Chapter 39: Action (Part 2)

  Ronghua returned to the house, and after a while, Jinxiu came back. Ronghua deliberately sat with a straight face on one side, and Jinxiu apologized again in front of all the maids in the house. Ronghua saw that Jinxiu was a maid rewarded by the first wife, so she didn't make things difficult for her anymore.

  The other maids in the house had long been frightened into silence, and unexpectedly, this usually gentle Eighth Miss actually had a bit of a stubborn temper. Looking at Jinxiu's appearance again, her face was already pale and her eyes were red and swollen, apparently she had also been scolded by the mistress.

  Jinxiu's affair served as a warning to all the maids, and everyone became more cautious without realizing it.

  Everyone dispersed, Jinxiu poured a cup of tea for Ronghua. Ronghua took the teacup from Jinxiu's hand and said in a low voice, "Thank you for your hard work."

  If it weren't for the other night when Hongge came over and made a scene, she wouldn't have tried to probe Yaohua like this.

  That evening, after dinner, Hongge came to Ronghua's house and mentioned that there was a maid named Shanhu in his house who had been more capable than Xiatao lately. Xiatao would occasionally get angry with him, but Shanhu was even more obedient and never said "no" in front of him. At this point, Hongge raised his voice, "My house is just short of a second-class maid, tomorrow I will report to my mother and promote Shanhu to the second class, so that people won't say that my house has no one available."

  Ronghua didn't know the temper of several maids in Hongge's house and hadn't spoken yet.

  Xiatang was eavesdropping on Hongge and Ronghua outside, but was accidentally discovered by Mugui. Mugui deliberately lifted the door curtain and said loudly: "Sister Xiatang, come in!"

  Xia Tao entered the house, and Hong Ge's face immediately fell. Rong Hua only then realized that Hong Ge had spoken in such a manner because he had an unpleasant encounter with Xia Tao.

  Hong Ge wanted to pull Rong Hua into the room, but Xia Tao had already walked in and coldly said, "Let Miss Eighth explain, what kind of person does Second Master want to use? What right do we have to speak? I just reminded Second Master a few times, and he got angry with me." By this point, Xia Tao's eyes were already red. "I was just saying, Second Master has his heart set on promoting the young maid from the house. Why not promote Bi Yu or Hong Yu instead of Shan Hu?"

  "Brother Hong acted like a spoiled child, 'I'm the master, I want to use whoever I want, where do you get off speaking up? Don't think that just because you're the mother's favorite, everyone has to look up to you.'"

  These words were both sarcastic and mocking, Xia Tao naturally understood the meaning behind them.

  "Coral used to be in the second miss's house, and among the maids who followed me from the beginning, who is not? Why do you say Coral is no good? According to your reasoning, you were also in the first wife's house before, what's so special about you compared to Coral?"

  Xiatiao's eyes turned red as soon as she heard this, "Heaven and earth are witness, when did I rely on being the mistress of the house? If I were that kind of person, I would have gone to the madam long ago."

  Hong Ge also coldly sneered, "Don't think you can get anything good just because you're in front of the mistress."

  The conversation was getting more and more awkward, Rong Hua interrupted from the side, "Mu Jin, take Xia Tao to the ear room for a while."

  Xia Tao left, and Hong Ge was still frowning in anger.

  Ronghua smiled, "It's just a small matter, the maid in front of you can remind you, it's also for your own good. Wanting to promote the maid in the house is a good thing, but you have to think carefully about it, I think Xiaotao is not bad."

  Although Ronghua hasn't seen Xiaotao many times, it's very rare for someone who is close to the big madam to be on the same page as Hongge.

  "Hong Ge let out a snort, 'These years have spoiled her more and more, she always argues with me at the drop of a hat. She's afraid that Shanhu will surpass her in the future. When I quarrel with her in the house, Shanhu heard it and came to persuade her, but she even scolded Shanhu to tears.'"

  Rong Hua glanced at her, just now Xia Tao was indeed wronged, especially when Hong Ge wrongly accused her of being the mistress, the tears she shed were not fake. Xia Tao is a few years older than Hong Ge and has been by his side for so many years, perhaps in her heart, she had some feelings for Hong Ge... that's why she followed him wholeheartedly.

  Hong said: "Sister, you haven't seen Xiang Tao, Xiang Tao's temper is much better than Xia Tao's."

  Rong Hua thought for a moment, "After all, Xia Tao has been with you for a long time, and you trust her. Besides, the fewer people who know about something, the better."

  Hong Ge nodded, "Sister, don't worry, Xia Tao only knows that we get along well, but doesn't know the reason behind it."

  Rong Hua smiled slightly.

  Hong Ge's mind was originally a bit more mature than others, and he could calm down in many situations. Unexpectedly, today he made such a fuss over a girl named Shan Hu and Xia Tao by his side.

  "Is Coral coming out of Second Miss's house?"

  Huang Ge nodded, "Yes."

  This can't be ignored. The coral is indeed as pure and gentle as Hong Ge described, with a warm and docile temperament, but what if... Rong Hua thought of Xia Tao's reddened eyes just now.

  Ronghua's words seemed to have taken effect, and Hongge's anger gradually dissipated.

  Jinxiu and Mugun saw Hongge off. Mugun went to pour tea for Ronghua, while Jinxiu added charcoal to Ronghua's hand warmer.

  Rong Hua asked Jinxiu, "What's going on with Xia Tao?"

  Jinxiu sighed, "She's a straightforward person, I don't know about others, but usually when she talks to someone, her words and tone are all in line with Master Er's. She has a foolish illness in her heart, and she doesn't speak easily outside, but as soon as she's in front of Master Er, she changes completely, and can't help but be meticulous about everything. Many things in Master Er's room are handled by her alone, and it's inevitable that she's a bit overbearing."

