Chapter 41: The Heart's Machinery (Middle)

  The Empress was shocked, "How could he appoint Mu Hou?"

  The old master frowned slightly, "This case is very complicated, with the prince pressing down from above and needing a capable official below. It's necessary to handle the case properly, but it can't be handled too well either. If it's not handled well, those in power will blame us, and if it's handled well, we'll offend many high-ranking officials and nobles."

  The empress heard the implication behind the words, "So you're saying that His Majesty wants to use Wu Mu Hou as a capable official?"

  The old man shook his head, "It's not necessarily so, the Emperor probably took notice of Wu Mu Hou's reputation for being cold-faced, that's why he would have such an edict."

  "I deliberately took a warm sedan chair to pass by the side of the Wu Mu Hou Mansion today, and the front door of the Wu Mu Hou Mansion was cold and deserted. It seems that no one is willing to easily go and ask about the temper of this cold-faced young master." The old master pondered for a moment and furrowed his brow, "Let's put aside the matter of the second sister for now and see how things develop. If Wu Mu Hou messes up this matter and gets punished..."

  "Wait until Duke Wu Mu completes his task and gains the emperor's trust, this marriage will be even more unattainable for us. Moreover, Duke Wu Mu's grandmother is Princess He Shuo, even if he fails in his mission, the emperor will still consider Princess He Shuo's face... We've already invested so much in this marriage, we can't waver at the critical moment."

  After all, she is the legitimate wife of a first-class marquis and a first-class Yun riding knight. Although Wu Mu Hou has a bad temper, he doesn't have any major problems with his conduct. If it weren't for the sudden death of Wu Mu Hou's originally designated legitimate wife, this marriage wouldn't have fallen to their family.

  The old master still had doubts, "Wu Mu Hou and Da Gu Ye are different, Wu Mu Hou I see that he has a lot of noble son's temperament, and he is even more cold and unloving, not like Da Gu Ye..."

  "Second sister is not young anymore, where can you find such a suitable marriage now? As long as her future is good after marrying in, that's all. Besides, Master's important matter is what matters most, didn't Master say so? The current situation..."

  "Don't put all your eggs in one basket."

  It's precisely this, how many people have been ruined because they mistakenly relied on a new master. If something were to happen to the Hou estate in the future, the Tao family would still need to rely on an even bigger backer... This concerns the entire Tao family and cannot be taken lightly. Thinking of this, the old master nodded, "After all, he is already a marquis with some pride."

  The old master glanced at his tea bowl, and the mistress knew he wanted to drink tea, so she hurriedly called Dongrui to come in and change the tea.

  The old man picked up his tea bowl and took a few sips, his furrowed brow relaxing slightly.

  Madam took the opportunity to ask again, "The case of General Jianwei, won't it implicate Master?"

  The old master seemed a bit distracted, "After all, this is a small sect, and it won't be discovered for the time being."

  The old lady felt relieved and thought of the third house moving to Beijing, "I think it's better to vacate the three-room mansion in Sanmiao Hutong and let the third house live there first. When a suitable courtyard is found, another one will be bought."

  The old master was grateful for the old lady's generosity and softened his tone, "That is our ancestral property that should be divided among us."

  At that time, when the family was divided, this courtyard in Sanmiao Hutong was allocated to the eldest house. After the old master took office in Beijing and started living there, he later felt that the house was too small, so he bought this one.

  This house, the main building on the east side, Qian Xi Tang, is where the old lady lives. Although the old lady has moved to Feng Hua Ju to recuperate from her illness, Qian Xi Tang is still being cleaned as usual. The old lady hasn't said anything about it, and the second lady doesn't dare suggest moving in either.

  "These few days you go ask mother, or invite mother to move back to Qian Xi Tang!"

  It's almost time for ancestor worship, and Madame understands this principle.

  The lady remembered what Yuhua said earlier and consulted with the old master, "I think I'll wait until the marriage of my second sister is settled before dealing with the Wang family and the Yi Cheng Hou Fu's side."

  The old master casually agreed, "You just take care of these things!"

  Another official came to the mansion, and the master went out to greet him. The mistress was busy arranging for someone to serve them, knowing that the master had never liked her inquiring about these serious government matters, so she didn't ask much either. She just called over Chen Mama, "Since there are some free hands on Yaohua's side, take Feicui to Ronghua's place."

  Mrs. Chen nodded in agreement.

  "Tomorrow I still have to go to the Yi Cheng Hou Fu to see Shu Hua, and discuss some things with her." She was taken aback when she heard that Shu Hua had a miscarriage, and indeed, her mind was in disarray. Yao Hua's considerations were not unreasonable either. The person who would be marrying into the Yi Cheng Hou Fu still needed to be carefully considered. If Eighth Miss Rong Hua was truly obedient, then it would be fine. But if she was like Fifth Miss, then what kind of thoughts did she harbor... She had her own methods.

