The Concubine's Survival Manual

Chapter 208

Entering August, it will soon be the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Although there is still half a month's time limit for preparations, people in the mansion attach great importance to a big solar term like the Mid-Autumn Festival. Only after August [-]rd, Mrs. Tai clamored to make arrangements and was unwilling Instead of eating wine in the Liushang Restaurant, I wanted to open the Wangyue Tower on a high place. Everyone admired the moon on the Moonwatching Tower, and arranged a group of small opera singers to play and dance at the foot of the mountain-this is enough elegance.

The first sentence above, the next one broke her leg, while Qin Niangzi was familiar with personnel, she had to draw up a menu according to the tastes of everyone, and she also had to order Li Geng's family to organize the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet with a few mothers in charge, as well as the cleaning and repair of Wangyue Tower , and with Guo Fu’s family—the mother in charge of the Xu family’s small opera troupe, they discussed and decided on the playlist, all kinds of trivial matters, and so on.

"It's a good thing that Li Geng's family has been won over." She chatted with Xu Fengjia, "She can give me countless examples for my reference, otherwise there are many things, I really don't know what to do gone."

"Even without her, there is an old mother." Xu Fengjia didn't take it seriously, "She is also a smart person, and she dare not take Joe with you, otherwise, if you ask the old mother, isn't it the same?"

Many old mothers in charge under Mrs. Xu's hands are ready to move now, wanting to prove that they are not old.Since Li Geng's family was subdued by him, of course he had to fight to keep his job. Seventh Lady nodded thoughtfully, and smiled, "That's right, mother gave me this ring, it really helped a lot."

Although it is generally said that when a newcomer takes the position, the mothers below always have to do something, but Seventh Lady is delicate and majestic. These days, people look at her coldly, and they can't get a fault of her. The golden ring that Madam bestowed for body protection, everyone was uncharacteristically trembling, fearing that they would be the first ones, and instead be picked up by Seventh Lady to make an example of others.

Since Qin Niangzi was invisibly frightened by Qi Niangzi, Qi Niangzi took care of this housework very smoothly, although there were some unexpected things, but she had an old mother by her side, a big housekeeper who had experienced things, and when she met someone who didn't understand Place, send someone to ask, the problem is solved immediately.Therefore, although Mrs. Tai continued to have troubles, everything in the mansion was running smoothly, and it was not difficult to live with Seventh Lady, but it just made her busier than usual.

On August [-]th, the Xu family received another news: the army belonging to the Fourth Young Master returned to Beijing for a change of defense. The Xu family, who had been away from home for four or five years, was finally able to return to Beijing for the Mid-Autumn Festival.

As soon as the news came out, first of all, the Fourth Young Madam's joy was no small matter, and she began to torment Seventh Lady, either to apply for wallpaper every day, to re-paste the walls and ceilings in Shensi Hall, or to ask Qi Niang The lady wants decorations, quilts, and all kinds of brand new household utensils... Although the objects are not expensive, but she hates a trivial matter. Seventh lady is suddenly stumbled, and often spends the whole morning busy. I can't even drink a sip of water.

When Grandma Min came to see her, she specially chose the afternoon to come to Mingde Hall.

"You are just in charge of the house, so you must be very busy in the morning, so I won't bother you!" Grandma Min did not bring Nan Qisheng's daughter with her this time, "It would be nice to come to talk with you in the afternoon. Go up When I went back to my uncle's house, Ruiyun also said, please come and talk with you more, she also thought about coming, but she has no free time from morning to night."

Quan Ruiyun wants to be in charge of the house as soon as she enters the house, and she is no better than Qin Niangzi. She came out of the bloody storm, and it is common sense that she does not have the leisure to go out and socialize.Seventh Lady frowned slightly, and sighed, "I went home a few times, and Rui Yun always sat with us, and then went outside to do housework, and there was no time to ask, she has always been happy or not."

