Chapter 17: Casting Bricks to Attract Jade

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  Chapter 17: Casting Bricks to Attract Jade

  "What's that Wei fellow up to again?" Madam Chen asked lazily, holding a small copper tongs to stir the ashes in the brazier. She was dressed in everyday attire, wearing a peach-red embroidered jacket and a bright red velvet skirt with silver fox fur trim, looking radiant and composed as she sat upright on the couch, her tone barely concealing a hint of schadenfreude.

  She replied with a sentence as before, "Yes."

  "According to me, Eldest Sister is too lenient and magnanimous. Even if she wants to be virtuous, she can't be this kind of virtuous. It's chaotic for our Hou Mansion's rules." Madam Chen said with her mouth, but in her heart, she was also secretly resentful. She had a coquettish and charming concubine on her side too, who often fawned and flattered in front of her brother-in-law, and actually enticed him to visit her room every now and then, making all the other maids and servant girls look down upon themselves.

  If she hadn't just married into the Hou Mansion and wasn't worried about causing trouble with her brother-in-law and the old lady, she would have taken care of that sly girl long ago. Her mother was right, what's most important for her now is to get pregnant as soon as possible and give birth to a son. Looking at how frail her sister-in-law is, it's likely she'll be able to give birth to the Hou Mansion's eldest grandson before her sister-in-law does, which would automatically put their branch of the family in a superior position. That would be perfect - if her sister-in-law can't have children, then eventually the Hou Mansion will still belong to their branch of the family.

  Madam Chen thought about it and felt much happier. She raised her head and asked, "Has the master returned from outside?" It was said that he had been invited by friends to appreciate the spring scenery and compose poetry, and he should have returned by now.

  Jade said hesitantly: "Master he, he..."

  Madam Chen was displeased and said coldly, "What's with the mumbling? What's wrong now?"

  Feicui lowered her head and whispered, "The old master looked displeased and went straight to Wang's wife's room."

  "What?" Mrs. Chen's face turned white with anger, and it was that sly vixen Wang again!

  Madam Chen was still fuming when Du Juan, who had been standing in front of the old lady outside, came over and asked Madam Chen to go upstairs. Madam Chen fiercely pulled her handkerchief twice and spat out a mouthful of air before suppressing the fire in her heart, then composed herself and asked Du Juan: "Auntie, what's going on?"

  "Madam, it's probably because of Second Master's matter. I don't know what happened outside, but when Second Master came to pay his respects to Old Madam, he got extremely angry and even scared Old Madam. That's why she called you over just now to ask about it."

  Mrs. Chen was also puzzled in her heart, wasn't her brother okay when he went out?

  Madam Fu's face was not pleasant, and the white egret was kneeling on the footstool massaging her legs. When Mrs. Chen came over and asked about it, she was also confused, "The master said that a few friends were invited to appreciate the scenery and write poetry together, and he was in high spirits. I don't know what happened that made him so angry, not even coming to my room, but going straight to Wang's room." The more Mrs. Chen spoke, the more she couldn't hold back her tears, becoming increasingly agitated.

  Mrs. Fu couldn't bear to listen any longer and interrupted her words, and Mrs. Chen finally reluctantly closed her mouth. Mrs. Fu called the long-following servant who followed Fu Xueyang out of the house to come up and recount what had happened over the past few days.

  It turned out that Fu Xueyang was invited by several newly acquainted young masters of aristocratic families to appreciate the scenery today. Several young masters of aristocratic families were quite famous for their talents and were currently studying at the Imperial Academy, also preparing to participate in this year's autumn examination. With excitement, they couldn't help but compose poems and engage in witty repartee, indulging in youthful recklessness.

  Fu Xueyang was used to being flattered every day and couldn't figure out his own weight. He wielded a big axe in front of the Lu Ban Gate, but soon became the laughing stock. Fu Xueyang thought he was extraordinary, but when he was ridiculed, his face turned bright red. A young master from a noble family recited an article written by Fu Xueyang two days ago and asked everyone to evaluate it together. Everyone criticized the article, pointing out its flaws one by one.

  Fu Xueyang got angry on the spot, his head heated up and he started fighting with others. Fortunately, he was pulled back by the servants, otherwise this joke would have been made big.

  The long-following who followed Fu Xueyang out at that time was not close to the scene, and the original intention of the matter was also his own speculation. He only said: "Because of a controversial article, they had a disagreement and started fighting, and finally, with the help of others, they reconciled."

  Fu Mu frowned: "Do you know which family's young master it is?"

  He obediently said that the leader was still young, especially the one who almost fought with Fu Xueyang, the grandson of Empress Dowager Shou'an.

  Fu's mother's face sank, and she dismissed the attendants. Madame Chen also became flustered, "Auntie, what can be done about this?"

  Fu's mother glanced at her and scolded: "What are you panicking about? This matter is not a big deal, but it can't be taken lightly either. First, let Xuyang go apologize to the other party, don't make a fuss out of this small matter. If all else fails, I'll personally visit Old Lady Tai to apologize and maintain harmony between us. Xuyang's temper needs to be restrained, you advise her on that, and those who are not obedient should also be disciplined, so as to prevent any hidden troubles from arising."

  Madam Chen's heart was delighted, and she quickly stood up from her chair, pinching her handkerchief and said: "After all, Auntie is formidable, I will definitely take good care of our family's old master, and won't let Auntie worry too much."

