"Madam, this is what my master ordered me to deliver," Madam Qian's face was not very good. Handing over this meant that, in a sense, she would no longer be the one in charge of the household affairs, even though she was only in charge of the small plot of land in the backyard of the Marquis's mansion.
The old lady raised her eyelids slightly and said calmly, "What is this?"
Madam Qian said, "This is a jade pendant passed down from the ancestors of the Marquis's family. Whichever daughter-in-law holds it will be the matriarch of the household."
A personal maid brought over a brocade box and opened it for her to inspect.
The old lady nodded without saying a word, but she felt relieved.
Zhou lowered her eyelids, staring at the handkerchief in her hand, and remained silent.
Liu glanced at the brocade box and thought to herself, "Goodness, I didn't expect that girl to turn misfortune into blessing. She can manage the household affairs as soon as she enters the house. She's much better than me, who has been struggling for so long."
Wang felt a pang of bitterness in her heart. The position of "elder's wife" was always the one with the most work and the least reward. Her daughter was so young and innocent; she didn't know if she could take on the responsibility.
Qian looked around, taking in all sorts of expressions. When she saw Liu's envious eyes, she slightly raised her chin.
Knowing that these guys were going to great lengths to sneak into the Marquis's mansion, Madam Qian glanced sideways and inadvertently caught sight of Madam Wang's miserable face, and immediately felt a tightness in her chest.
What an ungrateful child! After finally suppressing her anger, Madam Qian turned to the old lady and asked, "Does the old lady think this marriage is still worthwhile?"
The old lady picked up her teacup, took a sip, and slowly put it down before speaking: "The Marquis's mansion has already shown its sincerity, so I will naturally not refuse. From today onwards, our two families will be related by marriage. Those unpleasant things were just misunderstandings caused by unforeseen circumstances, and there is no need to mention them again."
Madam Qian smiled and said yes, but secretly she was angry. She was just afraid that she would use the drowning incident as a pretext to make things difficult for her daughter in the future. But she was not so petty.
The old lady looked up, as if she had just noticed, and said to the person beside her, "You old hag, are you getting old and your eyesight isn't good anymore? Didn't you see that your mother-in-law's teacup is empty? Hurry up and refill it?"
The old nanny next to her smiled and apologized to Madam Qian, then ordered a maid to brew tea again and bring it over.
Madam Qian rubbed her handkerchief, feeling resentful. Because of what the Marquis had said earlier, she didn't dare to show any displeasure to the old lady, so she could only force a smile and say it was alright.
She forced herself to talk for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea before leaving the Earl's mansion and getting into her carriage. She angrily threw the token given to her by the old lady onto the table and kicked the small table in the carriage in frustration.
The small table was made of solid wood attached to the bottom of the cart. Qian's embroidered shoes were for going out and were thicker than the ones she wore at home, but not by much.
The corners of the small table were very hard, and even through several layers of cloth, they still made Qian's toes hurt.
Ms. Qian couldn't help but hug her leg and cry out, "Ouch!"
Granny Ruan was quite old and moved slowly. When she came up, she only saw Madam Qian clutching her leg and screaming in pain. Startled, she quickly stepped forward and asked, "Madam, what happened? Did you hurt yourself?"
Qian nodded haphazardly and pointed to his feet.
Granny Ruan was quick-witted and nimble. She lowered the carriage curtain, completely separating the inside from the outside, and told the driver to drive on. Only then did she take off Madam Qian's embroidered shoes and carefully massage them for her.
Back at the Marquis's residence, Granny Ruan helped Madam Qian to the bed and hurriedly ordered a maid to fetch some ointment. Before she could even apply it, a servant came to report that Miss Qian had arrived.
Despite the pain, Madam Qian hid her toes under her skirt and forced a smile, saying, "Zhiqing is here."
Qian Zhiqing moved gracefully to the bedside, and seeing Qian Shi's pale face, asked with concern, "Aunt, what's wrong?"
Madam Qian grinned and said irritably, "Don't even mention it." She glared at Qian Zhiqing, remembering the humiliation she had suffered because of her niece, and said, "I'm asking you, what were you thinking? Why did you cause the Shi family girl to fall into the water, and why did you abandon her and leave?"
Qian Zhiqing stiffened and stammered, "Aunt, I didn't mean it. I was just scared at the time. After I came to my senses, I went to find the nanny."
Qian pursed her lips and said, "It was all over by then. They were really good for nothing."
Qian Zhiqing noticed that she seemed to have something to say but not all. Thinking of how the steward of the manor had made a big show of ordering people to open the storeroom and take out those good things yesterday, she felt a pang of panic and quickly said, "Isn't this matter over? Why is Aunt bringing it up again?"
Madam Qian snorted, "What do you mean 'in the past'? The Shi family is wicked. They finally managed to grab such a coveted prize as the young master, so they won't let it go without getting some benefits out of him."
Qian Zhiqing immediately became anxious upon hearing this and asked, "What happened? How did this get involved with my cousin?"
Qian Zhiqing thought to herself that she had already sold off all those involved in that incident, and she couldn't imagine who else would be gossiping in the mansion. Besides, how did this matter involve her cousin?
At this moment, she forgot about the victim, Shi Lan. She didn't even consider that Shi Lan wasn't without a mouth. She was being wronged for no reason, so why wouldn't she ask her elders to stand up for her?
Madam Qian's toes, which had been throbbing with pain, were now burning with discomfort, and her tone grew increasingly harsh. "What can I say about you? You pushed someone into the water, and the young master, to cover for you, rescued the girl. A young woman's reputation is more important than her life. Tell me, is this not related to her?"
Upon hearing this, Qian Zhiqing felt as if she had been struck by lightning. In order to escape suspicion, she had left early in the morning and was unaware of the rescue. She thought that Shi Lan had swum ashore on her own. Afterwards, in order to avoid being found out that Shi Lan had been sent away by her, she immediately sold off the maids and servants. Therefore, she was unaware of this incident.
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