Chapter Seventeen Household Chores

  The east wing of the Warm Pavilion was in a state of utter chaos at this moment.

  The two third-class maids of the Lianxiang Institute finally managed to hold down Chen Bing with great effort, but they couldn't withstand the struggles of this usually elegant and refined young lady from a noble family, who was kicking her legs high in the air. Zhu Shi pressed against her chest, her face pale as iron, and her collar was slightly wrinkled due to Chen Bing's sudden movement just now. Chen Lan gently rubbed his wrist, not even looking at Chen Bing, who was scolding and shouting on the other side.

  Except for Chen Bing, who was completely unaware of the situation, everyone else in the room was staring at the door. Compared to the flustered and disheveled crowd inside the house, Luo Niang appeared calm and composed, wearing a light yellow jacket with small floral patterns and a pale yellow skirt with scattered flowers. She stood up straight, greeted Chen Bing politely, and then turned her head to glance at him before saying in a soft voice: "Please forgive me for coming over so abruptly, Old Lady. I was sent by the mistress, who heard the news and was anxious to know what's happening, so she asked me to come over and take a look... Who would have thought..."

  After that, Chen Lan found that Zhu's face was even more gloomy than before. It was clear that the old lady was furious and looked at Chen Bing with a few more pitying glances. Sure enough, Zhu stared at her usually clever but now bewildered granddaughter and shouted sternly: "Look at your current state, where is the dignity of a noble family's daughter? If this gets out, which family will dare to come and propose marriage? If you want your father to return safely, go back to your room and stay there properly, don't humiliate yourself here again!"

  Chen Bing's face turned pale as she was dragged out by the two maids, her usual eloquence deserting her as she struggled to come up with a single plea for mercy.

  Seeing her leave, Lü Yu went to brew hot tea and brought it over. Chen Lan hastily took the Yuzhi covered bowl and handed it in front of Zhu Shi, then softly persuaded: "Old lady please calm down, second sister must have just heard the shocking news and lost her composure, it's not intentional."

  Zhu had already noticed the red mark on Chen Lan's right wrist, and then her gaze shifted to examine her face. She gently grasped her hand and nodded: "Good child, she speaks so carelessly, yet you still make excuses for her; you truly understand the situation."

  Madam Luo saw Zhu Shi nodding at Chen Lan and then asked her to sit down beside her. Those cold, piercing eyes suddenly turned on herself, and she hastily opened her mouth to explain: "Old lady, just now I came over from that side, specifically passing by the second gate area, but the Brocade Guards have not left yet. Although it's still unclear what exactly happened, with such a big commotion in the first month of the year, I'm afraid other families in the capital already know about it. For the time being, let's not mention taking care of things outside; this family's affairs are also difficult to manage. Looking at Second Miss just now, Second Madam might be unable to see people or take care of matters for a while, and our madam is also conveniently ill..."

  Chen Lan saw that Luo Yiniang was standing sideways, speaking in a clear and orderly manner. Although she had never overstepped the boundaries of a concubine, every word and sentence hit the mark. Comparing this to Xu Furen's behavior in the past, Chen Lan felt that it was fortunate that these two women didn't often meet, or else how would they get along? Indeed, as Luo Yiniang spoke, she only felt Zhu Shi's hand gripping her wrist tighter and tighter, unaware that the elderly lady was already extremely displeased.

  Before Luo Niang finished speaking, Zhu Shi interrupted her and asked indifferently: "What you said is not bad. Then, who should be in charge of the family now?"

  At this moment, the house was quiet, and even the big servant girls like Lü Yu lowered their heads and dared not make a sound. Chen Lan thought that perhaps Lady Luo wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to interfere with family affairs, but looking at her calm face again, she didn't seem to be thinking that way. Just as everyone was lost in their own thoughts, Lady Luo bowed down again.

  "Old lady, the second lady and my wife may not be in high spirits for the time being, but if I say something excessive now, let alone Zheng Mama by your side, even these big girls from Lianxiang Institute can take charge of household chores at Shuijing Hall. It's just that we are a marquis family, although we've encountered some troubles, we can't let outsiders laugh at us. The few young ladies in our house are almost the same age, only different by months. Why not take this opportunity to manage the household affairs? Each of the three houses sends out one young lady, and Old Lady assigns two suitable people to oversee them. Wouldn't that be proper? This way, not to mention those who want to mock our marquis family, even the imperial court would think that we are a centuries-old noble family, deeply understanding etiquette and propriety, and not losing our composure in the face of trouble."

  Old Lady Luo finished speaking and finally stopped. She looked at Madam Zhu with a respectful expression again. If the atmosphere in the house had been tense and frightening just now, then at this moment, everyone from top to bottom let out a sigh of relief. Even Madam Zhu's face relaxed slightly. Chen Lan originally held Old Lady Luo in high esteem, and now he felt that she was flawless in her words and actions today. He couldn't help but feel that it wasn't just improvisation, but rather something she had prepared beforehand.

  It's not surprising. Zhu Shi could have found out about the situation in advance through Jin Wangfei. Chen Lan could have learned about it from Hong Luo's occasional eavesdropping. Luo Yiniang was originally a relative of Weiguo Gong. Even if she had just returned, it wouldn't be surprising that she knew about this in advance. But to go to such great lengths, just to let her own biological daughter Chen Yu come out and manage the household with the young ladies from the other two houses?

  After hearing about the situation on Madam Ma's side, Zhu had already thought about who would take over the household chores. She was already old and it didn't make sense for her to take on more responsibilities at this point. The two daughters-in-law were not reliable, so naturally she had to choose from among her granddaughters. As it happened, Luo's suggestion coincided with her own thoughts. Nevertheless, she still couldn't help but think carefully about all aspects of the matter. Having confirmed that there was no other way, she finally nodded in agreement.

