Chapter 11 Chapter 11 Breaking off the Engagement
"Among the twelve women buried in that manor, there were also two Xianrongs and one Lin Shu."
"Xianrong, Suiqing, and Lin Shu are all orphans carefully selected by Fei Yanggu from Leshantang."
"Only on the day they stop serving the Nara clan will they be given their true names. Otherwise, they will have no names until they die, only code names."
"Who knows what real names they will be given if they step down from Nara's side? There's really no way to find out."
Su Peisheng was overwhelmed. He was not a stupid person, but he was helpless against Fei Yanggu and his daughter.
Fei Yanggu's mansion was as solid as an iron barrel and even more airtight than the Forbidden City.
Fei Yanggu was a meticulous and shrewd man. Over the years, countless spies had infiltrated Fei Yanggu's mansion, but no spy had ever succeeded in lurking around Nara, not even a single one.
The spies couldn't even enter the inner courtyard and could only lurk in the outer courtyard and do the rough work of sweeping and carrying things.
"..." Yinzhen was speechless.
Unexpectedly, Su Peisheng found such a ridiculous answer.
After a moment's silence, Yinzhen said coldly, "Find out Lin Shu's background in this manor as soon as possible."
"Huh." Su Peisheng was surprised and couldn't figure out why the master only checked Lin Shu's background?
The Fourth Master was decisive and resolute in his actions and never did anything in vain. So what was so special about Lin Shu?
Others may not know, but Su Peisheng, as the most trusted servant of the Fourth Master, can guess some of his master's preferences.
Compared with the fierce and flamboyant Manchu ladies, the Fourth Master prefers the gentle, quiet, and charming Han women. Lin Shu is not within the Fourth Master's aesthetic range.
Su Peisheng became more and more confused, and busily helped the Fourth Master change his clothes.
"Master, the dowry list that Nara sent for review when she got engaged listed seventeen farms as dowry, and the farm at Tanzhe Temple was not among them. I guess Nara has been hiding a lot of property over the years."
"This place is less than three miles away from the manor on the southern slope of Tanzhe Temple, which is owned by me."
"I don't care about her dowry at all." Yinzhen raised the corner of his mouth with disdain.
Nara was narrow-minded and thought that he would covet her dowry, so she hid her shabby private farm.
"Su Sheng! The medicinal soup for body bath is ready." The sound of Sui Qing's approaching footsteps could be heard outside the window.
"I'm here! Thank you, Miss Suiqing."
Su Peisheng smiled widely and hurried out the door.
Sui Qing is an excellent doctor. If it weren’t for Sui Qing, my leg would have been damaged.
Meanwhile, Chu Xian and her wet nurse, Madam Zheng, were having a private conversation in the main room.
Nanny Zheng was born mute and was a servant girl brought as a dowry by Chu Xian's mother.
Because her milk was better than that of other wet nurses, she was chosen by her mother and father to be one of Chu Xian's wet nurses.
Nanny Zheng babbled and gestured with her hands, using the simple sign language that Chu Xian had taught her.
"Miss, your future son-in-law is so handsome. I will definitely ask for a glass of wedding wine next year."
Chu Xian subconsciously glanced towards the west wing and explained in a low voice, "That's the steward I hired, not my husband."
With Nanny Zheng's inadvertent reminder, Chu Xian suddenly realized and finally remembered why Chi Zheng looked so familiar. It turned out that Chi Zheng's appearance and stature were very similar to those of the Fourth Prince.
Nanny Zheng looked puzzled and hurriedly apologized.
"Isn't it the Fourth Prince? Please forgive me, young lady, it's just that my eyes are blurry."
"Mammy, would you like to come back home with me next month to retire?"
Chu Xian changed the subject, unwilling to continue talking about the unlucky Fourth Prince.
Nanny Zheng's only son served as a long-time attendant to Chu Xian's fourth brother Wu Ge, and followed Wu Ge to serve in the Northwest Army. Nanny Zheng's daughter-in-law also followed the army with her child.
Last year, Nanny Zheng begged Chu Xian to arrange for her to live in the Tanzhe Temple manor, saying that she should go to the Tanzhe Temple every day to pray for the Fourth Young Master and her son to eliminate the karma of killing.
Nanny Zheng gestured anxiously, unwilling to go back.
Chu Xian couldn't persuade the old nanny, so she had to go to the stable to look for Sui Qing, and secretly told Sui Qing to find time to visit her more often in the future.
"Lin Shu, I'm going to take care of that manor now."
Sui Qing held the whip and pedaled along, but was about to raise it when the girl stopped him.
"Let's keep that manor for now."
"Ah? But keeping that manor will be a disaster. If someone uses it as a handle..." Sui Qing looked horrified.
"The tenant farmer at the end of the village looks honest and well-behaved. He wants to rent some farmland. You can rent all the land to him and waive half of the rent. He can help look after the farmland. You can lock up the farmland and have the tenant farmer keep an eye out for trespassers."
"But Lin Shu, that Zhuangzi..."
"Suiqing, just do it." Chu Xian interrupted Suiqing's advice.
With her wedding to the Fourth Prince approaching, she must do whatever it takes to get rid of this ill-fated marriage as soon as possible.
She would rather endure imprisonment than marry the Fourth Prince and live a life of misery.
She was at the end of her rope and had nowhere else to turn.
That manor was her only hope and her last chance to turn things around.
Sui Qing was extremely anxious and was about to continue persuading him when she caught a glimpse of the servant Su Sheng walking slowly towards her with his sleeves tucked in. She turned around and gripped the reins tightly.
"Oh, it's getting late. Where are you going, Miss Suiqing? If there's anything I can help with, just send me on."
