because she had never mentioned the matter of deducting her wages to anyone, but slowly brewing the result.

  Many people mistakenly believe that using someone else's secrets to threaten them is the best way to utilize those secrets, but in reality, this often leads to undesirable outcomes.

  The greatest use of secrecy is not to reveal it, but to keep it secret. Maintaining silence, as long as your position has enough influence on the other party, the other party will become more and more respectful to you, and at the same time, it will also bring you more benefits.

  Because secrets only work when they are kept secret. And people who worry about the consequences of this thing getting out and can't handle it themselves will have a different attitude towards you from the bottom of their heart.

  Otherwise, even if Liu Rong saved the second lady, with Liu Rong's status in this mansion, a second-class maid like Cui Er would not have such an attitude.

  Liu Rong asked Dong Er with her eyes whether she had told Cui Er what she had instructed in the morning, and saw Dong Er nodding at her.

  "Mother Li knew that Third Miss was going to Second Grandma's place today, so she specially asked me to wait for Third Miss here and take her to Second Grandma's house."

  Before she could even open her mouth, Cui'er was already smiling and speaking up, looking at Liu Rong.

  "What's been going on with Erniang these past few days?" Liu Rong asked as she walked alongside Cui'er.

  "Second Grandma is doing well, but still can't move around and feels a bit depressed. However, her spirits are good. The other day, she even specially asked Seventh Brother's wet nurse to bring Seventh Brother back to her room...” Cui'er carefully told Liu Rong, while also reminding her about the road conditions ahead, but absolutely not mentioning what had happened in Liu Rong's house, or Dong'er asking for her help to get some charcoal for warmth.

  Looking at Cui'er, Liu Rong couldn't help but nod slightly. If this Cui'er wasn't disloyal, she was indeed a very capable and clever maid.

  Just then, Liu Rong asked another question, and Cui'er answered in detail, making Liu Rong understand the situation in the mansion. The several people arrived at the front of the second madam's room.

  Cui'er went in and announced their arrival, then led Liu Rong inside.

  As soon as she entered the house, Liu Rong couldn't help but be taken aback. Unexpectedly, in addition to the wet nurse and Li Mama, there was also a woman sitting in Er Nainai's room. The woman looked about the same age as Er Nainai, with some similarities on her face, but she was obviously plumper than Er Nainai. She was dressed very elegantly, wearing a crimson velvet jacket with gold thread and embroidered flowers, over a five-colored silk cloak with silver mouse fur trim, and a skirt made of jade-green satin with floral patterns, looking extremely wealthy and eye-catching, clearly from a rich family background.

  The woman saw Cui'er bringing Liu Rong in and immediately stood up: "Is this the third sister of your Hou Mansion?"

  Asking questions, he also carefully sized up Liu Rong, his eyes with a few points of scrutiny, as if anxious to verify something.

  Liu Rong slightly furrowed her brow, and then saw the second lady lying down open her mouth to that woman: "Sister, don't scare our San Jie." As she spoke, she introduced Liu Rong: "San Jie, this is my mother's sister, also the second lady of the Zhen manor. If you don't mind, you can call her Aunt Zhen."

  "Great Aunt is well." Liu Rong obediently called out in response to Second Madam's words.

  Madam Zhen smiled as soon as she saw Liu Rong call her "Aunt": "How clever. Come, let Aunt take a look. San Jie's features are really delicate and pleasing to the eye." Sparrow, hurry up and get me the bangles I ordered from Silver Phoenix Building.

  As she spoke, Mrs. Zhen took a small pear-wood box from the hand of her maid and took out a pair of gold hoop earrings that were just the right size but slightly smaller than usual: "Put them on and see if they fit."

  Liu Rong looked at Er Nainai with a slightly difficult expression, but Er Nainai smiled and nodded to Liu Rong, indicating for her to take over.

  Mrs. Zhen was a straightforward person, seeing Liu Rong's hesitation, she directly pulled over Liu Rong's hand and put it on for her. When it was finally on her wrist, Liu Rong only then discovered that the bangle was extremely exquisite, just by looking at the craftsmanship one could tell it was of high quality. The most ingenious part was that when the bangle was put on Liu Rong's wrist, it fit perfectly, clearly custom-made with great care.

  The second grandma only now clearly saw the bangle that Madam Zhen sent, and it was made of red gold which is much more expensive than ordinary gold. This pair was a red gold ring with nine turns of inlaid pearls, just the craftsmanship alone would cost a lot, this gift is too valuable!

  "Second Aunt's eyebrows slightly furrowed: 'Elder sister, this gift is a bit too expensive for the child.'"

  "It's a pity, how can it be a pity? I see that San Jie likes it. This bangle suits San Jie perfectly. To think of it, this bangle was originally prepared for my family's Hua Er, but unexpectedly, it suits Rong Jie perfectly too. Look at this delicate little wrist and this bangle, they match each other perfectly." Zhen Er Fu Ren smiled brightly as she looked at Liu Rong, and the more she looked, the more she liked her.

  Liu Rong slightly nervously withdrew her hand and retreated to Er Nainai's side, looking up at Li Mama who was waiting on the side.

  Mrs. Li watched as several people spoke, already secretly anxious and worried that she would miss the good time to intervene, and also knowing that Liu Rong was busy at the moment, it was hard for her to take out this time, but Mrs. Zhen Er just smiled and stayed put, without any intention of leaving. When Liu Rong looked over at herself, she hurriedly stepped forward and subtly reminded: "Mrs. Zhen Er, the second madam's body hasn't fully recovered yet, I'm afraid it will be time for her to take medicine soon."

  "Hurry up and take the medicine, don't blame me for delaying it." Mrs. Zhen seemed to have not understood the meaning of Li Mama's words at all: "Otherwise, hand over the medicine to me, Wu Niang used to be most afraid of bitterness, every time she took medicine, I had to coax her into drinking it."

  "Elder sister, there are still juniors present, can't you spare some face for me?" The second lady refused, but it made Mrs. Zhen laugh instead.

  Mrs. Li just reminded him that he had only finished taking his morning medicine a short while ago, where did the medicine come from, and she couldn't help but look at Liu Rong.

  Seeing Li's mother with a somewhat anxious gaze, Liu Rong took a step forward and smiled at Er Nainai: "Er Nainai, don't worry, I'll pretend I didn't see anything."

  "You this child." The second grandma's face turned red.

  Liu Rong didn't smile anymore, and seriously looked at Er Nainai to ask: "However, how is your wound healing these past few days? Is there anywhere that's uncomfortable?"

  When Liu Rong asked, the second lady's expression also became serious: "The wound is not a problem, it's just that the sutured place occasionally still hurts a bit, but what else can be done? This can..." The second lady remembered that there were outsiders present and couldn't help but glance at Zhen Er Furen, holding back the words "remove stitches" without saying them.

  Madam Zhen saw everything, and when she saw the evasive expression of the second madam, her eyes lit up, and a hint of uncontrollable excitement appeared at the corner of her mouth. However, she suddenly stood up and bid farewell: "I suddenly remembered that there are still some things in my house that have not been dealt with, so I won't accompany you, Fifth Lady, for now, and I'll go back first."

  Waited for a moment, Er Nai Nai responded with a sound, then Zhen Er Furen hastily led the servant girls and quickly left.

  Looking at the back of Zhen Er's wife disappearing in a hurry, Second Madam couldn't help but furrow her brow, and her previous smile was gone. Her face turned solemn: "Rong Jie, the fact that you saved me and Seventh Brother is probably spreading from the mansion."