  "You're right, let's do it this way."

  After saying what she had to say, Luo Niang made an excuse that she still needed to go back and attend to the lady, and after paying her respects, she took her leave. Once she was gone, Zhu Shi instructed: "Yu Rong, you go inform them at Zi Ning Ju, tell Er Niang to let Er Ya look at how Er Ya is today, first calm down and take care of herself before anything else, or have Si Ya come out and help the three sisters manage household chores together, and bring back the pair of cards from Er Niang's place. Lan Er, as the eldest, you can't avoid taking on more responsibilities, whatever needs to be done, just give the orders."

  Yu Rou responded with a sound, and hurriedly went out. And Chen Lan couldn't help but secretly sigh that Old Lady Zhu was getting old when she directly passed over Chen Bing and pointed at Chen Huan. Second Uncle Chen Jiu even if he had been released from prison, after all, his crime name had not been determined, his title had not been removed, Chen Bing was still the real marquis' daughter, also the eldest, and older in age, everything could suppress these younger sisters. Now without Chen Bing, she took advantage of being older and the eldest to naturally become the one in charge. After thinking for a moment, she stood up smoothly.

  "Although I'd like to take on more responsibilities, Madam, I've never actually handled household matters before. Wouldn't it be better if you let Zheng Mama supervise instead?"

  "No one is good at it from the start, besides, she has to rush around these days." Madam Zhu's expression didn't change, she took a sip of hot tea, then turned her head to glance at Lü'e, "Alright, Lü'e, you go to Shuǐjìng Hall to help your third miss with some things, don't let those self-important wives and concubines in the house deceive her."

  Chen Lan had originally suspected that there was something fishy about the recent events at home, and since Zheng Mama was one of Zhu Shi's confidantes, she must have gone out to investigate. So, Chen Lan intentionally mentioned asking for Zheng Mama's help, but in reality, she was thinking of Qing E. As a result, Zhu Shi was overjoyed and hastily agreed. However, she didn't forget to mention again the plan to go to Huguo Temple to burn incense three days later. Zhu Shi suspected that something was amiss at home, but since it was an annual tradition, she couldn't let outsiders gossip about it, so she naturally agreed.

  Although the matter has been settled, the Jin Yiwei have not left yet, so naturally no one dares to move slightly, and can only wait for news in the house. It's unknown how long they've waited, but finally someone lifted the curtain and came in, it was the second-class maid Zi Lu who had been ordered to guard the corridor. When Zhu saw her still wanting to kneel down and kowtow, she immediately stood up impatiently: "Quickly speak, what's the outcome?"

  "Reporting back to the old lady, all of the Brocade Guards have left. Outside, Manager Liu said that they moved two boxes of things from Second Master's study, which seemed very heavy and required four people to lift. Additionally, there was also a box of documents. Now the study has been sealed off with a notice, and no one has disturbed any other place. The Brocade Guards at the entrance have all been withdrawn."

  "Thank goodness, thank heavens! Amitabha Buddha!"

  Although Zhu still wondered what had been taken away, she immediately joined her hands together and muttered to herself. Chen Lan couldn't help but whisper a prayer for God's protection in his heart. Supporting Zhu to sit down, she said in a low voice: "Now that our brothers and sisters are all in the east and west wings, shouldn't we let them out too?"

  "Let them all go." Zhu nodded tiredly and added, "No need to let them come over and make trouble again, each returning to their own place. Also, Lan'er, your Jinxiu Pavilion is too far from the Shuijing Hall, it's better to move to Lianxiangyuan for now, this suite of Warm Pavilion still has space."

  Although this is a delightful surprise to others, Chen Lan does not want to live under someone else's nose, and hurriedly smiles: "I would be delighted to come over and accompany the old lady, but I don't sleep well at night, and if I disturb the old lady, it wouldn't be good. Besides, although Jinxiu Pavilion is a bit far away, it's still within this household, just a few more steps, where would I get tired? At most, I'll just get up early and sleep late every day, anyway, I'm still young, I don't mind this little bit of time. Everyone outside knows that the old lady is fair, treating her grandchildren equally, how could I let people say that the old lady is biased?"

  "Alright, alright, have it your way!" Madam Zhu was overjoyed upon hearing this and gently patted Chen Lan's hand. "A daughter of the Chen family should indeed have your bearing."

  The girls in the house, while echoing each other, were exchanging meaningful glances with their close friends. It seems that the second room is in big trouble now, judging from Old Lady's attitude, could it be that the main room is going to rise again?

  PS: OMG, yesterday I mentioned Christmas socks, originally just to say that I hope everyone can save some money. As a result, I received nearly thirty pairs of socks, plus peace symbols and Christmas hats. It's not even Christmas yet and I've already received gifts, thank you so much!

  Thank 125401451, drooldrool, Nanjing Little Sheep, Keke Sweetheart o, Wanwan, Book Friend 080827100621712, Happy Every Day ^_^ , xiyususu, 0910818913, Tianlili, With Dreams Parallel, SophyC, Qing Song Yinping, Deng Buoying, Le Yan, Hallliana, Cha Ning, Heart Quiet, Book Friend 19822387, Huihui Wang66, Greedy Little Pig88, Poppyjj, Peanut Potato, Waiting Cat, Ramona, Xiaobing and Haiyan, Dongfeng365, Foggy Return Journey, Bamboo Section Man, Homesick Man, Cat May... many friends' rewards. Hehe, yesterday I originally wanted to update more, but... didn't save the manuscript - .

  Recommend He Miao's "Xian Sheng Qing Shang Xian", I have always liked her online games, this one is also very interesting, I'm reading it every day, please click on the link below ^_^