As the old woman spoke, she winked at Miss Qin, leaving Miss Qin momentarily at a loss for what to do. She recognized the old woman; she was the most trusted nanny of the head mistress of the Shen family, the First Madam. Since the old woman wanted her to apologize to Zheng Yuanyuan, it meant that Zheng Yuanyuan was no ordinary girl.
Since someone was offering her a way out, a smart person would naturally take the opportunity to climb down the ladder. However, when she saw the man standing not far from Zheng Yuanyuan, still looking at Zheng Yuanyuan with a worried expression and not glancing at her, Miss Qin felt as if her heart was soaking in freshly squeezed lemonade. Sour, bitter, and astringent flavors came in turn, and in the end, she didn't know what the taste was anymore.
Miss Qin was too embarrassed to apologize, and she didn't know how to turn the situation around. She was just a young girl living a normal life in the inner quarters of the house, served by servants at home and fawned over by daughters of prominent families in Yuezhou City when she went out. Her father was the prefect of Yuezhou, the most powerful person in Yuezhou. She had never experienced what it was like to be confronted like this in public.
Miss Qin was so distraught that she covered her face with a handkerchief and ran away crying.
Miss Qin ran away, and naturally, several girls who usually played with her followed her out. Now was the time when Miss Qin was most eager to be comforted.
After a moment of panic, there weren't many people left in the pavilion. The old woman saw that the young master was still standing in the pavilion and went over to him and said, "Fifth Young Master, many relatives have arrived. The master has instructed the eldest young master to go to the front hall to help entertain the guests."
That is the fifth young master of the Shen family, the son of the second branch of the Shen family, named Shen Mingyuan.
Hearing the old woman's words, Shen Mingyuan looked embarrassed and said, "Thank you for your trouble, old woman. I'll go to the front hall right away."
Shen Mingyuan walked to Feng Wan'er's side and said with a smile, "Third Sister, if you need anything, just send someone to find me."
Feng Wan'er smiled and nodded to Shen Mingyuan. Seeing that Shen Mingyuan and his entourage had walked away and the old woman who served Madam Shen had gone back to her work, she finally breathed a sigh of relief. She then pulled Xu Zhi and Zheng Yuanyuan to a quiet place to sit down and said, "The girls here are really..."
Zheng Yuanyuan nodded and said, "But they still can't compare to the girls from the Northwest. They clearly like someone, but they don't say it. They watch the person they like talking to someone else, but they still go and cause trouble for that person."
Xu Zhi asked, "What exactly is going on?"
Qinglian said, "Sigh, these young girls are getting a little too jealous and quarrelsome."
Honglian gently tugged at Qinglian's sleeve, and Qinglian fell silent.
Lin Mama said with a smile, "Just now, the Fifth Young Master of the manor saw Miss Zheng and said that he had seen Miss Zheng last night. He didn't expect that Miss Zheng was actually a guest of the family, so he came over to greet her. Who knew that before they could say a few words, Miss Qin, Miss Sun and the Seventh Young Master of the manor saw them. The other young ladies didn't do anything, but I saw Miss Sun say something to Miss Qin, and then Miss Qin rushed over and scolded Miss Zheng."
Xu Zhi nodded and said, "There are always little conflicts between young girls, but I didn't expect someone to be so brazen as to openly acknowledge it."
Granny Lin said, "The girls from Yuezhou are never as reserved as the girls from the capital."
Zheng Yuanyuan said, "If she could tell the person she likes that she likes him, I would respect her for being a straightforward person. But this girl did rush over, only because she was instigated by others and became someone else's pawn. She is a person who is brave but not reckless."
Xu Zhi smiled and said, "You see things clearly, knowing that this Miss Qin is being used as a pawn by someone else."
When Granny Wang heard Zheng Yuanyuan say something about liking something, her expression darkened. She coughed lightly and said, "Miss, we should be careful what we say. Young ladies shouldn't be so outspoken."
Zheng Yuanyuan made a face at Xu Zhi and Feng Wan'er, which made Wang Mama's face even more unpleasant. She wanted to say that this was not the behavior of a lady, but in front of so many people, she had just said something to Zheng Yuanyuan, so she couldn't continue. She had no choice but to swallow the words that were on the tip of her tongue.
After a few people laughed for a while, Granny Lin said, "This Miss Qin is the daughter of the prefect of Yuezhou. I heard she is the legitimate daughter. However, I heard that all the affairs of the Qin family are managed by a capable concubine, while the Qin family's first wife stays in the Buddhist hall in the mansion, eating vegetarian food and chanting Buddhist scriptures, and never comes out to socialize with others."
Upon hearing Lin Mama's words, Xu Zhi carefully recalled the woman who had been introduced as the wife of Lord Qin's household, sitting beside Old Madam Shen in Old Madam Shen's room earlier.
A woman in her thirties with a round face looked very kind. Xu Zhi didn't pay much attention to her at the time because, according to some information her grandfather had given her about Qin Nanqi, the prefect of Yuezhou, his wife had married him when he was at his lowest point. Moreover, Qin Nanqi was able to study and was reliable because his wife earned money through embroidery and farming. When Xu Zhi saw the woman, she thought she was Qin Nanqi's first wife. Who knew that she was actually a concubine.
Zheng Yuanyuan asked curiously, "Since his wife is with him, why does he have to have a concubine manage the household?"
Lin Mama said, "I heard it from people in the manor. They all say that Lord Qin's first wife is a country woman who is illiterate and a bit vulgar. She dislikes going out to socialize the most. That's why Qin Nanqi sent his concubine to help him with some things."
Upon hearing this, Xu Zhi recalled the appearance of the lady she had just met and couldn't help but feel a little flustered. Although Qin Nanqi was mediocre in talent, as the Third Prince's moneybag, he relied on his own advisors and this Lady Consort in Yuezhou.
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