Chapter 44: Xue Yuan Sets Up a Trap (Part 2)
Unexpectedly, it was not only Du Shun's family who came in. There was also a little maid following behind her. Cheng thought she looked familiar, but she couldn't remember her name for a moment.
When Madam Li saw Madam looking at Xiao Que, she quickly pushed her goddaughter's head down. After she kowtowed politely, Madam Li smiled flatteringly and said, "Madam, this is my goddaughter, Xiao Que. She works in the young master's courtyard. Although she doesn't serve in the house, she often runs errands for Chun Nuan."
Upon hearing this, Cheng, who had just slumped over due to a sigh, straightened up immediately. Her tone became a little tighter as she asked, "What's wrong, young master?"
Seeing the lady staring at her and asking, Xiao Que secretly glanced at her godmother.
"Madam is asking you a question! Just tell me what you have to say!"
Seeing her godmother's signal, Xiao Que plucked up her courage and, after swallowing her saliva, began to speak out as they had agreed before, pouring out the contents of their conversation in one breath: "Madam, one day, for some reason, everyone in the young master's room was yawning. It was obvious that they had all gone to bed very late the day before."
For an ordinary family, going to bed late wouldn't be unusual. But Heng'er had always been a disciplined man. During the three years he had been at home in mourning, his timings for getting up and going to bed were as precise as the dripping water of a copper kettle, not a millimeter off.
Cheng frowned slightly, reflecting on the time Heng'er had gone out a month earlier to attend a literary competition with his peers. Since then, her son had barely left the house, spending his days studying for the exams at home. It was truly odd that his sleep and rest had been so disrupted, even in his own residence.
"Did anything happen before and after that day that was different from the previous days?"
"Yes!" Xiao Que nodded, her voice a little higher than before: "Qingquan, who is always by your side, accompanies you to the garden to practice swordplay every day."
Xiao Que lived up to his name, chattering away swiftly and swiftly. "That day, Qingquan was also yawning outside the house. After the young master got up, he didn't accompany him, but went to the storehouse instead. But a few days ago, he had received a lot of things and asked me to help deliver them to the study. Just a few days later, he went back, but didn't bring anything back."
Cheng felt that the things Xiaoque and Xueyuan had said were vaguely connected. However, just as she was about to sort it out in more detail, it fell apart at the first touch.
Seeing that the lady was silent, Xue Yuan, who was standing next to Cheng, raised her eyebrows at Nanny Li in front of her.
Nanny Li understood immediately and continued, "Madam, our mansion isn't very big, but it's not very small either. The only places we can hide from public view are the garden or the library. Although it's not the coldest time of the year yet, if we went to the garden in the middle of the night in the dark, we'd probably get cold."
Upon hearing this, Cheng glared at Du Shunjia. Under normal circumstances, she would have slammed the table and scolded him. Why did she do it so secretly? Which eye did you use to see your young master having a secret meeting with someone else?
However, she herself was also frightened by the two words that just popped up in her mind. She couldn't say these words casually, she couldn't tarnish her son's reputation.
But what should she do?
Will she investigate the matters reported by the servants or not?
For a moment, my thoughts were confused.
Should we pretend nothing happened?
No, one or two of them have noticed something is wrong. If there is really something going on, it will be impossible to stop it if we don’t stop it now.
Heng'er, however obedient and sensible, was no child. At eighteen, he was full of vigor and vitality. If it weren't for the three-year mourning period, she would have tucked Xue Yuan into her room long ago. If Heng'er knew more about human nature, how could he have been seduced so easily?
Since I couldn't just sit back and do nothing, what should I do? Had I also alarmed my mother-in-law? If the matter got out of hand, would my mother-in-law try to make it a small matter and let her recognize Su Ying?
No, wouldn't that just do what Rong wanted? Besides, she had just spoken to Madam Xu, and the final stroke of the eight characters wasn't even complete yet!
Thinking of this, Cheng suddenly realized that it might be because of her conversation with Madam Xu and the daughter of the Xu family in Bodhi Temple that Rong saw something, which made her niece throw herself into Heng'er's arms outside the mountain gate without caring about anything?
At this point, everything has an explanation.
Cheng took a deep breath, calmed herself down, and regained the decisiveness of the mistress of the house.
She ordered, "After dinner, follow me to the library. Remember, don't disturb anyone. Only call Rong and her niece."
Xue Yuan listened to Madam's instructions, feeling delighted in her heart, but she couldn't show it on her face. She had put in the effort to get Nanny Li to ask Madam to take Madam to the library. Madam really did think the same as she did.
It would be bad if this matter got out of hand. I'm afraid that it would satisfy my cousin's wishes and block her way.
The Madam wanted to quietly settle the matter in the library, which was perfect. This way, as long as she could silence the Second Madam and drive away the cousin, there would be no room for maneuver.
After much deliberation, Xue Yuan decided to add fuel to the fire and increase his chances of success. So he picked up his wife's unfinished cup of ginseng tea and excused himself to leave.
Outside the house, she pulled Madam Li aside and whispered a few words to her. Madam Li nodded repeatedly and whispered in her ear, "Don't worry, young lady."
After Su Ying's advice, Wanyi's thoughts flowed like a spring, and she wrote a long and eloquent article about her experience.
"Luckily, my sister has plenty of Chengxin paper here. Otherwise, wouldn't it be annoying if I were halfway through writing and found there was no paper to use?"
Su Ying knew Wanyi was joking, so she followed suit, "The talented Du has come to visit our pavilion, and I dare not treat her with coarse paper and a broken inkstone."
The two joked for a while, and then Qiaoshu knocked on the door. Wanyi saw that it was getting late, so she said goodbye to Su Ying and made an appointment to meet again tomorrow.
Su Ying sent the master and servant to the gate of the study before returning. Since the pen and ink had been opened, she thought she might as well do Mr. Bai's homework herself, but when she picked up the pen, she hesitated.
The four treasures of the study in front of him were all top-quality items. After hearing what Wanyi said, he knew that the other items on the desk would be even more valuable than the pens, ink, paper, and inkstone.
If Wanyi is not mistaken, this mica stone inkstone screen belongs to him, then this glass lamp and this pair of bamboo paperweights are probably also his things?
She didn't dare to think further, nor could she think further.
For a moment, Su Ying felt that her thoughts were not flowing smoothly, so she put down her pen.
If all these belonged to him, what would she do? If someone discovered it, wouldn't it be considered a secret exchange? She would be left with no way to defend herself.
Thinking about how she had been neither humble nor arrogant in front of Cheng and how she had made solemn promises in front of the old lady, she didn't want to become Bo Ren, who had no way to defend himself and got himself into trouble.
After a moment's thought, she made up her mind. Instead of letting her imagination run wild, she should ask her aunt for clarification. If there really was something fishy going on, she would have to get it back through her aunt as soon as possible.
Because she was anxious to resolve something, she didn't wash her brush and inkstone as carefully as usual, but she couldn't just abandon the brush and ink and leave it alone. She just brushed the brush briefly in the brushwasher, put it down, and poured out the remaining ink in the inkstone before hurriedly leaving the library.
Perhaps because she was walking too fast, Su Ying didn't even notice that not far away, Nanny Li was walking towards the library.
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