Chapter 71: The Second Round: Preserving Evidence
"This is Miss Cuizhu, right? Please fetch some more ice. It's scorching hot in that room. Oh, by the way, remember not to just send it this time. The ice needs to be replenished in time." Jingshu said, and then turned to thank the Madam. "Thank you, Madam. I am grateful for your consideration for my Madam. Otherwise, I don't know how long we would have to wait for our master and the mistress to bring us ice."
Jingshu followed the Madam's instructions . She also naturally explained Cuizhu, which made the first lady and her group choke. The others wanted to argue, but the first lady stopped them. There were many guests today. If this girl really made trouble, even if Sheng Hualan was embarrassed, she would be scolded by her aunt, which would be a loss. Anyway, there is a long way to go. Today, she just wanted to test Sheng Hualan. Looking at the maid beside her, she knew that Sheng Hualan was not as easy to talk to as the rumors said. She would have to make long-term plans in the future.
"Cuizhu, just listen to Miss Jingshu! Today is the wedding of my second brother and his wife. As a sister-in-law, I have to help manage it well." The first lady thought about it and decided to take a step back.
"Thank you very much, first lady!" Jingshu thanked her and dragged the old woman back.
"Miss Jingshu, why are you still holding on to this old woman? Why don't you leave her here and let me deal with her? I will definitely satisfy my sister-
in-law." The eldest lady called Jingshu. Jingshu turned around and said, "Thank you for your kindness, I won't bother you anymore. She is just an old woman who bullies the master. I have plenty of ways to punish her." After saying that, Jingshu dragged the old woman away and ignored the eldest lady and her group.
"Madam, should we let her take old woman Wang away?" A maid next to the eldest lady asked.
"What else can you do? Can you snatch that old woman Wang back? You didn't hear the maid who came to report how powerful she was, but you should have seen that she held that old woman Wang for so long without even taking a breath. How can you guys win in an argument with her?" The eldest lady scolded the maid and left with her sleeves swung. It was not known whether it was because of the scorching sun or because she was angry, but the eldest lady felt dizzy and had stars in her eyes. She quickly held the maid's hand and went back to the room where the ice was placed to cool down.
...
Jingshu had just returned to the courtyard of the bridal chamber with the person in front of her, and the person who delivered the ice arrived behind her.
In the bridal chamber, Huixin fetched some water and gently wiped Hualan's sweat off her face, and then wiped her neck and arms. Only then did Hualan feel cooler.
"Why has Jingshu been gone for so long and hasn't come back yet?" Hualan asked.
"Maybe she's not familiar with the road. She'll be delayed for a while." Huixin used the water to wipe her face and replied to Hualan.
There was a knock on the door, "Second Madam, the ice delivery person is here!"
Huixin was delighted to hear that and walked over quickly to open the door. The ice delivery people came into the bridal chamber one after another and put the ice in place. With the ice, the bridal chamber instantly became much cooler, and Hualan breathed a sigh of relief.
"The ice has been delivered, why hasn't Jingshu come back yet? Why is there a sudden noise outside? Did something happen?" Hualan was worried, fearing that something bad would happen on the first day of marriage.
"Don't worry, young lady. Jingshu has a plan in mind. I'll go outside to take a look first." As soon as Huixin walked out of the new room, she saw Jingshu standing at the end of the corridor, dragging a maid, surrounded by several other maids and maids who were whispering, "Jingshu?"
Jingshu saw Huixin coming out and hurriedly called her over. She told Huixin the process of her search for Bing. Huixin opened her mouth wide, as if she couldn't believe how such a thing could happen. Huixin was different from Jingshu. Jingshu was Sheng Hong's dowry given to Hualan, while Huixin grew up with Hualan since childhood. Her personality was the same as Hualan's. She always thought the best of people. When she heard the Yuan family's actions out of the blue, Huixin was shocked and even more resentful.
"Then how do you plan to deal with this maid?" Huixin approached Jingshu and asked her in a low voice.
"They dare to bully our girl so brazenly. Someone must have instructed them to do so. Although I suspect it was the first lady we met in the garden, we still need to have evidence to confirm it." Jingshu replied.
