Chapter 21 Jiang Xueqing Reappears
At the corner of the alley behind the Chen residence, two figures looked around stealthily. Seeing that there was no one around, a maid wearing a plain green skirt, a third-class maid in the Chen residence, carefully took out a bulging bundle from her arms and handed it to the woman in a hat in front of her.
"Do you really want to do this? If you are discovered, you might lose your life." He held the bag with his hand, hesitant.
The woman in the hat snorted coldly:
"Bai Wei, what are you afraid of? Fortune and wealth are achieved through risk. Are you really willing to be controlled by Liu Yu for the rest of your life? You were the head maid in the Marquis of Pingnan's mansion, but now you can only be the lowest-ranking maid?"
Seeing Bai Wei's expression gradually becoming distorted, the woman in the hat said again:
"In my opinion, Liu Yu did it on purpose. She knew that you and I had contact, but she didn't warn you. This way, Master Chen San could catch you and cut off your chance to become the master."
"She has such a vicious heart." Bai Wei's face was ferocious, his eyes were red:
"Don't even think about it. The old lady said that if Liu Yu doesn't obey, I can replace her."
Yes, she can replace her. She thinks she is no worse than Liu Yu in terms of appearance.
She must avenge the humiliation she has suffered these days.
Thinking of this, Bai Wei took the initiative to put the bag into the arms of the woman in the hat:
"I've inquired about it. The Tao family will arrive at the mansion at 15:00. The banquet will be held in the front yard, Xianghe Courtyard." He took out a packet of medicine powder wrapped in white paper and handed it to the woman in the hat: "This is what you want."
The woman in the hat took it and said in an uncontrollable excitement: "Don't worry, I will not forget you after I enter the Chen Mansion. I will definitely help you get rid of Liu Yu."
Bai Wei nodded.
The two of them continued talking.
After a while, Bai Wei sneaked back the same way.
……
At 1:00 pm, the sound of firecrackers rang out outside the Chen residence. The Tao family carried boxes of betrothal gifts into the Chen residence. Yuzhang Hou handed the gift list to the Chen family servant, and then the servant's voice was heard loudly reading the betrothal gift list:
"The betrothal gift is twenty thousand taels of silver."
"One load of wedding cakes (50 kilograms)"
"..."
The Tao family's betrothal gift was not much, but for a family of only fifth-rank Taichang Shaoqing, it was already very generous.
Tao Yingyi, the eldest son of the Tao family, is not only handsome, but he has also passed the Autumn Examination at a young age. As long as he passes the Spring Examination next year, he will be a Jinshi and can directly enter the court to serve as an official.
Although the daughter of the Chen family may seem like a lowly marriage, she actually has a bright future. No one in Yanjing would fail to say something bad about her.
It is said that Mr. Chen San is good at selecting people and making plans for the future generations.
"My Lord, thank you for your hard work." Master Chen Er came out with several masters of the Chen family, and others at the door followed suit to congratulate them.
In addition to Master Chen San, who served as the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet and the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Master Chen Er was also a sixth-rank official. His position was not high, but with Master Chen San around, powerful people in Yanjing were happy to make friends with him.
"Master Chen, congratulations." Yuzhang Hou cupped his hands, his rough black face smiled with his white teeth showing, and said casually to Master Chen San who was standing beside Master Chen Er:
"Haha, I heard that your cabinet is also assisting in investigating the dam collapse. The fact that you can still find time to come back shows that you value the younger generation and are concerned about them."
Both the Chen and Tao families felt comfortable after hearing this.
Third Master Chen smiled faintly and said, "My Lord, I praised you immediately. I am the third uncle of these children, so I naturally care about it."
"Yes, yes, you, Lord Chen, are well-known for being filial and caring about your children."
Yuzhang Hou was a military general, and he laughed heartily after he finished speaking.
The group of people were talking and laughing, and the person from the Tao family who came to propose marriage was led into the Chen Mansion by Mr. Chen and his men.
At this time, no one noticed that at the back door of the Chen Mansion, a woman wearing the dress of a second-class maid in the Chen Mansion stuffed a bag of silver to the doorman and entered the Chen Mansion.
The concierge took the silver, weighed it, and then opened the door to let the woman in, while also warning her:
"Miss Jiang, you'd better hurry up. If you delay too long and get discovered, don't say that I let you in. Otherwise, I will make sure you come in alive but leave dead."
Jiang Xueqing gritted her teeth. She did not doubt what the man said. Even though she was just a small gatekeeper in the Chen Mansion, it would not be difficult for him to kill a girl from a remote merchant family like her outside.
Thinking of this, Jiang Xueqing looked at the doorman in front of her, with viciousness flashing in her eyes. When she entered the Chen Mansion and became a lady, the first thing she would do was to kill this greedy man.
Thinking this in her heart, she nodded obediently. She nodded hurriedly and took out a bag of silver from her sleeve: "Brother, don't worry. If I am really discovered, I will not give you away."
The doorman took the silver, poured it out, and began to count it, no longer paying attention to Jiang Xueqing.
Jiang Xueqing didn't waste any more time and turned around and walked towards Xiangheyuan.
The doorman narrowed his eyes as he watched the figure disappear into the inner house.
"Brother Tianniu."
At this moment, a black boy of about fifteen or sixteen ran over and thanked the doorman:
"Thank you for guarding the door for me."
The man called Brother Tian Niu waved his hand and said kindly:
"It's nothing. Today is a happy day and we can't let irrelevant people in." He patted the young black boy on the shoulder and strode towards the lower room where the servants lived.
The young man smiled and murmured innocently: "Brother Tian Niu is so nice."
……
On the other hand, after Bai Wei was sent back to Qinyuanju by the maid from the outer courtyard, Liu Yu ordered his men to lock her up.
Liu Yu was still uneasy. She hadn't even finished embroidering a plum blossom when her fingertips had been pricked three or four times. In her previous life, after being disliked by Prince Qi, she had spent more than ten years in Lenghua Palace, embroidering to pass the time. In this life, she could master embroidery skills as soon as she touched a needle. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for her to make money by embroidering.
It was impossible for her to be accidentally stabbed repeatedly.
Something must have happened.
But Bai Wei has returned, and there is no sound coming from the outer courtyard. That should be normal, right?
She lowered her head and saw the blood oozing out of the needle hole on her index finger. She was stunned for a long time before she took out a handkerchief and wiped off the blood.
She put the cloth and needle and thread in her hands into a basket, put on her shoes and socks, stood up, and told Guyu to add some ice cubes to the ice jar that was almost melting, and then pulled the thin quilt over Lian Baoer who was sleeping on the couch.
She took Guyu out of the side room and went to the woodshed in Guan Baiwei's backyard.
"Liu Yu, you bitch, you fooled me, I did nothing wrong, why did you lock me up?"
"I'm going to find the Third Master and tell him that you're a vicious woman..."
"..."
Liu Yu heard Bai Wei's cursing from a distance.
"My wife." Gu Yu, who was always calm, couldn't help but frown after hearing this: "I'll go and teach her a lesson..."
Liu Yu's expression did not change. He raised his hand to stop Gu Yu and walked to the door of the table room.
The one guarding outside the woodshed was the older maid that the eldest lady sent last time, whose name seemed to be Chunju.
"aunt"
Liu Yu nodded and ordered: "Open the door."