Chapter 397 Yixiu 15
In Ninghua Hall, with the departure of the previous leading servants, naturally, a group of ambitious and driven newcomers gradually came up with various ideas. It just depended on whether the master Rouze could handle it or the servants would continue to control it.
In contrast, Chixinzhai on the other side became more united under Yixiu's effortless management, with clear division of labor and everyone doing their own job.
Of the four maids, Jianqiu, the most loyal and with whom she had the best rapport, took the top spot, becoming the second-in-command of her courtyard. However, Yixiu also entrusted the other three with important tasks, assigning them tasks suited to their personalities and abilities.
Huichun is responsible for managing her personal property, Randong is in charge of the small kitchen, medicinal materials and all other imports, Xiuxia and Jiang Fuhai each have their own sources of information, and are the two lines of control she has over the outside world.
At this moment, Yixiu was sitting on the couch with a thick black fox fur mattress covering her legs. She reached out and took out two bright yellow oranges from the porcelain plate on the kang table, and placed them on a small purple pottery stove to slowly roast them, listening to Xiuxia talking about the gossip she had heard... no, the private things.
"I've asked around, and Little Li, the cleaning lady, said he did see Miao visiting Gan. But they've always had a good relationship, so no one suspected anything."
Yixiu scoffed, "So what if they're sisters in the backyard? Gan's future is clearly doomed. If Miao really wants to, she'd be doing her part by giving her a cup of poison to end her life sooner rather than later."
"What Concubine Jin said is true. Miao's motives are definitely not pure, otherwise why would Lord Beile have also dealt with her? My fellow townsman in Ninghua Hall said that Concubine Jin was depressed after she became pregnant. It was Miao who mentioned the beautiful plum blossoms in the small garden, which attracted Concubine Jin to go there often to see them."
Seeing that the oranges were almost roasted, Yixiu threw one to Xiuxia and handed the other to Jianqiu, asking her to peel it for her.
Jianqiu was multitasking, meticulously picking out all the white fibers from the oranges, while her mouth was still busy: "So it's actually Miao who's behind the plot, and Gan is just her pawn?"
"Have you ever seen a chess player end up with the same fate as the chess piece? Miao plays with Gan every day. If she were truly scheming, could she bring down her own backer?"
Yixiu broke off a piece of orange and put it in her mouth. The sweet and sour taste was just right. But when she looked down, she saw the orange in Xiuxia's hand, which made her frown because of the sour taste. She couldn't help but laugh at her bad luck.
"Concubine, do you mean there's someone else behind Miao?"
As Jianqiu was speaking, Yixiu stuffed a mouthful of orange into her mouth. Xiuxia, who was standing next to her, was also stuffed with an orange before she could speak. The two of them had no choice but to chew the orange that was sweeter than honey, and smiles slowly appeared on the corners of their mouths.
"The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. In our Fourth Master's mansion, there are many hidden dragons and crouching tigers, and there are many capable people."
Yixiu slowly flicked the sparks with a small copper fire chopstick. Seeing the two people looking at her curiously, she gently pointed in the southeast direction.
"Concubine, are you talking about... Qi Gege?"
After all, Jianqiu is insightful. Now the other women of the Four Princes are gathered in the east. Song and Miao, who moved there before, are still living in Qi Yuebin's Wangyue Pavilion; the two newlyweds this year are both living in Chuyu Pavilion, and the wife is in Ninghua Hall in the east.
"Why don't you guess Song Gege?"
Yixiu looked at her calmly and asked back. Jianqiu felt her encouragement and thought carefully before saying:
"Although Qi Gege and Song Gege appear to be well-behaved, Lord Beile actually has completely different attitudes towards them. I remember that even when Concubine Fu Jin was in great favor, Lord Beile never forgot to visit Qi Gege."
Seeing Yixiu didn't interrupt, Jianqiu knew she had some truth in what she said, and she gradually became more confident. "Furthermore, if we really talk about strength, Qi Gege was the first to enter the palace. Her family used to be military commanders, but they've fallen on hard times now. But Song Gege is only Han Chinese. I heard her family is broke and has to rely on her for financial support."
Xiuxia nodded repeatedly upon hearing this. She had originally been assigned to the Prince's residence by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and logically had arrived earlier than Qi. Hearing this, she thought of the past: "Yes, before the concubine came into the residence, Prince had let Qi Gege manage the household. Otherwise, how could a Gege like her live in Wangyue Pavilion? If Song had gone there, she would have only been able to occupy the west wing in her courtyard."
"Yes, and didn't Miao just move into her courtyard? I'm afraid she was the one who instigated this incident."
Yixiu waited until they had roughly guessed what was going on before she took a sip of her tea. "Now that things have come to this, as long as it has nothing to do with us, we don't need to care about what she does."
"Yes, we understand. We have Prince Honghui. Even if there is chaos in the mansion, it should be Fu Jin who will have to worry about it."
There was a hint of obvious gloating in Jianqiu's tone, simply because Concubine Fu had been having a real headache recently. The Second Prince was obviously suffering from a deficiency, and Concubine Fu had injured herself during childbirth. Unfortunately, all the confidants she had brought from home were gone, and now she had to manage the household while she was pregnant. Jianqiu had also helped Yixiu with the household before, and the extent of her hardship could be seen from the various illnesses that Concubine Fu later suffered.
Of course, Yixiu has already recovered from all the previous losses, but she is just being lazy to maintain her image, so she still looks weak and vulnerable to the outside world.
Yixiu picked out a plump, round walnut from the lacquer box and asked Jianqiu to open it for her before she slowly said, "I'm definitely tired, but this time it's not my spirit that's tired, it's my mind."
At that time, Jianqiu and the other two did not understand the meaning of these words until they heard that after visiting the concubine and consulting the imperial physician, the prince directly invited Xie, the wet nurse who had taken care of him in the past, and asked Concubine De to temporarily keep Aunt Lanyu in the mansion to assist the concubine in managing the harem.
With these two generals, Fu Jin found it much easier to handle these matters, but this also added another psychological burden to her.
A concubine who has been married to her husband for many years, now takes care of the harem but asks her husband to look for people to help her suppress it. This certainly reflects the love that the prince has for her, but it is also inevitable that she will be evaluated as "golden outside, rotten inside".
After all, a few years ago, the Fourth Lady had the reputation of "shaking the whole capital with her stunning dance".
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