Chapter 711 Shouldn't this matter be reported to the Second Young Master?

Zhu Ying, like her, pressed herself against the carriage—she didn't care what the people outside were saying; she only cared about what kind of trouble her master was going to cause, lest her master act recklessly again, causing her to get beaten or even lose her life.

Needless to say, Qin Xin, who loves listening to gossip, practically had her ears pressed against the carriage wall.

The only person who didn't stick their ear to listen was Mo Ji.

It wasn't that he didn't want to eavesdrop, but he was afraid that if Xiao Qingyuan and Liu Nanshi got off the carriage and saw Qin Xin and the others eavesdropping, they would definitely get a beating. He had to keep an eye on them for them.

After a while, there was finally no more movement in the carriage. Qin Xin knew they had finished talking. She secretly gave Mo Ji a wink, then squeezed into the crowd and disappeared.

Sure enough, not long after Qin Xin left, Xiao Qingyuan got off the carriage.

His face was ten times uglier than when he got into the carriage: "Moji, let's go! Back to the Prince's Mansion!"

"Yes, Your Highness!"

Mo Ji quickly helped Xiao Qingyuan into the Prince's carriage, and they drove off.

Liu Nanshi did not return. She lifted the curtain and instructed Zhuying, "Go to the Duke's Mansion and send a message to Gu Qianhan. Tell him that I am waiting for him in the private room of Qingyun Tower. Tell him that he must come to see me. I have something very important to tell him, which concerns the life and death of the Gu family. If he does not come, he will regret it!"

Zhu Ying opened her mouth, wanting to say that she used to always invite Gu Qianhan to drink tea and admire flowers, but Gu Qianhan never accepted. Now that she was married, it was even less likely that she would accept the invitation!

But the words caught in her throat. She dared not argue, for she knew she would be punished for doing so.

Although failing to invite Gu Qianhan will also result in punishment, at least the punishment will be lighter.

"Yes, Miss."

Bamboo Shadow responded softly, then turned and left.

The Duke's Mansion.

Not long after Shen Wantang returned, a maid came to report that Liu Nanshi had sent a maid to invite Gu Qianhan to a private room at Qingyun Tower.

Shen Wantang was stunned: "Has Liu Nanshi become so shameless? She brazenly invited my husband?"

The maid who brought the message said, "Second Young Mistress, that maid also said that their eldest young lady said she had something very important to tell the second young master, and that it concerned the life and death of the Gu family! She said that if the second young master doesn't go, he will regret it."

Shen Wantang remained calm and replied without hesitation, "I'm not going!"

Is there anyone who knows better than Gu Qianhan herself whether the Gu family is on the verge of collapse?

The maid wasn't Shen Wantang's person; she was just a servant at the second gate responsible for running errands. Strictly speaking, she was Meng Yunlan's person.

She hesitated for a moment and said, "Second Young Madam, shouldn't this matter be reported to the Second Young Master? Shouldn't the Second Young Master decide for himself?"

Shen Wantang's face revealed a half-smile: "Of course not. If I can't even make this decision, why would I marry him?"

"Moreover, if it were a matter of life and death for the Gu family, Miss Liu should have consulted with the Duke or the eldest son of the Duke's mansion, not the second son."

"Go ahead, just reply to Liu Nanshi's people as I said, there's no need to report to the Second Young Master again."

The young maid bit her lip and lowered her head: "Yes."

Shen Wantang watched her leave, her expression turning indifferent.

She usually rewards the maids and servants who come to deliver messages, but she didn't reward this one today.

Meng Yunlan had always managed the entire Duke's mansion. Apart from the servants in the main house, all the other maids and servants in the mansion were managed by the matrons under Meng Yunlan's command, and Meng Yunlan also decided how much monthly allowance they received.

Therefore, although the maids appeared respectful to Shen Wantang, they actually listened to Meng Yunlan and sided with Meng Yunlan in matters big and small.

Some people are clueless and even hope that she, the newly arrived second young mistress, will have a bad time. There are quite a few people who outwardly comply but inwardly defy her.

This is the power of the matriarch; the servants all depend on her for survival, so naturally they like to curry favor with her.

Therefore, when Shen Wantang asked for five years of management rights, Meng Yunlan immediately changed his mind and refused to let her manage the household.

If he only manages for a year, Shen Wantang will not get any benefits and will be very difficult to control.

The servants in the mansion knew that she would only be in charge for a year and would not take her seriously. They would still try to curry favor with Meng Yunlan because they knew that she, the second young mistress, was just a tool for transition. The one who truly controlled the household and held power was still Meng Yunlan.

But if they can manage for five years, the people below won't dare to act recklessly, since nobody wants to live in fear for five years.

"Cuckoo".

"Young Madam."

"Go out and see where those maids went after they left here."

"yes."

Du Juan followed her out.

After a while, she returned and reported: "Young Madam, after that maid left us, she went to Yulu Courtyard. When she came out of Yulu Courtyard, she was carrying a handful of silver ingots. Presumably, they were a reward from the Eldest Young Madam."

Shen Wantang nodded: "Okay, I understand."

She wasn't surprised that the maidservant went to inform Meng Yunlan; what she wanted to see more was how Meng Yunlan would react after learning about it.

Just as she was about to instruct Dujuan to continue keeping watch, Qinxin returned.

Shen Wantang breathed a sigh of relief. She decided to send Qin Xin instead. Du Juan was too honest and not suitable for gathering information or keeping an eye on people.

After Qin Xin recounted all the information she had obtained from Hua Yi, she added, "Young Madam, I also overheard Miss Liu and Young Master Xiao plotting to frame our Duke's Mansion. I didn't hear the specifics of how they planned to frame him, but I heard that Miss Liu seemed to hate the young master intensely, which is why she wanted to take revenge."

"Moreover, it seems that Young Master Xiao disagreed with Miss Liu's approach and argued with her for a long time."

Shen Wantang was speechless after hearing this. It turned out that Liu Nanshi wanted to frame the Duke's Mansion, but she pretended to send someone to invite Gu Qianhan to discuss a matter concerning the life and death of the Duke's Mansion.

She said softly, "With Liu Nanshi's abilities, it would be very difficult for her to frame the Duke's mansion. She is not a threat. On the contrary, it is Shen Mingxuan who might cause problems."

"Young Madam, is Miss Shen really addicted to that banned drug? She was perfectly fine when we went back last time. Could it be that Huayi is lying to me? I only dare to believe half of what she says now."

Shen Wantang nodded: "The addiction is probably true. When Chu Yanluo treated her injuries, I knew she used banned drugs, otherwise the effect wouldn't have been so good. Shen Mingxuan was so badly injured that she couldn't feel any pain. Ordinary drugs can't do that."

Qin Xin felt a chill run down her spine. At first, she didn't believe that Chu Yanluo was still alive, but now she believed it. Moreover, she not only believed it, but also realized that Chu Yanluo had prepared a backup plan for herself long ago!