"It doesn't matter whether she gives up or not," Shen Weiwan patted the grains on her hands and kicked the pottery basin at her feet, making the stones clatter. "What's important is that the whole mansion knows that Liu Shi was unwilling to fulfill her niece's 'filial piety' for a hairpin." She squatted down and used a branch to poke the stones in the basin. "Next time, I'll mix in broken porcelain shards - anyway, her hands are rough, she'll get used to it after rubbing it a few times."
Chun Tao shuddered with fear: "Miss, won't the Second Madam's hands be broken by that?"
"It's better to destroy it," Shen Weiwan snorted, remembering that in her previous life, Liu used her dowry to exchange for thirty boxes of South Pearls to give to her lover. A cold light flashed in her eyes, "It will save her from thinking about things that don't belong to her all day long."
As she was speaking, the old housekeeper came in on crutches, a bunch of copper keys dangling in the morning light: "Miss, the locks of the warehouse have been changed. Here are the new keys." Shen Weiwan took the keys. They were cold to the touch, but it reminded her of the snowy night in her previous life when Liu tricked her into handing over the keys. She held the keys tightly and nodded solemnly to the old housekeeper: "Old housekeeper, thank you very much."
The old housekeeper bowed and lowered his voice, saying, "The Second Madam sent someone to the accounting office again this afternoon, saying she wanted to use the brocade in the storehouse, but the old servant stopped her by saying, 'The key is with the eldest lady.' She was so angry that she threw the accounting master's abacus."
"Well done." Shen Weiwan smiled approvingly. This old housekeeper was indeed a loyal servant left by her father. She put the key into the secret compartment of her dressing table and took out a roll of yellowed silk cloth - it was a list of the storeroom in her previous life that she had drawn from memory. Chuntao came in with a handful of dried grass clippings, mixed with a few prickly cockleburs. "Miss, I've found the 'itchy grass' you asked for! I heard from Mrs. Zhang in the kitchen that this grass can make you itch so badly when it gets on your clothes."
Shen Weiwan's eyes lit up. She took the grass scraps and stuffed them into the lining of her pink gauze skirt. This skirt was a "kind gift" from Shen Ruorou last year. It looked gorgeous, but the material was very easy to snag, and it came in handy right now. Her fingertips deftly threaded through the gauze, sewing the cockleburs and grass scraps into the hidden pleats of the skirt. A sly smile curled her lips, "The Spring Festival Banquet is coming soon. It's time to let my dear cousin have a taste of 'borrowing clothes'."
Chun Tao looked at her hands working on the needle and couldn't help asking, "Miss, do you think the Second Madam will have a nightmare tonight?"
Shen Weiwan paused, remembering Liu's grimace as her hands were rubbed, and couldn't help laughing. "Of course she will. Maybe she'll even dream of a room full of stones chasing her, shouting 'Stop rubbing, stop rubbing!'" The master and servant laughed as a dark figure suddenly passed by the window. It was Liu's spy. Shen Weiwan's eyes turned cold, but she pretended not to see it. Let her spread this reputation of being "crazy and stupid." The crazier and more stupid, the more the enemy will let down their guard.
The next morning, a note from Liu arrived at Tinglan Courtyard, explaining that she had "suffered a cold and was afraid she might not be able to attend the Spring Banquet." Chen Weiwan held the note, her fingertips rubbing the word "cold," and with a cold laugh, she tossed it on the table. "Are you scared? Too late." She handed Chuntao the pink gauze skirt she had sewn, its pleats concealing neatly arranged grass scraps. "Hide it well. Then, wait and see how I'll let Shen Ruorou have her full show at the Peony Banquet at the Imperial Tutor's Mansion."
Chuntao took the skirt, her eyes sparkling with excitement. Meanwhile, Shen Ruorou was in her "Roulan Courtyard," trying on her moon-white skirt in front of the mirror. The hem of her skirt was embroidered with the fashionable "double lotus" pattern. She hadn't noticed at all that the spare skirt pocket her maid had brought her had some tiny bits of grass scraps in it—a "surprise" that Shen Weiwan had secretly slipped into it while she was watching a play the previous night.
The spring banquet in the capital is about to begin, and the peonies in the Imperial Tutor's Mansion are in full bloom. Chen Weiwan gazes at her plain face in the bronze mirror, her fingertips gently tracing the silver hairpin at her temple. Liu, Shen Ruorou, and that lame Li Xiu... your "drama" has only just begun. In this life, she not only aims to protect the General's estate but also to make all those who owe her a taste of the "five grains rubbing hand gift"—pain in her hands, shame on her face, and ultimately, repayment, with interest.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