She is no better than Grandma Min, she can go to the old house to talk frequently - after all, it is her mother's house, she always runs to her mother's house when she has nothing to do, and provokes gossip.On the contrary, Grandma Min went to Yang's house, that's what the title should mean.

"She..." Grandma Min sighed, "To be honest, it's not like you don't know Seventh Sister, Auntie's temper. Even if you stand by her side, she can find faults, let alone Ruiyun. She's still a daughter-in-law who just came in."

Just listening to Grandma Min's words, one can tell that the relationship between the eldest wife and Quan Ruiyun is far from harmonious.

Qin Niangzi felt very sorry, "It's a pity that I am busy here, otherwise, I really want to go back to see Ruiyun."

She asked again with concern, "Then Brother Ninth..."

"Shanjiu only focuses on studying, and now he doesn't hear anything outside the window, and the whole family dare not disturb him with outside things." Grandma Min shook her head, "I think Ruiyun suffers the most from this, suffering in front of her mother-in-law She was so angry that she didn't dare to say a word to her husband when she came back, that's all she cried secretly. I went to see her several times, and I think she's not in good spirits."

In fact, the population of the Yang family is simple, and now there are only four masters. Compared with the big bad debts that Qin Niangzi has to face, the housework of the Yang family is almost as easy as heaven.Qin Niangzi wanted to go as much as possible, that is, personal relationships, which were more complicated than Xu's family: after all, Yang's family was on the cusp of the storm, and communication outside was a little more difficult.

Seventh Lady immediately frowned, thought again and again, but in the end she just sighed.

It is not easy for a married person to interfere with his younger brother's family affairs.

"Everyone has their own destiny." That's all Seven Lady could say. "Anyway, Shanjiu is also for the sake of making progress. In a few years, if you become a Jinshi, everything will be fine."

Grandma Min suddenly smiled slightly, "Sister Seven is praising me in a different way?"

Brother Min got a Jinshi in this subject, and his ranking was in the top of the second class. The elder was very willing to promote his nephew.In the future, his official career will at least have a good start.

Qin Niangzi looked at Grandma Min and smiled, then said, "Sister-in-law hasn't come to see me for a few months!"

The eldest young lady only went to the temple to offer incense once in the past few months, and she didn't go to and from Grandma Min so frequently like last winter.

"Oh, there are a lot of things at home." Grandma Min didn't seem to notice anything wrong. "Nanyin lost the one in her stomach last year, so I made the decision to pick another roommate for your brother. Now the two of you are fighting each other every day, and I'm going to make trouble as soon as I leave. There are so many things about my mother's family... so I don't have time to come and see it." is you."

The two talked for a while, Grandma Min saw that Miss Qin was tired, she got up and said, "You should sleep with you, I will go to Zhishan Hall to talk to sister Han, and then I will leave the house directly."

It seems that the main purpose of her visit this time is to see the young lady.

Of course, Seventh Lady would not stay in trouble, she sent Grandma Min out of the house without hesitation, turned around and did not go to sleep, but meditated, scribbling and drawing on paper, and after thinking for a long time, she said to Li Xia, "Sister-in-law, this I admire Guangfeng Jiyue's temperament very much. I only hope that she..."

In the middle of the speech, he stopped and did not continue.

But Li Xia immediately understood: she had seen the affair between Grandma Min and Mrs. Young Lady before, and it would be a lie to say that she didn't have any guesses.

"Look, servant girl, these two young wives are all focused on keeping out of the world." She softly analyzed for Seventh Lady. "Whether it's the eldest grandma or the young lady, they don't have too many thoughts that they shouldn't have. Especially the young lady..."

If the first young lady wants to be in charge of the family, she will have to compete with the fifth young lady for a long time.It wouldn't be the case that the Fifth Young Madam just made a move, and she gave the housekeeper's power to her without hesitation...

