Cui Ming sensed it and dared not make a sound to disturb them, so she silently followed behind and served them.
Back at Wutong Courtyard, she saw Hongye bickering and talking with the maids under the eaves. When she saw them, she stood up and said, "Miss, guess what news I heard?"
Qin Yuan found it somewhat amusing, "You disappeared early this morning, were you busy gathering information?"
Hongye said, "That's right. There were so many people at the banquet yesterday, how could there not be a lot of news?"
Qin Yuan's heart skipped a beat, and she asked, "So what did you hear?"
Hongye said mysteriously, "Let's go inside and talk."
Qin Yuan entered the room and waited for the maid to bring tea before dismissing everyone else, leaving only Cui Ming by her side. She then asked, "So, what did you hear?"
"I've asked around a lot, so I can only tell you slowly."
Qin Yuan glanced at the hourglass in the corner and said, "Take your time. I don't really want to be in charge today. I want to rest."
Hongye immediately said, "Take a rest. Miss hasn't had much free time since entering the manor."
Cui Ming said, "Just say it already, stop talking nonsense."
Hongye said, "The young lady from the Chang family who came to the capital yesterday only arrived last month. The Ninth Princess doesn't think much of her, and I don't know what she's after, but she brought her to the Marquis's residence. Miss Chang doesn't even have anyone to serve her, and none of the palace maids around the Ninth Princess look down on her."
Qin Yuan said, "Miss Chang was just a pebble thrown into the Marquis's mansion by the Ninth Princess. As for what she's after, we'll have to wait and see. But I do have a pretty good idea of what Miss Chang is after. If I'm not mistaken, Miss Chang will be coming to the mansion to pay her respects to the Old Madam in the next couple of days."
Chang Qingling made no attempt to hide her feelings for Gu Jinghui.
Qin Yuan just couldn't understand why Chang Qingling's deceased sister was engaged to Lord Gu, and the Chang family was also a military family. The two families should have a close relationship, so why were they so distant? In fact, the old lady of Gu was even somewhat wary of Chang Qingling.
Hongye opened her mouth wide and said "Oh".
Qin Yuan added, "The Ninth Princess is arrogant and disdainful. There are probably not many people who can catch her eye. If Miss Chang wants to rely on her, she will probably have to curry favor with the palace maids around her. As the saying goes, it's easier to see the King of Hell than to deal with his underlings. The Ninth Princess is not very kind to begin with, and the palace maids around her will be even more difficult to deal with."
Hongye nodded, then thought for a moment and asked, "Does Miss know how the matter concerning the Sixth Madam was resolved?"
Qin Yuan became interested: "Tell me about it."
Hongye said, "The old woman said that Zhao Mama cried and kowtowed in front of Sixth Master yesterday, making a huge scene. She told him all about how hard Sixth Madam had worked to manage the household over the years, and even insisted on inviting the two young masters to come and kowtow to Sixth Master."
Cui Ming asked, "What's going on here?"
Hongye said, "Sixth Master gritted his teeth and made Zhao Mama list out exactly how much silver Sixth Madam had invested, the purchase price, and how much each of the stewards and matrons in the mansion had contributed. He also said that if Zhao Mama continued to lie, he would make her go back to the Xu family with Madam Xu. He dared not keep any of the Xu family's servants, fearing they would corrupt the children in the future. He also said he would not care about Sixth Madam's affairs anymore; whether she lived or died was all the fault of the Xu family. If it weren't for Steward Han and Gu Shiliu stopping him inside, Master Xu would not have hit Sixth Master."
Qin Yuan was both annoyed and amused.
"Granny Zhao is a muddle-headed person. Even at this point, the masters all know about their affair. They haven't broken off relations because of the young master. But the Xu family doesn't care about that kind of face. She's still keeping it a secret. And not only is she keeping it a secret, but she's also unwilling to swallow her pride and insists on making a scene. It's making everyone annoyed."
Hongye said, "That's right. Lord Xu scolded Sixth Master for being heartless, saying that Sixth Madam has never wronged Sixth Master. She has given birth to so many children, managed the inner quarters, and married so many concubines for him. He said that even if Sixth Madam gets money, she uses it all to support Sixth Master's concubines and their children."
Cui Ming frowned and said, "They're starting to talk nonsense."
Qin Yuan shook her head.
No wonder Lord Gu stopped them from asking questions.
Hongye continued, "Sixth Master Gu said that the Xu family doesn't care about Sixth Madam's life or death, and he doesn't want to care anymore either. He's making a fuss about reporting it to the authorities, saying that the Xu family is too vicious. Not only do they not want to repay the money, but they also want to anger Sixth Madam to death in the Gu family. With no one to testify, he can't bear the responsibility. He might as well report it to the authorities. At worst, he can separate from the Marquis and live on his own, so as not to implicate the Marquis's mansion."
"And then?" Qin Yuan asked.
"Finally, Madam Xu said to have Zhao Mama make a list so that they could check it against each other. They couldn't just accept whatever Zhao Mama said. They would wait until Madam Liu woke up before discussing whether to return the money or the pepper."
"This is going to drag on. It seems the Xu family is still unwilling to give it up."
Hongye was puzzled. "The Xu family has also received a lot of money from the Sixth Madam. They've also made quite a bit of money lending at exorbitant interest rates over the years. Why are they holding onto this money? Aren't they afraid that they'll lose their marriage alliance with the Marquis's mansion in the future?"
Qin Yuan said, "There's a downside to lending money at exorbitant interest rates: they take a huge cut and have to support a group of people to collect debts. If they don't do their job properly when lending, and the borrower runs away or simply doesn't have the money, they can't recover the principal. They can't let others get away with it for free, so they always have to resort to violence to establish their authority. This kind of thing is strictly prohibited by the government, so they inevitably have to spend money to bribe those yamen runners. If it leads to a murder case, they'll have to spend even more money to settle the matter."
At this point, Qin Yuan's heart stirred, and her fingers unconsciously tapped lightly on the table.
Cui Ming said, "Even if Sixth Madam is awake and has the energy to deal with this matter, she might have to try to smooth things over. Miss Xu is missing, and the Xu family will always blame Sixth Madam. Sixth Madam is not well, so it's inevitable that she will think about it more."
Qin Yuan nodded.
Madam Gu must have known that she didn't have many years left to live, and she was inevitably worried that if she offended her family, she would lose all her support.
The Xu family had also considered this point, which is why they were so fearless.
"Sixth Madam can no longer manage the household, and there's nothing left for the Xu family to gain. My nephews and nieces will grow up many years from now... It's always more reliable to have them in hand."
What Qin Yuan didn't say was that the Marquis's mansion knew what the Xu family had done, and the Xu family also knew that the Marquis's mansion knew.
With the passing of the Sixth Madam, the marriage ties between the Xu family and the Marquis's mansion are effectively severed. The nephews and nieces are still young, and it's uncertain whether they will still remember their maternal uncle's family when they grow up. Even if they do, the Marquis's mansion will likely have already split up by then. As a son of a concubine, Sixth Master Gu is neither skilled in martial arts nor literature, and he probably won't be of much help to the Xu family in the future.
It's clear that the Xu family and Master Gu really don't think much of each other.
Hongye couldn't help but sigh.
"Small households don't have so many calculations."
Cui Ming laughed and said, "Don't say that. It's just that the things I'm scheming about aren't worth much, unlike things that cost tens of thousands of taels of silver."
Qin Yuan was silent for a moment, then asked, "Anything else?"
Hongye said, "The old women from the Xu family are chatting with the old women in the mansion. They are saying that the Xu family is discussing sending a girl to the Prince of Jin's mansion as a concubine."
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