  "Let me go ask Jinxiu again," said Chen Mama, "Jinxiu told Chu Xiao that Eighth Miss is going to marry Eldest Master as a concubine, but it's not necessarily something she heard from Eighth Miss herself. Last time I reminded Jinxiu to pay attention to Eighth Miss, that girl probably picked up on something from my words and thought she knew better."

  The lady heard this and said, "If Ronghua had any moves, Jinxiu should have come to me a long time ago."

  As she spoke, the lady suddenly remembered something, "I recall that last time Ma Dao's wife from San Sheng An came to pay her respects, she mentioned that Eldest Sister has recently encountered some calamity, is that true?"

  Madam said so, Chen's mother suddenly remembered that Madam believed in the nun from Tongjiao Temple, and didn't quite believe in Ma Dao's words. If it weren't for treating Second Miss's illness, the direction of Sansheng An would be beneficial to Second Miss, and they needed to worship Bodhisattva there, otherwise they wouldn't have let Ma Dao enter the mansion all the time.

  The old lady said: "I just thought she was talking nonsense, and with Master Dustproof at home, I didn't pay attention." She paused for a moment, "Who would have thought that her words came true?"

  "Who says it isn't? This Ma Dao Po is usually so careless, every day she comes to the mansion and asks the madam for money to burn incense in front of Yao Wang, but after several years, Second Miss's illness hasn't improved at all, so we've lost interest."

  It's like this, so I didn't take her seriously.

  The old lady thought for a moment, "Later you go and call her over, I'll ask her carefully again to see if there's anything that wasn't done properly. At this point in time, it's better to believe it's true than not."

  Madam Chen hastily ordered someone to go to the Three Saints' Ancestral Hall to fetch Madam Ma and bring her back to the mansion, while she herself took the jade pendant and went to Eighth Miss's residence.

  Feicui packed up her things and waited for Chen Mama to take her to Eighth Miss's place. Feicui had already made up her mind, no matter how dissatisfied Eighth Miss was with her, it didn't matter, as long as Second Miss was behind her, the sky wouldn't fall.

  Madam Chen entered, Second Miss was sleeping, Feicui quietly kowtowed to Second Miss and then left with Madam Chen.

  Arrived at Miss Ba's house, Fei Cui only stood behind Chen Mama, lowering her head and not speaking.

  Madam Chen said with a smile, "It's because Eighth Miss's house has fewer people that the jade was allocated here. With three second-class maids, it can barely be used."

  Madam Chen said, without waiting for Miss Ba's opinion, "Fei Cui, go and pay your respects to Miss Ba quickly."

  With Old Mother Chen present, Feicui acted with great respect and courtesy, going forward to pay her respects to Ronghua, acknowledging him as her master.

  Feicui raised her head again and saw Miss Ba's smiling face. "What are you usually good at?"

  "Needle and thread."

  Rong Hua smiled contentedly: "This time it's good, I have another helper." Yao Hua quickly had a new move, again using the old lady's hand to send it in, making her unable to refuse.

  Jade looked respectful, but slightly raised her chin, and there was no hint of gentleness in her eyes.

  Mrs. Chen sat for a while and left without mentioning it again.

  Ronghua handed the needle and thread to Feicui, "I want to make a lace-trimmed jacket for Mother. You used to be in Mother's room, you know what she likes. I haven't embroidered the lace yet, you can help me with it."

  Feicui didn't expect Eighth Miss to assign her a task so quickly. She had just arrived at Second Miss's place and had nothing to do for the past few days, awkwardly passing the time as an idle bystander. Moreover, needlework was originally her forte, and Eighth Miss entrusting it to her was a way of showing favor, Feicui couldn't help but feel pleased with herself. In her eyes, Eighth Miss was humble and obedient, eager to win her over.

  Jade raised an eyebrow, and the person also became arrogant. "Flower-edged robes, the old lady likes to wear the ones made by the second young lady the most. Don't look at the second young lady's needlework being not much, but the things she makes are the most to the old lady's liking. After all, it's a mother-daughter bond, and no one can compare to that."

  The meaning of this sentence is: Miss Eight is a bastard, no matter how well she sells herself, it's useless.

  Muxin's face changed upon hearing this, and she was about to step forward when Ronghua pulled her back. Muxin pouted in discontent, her face flushing bright red.

  The plot of Second Miss is just beginning, hahaha, classmates can guess what will happen next.

  Notice: The book will be on shelves at midnight tonight. To celebrate the launch, there will be an extra chapter at midnight, so those who don't sleep early can wait a bit.

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