From this point of view, the eldest young lady really has no motive to do anything harmful. She has retreated from many precious opportunities in front of her, so why would she use the means of murder to seek her own benefit?
Seventh Lady lowered her eyes slightly, and ordered Li Xia. "Go and see what Guyu's equinox is doing. If you can walk away, bring someone in."

Putting Grain Rain and Vernal Equinox in Shiro Goro's house is a few beats.These two have spent the longest time by Wu Niangzi's side. If there are still people who can recall some trivial details of Wu Niangzi's life, it means that these two maids can't be wrong.

Gu Yu quickly entered the Xici room respectfully.

Qin Niangzi didn't talk to her in the Xici room, but brought her into the Xisan room.

The third room on the west is her bedroom. Asking questions in the bedroom not only shows the importance of this matter, but also reveals a sense of confidentiality.

"Sister-in-law came in just now, you saw it." Seventh Lady pondered for a moment, then got straight to the point.

For this kind of maid who lives and dies under her own hands, her life depends on her words, there is no need to play any more tricks.Besides, Gu Yu and Chun Equinox have always been very obedient, not frivolous people who gossip.

Gu Yu froze for a moment, then nodded calmly, "You also came in with Grandma to see Shiro and Goro."

Seventh Lady nodded, and asked again, "Do you still remember that when Fifth Sister was alive, my sister-in-law visited Mingde Hall?"

Gu Yu suddenly showed fear, apparently capturing Qiniangzi's intentions.

Nearly three years after Wu Niangzi's death, her death will finally be rediscovered and investigated after Qi Niangzi came to power.

Of course there will be another disturbance in the mansion, but how could she and Chunfen, as Wu Niangzi's personal maids, not be drawn into such a vortex?
Time is almost the antidote to everything. Even back then, many people hoped to find an explanation for this matter, but three years later, everyone has their own life, and when they start to move forward, they have to bring up the past again , such resistance is inevitable.

Seventh Lady made a random note in her heart, reminding herself to pay attention to this point: the maids in Mingde Hall have to follow her temperament no matter what, but the people outside Mingde Hall may not be happy He recounted the past by himself.

"Grandma Min has not been here for a few years." Gu Yu quickly recalled the details at that time, and explained to Qin Niangzi in a leisurely manner. "As far as this servant remembers, after our girl came in, there were no visitors for the first three months. Four months after she came in, Grandma Min came to see her once. At that time, the girl didn't know why, she was very depressed. Not much to say, the grandma sat down and left. When it was her birthday again, the grandma came to see her, and she never came to the door again. "

Grandma Min came to the door twice, one was a courtesy visit, and the other was to congratulate Fifth Lady on her birthday. These were all normal courtesy visits.Even when I went to see Mrs. Eldest Young Lady, it made sense: after all, we are fellow villagers who grew up together.

With Wu Niangzi's rough temperament, of course, she wouldn't be able to figure out something wrong from it.It is even more impossible for her to break into the Zhishan Hall without notification and run into the scene of a tryst between two people.So the possibility that she discovered the secret between the two of them, causing them to have to kill each other, is quite small.

However, this does not mean that Grandma Min is free from suspicion.

Although the young lady and the children were not very close, but before Shiro and Goro were born, all the male grandchildren in the mansion were from Zhishantang.

But even so, poisoning Wu Niangzi is still not a good move. It is more reasonable to start with food after the children are weaned.

I still know too little about the young lady.

Qin Niangzi sent Gu Yu out, and called Chun Equinox to interrogate her again, but she still got a similar answer.As a bride, Wu Niangzi seldom interacts with the outside world, and the number of times Grandma Min came to her door is already considered too many.

After sending the spring equinox out of the house, she asked Lixia to enter Xisanjian again, and asked her in a deep voice, "What do you think of Xiao Huangpu?"

Li Xia's expression changed, "He is very careful and cautious, and seems to be a reliable person. It's just..."

It's just that Xiao Huangpu's family is serving in the mansion, and it's hard to entrust her with some things, otherwise there is a danger of leaking the news.

