Chapter 441 Let's get down to business
In the courtyard, the women sat chatting idly, none of them really interested in drinking tea.
As soon as Cheng Wanwan came out, everyone surrounded her and asked her questions.
"Is Miss Lin alright?"
"Should we call a doctor to take a look?"
"How did he suddenly fall into the water? What happened?"
Cheng Wanwan said calmly, "Everyone, please calm down and sit down."
She sat down in the main seat and turned to look at Wei Hongying, who was serving tea beside her. "Go and close the courtyard gate. You stand guard at the gate and don't let anyone in."
Wei Hongying nodded: "Yes."
The ladies' expressions suddenly changed, and they didn't know what was wrong.
Madam Zheng forced a smile: "Madam Sui, what are you doing? It feels strange to close the door in broad daylight."
The other ladies also found it strange, but dared not speak up.
After all, among everyone present, the person of the highest status was Madam Sui, followed by Madam Lin and Madam Zheng. They should remain silent.
“All of you ladies are people of status. Closing the courtyard gate was to save face for a certain young lady.” Cheng Wanwan’s expression was slightly cold. “Miss Lin’s fall into the water just now was not an accident, but someone secretly pushed her.”
These words stunned the entire audience.
All the ladies and young women looked at each other, and finally, their gazes settled on the ladies who were on the same boat as Miss Lin.
The young ladies immediately panicked.
"It wasn't me."
"I don't."
“I have no grudge against Miss Lin, how could I do such a thing?”
All the young ladies denied it, and their expressions were almost identical. If Cheng Wanwan hadn't known who it was, she probably would have been fooled by this Miss Zheng.
Madam Zheng spoke with difficulty: "Madam Sui, we are all familiar friends, and these girls are also close confidantes. How could they do such a thing? I think Miss Lin has misunderstood."
Madam Qian chimed in, "Yes, it must be a misunderstanding. Maybe someone accidentally bumped into someone."
"Whether it's a misunderstanding or not, you know perfectly well what happened!" Cheng Wanwan's face was full of coldness. "I don't care what grudges you have with Miss Lin, but you shouldn't have made a move in Dahe Village! Let me make this clear: Dahe Village is my territory, Madam Sui's territory. Anyone who causes trouble or does evil on my territory, or uses underhanded methods like framing, scheming, or murder, is going against my Madam Sui!"
"Although I am just a powerless woman, I am still a seventh-rank official. The highest-ranking official within dozens of miles is only a seventh-rank county magistrate. I have some connections with these county magistrates. If you don't want to be secretly harassed by them, don't do anything disgusting to me!"
Her sharp and stern words immediately silenced the courtyard.
These ladies and young women had met Cheng Wanwan twice before, and they all felt that Madam Sui was approachable and down-to-earth.
But at this moment, they realized they were wrong. Even a clay figure has some temper, let alone the Lady Sui, who was personally appointed by the Emperor.
I don't know who was so bold as to make a move right under Lady Sui's nose, causing them to be implicated as well.
"I'm sorry, I got a little emotional just now." Cheng Wanwan's expression softened. "It's almost lunchtime. I'll have my maid take you all to lunch. It's a unique lotus banquet in Dahe Village. I hope you ladies can forget the unpleasantness just now."
She clapped her hands, and Wei Hongying, who was waiting outside, pushed open the courtyard gate and came in.
Wei Hongying stood at the door and could clearly hear the sounds coming from the courtyard. Although she heard them, she did not show it on her face and respectfully invited the ladies to have their meal at the Daheyan Restaurant.
Old Mrs. Zhao had already been informed about Cheng Wanwan's banquet for wealthy ladies, and the place had been completely tidied up. Although it was still not as exquisite as the restaurants in the city, it was the best that the Zhao family could offer.
The ladies, having no time to nitpick, sat down with their own thoughts.
"Oh dear, Miss Zheng, what's wrong? You look so pale."
A young woman nearby suddenly exclaimed.
Madam Zheng looked up and saw that her good-for-nothing daughter was deathly pale. Wasn't she just giving herself away?
She stood up and said with a smile, "My daughter has always been timid. She must have been frightened. Come on, let me take you over there to wash your face."
Madam Zheng pulled her daughter to a secluded spot, her expression suddenly changing: "What, are you afraid others won't notice that you pushed that Lin family girl down?"
Miss Zheng's face turned even paler: "No, I didn't... Mother, I want to go back."
"How pathetic!" Madam Zheng said coldly. "If you leave now, people will assume you're guilty, and they'll hold you accountable. Take a deep breath, calm yourself down, and don't look so lifeless. Don't ruin the reputation of the Zheng family."
Miss Zheng bit her lower lip and said, "I still don't understand why Mother told me to push Miss Lin down..."
“Because her surname is Lin, I’ve had people inquire about it. The Lin family is a prominent family in the capital, and the head of the Lin family is the Grand Tutor of the current dynasty. If your brother becomes the son-in-law of the Lin family, with the Grand Tutor as his backer, do you think our Zheng family can still rise in status?” Madam Zheng’s voice was low. “Originally, the plan was for Miss Lin to fall into the water, and your brother to appear and save her. The man and woman were embracing in the water, which would naturally ruin Miss Lin’s reputation, forcing her to marry into our Zheng family… It’s all that Madam Sui’s fault for interfering and ruining my plans! The only fortunate thing is that no one saw it was a maid from the Zheng family who made the move, so we still have a chance…”
She glared at her daughter. "Let's go eat. Keep a normal expression and don't let anyone notice anything amiss."
After the mother and daughter finished speaking, they walked together toward the dining area.
And then a figure emerged from behind the wall.
The figure was holding a nursing baby in her arms. The baby fell asleep while nursing, and she quickly pulled her clothes down.
"Good heavens, they're already so rich, yet they still want to climb the ranks..." Madam Sun said in disbelief, "What's a Grand Tutor? Is he very powerful, even more powerful than a county magistrate?"
She was just hiding here to breastfeed, and she never expected to overhear such a secret.
No, she had to have a good chat with the women and old ladies in the village about the gossip of wealthy families; she might as well chat about it.
Although the group of elegant ladies had experienced a minor mishap, they quickly forgot about the unpleasantness once the delicious food was served.
They were all wealthy people, but they had never eaten such food before. It tasted very fragrant and had a unique flavor. When they left, some of the ladies even bought some lotus root to take home.
Cheng Wanwan stood at the village entrance and saw everyone off.
There were supposed to be other recreational activities, but due to the incident, they had to be cancelled.
As she walked back, she passed under the big locust tree and saw a large group of women surrounding Sun, each with a gossipy look on their faces.
She thought Madam Sun was boasting again about her son, who was destined to be a literary star, but instead she heard words like "Madam Zheng," "Miss Zheng," "Miss Lin," and "drowning."
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