  "I'm not approaching her just because she's good; Xia Tao is indeed pretty great."

  Ronghua nodded, Jinxiu's words were almost the same as what she thought, but in a deep palace, even if there was a piece of devoted heart, it might not necessarily bring good results.

  What's on your mind will also be taken as a fault by others.

  "I don't know about the coral, but outside, she's just as kind and gentle as Second Miss." Speaking of Second Miss, Jinxiu paused for a moment, her eyes flickering. "Eighth Miss, you must be careful around Second Miss, absolutely cannot be careless."

  Ronghua looked at Jinxiu in surprise, never expecting that her maid would one day remind her like this.

  "The second young lady and the surface may be somewhat different." Jinxiu made a big decision before saying this.

  Jade Splendor

  Kind and gentle Yaohua. When Hongge mentioned coral, she thought of Yaohua.

  Gentle and peaceful, elegant and refined Yuhua.

  She likes Yohua as much as Hongge likes coral.

  In the past, when she and Yohua were close, they spent their days together, writing poetry, painting, playing chess, and appreciating flowers. In the mansion, there was a lilac tree, so they set up their chessboard under it. Every June, when the lilacs bloomed, white lilac petals would fall all over the board. She came up with an idea to have QiQi and Chuxiao pour two cups of tea, and when the lilac petals drifted into the teacups, she'd call it her "flower tea".

  She was a chess player with a bad temper, Yao Hua patiently played against her. Once Yao Hua gave up six pieces to her, she almost won, but at the last moment, she made an unintended move and lost the whole game.

  She then only knew that the chessboard was unpredictable, but did not know the truth of life being like a game of chess.

  Now she's back in the mortal world, reminiscing about the past... everything is no longer as simple as it seems on the surface.

  That year, how did Father suddenly mention Zhao Xuanhuan to her? And he was so sure. Father didn't spend much time in the mansion, so how could he be familiar with everything? When she told him all about it, Father wasn't surprised at all.

  Few people really know about her and Zhao Xuanhuan. Counting, apart from her and Zhao Xuanhuan, there are only Hongge, Yaohua, and QiQi.

  She had thought that perhaps Hong Ge was younger and accidentally let it slip in front of his father, but after reuniting, Hong Ge didn't even mention knowing Zhao Xuan Huan, let alone reveal her secret unintentionally.

  Most likely it was Yaohua. In fact, she had already suspected Yaohua in her heart before leaving the mansion. After returning to the mansion, she became even more cautious, on the one hand dealing with the first wife, and on the other hand keeping an eye on Yaohua's movements. On the surface, Yaohua seemed like a young lady recovering from illness in the depths of the boudoir.

  Is it really?

  Various news heard from the government, on the surface, has nothing to do with Yao Hua, but upon closer inspection, it seems that they all have a subtle connection with the second young lady Yao Hua who is recuperating from illness.

  Since Yaohua can intervene in the marriages of her third and fourth sisters, she will definitely intervene in her own marriage with Yanhua. It's better for her to take the initiative first, after all, to test whether Yaohua is as she thinks...

  So she had Jinxiu send the painting away, just one painting, and let Yao Hua exhaust all her energy to gather the maids around her.

  Compared to Jinxiu's panic, Ronghua was somewhat calm and composed. Some things were not too late as long as they were anticipated, what she feared most was being caught off guard when she was least expecting it.

  Ronghua thought about these past few days again from start to finish.

  Today's result is both what she expected and what she least wanted.

  Yao Hua, Father, Zhao Xuan Huan, all of these are enough to negate her whole life.

  Jinxiu was still shaken, "Miss, after you left, the old lady indeed asked me again as you said, who arranged for my brother and sister-in-law to come. I didn't say it was the second miss as you taught me."

  Ronghua said: "Even if you didn't bite out Yaohua, the old lady had already figured it out. Some things don't need to be explained clearly, besides, since you're so grateful and protective of Second Miss, Second Miss is the old lady's darling, how could she make things difficult for you?"

  Ronghua glanced at Jinxiu and smiled, saying: "You're not the only one who secretly arranges for your own relatives to be maids in the mansion. The first wife just turns a blind eye. Now that your matter is out in the open, the first wife has no choice but to take a stance." It was because of Hou Mama, the servant at the back door, who was QiQi's cousin, and she often let QiQi use Hou Mama to pass things back and forth. After her affair with Zhao XuanHuan was exposed, the first wife replaced many maids and servants in the mansion. MuGe had asked around and found out that this rule was probably established around that time.

  Now almost all the girls are under the control of the madam, so this rule is not as strict as it used to be.

  "Miss, what shall we do next?" Jinxiu asked again.

  Rong Hua thought for a moment, it seemed that Yao Hua was quite involved in the affairs of Cheng Hou Fu.

  The first time she saw Zhao Xuan Huan, she and Yao Hua were hiding behind a screen. She accidentally caught a glimpse of Zhao Xuan Huan through the gap in the screen, and Yao Hua must have seen him too.

  She likes going up Mount Zhaoxuanhuan, and also Meifengyuehua...

  Yao Hua has always been someone who doesn't show her emotions openly, making it hard for others to read her.

  Ronghua looked out of the window, perhaps Mrs. Dai and she had both made a mistake, they hadn't seen through Yao Hua's thoughts...

  "Miss," Jinxiu said, "what are you thinking?"

  Ronghua looked at Jinxiu, what was she thinking? She had been asking herself this repeatedly over the past few days, until today when she finally figured it out.

  She wants a legitimate and dignified status as a wife, a position that can protect herself, she wants to use this position to protect and take care of herself as much as possible.

  She didn't want to ask for anything else either.

  Updated! Updated!