  When Mrs. Chen left, Fu Mu half-closed her eyes. This niece's eyelids were really shallow, but Wang Shi should also be taught a lesson. Xuyang is at the critical stage of studying and can't be corrupted by this kind of person, delaying his promising future!

  After a while, Mrs. Fu spoke up and said, "Are you saying that the eldest lady wants to take the eldest girl to her side to raise?"

  Bai Lü hurriedly smiled and said: "Yes, today the eldest lady was very unkind to Wei Niang, her words were full of meaning, wanting to take away the eldest miss."

  Fu's mother narrowed her eyes, and the old lady's face was full of wrinkles. She said, "You're still young, don't be in a hurry to get married." Fu's mother smiled and said, "I'm not in a hurry, I just want to find someone who can take care of me when I'm old." The old lady nodded and said, "That's good, but you have to be careful, there are many bad people out there." Fu's mother said, "Don't worry, I'll be fine."

  She also said: "Later on, you opened the box and took out four new pieces of satin to reward Wei Niang and Liu Niang. The old lady is weak in body, let them serve the old master well, and later they will not be without their rewards." It's time to teach that Su Shi a lesson, she actually accepted the gift but didn't send her maid to attend to the old master, making her lose face! That Wei Niang was also foolish, being taken advantage of like this is really not right!

  Fu Mu rewarded the silk fabric, Su Ying soon found out. She narrowed her eyes and smiled at Shanggui's secretly resentful expression, but didn't say anything.

  That's right.

  Wei's aunt had just sent away the old lady in front of Du Juan and was about to return to the house when she saw Liu's aunt walking over with a gentle swaying gait. Wei's aunt gritted her teeth secretly but didn't plan on acknowledging her. However, Liu's aunt spoke up first: "Sister Wei, has your body recovered? On a cold night like this, if you want to ask Master for pity, shouldn't you also take care of yourself? Moreover, Eldest Miss was born with a weak constitution and can't suffer along with you, right?"

  Wei Yiniang coldly snorted: "No need to pretend, now I'm nowhere near comparable to you, sister. You're the one who's got the favor of the madam, and she dotes on you so much that even if she points east, you wouldn't dare go west. As for me, I don't have your abilities, all I can rely on is the old master's affection and the eldest daughter."

  Madam Liu wasn't annoyed in the least, and she covered her mouth with a handkerchief as she giggled.

  Wei's aunt was laughed at by her and felt uncomfortable, staring at her with a pair of eyes, "What are you laughing at?"

  Liu Yiniang flicked her handkerchief and looked at the corner of her mouth: "You are the elder sister's aunt, how dare I mock you? Alright, since my sister is busy taking care of the elder sister, then I'll detain you." After finishing speaking, she didn't care about Wei Yiniang's reaction and swayed back to her own room.

  Wei Yiniang watched her sassy back view, and then followed with a clenched jaw, returning to her own room unable to calm down. Originally thinking that she would cry to the madam without getting any reaction from the old master, she furrowed her brow and let Mo Li go investigate.

  After a while, Jasmine rushed in flustered and said, "Auntie, auntie, something's wrong!"

  "What's the panic about? What happened?"

  Jasmine lowered her head and stammered: "Earlier, Xier's family was driven to the village."

  Wei Yiniang's eyebrows jumped: "Do you know what's going on?"

  "The slave didn't hear it clearly, but heard that the master had a big fire in his outer study."

  Wei's aunt was sitting on a chair with a handkerchief around her neck, secretly encouraging herself and saying: "Maybe Xi'er was careless in serving tea and angered the old master. This matter will not be mentioned again." It is unknown whether she was speaking to Mulan or to herself.

  The more it was like this, the more Wei Yiniang felt uneasy in her heart, not knowing what to do. She always felt that since Fu Yiyang returned to the mansion, everything had been going wrong for her. First, she had been scolded by Master repeatedly, and then Su Ying didn't give her any face at all, wanting to take away her **!

  Before that, the big servant in front of her had been sold out, now this arm in front of her was also broken off at once. She wasn't like Su Ying, a proper madam of a marquis's manor, she still had some silver money left over from when she worked as a maid in Fu Ye Yang's house, and these years relying on getting favored and the big girl also saved up some, but everywhere making connections was spending money. Xi Er was someone she spent a lot of effort to win over, now it all went down the drain!

  Wei Yiniang was like an ant on a hot pot, in these years, she was the most favored by Master, and even gave birth to Eldest Miss, Su Ying basically had no way with her, used to being smooth sailing, she still didn't know where things went wrong, seeing that she was about to lose Master's favor, how could she not be anxious?

  At night, Fu Yiyang didn't come to the South Wing again. Wei Niang looked at the door and shed tears by herself, waiting in vain for another sleepless night.

  The next morning, she hastily had Jasmine help her change into clothes, and after slightly making up, although she looked pale and wan, there was a hint of pale beauty, pitiful and touching.

  Thought about it and hugged the big girl again, then hurriedly went to the main courtyard, but unexpectedly ended up with nothing.

  Lu Xiu brought over a stool and said politely: "Auntie, please wait a moment, our madam hasn't gotten out of bed yet." He also asked in confusion: "Didn't Madam agree to let you aunts come visit once every three days?"

  "Crossing a Single Reed" is an author's novel "One Reed Crossing", latest.

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