"The girl has just married into the mansion. It is not appropriate for her to have a feud with the first lady in the mansion now. You don't know that the first lady in the mansion is the niece of the countess. The first lady has to call the countess aunt. If she offends her, will our girl be fine? Filial piety is more important than anything else!"
Jingshu listened to Huixin's heartfelt admonitions and instantly understood why the master wanted to give her to the girl as a dowry. The girl was bullied, but Huixin didn't want to make amends for her own girl, but wanted to give in. What did she say about filial piety being more important than anything else and not offending the countess and the first lady? If the countess is a good mother-in-law, it will be fine. If not, she will also find a way to deal with her. The girl is kind-hearted and Huixin is weak, but she is ruthless and can't let the girl be bullied.
"Don't worry about that for now. It's important to get the confession of this old woman first. It's not time to compete with the eldest lady now. We have to see what the aunt thinks about this matter. The aunt is also a wicked one. It's not too late to report it to the master now and regret it."
Huixin heard that Jingshu's words were so disrespectful that she quickly blocked her mouth and scolded her in a low voice, "Don't say such things in the future. The girl has met the aunt and is happy with him." At the end, she whispered, "I hope the master has good vision and the aunt treats the girl sincerely." This was tacit approval of Jingshu's behavior.
"Today is the day of the young lady's wedding, so this matter should be kept secret. When you go back to the young lady later, tell her that I was chatting and eating melon seeds with the maids in the mansion." Jingshu said, Huixin understood, and did not stay outside for long, returning to the bridal chamber to reassure Hualan.
After Huixin left, Jingshu pulled the old woman Wang and said to the maids and old women who were watching, "I know that what happened today must have been instigated by someone, and they are all from the lower levels. I won't make it too difficult for you, but you must remember that our young lady married into your mansion to form a good relationship between the two families, not to suffer. If there is a next time, this old woman will be your fate." After Jingshu finished speaking, she took the old woman to the side room and tied her up, and then returned to the bridal chamber.
"Jingshu, what are you talking about with the maids in this mansion? How can you not come back in such a hot weather?" Hualan asked puzzledly, looking at the sweaty Jingshu.
Jingshu smiled mysteriously, "Madam, just wait for the master to come today. Tomorrow I will tell you about the interesting things in this mansion."
Since Jingshu was sent here, Hualan knew that she was a person with an unrestrained personality. Hualan also liked her straightforwardness and didn't want to restrict her. She smiled and let her do whatever she wanted.
"Huixin, bring paper and pen. I told these little girls that you studied with the lady and you are very knowledgeable, but they don't believe it. Hurry up and bring paper and pen, and write a few good poems for them to see." Huixin looked at Jingshu in astonishment, wondering how she could write a poem. Then she saw Jingshu blinking at her, and Huixin suddenly realized that she was going to ask the old woman to sign and seal.
Huixin agreed, "I'll be there right away!" After that, she went to find paper and pen, said something to Hualan, and followed Jingshu to interrogate the old woman.
The process of interrogating the old woman was very easy. She confessed as soon as Jingshu asked. Jingshu was still worried that she was cheating, so she threatened her again, and the old woman should not confess. It turned out that Mrs. Wang was frightened by Jingshu's fierce and reckless behavior. She was exhausted by being dragged wherever she went. Seeing that the lady could not even control this maid, Mrs. Wang felt disappointed and confessed everything very happily.
This was the eldest lady's idea. It was not a clever trick. She just wanted to annoy the bride and test whether Sheng's Hualan was as easy to talk to as the rumors said. In fact, it was not very deliberate. She just reminded her not to take the ice basin when she delivered it for the last time. The rest of the maids and servants understood. There are only two ladies in charge of this house, one is the countess and the other is the eldest lady. They are also aunts and nieces. No servant dares to disobey them. As for the two servants outside the door, it was the eldest lady's intention. She left her own people to guard the yard to prevent the trouble from spreading to the front yard. She would be the first to know if there was any movement.
Jingshu and Huixin were disgusted by the mother-in-law's words. Jingshu watched Huixin write down everything the mother-in-law said, and then she signed it for the mother-in-law to leave as evidence. She would have to meet with her aunt tomorrow.