But where exactly is Rong Heng now?
Zhu Jiayu lowered her eyes. After her rebirth, she rewrote her own destiny and the destiny of the Zhu family. But as a result, everything began to go off track, and she lost the advantage of being a prophet.
Seeing that she was not in a good mood, Qiu Lingyan asked her in a low voice what was wrong.
Zhu Jiayu shook her head and remained silent.
After having dinner at Yanxi Restaurant, the group parted ways. Zhu Jiayu and Qiu Lingyan returned to the Qiu residence, while Qiu Zhuqing and Qiu Songdao returned to the academy.
On the way back, Qiu Lingyan felt very sorry for Zhu Jiayu: "I was going to pick out a gift for you, but because of Liu Yasheng, everything was ruined."
Zhu Jiayu smiled and said, "It's alright. Dealing with Liu Yasheng is more important than a gift."
After she finished speaking, the two smiled at each other, and Qiu Lingyan solemnly added, "Don't worry, I will definitely make you an even better one!"
The two returned to the Qiu residence, and Zhu Jiayu then went back to Chunshan Residence.
After going out, Qiu Lingyan noticed that Zhu Jiayu was quiet. If she were to interact more with her two younger sisters, she might feel uncomfortable. Therefore, she didn't suggest that Zhu Jiayu should try to connect with others, but simply said that she would visit her when she had time.
Zhu Jiayu agreed and turned back to Chunshan Residence with Lüzheng.
Qiu Lingyan also returned to her own courtyard.
Before long, the soft whispers of a young girl could be heard from the east wing of the main courtyard:
"...I asked around afterwards, and it turned out that the private room where the teacup fell from the window was where Miss Biao and Miss San were at the time. Not long after, the two young ladies came downstairs together."
"The waiter said that the Third Miss looked terrified, while the Cousin was calm. The hush money was left by the Cousin. I later slipped him some more silver, telling him not to tell anyone about this."
The girl was Qiu Lingyan's maid and also an informant for Madam Zhu.
Madam Zhu lowered her eyes: "So it seems that the teacup-throwing incident was done by our cousin?"
Although it was a question, her tone was confident, as if she didn't need an answer.
The maid dared not speak out and stood aside with her head bowed.
Zhu couldn't help but think that her daughter was truly blessed.
After learning about her daughter's relationship with Liu Yasheng from Que Lan, she had been looking for an opportunity to break them up. It wasn't that she looked down on Liu Yasheng for being a poor scholar, but rather that she felt he was dishonest.
But before she could figure out what to do, Song Jiangmei appeared, and her daughter broke off all contact with Liu Yasheng.
Later, after learning that her daughter was still upset about their situation, she began to think about how to make her understand that losing Liu Yasheng was not something to regret or be sad about.
Then Zhu Jiayu appeared.
She had to admit that her niece was more astute and bolder than she had imagined.
I'm afraid someone else wouldn't have been able to do what I did today. But if it weren't for this method, how could I have made my daughter see Liu Yasheng's true colors and give up her hopes?
"I understand. Please remind Miss Zhu to spend more time with her cousin when she has free time." Madam Zhu waved her hand, dismissing the maid.
Through this incident, she could see that Zhu Jiayu had no ill intentions towards Lingyan. With her around, she thought it best for Lingyan to learn to be smarter.
After dismissing the maids, Madam Zhu summoned her personal nanny:
“Miss Biao will be staying in the manor for a while, and it wouldn’t be right if there weren’t a few suitable servants in the courtyard. Go find the steward and have him go to the brokerage tomorrow to select a few clever and clean servants to send to Chunshan Residence. You don’t need to leave the indenture with me; just give it to Miss Biao for safekeeping.”
The old woman suppressed her surprise and whispered, "Yes." She couldn't understand how this young lady had managed to gain the Madam's favor so quickly.
The incident at the gold shop wasn't a huge deal, but it wasn't insignificant either. However, the news of Song Jiangmei fainting had spread like wildfire throughout the city after just one night.
Although Song Jiangmei and her maid refused to reveal the details, anyone with a keen eye could easily guess the truth of the matter after making a few inquiries.
The Second and Third Madams, who were well aware of the affairs between Qiu Lingyan, Liu Yasheng, and Song Jiangmei, were such as these observant people.
As dawn broke, the two met during their post-dinner stroll and agreed to have tea at the pavilion by the pond.
At this time of year, the pond is already blooming with palm-sized water lilies, a beautiful sight of pink and white.
The second wife smiled and waved her fan, saying, "I thought these flowers were just pretty, but I didn't expect them to be anything but wild plants inside."
"Such a style of work is not something that can be cultivated in a poor, remote area."
The two exchanged a few words of cryptic banter, then smiled at each other. The second wife continued:
"The eldest son's side has already made a move. I'm also planning to send a set of jewelry to Chunshanju later. After all, she helped Lingyan today, and she might be able to help my Songdao tomorrow. I'm just taking a gamble; if I win, everyone's happy, and if I lose, I'll accept it!"
The second wife came from a military family. She was cheerful and outspoken, and never held back in her words or actions.
The third madam thought for a moment and said, "Then I'll also give a bracelet. My two maids aren't much better than Lingyan. Since my cousin is such a good person, I should at least show my appreciation as her aunt."
Before long, Zhu Jiayu received gifts from each branch of the family. She knew that their actions were probably related to what happened yesterday, and couldn't help but sigh to Lüzheng, "The Qiu family is really shrewd."
When she didn't demonstrate any value, they treated her with indifference. But as soon as she did, they all wanted to curry favor with her.
In the past, she would have just found it amusing. But now, since she had the intention of taking over the Qiu family's connections, she was naturally pleased that they were so cooperative.
But that's far from enough.
If she wants to win the trust and respect of the entire Qiu family, she has to proceed step by step and win over the important figures one by one.
Inside the Qiu residence, Chunshan Residence became lively, while outside the residence, Heling City was also bustling with activity.
The arrival of a stunningly beautiful cousin made Qiu Songdao extremely proud. Yesterday, he happened to be going down the mountain again, and he talked about his cousin everywhere he went. The news spread like wildfire, and by today, almost everyone who had ever dealt with Qiu Songdao or the Qiu family knew that the Qiu family had a cousin with exceptional beauty.
And someone, I don’t know who, said that they saw the third young lady of the Qiu family with a beautiful young girl near the gold shop. Presumably, that must be the rumored cousin of the Qiu family.
At this moment, someone suddenly mentioned that Miss Song had fainted downstairs at the jewelry store.
Somehow, these two things were linked together, and then someone came to a conclusion that seemed absurd but was actually quite plausible upon closer examination: Song Jiangmei fainted from anger after seeing the beauty of Miss Qiu.
Zhu Jiayu: "..."
She hadn't expected the people of Heling to be so idle; she feared that Song Jiangmei would be truly furious upon hearing this conclusion.
But does she dare to stand up and clarify?
She didn't dare.
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