All maids and servants purchased by the Marquis' Mansion must be strictly registered, and the pawnbrokers must also provide information on three generations. No servants are allowed to enter the mansion at will.
Especially the maids and servants around the three young masters, they had to undergo physical examinations to ensure their innocence before they could serve their masters closely.
Nanny Zhao asked doubtfully, "Did the young lady place this person to serve the prince?" If so, it would not be a problem for the young lady Jiang Shuxiu to be in charge of the household affairs.
However, the maids present looked at each other, and no one dared to speak easily.
The leading mother hesitated for a moment, then finally stepped forward and whispered, "I'm afraid the young lady doesn't know about this. The prince's personal servant was watching a chess game and secretly brought it in from outside." At this point, she pulled someone over and said, "You were on duty at the corner gate that night. You saw it with your own eyes. Tell us!"
The old woman who was called gave an awkward smile and stepped forward with her head held high.
"That night when I was on duty," she began to recount with a bitter face, "I saw it. It wasn't brought by human traffickers at all. He was sneaking around in a sedan chair, as if he came out from a secret door."
After hearing this, Aunt Zhao was horrified: "What did you say?!"
"That woman has been in the mansion for a few days now," the maid replied cautiously. "She has thin shoulders and a slender waist, and speaks like a foxy woman. She doesn't look like a girl from a respectable family."
Aunt Zhao asked in a deep voice, "That person came in. Did he go to pay his respects to the young lady?"
"Not yet," the maid replied respectfully, "After entering the mansion, the prince asked her to serve in the room and did not take her to see the young lady."
Hong Yingrong came out of the inner room and originally planned to have lunch, but when she heard the conversation between Zhao Ma and others, her heart sank.
The words "coming out through the secret door" just mentioned are of obvious meaning, referring to those brothels and prostitutes.
In the previous life, the imperial edict issued by His Majesty to the Marquis' Mansion contained one sentence about Xue Yuanchu killing someone because of jealousy over a prostitute. His daughter-in-law Jiang Shuxiu even made angry remarks in prison, claiming that prostitutes should be allowed to continue the family line at the Marquis' Mansion.
Hong Yingrong had never expected that because of the previous incident in the imperial examination, she had temporarily neglected the trivial matters in the mansion, and this potential crisis was quietly growing under her nose. It was truly a case of "darkness under the lamp".
Seeing the old lady's serious expression, Nanny Zhao dismissed everyone first, thinking that this matter should not be made public.
"All of you please leave first. Don't spread what you just said!" Madam Zhao ordered in a deep voice, waving her hand to signal the servants and maids to leave. "And have the kitchen prepare a serving of rice jerky and fresh clams and send it over."
Hong Yingrong looked at the dishes on the table and lost her appetite. She felt mixed emotions. Her intuition told her that the appearance of Xiangqin might bring some unnecessary trouble to the Marquis' Mansion.
"I can't eat anymore, let's go to Lanyue Pavilion!" Hong Yingrong resolutely put down the chopsticks in her hand.
Upon hearing the news, Madam Zhao and the maids from Prajna Hall followed closely behind.
Before they even stepped out of the courtyard, Hong Yingrong gave another decisive order: "Find a few strong men, and don't forget to bring ropes."
"Madam, this is inappropriate, right? The prince is still recovering from his injuries." Nanny Zhao was worried. She didn't expect Hong Yingrong to be so angry.
"If I don't care about it, that would be very wrong!" Hong Yingrong said as she knocked the ground twice with the crutch in her hand.
Although she was not using the dragon-patterned staff bestowed by the emperor, the powerful sound was still shocking and revealed an unquestionable majesty.
"Okay! Go and call for help!" Nanny Zhao hurriedly ordered Hanqiao behind her to gather people.
Afterwards, she supported Hong Yingrong and went to Lanyue Pavilion together.
Ever since Xue Yuanchu broke his leg and was recuperating, Young Madam Jiang Shuxiu moved to Tingyu Pavilion, and an atmosphere of decadence and lethargy permeated the Lanyue Pavilion.
Several third-class maids also became unruly, entering and leaving the inner room without any scruples, hanging out with Xue Yuanchu, and the old rules were completely gone.
Sometimes Guanqi couldn't stand the smoky atmosphere here, so he simply hid in the garden, out of sight and out of mind.
Especially after Xiangqin sneaked into the mansion, the situation became increasingly out of control. Not only did she unscrupulously wear the clothes and jewelry left by the young lady in Lanyue Pavilion, she was also extremely picky about food. She had just eaten braised duck in the morning, and in the evening she was clamoring for fresh bamboo shoots and chicken soup.
If the kitchen failed to satisfy her appetite in time, she would run to get the meat and vegetables herself, which was completely unbecoming.
"My Lord, the madam of Tianxiang Tower has spoken," Xiangqin said coquettishly, her outer garment hanging loosely, the peach-colored peony embroidery on her lining faintly visible. "If you don't redeem me, I will have to go back to entertain customers and can't serve you here anymore!"
Xue Yuanchu reclined on the couch, his hair disheveled and reeking of alcohol. He responded nonchalantly, "Stay with me for a few more days. When I can leave the house, I will redeem you and buy you a house to live in."
"My Lord, you must keep your word. Here! This is the rice jerky and fresh clams I just brought from the kitchen. They smell so good. Please try them!" Xiangqin was so excited that she handed over the delicacy coquettishly.
Guanqi stood at the door and witnessed all this, and he felt it was really unbearable.
Recalling that some days ago, Xue Yuanchu asked him to find Jiang Ren from Shou Kangbo's family to do something, it turned out that he wanted to arrange for Xiang Qin, the flower girl from Tianxiang Tower, to come to the mansion to serve.
Although as a servant, Guanqi cannot influence his master's thoughts, he still has a glimmer of hope in his heart: he hopes that after Xue Yuanchu's injuries are healed, he can sincerely admit his mistakes to the old lady and the young lady, so that there may be room for redemption.
However, to his surprise, Xue Yuanchu went even further and secretly brought Hua Niang from the brothel into his mansion. This behavior was undoubtedly self-destructive.
Such unruly behavior would not only damage his own reputation, but would also likely affect the second and third sons of the mansion, and even have a negative impact on the two unmarried girls.
Once this matter gets out, the entire mansion will become a laughing stock among people.
Guanqi once considered secretly telling the old lady or the young lady about this matter, but Xue Yuanchu warned him sternly that as a family boy, if he dared to reveal a word, no one would dare to interfere even if he was beaten to death.
But the truth will eventually come to light. Xiangqin, a living person, was hiding in Lanyue Pavilion and had already attracted the attention of other maids and servants. However, out of loyalty to the Marquis' Mansion, everyone chose to remain silent and dared not speak out.
"Master, this clam meat is an irritant and you just drank some wine, so it's not good for your leg injury to recover. You'd better not eat it..." Guanqi couldn't help it after all and persuaded carefully.
"Bang--"
Before he could finish his words, a wine glass flew towards Guanqi unexpectedly, brushed past his forehead, and hit the door frame heavily, shattering instantly.
While watching the chess game, he felt a heat on his forehead. When he raised his hand and touched it, he saw blood all over his forehead.
"Get out!" Xue Yuanchu shouted angrily, while Xiangqin beside him laughed with glee, her whole body shaking.
Guanqi walked out of the room in a daze, with an indescribable sadness in his heart.
At this moment, he actually envied Guan Yan who had left the Marquis' Mansion. He had a broad horizon and no longer had to worry about being bullied.
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