Qin Niangzi nodded, "You and Shang Yuan often talk to her, you are all going to get married in the past few years, and I will definitely promote the big girl next to me in the future. If this girl is willing to improve Yes, you can come down to me and tell me in private. Tell her that you will never go wrong if you spend more time with her sister Xiao Minjiang."

Xiao Minjiang is the maid who combs hair next to the young lady, and she also has some face in Zhishantang.

Li Xia hesitated to speak, Qin Niangzi saw it and sighed deeply.

"This is already the path with the least damage." Her tone was rather heavy, "All other methods I can think of will only cause more damage."

In life, there are always many things that have to be done. It is not kind to use a little girl's desire to climb up and encourage her to pry into other people's privacy, but as Qini Niangzi said, this is the path with the least damage.

Lixia's eyes flashed with sadness, she sighed, "Miss, you are also helpless."

To investigate the case, how can it be so simple, especially since there is no strong evidence in this matter, Qin Niangzi can only gather the details of each suspect.

Seventh Lady was about to say something when Shang Yuan's voice came from outside again.

"Young lady, the old mother is here."

Seventh Lady suddenly changed her expression and stood up. "I'll meet her in Xici."

She said to herself again, "It's been five or six days...it's about time."

Lixia glanced at Qiniangzi puzzledly, and then sighed deeply from the bottom of her heart.

Even though she was no longer the ignorant little girl in the Southern Pianyuan, she never felt for a moment that she had figured out the noble lady she grew up with since she was a child.

Seventh Lady's thoughts are really too deep.

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The old mother's face was not very good-looking.

Qin Niangzi ordered her to sit down, and the old mother couldn't wait to look at Shangyuan and Lixia who were pouring tea.

"Let's all go down." Qin Niangzi followed her kindly, and when Shang Yuan poured tea, she sent them all out of Xici Room.

The room fell silent for a moment, and after a long time, the old mother spoke through her teeth.

"This matter... belongs to Wu Xun's family, and it is haunted behind the scenes." Her tone was quite bitter.

Even Seventh Lady raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Wu Xun's family is notorious for not relying on both sides, one-handed account is very beautiful, and she is very delicate, no matter who she is in, she must be reused. Compared with the confused Cai Le's family, she is more like the boss in the account room. take.

Unexpectedly, it was such a core cadre who fell silently to the side of the Fifth Young Madam...

"Tell me carefully." Seventh Lady lowered her tone. "It must be something she picked out by herself, not someone else playing tricks behind her?"

The old mother looked heavy. "Following the young lady's instructions, the old man told these two people as soon as he entered the accounting room, 'Don't talk to each other when checking the accounts, and don't talk about the things in the accounts, otherwise you will inevitably offend people if you spread it outside'. With the old man With this sentence, although the two of them checked the accounts in the house, the house was always quiet. The old man was on the sidelines doing things for the young lady. Talk to each other."

She paused, and then said, "The books with problems have been mixed in various books and sent to the two mothers. Cai Le's family read it and didn't say anything, but Wu Xun's family only read half of it." At that time, he already saw that something was wrong, so he pulled the old man outside to whisper, and pointed out several things that were wrong in the account. He also said that these two mothers have always been capable people around our wife, and I am afraid that this matter will cause trouble. Well, everyone is getting in the way, so I asked me to come down privately and ask the young lady what she meant, to see if the young lady would check it out or not. If she didn't check it out, she would get confused and stop talking."

This is also in line with the temperament of the two mothers who are in charge. Cai Lejia has a cheerful personality, but he is a little confused on the books.Wu Xun's family has a strict temperament, and this affectation is already for the sake of Qin Niangzi's face, giving her a chance to relax.If it wasn't for Qin Niangzi's prior opinion, I'm afraid she would really have been hiding it from her.

Seventh Lady snorted with interest. "This Wu Xun's family is really capable."

(End of this chapter)