Chapter 141 The Actor
Shen Yuanzhu asked anxiously, "What's wrong with him? Tell me quickly."
Seeing the fish take the bait, Mianhe was secretly pleased: "I won't tell you about the others, you'll find out later."
"If I say too much, it will sound like I'm trying to sow discord between you and your husband."
Pretending to wipe away tears, Mianhe said, "You must have noticed these past few days that Wei Hu has been preventing me from getting close to you, but it's actually because of the Second Young Master..."
"He...he suspects that you, Second Young Mistress, still have feelings for the Eldest Young Master, and fears that the two of you are still entangled, so he has Wei Hu keep an eye on you everywhere."
"After I learned about this, I went to persuade the second young master."
"As I said, now that you've married into this family, even if you had a previous engagement with the eldest young master, you wouldn't dare to have an affair in the mansion."
"But the second young master is narrow-minded. Not only does he not listen to my advice, but he also lets Wei Hu torment me in every way, for fear that I will tip you off..."
"He wanted to torture the servant to death."
Mianhe cried miserably, "This servant has no other choice but to beg for your grace and protection..."
After listening to the whole thing, Chen Yuanzhu felt as if she had been struck by lightning.
Her eyes were red and she was on the verge of tears: "I never knew he would think of me like this... If he didn't trust me, why did he agree to marry me?"
"He... really..."
Shen Yuanzhu let out a sob and lay on the ground: "So he always disliked my marriage to Xie Xuchuan and even sent Wei Hu to keep an eye on me everywhere."
"All my sincerity towards him was for nothing! He's simply...outrageous!"
After saying that, Shen Yuanzhu stood up, walked to the small couch and overturned the bedding, then ran to the wardrobe and threw out Xie Qi's clothes.
"He... is not worth the clothes I made stitch by stitch."
Mianhe saw Shen Yuanzhu crying and making a scene in the room, taking off her velvet hairpin and throwing it away, and overturning everything on her dressing table to the ground.
With a crash, the wooden box fell to the ground. It wasn't locked, and the dyeing patterns inside were scattered all over the floor.
Mianhe's eyes lit up as she looked at it.
This really is... effortless.
She originally intended to sow discord between Shen Yuanzhu and Xie Qi, and then, under the guise of seeking refuge, secretly search for the whereabouts of the dyeing manual in Qianxiang Courtyard.
Who would have thought that it would be so blatantly displayed in the open...
Thinking that Shen Yuanzhu had taken the dyeing manual to Yujintang yesterday and then rushed to the Jiang family for a banquet after returning, Mianhe thought that she probably hadn't had time to pack it up yet.
A thought struck her, and she quickly began to persuade Shen Yuanzhu.
There are claims that a man will change after marriage, or that the second son is not inherently bad, but his temperament becomes eccentric due to injustice in his family.
But Shen Yuanzhu seemed unable to be persuaded, and with a thud, she collapsed onto the small couch, sobbing mournfully.
Mianhe turned around and looked around. Seeing that no one was around, she didn't care about anything else, picked up the dyeing pattern on the ground, and ran out.
As the footsteps grew fainter and fainter, Shen Yuanzhu secretly raised her head and glanced at them cautiously.
Once she realized the person was really gone, she slumped back down with a thud.
This whole performance left her exhausted.
Shen Yuanzhu was also carefree; she tilted her head, turned over, hugged her pillow, and fell asleep again.
Mianhe held the "Shen Family Dyeing Manual" in her hands, her heart nearly leaping out of her throat.
Some time ago, Sun Qi came to her with fifty taels of silver and asked her to find a way to steal Shen Yuanzhu's dyeing recipe, saying that if she succeeded, he would give her another two hundred taels afterward.
Now that she has the goods, she can go and collect her reward.
only……
Mianhe snorted coldly: "You think you can get rid of me with two hundred taels of silver? It's not that easy."
After thinking for a moment, Mianhe steeled herself, scratched her head hard a few times, and then slapped herself hard across the face.
Only after the area became red and swollen did she sneak back to her room, leaving behind only one dyeing manual and hiding the rest under the bed.
Just as she turned around, she made a sudden, ruthless move and tore the dye swatch in half.
Clutching half a dyeing manual, Mianhe went to find Sun Qi in a furtive manner.
"Oh dear, Grandma, what... what happened to you..."
Sun Qi was heartbroken when he saw this.
Mianhe cried and said, "When I was stealing the dyeing recipe, I was caught red-handed by the second young mistress. Now I can't stay in the Xie family anymore."
"If you still have any affection for me, take me to see Second Master. If Second Master spares my life, I will give him the things."
As she spoke, Mianhe stuffed the torn half of the dyeing pattern into Sun Qi's hand: "You have to hurry, or the second young mistress might catch up here soon."
"If things get out of hand, not only will you and I suffer, but even Second Master will not fare well."
"If Shen Yuanzhu becomes stubborn and reports it to the authorities..."
Mianhe looked terrified: "I'll confess everything about you and Second Master..."
"No, no, look what you've done."
Sun Qi looked disgusted: "I told you to secretly copy things, or take them out for half a day, and then find a chance to put them back, so that no one would know."
"Look at this, things have gotten out of control..."
What was originally a very simple matter has been made public by that idiot Mianhe.
Sun Qi looked troubled, gritted his teeth for a long time, and said, "I'll go ask Second Master."
As soon as he left, Mianhe scoffed.
What do you mean by "secretly"? Not everyone in Qianxiang Courtyard is a fool.
She's lucky she managed to sneak in once, how could she possibly steal the things, give them to Xie Chengzhi, let him copy them and then put them back?
If Xie Chengzhi gets the goods and then denies them, what evidence does she have to prove that she was instructed by him?
And with the opportunity to make a fortune, who would still do menial work?
She's long gone off to live the life of a wealthy and noble lady.
Mianhe smoothed her hair over the water in the copper basin, humming a tune as she waited.
Sure enough, Sun Qi returned shortly afterward and said that the Second Master had agreed to see her.
Mianhe straightened her clothes, raised her head and stood up.
From this day forward, she will no longer be someone who serves others.
Mianhe arrived at Xie Chengzhi's study in a leisurely manner. Without saying a word, she asked for two thousand taels of silver.
"As you know, Second Master, I have no other choice. Only with this money can I escape and not be caught and implicate others."
Xie Chengzhi sneered: "Two thousand taels? You think you're worthy? Who do you think you are, threatening me like this?"
"I only have five hundred taels on hand. Take it if you want, otherwise..."
“This servant is absolutely not threatening Second Master.”
Mianhe pleaded, "Even if you give me two thousand taels, if you have the dyeing recipe and win the top prize in the sample cloth competition, you will also receive a reward from the old lady and a 20% share of the weaving workshop."
“This silver is nothing to the Second Master, but to this servant, it is the money to save my life.”
As she spoke, Mianhe cried, "If Second Master is unwilling, I can go to First Master or Third Master. If that doesn't work, I'll go back and have Second Young Mistress drag me to the yamen."
Zheng Shu, who was standing nearby, said, "Two thousand it is. If we really win the championship, we can still have three thousand silver coins left."
"This brat can't stay here any longer. Right now, immediately, have someone send her away, the farther the better."
After a long while, Xie Chengzhi gritted his teeth and nodded.
"Tell Sun Qi the location of the remaining dyeing patterns. Once Sun Qi brings the items over, I'll give you the silver..."
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