"Thank you, Brother Su. I need to go out of town and will be back early tomorrow morning."
Sui Qing did not have a good impression of the smiling tiger-like Su Sheng. After some polite words, he turned around and rode away at a gallop.
Su Peisheng raised his hand to rub his nose, then walked to Lin Shu who was feeding the pigs with a smile, took the slop bucket and helped feed the pigs.
"Brother Su, the mistress of the family said that the Tanzhe Temple farm needs to be managed."
"Your young master's leg injury is only a minor fracture. It will heal in two months. Then he can stay in this manor as a steward."
"That would be great. Thank you for your care, young lady. Tomorrow I will go to Songzhuzhai to resign. If you don't mind, Su Sheng can be a long-term laborer in the manor, running errands and doing rough work. The master will provide the meals."
"How can I just take care of the food, Brother Su? I'll report to the young lady tomorrow and calculate your wages."
Chu Xian selfishly didn't want Chi Zheng and his servant to leave her sight, lest they do anything bad, so she agreed to Su Sheng's request without hesitation.
"Everything has to wait for our young master to finalize it. There's no rush." Su Peisheng agreed readily. How could the Fourth Master stay here and work like a slave for Nara's manor?
If I didn't need Suiqing to treat my leg injury, I would have left this shabby and barren place long ago.
Chu Xian's heart sank when she heard this. It seemed that Chi Zheng and his servant were not prepared to be the managers of her estate.
Before her marriage with the Fourth Prince was finalized, she had to keep Chi Zheng and Su Sheng in the manor, even if she had to imprison them, she had to keep them here.
The two of them chatted about daily life, each with their own thoughts.
Su Peisheng took the opportunity to ask indirect questions, asking how old the little maid Lin Shu was and who else was in the family. In a few words, he led the conversation to the attitude of the master's lady towards the servants.
Chu Xian calmly picked up the hatchet and chopped the rotten vegetables into pieces to feed the chickens.
Su Sheng works as a waiter in Songzhuzhai, so naturally, no one there would say a good word about her.
Su Sheng must have heard of her bad reputation in Songzhuzhai, which is why he was so determined to inquire about the situation of the host girl today.
"Su Sheng, there are many blind people in this world. You can't just rely on what you see and hear."
"Although my daughter is not beautiful or smart, she is kind-hearted and never bullies the weak."
Chu Xian defended herself confidently.
However, her speed in clearing herself of wrongdoing could never keep up with the speed at which those people spread rumors and slandered her.
I don’t know what kind of ridiculous rumors have been spreading in the capital recently that have made Su Sheng so wary of her.
Su Peisheng sneered in his heart. Lin Shu was so bold, but he still agreed with her: "Oh, how could the master's daughter pay attention to a small farmhand like me? The emperor is far away. I hope Miss Lin will take care of me in the future."
"Su Sheng, did you hear any rumors about our girl in Songzhuzhai? Tell me about it. I didn't expect the guys in Songzhuzhai to be so gossipy." Chu Xian ridiculed Tao Kan.
Su Peisheng didn't expect that Lin Shu would put the blame on the Fourth Master's Songzhuzhai.
Although I dislike Nara, I disdain to do the dirty thing of gossiping about her and ruining her reputation. I don't even bother to mention Nara.
I don't know how Lin Shu got the news that Songzhuzhai had slandered Nala's reputation, but he was determined to find out who was spreading rumors.
"Miss Lin, please don't listen to hearsay. I have never heard anyone say anything bad about the daughter of the master family in Songzhuzhai."
"One day, I happened to be listening to storytelling in a teahouse in the back alley of Songzhuzhai. I heard people discussing the affair between the young lady of the master's family and her cousin, Guo Luoluo, from Prince An's mansion, who kept entertainers and actresses, and how the two girls were playing with pearls."
Su Peisheng did not lie. The version he heard was even more erotic. Even he, a eunuch who had just been punished, did not dare to say it out loud because it was too explicit.
"What is playing with pearls? Hehe..." Chu Xian was so angry that she laughed.
He is getting more and more angry, as if he is dead.
Those people can still survive by making up stories about her being uneducated and arrogant, but they cannot make up obscene rumors.
Now, even her best friend Wan Ning is involved!
Chu Xian took a deep breath and jumped onto the horse: "Su Sheng, I'm going out for a while and will be back tomorrow."
Seeing Lin Shu leaving with a whip in his hand angrily, Su Peisheng pretended to be anxious and stamped his feet.
"Hey, Lin Shu, where are you going?"
But he had no intention of stopping him. After Lin Shu walked away, Su Peisheng raised his hand and raised his chin towards the persimmons in the west.
After a while, the wind blew through the treetops and there was no other movement.
After dinner, secret reports came in one after another.
Su Peisheng presented the wax secret letter to the Fourth Master. After the Fourth Master read the letter carefully, he actually let out a surprised exclamation.
"She actually left that manor behind?"
Yinzhen couldn't guess what Nara's intentions were.
That manor filled with bones was a fatal handle that could destroy Nara. Why did she choose to leave the fatal handle behind?
"Master, I think Nara is using your power to bully others, thinking she'll soon become the prince's wife and no one will dare punish her, so I'm not dealing with that manor."
"I heard that Nara has a peculiar habit. After brutally killing innocent people, she would go to the crime scene at night to relive the pain of killing. She is truly insane."
Su Peisheng talked about the countless scandals of the Nara family, and it would take three days and three nights to finish telling them all.
"Don't pay attention to outsiders." Yinzhen was too lazy to listen to any words about Nara.
At this time, another secret report was delivered. After reading the content of the secret report, a sinister and cruel look flashed in Yinzhen's eyes.
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