Chapter 138: The Vicious Eldest Daughter (3)
After many twists and turns, the child actually led Wen Wan to his home. It was more of a cowshed than a home, with no bed, just a layer of straw and a tattered rag of indeterminate color on top of the straw. The child's grandmother saw her and her grandson and pretended to stand up. "Miss, did my Erdan steal your things again? Please forgive my Erdan, please."
As he was about to kneel, Wen Wan quickly pulled him up. She couldn't accept a child kneeling before her, and an old man kneeling before her would probably shorten her lifespan.
"Do you live here?"
The old man nodded. “Our house was taken over by the village bully, who beat my son to death and kicked us out. Erdan was just trying to raise money for my medical treatment. He’s not a bad person. Please, be kind people, spare my Erdan.”
The old man looked terrible, his lips were deathly pale, and he coughed frequently while speaking to her.
Why didn't you report it to the authorities?
“The official and that bully are related. We filed a complaint, but no one stood up for us.”
Wen Yan: "..."
This kind of thing seems to happen in every era and every world.
"Although you are indeed in a terrible situation, stealing is wrong. How about this, you go and get a doctor for your grandmother first, then come to the Prime Minister's residence to work and pay off your debts. Any objections?"
"No objection, thank you, Miss, thank you, Miss." Erdan was about to kneel again, but Wen Wan grabbed him. "If you kneel before me again, I won't want you anymore. What's your name, Erdan?"
"Um."
"This name doesn't sound good. You can just call it Sugar-Roasted Chestnuts."
Erdan looked at Wen Wan in surprise. Wen Wan smiled and said, "I was just kidding. From now on, you can be called Little Lucky Star. It's a festive name."
"Lucky Star, please thank Miss for bestowing this name upon you."
"Thank you, Miss, little lucky star."
Wen Wan left and met Xiao Taozi on the way. Xiao Taozi was almost in tears. "Miss, you scared me to death! Are you alright?"
He took Wen Wan's hand to check her over, but Wen Wan shook her head. "I'm fine. You should stay where you are and wait for me."
Wen Wan returned to the stall selling roasted chestnuts, only to find that not only were there no roasted chestnuts, but the owner was also gone. She looked at Xiao Taozi accusingly, and Xiao Taozi felt a little guilty. "How about we come back tomorrow, Miss?"
Wen Yan: "..."
Never mind, she's penniless anyway. "Let's go home."
...
Back at the Prime Minister's residence, Wen Wan told the steward about the little lucky star and asked him to settle her in properly after arriving at the residence. After she finished speaking, she was summoned by Madam Chu. As soon as Madam Chu saw her, she asked, "You went out?"
Wen Wan nodded. "Yes, I'm feeling stuffy staying in the manor, so I'm going out for some fresh air."
"I'm not trying to criticize you, but the wedding between the Prime Minister's residence and the Prince Xi's residence is approaching. It's risky to have Chu Sisi marry the Prince Xi in your place. Although the imperial decree only mentioned the Prime Minister's daughter and didn't specify that it was the Prime Minister's legitimate daughter, Chu Huang, everyone knew it was you. Now we're sending Chu Sisi there. Strictly speaking, it's not disobeying the imperial decree, but it's still not very ethical. Even though the Empress Dowager is vouching for us, you still need to be discreet and careful."
Wen Wan: "I understand, Mother. I will be more careful in the future."
At worst, she can just be more careful when she goes out in the future. She doesn't know how good the disguise technique is in this era, but she can't stay in the Prime Minister's residence forever.
"You called a doctor for that woman, Chen Xin?"
Wen Yan: "..."
Is this what the inner quarters are like? Everything is in the hands of the mistress of the inner quarters. Wen Wan was afraid of being suspected by Madam Chu, so she put on a perfect performance. "Yes, I was thinking that if something happened to Aunt Xin, wouldn't that affect Chu Sisi's marriage in place of her? I don't want any accidents to happen."
"real?"
“Of course it’s true, Mother. You know the Prince Xi is like this now. If something happens to Aunt Xin and she can’t think straight and tries to kill herself, then I’ll have to marry him. Are you willing to let your daughter marry him and become a widow?” As she spoke, her eyes reddened and tears began to flow. This broke Madam Chu’s heart, and she no longer had any doubts.
"Just do as Ah Huang says. I'm just worried about you. It's just a matter of calling a doctor. Anyway, I will definitely make sure Chen Xin lives until Chu Sisi gets married. She won't be able to die even if she wants to."
"Then Mother, how about we give them a nice house to live in? After all, we want Chu Sisi to marry in my place willingly, and we can't let her have any complaints. Although Prince Xi is dying, he is still a prince, and the Emperor values him on the surface. What if Chu Sisi marries him and then reports us against us?"
"She dares." Madam Chu said fiercely, even Wen Wan was frightened. This old mother of the original owner really had a deep understanding of what it means to be a vicious cannon fodder.
"Mother, calm down. I'm just saying it's possible. Aunt Xin and her brother are in our hands. Are we afraid that Chu Sisi won't listen? But if something happens to them, the variables will be huge. Chu Sisi looks like a troublemaker. Who knows what she might do once she's at the Prince Xi's mansion? I'm just thinking about things to be on the safe side. Don't you think what I'm saying makes sense?"
The fact that Madam Chu was able to maintain her position as the Prime Minister's wife, keeping the Prime Minister in check so that even if he was a womanizer, he could only keep daughters and illegitimate children outside the mansion, but dared not bring them back to Madam Chu's residence to find out, proves that Madam Chu was not a fool. Although she despised that slut Chen Xin, her daughter's words were not without reason.
"Mother, you don't need to worry. I'll take care of it. I'll make sure they're far away and won't get in your way. I guarantee I'll handle things perfectly."
"Alright then," Madam Chu agreed.
Wen Wan immediately asked Xiao Taozi to bring over what she had bought. "Mother, this is the finest rouge and face powder I bought for you, as well as this fine silk satin. The colors are so beautiful, you'll look beautiful in it."
No woman can resist cosmetics and clothes; this principle holds true both in modern times and in ancient times.
As expected, Madam Chu was instantly delighted, and the little unpleasantness from before vanished completely. When Wen Wan left, Madam Chu gave her many treasures, which were far more valuable than what Wen Wan had given away.
Then he took out a jade bracelet from the pile of treasures and gave it to Little Peach, saying, "This is a reward for you."
Little Peach: "Miss, this is too expensive."
"It's alright. This time, thanks to the gift you picked out, my mother is happy. Just keep it."
"Thank you, miss."
There was too much left over, so Wen Wan thought for a moment, "Why don't we find a place to bury it, just in case?"
Once the thought took hold, he couldn't suppress it, so he made Little Peach take out all his valuable treasures, "Do you know which mountain is the nearest? The kind where hardly anyone goes by."
Little Peach: "???"
"Miss, what are you going to do?"
"Hidden treasure."
"Treasure? Why, Miss?"
Wen Wan: "I had a dream in which a Taoist master told me that I would face a great calamity in the future, and the way to avert it was to take away all my valuable possessions and not keep them with me. So I thought about it and decided to find a place where no one goes and hide them well, and then dig them up after the calamity is over."
Although Xiaotaozi found the reason ridiculous, she still believed in her mistress's obedience.
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