Chapter 83 Killing someone by destroying their spirit

Aunt Xue suddenly felt as if her face had been peeled off.

She forced a smile and said,

"It seems a bit of a waste of talent for someone like Granny Yuan to just be a governess."

Yuan Hongqu stared directly at her with a half-smile. Aunt Xue felt guilty under her gaze and chuckled twice to cover her embarrassment.

This old woman, Yuan, looked young, but her eyes seemed to see right through people. Aunt Xue felt that she had nowhere to hide her thoughts from Yuan Hongqu.

“A person like Miss Xue, although she is no longer eligible for selection, seems to be wasting her talent if she doesn’t enter the palace. I happen to have some connections, so why don’t I put in a good word for your family and help Miss Xue enter the palace?”

Yuan Hongqu didn't want to cause trouble, but Aunt Xue kept pressing her, making her feel that if she didn't do something, the Xue family would take a piece of her flesh.

Aunt Xue was surprised to learn that Yuan Hongqu possessed such abilities, and her face lit up with joy. She quickly said,

“Granny Yuan, if you can help with this great matter, the Xue family will certainly not treat you unfairly.”

Madam Wang was also surprised. Could it be that Yuan Hongqu, who seemed to have no background, really had some extraordinary connection, which was why Feng'er befriended her and respected her as her teacher?

Could this relationship also be useful to their Yuan Chun?

Since she was able to arrange for the families of criminals to enter the palace, the people Yuan Hongqu knew must have been of high status.

If someone like that could take care of Yuan Chun in the palace, that would be good!

She unconsciously pricked up her ears to listen to Yuan Hongqu's answer.

Yuan Hongqu's lips curled slightly as she spoke softly.

"Last month, the Imperial Household Department needed a batch of palace maids, regardless of status, as long as they were at least twelve years old." She paused, looking at Aunt Xue's expectant eyes, before continuing,

"Although she is going to the laundry department, it is not a place that just anyone can enter. Miss Xue is first-rate in both appearance and character. Once she enters the palace, she will soon be appreciated by noble people and rise to prominence."

As soon as Madam Wang heard Yuan Hongqu mention that the Imperial Household Department needed palace maids, she knew what was going on.

Every so often, the Imperial Household Department would find some young maids outside the palace. Their status in the palace was equivalent to that of the family members of criminals, and the things they had to do were not even as good as the rough maids in the Jia family.

Don't assume that working in the laundry department means you can wash clothes for important people. As soon as you enter, they won't even be able to touch the corner of the important person's clothes.

Their daily tasks consisted of mundane chores, such as moving and carrying things. Even if they could wash clothes, they could only handle the clothes of the third-class maids serving noblemen.

To kill someone is to destroy their spirit. Madam Wang glanced at Yuan Hongqu, but her expression remained indifferent, as if she were still waiting for Aunt Xue's reply.

Lady Wang lowered her head slightly, thinking to herself that this Granny Yuan was really unwilling to suffer any loss. Baochai wanted her to go to the Xue family to be a nanny, so she persuaded Aunt Xue to let Xue Baochai go to the laundry department to be a rough maid.

She didn't need to look to know how interesting her sister's expression was.

Aunt Xue looked like she'd swallowed a fly, her lips trembling slightly; she was clearly furious.

Yuan Hongqu, however, had no intention of letting her off so easily. She looked directly at Baochai and said meaningfully,

“Miss Xue’s family problems are nothing. I guarantee your brother’s affairs won’t affect you, but he’ll definitely be arrested by the laundry department.”

The Xue family kept the fact that Xue Pan had killed someone and then faked his death to escape the lawsuit a secret, and very few people knew about it after he went to the capital.

Aunt Xue felt a chill run down her spine. How could Yuan Hongqu know this?

If she did something to upset her, she would immediately reveal Pan'er's secrets.

Grandmother Jia frowned and glanced at Madam Wang. She didn't even know what was going on with the Xue family.

What did Wang do behind my back?

"Granny Yuan, today's incident was caused by Baochai's loose tongue. Please don't implicate others." Since her mother couldn't stand up for her, Xue Baochai immediately apologized to Yuan Hongqu. As she spoke, tears streamed down her face.

"I need to take care of my mother, so I will not go to the palace. There is no need to trouble Granny Yuan any further."

If she were to serve the princess, that would be an unparalleled honor. But if she were only sent to the laundry department to do menial tasks, what would be the point?

Baochai felt powerless and lamented her bitter fate: her mother was only so-so, and her brother was so useless, what could she do? Was it wrong for her to fight for herself?

She knew she had met her match today.

Originally, Granny Yuan was already giving her a chance to integrate into Daiyu's circle of friends, just like the three sisters... But she was greedy and ruined everything.

“Sister Bao, as long as you don’t fight with me for Granny Yuan, I will still consider you a friend.” Daiyu walked over, holding up a small handkerchief, and stood on tiptoe to wipe away Baochai’s tears.

Baochai's tears flowed even more fiercely.

Jia Baoyu and the three sisters also came over and kept trying to persuade Baochai.

Baochai finally stopped crying.

"Mrs. Xue, please take Miss Bao back to freshen up first. Feng-ge and Wang-shi will stay behind." Although Grandmother Jia no longer manages affairs, it would be bad if the Xue family had any shameful dealings that implicated her own family.

Grandmother Jia knew very well that although the Jia family appeared prosperous and thriving on the outside, it was already in a precarious state inside. If they were not careful, the empire might collapse even faster.

Aunt Xue and Baochai left, and as soon as they returned to Pear Fragrance Courtyard, the mother and daughter collapsed together.

"My poor child, it's all because of your good-for-nothing brother that you've been dragged down." Aunt Xue cried sadly while holding Baochai.

Baochai choked back tears, not saying a word; it was no use saying anything now.

“Mother, let’s move back to our own home,” Baochai brought up the matter again.

Aunt Xue shook her head.

“Chai’er, we can’t go back. Your brother faked his death and escaped entirely thanks to the prestige of the Rongguo Mansion. He can only leave freely now. If we go back to our own home, without your uncle’s protection, I’m afraid your brother will be charged with some kind of crime and sent back to his ancestral home. There are quite a few people there who recognize your brother, and even more who are watching our family. If we go back and someone reports us, your brother’s life will be over.”

Baochai's eyes were red, and she choked back tears.

"Mother, the truth will eventually come out. Won't Granny Yuan find out? I'm afraid we won't be able to stay in the capital for long..."

"My son, don't be afraid. We're right here in the Rongguo Mansion. Who would dare to come to the Duke's Mansion to arrest someone?"

"My brother always has to be more restrained."

"Sigh, I was thinking of hiring that old nanny Yuan to come to our house today. Since she was unwilling to be your governess, then making her the mistress of the Xue family should be enough, right? Who would have thought that she seemed to have seen through my thoughts? It's really strange!" Aunt Xue said resentfully.